Stig and Tilde: Vanisher's Island

Stig and Tilde: Vanisher's Island is deceptively simple-looking adventure/survival tale. It features clean, colorful artwork and storytelling, and it's packaged in European-album style comics a la Tintin, but it's more of a young adult book than a children's one. It has some moments of peril and genuine scares.

The story begins when twins Stig and Tilde turn 14 and have to complete a rite of passage. In their town, traditionally 14-year-olds go live on their own on a wilderness island for a whole year, showing they can "rough it" and survive. In contemporary days, the custom has evolved into a month-long stay on an island that is well stocked with provisions and even has internet, so it's more of a vacation. The rub here is that they get off course and end up on an actual deserted island. And it's haunted.

Creepy.

I won't reveal more than that, because I think part of what makes this book enjoyable is experiencing how the plot unfolds. There is a slow burn of revelations that I found quite suspenseful and satisfying. Also, I appreciated how resourceful the twins were. They don't really panic in unexpected situations but find ways to deal with obstacles. I was very taken with their characterization. They are siblings who occasionally squabble or have their differences, but they also really care and take up for each other, which I found refereshing. I thought this book told its story well, featured great characters, and left me yearning for more. Luckily, there are two more volumes in this series to follow, so I'll get my wish.

This graphic novel is by Max De Radiguès, a Belgian comics artist who tweets updates about his works here. His other graphic novel work includes the adolescent drama Moose (one of my favorite books of 2015), the crime drama Bastard, and the biography Weegee. He talks about his career in comics in this interview.

The reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Andy Oliver praised its sophisticated delivery, elaborating that "action sequences flow sometimes with a sense of peril and sometimes with one of slapstick, visual characterisation ensures our empathy with the twins throughout, and a delicate employment of colour reminds us of the many facets of the island from its inviting beauty to its sometimes sinister air of menace." ReadItDaddy called it "absolutely brilliant in every way and totally refreshing after a diet of sickly sweet 'kid' comics."

Stig and Tilde: Vanisher's Island was published in the USA by NoBrow Press, and they offer a preview and more here.