This poetic graphic novel explores the emotional bloodbath of a romance gone awry.

A young man and woman fall for each other and all is sweetness and light. But when their relationship crumbles, they each must endure the ensuing emotional fallout. Starting from this ostensibly simple premise, Bastien Vives crafts an affecting narrative about the mercurial and tempestuous nature of romance and why we pursue it anyway.

The Butchery is composed of the little moments that make and break a relationship: lively dancing, silent strolls hand in hand, stilted phone calls, tearful pillow talk. Rendered with delicate colored pencils and an elegant use of white space, this story achieves an emotional clarity through its skillful brevity. At turns tender, agonizing, and darkly humorous, The Butchery is painfully relatable to anyone who has loved and lost.