Broken Frontier

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Girl meets boy. Girl meets shark. Shark bites off girl’s leg. Road trip and antics ensue.

Brody is a tough, take-no-crap surfer chick with the world on a string…until the day a great white shark bites off her leg and changes her life forever. With her best friend, Louisa, by her side, Brody must attempt to adjust to her new disability. But nightmares and hallucinations plague the traumatized young woman and her leeching ex-boyfriend Jake is not helping matters. This leads her to undertake desperate measures (not to mention a multi-state road trip) to shake up her new life.

Water Baby is the latest graphic novel from DC’s Minx imprint, a line primarily aimed at a teenage female audience (though not without its charms for other readers, as the quality of the work attests). Writer/artist Ross Campbell, of Oni’s Too Much Hopeless Savages and Wet Moon, successfully channels the distinctive, casual speech patterns of his teenage subjects in this tale. The characters don’t ever sound affected or seem like an adult’s interpretation of how kids speak. At times, this proves to be a double-edged sword though. Campbell seems to subscribe to a school of dialogue that stays as true to life as possible, no matter how awkward or random the exchanges come across. This makes the teens sound very authentic but the style may be an acquired taste for some readers and the story can feel a bit meandering as a result.

Where Campbell shines however is in characterization. Beneath the quirky and random conversations there is genuine depth, especially for the book’s heroine. On the surface, Brody is aggressive and strong, a punk rock spirit uncaring of society’s conventions. But the nightmare sequences and moments when Brody is alone show a more vulnerable side that flesh the character out and earn our sympathy. Campbell also tackles a number of sensitive issues, such as sexuality, anger management, and being different, in a matter-of-fact way that adds dimension to the cast.

The characters’ personalities also show through Campbell’s art style, which aims for realism with a hint of stylization. From Brody’s mischievous expressions and perennial curling sneer to Louisa’s wide, innocent eyes and nurturing nature to Jake’s easy-going, vapid smile, we get a sense of who these people are in practically every panel. The increasingly disturbing dream sequences also show a twisted inventiveness on Campbell’s part.

While the dialogue may sound grating if you’re over the target age range of this book, Water Baby has a good story to tell and characters that always feel genuine.