Over The Wall

Wartman’s debut graphic novel combines archetypal simplicity in its story line with complex questions of personal identity and heroism. The unnamed young heroine finds herself with the sole remaining memory of her brother, who disappeared during his participation in an initiation rite staged at a mysterious abandoned city at the center of her culture’s heritage. Unwilling to forget him, she becomes determined to rescue him from oblivion in the demon-infested city, whatever the personal cost or unlikely alliances it may demand. Her venture into the abandoned, taboo city to find him takes on aspects of a hero’s journey from multicultural mythology, presented by Wartman in lavish inks and detailed haunting, labyrinthine architecture. Wartman’s use of silent panels, distance, and scale suggest the overwhelming revelations facing his youthful challenger, and his visual focus on the role of storytelling is often ingeniously presented through stone inscriptions and statuary that expand upon the story. Although the story resonates with mythic allusions, Wartman’s art is closer to an animated style, with cartoony characters and sometimes exaggerated emotions. This makes the story a highly approachable adventure tale that explores the nature of quests and the motivations behind them. (Reviewed from a b&w galley.) (July)