Out of Nothing

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. [em](Feb.) [/em]