The Labyrinth: Book Reviews

Library Journal

“VERDICT: A great primer for anyone, but especially YA readers interested in existentialism.”

Publishers Weekly

PRAISE: “Designed for the studious and dabblers alike, this guide works as an accessible primer on one of the 20th century’s weightiest thinkers.”

Argon translates the often intimidating theories of Jean-Paul Sartre into simplistic, bouncy comics art in this breezy introduction to Sartre’s existential philosophy. A goofy, cartoony rat in a maze stops running long enough to ponder the meaning of life: is it enough to “chase the cheese,” or could there be more to existence?…As he traverses the maze, new possibilities and questions arise. In concise, well-organized chapters, the comic finds bite-size approaches to expansive concepts like the nature of reality, the experience of time, ways of understanding the self and others, and whether freedom and choice are illusions.

The Comics Journal

“A satisfying concept, and skilful execution.”

The art, by Franco-Dutch cartoonist Ben Argon, is actually very likable; he has a nice sensibility that reminds me a bit of Sergio Aragonés and a bit of Bill Amend, though far more hectic than the former and far more kinetic than the latter. Argon’s primary strength here is in his layout and design; using the visual conceit of two rats (one a dyed-in-the-pelt existentialist and the other a hapless normie) trapped in a self-imposed maze of the mind, he comes up with a lot of excellent compositions that bring home the strength of what he’s doing far better than most of the text, which ranges from mildly clever to perfunctory. The Labyrinth lives up to its name visually, if not structurally.