This is a very innovative graphic novel. It's also an epic opus, coming in at 420 pages. Parts of this graphic novel appeared in a mini art comic book the author produced in 2005 called "Lists, Cartoons, Floorplan, Poem, Other". Other parts appeared in the 2002 mini art comic, "People and Dogs". Other parts appeared in the graphic novel anthology, MOME, in its Summer 2005 & Winter 2007 issues.
The artwork can at best be called minimalistic. It is just a couple of steps above plain stick figures. Even the text is minimal. Many pages are simply without any text & some show just one crudely drawn figure or other simple drawing. Yet, I loved this graphic novel! I raced through it, because I kept wanting to know what was coming next.
Who is the monologist? G-d? Satan? Jesus? A regular guy with delusions of grandeur? Who is the Robot? Or is it a Golem? Or is that G-d? What did that note from the mother say? Who is the mother? Mary? Is this a satire on government funding? A new flood? Destruction all over again? What does the floorplan show?
"Everything I needed to know I learned from beating people up and making them tell me."
"Our study is complete and the conclusion is inescapable: G-d both exists AND does not exist . . . at the SAME time! And he runs a jewelry outlet hot dog stand on State and Van Buren! AND he runs a Laundromat/Health Club/Daycare Center down on the south west side."
And so on and so on. How can the reader not get enthralled in this mystery?