"This is a story about a girl, born at the beginning of the 20th
century. She grows up in a small river town in upstate New York. One
day the mysterious Charles Varnay, an eccentric who dresses
in the style of an 18th century dandy, comes to town, his sole
companion a remarkably intelligent dog named Rousseau. Varnay wants to
star Katherine in a movie serial he plans to make, called The Goddess of Enlightenment.
Katherine is rather put off when she discovers that he expects her
to appear nude in this film. But even more strange is the film’s
subject matter: It has to do with seven metal urns that Varnay claims
are actual recordings of the voice of Jesus Christ which, he says,
contain an urgent
message that the modern world needs to hear!
Varnay also claims that his dog, Rousseau, is the product of
experiments he has been making in advanced selective breeding. He’s
eager to continue these experiments with human subjects; Katherine
realizes that he’s
expecting her to be a part of this, and it worries her...
The Amazing, Enlightening and Absolutely True Adventures of Katherine Whaley
is a full-length graphic novel created in a striking "widescreen"
landscape format that allows Deitch to give full rein to his
astonishing graphics."