Louis: Lying to Clive

In reviewing Louis: Lying to Clive I'm burdened with the impression that the story is laden with metaphors. I worry that the metaphors are shallow, & then I worry that it is just me - am I reading these into the story?
Most comics inhabit a world of their own creation. This may be a reflection of the real world to a greater or lesser degree. In reading a comic you enter into this world & you are carried along by the logic of the presented universe. The world of Louis is a blurred & misshapen version of our own; dream logic seems very prevalent:
"It's like this." say the book
"OK" says the reader
"So, then that"
And you just follow the lead into, well, the 'Bee Farm' - a penal colony of some form that is autonomous & allegedly, 'almost forgotten' - presumably by the wider society. It is an unpleasant place into which Louis finds himself 'detained' to 'repay' for his crimes. I'm not entirely sure what these might have been, but it seems to be hinted that he has been manoeuvred into this situation by others.
Louis, the proclaimed protagonist of the book, strikes you as essentially innocent. He passively takes things as he finds them & is blown by events. I find the inhabitants of the Bee Farm far are more disturbing. It is not clear how long they have been there, but all excepting Louis, Weevil (anti-Louis?) & Clammy (Chief Executive) are all dressed in Bee Garb. While this seems to indicate a 'prisoner' status - striped uniform - it also seems to indicate a deeper subjection to the reality of their status as bees.
Clive is a bee. He wants to be a good bee. He is part of the institution of the hive & believes himself a bee.
Louis & Clive befriend each other.
The back cover blurb suggests that this is a 'children's story', a definition I find somewhat misleading. There are ambiguities in the story that I believe would leave the younger reader disorientated, & the casualness of the ending's pivotal point concerns me. It's not that the subject matter of the comic itself creeps into any taboo areas - it's more that the plot elements are fundamentally bleak & rely on metaphors resonant to the grinding depression that adulthood can heap upon you - the reference points that these provide may be missed or misconstrued. Having said that - school can have these pointless pecking orders & children are often more 'socially' cruel than adults - so perhaps I am underestimating, perhaps I am too attuned to 'conventional modern' children's stories with their tendency toward neat resolutions.
I’m more minded to believe the "children's story" quotation arises from the 'look' of the book. I can fully appreciate that this may look like a children's story - with its realistically delineated cartoony characters & use of bright colour, but this is purely presentation - the way the artist has chosen to draw the story. It is rare to see a full colour comic produced in the UK - & so the fact that the comic itself defies the usual preconceptions causes a greater degree of bluster when trying to define what it actually is.
The mechanics of the comic's storytelling is sound & skilled. There are some nice touches here & there, like the portrayal of Louis as he emerges from a daydream; Clive is talking to him & Louis is literally not focussed on what Clive is saying. These are the sort of effects that you can only really effectively portray in comics. On the whole the pacing of the comic is... staid. There are no real melodramatic flourishes to the pages (splash panels or exaggerated colours) & this seems to reinforce the quiet authority of the comic & is therefore no bad thing.
I like the comic, but I still have a feeling of disquiet about it. These misgivings are not created by what is actuality in the story, but by trying to figure out what it is trying to be impart... I read the story & enjoyed it before I tried to review it, but now I've tried to analyse what is going on, it has left me more confused as I don't really see that there is a reason for what happens. I will just have to accept, that like life, things often have no reason (or I fail to understand the reason why things happen).

Is it funny? Did I miss the gags?
mooncat