Episoden aus dem Ypsilon’schen Zeitalter is a series of books by Patrick Graf that chronicle the adventures of Dr. Y. This set includes the first three volumes of a series of eight books, five of which have yet to be realized. The covers are reproductions of monochromatic crayon drawings with titles written out in ballpoint pen. Details such as tears in the cover, scraps of tape, and dirt smudges are meticulously reproduced. Inside, Graf’s drawings are made with pencil, ballpoint or felt tip pen, and occasionally a page will be drawn on cardboard, an envelope or the backside of piece of scrap paper, with details such as lettering from the backside of the page bleeding through.
The first book in the series, subtitled “Unser Leben”, depicts a surreal series of events that include giant frogs taking over the city and Dr. Y developing tentacles, which he uses to slide across the ground and propel himself through the air. The second book, “Grundgesetze Welt b”, continues to follow the adventures of Dr. Y but does so in a way that forgoes narrative clarity for a more intense visual exploration of the story’s bizarre cast of characters. In the third book, “Smoke”, a violent robot named Smoke, created by Dr. Y., attempts to take over the world.
Each of Graf’s books has the feel of a sketchbook, with some pages containing multiple compositions and seemingly disconnected groupings of words and drawings. Some pages resemble a comic book, with word bubbles and narrative panels, while others contain letters, notes, and diagrams. Most text is in German.
