A stray dog has part of the number tattooed on his ear, the winner of a marathon race on a picture in the newspaper is wearing another part of the number, and the phone number on a poster from somebody looking for the stray dog provides the next part, etc. The next day, a series of remarkable coincidences occur, all of them having to do with the number on that scrap of paper. When he's been executed, the executioner finds the strip of paper lying next to the electric chair and for some reason puts it in his pocket before he goes home. He sometimes takes out the strip of paper and looks at it. At the start of the book, it is used as a bookmark by a condemned man in his Bible. Instead, The Number 753-6-96-8 is a graphic novel about a number on a strip of paper. In fact, it's probably more wrong than right. On that strip of paper is a number: 753-6-96-8. Anyone whose tastes run to the eccentric and devilish will appreciate these volumes.The Number 753-6-96-8 (or, in Swedish, Numret 753-6-96-8) is a graphic novel about an executioner who at the start of the book finds a strip of paper that belonged to the he just executed. But Ott’s skill in visual storytelling gives weight to the work, and yielding to the flow of beautiful illustrations brings plenty of enjoyment. To be sure, many of the tropes and themes here have been done before and with more nuance. In The Number 753-6-96-8 the narrative is structured through cyclic events, as randomness and significance become tangled, along with causal questions of will and determinism. In Cinema Panopticum, a girl finds a machine inside a fairground tent which serves as the entry point for four morbid, ironic stories. Twist endings, play with scale and perspective, and ghoulish humor are among the visual and narrative hallmarks of Ott’s work. The Number 753-6-96-8 is a longer, stand-alone piece which likewise deals in dark and gory themes. Expressive faces and gestures, along with striking compositions, propel the viewer quickly through the pages, but they also invite second and third examinations.
The results are alternately luminous and ominous, with an obsessive quality due to the density of marks.
Ott’s beautifully textured art stands out from many other comics, as he uses black and white marks to carve out figures and spaces rather than describe them with line. His stories are articulated solely through image, without dialogue or exposition.
Twisted, visually compelling, sometimes-nightmarish picture books. Thomas Ott creates picture books for grown-ups.
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