I first heard about Cathy Malkasian’s graphic novel, Eartha, from Glen Weldon on Pop Culture Happy Hour. I don’t remember his exact words, but I believe he described it as “beautiful.” He was enthusiastic enough that I bought a copy and was prepared to be enthralled.
I was disappointed in the first chapter. Although I am not a person who needs action-packed sequences to stay interested, the story’s pacing felt too slow for me. In the beginning we meet Eartha and the people of her home, Echo Fjord. We learn that they harvest dreams from the City, but recently the dreams have become scarce. When a few dreams finally appear, the first to show up is a graphic sex dream. At that point in the novel, I thought the dream was meant to titillate (pun intended), but it plays an important role in the second part of the book. In fact, many seemingly throw-away details in the first chapter will crop up later on.
Things finally pick up when Eartha leaves Echo Fjord for the City. When she arrives, she finds that the populace has become obsessed with news in the form of a biscuit. As she explores the mysteries of the City and inadvertently shakes things up, she collects allies — just as any protagonist in a fairy tale would.
Eartha’s adventures in the City completely won me over. The story itself is enthralling. The characters are strong, and the art is gorgeous, though not stereotypically so.
Eartha is not only beautiful, though — it’s also timely. As people obsess over their biscuits, she keeps asking, “Is it true?” I don’t know when Malkasian finished the book, but I have to believe she was commenting on our society with this story.
You need to know that Eartha is not like typical graphic novels; it’s hardcover and therefore not cheap. It may be difficult to get at the library, since it is so new, but it’s worth requesting if you decide not to buy it.