Cinema Panopticum
| Cinema Panopticum | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2005 |
| Page count | 104 pages |
| Publisher | Edition Moderne |
| Creative team | |
| Writer | Thomas Ott |
| Artist | Thomas Ott |
| ISBN | 978-3-907055-90-8 |
Cinema Panopticum is a 2005 Swiss comic book by Thomas Ott. It consists of four horror short stories and a frame story where a little girl watches films at an amusement park. It is black-and-white and without dialogue or narration.[1][2]
Plot
[edit]In a frame story called "The Girl", a little girl visits an amusement park, but finds its popular rides too expensive. Behind a roller coaster, she finds a small booth called Cinema Panopticum, which contains boxes that show silent films for one coin each. The girl watches four films, each a horror story with a twist ending.
The first story is "The Hotel", where a man visits a strange, unmanned hotel. In the next, "The Champion", a masked wrestler competes against Death. Next is "The Experiment", where a man with poor eyesight tries a cure. Finally, "The Prophet" is about a homeless man who predicts the end of the world.
Reception
[edit]Publishers Weekly wrote that the stories catch both characters and readers in "imaginatively conceived, masterfully executed traps", and are reminiscent of The Twilight Zone.[1] The critic wrote that the storytelling relies on initially familiar situations, slow but steady pace, and understated emotions, which leads to a strong impact. The critic wrote that the drawings are realistic but the black-and-white execution makes the mood expressionistic.[1] Yves-Marie Labé of Le Monde wrote that Cinema Panopticum successfully mixes "despairing coldness and everyday pessimism", calling the book Dantesque and visually a unique blend of fantastic art, horror art, engraving and comics.[3]
Cinema Panopticum was one of five finalists for the 2005 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel.[4] It received the Premio Attilio Micheluzzi for best foreign comic at the 2006 Napoli Comicon.[5]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Cinema Panopticum by Thomas Ott". Publishers Weekly. 4 July 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
- ↑ Farinaccio, Pascoal (2023). "Cinema Panopticum, de Thomas Ott: imagens, terror e controle social". 9ª Arte (in Brazilian Portuguese). Dossiê das 7as Jornadas Internacionais de Histórias em Quadrinhos. doi:10.11606/2316-9877.Dossie.2023.e217297.
- ↑ Labé, Yves-Marie (2 June 2005). "CINEMA PANOPTICUM, de Thomas Ott". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 4 October 2026.
- ↑ "2005 Ignatz Awards". The Hahn Library. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
- ↑ Casiraghi, Alberto (15 March 2006). "Cocomicon 2006: considerazioni e novita' editoriali". Lo Spazio Bianco (in Italian). Retrieved 4 October 2026.