Review - Gaia Blues

Gaia Blues
by Gud
Date: 2011
Publisher: Europe Comics
Reading level: A
Book type: graphic novel
Pages: 64
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

Gaia is the ancient name of our Earth, a place now endangered by growing human pollution. A family of polar bears is about to discover what are the effects of this situation, in a story told entirely with no words.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is depressing and fatalistic. The blurb on the back cover reads: "Will Gaia save herself from the nefarious effects of Mankind? Perhaps there is a solution..." What's Gaia's solution? Melt all the ice and flood the planet. There's just one problem with that: there's not enough ice in the world to do what this book shows.

Yes, humans suck. We've treated this planet like a garbage can. We've polluted the atmosphere. We've mucked up the oceans. We've decimated the forests. We've polluted the land, and then seem surprised when we get sick living in a toxic environment. But what good does a book like this do? There are no suggestions, no solutions. According to this, we just have to get used to living on solar-powered boats. Or maybe on an island of floating garbage.

This just didn't impress me. It didn't shock me, or tell me anything I didn't already know. The fact that it's aimed at adults is even worse; viewed as such, it seems condescending. It's also defeatist, but at the same time judgmental, almost as if the book is scolding the reader for wrecking the planet.

But if you're going to offer just condemnation rather than helpful solutions, you're kind of part of the problem.

Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing a digital ARC.

Plot: 1/5
Characters: 1/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing & Editing: n/a
Illustration: 2/5
Originality: 1/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall Rating: 1.29 out of 5 ladybugs