Despite earnest undertones a richly imagined and capably carried-out thriller. (Graphic science fiction. 11-13)
Three of Earth’s last teenagers discover a long-hidden escape route for humanity in this suspenseful future tale, a solo debut for Smyth.
Fifteen years after a virus stopped all new human births, most of the aging population lives in overcrowded urban warrens while Mia, Xian and Jesse rattle around a steadily-emptying school with the rest of their thinning generation. Jesse’s controversial involvement in cloning studies, artistic Mia’s work in an old-age home and reckless Xian’s dangerous and illegal excursions into the miles of old tunnels and sewers beneath the city has turned their friendship contentious. Their bonds solidify again, though, when they discover clues that point to a successful but suppressed experiment in human cloning many years previous, thus drawing the ominous attention of a mysterious government agent. Smyth, a veteran illustrator, creates a credible futuristic world in which advanced technology and run-down infrastructure blend seamlessly in monochromatic ink-and-wash graphic panels done in an underground comics style. Showing particular chops with chases, escapes and even multiple actions like tantrums in single impressionistic mélanges of images, she creates back stories for each central character, cranks the tension up on the way to a climactic double surprise and closes with a tidy but upbeat resolution.
Despite earnest undertones a richly imagined and capably carried-out thriller. (Graphic science fiction. 11-13)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55451-285-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2011
In this slender graphic adaptation of Melville’s magnum opus, Ishmael, Queequeg and the rest of the uniformly burly, steely-eyed whalers are strong presences in Singh’s art—at least until their pale, gargantuan nemesis shows up to scatter them and their ship as flotsam across the waves. Ahab, craggy features slashed by a broad scar, is properly oracular, too: “Toward you I roll, you all-destroying but unconquering whale. From hell’s heart I stab at you.” You can practically hear Gregory Peck’s voice. The small but clear lettering in dialogue balloons and infrequent captions is easy to read, much of the language echoes that of the original and, if the plot is reduced to a bare sketch, the art, at least, punches up the tale’s melodrama and psychological tensions. Though an also-ran next to the versions of comics legends Will Eisner (2001) and Bill Sienkiewicz (1990), it’s absorbing enough—and the biographical introduction and closing pages on whaling ships and sperm whales provide a nice veneer of historical context. (Graphic fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: July 13, 2010
ISBN: 978-93-80028-22-4
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
Though classified as a graphic novelist, Delisle has claimed territory all his own as a graphic-travel memoirist.
Insightful, illuminating memoir of a year under a totalitarian regime.
In 2005-06, Delisle (Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China, 2006, etc.) accompanied his wife, who works as an administrator for Doctors Without Borders, to the country recognized by the United Nations as Myanmar. The United States and other democratic countries, however, still call it Burma, refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the military junta that seized power in 1989. As in the illustrator’s previous adventures in China and North Korea (Pyongyang, 2005), the focus is less on politics and more on the lives of the people he encounters—though such lives are profoundly shaped by politics. He comes to accept checkpoints and censorship as routine, and he does his best to find a suitable home, survive with intermittent electricity and Internet access and take care of his toddler son Louis, whose charm transcends cultural borders. The author also fears malaria, bird flu and poisonous snakes, though the DWB medical community provides more comfort than much of the Burmese citizenry enjoys. Delisle writes and illustrates a children’s booklet on HIV, an important contribution to a country in which heroin and prostitution are rampant. As in previous volumes, his eye for everyday detail combined with droll, matter-of-fact narration humanizes his 14-month experience in a country that might seem traumatic, even intolerable, in other hands. “There were no demands and no uprisings either,” he writes. “Things are always very calm here, thanks to a regime that creates paralysis by fomenting fear on a daily basis.” The undercurrents of Buddhism throughout the book culminate in his visit to a temple, where his meditation proves transformative.
Though classified as a graphic novelist, Delisle has claimed territory all his own as a graphic-travel memoirist.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-897299-50-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2008
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