Graphic Novel Review: The Gulf by Adam De Souza

Posted on June 4, 2024 at 6:39 am by Gene Ambaum

The Gulf by Adam De Souza. Tundra, 2024. 9781774880753. 236pp.

2007, British Columbia. At the end of high school, Olivia runs away to join The Evergreen Community, a commune, to try to escape the meaninglessness of attending university and getting a job. (Olivia is also trying to escape a friendship/romance gone bad that ended with her punching a young man in a school hallway and losing everything she needed for the trip.) Milo is going along; he’s brought a video camera to document everything and to try to capture images of the sea-ape (think bigfoot). And Milo has invited the nerdy Alvin, though Alvin doesn’t know about the commune or Milo’s romantic interest in him.

The pages are oversized, which made me fall for De Souza’s art, particularly the way he drew the forests and the ferry ride. (I grew up in Seattle, and this book looks like home.) Oli seems a bit oblivious as to how worried her mother might be about her, and a few kind adults help the trio even though Oli isn’t quite eighteen. There’s drama (but not survival drama) as the three find the commune (it’s not what they expect) and try to figure out their next steps. For certain young people, this will be the ultimate graduation present; for me it was a great reminder of road trips I took as a young adult, and of all the friends who went on them with me.