A comiXologist Recommends:
Karrie Larsson recommends Un Océan d'amour

If you’ve seen the Pixar movie Up, you should remember the heartbreakingly beautiful opening montage. Not a word of dialogue is uttered, but the evolution of Carl and Ellie’s life together, both the good and not so good times, is poignantly laid out on screen.

Although it doesn’t span the course of a lifetime, Un Océan d’amour, from French publisher Delcourt, captures a similar tenderness without the use of any words. It chronicles the plight of an old fisherman who is lost at sea and his wife’s determined efforts to bring him home. Stranded in his tiny dilapidated boat, the fisherman encounters all sorts of nautical perils, including pirates, storms, and pesky seagulls; he subsists on the tins of sardines packed by his wife in his lunch. Meanwhile, her frantic search for his whereabouts brings her to Cuba, charming everyone she meets along the way. Writer Wilfred Lupano infuses a subtle humor and whimsy into this very original take on a simple story of two separated lovers.

Artist Grégrory Panaccione, who also illustrated Âme perdu, is a masterful character artist; the facial expressions of the fisherman and his wife look and feel incredibly sincere. Panaccione also captures the subdued tones of the Breton coast, making wonderful use of muted blue, greys, and greens.

Un Océan d’amour, along with Porcelaine and Entre Parenthèses, is a great example of the quality of graphic novels being made in France right now. Moreover, it is a testimony to the power of pure visual story telling and the universal theme of love.

[Read Un Océan d’amour on comiXology]

Karrie Larsson is an International Production Coordinator at comiXology currently living in Brooklyn. In her spare time, she makes ceramics and listens to a lot of Drake.