Graphic Novel Review: The Gull Yettin by Joe Kessler

The Gull Yettin by Joe Kessler. New York Review Of Books, 2023. 9781681377391. 216pp.

This wordless graphic novel begins with a soccer match, after which a strange, shape-shifting creature follows a boy home. That night the boy’s house catches fire. He escapes the flames but is taken to a hospital. The creature liberates the boy from the hospital and takes him on a harrowing journey that includes many bizarre moments, parental figures, tenderness, and some horrific violence.

The drawings might look primitive at first glance, but they have a power that comes from the sense of quick rendering combined with Kessler’s storytelling skills. Their odd colors and childlike style are deliberate and compelling; both forced me to pay attention and think about what I was reading in a way that slicker-looking graphic novels rarely do.

Kessler’s work is inspiring and I hope you’ll give this book a quick but thorough read.

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