By Bruno Savill De Jong — Coming across a “manned kite to the moon”, the runners of Eight-Lane Runaways ask if he could scout for the train-lines where they will rendezvous with the rest of their group. From his overhead view, we can see the geometric clusters of tennis courts, people log-vaulting to make firewood for the orphanage, and the curving pathway that runs through these dense environments. Such aerial views are common in Eight-Lane Runaways, overlooking the unique blueprints of the delightfully absurd world which unfolds through Henry McCausland’s fantastic new graphic novel. The flowing running-track hosts eight runners, who in their travels encounter an arm-repair workshop, and algebra dog, a juice factory (which features an ultimate juice-drink that includes “every fruit ever discovered”, including the poisonous ones), and a bush which looks just like their friend Tomás.

These are just some of the landmarks Eight-Lane Runaways draws attention to, with its cluttered backgrounds also filled with hidden jokes and visuals. Runaways might evoke images of fatigue or pursuit, but instead the book is a leisurely treat, encouraging you to slow down and enjoy the cute imaginative drawings and strange gentle humor which fills every page. Eight-Lane Runaways functions like a perpetually-generated nursery rhyme, or old-fashioned Victorian nonsense poetry. It is surreal while also being comforting. It is a book wherein Natalie Whey (one of the runners) awards herself merit-badges for activities like “mashing a trapeze to catch a cloud for the fields”, and Bobby Blackberries (another runner, who “they say fell into a bowl of blackberries as a kid”) becomes transported into a pan-dimensional interzone that exists behind the comic panels.

The whimsical randomness remains appealing throughout thanks to the comedy, which comes as an extension of the world, like when someone proclaims (surveying replacements for their suddenly missing arm) “a third leg!” Every game will be 33% better!”. Additionally, there is a surprisingly sweet emotional undertone. At one point the magical coat of Khoklakola informs her of a shortcut, but while she indeed arrives before the others, they then inform her of the adventures she has missed out on. The ‘race’ of Eight-Lane Runaways is not a competition, but about the fantastical elaborate journeys the seemingly-infinite pathway takes them on.

McCausland brings these endless inspired ideas to life with his wonderful cartoon style, illustrated with thin crisp lines. Eight-Lane Runaways is perfectly suited for comics, with variations of panels between large splash-pages and tiny side-stories, everything structured around maximum impact. The pockets of wonder around each corner are only enhanced by their matter-of-fact presentation. Strangeness can often be off-putting, but Eight-Lane Runaways manages to be charming and accessible, letting you fall right into its peculiar rhythms.

Such uniqueness makes it hard to prepare for Eight-Lane Runaways, and difficult to provide any general overview for, but throughout is an underlying sense of calm supportiveness, like a refreshing outdoor relay race. It features a “Helping Network”, which connects all involved together for mutual assistance, the lines of which look like the thin ink-lines that all of Eight-Lane Runaways is made of. So while it might be absurd and completely original, the book is also manageable, making Eight-Lane Runaways a surprising comfort read, even if it moves at its own pace.

Eight-Lane Runaways - Graphic Novel Review

Eight-Lane Runaways
Writer/Artist: Henry McCausland
Publisher: Fantagraphics
Price: $24.99
Right from the starting block, you'll realize that Eight-Lane Runaways is not like any graphic novel you've read before. As you're thrown into a fantastical world of endless tracks, you meet a team of young people briskly attempting to complete their calling, whether it be finding their lost cats, earning one last self-made merit badge, or flying a kite to the moon. One runner relies on her poncho to give her direction. Another deals with a suddenly missing appendage. There's also algebra dogs, a juice institute, and a helping network that consists of miles of string that proves that no matter how far apart, the friends you can rely on are the ones you met while pacing life's twisty-turny trails. Henry McCausland, a published illustrator in places like The Guardian and The New York Times, brings a flowing page layout that showcases his elaborate landscapes and thrilling kinetic energy, matching them with a laugh-out-loud idiosyncratic sense of humor. Whether you read it as a fever pitch surrealistic Olympic games or a touching tale of working together, Eight-Lane Runaways is sure to be one of the most talked-about debuts of 2020.
Release Date:  07/07/2020
Order It: Via Fantagraphics Website

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Bruno Savill De Jong is a recent undergraduate of English and freelance writer on films and comics, living in London. His infrequent comics-blog is Panels are Windows and semi-frequent Twitter is BrunoSavillDeJo.