Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Out of Nothing
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1977
WEBSITE: http://www.daniellocke.com
CITY: Brighton
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY:
Phone: 07919 354922
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2018062123
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/no2018062123
HEADING: Locke, Daniel, 1977-
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040 __ |a ICrlF |b eng |e rda |c ICrlF
046 __ |f 1977 |2 edtf
100 1_ |a Locke, Daniel, |d 1977-
370 __ |e Brighton (England) |2 naf
372 __ |a Graphic novels |2 lcsh
374 __ |a Illustrators |2 lcsh
375 __ |a Males |2 lcdgt
377 __ |a eng
670 __ |a Locke, Daniel. Out of nothing, 2017: |b t.p. (Daniel Locke with David Blandy)
670 __ |a Personal website, May 8, 2018 |b (Daniel Locke, born 1977 ; artist and graphic novelist based in Brighton, UK ; holds BA in Graphic Fine Art from Univ. of East London, MA in Fine Art Media from Slade School of Fine Art, Univ. College London)
PERSONAL
Born 1977.
EDUCATION:University of East London, B.A., 2000; Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London, M.A., 2003.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and graphic novelist.
WRITINGS
Contributor to anthologies.
SIDELIGHTS
Daniel Locke is the author of the graphic novel Out of Nothing, a story that examines the history of the universe from the beginning of time to the most distant point imaginable in the future. “Using Locke’s charming, colourful and surreal illustrations to draw the reader in, Out of Nothing tells the story of the development of human thought and innovation, connecting the scientific concepts that underpin key inventions throughout mankind’s history that have shaped our understanding of the world,” stated a Grafik website contributor. “Through the eyes of a little girl, the book explores everything from the invention of the written word to Einstein’s theory of general relativity and Tim Berners-Lee’s invention of the world wide web, and considers where mankind’s dreaming mind might take us next.”
The author and the illustrator examine the history of the universe from a human point of view. “Locke and Blandy,” said a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “employ a mostly silent blue-skinned young woman as an imagined sentient observer through the ages “The blue girl ties everything together; she’s the observer, the reporter, and the scientist—the avatar of human curiosity and discovery,” wrote Noah Berlatsky in the Comics Journal. “At the end of the book, she is back floating in space, as the panels move in for another close up of her eye, and the text celebrates human awareness. ‘She has taken on the self-consciousness of all those human beings she lived with…walking amongst them. It was only with them that the universe started to think…to reflect upon itself.'” “Daniel Locke’s Out of Nothing reminds readers of the important verities of life,” opined Jason Sacks in Comics Bulletin, “providing a long view that shows that despite it all, mankind can still find grace in its own history.” “Stories that celebrate storytelling are nothing new,” concluded James Smart in the London Guardian, “but Out of Nothing shows they can still feel as fresh as a daisy.”
Critics in general enjoyed Out of Nothing. “I often ask a creator why they choose a particular subject or period to make a comic about. It doesn’t apply here, because Daniel Locke and David Blandy decided to make a comic about every time, both past present and future – and they’ve created a brick of a book,” asserted Antony Esmond on the Down the Tubes website. “It is full of big ideas, the biggest in fact – and places us smack bang in the middle of those ideas as they formed. Out of Nothing is intelligent and thoughtful – yet also colourfully fun and dreamlike.” “This work requires dedicated time and thought,” declared Booklist reviewer Fiona McMahon, “… but it’s sure to be enjoyed by philosophically inclined readers.” “Such is the sheer accessibility of Out of Nothing that we come away from its pages feeling like we have experienced the awakening of a set of unconscious truths rather than had a series of complex ideas communicated to us,” asserted Andy Oliver on the Broken Frontier website. “This is graphic science at its very best.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 15, 2018, Fiona McMahon, review of Out of Nothing, p. 37.
Guardian (London, England), March 16, 2018, James Smart, review of Out of Nothing.
Publishers Weekly, January 29, 2018, review of Out of Nothing, p. 177.
ONLINE
Broken Frontier, http://www.brokenfrontier.com/ (January 3, 2018), Andy Oliver, review of Out of Nothing.
Comics Bulletin, http://comicsbulletin.com/ (July 23, 2018), Jason Sacks, “Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ Is the Antidote to Our Sick Times.”
Comics Journal, http://www.tcj.com/ (April 3, 2018), Noah Berlatsky, review of Out of Nothing.
Daniel Locke website, http://www.daniellocke.com (October 24, 2018), author profile.
Down the Tubes, https://downthetubes.net/ (November 16, 2018), Antony Esmond, review of Out of Nothing.
Grafik, https://www.grafik.net/ (October 24, 2018), “Big Ideas.”
Daniel Locke is an artist and graphic novelist.
His most recent graphic novel Out of Nothing, was published in November 2017 by Nobrow Press. Daniel’s work is featured in many anthologies of contemporary comics, and in 2016 his novella Pneuma was published in the USA by Tinto Press.
Since 2013 much of his work has been informed and shaped by the discoveries of contemporary science. He's worked with Nobrow, Arts Council England, The Wellcome Trust and The National Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
He is currently working on his second full-length graphic novel, Going Home, also to be published by Nobrow Press and a third book, Two Heads, a collaboration with writer Alex Frith and Neuroscientists Uta and Chris Frith.
Daniel often collaborates with other artists and scientists having worked with David Blandy, Laura Malacart, Karrie Fransman, Joe Decie, Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Chris Sandom to name a few.
Contact for further info about commissions & sales.
Download CV
Interview at Free Word
Publications
2018
Nobrow 10, Nobrow
Two Heads, Simon & Schuster USA, Bloomsbury UK
2017
Out of Nothing, Nobrow
Pneuma 2, Tinto Press, Denver, USA
2014
‘YES!’, with Laura Malacart, published with the Arts Council & Wellcome Trust
‘Europa’, Exhibited in Algers, Istanbul, London and Brussels, ReFrame project
2013
‘Helix’ with David Blandy, published online by Storythings
2010
‘Open Day Book’, Randon House
‘A Graphic Cosmogony’, Nobrow
‘L’Episode 2 & 3’, French bande design anthology
‘Solipsistic Pop 1, 2 & 3’, British comics anthology
2009
‘Komikaze’, European comics anthology, Croatia
‘Smoke Signal Comics’, published by Desert Island, New York
‘Electric Sheep Magazine’, London (commission for comic journalism)
‘Torpedo’, Melbourne, published by Falcon v Monkey, Australia
‘Blurred Books’, New York
‘The Banal Pig’ Landscape Anthology, British comics anthology
‘Kapow’, anthology of new short stories, Nottingham Trent University
2008
'Lone Pilgrim and Orochi Pilgrim' with David Blandy, 'The Tatton Park Biennial'
'Attitude Magazine', regular assignments as a feature illustrator
Art Fairs
'The Alternative Press Fair', London, 2009 & 2010
'ICA Comica Festival', London, 2007, 2008 & 2009
'The Web and Comics Thing', Mile End, London, 2006, 2007 & 2008
Daniel Locke
1997-2000
B.A. (Hons) Graphic Fine Art - 1st Class, The University of East London, London
2001-2003
M.A. Fine Art Media, The Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, London
Current & Forthcoming
2018
Medicine Unboxed, artists talk. Daniel is a guest speaker at the Medicine Unboxed conference. In edition to speaking he will be exhibiting drawings and screening ‘Doggerland’, his new animation, made in collaboration with David Blandy.
In October Daniel will undertake a residency as part of Metal’s ‘Culture Lab’ programme.
Towards the end of the year, and into 2019 Daniel will be working with inmates at HMP Swaleside.
2019
'Two Heads' a graphic novel account of neuroscience and the careers of Professors' Uta and Chris Frith, made in collaboration with the Professors' Frith and writer Alex Frith. This book will be published by Simon and Schuster in the USA and Bloomsbury in the UK at the end of next year.
Exhibitions, Commissions & Screenings
2018
The Deep - ‘Doggerland’ animation screening as part of the British science festival.
Brighton University - ‘Making HIV Stigma History’ campaign launch, Brighton
Family Store Gallery - ‘Small Press Day’ live drawing event, Brighton
ONCA Gallery - ‘Through the Bush Backwards’ exhibition, Brighton
IMT Gallery - ‘Polymorph Other’ exhibition, London.
Lighthouse - ‘Out of Nothing’ exhibition, Brighton.
The Cube London - ‘Out of Nothing’ exhibition. London
2017
Brighton Illustration Festival 17, featured artist
British Science Festival - ‘Comics & Science’ panelist
British Science Festival - ‘Re-wilding Weald’ performative drawing
‘Print Shop’ live-drawing exhibition, Family Store, Brighton
‘Through a Forest Wilderness’ project, Soundbox HQ, Bricklane, London
‘Re-framed’ digital storytelling and VR conference, guest speaker & panelist, Lighthouse, Brighton
2016
‘Anxious Portraits’ exhibition, Glasgow
Brighton Illustration Festival 16, guest speaker
2015
‘Gibside’ National Trust commission
2014
‘Alternative 23’ exhibition, IMT Gallery, London
‘YES!’ with Laura Malacart, Science Museum
‘ReFrame’, touring exhibition, Algiers, Istanbul, London, Brussels
2013
‘Helix’ exhibition, G V Art Gallery (London Science Festival)
‘The Tinker Box’ exhibition, Winter Shuffle, London
2010
And’Art residency Marakech, Morocco
Remp’Art Gallery exhibition, Marakech, Morocco
‘Smell the Glove’, CO Exhibitions, Minneapolis, U.S.A
‘Paper Exchange’ exhibition, To and For Gallery, London
St Martins of Tours housing association residency, London
Islington Exhibits, performance, London
‘The Last Match’ exhibition, touring Europe
2009
The Newstead Short Story Tattoo, Melbourne, Australia
2008
‘Walking Through Walls’, The Artist Studios, Tel Aviv
Cell Project Space, London & The Liverpool Biennial
2007
‘The Where We Maybe’ screening, Tate Britain, London
2005
‘The Day of Damaged Goods’, Whitechapel Gallery, London
The South London Gallery, Show Reel, London
2004
Paul Smith Paris Fashion Week Installation, Paris
‘Ho Ho Ho’, Paul Smith Central Offices Kean Street, London
2003
‘David’, Paul Smith, Covent Garden, London
Aspex Gallery Screening, Portsmouth
291 Gallery, Hackney, London, (screening)
The Red Mansion Art Prize, The London Institute Gallery, London
•SHOWCASE> 17-11-17
Big Ideas
Out of Nothing is an ambitious and beautifully-illustrated new graphic novel by Daniel Locke and David Blandy that explores the history of human thought, invention and progress. We caught up with Locke to discover how it all came together...
Words by Grafik
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The power of illustration to explain and explore complex ideas is rarely as evident as when it's used in a scientific context; for centuries, skilled image-makers have used the medium to help build our understanding of the world around us, and to translate sophisticated concepts into accessible visual form. Out of Nothing, a new graphic novel by illustrator Daniel Locke with David Blandy published this week by Nobrow, is an excellent demonstration of that power in practice.
Using Locke's charming, colourful and surreal illustrations to draw the reader in, Out of Nothing tells the story of the development of human thought and innovation, connecting the scientific concepts that underpin key inventions throughout mankind's history that have shaped our understanding of the world. Through the eyes of a little girl, the book explores everything from the invention of the written word to Einstein's theory of general relativity and Tim Berners-Lee's invention of the world wide web, and considers where mankind's dreaming mind might take us next. We caught up with Locke to discover how his collaboration with Blandy and Rutherford came about, and how the dreamlike story of Out of Nothing came together...
How did the project come about and what brought you, David Blandy and Dr Adam Rutherford together?
In 2012, the artist and my co-author of Out of Nothing, David Blandy, invited me to work on a project called Helix. Helix was commissioned by the amazing Wellcome Trust to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the discovery of DNA. David and I were teamed with Adam Rutherford and given a studio space in Lighthouse, Brighton, for a number of days to share ideas; Adam introduced us to some incredible things during this period. Helix resulted in a short film and comic, but during the course of making it, we began to realise that some of the ideas we wanted to explore would be best suited to a long form graphic novel.
Once Helix was finished, the creative director of Lighthouse at the time, Honor Harger, asked us what we had planned next. We presented an outline of a huge graphic novel we had been working on that was to be called A Brief History of Knowledge. She was really excited by the idea and offered to help us apply for a second round of funding from Wellcome. Happily that application was successful, and after a name change and a hell of a lot of work, resulted in Out of Nothing.
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How did you develop the story and work out the narrative structure?
During our time spent working on Helix, Adam had introduced us to some amazing things and we had identified a number of interesting ideas we wanted to explore in depth. Principal among them was the way in which the concepts of collaboration, teamwork and college have informed and shaped our understanding of the universe. To this central idea I started to add other ideas, dramatic situations and characters, until I had produced a number of individual scenes that would eventually (after a long period of rearranging and reorganising) become the chapters of the finished book.
The book developed organically. I generally produce my comics by simultaneously writing and drawing. The great thing about working collaboratively with David is that I had access to another mind for feedback and new ideas. David is one of my best friends, we went to college together and know each other very well. He is an incredible artist and thinker. He contributed some of the most poetic moments of the book.
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Where there any unexpected challenges during the project and how did you overcome them?
Encountering unexpected challenges and finding ways of over coming them is a pretty accurate description of writing a book, in my experience at least.
You sit down at the drawing table with an idea in your head. You’re not sure where this initial idea will lead, but willing to follow it, you set out on the journey. After some time you realise this not going to be a simple journey. It is not a package holiday but rather an around the world, through desert and jungle, hitchhiking and camel train, adventure.
There are also more practical challenges to face, such as finding funding and a publisher. Out of Nothing produced a huge list of people to thank, and we’ve tried our best to name them in the book itself. We certainly wouldn’t have been able to complete the project if it were not for the belief in it offered by Sam Arthur at Nobrow and his amazing team, editor Hanna Milner and designer Bia Melo (not to mention all those who are now working their socks off getting the book out into the world, thanks Zoe Aubugeau-Williams!).
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What's the most important or interesting thing you learned along the way?
Artistically, I always knew I wanted to make a big comic book. It’s been a goal of mine since I was little, but Out of Nothing showed me that I enjoy the process, which is reassuring. The project has also taught me that if you have enough belief in a project and a willingness to see it through to the end, it’s possible to make that project into a reality. In this case an idea shared between friends has become a solid book on the shelf.
Finally, Out of Nothing has shown me that I love talking to scientists like Adam Rutherford and working with scientific ideas. For me, there are three big things in the world; art, science and basketball. Out of Nothing was joyous to make since it combine two of my three loves.
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What will you be working on next?
I’m currently working on a new graphic novel with writer Alex Frith and eminent neuroscientists Professors Uta and Chris Frith. This book should be out next year, and covers the careers of the Professors and the current state of neuroscience.
David and I have already begun working on our follow up to Out of Nothing. It doesn’t have a title yet, but will be about exploration, nature and the spirit of adventure. It will be set simultaneously in the Neolithic, the early 20th century and 200 years into the future. It’s going to be incredible and beautiful. I can’t wait to read it.
Finally, I’m also beginning work on a project about human migration.
Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke with David Blandy, and an introduction by Dr Adam Rutherford, is out now, published by Nobrow. You can buy a copy here.
daniellocke.com
davidblandy.co.uk
adamrutherford.com
nobrow.net
9/29/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
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Print Marked Items
Out of Nothing
Fiona McMahon
Booklist.
114.16 (Apr. 15, 2018): p37.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Out of Nothing.
By Daniel Locke and David Blandy. Illus. by the authors.
2018. 248p. Nobrow, $22.99 (9781910620281). 741.5.
This expansive, thoughtful, and thought-provoking graphic novel follows a girl who's an ever-present
observer throughout several millennia. She witnesses the creation of the Earth and flows along passively
through the progression of time. She observes the first hunters as they tell stories, acts as an apprentice to
Gutenberg, lunches with Braque and Picasso, and weaves her way through time up to the future of man
living on Mars, where she finally floats away. Locke and Blandy's imaginative and dreamlike illustrations,
in dense, matte color and swirling organic shapes and cartoonish figures, bring to life a side of science that
is usually overlooked, neatly weaving together philosophy and art and the often overwhelming concepts of
space and time. In one particularly memorable sequence, the science of DNA design is beautifully tied to
the creation of hip-hop. This work requires dedicated time and thought to truly appreciate Locke and
Blandy's ingenuity, but it's sure to be enjoyed by philosophically inclined readers of all ages.--Fiona
McMahon
YA: The bright visuals and brainy subject matter will appeal to contemplative teens pondering the nature of
existence. SH.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
McMahon, Fiona. "Out of Nothing." Booklist, 15 Apr. 2018, p. 37. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A537268106/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e4181d08.
Accessed 29 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A537268106
9/29/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1538252779999 2/2
Out of Nothing
Publishers Weekly.
265.5 (Jan. 29, 2018): p177.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Out of Nothing
Daniel Locke and David Blandy. Nobrow, $22.99 (248p) ISBN 978-1-910620-281
The simple, bold art style, dazzling color, and varied composition choices in this graphic nonfiction work
bring dynamism to a cerebral academic experiment, which never quite gels into a cohesive proof of concept.
In his introduction, geneticist Dr. Adam Rutherford explains how he collaborated with Locke and Blandy to
graphically represent the scope of the universe and human life, promising a "story created ex nihilo, from
the big bang to an imagined future, remixed from its constituent parts." Opening with the birth of the
universe, Locke and Blandy employ a mostly silent blue-skinned young woman as an imagined sentient
observer through the ages, placing her in their omniscient narration of the history of human evolution and
innovation. The scope touches on such developments as the invention of figurative art, agriculture, printing,
the discovery of DNA, genetic engineering, space exploration, hip-hop, the internet, and an imagined future
on another planet. This succeeds where the exposition is pared down, language is simplified, and smart
visual composition is used to make surprising connections between various developments. Often, though,
the time-traveler device coupled with the academic exposition becomes redundant; with a message that is
largely about how humans communicate, the book's ambition often overshadows its clarity. However
impressive the spectacle, many readers will be left still puzzling at its close. (Feb.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Out of Nothing." Publishers Weekly, 29 Jan. 2018, p. 177. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A526116555/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8202c711.
Accessed 29 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A526116555
IN REVIEW: OUT OF NOTHING BY DANIEL LOCKE AND DAVID BLANDY
Posted on November 16, 2017 by Antony Esmond
Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke and David Blandy - Cover
Created by Daniel Locke and David Blandy
Foreword by Dr. Adam Rutherford
Full Colour – Hardback – 248 pages – £16.99
The Story: “Surreal sequences take us from Gutenberg’s printing press to Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web, Grand Master Flash and more. Spanning millennia, this ambitious graphic novel explores humanity’s inherent ‘dreaming mind’ and its impact on our world.”
It is also the story of a little blue-skinned alien girl who wanders through the events of time…
Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke and David Blandy - Sample Art
The Review: I often ask a creator why they choose a particular subject or period to make a comic about. It doesn’t apply here, because Daniel Locke and David Blandy decided to make a comic about every time, both past present and future – and they’ve created a brick of a book. It is full of big ideas, the biggest in fact – and places us smack bang in the middle of those ideas as they formed.
Out of Nothing is intelligent and thoughtful – yet also colourfully fun and dreamlike.
Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke and David Blandy - Sample Art
“These humans are no longer just scurrying across the surface…. they are beginning to change it.”
Through the history of the Universe, and Planet Earth in particular, we see many events. We see the science of creation and we see that comparable and inseparable to this science is the art of nature and of man. Through art, we see the world around us and through the scientific developments of humankind, we see the investigation of physics and biology and chemistry and in the intricate evolutionary designs we see the patterns of artistic beauty.
This is a book that makes a whoosh as it pulls you down the time stream. From prehistoric fights with lions to drinking in a cafe in Paris to the sand clouds of Mars.
Out of Nothing makes use of time and space both in the narrative and in the style. Whole pages and sequences are allowed to develop in front of your eyes. We see the strands of DNA hang in the air, the lines of connectivity of the web, the clouds of a nuclear explosion and many, many more. In fact, I barely remember turning the pages as the scenes move along with intelligence combined with bright star fields telling us the history of the world and full colour comics.
Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke and David Blandy - Sample Art
Locke and Blandy use a guide, in their story, an otherworldly, blue-skinned female child. She can seemingly go anywhere, at any time. Each time jump is prefixed with her eyes opening to a scene. She finds herself in Mainz in 1450, in the workshop of Johannes Gutenberg, or watching Braque and Picasso discussing art in the Paris of 1907. Then, in one of my favourite sequences, in the 1970s, she’s in New York City dancing to a funk DJ when the ‘Get Down’ hits. Through this alien girl we get both perspective on events, complemented with a wry, winking humour to the tale.
Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke and David Blandy - Sample Art“When two human minds really connect, something truly powerful happens…”
The art is simplistic when it needs to be and then shifts gears and pacing to present more complicated images. The faces of the characters have an indie animation style to their often goggle-eyed intensity – but you are never at a loss to know who is who. At moments we can laugh at the ridiculousness of the human condition and some panels are played for both gravitas and laughs all at once.
Don’t think this is an overly serious book. It has big issues at its heart, but delivered with a playfulness that makes you want to return to read a bit more.
On Page 153, there is something that happens that also raises a smile. History is given a little tiny nudge… I’ll leave you wanting to find out what that is.
This was the last book launch of the year from Nobrow and yet another triumph. Geis, Dalston Monsterzz and now, Out of Nothing.
Bloody hell! How much better can their catalogue get? A big thanks to Sam, Zoe and Emma for keeping me in the loop and letting me see some of the best comics out there.
Roll on 2018!
Out of Nothing - Launch Event
OUT OF NOTHING: MEET THE CREATORS
I got to go to the launch party for this book at ‘The Cube’ in Shoreditch earlier this week (many thanks to Zoe from NoBrow for inviting me) and got to spend some time with the two creators. They were both hugely excited about the book finally being released and spoke to me with grins on their faces about tackling such a big subject.
David Blandy and Daniel Locke. Photo: Tony Esmond
David Blandy and Daniel Locke. Photo: Tony Esmond
David Blandy and Daniel Locke have been friends and comics creators since meeting at University. We spoke about the process of creating something and also the process of observing its formation, standing back and looking at what you have done. It wasn’t lost on us all that being at a launch party is itself part of this chain of events.
They described their little blue-skinned guide as both a Muse to figures in history and also the aforementioned observer. She is the glue that holds their story together. She is also be great fun to write and draw.
When I was talking to these two guys, I could see the passion they had for their project. They both spoke about the artistic process and their particular take on it with a refreshing thoughtfulness. I’ll be looking for more from these guys from now on.
• Find out more about this book and grab a copy at www.nobrow.net or follow them on Twitter @NobrowPress
• Daniel Locke is an artist and graphic novelist based in Brighton. Much of his work has been informed and shaped by the discoveries of contemporary science. He’s online at www.daniellocke.com | Twitter | Instagram
• David Blandy is an artist who works with the image in the digital world; highlighting our relationship with popular culture and investigating what makes us who we are. He’s online at davidblandy.co.uk | Instagram
• Currently showing: David Blandy – The End of the World, Seventeen Gallery, London until 16th December, Wed-Sat 11.00 – 6.00pm | Web: www.seventeengallery.com/exhibitions/david-blandy-end-world
Many thanks for reading.
Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times
Jason Sacks July 23, 2018 Books 0 Comments
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Out of Nothing is one of the most emotionally affecting graphic novels I’ve read in quite some time, and I’m having trouble explaining why it touched me so deeply.
Written and illustrated by British artist David Locke with the writing help of David Blandy, this graphic novel from Nobrow Press chronicles the history of mankind. We follow a bright and curious blue-skinned emissary as she travels from the Big Bang and caveman days to the birth of art during the caveman era and the birth of modern agriculture all the way to the far future.
The most compelling aspect of this work is the grace Locke shows with his approach to the story. His generous artistic approach takes a long and patient view of human history, providing an almost magical sense of wonder at the curious and inexplicable long span of human existence.
We feel his bright-eyed wonder at the birth of humanity. We see ourselves in the face of our emissary, and we see ourselves as a curious child with worldly experience, as a worker at the printing press of Johannes Gutenberg and a visitor to Albert Einstein’s bedside; as a friend of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque and a friend of DJ Herc as he creates the first great rap mix. He delves into the conflict that Gutenberg stirred up with his printing press, and he’s not blind to the obstacles mankind faces along the way, but the long view is fascinating and deeply moving, an affirmation that mankind is continually moving towards creating compelling art and culture that change our world.
Out of Nowhere is an intoxicating and reassuring journey, illustrated in a beguiling style that seems childlike but which implies much more than it first seems. Locke favors thick lines and simple faces, but like many artists who work in a ligne claire style, the clarity of the line allows for clearer communication. Every line is in its place, and wrinkled foreheads and pinched eyes communicate volumes.
Of course, there’s another reason a book like this feels so important these days. Our world has rarely had less grace than these Trump-obsessed days, when sincerity is frowned upon and honesty is a tool to be manipulated. Daniel Locke’s Out of Nothing reminds readers of the important verities of life, providing a long view that shows that despite it all, mankind can still find grace in its own history.
Out of Nothing review – a breezy trip from the big bang to the end of days
Daniel Locke and David Blandy’s graphic novel covers everything from the creation of the universe to hip-hop through the eyes of a blue-skinned time traveller
James Smart
Fri 16 Mar 2018 08.00 EDT Last modified on Fri 16 Mar 2018 20.10 EDT
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Blue-skinned, green-eyed time traveller … an illustration from Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke with David Blandy.
Blue-skinned, green-eyed time traveller … an illustration from Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke with David Blandy. Photograph: Nobrow
This bright, imaginative graphic novel moves from the universe’s creation to its destruction, taking in clay tablets, the Gutenberg Bible, the birth of hip-hop and DNA sequencing. Out of Nothing gives its odyssey a human face through its narrator, a blue-skinned, green-eyed time traveller who is as happy waiting in a sea of blackness for time to begin as she is talking about the world wide web with Tim Berners-Lee.
Her account celebrates humanity’s attempts to explore the world around it and the great beyond, from cave paintings and lion totems to scientists and astronauts. Darkness (whether the Manhattan Project or existential nihilism) lingers around the edges, but this is a mostly breezy account, fuelled by the good stuff – campfire companionship, creative leaps and symbols that talk to us across the centuries.
A sequence from Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke with David Blandy.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Worldwide wonders … Out of Nothing by Daniel Locke with David Blandy.
The book looks great, mixing human drama with deep-green forests, magnified cells, vibrant stars and wine that seems to hover in the glass. Stories that celebrate storytelling are nothing new, but Out of Nothing shows they can still feel as fresh as a daisy.
• Out of Nothing is published by Nobrow. To order a copy for £14.44 (RRP £14.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99.
Out Of Nothing
Daniel Locke & David Blandy
Nobrow
$22.99, 248 pages
BUY IT NOW
REVIEWED BY NOAH BERLATSKY APR 3, 2018
God died a while ago, but we still haven't entirely figured out how to get on without him. The old guy with a white beard still hovers ghost-like in the back of our minds and the corners of our narratives, giving our lives a patina of meaning, comfort, purpose, or morality until we remember, with that sinking sense of grief, that he's not there, and we're alone.
Daniel Locke and David Blandy's new graphic novel, Out of Nothing, attempts to replace God with one of our more popular contemporary deities—namely science. The book, like Genesis, is an origin story of the entire universe, starting with the Big Bang. It is also, as a short afterword notes, "an attempt to tell a compelling story of humanity's quest for understanding and knowledge." Science, then, like God in earlier times, serves as both explanation and goal—a framework and an aspiration. Science tells us who we are and why we're here; science is what we strive towards for more knowledge and more meaning. We do not need God watching over us and knowing, because human beings are the watchers and the knowers themselves. There is no old wise man with a beard; instead, as the cover depicts, there is just a human skull, floating in space, with planets for eyes, staring at you with an expressionless, rictus grin.
The cover of Out of Nothing is perhaps the book's most disturbing and arresting image. It's a vision of an inhuman universe watched, not by questing scientific intelligences, but by a corpse. The skull evokes science and all those skeletons hanging mutely in college biology classrooms, but it also mocks the idea of observation. The dead don't watch; they're just dead. The universe existed before us, and will exist after, and the gaping of our eye sockets doesn't matter much. The drawing suggests a narrative that is in fact no narrative; we came out of nothing and we're still nothing. God's a deaths' head, and the cosmic winds howl through a graveyard. What else is there to say?
But, somewhat unfortunately, you can't sell a cover as a book, and so Locke and Blandy have to keep saying something. "The universe has no purpose and our observations are a meaningless and infinitesimal blot on the endless silence" is a downer, and it is also too short to fill some 250 odd pages. God may have passed on, but if you want to get your narrative up and running, you can't do without him, or some reasonable facsimile.
And so, Out of Nothing introduces someone sort of like God; a blue-skinned girl the creators describe as "our emissary". She is present at the Big Bang, a giant floating face with stars in her irises, "witnessing the slow accretion of particles into atoms, atoms into matter…" Then she lives on for eternity, a stand in for the reader, listening to prehistoric people tell myths to explain the world, or jotting down Picasso's brilliant insights, or dancing as Kool Herc puts the beats from two records together, creating "something new from two separate elements."
The emissary is, obviously, included in the book as a way to provide narrative continuity and a point of identification for (young) readers. Out of Nothing's storyline is scattershot to the point of incoherence; on one page you're traveling on the silk road with (very appealingly drawn) cows; on the next you're chatting with Gutenberg besieged by his creditors. The blue girl ties everything together; she's the observer, the reporter, and the scientist—the avatar of human curiosity and discovery. At the end of the book, she is back floating in space, as the panels move in for another close up of her eye, and the text celebrates human awareness. "She has taken on the self-consciousness of all those human beings she lived with…walking amongst them. It was only with them that the universe started to think…to reflect upon itself."
This is an odd sentiment for a couple of reasons. First of all, the universe is a very big place, and, scientifically speaking, we don't really have any idea if there are, or have ever been, other intelligent creatures out there somewhere. And second, why should self-consciousness matter to the universe? Is the emissary speaking for science? For humans? Who is it who thinks humans are so important, anyway?
The answer is that humans think they're important—and so to does that human construct, God. The observing blue girl, skipping across the aeons, is a kind of deist divinity, who watches the world operating, intervening only to understand its workings better. She gives the universe a human face, which is to say, she gives the universe a recognizable relationship to human purpose, morality, and motivation. Science kills God, but the new boss is oddly similar to the old boss. At the beginning of the universe, as at the end, there is still a human intelligence which assures us that human intelligence matters.
The ghost of God, unfortunately, is not as robust as he was before his assassination. Say what you will about the old greybeard; he wrestled with problems of good and evil, and he told some genuinely weird and gripping stories. Eve in the garden talking to some snake; the world drowned by flood or racked by fire; Christ on the cross. Out of Nothing, in contrast, can't get its act together to develop either characters or narratives. The progression of the centuries trudges by in a vague mist of meaningfulness, with psychedelic spirals of colors, and scientists floating in clusters in space. The final pages show people on Mars talking vaguely about the singularity. The arc of history bends towards boring technoburble.
Locke and Blandy want to tell the story of the universe with great sweep and resonance; they want science to have the force of myth. But science is a tool, not a meaning for existence. Without God, there's no myth. There's just that skull, and, like Out of Nothing, skulls don't have much to say.
FILED UNDER: Daniel Locke, David Blandy, Noah Berlatsky, Nobrow, Reviews
Out of Nothing – Humankind’s “Dreaming Mind” Explored in Locke and Blandy’s Millennia-Spanning Graphic Journey from Nobrow Press
by Andy Oliver January 3, 2018
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A graphic novel that – from the Big Bang to a far-flung future – is essentially a history of ideas, a chronicle of the birth of creativity and an exploration of how the evolution of our very imaginations would in turn shape and change our environments, sounds an impossibly ambitious idea. And yet Daniel Locke and David Blandy’s Out of Nothing achieves all of that and more with an accessible elegance and visual eloquence that captivates its audience from the very outset.
Presented from the point of view of an observing time-traveller – effectively the reader’s on-page avatar as we journey through the millennia with Locke and Blandy – Out of Time begins with the birth of the universe; the majesty of creation only further emphasised by Locke’s kaleidoscopically coloured reductionist panels. Indeed Locke’s art throughout embraces a welcome clarity that eschews the overly elaborate in order to more clearly communicate the book’s themes with an expressive visual fluency. There’s a quiet sophistication to his layouts and panel-to-panel storytelling throughout, which gently manipulates the reader’s interaction with the page to emphasise theme and evoke an intuitive response in the audience.
Humanity’s imagination is first depicted in its crude attempts to make sense of the world around it through proto-myths around the communal fireside. It’s the emergence of this “dreaming mind” that Locke and Blandy mark out as the defining point in our growth as a species – the moment when we were able to transcend the boundaries of our own experience and allow our minds to reach for something more. The first piece of basic figurative art tens of thousands of years ago setting us on a path that will eventually lead us to discovering the very building blocks of life.
As our time-travelling semi-protagonist continues to jump through the centuries we visit many crucial points in humankind’s development and become aware of how the natural world itself has evolved around us. Out of Nothing is a book that reminds us of how we have continued to make the most astonishing leaps of perception through recorded time. Agriculture leads to civilisation which leads to communication and documentation. In time, printing leads to the sharing and dissemination of thoughts and theories, and abstract concepts in art and philosophy become matters of epistemological debate. One idea can become the catalyst for so many others as we traverse these crucial points in time and examine their legacies – a path that will take in the theory of relativity, DNA,, the internet and space travel along the way.
What’s truly fascinating are the cross-disciplinary parallels that are drawn – how our approaches to creation and innovation are linked – from art to music to genetics and beyond. Regardless of the line of enquiry there’s a certain symmetry and connectivity to be revealed in every journey of discovery from DJ Kool Herc and the birth of hip hop to Tim Berners-Lee and the origins of the internet. It’s a revelation that is echoed in the book’s cyclical denouement as we are reminded that the wonder of our “dreaming minds” eventually pales into insignificance in the context of a wider universe brimming with the potential of similar evolutionary tracks.
Such is the sheer accessibility of Out of Nothing that we come away from its pages feeling like we have experienced the awakening of a set of unconscious truths rather than had a series of complex ideas communicated to us. This is one of the most fascinating books Nobrow have published to date and one that underlines just how effective the form is in breaking down and exploring profoundly layered ideas with clarity and immediacy. This is graphic science at its very best.
Daniel Locke and David Blandy (W), Daniel Locke (A) Nobrow Press, £16.99/$22.99
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— Andy Oliver
Andy Oliver is Broken Frontier’s Editor-in-Chief and site owner. He is also a co-organiser of the annual UK Small Press Day, was a member of the 2015 British Comic Awards Committee and a judge for the 2014 Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition.