The White Room of the Asylum focuses on the tape-recorded memoirs of an old man named Steve who recently committed suicide. The tapes tell of the last period of his stay at the Soraberg Asylum and his discovery of what he came to call ‘The White Room.’ The White Room is an infinite space of pure white in which the residents can create anything they can think up. Over time more residents gain access to this mysterious place- Thus beginning a series of events that stretches Steve’s sanity to its limits, offers a chance at redemption, and leaves a man too broken to fix.
Wow! This is a unique story that draws you in to a new world – actually, make that two, becasue as far as I can see it, the White Room and the Asylum are two different worlds. The building and destruction of the relationships in these two worlds are excellently crafted, with each character going through their own story arc. There are traits for each character, some you like, some you don’t and all the while they are all uniquely flawed and human. The cross between the colour palette of ‘now’ and the flashbacks in black and white to then are excellent, drawing you into each aspect.
Although this is a long read, I found that from start to finish I couldn’t put it down, I wanted to see what happened next – through all the different parts. As new characters were introduced, both to the reader and The White Room, I wanted more. There was sadness and joy in this story and this was an amazing read. The art style is excellent, making good use of all the white space especially.
If you want something different from your sequential art, then this is it. It will make you look a little differently at mental health too!
I previously reviewed Oculus from the same creators!
The White Room of The Asylum is available in Print and Digital from Amazon
