ARC FESTIVAL 2026! “I think Limbo is probably the best work I’ve ever done in any medium.” When a creator makes a statement like that in an interview it’s obviously something to take immediate notice of. Especially if, as I had done in preparation for that recent chat here at Broken Frontier, you have just finished a massive read of their back catalogue of comics practice. Limbo comes to us via Breakdown Press, those great purveyors of experimental and boundary-pushing practice, which places it in fine contemporary comics company.
From the in-yer-face, kinetic action of the Major Lazer graphic novel to the more subdued but no less affecting nuance of Limbo the immediate thing anyone looking at the broader work of Gouw will note is the sheer versatility of his approaches to graphic narrative. Limbo is a carefully paced affair, with multiple thematic strands running through its greater narrative tapestry.
The story is set in a luxurious resort where the residency of an artist, Cai, is set against the backdrop of a mass political disturbance in the environment outside. When Cai goes for a run one night he encounters both this unrest and a group of kids tormenting a dog. What happens next is the catalyst for events both dramatic and tragic as Cai’s assistant Lisa becomes drawn into the resulting consequences, as the worlds of folklore and local politics converge.
Limbo, like Gouw’s previous supernatural-tinged tale Leftovers, deliberately asks the reader to make their own inferences from its more overtly supernatural elements and how they feed into its wider motifs of colonialism, ideas of belonging, and what it is to be an artist in a world on fire. What makes this all the more atmospheric is the carefully considered use of colour which ramps up the eeriness and otherworldly qualities of a tale nonetheless rooted in a very recognisable reality. Gouw’s impressionistic art only adds to this haunting sense of melancholy.
This is apparently the first of two stories that Gouw describes as loosely related. But as a standalone graphic novella it’s the perfect introduction to his storytelling and another title to have at the top end of your must-buy list for ARC.
Ferry Gouw (W/A) • Breakdown Press, £14.99
Review by Andy Oliver
Ferry Gouw and Breakdown Press will be at ARC Festival comics fair on July 11th-12th. For the full details on everything ARC has to offer check out their website here.
Poster by Lando
