Incredible character design and coloring. I'm so impressed by the shadow characters in particular...they're so convincingly drawn. I ESPECIALLY love the design of Papa....he's simultaneously adorable and terrifying and just, yes good. The story is no slouch as well, a dark, compelling fairy tale in a messed up dystopian hellscape where the poor are hunted down or left to struggle until they eventually die. Even the characters are surprisingly lovable. Good typesetting as well.

Genuinely loved this comic. Would love to buy a print copy of it, though I think it's currently only available in English as an ebook.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC. 
Oh wow, this graphic novel is simply amazing. The art was mesmerizing, and the story was heartbreakingIt captured the journey of a brother and a sister as they become refugees due to their home being destroyed and family killed
Mankind's betrayal to its own kin because of greed.

Originally a play by the same title, The Shadows is a contemporary exploration of the harrowing journeys asylum seekers and refugees take. 


Referencing forced labour, trafficking, rape, sickness, murder, and death, this graphic novel doesnt shy away from the reality of refugee life. We follow the story of a boy and his little sister as they escape 'the low coubtry' after hoardes plunder the natural resources of their village, killing their family and friends. On their journey they are followed by the increasing number of spirits, or shadows, of those they have lost along the way. 


The story is told from the point of view of the brother recounting his journey to an immigration officer. His story follows him to the inhuman detention centres and endless process of an unwelcoming 'new world' that is as haunting as it is hopeless. Throughout his story, the brother must decide whether to lie to give himself the best chance of joining the new world, or to be true to his heritage and beliefs in the face of pencil pushing ignorance. 


The palete drips in dreamy and wan pastels of the country, vibrant jewel tones of the city and monochrome of the new world and accompany beautiful illustrations by hippolyte. 


I strongly recommend this read for European readers who only see immigration as a dialogue by politicians, rather than the life and death struggle it truly is.

This is a great, moving and heartbreaking story about immigration and losing your home and family in hope for a better future.
It definitely doesn't say away from the reality of immigration even if it is done with sensibility and at time a poetic writing. The art is gorgeous, kept simple and at time minimalistic, which added a lot of emotion and gave a lot more space for the story.

this one was not for me, I was intrigued by this story description and the art was amazing. It just didn't work out for me. Not my type of story I guess.

Wowowowow. This book is a harrowing tale of immigration told through an almost surreal perspective. We follow a pair of siblings as they are forced to flee their home; They are trying to get to the "other world" were things will be better for them and where they hope to be reunited with their parents. Along the way they are chased and put through trials, all metaphors for the actual emigration experience. Throughout our narrator, the big brother, is haunted by the shadows of those who have tried to make this journey before them. I couldn't get over how haunting and beautiful the art was. How it forces you to be uncomfortable and confront real life immigration.

This is a wonderful story of searching for a better life and all that dark things that the journey might bring (loss, feelings of abandonment and exile, etc.)

The art is beyond amazing. I loved the illustrations, I loved the style, I loved the colors, I loved how they were used to express feelings and moods, I loved the transition between chapters. I LOVED all of it.

The Shadows is the second graphic novel by Zabus & Hippolyte I've read this year. This book was very different from the first one I've read (Incredible) and I was amazed by the story of The Shadows.

The Shadows starts with refugee 214. He finally gets his chance to enter the Other World, but before he can enter he has to tell the story of how he traveled to the Other World. He is alone, scared and desperate. His story is about him and his sister who fled from their home.

This book is about exile, loss, desperation, hope for a better future and protecting the ones you love. The artwork compliments the story. It;s raw, sad and genuine. It's not pretty, but it suits the story very well.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this e-book ARC of #TheShadows in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed reading this! The underlying themes and parallels of the story is what really stood out to me. How the story was told as a story within story kept me interested and intrigued. Along with the unique illustrations, another shiny pro is the way there were musical parts, and it truly felt like a musical and I loved it! However, as much as I loved all these elements, there seemed to be stories or panels that felt out of place at times. Times where I was just scrolling and waiting for it to be over, as it didn't really add any substance to the story or atmosphere.

The colors and illustration style in this book were beautiful! I really liked the way the artist used colors to change the mood of the strips. I am also a really big fan of the "person telling their story" trope and I think it worked really well in this.

"At the end of an arduous journey, refugee 214 finally gets his chance to enter the Other World. But to see his wish granted, the boy must first tell the story of how he and his sister were forced to flee their homeland. Frightened and helpless, they crossed forests, deserts, and seas, encountering creatures each more mysterious and frightening than the last: the capitalist ogre, the smuggler-snake, and the ever-present shadows from the great beyond… The boy’s story must be told in every detail—but will the truth save him, or condemn him?"

. . .

This broke my heart. It's sad and whimsical, moody and emotional. The story is told from the point of view of the boy, refugee 214, as he tells a customs officer his story to attempt to gain entry to the Other World. I don't want to give anything away, but if you're interested in learning more about modern day exile and asylum seekers, this is a good, allegorical way to start.

Special thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this !

Wow! First and foremost...WOW! What a powerful story that I did not expect when picking up a graphic novel. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous, with each character having such a fabulous stylized look to them. When the main characters were in the city, it made me think of The Yellow Submarine and the Blue Meanies! I thoroughly enjoyed the visuals of this piece. 

The story really takes a toll on your spirit, but in a good way. It gives you an outlook to a journey most people are not aware of. It is very poignant in the way it shows this journey, in a mystical way, but also making the reader think about how these things happen everyday. I wish I could read it over and over like the first time, going back to the surprises of each and every turn, and the emotions it brings up. Such a lovely piece, you MUST read it !

Beautifully illustrated and loved following the whimsical and sad journey of the character's story. As he told his story, you see the ghosts of his dead family or fellow travelers and the way they influence the story is very good.

4.5 stars

I don't know why, but I wasn't expecting this AT ALL. 
I knew that this book was about exile and told a brother and sister's journey to somewhere. But, I don't know why, it didn't click in my head that this would be an allegory of exile nowadays. 
So, I wasn't prepared, and I'm in shock. So much so that I blocked everything I could feel while reading this book. 

Everything horrible about exile is there: fleeing from your home because it is no longer safe, losing relatives - not knowing where they are, if they are still alive - along the way, losing people you fled with, doing things you never thought you would/could do, protecting someone against everything around you and still knowing they won't go out of it all unscathed, trying your hardest to reach somewhere safe... only realising this "somewhere" is not safe for you. And, of course, rape (not shown), murder, theft, and people taking advantage of desperate men and women. 

This book is one of the saddest I ever read. This last image... and the way everything is allegorical but still 100% understandable. 

In the beginning, I was not a huge fan of the illustrations, but the more I read, the more I felt like they matched the "mood" of the book. 


So, I thought I would read a little book quickly; I ended up punched in the face by The Shadows.

Wow, I am having trouble finding words to describe how I feel about The Shadows but I will be thinking about it for a long time after reading it.  The story and the illustrations are very powerful and I think everyone should read this book.

This is not at all what I was expecting. Not bad, just not for me. I appreciate the art and story in this graphic novel.

This was an odd story. It took me a minute to understand what was happening because it seemed like the synopsis was more detailed than the story itself initially. There were some very interesting comments throughout (“I have to go peepee” for example) that I didn’t think added much to the story. The art was creative, I don’t read a ton of graphic novels but I was thoroughly creeped out for much of the beginning with the figures in the background specifically. I’m not sure if I’d read another volume of this but this was enjoyable enough. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

Lengthy fantasy graphic novel, where a large old man character writing down the testimony of one of the lead protagonists frames a saga about two siblings on the run from nasty evil sorts, and trying to find a new life first in the country next door, and then the Other World.  Both the interview/interrogation/whatever and the quest itself get to be haunted by the titular Shadows.  I think I'd have been expected to enjoy this more than I did, and I can't really pin down why I felt this so burdensome.  Certainly, prime among the reasons is that all the characters in the incredibly rich and designed world come at you with macabre faces, or wearing a mask from either Africa or Noh theatre, or something like that.  The world, then, ends up being Studio Ghibli goes Gormenghast, and I really couldn't worry too much about the main characters, for they were among the most faceless, genderless, ageless and – yup – characterless.  As it is, then, however wonderful the hand-created imagery conveys mood and place, and however inventive things get, what we're seeing is the struggles of some ciphers across the page, in order to generate empathy in vain for an extended allegory, and not much more.  Two and a half stars, perhaps, for it is well-drawn.

Bizarre, surreal, and haunting. I found much to appreciate about the story, art, and use of coloring in this book. A fascinating visual reading experience.

Adapted from Vincent Zabus' 2008 play of the same name, and illustrated by Hippolyte, "The Shadows" is a dark and moving story about a pair of siblings' odyssey to the mythical "high country."

The plot follows these nameless characters as they endure the loss of their home, their family, and eventually their way. They encounter danger form those who prey on the vulnerable, and when they encounter friends, they can never really be certain of whom to trust. They travel miles without knowing which way to follow or whose advice to believe. All the while, shadows trail their steps, filling their ears and dreams with terrible things.

Hippolyte makes a stylistic choice to have the traveling characters wear masks to hide their faces. The masks have features but hide expression. Their bodies are draped and hidden. By contrast, other characters have their faces bare or, weirdly, exist at a whole other scale--there are a surprising amount of giants in the book. 

The reader will figure out fairly quickly that the story is universal to the refugee experience. The desert chapters particularly reminded me of historical accounts from survivors of the Armenian genocide. Very likely, the experience is more widespread throughout time, including the present day. This story doesn't have to have cultural markers. Regardless of when it happens or who it involves, this tale will repeat itself over and over again. And this is just part of the journey that refugees undertake. I got very choked up at certain parts of the book. Hats off to Zabus and Hippolyte for humanizing faces we cannot see and shadows we don't initially recognize.

Recommended to anyone interested in the experience of refugees from all around the world. Trigger warning for sexual assault content, although it is not graphically represented. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.