Waluk

KIRKUS -- Human and polar bear worlds collide on melting ice in this Arctic odyssey, a reworking and expansion of Waluk, published by Graphic Universe in 2013.

The chemistry between a weary, wise, worn-down bear named Eskimo and his frisky younger bear companion, Waluk, animates a series of adventures and misadventures. These include negotiating a détente with a mother bear fiercely protective of her two cubs, amicable visits with a team of mindlessly loyal sled dogs, and less-friendly brushes with their viciously abusive human owner, a White man named Castor. (He later suffers a deservedly gruesome fate.) The two wandering bears pad and swim through vast icy expanses, searching for seals or other food made ever more elusive due to climate change. As they do, their encounters often take comical twists as, for instance, they come upon a shipping container fallen from a passing cargo vessel that turns out to be full of plush bear stuffies, or, later on, prove that an experimental observation drone isn't made to be a polar bear toy. To go with the colloquial cast that Ruiz gives the dialogue ("Are we gonna walk there?" "Don't worry, little buddy. Bears are born swimmers!"), Miralles gives the animals subtly human expressions but otherwise depicts both figures and settings with such a deft mix of naturalism and otherness that even the occasional supernatural animal fits right in. Human figures, rare on the ice, seem to be either White or Arctic Native. The questionable choice to name the older bear with what many consider a derogatory term for Arctic Natives threatens to distract from his otherwise strong characterization, and appropriations from Arctic Native cultures go unparsed and uncredited. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 55% of actual size.)

An immersive ramble across a changing, yet somehow timeless, icy wilderness. (Graphic animal fantasy. 10-13)

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BOOKLIST -- In these episodic adventures, Waluk, a young polar bear accompanying the irascible, aging bear Eskimo, traverses the rapidly warming tundra looking for tasty seals, avoiding humans, and meeting other arctic denizens, like a sled-dog team and a snowy owl. A long plot about a cruel human, Castor, with a failing adventure-tourism business and a violent exit strategy, builds suspense, but interludes with other humans and animals offer moments of humor and lots of sly commentary. The threat of Castor's violence is immediate, but the unspoken danger of climate change and environmental destruction is a constant, troubling undercurrent. Miralles' fine-lined, detailed cartooning renders each animal with unique character, even within species, which is an impressive feat. Though some clumsy links to Indigenous mythology might grate some readers, the focus is almost exclusively on the polar creatures, which makes this a good pick for fans of animal stories. This volume collects some stories that were originally published in the U.S. in 2013, plus an ample amount of new material published in English for the first time. - Sarah Hunter