The Girl Who Draws on Whales
Creative Team
writer/artist: ARIELA KRISTANTINA
colorist: SARAH STERN
letterer: BERNARDO BRICE
publisher: DARK HORSE COMICS
Written by Seth Adrian Romo and edited by Samuel Mason White.
Imaginative and visually stunning, The Girl Who Draws on Whales is the latest adventure story from writer/artist Ariela Kristantina.
Readers follow the journey of Wangi, a girl who communicates with giant sea creatures, and whose bond encourages the audience to consider the connection between all lifeforms. Her journey navigates through underwater cities, ships in the sky, and larger than life moments rich in design.
For many readers, a large takeaway from this graphic novel will be its art. The illustrations from Kristantina and the colors by Sarah Stern pull readers into the story and it’s easy to get lost looking at the subtle details or abundance of images on the page. This is not to say that the story isn’t engaging—but I found myself soaking in the images on each page.
This story’s recipe is semi-familiar: A chosen one, the sibling who acts as a pseudo-plot device, and the ambiguous scoundrel who may or may not be trusted. However, the adventure of Wangi, her brother Banyu, and the scoundrel Citra explore imaginative visual territories and reward readers with a spectacular grand crescendo in the final act.
As this graphic novel is for younger audiences, there isn’t much violence and nor does the story need it. Instead the pacing and motivations of the characters set the tone with color energy.
Getting lost in the visuals is part of what makes this graphic novel a joy, and Kristantina’s illustrations combined with Sarah Sterns colors make this title worth picking up purely for the art. Add the playful ways in which locations are creative like whales in the sky or underwater cities, and the inventive imagery is refreshing.
The story is self-contained, although if the creators wanted to explore this world further it could easily be expanded. As far as the pacing, this title takes a few pages to get its footing, but once the stage is set and Wangi’s motivation is set—this graphic novel turns into a page-turner.
Upon finishing The Girl Who Draws on Whales it’s evident this is something special. It’s themes in the love of the environments around us and the respect that should exist between creatures acts as a reminder to the reader without being overt about it. Add the creativity in the world design and the stunning visuals, and it’s easy to get lost in this story.
