WILD OCEAN: SHARKS, WHALES, RAYS, AND OTHER ENDANGERED SEA CREATURES

WILD OCEAN: SHARKS, WHALES, RAYS, AND OTHER ENDANGERED SEA CREATURES

Writers: Various

Artists: Various

Edited by Matt Dembicki

$19.95, Fulcrum Publishing, 156 pgs.

ISBN 978-1938486388

Full disclosure: I've known Matt Dembicki for some time now. We were both members of the same small press co-op long ago (I'm depressed by the sudden realization of just how long ago) and our work has appeared in a few of the same publications. I've always appreciated Matt's work as a writer, cartoonist, and editor; seeing him evolve into a comics creator of such rare ability and intelligence has been a pleasure. It isn't because I know him that I am so appreciative of his work, though. It's because Matt is incredibly adept at making quality comics.

Matt's previous graphic non-fiction anthologies, TRICKSTER  and DISTRICT COMICS, were both delightful, and I heartily recommend both to any library that hasn't already shelved them. That said, WILD OCEAN might be his best editorial effort to-date. WILD OCEAN is a collection of short stories, each one focused on a different endangered sea creature, produced by a different creator or creative team, and each one a unique narrative experience. The art is vibrant and quirky, and though the writing lacks polish in spots, the immediacy of the work is such that it compensates for its few rough edges. WILD OCEAN illustrates the plight of these animals without preaching, without resorting to angry rhetoric or shocking imagery. It transports you into these creatures' lives and makes you love them.

If you aren't completely entranced by the time you've finished the first story in the collection, Jay Hosler's "Tortuga, the Island that Swims," well...you might be a robot.

TIPS FOR LIBRARIANS: WILD OCEAN is a work of fiction about a non-fictional topic, which makes it an ideal way to introduce readers to a subject without throwing reams of data at them. It takes an entertaining approach to the subject matter and encourages further study. You can't beat a non-fiction book that pulls off that particular feat.

READERS' ADVISORY NOTES: This is a sure-fire winner for readers into oceanography and the environment, but this book may also appeal to readers interested in comics but turned off by the usual "muscles and tights" style of art so prevalent in American comics and the "big eyes, small mouth" style so common in manga. And, as with any good non-fiction graphic novel, it's a fine way to lure in those non-fiction readers who normally wouldn't consider reading comics.

CONTENT ADVISORY: Some content might be too intense for sensitive or very young children.

Review©2014, C. Michael Hall.