Billions of years ago, the Sun rose and brought light to the world. A billion years is a long time though, and the young, smiling Sun gradually becomes tired and discontent. One night, after a bit of too much partying, the Sun sleeps in… for a long time. The world is not the same, and creatures normally adverse to the light come out of a cave to hunt, and everyone is struggling to make it through continuous darkness, including Death and their friend Philomène the flower…
Botanica Drama is a wordless graphic novel that tells a tale about what could happen to a world if the Sun sets one day… and decides not to rise. The story opens with the “birth” of the Sun, young and excited. Tall, mysterious creatures who thrived in the darkness scurry to hide in a cave, and new and interesting life begins. The circle of life occurs and some creatures meet their fates at the hands of others, and Death, in his prehistoric garb, does his job of guiding their spirits. One new friend is the flower Philomène, who forms an unlikely bond with Death.
Time passes, and there is now a village with several inhabitants including Death and Philomène. No longer so fresh and full of spunk,, the Sun becomes more and more discontent with its job until it eventually shirks its duty after a rowdy night. As the Sun remains sleeping, the darkness continues until winter sets in. Not only do the creatures emerge from their cave to terrorize the villagers, but the cold and dark take their toll as well. Death makes consecutive visits to retrieve and deliver spirits, while Philomène slowly loses their petals.
The Sun shows no signs of waking up and fixing things, so a few ingenuitive villagers eventually come up with a plan to wake it up. What ensues is a funny and heartfelt attempt to wake the Sun and save the world. Almost all the villagers join in, even Death in dramatic and desperate fashion.
Botanica Drama manages to balance humor and sadness with the strength of visual storytelling alone. Being a story without words, Botanica Drama needed to have a strong visual narrative, and it succeeded in that regard. The art has a retro cartoony feel to it that harkens back to classic comic strips.The style embodies the humorous parts, while at the same time conveying the gentle and more serious elements of the story. Overall, the art is charming, and there are so many little elements that it’s worth exploring each panel carefully.
The publisher’s age rating wasn’t immediately listed for Botanica Drama, but older kids to adults can enjoy it. The scene where the Sun parties too hard and passes out involves comedic scenes of excessive drinking, as well as a concerning moment where the Sun drives while possibly still under the influence. Besides that, there are some tense scenes and some sad ones, particularly with Death as a character, but the humor tempers the fear and sadness, and the love and care between the characters shines through.
Botanica Drama
By Thom
Pow Pow Press, 2024
ISBN: 9782925114314
Related media: Tween (10-13), Teen (13-16), Older Teen (16-18), Adult (18+)
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
