Most artists begin with a blank white page. Thomas Ott gets started with a blank sheet of black.

The brief vignettes in T. Ott's Tales of Error -- 1989 work reprinted in 2003 by Fantagraphics -- unfold on ebony scratchboard. The look itself is unusual for those more accustomed to scratches of ink or pencil, and the title is apt; there is always something fundamentally wrong about each story.

There is no dialogue and minimal narration, allowing these weird little tales to stand almost entirely as visual experiences. And "weird" is an understatement, as becomes immediately obvious with the first story, "Honeymoon," in which an unusual couple falls in love and shares a peculiar bond. Good intentions aren't proof against consequences in "The Hero." "Clean Up" follows crime with obsession. And so on.

The art is strange, surreal and oddly compelling. The stories, unsettling. The package, unique.

- Rambles
written by Tom Knapp
published 5 March 2005