A review by jbeoin
Don't Go Without Me by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Notes: memory loss, manipulation, isolation, impending doom

If any comic is exemplary of the visual craft of comics, it's this collection! My goodness, the strength of these pages' illustrations was genuinely a feast for the eyes! For that alone, I would recommend getting your hands on a copy of this, truly.

It was wonderful to read this while reviewing the digital library of comics devices from Reimena Yee, too. I found it really helpful to see such strong examples of comics devices "in the wild" while trying to study more of them.

I found the stories interesting, too, although I gotta say that the art was much stronger for me than the stories themselves. I found the reading to be a bit tedious after the first story, to be honest. It relied heavily on telling in the script rather than showing, which would draw me out of the incredibly well drawn moments. It felt like they didn't quite flow as one entity most of the time.

But goddamn, did the art make up for that! It was truly just absolutely stunning to look at. It was so meticulously executed. The compositions were carefully considered for maximum impact of each and every panel and page, and the use of values alone made my heart flutter. The was Rosemary Valero-O'Connell illustrates just takes my breath away, and I spent a good deal of time just admiring all the details of the pages.

Beautiful work, I absolutely recommend checking it out for yourself!