A Deeper Look at Our Generation’s Greatest Graphic Novel: Here.

Richard McGuire’s Here offers a valuable paradigm shift — are we really as important as we think we are?

The year is 1959, and a man is preparing to leave his home for work. His wife stops him and asks, “Do you have your keys? Watch? Wallet?” He responds with an affirmative, “Check.” Despite their apparent insignificance — creations of mere animal hide and metal — our dependence on the material world actually reveals the true nature of humanity. Personal belongings, time, and money are three of the most revered things to humans, and their importance is apparent from the moment of conception until long after death. In his graphic novel, Here, Richard McGuire uses the constantly ticking clock as a medium to critique human nature, putting our rituals and interactions into perspective.

Here, a graphic novel by Richard McGuire — Goodreads

McGuire takes readers on a journey through time, offering a new point of view on a seemingly mundane room. Challenging the belief that stories must be told within a linear timeline, he illustrates how an unexciting room contains much more than what initially meets the eye. The human mind thinks linearly, and this constricts our attitudes to the world around us. Everything is considered on a cause-and-effect basis, prioritizing the anthropocene and giving very little…