On a Sunbeam

On a Sunbeam delighted and moved me. Walden takes the boarding-school story and the group-of-disparate-people-have-to-work-as-a-team-in-space story and makes something new in putting them together. Add a beautiful romance and even more beautiful art, and you have something quite amazing, something that even though it has many familiar elements, feels utterly unlike anything else I've read (except for maybe Moto Hagio). Great stuff.

On the shelf, this graphic novel is impossible to resist. It's huge, has a gorgeous color scheme, and (this is pretty shallow, but) the pages have a beautiful weight to them. Even though I forgot this book was on my to-read list, I snatched it up right away.

Adapted from a web-comic, the story is set in a universe of women and non-binary people (although how would there be "non-binary" people without a binary? Maybe this takes place in our future, who knows) with one POV following our protagonist, Mia, in the present as she works with the crew restoring old or broken-down buildings—and one following Mia five or six years before when she lived in a boarding school, fell in love, and lost her girlfriend. Eventually, the two timelines show more make sense as Mia's reasons for joining the repair crew become clear.

On a Sunbeam is a very cute young adult sci-fantasy graphic novel. The found family elements were, by far, my favorite—followed by the scenes of the crew repairing buildings. The attention to detail there were beautiful and rich. Oh, and Elliott, for sure. Elliott is amazing, but I think it's clear that we are supposed to think that.

But it's also fortunate that this graphic novel is young adult, because there were quite a few parts that were difficult for me to swallow, even in a sci-fi with fantastical elements. During the climax, one of the characters goes on a fairly pointless journey with a planet's god-like creatures, that amounts to nothing except a single line that gets her aunt to hug her. She also inhaled enough toxin to kill her (like five times over), but in a few minutes she was fine. Similarly, another character sustained deep stab wounds to their middle, and was fine. During the climax, those wounds were a big part of the tension—only to be hand-waved away (literally). There were other unbelievable elements in the denouement, but at that point I just sighed and moved on, too.

Overall, I did actually like the story, even if certain parts felt unearned and some decisions seemed a bit ridiculous. The art was very pretty, with a beautiful palette. show less

Prime impressioni a caldo che poi rimetterò in ordine. Forse.
Questo per ora e per me credo si sia il capolavoro di Tillie Walden. Le sue tavole hanno una potenza evocativa assurda, e qui si accordano perfettamente ad una storia che dall’inizio alla fine regge alla perfezione.
C’è tanto dentro: amicizia, amore, e quanto questo contribuisca alla crescita dell’individuo.
Tutti i personaggi evolvono e acquistano sicurezza nelle proprie capacità: crescono come individui singoli ma anche come parte di una comunità. La situazione non si deteriora fino alla tragedia, ma comunque tutte su trovano a fare delle scelte difficili e a dover in qualche modo valutare e il male minore e la propria coscienza.
E tutto questo, con una narrazione show more semplicemente stupefacente: perché Tillie Walden riesce a emozionare semplicemente con l’uso del colore. show less

What a stunning book. It was originally a web comic, which explains its fannish Millennials-on-Tumblr feel. (I don't know how else to describe this tone, and I mean it with all the love in the world. People who spend a lot of time in online fan culture develop a certain set of storytelling conventions that if you have also spent a certain amount of time in online fan culture you can sniff a mile away.) I'm so grateful to First Second for publishing it so beautifully. It's one of the most gorgeous book objects I've seen in a long time. My only quibble is that the hand-lettering is sometimes tiny and hard to read. [b:Nimona|19351043|Nimona|Noelle Stevenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1412626919s/19351043.jpg|27411330], another show more webcomic-to-book title, has the same problem. There must be something going on here?

I love that it's a futuristic space exploration story that still feels cozy. I love that it's entirely without dystopian elements. And I love that I'm pretty sure there's not a single cis man in the entire story -- not main characters, not side characters, not unnamed teachers or uncles mentioned in passing -- and I didn't even realize until the day after I read it. show less

This is not the sleek monochrome world of mainstream sci-fi. Despite a limited color palette—perhaps because of it—this is a universe awash with warmth and color, filigreed sparingly with the complexities of stars and circuitry, so that every establishing panel is a fresh source of astonishment. And these beautiful illustrations are grounded by our protagonist, Mia—a thoughtful, almost mousy-seeming young girl who blossoms in front of our eyes as we follow her past and present in an interwoven narrative that ultimately brings together six misfits in a radical family of choice.

Honestly, this is the queer Ghibli story I could have used as a kid, evoking all the wonder and awkwardness and romance of a young girl coming into herself show more and her power—not through force, but through human connections with (specifically, solely) other women and non-binary people. And yes, these are connections forged in spaceships shaped like koi fish and on daring rescues on far-off planets, but they're also found in sports teams and school dances and late-night RPG sessions. Each character in this book has unique strengths and weaknesses, and every one of them benefits from reaching out to others and from striving inside of themselves for courage and kindness. It's a powerful story and a vital message, and it makes this a book to savor and to cherish and to give to every young woman or enby person in your life. show less

Through the journey of Mia, a 19 year old girl who just got a job with a reconstruction crew, Tillie Walden tells a - not so linear - story about love, family and regret. In the beginning, On a Sunbeam follows Mia in two narratives that take place five years apart, but it eventually splits up, following minor characters and establishing a unique path.

The skillful storytelling is complete with the remarkable artwork, that uses not only the drawings, but colours and lines to help tell the story, set the tone and embrace the reader into the universe. At the same time, the dialogue is written in an impeccable way, not only sounding natural, but working in distinctive ways to distinguish each character, Walden makes sure that each character show more has their own way to express themselves, tha being verbal or not.

I do not usually like graphic novels, but On a Sunbeam made me revisit my preconceptions. The book made me feel in ways I rarely felt before, especially through fiction. Each character made the way into my heart and when I closed the book I felt like I belonged to that family as well.

The universe created by Tillie Walden has a way of challenging our preconceptions and our internal biases, at the same time making sure we take a piece of it with us on the way out. Although I would not recommend the book for anyone with a tissue shortage at home, this is a book that reminds us that it is alright to hope. show less

A young woman, Mia leaves her all-female school (and her first love, also female) to join an all-female* starship crew whose job is to repair mysterious buildings floating in space. The crew of the Aktis become her new family.

Graphic style is crisp and coloured, but it wasn't always clear what was going on. I found the handwritten lettering a bit hard to read sometimes.

It's a bit strange that there are no men anywhere, not even in the background no fathers (Mia has two mothers), no brothers, and no explanation. But they aren't in any way needed either.

* with one person of unknown gender