I enjoy reading graphic novels. However, I never quite know how to write about them. With my best attempt at art nothing more than a stick figure, I don’t feel qualified to talk about the artwork.

But this graphic novel is all about the artwork.

It is a simple story. Two old friends are unexpectedly reunited for one night and as they try to reconnect, their memories and hopes blend them into this surreal watery environment.

The way Joel Orff weaves the illustrations into the story (or is it the story into the illustrations?) is just quite brilliant. The drawings are not elaborate or intricate (I say this having just finished Habibi) but are beautiful in their simplicity and how they tell the story.

 

Joel Orff has also written Strum and Drang: Great Moments in Rock ‘n’ Roll and Thunderhead Underground Falls.