Wingbearer by Marjorie Liu & Teny Issakhanian

 

This one really knocked it out of the park, for me. It's considered a Juvenile graphic novel but I'd say it's at least tween to teen for the intended audience. But I'm in my 40s and I enjoyed it thoroughly! All graphic novels should be a solid collaboration between artist and writer, and Teny Issakhanian does a lot of amazing work here. As a former story artist for Disney, Dreamworks, and the Jim Henson company her talent really shines. I have rarely read a comic where the emotions and intentions of the characters were so clearly carried in their expressions and body language on the page. The style of the characters also reminds me some of the old Gargoyles series, which is a huge old favorite of mine.

Our main character Zuli lives in a tree that houses the souls of all the birds, at least from the time of their deaths until they're ready to be reborn to fly in the living world again. Zuli herself lacks wings, but is accustomed to clambering Tarzan-like around the massive tree that is the only home she's ever known. Her only link to her unremembered parents is an armband, and her only friends are bird spirits who have lingered on, uninterested in being reborn.

Then something bad seems to be happening to the bird souls, and she ventures out into the world of the living to find out why their souls seem to be withering on the tree without being reborn as birds again.

The world into which she emerges is full of ruins, immediately dangerous, and literally every living creature in it has wings (unless they've been removed by injury). It's not the first time Zuli has been the only creature around without wings, but it is the first time everyone around her has seen that as strange.

This graphic novel is the first in a series, and it looks like the next one is promised to come out next year. Zuli's adventures are worth following, at any age!

And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness & Rovina Cai

 

I have to admit it's the cover of this one that caught my eye. It's almost a picture book, but it's definitely not aimed at little kids. If I had run into this when I was a tween in my brief fascinated-with-whales phase this one would have hit hard. The illustrations absolutely deserve some credit here, for helping to carry the sheer impact of the story.

There is a certain amount of simplicity to the plot idea at work here, it's a retelling of Moby Dick from the perspective of the whales, which is to say the whales hunt humans in return. With harpoons strapped to their bodies, pods of sperm whales form hunting parties with a clear hierarchy and a goal of fighting back against the mythical 'Toby Wick' who terrorizes the seas.

The story is told from the perspective of one of the hunter whales, Bathsheba, and when she encounters a real live human and he is not the monster she expected, she has to confront the long held ideas of her people.

Maybe not a super complicated idea, but powerfully and poetically written and beautifully illustrated.

The message is meaningful, the text is lovely and the illustrations are magnificent. It's not an especially long read, but it is definitely worth your time.