Lucas Blogs About Island Book

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to — AUGH! What's that on the back cover?

So, what's this book's deal?

Island Book is a young adult graphic novel by Evan Dahm, who you may recall was the artist behind The Harrowing of Hell.

I recall that that wasn't a blog post in the Hypothetical Reader format.

Oh, right. Well, I really liked it. It's actually my favorite book I read last year. It made me curious about Dahm's other work so I picked up this book thinking that it might be a good gift-giving candidate for younger readers.

And was it?

Def-o! Unfortunately, I did my Christmas shopping at the last minute and this was already sold out most places, so I went with Superman Smashes the Klan instead. Anyway, this is sort of a high seas fantasy adventure story for kids. It begins on an island inhabited by green humanoids. The protagonist, Sola, is ostracized by everyone but her guardian because a monster attacked the island when she was a child, seemingly drawn by Sola. In any case, her parents died in the hunt for the monster and now she lives with an astronomer. Eventually she decides that she has to track down the beast herself. Despite warnings that there isn't anything out at sea but the monster, she sets out on a boat and is immediately washed up on a desert island with a strange hermit. Although the hermit refuses to come with her, he does lead her to an ancient — but intact — sailboat and tells her that the monster lives on a vast white island. As she travels she encounters two new friends Hunder and Wick, who also want to find the monster for their own reasons. However, she also finds that the new islands she lands on aren't necessarily anymore welcoming of outcasts than her home on Sun Island. Will Sola find the monster and unravel the mystery of her connection to it? Will Hunder kill the monster and lay claim to the chiefship of Fortress Island? Will Wick write a poem about the monster to impress the cognoscenti of Wind Island?

Will I have to read Island Book to find out?

Probably. I should also mention that it's the first book in what I'm pretty sure is a trilogy. The second entry comes out later this year. In any case, let's talk about the art.

Wait, you want to start with the art instead of the story or the characters or any of that?

Sure. One of the things that impressed me about The Harrowing of Hell was Dahm's mastery of visual storytelling. Island Book  has a number of wonderful visual touches that make it a fun read. Dahm's line work and layouts are very efficient. It's always easy to follow the action and to see the purpose of each drawing. Although his character designs are simple, he still manages to make them expressive. This is something of a feat when many have non-human faces, like Hunder and Vick who both have beaks rather than lips. And his depiction of water is especially skillful. Whether the waves are lapping gently at the shore or spraying foam over the gunwales of the boat, it always feels lively and—

Dynamic?

I've been trying to move away from defaulting to that kind of generic descriptor, but yes, the drawings have a dynamism that helps create the illusion of movement. There's also the use of color to indicate lighting and mood.  The point being that Dahm is an excellent illustrator and his art is just as vital a part of the storytelling as the writing. Which I guess we can talk about now.

Okay, what first.

Well, this is character piece about all else. Sure, it's a big adventure, but the story isn't so much about what Sola, Hunder, and Wick do, but how their experiences change the way they see themselves and their place in the world. None of them really fit in. Sola obviously has the whole curse thing going on (SPOILER: One of my favorite bits of visual storytelling in the book is at the end, when Sola's guardian finally takes off the gloves they wear around her to hold her hand when she gets home.), Hunder is too fearful to make a name for himself amongst the seasoned warriors of Fortress Island, and Wick wants to see the world, not just read poems about it. It's a classic set up for a young adult protagonist: young person can't find fulfillment at home and seeks their place in the wider world. It might be formulaic, but it works.

You said before that it's the first entry in a series, but can it stand on its own?

Definitely, although the book ends with the nature of the monster and its connection to Sola (if any) unresolved, each of the young protagonists wrestles with their place in the world. And while the answers they find may not solve their problems, they at least feel more comfortable in their own skin. Which, you know, I think is a pretty good moral for kids.

I guess so.

In any case, the art is beautiful, the story is simple and relatable, and the setting is fun. It's pretty good book, I'll probably try and give it as a gift in the future.

Island Book by Evan Dahm, First Second hardcover edition, 2019, 276 pages, pairs well with the recent rise of sea shanties on TikTok, wait that's probably already over isn't it?

Links:

Here's the artist's website, if you're into that kinda thing.

Once again I must point out that the artist is on twitter, and has tweeted the best tweet.

The second volume, The Infinite Land, is coming out in May.