When the Wind Blows

For those who are too young to remember the 1980s, it was a decade of utterly foolish magical thinking about nuclear annihilation, an era in which governments in both the United States and the United Kingdom pretended that, with enough shovels — and a stiff upper lip — people could survive a nuclear blast. Cartoonist Raymond Briggs published this illustrated black comedy in 1982 at the height of Cold War brinkmanship and civilian terror.

In When the Wind Blows, pensioners James and Hilda Bllloggs take the official declarations and a home county pamphlet to heart and build themselves a fallout shelter in the complete faith that “they” know what they’re talking about, with decisions intelligently made by “commuters” show more (computers). James makes certain that the household doors used to construct the shelter are at the precise recommended 60-degree angle so that that the “fallout” — the couple don’t really know what fallout is — will slide neatly down the side. The rest of their plans are about as useful.

Mr. and Mrs. Bloggs vaguely think that this last war will be an abbreviated rehash of World War II and the recommended Inner Core of Refuge an updated version of the air-raid shelter. They soon discover differently. The Beatrix Potter-style illustrations provide a satirical contrast to the Bloggs’ overly optimistic faith in the Powers That Be to know best. A wonderful satire of those mad years. show less

Written in 1982 as the Cold War was once again reaching fever pitch, this is an affecting story of an elderly couple living out in the countryside when nuclear war breaks out. The couple reassures itself that they will be able to survive just as they did during the blitz in World War 2 and that the 'authorities' will look after them. All they have to do is follow the instructions on governmental pamphlets about how to prepare for and survive a nuclear war. The naivete and faith in their government and their 'scientific' advice is both touching and heart-breaking. As Joe Bloggs, keeps remarking when trying to follow the sometimes nonsensical instructions, "Ours is not to reason why..." but he doesn't recall what line came next in the show more poem. The story follows the two as they struggle to retain a semblance of normality in their lives after the bomb, even as they slowly succumb to the effects of fallout.

This is a dark tale, where the humour and warmth of the central characters is eclipsed by the events in the world around them. One can't help but respond with anger at the powers-that-be that so readily exploited such innocence and good will to bring the world so close to nuclear holocaust during the Cold War. An outstanding short graphic novel. show less

When the Wind Blows is a 1982 graphic novel depicting a nuclear attack on Britain by the USSR from the point of view of a benighted retired couple, Jim and Hilda Bloggs. Although some reviewers have complained that it is dated because the Cold War is over, I think one can easily imagine the same scenario with a different set of combatants. That must be the case, because I found it very frightening to read!

The pictures (up to 30 panels a page) are mesmerizing and the text is at turns humorous, poignant, and horrifying. I don’t think it spoils it to tell you that in the end, the couple dies of radiation poisoning. The story and the graphics are memorable whether you know what ultimately is to happen or not. This cautionary tale is show more similar to, but actually scarier than the dystopic books by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I highly recommend it for all those out there who are in dread of an apocalypse; Briggs has captured one brilliantly. show less

Inspired by a few recent raves in talk threads here, I ordered this from the library. Had never heard of it.

The Day After gave me nightmares in junior high and the Berlin Wall came down during college, so this story was a chilly blast from the past. It's an equally vivid portrait of the British character of a certain era.

Although surprisingly short (40 pages), the story is quite dense with many small panels and takes longer to read than expected, although still just one sitting.

Suspense is built by the reader knowing far more about what will happen than the characters do. They're not a particularly bright couple, and the husband is a little too prone to malapropisms, like a less cranky Crankshaft. That gimmick gets old. The interjected show more 'Meanwhile...' splash pages are also more distracting than distressing. But especially in the second half of the book, there is some genuine tension, with so many grim possibilities looming.

After reading, I handed this off to someone younger, who neither remembers the Cold War nor has read/watched anything about it (or much of anything post-apocalyptic) and also has little knowledge of British culture, slang, etc. He set it aside halfway through as just too unfamiliar to follow. But I think it's still accessible to many.

Separate from the plot, it was interesting to observe that although the husband's retirement-based leisure is cheerily remarked upon more than once, the wife is always performing some sort of household chore. Not sure whether that was an additional dig by the author though. show less

The creator of The Snowman brings us this short graphic novel account of a retired British couple preparing for the apocalypse. Jim has picked up a brochure from the public library on how best to build and stock a shelter, and immediately sets about doing so. His wife is either long-suffering or equally dim; I'm pretty sure it's the latter. Anyway, Jim paints over the windows and builds a makeshift shelter using the doors, as per the library brochure, and together he and his wife stock food in their little shelter, too (after a brief panic that the brochure says to stock peanut butter and they don't have any, because neither of them likes it). Suddenly there's a war on, and Jim's preparations pay off.

Somehow this straddles a line show more between goofy and sad--you roll your eyes at Jim and Hilda, at their sweet dottiness, but your heart breaks for them when things go down the way they do.

Not something I'd hand to the average teen, but older, more sophisticated readers will appreciate this story, particularly if they grew up with The Snowman. Readalikes: Z for Zachariah (O'Brien) or Barefoot Gen for the aftermath of nuclear war, Gentleman Jim (Briggs) for an earlier story with these characters. show less

Yikes! This is very dark, despite its delightful illustration. A clear picture of how we are waltzing ignorantly toward doom. Raymond Briggs is a wonderful artist. I love looking at his illustrations. I was a little startled by this book. I should have looked more closely at the cover, which says it all!

A classic anti-war tale in comic form. It ridicules (and rightly so) the instructions given by the UK government on what to do in case of a nuclear attack. The ending is very poignant, as the dying characters wait obediently for "the authorities" to come and rescue them.