In the distant future, monsters have taken over the Earth. Clouds dominate the skies, blanketing the land in eternal winter. The sun is a myth, remembered only vaguely by the eldest humans. Total silence is required to evade the sharp-eared creatures in the dark, and, in one remote village, everyone communicates with sign language.
It is here a youth named Saber has come to the age that he is allowed to accompany Gray, the hunter of the village, in checking his traps. Unfortunately, Saber is a flighty lad, better at telling stories to calm the younger children than staying silent. As a result of his panic, Gray is permanently injured and the village endangered.
Salvation arrives in the form of Lune, a young woman whom Saber encounters after he and his friend, Spot, sneak outside to recover the food Saber lost. Lune is an oddity, being unafraid of speaking out loud, and wearing bells that attract monsters. This is because Lune found a way to fight back, though it is risky and requires devouring parts of the monsters and consuming their essence. This grants those bold enough the ability to transform into something not quite human.
With Lune’s guidance, Saber is the first to test her strange alchemical stew. However, the greater challenge is convincing the people of the village to risk a journey to a nearby settlement Lune thinks will offer them a better chance of survival. Thus begins a grand exodus, as Saber struggles to master his new power and redeem his past mistakes.
Silence Vol. 1 is an eclectic mash-up, mixing the plots of A Quiet Place and Delicious in Dungeon, without the humor of the latter. French creator Yoann Vornière draws off the mythology of his native France for his monsters, though his artwork has a distinctly Japanese influence. The setting of Silence is ambiguous, however, as it could be nearly anywhere on Earth. The final pages, however, do suggest a European setting, as we see Christian monks in the apparent paradise of High-Fort.
Vornière is an engaging scribe, whose characters are distinctive in terms of appearance and dialogue. Saber is an likeable protagonist and Lune an interesting mentor. Spot is somewhat less well developed, being a semi-Tsundere who is jealous of Saber being allowed privileges she is denied as a girl. This issue is forgotten midway through the volume, however, as everyone must pitch in to the village’s battle for survival.
Unfortunately, the artwork is where Silence Vol. 1 suffers most. Many of the action sequences are poorly blocked and the linework does more to clutter the artwork than enhance it. It is a stylistic choice I’ve seen in many modern shonen, meant to suggest the chaos of combat. In this case, however, the choice does not work.
Silence Vol. 1 is rated for audiences 13 and up by the publisher. I believe that to be a fair assessment. There’s a bit of violence and body horror as Saber tries to master his transformative powers. There’s no nudity or sexual content, beyond Saber questioning if he really must take his shirt off for Lune to study his transformations.
Silence  Vol. 1
By Yoann Vornière
Abrams ComicArts, 2025
ISBN: 9781419777691
Company Age Rating:Â 13+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16)
Creator Representation:Â French,
