A black and white wordless graphic novel that will both move you and make you chuckle. American author Dan Mazur does an incredible job of using expressive faces on our main character, a female, as she grows up during the Victorian era.
This story takes us through the beginning of a girl’s life, starting with her first days as a baby being pushed around the city in a pram. We see her aging, continuing to look up at the moon as she always has, and enjoying a relationship that is everything from a playful friendship to a protective and reassuring parental figure, as the moon helps her through challenges she faces. The story takes a fantastic turn in the end that will leave the reader feeling both excited for our protagonist, and curious about her fate.
This book features full page images that are filled with details and wonderful shading. Beautiful details are added to the scenery, with clothing, furniture, and belongings all accurate to the time period. You can literally see what the main character is thinking with images floating up from her, such as when she’s studying late at night and her astronomy equations are traveling through the sky to the moon that’s looking down at her. A variety of mediums are used to create these scenes and characters. The extensive use of different materials, and techniques may not be obvious to the non-artistic eye, but Mazur, the author and illustrator, includes a section at the end that will simply astonish you when you realize just how much detail, variety and thought was put into each page. Mazur uses everything from his opposite hand to add messiness to an already messy child’s room, to cutting out stencils, to repurposing a toothbrush to spatter paint to get the right effect. You can see how much work and fun Mazur must’ve had bringing this story to life. Additionally, the huge variety of mediums used further contribute to the authenticity of the time period shown.
This is an excellent book to add to any middle school to adult library collection. The story has several layers to it, and can generate discussion from the many different interpretations that one can make. Art classes would benefit from being introduced to this work, as well as readers looking for something unique. Dan Mazur’s powerful storytelling combined with his uncommon artistic style make this a very worthwhile read.
Lunatic
By Dan Mazur
Art by Dan Mazur
ISBN: 9780993211225
Fanfare Presents, 2021
Publisher Age Rating: 10+
Series ISBNS and Order
Title Details and Representation
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Middle Grade (7-11), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
Related to…: Book to Comic
