Nick Francis' The Tumor in the Clay plunges into surreal depths as a regarded surgeon turns his scalpel on himself in a journey of self-redemption."The Tumor in the Clay is an astonishingly immersive experience. My heartbeat quickened, my palms grew damp, and I could not stop turning the pages. I forgot every distraction of the real world and found myself completely drawn into the story.The narrative begins with the figure of an elderly surgeon, sunk in quiet despair. The depiction is exquisitely detailed, yet what makes this work truly exceptional is that it relies in no way on dialogue or explanation. There are no words-only a sequence of images unfolding before the reader. In this work, the 'panels' are not merely a technique for conveying the story efficiently within a limited number of pages. Rather, they function as a mechanism that allows the reader to physically experience the agonizing passage of time itself. The reader is no mere observer but becomes a character compelled to live within the story. Breathing, tension, sweat trickling down-and even pain itself-are all conveyed with unmistakable clarity. This bold approach, which entrusts interpretation to the reader, is built upon a profound faith in comics as an art form.The fact that this is a debut work makes it all the more astonishing. Nick Francis is an artist one shouldn't take their eyes off in the years to come."- Shinichi Sakamoto, author of The Climber & Innocence(Translation by Akira Deng)