Distance Mover

by Patrick Kyle

Mr. Earth can move incredible distances in his improbable Distance Mover, a wondrous vehicle that reflects the fantastic world it traverses. He, and his young art-star protégée Mendel, explore culture-rich crystalline cities, challenge the mighty Council of the Misters, try to overcome the all-conquering Ooze, and much more! Patrick Kyle lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. He is the co-founder and editor of Wowee Zonk , a contemporary comic book anthology featuring up-and-coming international artists. He has been previously nominated for Doug Wright and Ignatz awards for his comic book series Black Mass and Distance Mover .

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Art, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction, Comix

188 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2014

About the author

Patrick Kyle is a multidisciplinary artist from Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wacky, faux-juvenile sci-fi plot involving Mr. Earth, Mr. Sea, Mr. Sky, etc., and the Distance Mover and Misterhood. Amusing, inventive, original. Blue and gold, looks like cut-out shapes, characters who would appear to have masks. Lots of goofy noses. Silly art comic that feels fresh. Sometimes pretty darned funny.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The adventures of Mr. Earth and his amazing Distance Mover, a wondrous vehicle that can traverse enormous distances in a short time. Mr. Earth travels with his artist protege-sidekick named Mendel, and the two proceed to have all kinds of adventures in crystalline cities - and get in to all kinds of serious danger with totalitarian regimes and then a deadly ooze. We also meet Mr. Earth's colleagues, naturally named Mr. Sea, Mr. Magnum, and Mr. Sky. I really regret that I let this sit on my shelf for so long, as it would have easily made my 2014 Best of Year list. Kyle's art is rendered in a wonderful sort of stencil-y hieroglyphic style, in a two-color blue and gold scheme; I've rarely seen comics where the character design is as crucial to the look-slash feel as it is here. Kyle fleshes out his otherworldly worlds with floating shapes and patterns in unique and fresh ways, and and his story is wonderfully droll and endlessly imaginative. I would hang out with the wise and resourceful Mr. Earth any day. But you'd definitely want him to drive - that Distance Mover is nothing to fool with. 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

[Mika Lietzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like an episode of Doctor Who told in hieroglyphics, Distance Mover is a heady concoction; the two-colour art may look juvenile at first glance, with its two-dimensional, geometric characters and jumbled layout, but the end result is far from haphazard - rather, it's as if we've come across an alien language that we somehow have the ability to decipher.

There's a childlike wonder to everything here; the story is silly but fun scifi, recounting the adventures of one Mr.Earth, a resourceful, friendly cosmic being who visits planets in his transportation vehicle, the titular Distance Mover, later accompanied by an artist called Mendel. The pair are chased, captured, they escape, and on and on it goes. The endless twists and turns have a light-hearted, playful quality, with the characters chuckling along with the readers as they elude another trap set by their adversaries. And yet it all combines into a solid, fully realised story.

An infinitely inventive tale, expertly told in an entirely original fashion; the story and the style are in perfect sync. A revelation, and a fun one at that.

[Leo D'Elio · Rating 5 out of 5]

uf, o sea, hacia mil q una novela grafica no me emocionaba y transportaba tanto. super ingeniosa y los dibujos d patrick kyle q decir, super inspo y moderno y q vivan las texturas y detalles fantasiosos. mi banda sonora d este libro ha sido 7g de ag cook (a partir del disco 3, y en aleatorio)

jope, me deja un vacío.
until we meet again.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comics represent the three dimensional world in two dimensional pages. In Distance Mover, flat objects and characters without perspective scattered on the page seem to be from two dimensional world: thus not representation, but themselves.

Flat art, flat dialogue, and flat page layout. I used the word flat in a good way. form = contents.
Rob Clough's review of the work is well written. http://highlowcomics.blogspot.ca/2014...

[Betzim Gdolot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Earth is a champion of a distant planet who arrives at Toh Ruylth with his (kind of) teleporting machine. At the surreal planet he stumbles upon Mendel, a local artist who he goes with on an adventure.

The art is nearly abstract and the two colors combination reminded me of Olivier Schrauwrn's Arsene art. I enjoyed it and it seems like Kyle Patrick's work resonated with me better when it is a longer work with a clear narrative rather than short obnoxious stories.

[Gabriel Infierno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creo que no puedo ser mas fan de Patrick Kyle de lo que ya lo soy, que decirles, nada de lo que hace este pibe decepciona 10/10.

[Mary Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and design of this book, the two color scheme was simple but beautiful and really enjoyable to read, very cool story too, I loved the ending

[Kye · Rating 5 out of 5]

« its kind of a self portrait. (but all artworks sort of are) »

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Earth and his Distance Mover causing all sorts of trouble.
A fun one. Great use of the medium with Kyle's inventive use of two-tone art.

[William Cardini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read Distance Mover when it serialized as risograph minicomics and I loved it so much that I bought the collection too! This is really the ultimate edition of the comic, with its larger page size and beautiful blue / gold offset colors.

Patrick Kyle is one of my favorite cartoonists and this book includes all the things I love about his work: idiosyncratic-yet-friendly character designs; pages without panel borders but an assortment of weird, flat objects; innovative artwork; expressive brushstrokes; and great quirky dialogue and story.

The plot of Distance Mover is fun and exciting and delicately discusses how humanity should relate to the Earth without being heavy handed. Mr. Earth travels the planet in his amazing Distance Mover, investigating and influencing the various societies. His companion is Mendel the Groundling, an artist who brings a humble perspective to Mr. Earth's so-advanced-it-might-as-well-be-magic technology. This book contains two of their adventures and I would love to read about a thousand more. Highly recommended!

[Mike Kleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trippy shit.

And the way it ends, seems to imply there might be a sequel someday. I certainly hope so, like, really.

Great mind expansion-type stuff, this book.

Patrick Kyle is pretty great.

[x].

[Jeaniecance · Rating 4 out of 5]

really impressed by the open layouts. very clear with the two-tones

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patrick Kyle gets a lot of mileage out of a few tricks in his process to create this comic. It zips and zooms from one spot to the next, always moving forward, but changing directions often, not unlock the books namesake device. The sci-fi elements are vague but interesting and this has encouraged me to look more into Kyle's work. I had only read his Kramer's 8 piece, which was too difficult to follow.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Doctor Who, but told through more abstract two-colour artwork. It's not a TARDIS it's a "distance" "mover" that moves distances! There's not a sonic screwdriver, it's Mr. Earth's handy staff that can cause sonic disruptions! There are no Time Lords, there's the Misters! It's an absolute blast of sci-fi goodness.

[Falk Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Total komisches tolles herzerwärmendes Buch. Seeehr eigener Zeichenstil (keine Panels). Sehr kindlich, ich mag es.

[Stella poopypants · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adding another picture book to my shelf 😀😀

Patrick Kyle and Michael Deforge are long lost brothers or star crossed lovers or SOMETHING

[Harold · Rating 5 out of 5]

great minimal visual style, fun story&vibe, I would read a sequel

[Elzira Rai · Rating 3 out of 5]

One could say there are three options for comics: they can have a worthy narrative, a strong visual approach, or both. If they can't have the latter, which is admittedly rare, they should at least offer compelling visuals or narratives. A weak narrative can be offset by powerful art and vice-versa, which is probably why both writers and artists believe that they can work alone.

I had high hopes for Kyle's Distance Mover, but as is often the case, it doesn't live up to the hype. Maybe the fact that I read it on a laptop impoverished the visual experience, but the art is still too figurative to make up for a rather weak and shallow plotline. And if Kyle obviously didn't invest much in building a strong narrative, he did try very hard - and failed - to offer a creative visual experience, which makes Distance Mover all the more disappointing.

Reading comics is often a very frustrating experience.

[alzabo · Rating 4 out of 5]

good stuff

[DinosaurSr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

For once, I'm genuinely not sure what to make of something.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the illustrations but the story lost me at times.