Recent Reading: The Arrival

Shaun Tan - The Arrival I am still working myself through the comic book canon. Along the usual suspects like Moore, Miller, Ellis, Ross, Otomo, Sartrapi or Thompson every now and then I find (in this case by a friend’s recommendation) something new and amazing.

Shaun Tan’s The Arrival is one of the best graphic novels I read so far. Without any words Tan tells the story of a man moving to a foreign country to build up a new existence. He illustrates with dreamlike images the overwhelming experience to arrive in a country where everything is new, larger and no sign or writing makes sense. Shaun Tan incorporates stories of refugees, questions like ‘What makes a home?’, friendship, loneliness to a beautiful story. All captured in simple, yet powerful pencil art.

Fantastic. Highly recommended. If you plan to grab just one comic book or graphic novel this year, make it this one.

 

  • April 15, 2008
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2 Responses to “Recent Reading: The Arrival”

  1. lauren on April 16th, 2008

    the arrival is awesome! i’m not sure if you’re reading it in hardback, but if you’re not, i recommend it – there’s something extra cool about the graphic/pencil/romantic-ness of it all with a hard cover.

  2. Jonathan on April 17th, 2008

    Of course hardcover. ;)
    I can’t even remotely imagine it as softcover.