Cormorance

by Nick Hayes

A girl, a boy and a deserted reservoir.

Cormorance is a story of fear, bravery and the redemptive force of connecting with the natural world. A wordless, purely visual story, it is – like any work by the award-winning Nick Hayes – a book of the utmost beauty, and a wonder to hold in your hand.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics, Art, Graphic Novels Comics

184 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2018

About the author

Nick Hayes is the author of The Rime of the Modern Mariner, an updating of Coleridge’s famous poem, and the visual biography Woody Guthrie and the Dust Bowl Ballads, both of which are among the most highly regarded of recent British long-form comics. He has also published two collections of his short comics, Lovely Grey Day and 11 Folk Songs. He is the founding editor of Meat magazine, a periodical showcasing new writing, comics and illustration and has won two Guardian Media awards.

Reviews

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing art 😍😍

[Pavel Pravda · Rating 5 out of 5]

English version below
CZ
Hrdiny knihy Cormorance jsou dvě osmileté děti žijící v Londýně. Žijí obklopeny láskou svých rodičů, kteří pro ně znamenají celý svět. Do jejich životů ale zasáhnou neštěstí, které spálí jejich jistoty a sny na prach. Obě jsou přinuceny postavit se svým strachům a osobním výzvám, které svedou jejich cesty dohromady. Potkají se u jednoho zakázaného jezírka plného ryb, kormoránů, volavek a jiných vodních ptáků, kde znovu najdou naději. V důsledku obrovské ztráty nachází někoho, kdo jim pomůže jejich smutek lépe překonat.
Cormorance je nádherná kniha - od designu desek pevné vazby, přes kresbu plnou imaginace, až po jemně vystavěný dojemný příběh. Jejím autorem je talentovaný londýnský spisovatel a ilustrátor Nick Hayes, kterého čeští čtenáři mohou znát z českého vydání jeho Opilého námořníka. Hayes dokázal krásně vykreslit křehkost dětské duše i krásu přírody, která může být ukryta i uprostřed města za plotem s ostnatým drátem. Cormorance podle mě patří k nejlepším komiksům beze slov.
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EN
The heroes of the book Cormorance are two eight-year old kids from London. They are living with loving parents and their parents are their whole world. When their lives are hit by tragedy then their feeling of safety and dreams are burned to ashes. Both of them have to face to their fears and personal challenges. They meet each other at forbidden small lake full of fishes, cormorans, herons and another water birds where they again find hope. As a result of big personal loss they are finding someone who helps them overcome sadness.
Cormorance is beautiful book - from design of hardcover, over art full of imagination to a finely written touching story. Author of this book is English writer and illustrator Nick Hayes. Czech readers can know him as author of The Drunken Sailor. Hayes was able to beautifly depict fragility of a child's soul and also the beauty of nature, which can may hidden in the middle of the city behind a barbed wire fence. Cormorance is definitely one of the best silent comics.

[Jeimy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m honestly not sure what I just read, but the illustrations are gorgeous!

[Aiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Physically, mentally, emotionally beautiful. Touching. Artwork is beautiful, birds and humans and water entwined throughout.

[Eli Poteet · Rating 5 out of 5]

woah, this was such a unique piece of artwork. i am charmed by its style and the physical realities of this volume. the repersentation of nature is gorgeous, i am taken by how the creator braided humanlife and "wildlife".

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the brilliant sepia hues of “Woody Guthrie And the Dust Bowl Ballads”, Nick Hayes makes a return to the exquisite cerulean shades that made his debut graphic novel “Rime of the Modern Mariner” so captivating. This is a completely silent tale about two children who both seek refuge from sadness in a reservoir. Placing this oasis in the middle of a contemporary urban setting helps to highlight the wonderment of the natural world as well as its mentally soothing properties. Imagine that sad bit at the start of Pixar’s “Up” but double it and ground it in a more realistic setting then you might start to get a feel of what this book is about. Nick Hayes’ illustrations are brilliantly throughout moving from panel to panel with fluidic grace. Full splash pages impress with the layer over layer of lines and simple colour. The highlight is about two thirds in (no page numbers in this book so I can’t be specific) where the pages fold out into a four page picture of the reservoir nature and industry sitting alongside showcasing what makes this book so special. Its been two years since the last book but trust me is worth the wait. According to foghornhayes.com there is another project also being worked on; “The Drunken Sailor”, which tells the life story of French poet Arthur Rimbaud so it looks like another gem will be on its way in the not too distant future :)

[Olivia Thames · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a soothing and tranquil 'photo album' to complete this year's Reading Challenge, and to say farewell to one year/decade before welcoming in a new one.

Nick Hayes "Cormorance" is a wordless, graphic novel that is anything but silent about recovery in the wake of emotional pain. Both of our lead characters have lost someone dear, and by retreating to what they know (or would like to forget) they discover the third and healthy option of shared grief where both figures can support the other's chin to take in the endless horizon. Although we grieve in different ways, and sometimes find solitude to be the preferred state to dwell in, there comes a time where hand in hand we take those swimming wings off and leave the shore.

As we enter a new year we are often encouraged to shed the past year(s) for what was weighing us down, in order to soar or glide to what breezes will help us climb higher and higher like the wild birds in this GN.

I hope whatever frees your wings this coming year in order to fly is liberating.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This summer I went swimming
This summer I might have drowned
But I held my breath and I kicked my feet
And I moved my arms around
I moved my arms around

Swimming Song
Loudon Wainwright III

This is a hauntingly beautiful, 'silent', graphical novel, told entirely in pictures, each of which could pass as works of art.

A young boy loses his mother just after his 8th birthday and the story tells of his coming to terms with his grief and his quest to rescue photos of her which he set free into to world, tied to a helium balloon.

[Christy Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit challenging to describe for me as I rarely read graphic novels, but this beautiful wordless picture book was decidedly a story geared for adults told only through pictures and while the characters were children, this is not a children's storybook. A sad story of grief and loss transmuted thru relationship to the birds, fish, water and, finally, another person in their own quest, there is a quiet unfolding that feels resolved and calm rather than depressing. The blessing of humor and absurd ways we release emotion, the angers and the moments of connection make this a book worth seeking out.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated graphic novel about loss and friendship and nature.
I found the story to be quite deep and moving, and so much was said despite the fact that the only words in the book were either noises or background words (words that had no bearing on the story).
I like how it was broken into three parts/chapters. Each one with their own essence really. The foldout page in the third part was beautiful and fit well with how the story was going.
I liked the simplicity of the illustrations and the color scheme chosen, and the muted colors, especially with use of so few colors, really helps focus on the images.
Really beautiful book. A book I would be quite likely to recommend.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those graphic novels without words that I would hold up as one that should not be rushed, though one may be tempted by the lack of words to read. There are so many faces, emotions and pauses to read, instead. The repetition of some panels was something that the reader needs to pace out, instead of rush through, in order for the emotional punches that come later to land as heavy as they do. The art is lovely, and the layout, as well; the story got to me, and made me want to give my mom a hug.

[Kirsten Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning artwork. I sobbed my eyes out in the first 3rd but didn't enjoy the end as much as the beginning. A beautiful story. Challenging for me to read a pictures-only book because I am a wordy kind of person. I was surprised it had me so emotional.

[Shea Proulx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous and sublime. A perfect example of how to tell a wordless story. I found this in a big London bookstore, looking for something special that I might not find in Canada, and I was not disappointed.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is beautifully illustrated, and this somewhat makes up for the fact that it took such a long time for the story to actually progress.

[Kieff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning ode to the relationship between mothers and their children and the natural world in the middle of cities. I adored every minute.

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully realized wordless graphic novel covering loneliness and loss and the solace found in quiet, natural landscapes where language is superfluous.

[Paul Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpice. Wordless and full of emotion.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork.
Take your time with this one, it's worth it.

[Simi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

The story wasn’t all that interesting but the art is great. I intend to read it again to appreciate the illustrations.

[Violeta Laralá · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and powerful. Una imagen vale más que mil palabras.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully drawn story about the healing power of nature.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. There are no words, but I feel each and ever emotion the characters are experiencing. I borrowed it from the library but I would actually love to own this novel.