Review: The Island (2023)
There are no straight lines in nature, and there are almost no straight lines in Allison Conway’s beautiful, wordless little comic The Island. Everything here is curves and twists, from the intricate wave patterns of the ocean to the splayed roots and flower stalks of this world’s enigmatic flora.
The only exception, so far as I can see, is the central character’s house, which is adrift on the open sea when the comic begins. We follow our silent (though certainly expressive) protagonist as they float from island to island and move repeatedly between house and jungle, “civilization” and nature. And it slowly starts to become apparent that, perhaps, the straight lines of the roof and walls of their floating cottage are not a home, but rather a temporary refuge for an unwilling nomad.
The story is fable-like, with no explanation of why or how the character does what they do. But it works for the story, which is self-contained and unconcerned with anything like elaborate worldbuilding.
At just over 40 pages, The Island is not a long comic and is worth reading and re-reading slowly.
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