Never heard of this author and was given this book as a present. Needless to say, I loved it! The graphic novel is like a silent horror movie. The themes and art are like a mixture of Kafka, Junji Ito and The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt. The art really fits the stories astonishingly well and nails the entire eerie vibe. It's a very quick read and has a few small details that, if you have a sharp enough eye, can catch to make the entire book even more enjoyable as the ending comes. Additionally, my review will contain spoilers for the end, so if you read the book and feel like you missed something- then come back and read (or Re-read) my review.

There's 5 short stories in this book- no dialogue, just pictures and your ability to thread the context and plot along. Each story is like a delicious little dark appetizer or snack that will make you want to pick up more of the author's work. You can finish this book in under 20 minutes, and that's including the time you may take to admire the artwork. Here's a summary of each story:

The stories are introduced by the platform of a girl arriving to a carnival, but finding all the other attractions too expensive. After a bit of poking around, she ends up finding a tent with a few machines that play movies. Lucky enough, She has *just* enough for each one!

The Hotel:
This was one of my favorites. A man enters a hotel, only to find it empty, or what he figures is empty. There's a reason why...

The Champion:
A Luchador wrestler is facing his untimely, ultimate opponent. However, living through this match comes with a heavy price.

The Experiment:
A man is struggling with his blindness but a doctor has a solution. This story asks: What would you do to regain your sight?

The Prophet:
This one seemed the most 'Twilight Zone' out of all of them to me. A homeless man figures out the End of the World is coming- sadly no one believes him. Sometimes it's better to look out for yourself.

SPOILERS:
The Girl: This is technically the 'main plot' of the book, as her story consists of her watching all the other 5 stories happen (literally). Once you figure out what the girl 'saw', this is what makes the book even more entertaining.
It could be taken as an open ending, but really She figures out YOU (as the reader) are watching her! This makes more sense given if you flip back on the book, you can actually see each character in the short stories make a discreet cameo in the background before she enters the theater tent. With that knowledge, the reader is being treated as some sort of 'all seeing god' and the girl gets freaked out by the presence of some 'all seeing, all knowing eye'. (After all, Panopticum is a cognate for the word 'panopticon', which is a small enclosure where someone is kept under constant watch...and she is inside of a tent watching these stories unfold afterall). You watched her from the beginning, after you read the title "The Girl" and now that she saw you in the ending, she flees.

Really cool twist ending right up my alley if I say so myself!
Please give it a chance! ( )

This comic is like a delicious appetizer. A few short bites and it leaves you hungry for the main course. It consists of a few short horror stories told through pictures only and they are excellent. Each one is more spooky than the last.

This took less than a half an hour to read, but it was really good. ( )

I liked Thomas Ott's artwork. The high contrast black and white images, highly detailed and expressive, render the surreal, dark and twisted atmosphere perfectly. His framing is brilliant too.
Cinema Panopticum consists of five surreal, Kafkaesque stories. The first story was absolutely brilliant. ( )

Wow! I adored this graphic novel and can't wait to get hold of more by Ott. The hotel story especially made me shudder with horrified glee. When I looked at the very first page I was already absorbing the characters and trying to imagine how they were going to fit into the tale. I loved the way they all had their own story to tell. One thing I desperately need to know is what happened to the young girl in her tale? We never find out, but perhaps that's just as well! ( )

I read this through once to have it as a story and I read it a second time to look at the art work in closer detail. It is tremendous. I had words for many of the scenes and I actually changed them during the second read. The story that disturbed me the most was 'The Hotel', it's the stuff that nightmares are made off!

Very clever and simply amazing. This book is a keeper for me and I will actively seek out other Thomas Ott books. You will get from this book exactly what you want as you can decide what is happening in every scene. However, Thomas Ott's imagery is that fantastic you need no words.

I'm not really into graphic novels, although I have tried one or two, yet this has captivated me. ( )