Heralding The Arrival

The Arrival by Shaun Tan is one of those books on most graphic novel “must read” lists, and for good reason.

A first-generation Australian, Shaun Tan was inspired by his own father’s emigration from Malaysia. He tells a tribute tale without words in this nuanced book.

Based on stories and anecdotes from immigrants, it weaves a multitude of tales into one, capturing the essence of immigration: why people leave their homeland, the problems they have to deal with in a foreign land, and finally making a new home.

The pace varies from intimate second-to-second imagery to a 2-page spread of 60 different cloud images to show time passing at sea.

Even though the story is without narration or dialogue, words do appear in the illustrations. These, however, have been cleverly written in a non-roman script to give an English-speaking audience an idea of what many new arrivals face.

Shaun uses photographs and paintings from Australian archives, as well as those from Ellis Island, New York, to create illustrations in gray and sepia tones. While much of the art is realistic, there are also touches of whimsy to delight audiences of all ages.

One thing to note: although considered a children’s book, it does contain dream-like scenes depicting the horrors from which many have escaped.

The Arrival is a tender treatment that gives many in places like Australia and the United States an idea of what their ancestors went through so that they can enjoy the life they have.

An Onslaught of Brilliant Satire

Our literary journey around the world continues with
Onslaught written and illustrated by New Zealander Greg Broadmore.

This compilation contains the three previous released books in the Dr. Grordort universe: Dr. Grordbort’s Contrapuntal Dingus Directory, Victory, and Triumph.

Subtitled, “Excessive Space Violence for Girls & Boys,” I was a little leery of what I would find. Turns out, it is an absolute hoot!

Lord Cockswain is a stereotypical “great white hunter” on Venus, and as much of a blunderbuss as his favorite weapon, blowing up a base of Moon Men in this hilarious satire of British imperialism and colonialization.

Presented as a spoof on early twentieth-century pulp comics, in addition to the comic adventures of Lord Cockswain, it includes catalog pages of and adverts for Dr. Grordbort’s Infallible Aether Oscillators, bestiary of Venus, genre movie posters, and more.

The extensive raygun collection that graces the pages comes from Greg Broadmore’s work as an artist and concept designer for Weta Workshop. Creating a backstory of each weapon’s origin led to the Dr. Grordbort universe.

Call it steampunk, call it retro sci-fi, Onslaught is a brilliant piece of satire, beautifully illustrated and cleverly constructed.