Description :
First published in 1975, long before the term "graphic novel" was coined, La Cage is now considered a classic, cited in most reference works on comics. Over 180 pages devoid of any characters, Martin Vaughn-James constructs an obsessive universe of rare power through the incessant transformation of a few locations and objects: rooms gradually overtaken by sand, walls visibly cracking, large stains of oil, ink, or blood, proliferating vegetation covering ruins, and piles of paintings and frames creating the most bizarre of museums. Yet, behind the baroque madness of this decomposed world lies an unyielding rigor, behind the vertigo of the motifs, the clarity of a "clear line" style.