The Oven

This seems like a senior thesis. Very short. Feels unfinished. Ideas are interesting and stunning artwork, but not very satisfying as a read.

This is a really good read. The style immediately draws you in and you feel right away like the main characters mean something to you.

Wonderful and compelling story

The Oven has the weirdly unreal feel of a modern fable, in part due to its science fiction approach. Sophie Goldstein’s story tells of a couple who leave urban civilization so they can reproduce outside of society’s rules. They head out to a broken-down trailer camp where babies are possible, but they haven’t realized what living on one’s own really means and how much they’d have to sacrifice for their hope of a family.The art is deceptively simple, but powerfully emotional, and the grey tones with orange as the only color perfectly capture the feeling of a hot, dirty refugee camp. Natural farming is hard work, and the stress of their new lifestyle makes it clear that they have different dreams. They’re forced into more traditional roles, as having a child is a much greater commitment from a woman, and they have different levels of commitment to the idea.The story expands with what the reader brings to it. I read it as a cautionary tale about thinking that something external will fix you. “If I only had a baby, we’d be a real family” or “if I could live elsewhere, things would be better” are delusions. I prefer “remember, no matter where you go, there you are” as a reminder that we take our problems with us, and we have to address them to fix what’s really wrong. You don’t necessarily know how those you depend on will react in times of great change, and you can’t change another person who doesn’t want to change.The Oven is deceptive, in that it seems straightforward and direct, but there are hidden depths. It’s subtle, mature work where you’ll notice different things as you come back to it. (Review originally posted at ComicsWorthReading.com.)

Nominated for the Cartoonist Studio’s Prize for Best Print Comic of the Year, The Oven is a wonderful example of character-driven science fiction. In what might take a typical reader less than one minute, author/illustrator Sophie Goldstein quickly, yet carefully, establishes both the setting and a compelling story.From the very first page, Goldstein introduces the reader to a dystopian world in which futuristic cities are shielded from an ultra-lethal sun by protective domes. On the same page, one sees the protagonists, Syd and Eric, a young couple, leave that society for the communal, technology-free living of “the Oven, AKA ‘Babyville,’” a small settlement far from government’s reach—a community of people hoping to find simple pleasure from simple living.With displays of daily life in the Oven, Goldstein focuses her narrative around themes of family and freedom. The couple’s reasons for leaving their lives in the city quickly emerge and their quest for the life they have dreamed of is swiftly met with unforeseen obstacles. Life in the new world of the Oven isn’t easy. Syd and Eric find that “freedom isn’t free”—that, whether raising children or farming for sustenance, it requires hard work and commitment.Both worlds of The Oven are fascinating—a futuristic world dominated by technological convenience and government regulation contrasted with a world committed to living as people once did: off the land and with no laws beyond common decency. These exaggerated versions of our own society and history touch upon important issues, and, fortunately, The Oven never feels preachy.The book strikes a balance between highlighting the benefits and downfalls of technology, and Goldstein effectively displays the juggling act of personal, familial, and social responsibilities. In these moments, Goldstein raises valuable questions and resists forcing answers. As one will see in the characters themselves, one-size thinking does not fit all. A character says, “When I was young I had that ambition disease. I had an apartment, more square feet than God. Now I live in a ten by ten shack, but it feels bigger.” Another: “You really buying into all that ‘back to the land bullshit?’” The readers, like the protagonists, must make up their own minds.The cartoony art of The Oven skillfully conveys the harsh realities of life outside the protective bubbles of the cities. Orange hues dominate most of the panels, and the readers learn, as Syd and Eric do, that when one ventures from their homes during the day, every inch of skin must be covered. To be in the unprotected sun in the Oven, one literally risks death, and Goldstein’s art won’t let you forget that.For anyone who loves thought-provoking science fiction, The Oven is an enjoyable, fast-paced read. The issues and challenges that Syd and Eric grapple with are relatable and relevant. While the future they find themselves in is unlikely to be one many readers would desire, the questions the protagonists search for answers to—such as what constitutes a life worth living—are unavoidable in our own lives as well.

I read the serialization of THE OVEN in MAPLE KEY COMICS and loved it there as it unfolded; Sophie Goldstein's collected edition pulls the chapters into a cohesive whole that experientially envelopes the reader in ways precious few non-European/non-manga science-fiction comics ever have. THE OVEN steeps you in its (invented) environment and communal culture alongside its characters, and we experience the ways in which this new time, place, and gender roles (those carried within, those imposed from without) 'bake' a couple: placement and displacement, embrace and rejection, acceptance and wanderlust all play a role. The sf trappings are beautifully evoked, but Goldstein is as canny an observer of human interaction as she is a delineator of character, and THE OVEN is all about relationships. Place a couple in the kiln of THE OVEN, and see what happens... A brilliant work from an already-wise & experienced graphic novelist (wise beyond her years!); HIGHLY recommended.

Magical, inventive, poignant and haunting, this book is well worth a read.

Quick read with wonderful illustrations. Ones utopia maybe another's dystopia.