This new graphic novel from acclaimed cartoonist Dash Shaw (Bottomless Belly Button) is his most taut book to date. Dr. Cho is the creator of the Charon, a device that allows his staff to take the form of a memory in a dead patients' consciousnesses, and bring them back to life, with one catch: the experience is traumatic and the process kills them again soon thereafter. But for some bereaved, the opportunity is priceless. So when Bell is killed in a random accident, her daughter hires Dr. Cho's team to bring her back. But what if Bell didn't want to come back? The dying unconsciously create the afterlife they want, or feel they deserve, in their minds before everything fades to black. Isn't that better than the reality, and no less meaningful than life itself? Can unconsciousness coexist with consciousness? Doctors is part science-fiction thriller, part family drama, part morality play for the 21st century, and quite possibly Shaw's best book to date.
2015 Ignatz Award Nominee: Outstanding Story
Industry Reviews
...[W]hat fascinates [us] the most is the very premise of Doctors. It's a narrative that raises some profound questions...-- "Comics Alternative Podcast"
Doctors is a philosophical examination about the very nature of life and death through the lenses of a science fiction drama. Besides being a powerful and poignant story, Dash Shaw's artwork is imaginative and willing to explore new ways of affecting the senses of the reader through the use of colors and iconic artistic tropes.--Brian Cronin "Comic Book Resources"
[Doctors] is deeply shaded with longing and regret and pathos, redolent of the things we do for love, alive with the very human attempts to find meaning within a web of relationships and self-actualization. ... Our recommendation is that, beyond its inherent worthiness for longtime Dash Shaw fans and anyone interested in 1) comics and 2) the human condition, this is a perfect starter work for introducing someone to all that the man's created.--Wayne Allan Brenner "The Austin Chronicle"
Narratively, Shaw's work has often resisted a high-concept description. However, the idea behind Doctors -- that one could briefly resurrect someone by sending a memory into their afterlife -- is scalpel-sharp and clever. The moral ambiguity of the characters, the unresolved family relationships and the genuine empathy Shaw displays for all of the characters give it a richness and even warmth.--Rob Clough "The Comics Journal"
Shaw creates a memorable world with deep, compelling conflicts for his characters. Simply put: Doctors will make you think. For anyone interested in speculative fiction or examinations into the meaning of death and what comes after, Doctors is a fascinating and entertaining quick read.--Brian Burmeister "Cleaver Magazine"
This book is terse and powerful in a way that would make Emily Dickinson green with envy. Never saying more than he needs to, Shaw does a commendable job showing us the story in Doctors.--Sam LeBas "Multiversity Comics"
With his signature spare, thick line work on display, Shaw pursues his twin main interests-stressed families and sotto voce science fiction-in his most audacious color exercise since The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century (2010) and his most eventful book ever. [Starred Review]--Ray Olson "Booklist"
