The concept is simple: two girls on a road trip across Texas on a quest to return a lost magical cat. Yet, Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden has managed to create much more: a phenomenal narrative that lies under the surface to tell a complex story of human connection — beautifully wrapped in Walden’s exceptional illustrative skills.
Walden uses many tools to her advantage to convey the story’s inner meanings, wonders, and themes. Her style consists of thin fineliner lines that are almost always at a consistent weight but drawn with a fluidity that keeps them expressive. Thus, her use of motion lines and zip ribbons are subtle and easily missed as they carry the same line weight as everything else. Using solid blocks of colour and textured shading, the fully coloured comic expertly uses a variety of colour palettes, some naturalistic and others not, to create contrast and highlight details that draw the reader’s attention to a single focal point. She also uses organic shapes and swirling patterns in the book to create contrast as well; the background’s wavy lines and structured characters juxtaposing to bring attention to the main subject. Jumping from one focus to another in almost every panel, readers are able to get a sense of the overwhelmingness the characters face not only in the plot but also in their relationship and their respective past traumas. Together, the lines, colours, and patterns establish the plot’s scenes and moods, successfully contributing to the narrative’s confusing magical elements and the emotional rollercoaster that the characters endure.
This type of story that requires readers to “read between the lines” and look deeper has been remarkably executed by Walden’s use of graphic storytelling. As a comic, the use of images effectively to convey a subtle idea that readers can connect better than using only words. She’s built her own set of rules and vocabulary for this comic, yet she’s not afraid to break them to her advantage to tell a richer narrative. Most of the panels are regular and ruler-straight with nothing bleeding off the page, but in times where there’s tension or irregularity in the plot, the panels can be seen to deviate from the default. These include wavy and wobbly panels with no gutter between them, dissolved and seemingly unfinished panels, and panels that split an image into two. However, every time the panels deviate, they always seamlessly return back to regularity; the panels tell a message of “even if everything unravels, it will always come back together” that is reminiscent in the plot and the characters’ relationship.
In addition to panel variations, Walden also uses a variety of panel-to-panel transitions to carry the story forward. Most of the transitions are “moment-to-moment” with uniform gutters and little closure as the story likes to focus on the little moments of life. However, there have been a few times where “subject-to-subject” transitions have been used, requiring more closure and the reader to put in more effort to understand what is happening. Another favourite of the artist is “aspect-to-aspect” where she explores a place or setting visually before bringing in the characters. Due to this, the image to text ratio is about 70% images and 30% text where images don’t necessarily need words to describe what is happening. Even though Walden uses a variety of “Show and Tell” methods, mainly word-specific, picture-specific, and interdependent, there is less of an appearance of words as there is no narration present. However, the dialogue is just as impactful as the images when they do appear, every word necessary to build the story. Again, she uses these techniques to bring more focus to the tranquility of the “little moments” scattered throughout the book.
Besides the panel variations and colour palette to direct focus, there is not much other use of symbolism and metaphors. In the comic, Texas has been described as water, always slipping through the grasps of the antagonists who want to obtain the magical cat. In essence, it is not Texas nor the magical cat that is the symbol, but the ever-changing landscape the characters are placed in. From swirling clouds to nondescript backgrounds to abstract shapes, the landscape is always changing for the characters. “Nothing is permanent, everything is always changing” is the basic message the setting tells not only to readers but also to the characters themselves. Each of the two characters has their own emotional wound that they’re still trying to overcome and the fluid background is a metaphor for their tumultuous journey. The overall setting communicates the theme rather than using a specific object or person.
Since the setting needs to be flexible, the artist’s approach to place and time is also fluid. We know that they’re in Texas (only because the characters said so), but other than that, everything else is kept vague. Places they travel to don’t have names and as mentioned before, most of the background are just landscapes with no distinct landmarks. The time is never specified either, we only know that it’s some time in the morning, afternoon or night.
The mood, on the other hand, is always approached with details and careful considerations. Almost every scene of the plot has a defined mood and it plays a large role as seen in the artist’s style and use of graphic storytelling. The story is told from a third-person point of view in order to incorporate the backgrounds as part of the plot and the artist uses a variety of perspectives to keep the story interesting and moving forward. From close-ups of a character’s face to long-shots of characters in an isolating landscape to abstract backgrounds with no characters, the point of view is for readers to see as much detail as possible in the scenes and moods. Nothing is left out and there’s no question of what the characters feel. From colour palettes to ever-changing backgrounds to panel irregularity, Walden keeps the mood strongly established throughout the whole book, not only supporting the plot of the story but also creating its own story. One that readers feel rather than see.
While the background and moods of the story are well executed, the main characters seem lacking in comparison. There aren’t many details in the characters’ designs and they actually look alike – one just wears glasses and is taller. Their clothes don’t carry any brand or images to convey a style that the character prefers and there are little signs of personality. We know the characters’ background stories, but their personalities are static. Lou is usually calm and a bit emotionless, but can get fired up when a loved one is threatened, and Bea is hotheaded and impulsive because she’s young. However, even though the characters themselves seem a bit empty, the relationship they share is much richer and complex. Lou and Bea are almost always shown together and caring about one another, somehow also showing little information in regards to themselves as individuals. Walden instead chooses to focus on how they interact with the other person, creating characters that play off the other and overcoming obstacles together as a team. Even when they get separated at one point, they are solely focused on finding the other and being together again. At the beginning of their relationship, they have to communicate everything in words, always telling the other what they’re thinking. There are many instances at the beginning of the book where they face each other, both willing to learn more and understand the other, but still on opposite sides. Then, in the end, less dialogue is used and more facial expressions are integrated into their communication, little details in their face that tell more than words can. Their relationship is also shown to become closer in the imagery, no longer standing on opposite ends, now side by side, but still facing each other as they continue to love each other. While the individual characters have barely developed by the end of the story, their friendship has become much more from where they started as strangers.
While as a relationship the main characters have been well established, the other characters barely have any characterization, particularly the antagonist. The antagonist is an organization that wants the magical cat from the girls, but other than that, nothing else is known about them. They are often depicted as large looming shadows that chase the main characters and never explain or show why they want the cat. In addition, the cat itself, who is at the centre of the plot and the motive for why the main characters decide to travel together and take a road trip across Texas to return it to its owners, barely does anything. It is shown sleeping most of the time and doesn’t move the plot along at all. It is fair to say that if it was replaced with a magical object or similar, the plot would be barely affected.
In the opposite vein, Walden’s approach to dialogue is marvelous. No narration has been used and all writing is in the form of dialogue, creating a natural and realistic relationship between the characters. The dialogue is used extensively and most of what readers know about the characters and what is happening in the plot is through conversations, but nothing about it is overbearing nor exhausting as the writing is real, truthful, and impactful. Everything the characters say has an underlying meaning and brings something new to the plot. The font style and speech bubbles of the writing also support the tone of the dialogue. Walden uses a handwritten font with informal grammar, sometimes not capitalizing at the beginning of a sentence or ending it with a period, and changes up the shape and size of the speech bubbles. She uses a variety of combinations to bring in the right mood and tone through the dialogue.
Reading this comic was truly a treasure. The first time I read it, I was awed by the colours of the illustrations until halfway through the book, I realized that the real story was deeper and nuanced, prompting me to read it a second time and understand Walden’s true message. While I didn’t identify with a character and I couldn’t relate to the situation they were in, I was still invested in them. The writing and dialogue especially impacted me and I could understand the emotions that they felt, not to mention the illustrations of the backgrounds and facial expressions that strengthened my feelings for them.
Several editorial reviews also agree with my opinion. As eloquently put by the New York Times Review: “As the journey progresses we don’t learn all that much about Bea and Lou, which may leave readers with questions by the end of the book. Instead, Walden focuses on how two people, each with unacknowledged wounds, slowly begin to open up to each other”.
“Walden uses heavily detailed illustrations and luminous, startling color to depict both surreal landscapes and subtle expressions, imbuing the story with equal parts paranoid tension and quiet wonder,” Publisher Weekly says.
Kirkus Reviews also praises the techniques Walden has used, “The unpredictable, shifting landscape in which lakes appear and roads change course encapsulates the treacherous and nonlinear path of healing. Complex panel layouts in dark tones and moody reds often bleed together, and stretches of silent art fit the heaviness of the tone. Background characters whose eyes are hidden add to the rising sense of anxiety throughout the story. In the midst of this intense atmosphere, Lou and Bea develop a moving bond and deep trust that allow Bea to open up to Lou”.
This type of “read between the lines” story has always delighted me in the sense of uncovering a secret treasure. The ending of the comic was bittersweet as eventually, the two characters depart from each other to continue on their own journey of life, but I also felt hopeful from the way their separation was depicted. Their story told the message of “people will come into your life that you’re meant to be with and there will be times where you will have to let them go, but don’t lose hope that somewhere down the road, you will see them again”. I felt that this last message was a perfect ending and lesson for a story of little moments, healing, and most importantly, human connection.
_
Citations:
- “Children’s Book Review: Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden. First Second, $17.99 (320) ISBN 978-1-250-20756-2.” PublishersWeekly.com, www.publishersweekly.com/9781250207562.
- Franklin, Mj. “The Explosive Y.A. Novels Fans Have Been Waiting For.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Dec. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/books/review/children-of-virtue-and-vengeance-tomi-adeyemi-ya-crossover-novels.html.
- Walden, Tillie. “ARE YOU LISTENING?” Kirkus Reviews, First Second, 10 Sept. 2019, www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tillie-walden/are-you-listening/.