Europe Comics has produced some graphic novel gems since their conception in 2015. Solely dealing in digital comics, the company has a reputation for good quality, with an eclectic mix of young adult stories. Adding to the list is their latest publication: Tales of Ona Volume 1 by Salvatore Di Bennardo and Yohan Sacré. Originally published in French and translated to English by Nanette McGuinness, Europe Comics once again succeeds in their mission to bring an array of European comics to different audiences. Tales of Ona is set to be an ongoing, multi-volume series, with the first volume having been released on 26th June.
“When there’s nothing left living… when there’s nothing left growing… above all don’t worry. Never lose hope”. Tales of Ona follows a young girl named Ona, living on an abandoned planet, who puts all her faith in this mantra, as the world she knows crumbles around her. Ona is a ‘Glimmer’, a magical being with a special connection to nature, searching for her lost clan. Slowly, we learn more about Ona’s history and how she ended up on this desolate plain; the Glimmers were forced to escape from their home island due to the sinister ‘Gloom’, an unknown entity which destroys all living organisms.
Despite her dreary surroundings, Ona has high hopes to reunite her clan and make the world safe again, but it won’t be easy. Through flashbacks, we retrospectively watch as the landscape is slowly taken over by the gloom, and Ona and her mother have to fight for their lives using ancient crystals (the birth rights of the Glimmers). But, back in the present, Ona faces the battle against the Gloom alone… or so she thinks.
Tales of Ona definitely found its footing more as the story went along, with the second half having much more exposition and action than the first, which felt a little slower. While Europe Comics tends to cater to a younger demographic, the elements of fantasy and adventure throughout are intriguing for all ages, as is the wider focus on ecology. Abounding in gorgeous panels of mushrooms, mist and sand, I was very much reminded of HBO Max’s recent animation triumph Scavengers Reign, in Ona’s focus on the weird, beautiful and sometimes terrifying aspects of nature gone rogue.
While the story is intriguing, it’s really through its art that Tales of Ona shines. Taking inspiration from Moebius’ World of Edena, as well as Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Castle in the Sky, Sacré’s light touch and delicate pencil sketches make every detail in this graphic novel gleam. With soft, rounded edges and pastel-painted skies and landscapes, Ona’s world looks almost like a dreamscape, particularly with its gorgeous array of side characters to embellish the story. From little Dini the bat to the cutesy lunar nomads (sweet little people who look like puppies and kittens!), Sacré adds to and embellishes the fantastical elements of this world with ease. I also enjoyed the artistic difference between Ona in the present day, and her flashbacks to her time as a child, which was drawn with less distinct lines, in a crayon, child-like style, really honing in on the sense of nostalgia.
Having little to no knowledge of plants and their properties, it was a lovely touch from the team to add chapter dividers delving into this. Including acacia for regrowth, hawthorn which soothes and heals and ivy to help sprout, each element introduced a chapter in which both its properties and its colour were present – the properties in the storytelling, and the colours through the subtle brush stroke hues. Nature was such an important part of the narrative, so it was exciting to find out more about its healing powers.
A staple of Europe Comics that is always enjoyable is the concept art sketches at the back of the book, and these ones were particularly gorgeous. Isn’t it amazing to see a young woman who unashamedly sports a unibrow and leg and arm hair – and it’s normalised?! Ona’s planet may be overrun by the gloom, but it’s light years ahead of our Earth in terms of women’s agency over their own bodies – a magic in itself. We love to see it, and are intrigued to see more!
Salvatore Di Bennardo (W), Yohan Sacré (A), Nanette McGuinness (T) • Europe Comics, £10.99
Available from digital comics suppliers
Review by Lydia Turner
