Oni Press is a name synonymous these days with great comics and graphic novels, from genre hits like the Sixth Gun to now comic classics like Scott Pilgrim Of course, one of their newest releases is Ivy, by newcomer Sarah Oleksyk, an unassuming little title that came out last week and is currently sitting in your local shops shelves. Starring the eponymous character, Ivy is a story of life and young love in a small town in Maine. Featuring a familiar story with great art, Ivy is another entry into the recognizable coming of age genre that we all know and love so much.
Take a look after the cut for some thoughts on the graphic novel.
Ivy the book stars Ivy the character, a girl in her senior year of high school in Maine on the cusp of graduating and trying to figure out what to do with her life. With an over bearing mother pushing her to go to a college that could lead to a practical job versus her teacher enforcing her artistic path, Ivy and her misanthropic behavior lead her down a road where not even her best friends know if they want to deal with her anymore. Despite her anti-social behavior, however, Ivy finds a connection in that of Josh, a fellow misanthrope who lives in Boston. The two find a connection with one another, and their long distance relationship becomes an element of solace and the suburban lives they long to break free from.
What Ivy succeeds in doing most efficiently is bringing back a time and a place. Ivy has a specific setting, but the general storyline is somewhat nostalgic and relatable even to those who have never been to Maine. We’ve all been 17, and some readers still might be, and for those of us repeatedly reading comics on a weekly basis I would certainly imagine that anxiety and the lack of fitting in is something that is easily relatable. Ivy is a familiar story in that this is where “coming of age” stories thrive. Young characters who actively represent everyone are characters who are easy to follow, and while the general story might be familiar, it’s more in the actions of how they get there. In some ways, Ivy is somewhat like a less religious Blankets, perhaps with the love element toned down a tad and the bizarre-ness of young hipster teens living in a culture they don’t belong in amped up. Ivy’s journey isn’t the journey we all take as we become more comfortable with our lives, but the feeling of power that comes with the delusion of youth is certainly a prevalent idea, and Oleksyk handles it well within the confines of the story.
Of course, what ultimately is the selling point of the story is Oleksyk’s art. As much as a coming of age story can be dolled up and be retold in different fashions, often times it depends on the artists interpretation of events that pull us in. A book like Blankets doesn’t just draw readers in because of it’s story of young love but also for the way Craig Thompson illustrates it. Oleksyk’s art is simply beautiful. Oleksyk has a great handling of scenery and shading, with very lush sequences of travel featured throughout the book as the characters travel from Maine down to Connecticut, or even in quieter moments in the home (such as the image above). Even more interesting of note, however, is Oleksyk’s handling of character in a very interesting fashion. Those who have seen (and possibly studied) American Beauty as much as I have might notice that one of the most interesting aspects of the film is the use of make up of the main characters Jane and Angela as the story progresses in order to make one more attractive than the other as a reflection of where the characters begin and end the story. Such is the case of Ivy – Ivy is a shifting character visually, and so are the characters around her, especially Josh. Josh begins the story as a character obviously meant to be rather attractive, but as the story progresses his visual look shifts to a more aggressive and dirty look, whereas Ivy is almost the opposite. Ivy is a rather unappealing character visually, but in the moments where she is meant to shine she does, and the book features scenes of her doing her best to look more attractive, to the point that by the end she visually looks like a character who has grown into her look, whereas at the beginning she’s actively fighting against herself (consciously or not). Whether Oleksyk did this on purpose or not is up for debate, the pay-off visually is hard to ignore.
Continued belowEveryone loves a good coming of age story, and Ivy’s is certainly a unique one. Ivy echoes a lot of intense emotions that often only thrive within the realm of teenage fantasy, but as the story progresses and Ivy makes her choices, you are treated to a very raw and real representation of teenagers. They might not be right, and upon reading you might even think that the characters themselves are overreacting or being foolish, but that inherently is the point. Someone once said that every five years, we reflect upon our lives for the past five years and note that in that time period, we were such asses – and that’s what being a teenager is all about. You think you’re on top of the world and you understand how it works better than everyone else, but you never do. Ever. Most coming of age stories feature a gradual understanding to this point, but Ivy is less fortunate and her realization is not only more harsh but ultimately most true. As Ivy’s life is definitively dismantled by the end of the book, a final conversation with her sworn enemy reveals a lot about her emotional growth as a character in a way that helps the stories meaning come full circle.
Ultimately, Ivy is a recognizable story. Coming of age stories aren’t anything ostensibly new, but they consistently entertain readers because more than anything else, they show us that we were never alone. As much as we may have entertained the idea that no one understood what we were going through, people did and do. Sarah Oleksyk does, and her first graphic novel shows this. It’ll be interesting to see where her career in comics goes from this, but Oleksyk is a very promising talent who dug a great corner in the genre and presented this tale for all to see.
The book is in stores now, and you can check out the first full chapter of the book right here. Give it a look through, and if the art doesn’t catch your eyes almost immediately you might need to consider going and getting an exam.
