Marigold Dunwoody, a headstrong woman, is invited by a scientist for an experiment. She has to just sit with caged pigeons for some time. After the experiment, the scientist realizes that the number of birds has increased from fifty to fifty-three while she's present. The disturbed scientist, because now the case is turning out to be supernatural, reveals that her presence attracts birds. It reminds her of the song "(They Long to be) Close to You" by The Carpenters and a past episode in her life connected to it. Soon other events depicted in the song start occurring, but with a scary, apocalyptic twist. To save the world, Marigold has to give closure to her past connection with the song using its lyrics.
Closer is a one-shot comic book by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Steve Lieber, and colorist Tamra Bonvillain. It's published by Image Comics in September 2025. The writer describes it as an apocalyptic romance, and I think it's a perfect word to describe the book. Told in just around thirty pages, the comic reads like a short story and reveals its cards only towards its climax. The novel uses the song written by Burt Bacharach as its narrative and emotional core. Though intended as a romantic ballad, the story explores how apocalyptic its literal occurrence could be.
From this angle the book could be termed as a black comedy in which stars fall on the earth and literal birds appear out of the bodies of people, killing them. The narrative darts into flashbacks occasionally, revealing crucial information for the readers to piece the mystery together themselves. The protagonist, who begins as a clueless, baffled woman, suddenly turns the tables on the antagonist by using his own tricks. In the initial panels themselves, we get the impression that Marigold is a stubborn tough nut, and the art beautifully captures this character through her demeanor and expressions.
The artwork of the comic is top-level. It captures the expressions and emotions of the characters effectively. The sudden surreal and supernatural turn and the flashbacks are also portrayed effectively. Even when a lot of story is crammed into a small number of pages, without much exposition, the artwork of the book nicely puts everything together with much-needed clarity. The emotions of the characters that are understated in narration are presented clearly through illustrations. The coloring is so good that we notice some of the subtle but crucial transformations that happen to the protagonist, even before the exposition begins. The parallel of the book cover and the title font with the record cover is also interesting to notice.
Even though the book is definitely worth the price and the effort spent on reading it, I felt that it had a lot of unexplored potential. Some aspects of it that are ambiguous help the elements of mystery, but delving deeper into many other aspects, especially the characterization, would have enhanced the storytelling. The pacing also could have been a bit more deliberate, especially the portion that builds up towards the climax, which feels rather rushed.
Closer is a graphic novel that's closely intertwined with the song "Close to You." With its surreal story and brilliant artwork, it is an interesting read, though it seems rushed and underdeveloped in parts.