Black Hole

Charles Burns’s Black Hole is a haunting, black-and-white horror-drama serialized across 11 issues by Fantagraphics from 1998 to 2004. Set in 1970s Seattle, it follows a group of teenagers grappling with a sexually transmitted disease that manifests as bizarre, surreal physical mutations. Burns, the sole writer and artist, crafts a slow-burn, dreamlike narrative that explores adolescent alienation, body horror, and the dark undercurrents of suburban life. Its stark, meticulous linework and unsettling atmosphere make it a landmark work of independent comics, capturing the gnawing anxieties of growing up with unflinching precision.