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On a Sunbeam
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Throughout the deepest reaches of space, a crew rebuilds beautiful and broken-down structures, painstakingly putting the past together. As new member Mia gets to know her team, the story flashes back to her pivotal year in boarding school, where she fell in love with a mysterious new student. Soon, though, Mia reveals her true purpose for joining their ship—to track down
...more
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Paperback, 533 pages
Published
October 2nd 2018
by First Second
(first published 2016)
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Bob Proehl
Not sure why it's so hard to find it on Goodreads, but it exists as an actual book, and it's fantastic:
www.indiebound.org/book/9781250178138
www.indiebound.org/book/9781250178138
Andrea
Yes. It's a collection of the webcomic from start to finish.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of On a Sunbeam
oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god I LOVED THIS SO MUCH oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god
I think this is probably now one of my favourite books ever.
This is the most expansive, unique, deeply emotional story I’ve read in a long time. It has humor and passion and love and family and the dedication to tell a story the right way with the most beautiful images. It’s also my new favorite graphic novel of all time.
Read here Preferably at 2am while curled up under blanket and contemplating existence.
"I read that chapter you showed me. About how I should think of all the circuits and wires like they're roads. And that it's like one big map. Every part is unique, but they're all connected. I think I sorta get it . . ."
Mia begins her adult life and gets a job in reconstruction with a small team which consist of two married women, a niece of one of them, and a non-binary person. But the story is not ...more
"I read that chapter you showed me. About how I should think of all the circuits and wires like they're roads. And that it's like one big map. Every part is unique, but they're all connected. I think I sorta get it . . ."
Mia begins her adult life and gets a job in reconstruction with a small team which consist of two married women, a niece of one of them, and a non-binary person. But the story is not ...more
Absolutely stunning.
12/21/18: Just to say that thought I read this for a long time in web-comic format, I recommend the recently published paperback version I just got from the library. Some observations: I bet the (visual) tone of it is much darker than Walden intended. This is just something that struck me after reading the larger images online, that when the images were shrunk for the book format, they got darker, of course. But for a book with sun in the title, it seems more moon than sun(ny) now. Still, after
...more
From the author of Spinning which I loved. This is a story set in space in what feels like the future. Lots of imagination on display here with great new things. I love the spaceship which looks like a flying fish.
I did have issue with this story. To me, the girls looked similar for the most part and I couldn't keep up who was who and what was going on. It was fairly confusing for me and I'm not entirely sure what just happened. Many things are never explained. Who is Ell? What is she wanted ...more
I did have issue with this story. To me, the girls looked similar for the most part and I couldn't keep up who was who and what was going on. It was fairly confusing for me and I'm not entirely sure what just happened. Many things are never explained. Who is Ell? What is she wanted ...more
3.5 stars. This graphic novel was gorgeously illustrated, with some lovely art of space that I just had to take a bunch of pictures of. I liked the f/f romance aspect of it and the way it was portrayed, but I felt I couldn’t really get attached to the characters very much and the plot wasn’t the most original. Would recommend picking this up though!
Nice art and good character development.
I liked the first half, which is two stories five years apart connected by the main character. In one she is a rebellious school experiencing first love; in the other a recent graduate at her first job, restoring old buildings. In spaaaaace.
In the middle the actual plot begins to emerge and I didn't find it very satisfactory in terms of any of the characters' motivations.
And I am a little puzzled as to what it means to have non-binary gender in a world ...more
I liked the first half, which is two stories five years apart connected by the main character. In one she is a rebellious school experiencing first love; in the other a recent graduate at her first job, restoring old buildings. In spaaaaace.
In the middle the actual plot begins to emerge and I didn't find it very satisfactory in terms of any of the characters' motivations.
And I am a little puzzled as to what it means to have non-binary gender in a world ...more
if the word beautiful was a book, this would be it.
well that was one of the gayest and most fantastic graphic novels i’ve ever read and the fact that there was a nb character? love that.
...more
Long graphic novel but well worth it, an F/F space-based sci-fi journey about a young woman finding her lost love. Mia signs on with a ship that travels to abandoned sites and renovates/restores them. She makes friends with the crew - one nonbinary person and the rest are women - and eventually enlists them to travel to a forbidden planet so she can say goodbye to the girl she loved.
It's told in a combination of present events and flashbacks to Mia's school romance, and I felt like both parts ...more
It's told in a combination of present events and flashbacks to Mia's school romance, and I felt like both parts ...more
this was so unapologetically queer, I'm happy (4.25)
This was so cute help
Back in early 2018 this was my first ever graphic novel (kinda crazy, I know) and then in 2019 it got nominated for a Hugo (kinda cool :) though it probably didn't have anything to do with me).
Anyways, here's my somewhat amateurish 2018 review:
I don’t think I've ever read a graphic novel. And the last time I read a comic was probably in 5th grade. I can’t tell you why really. But there are a few reasons I start now.
1) ...more
Anyways, here's my somewhat amateurish 2018 review:
It’s like the older you get the more you forget that you can change things
I don’t think I've ever read a graphic novel. And the last time I read a comic was probably in 5th grade. I can’t tell you why really. But there are a few reasons I start now.
1) ...more
Mia, a sometimes reckless young adult, struggles academically at a prestigious outer space boarding school, and graduates worrying she's come to a bit of a dead-end in her life. That changes when she is assigned work on a spaceship that rebuilds old structures all over the galaxy or universe (or multiverse?). This is where the story begins. Mia's life seems to be moving forward in a positive direction. School wasn't easy for her academically or, at times, socially, but her overwhelming worries
...more
2.5 stars.
The artwork in this was beautiful and the story was cute in certain parts but overall this was mediocre.
Major plot holes took away from my enjoyment of the book and left me with more questions than answers.
It used a mute character as a plot device for shock value.
The pretty artwork focused more on aesthetics than creating an understandable panel.
I know this is petty but at one point a hand was very clearly drawn backwards and that also took me out of the story.
I’m pretty sure ...more
The artwork in this was beautiful and the story was cute in certain parts but overall this was mediocre.
Major plot holes took away from my enjoyment of the book and left me with more questions than answers.
It used a mute character as a plot device for shock value.
The pretty artwork focused more on aesthetics than creating an understandable panel.
I know this is petty but at one point a hand was very clearly drawn backwards and that also took me out of the story.
I’m pretty sure ...more
physically i'm here right now reading this webcomic, but on all other levels of being, i'm tucked away on a cosy spaceship and navigating the cosmos looking for my long lost girlfriend
Oct 03, 2019
Aleksandra
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2018-releases,
graphic-novels-comics
4.5 stars!
This was so lovely and beautiful!
This was so lovely and beautiful!
This was an adorable webcomic where basically all the characters are queer girls/women + one nonbinary person. (The nonbinary person is misgendered at one point but it's immediately called out.)
The art style and the colours were very dream-like, and most of the time it worked really well to give the comic a unique feel, but sometimes I was a little lost. Still, I loved figuring out how the two timelines in the comic are connected (and how all the characters are connected!)
The art style and the colours were very dream-like, and most of the time it worked really well to give the comic a unique feel, but sometimes I was a little lost. Still, I loved figuring out how the two timelines in the comic are connected (and how all the characters are connected!)
AHHHHHH THIS WAS SO SWEET AND CUTE AND I LOVED THE CHARACTERS WITH MY WHOLE ENTIRE HEART. ALSO THE ART IS STUNNING.
RTC.
RTC.
This is a really good book. It may have been a great book if the first half hadn't been so slow and meandering. We flip back an forth between the protagonist, Mia, new member of a building restoration construction crew, and her time at boarding school five years earlier. We slowly get to know the characters in both settings, but it is also obvious that the author is withholding crucial information and the wait for the reveal starts feeling a little tedious.
The book improves dramatically once all ...more
The book improves dramatically once all ...more
I enjoyed this book a lot, the author was able to make the world the characters inhabit come alive, the graphics , the imagery all made this graphic novel stand out. The writing was simple but the story it portrayed was nuanced and once you started comprehending the backstory of each of the characters you could'nt stop cheering for them. The diversity shown and the fact that it focused on women didn't feel forced and at no point in the story it felt like a prop. Great book for any age to enjoy.
Jun 13, 2019
Kari Rhiannon (Moon Magister Reviews)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
This was so beautiful and wonderful and I’m going to have to buy a physical copy so I can stare at the artwork over and over again. Wow.
you do not understand how much the found family trope means to me. my heart is full. will i write a real review later? maybe, but i feel happy i've read this one.
The most beautifully drawn, imaginative graphic novel about space travel. Every page of this was just absolutely stunning, especially the fish spaceships.
Aug 20, 2019
chantal ☾
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sequential-art,
2019-favs
this . was . literal . perfection .
on a sunbeam is a story about family and growth and love and life. it feels so melancholy and quiet but at the same time so warm and inspring and uplifitng.
the colours and the art were simple, but not boring in the slightest. the simplicity gave every colour and detail more depth and meaning, i could go on about the illustrations for hours and hours, it's so breathtaking and stunning and beautiful and amazing and perfect and fantastic and aaaaaaaaaa
the story ...more
on a sunbeam is a story about family and growth and love and life. it feels so melancholy and quiet but at the same time so warm and inspring and uplifitng.
the colours and the art were simple, but not boring in the slightest. the simplicity gave every colour and detail more depth and meaning, i could go on about the illustrations for hours and hours, it's so breathtaking and stunning and beautiful and amazing and perfect and fantastic and aaaaaaaaaa
the story ...more
This book completely blew me away. I had already read and enjoyed other books by Tillie Walden, but this book exhibits her skills both as an artist and a writer at a completely new level. The pacing of the story, the style of the story, the plot and the emotions of the story are all braided into a completely seamless whole. Has anyone optioned the film rights for this story yet? I felt like I was hearing a soundtrack playing in my head as I read it. The story focuses on two different emotional
...more
This young adult graphic novel has the tale unfold via two timelines, both of which hinge upon Mia. In the current timeline, Mia is on a spaceship with a crew that rebuilds broken down buildings. In the other timeline we have flashbacks of a pivotal year at boarding school.
I should have loved this one. The entire universe seems to be populated by females, so there's none of that macho drama, though without Dads am not sure how we get new crops of girls each year. I really liked the diversity on ...more
I should have loved this one. The entire universe seems to be populated by females, so there's none of that macho drama, though without Dads am not sure how we get new crops of girls each year. I really liked the diversity on ...more
This was such a gorgeous and excellent book. The story is super compelling, and the characters are all really neat. There is also not a single man like anywhere, and that's neat, too.
There are sad and scary parts!! But also happy parts!! I think probably all of my friends would really enjoy this book. I was really touched by its themes.
There are sad and scary parts!! But also happy parts!! I think probably all of my friends would really enjoy this book. I was really touched by its themes.
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Tillie Walden is a cartoonist and illustrator from Austin, Texas. Born in 1996, she is a recent graduate from the Center for Cartoon Studies, a comics school in Vermont. Over the course of her time at CCS she published three books with the London based Avery Hill Publishing. She has already received an Eisner Award nomination and two Ignatz Awards for her early works. When she is not drawing
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