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
Imaginative and visually stunning, The Girl Who Draws on Whales is the latest adventure story from writer/artist Ariela Kristana.
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 is 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.
While the story has moments where it feels familiar with the ambiguous scoundrel named Citra that joins forces with Wangi and her brother Banyu, readers who allow the story to set the stage will be rewarded with a grandiose adventure. As this graphic novel is designed for younger audiences, readers shouldn’t expect much violence, but that doesn’t mean the pacing and energy is missing.
Getting lost in the visuals is part of what makes reading this graphic novel a joy, and Kristantina’s imagination plays with inverting how locations exist. (For example, whales in the sky or underwater cities.)
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.
