Nymph

by Leila Marzocchi

Overview

In this fairy tale of a graphic novel, a mysterious, tiny being upsets the balance of the woods.

A lone, defenseless pupa has rained down from the sky. An assembly of talking birds and trees agree to protect "Dolly" as it begins to evolve — but into what? As the humanoid creature starts showing a predilection for flight and music, magical clues start unveiling themselves. Italian award-winning cartoonist Leila Marzocchi's terrifically lush scratchboard drawings are a perfect companion to her witty dialogue and profound storytelling. Nymph gets to the heart of both human and Mother Nature to prove that, to raise a child-like larva, it takes a village. Or at least a forest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683963172
Publisher:	Fantagraphics Books
Publication date:	08/04/2020
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.50(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

LEILA MARZOCCHI is a critically acclaimed illustrator and comic artist, born in Bologna. She has published work in Reporter, Il Manifesto and L'Unità, and she co-founded the magazine Fuego.

Editorial Reviews

05/25/2020

This lyrical modern fairy tale opens with a limbless caterpillarlike girl falling from the sky and into a small, busy forest. As she takes up residence in an abandoned tree house, the local owls and their guardian deity, the Hand of Fatima, make a pact to protect her. “First lesson of the luminous world,” they warn, “smaller beings get swallowed up by bigger ones.” Over time the larva grows, escaping her babysitters to enjoy adventures in the forest, and begins to wonder what she is and where she belongs. The soft, vibrant artwork suggests elements of antique woodcut illustrations, early animated cartoons, and classic children’s artists such as Tove Janssen. Marzocchi devotes equal time to the curious young newcomer and the world around her, a complex community of oddball creatures—birds, squirrels, spiders, tree spirits—wrapped up in their idiosyncratic concerns as they bustle through natural settings depicted with imaginative detail and care. The forest is both a playful woodland, with the story sometimes pausing to map out whimsical landmarks like Burnt Spruce Forest and Termite Territory, and a mystical site of prophesies, quests, and visions. A dreamy, childlike fantasy with a bracingly adult perspective, the comic defies categorization, metamorphosing like its heroine in strange and unexpected ways. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"This heartwarming fantasy, filled with amusing and distinct characters, is a tale of found family, the importance of working together as a community, and finding your true self."

Booklist

"In the stories of Leila Marzocchi, the composition, the characters, the use of light and colors denote great imagination and enormous intelligence."

Sequart