A review by edgeworth
Over the Wall by Peter Wartman
3.0
This is a short YA graphic novel which I think I picked up after seeing it on a Goodreads list of standalone, non-superhero comics. It revolves around a mysterious abandoned city, cut off from the world by both physical and magical walls, and the girl who crosses the walls to try to find her missing brother.
I liked it well enough – it’s a simple story and Wartman has a pleasing artistic style, especially good at creating an empty sense of unease in the deserted city. But it raises the question of whether I should be reviewing comics the way I do novels. I read this book in, I think, less than 15 minutes, which makes it feel more analogous to a short story rather than a book. I wouldn’t review a single short story, but I feel compelled to review Over The Wall because it came in its own binding and my gut feeling is that it is a “book.” But because of its brevity I don’t have a lot to say about it. I don’t know!
I liked it well enough – it’s a simple story and Wartman has a pleasing artistic style, especially good at creating an empty sense of unease in the deserted city. But it raises the question of whether I should be reviewing comics the way I do novels. I read this book in, I think, less than 15 minutes, which makes it feel more analogous to a short story rather than a book. I wouldn’t review a single short story, but I feel compelled to review Over The Wall because it came in its own binding and my gut feeling is that it is a “book.” But because of its brevity I don’t have a lot to say about it. I don’t know!