Another not-quite-a-comic-in-the-traditional-sense entry. This is an illustrated novel, where the illustrations are an integral part of the experience of the story. From my school library.
Title: A Monster Calls
Date: 2011
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Writer: Patrick Ness, Siobhan Dowd
Artist: Jim Kay
Thirteen-year-old Connor O'Malley bears the burdens of his mother's serious illness, the bullies that have targeted him at school, and a recurring nightmare that he will do anything to avoid facing. When he is visited by a monster. the ancient Green Man of Celtic mythology, Connor assures the monster that he's seen worse. But the monster is determined to make Connor face the truth that he hides.
There are some mythical elements to this book, and a sprinkling of snark, but mostly it is the raw emotion of trying to hold together in the face of death at its most unfair. This was intensely powerful, and the writing it beautifully enhanced by Jim Kay's haunting illustrations.
Rating: 9.5/10
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