PUFFER AND CLARISSA

In Nelson’s YA SF graphic novel set on an ocean planet, two human teenagers have an adventure, during which they will change each other—and the world on which they live.

This quirky adventure explores such themes as choosing positive relationships over toxic ones and living in a world where power struggles exist far outside the average person’s control. Fifteen-year-old Puffer acts as muscle for her “mad scientist” mother, Sharon, who was once a minion of the evil Lord Jel but is now attempting to take over Planet Aqua herself. Sharon constantly belittles her daughter, setting Puffer up for a rude awakening when they raid a small town aboard a ship and she sees the very different dynamic between the town’s leader, Wallace, and his adopted daughter, Clarissa. After Puffer and Clarissa are accidentally thrown overboard, they must rely on each other to survive, resulting in a classic odd-couple journey of burgeoning friendship. Nelson’s graphic novel is, tonally, a bit hard to pin down. The melodramatic villains and cutesy character designs make it come across as a fairly family-friendly story that addresses the broad notions of unhealthy familial relationships and dictatorships in a way fit for younger readers. It’s jarring, therefore, when one of the villains beheads someone or when a pile of dead bodies is found. That said, the story effectively revolves around the decisive act of freeing oneself from a bad situation—saying “your love doesn’t feel good” and choosing to be a positive force in the world. Bonus chapters also reveal more of the villains’ backstories, and this context adds a touch more nuance to the main plotline, especially in how it shows Sharon to be capable of regret.

A sometimes-jarring but heartfelt narrative in a creatively rendered world.