{"product_id":"black-hole","title":"Black Hole","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"The best graphic novel of the year\" (\u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e) tells the story of a strange plague devastating the lives of teenagers in mid-1970s suburban Seattle, revealing the horrifying nature of high school alienation--the savagery, the cruelty, the relentless anxiety, and the ennui. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e We learn from the outset that a strange plague has descended upon the area's teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The disease is manifested in any number of ways--from the hideously grotesque to the subtle (and concealable)--but once you've got it, that's it. There's no turning back. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs we inhabit the heads of several key characters--some kids who have it, some who don't, some who are about to get it--what unfolds isn't the expected battle to fight the plague, or bring heightened awareness to it, or even to treat it. What we become witness to instead is a fascinating and eerie portrait of the nature of high school alienation itself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnd then the murders start. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs hypnotically beautiful as it is horrifying, Black Hole transcends its genre by deftly exploring a specific American cultural moment in flux and the kids who are caught in it--back when it wasn't exactly cool to be a hippie anymore, but Bowie was still just a little too weird. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTo say nothing of sprouting horns and molting your skin...","brand":"Charles Burns","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46410634330348,"sku":"9780375714726","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0684\/1791\/3068\/files\/9780375714726.jpg?v=1746134006","url":"https:\/\/intl.allstora.com\/products\/black-hole","provider":"Allstora","version":"1.0","type":"link"}