About the Book
On the edge of burnout, Vern decides to return to his family in the Sunshine State to start over. Starting a new dead-end job as a custodian at Quasar-a local science facility with a shady motive-he shrugs on his uniform, grabs a mop and bucket, and trudges off to clean up. Black holes? Space-time anomalies? Galactic ooze?Things aren't entirely what they seem at Quasar, and when Vern accidentally plugs in a mysterious machine and finds himself standing on the brink of the destruction of every planet in the Multiverse, he finds himself presented with the greatest question of all: what is the point?
About the Author :
Tyrell Waiters is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer from Palmetto, Florida. After graduating Ringling College of Art and Design, he turned himself to working as an apparel graphic designer for children's clothing. Now currently living in on the East Coast with his wife and their many cats, he works in a huge range of industries ranging from marketing to music and entertainment. When not working, he's painting in his studio and exploring nature.
Review :
A thought-provoking and hilarious romp through time and space from debut graphic-novel creator, Tyrell Waiters, that explores what it means to be human in a world that is becoming more confusing and frightening by the day.
Burned out after a fruitless job search, Vern, a young Black man, drives home to Florida from San Francisco, eager to rest. But his grandmother has gotten him a job with her former employer. Quasar Industries researches the multiverse, hoping to find a new home for humanity. As their new custodian, Vern cleans up unexplainable messes, like blue multi-eyed interdimensional goo ("begone, weird eyeball dudes"), while getting lost in rooms that open to different dimensions. In one such room, he finds a strange machine that transports him to the edge of the multiverse when he plugs it in. There he meets the Void, who repeatedly asks him, "What is the point?" Unable to answer, Vern is dispatched to an alternate dimension-the Void promises to recall him for an answer after he's had a little time to think. However, Vern has unwittingly sparked a catastrophe that could end humanity-and it's up to him to stop it. This engaging, entertaining story has an intriguing plot and a fairly passive protagonist in Vern. Fortunately, Waiter's experimental art brings Vern's adventures to life, playing with form and color to creatively represent his movements through time and space. The story balances topics like climate change, late-stage capitalism, and humanity's self-sabotaging actions with a hopeful outlook, humorous tone, and a dash of family intrigue. An imaginative multiversal adventure.
Vern, Custodian of the Universe by Tyrell Waiters is a graphic novel packed full of humour, heart and high-stakes adventure. When the titular hero gets a job as a janitor in the local science facility, what seems at first to be another boring job with long hours quickly turns strange when he is confronted by a corridor full of galactic slime. Suddenly he is facing the destruction of the entire multiverse, armed only with his mop. Vern journeys through dimensions, meeting a range of unforgettable characters, and tries to answer some big questions along the way. This brilliant visual journey is insightful, funny, relatable and optimistic.
This ambitious debut graphic novel hurls its protagonist-and readers-into a frenetic sci-fi multiverse, where dimensional jumps, sentient space gators, and a 'giant wire computer dude' all jostle for attention. At the heart of it all lies a surprisingly relatable existential thread: Vern's ongoing confrontation with 'The Void,' a cosmic force that repeatedly asks, 'What is the point?' - a question Vern himself can't stop asking. There's no shortage of energy here. Waiters' art bursts with saturated colour, erratic momentum, and experimental layouts. Some spreads dazzle; others overwhelm. Readers may find themselves working hard to keep up, both narratively and visually. In the rush of high concepts and chaotic detours, emotional depth occasionally slips away, with characters often driving plot rather than anchoring it.Still, there's genuine thematic weight beneath the madness: explorations of burnout, intergenerational care, identity, and the dread of stepping into adulthood. Vern's arc-rooted in his grandmother's cryptic past-offers glimpses of clarity in an otherwise deliberately scattered structure. This isn't a book to skim. Vern asks its readers to sit with its messiness, take their time, and make peace with not having all the answers. For some, it'll be a cosmic joyride. For others, a challenging plunge into the void. Either way, there's value in the ask.
