The Arrival – Illustrated and written by Shaun Tan, October, 2007
Graphic Novel
A story about immigration (not just migrants, but migrants fleeing oppression – a constant theme in the world) and family. The artist’s notes say it took him 4 years to draw the illustrations. Every panel is a work of art, and his montages create the amazing effect of either suspending a moment or creating a chaotic urgency.
Some pages of panels show beautiful interludes: a study in cloud forms – whimsical, while creating the feeling of loneliness and distance; the morphing of plants, indicating the change of seasons and passing of time; the gorgeous, intricate portraits of faces encountered on a journey.
“Read” the narrative, but stop and look at the incredible craft of Shaun Tan’s art as well.
WORD. 