It’s Election Day in the U.S., and we’re marking the occasion by casting our ballots for a lesser-known gem: Shaun Tan’s wordless 2006 graphic novel The Arrival. Set in a world similar to but slightly different from our own, this vividly imagined and beautifully illustrated tale traces one man’s journey from his menacing homeland to a strange and fantastic new world. Along the way, he meets other immigrants who share their stories of hope and hardship.
Can our protagonist navigate this wondrous new land and reunite with his wife and daughter? And will The Arrival take up residence in that shining city on a hill known as … The Comics Canon?
Things Discussed in This Episode:
- Shaun Tan on That Scene
- Our Zot! episode
- What are the canonical Supergirl stories?
- A nifty animation of The Arrival
- Barrier by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin
- The Lost Thing animated short
- Flotsam and Sector 7 by David Wiesner
- It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … our Comics Canon merchandise store!
Join us in two weeks as we discuss another graphic novel examining the human side of politics, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi!
Until then, please rate us on iTunes, send us an email, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook, and we may read your comments in an upcoming episode. And as always, thanks for listening!