The Arrival

Wow! The Arrival was probably the most stunningly beautiful comic I’ve ever read so far. The illustrations were amazing and the lack of words left me with a world of possible interpretations to explore. The story is obviously about an immigrant man coming to a strange new world. At first I expected to see him arrive in America on Ellis Island or something, but soon discovered this was an entirely different world. I think the author wants this strange, alien world to represent what it feels like when a foreigner enters a new country. If the pictures displayed a man coming to New York we would understand the story and how the character feels out of place, but by creating a world unknown to all humans, we readers feel out of place right along with the man. I loved the page near the beginning with nothing but little square pictures of clouds. They weren’t just little drawings of clouds. Each and every one evoked a new feeling and kept me astounded by their simple, yet highly detailed forms. I think the author put in that many drawings of clouds to lengthen the time it would take until we turned the page, giving the real feeling that a lot of time has passed. Journeys over seas are never quick and a changing of the clouds can represent days and weeks of time. Of course I loved all the little details and creatures created for the new world. The birds that flew over the ship reminded my of the little origami bird the man made for his daughter. The animal that follows the man around is very cute and added even more wonder to the story. The amount of detail in creating the alien world is amazing. The city, the foods, the flying ships, and the teepee looking buildings are just a few to point out. I loved how after a new character was introduced their stories were folded out across the pages. The old man missing a leg was in a war. It seemed to me like wherever the main character was from there might have been the looming of a war around the corner. At least that’s how I interpreted the giant snake shadow thing at the beginning. The end of this book was very pleasing and heartwarming to see the man’s family joining him in the new world. The very end had to be my favorite though, with the little girl helping out a newcomer.