Disillusioned Illusions

Greg Stump

Fantagraphics. 356 pages, softback, b&w, 5.5" × 6.6"

A pair of silhouettes make a graphic novel that they hope the book will rocket them to fame and fortune. Disillusioned Illusions is a powerful exploration of what happens when ambition collides with indolence in this debut graphic novel.

When a pair of washed-up silhouettes abandon the optical illusion business to make a graphic novel, they desperately hope the book will rocket them to fame and fortune. They’ll do just about anything to finish their project — anything, that is, except put forth any kind of effort whatsoever. Instead, they enlist a Juilliard-trained actor named Rodney to bear the burden of the work while they bicker, smoke, and relax in the break room. But their ingenious attempts at evading the hard labors of proper storytelling backfire when the three become entangled in a labyrinthine narrative of deception, adoption, and betrayal. Alliances and identities are forged and discarded with the turn of a page as the trio hurtles towards a thrilling courtroom conclusion that threatens to pull back the curtain on closely-guarded secrets and conspiracies. Both a touching tale of persistence and a scathing send-up of bibliolatry, Disillusioned Illusions is a powerful exploration of what happens when ambition collides with indolence in this debut graphic novel from cartoonist Greg Stump.