SMOKE HC - Hardcover

Praise for Gregory Benton's B+F Gregory Benton received the Society of Illustrators inaugural MoCCA Award of Excellence for his critically acclaimed wordless book B+F. Additionally, the book was inducted into the Society of Illustrators first Comic and Cartoon Art Annual and exhibition in 2014. "It's one of the wildest stories you're likely to encounter, a mythical free-flow of impressions and ideas exploring a strange utopia and an enduring relationship in lavish terms." --Bleeding Cool "B+F is so unusual in story and style that it appeals to a wide range of reading tastes. The conflicts in B+F play out like mini-epics both humorous and deadly. Benton expresses these movements in such a dynamic visual manner that it reads like an adventure story, one that gives a sensory impression of a what a brand new world would feel like, as well as how exhilarating and mysterious it would be." --Bleeding Cool "Gregory Benton's lush, wordless comic novel "B+F" might be one of the best children's comics in years, despite featuring 64 oversized pages of nudity, dismemberment and death. Benton's sweet tone and his dynamic yet naturalistic color palette make this an all-ages appropriate study of nature's gorgeous, if sometimes hazardous, splendors. A book ultimately about gentle loveliness has more action-packed fight scenes than The Avengers, a violent abduction by horrifying beasts, and gallons of blood is remarkable, but not contradictory. This pantomime tour de force convincingly argues that even at its most vicious and violent, nature isn't cruel. Rather, it's beautifully benign, and benignly beautiful." --Chicago Tribune, Printers Row "The story heats up, and builds to a climactic and satisfying final scene. The artwork is absolutely beautiful, with breathtaking treatment of light. Benton has a superb sense of color and a charming, animated style all his own, with lithe figures and strong textures." --Publishers Weekly Praise for Gregory Benton's Smoke "The nuance of Benton's themes is somewhat muddled by his technique, but the mix of joyful imagination with tragic consequences secures this as B+F's worthy successor." - Publisher's Weekly

After an accident on an industrial farm unhinges two young brothers from reality, they are guided through a weird and wonderful journey by Xolo, the Aztec's mythological protector of souls. Follow the brothers through a typical day, from their arrival at an industrial tobacco farm bussed in with others early in the morning, throughout their grueling chores and ultimately to the accident that drops them into the realm of the Xolo. Smoke is inspired by journalistic accounts of underaged workers in the tobacco industry. These children often suffer neurological and physical effects from exposure to the raw nicotine found in the plants they harvest, as well as from the hazardous conditions they endure to complete this hard labor. The book is wordless, employing vibrant full-color art and bold compositions to convey a realistically unreal world, which has become a hallmark of Benton's work. Gregory Benton received the Society of Illustrators inaugural MoCCA Award of Excellence for his critically acclaimed wordless book B+F. Smoke is another column in the lore of that universe.