THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2025! Bex Glendining’s On Starlit Shores is one of the graphic novel releases of 2025 that I have been most eagerly awaiting this year. That was based solely on any teases of the gorgeously illustrated interiors that I came across online. But having now had the chance to finally read the book it’s just as impressive as a reflective character study. Published by Abrams, it’s marketed as a YA story but it is replete with universal themes that those outside of that demographic will also relate to.
Set in the mysterious Indigo Harbour we follow Alex Wilson as she returns to this seaside town, accompanied by her best friend Grim, after the passing of her grandmother. Despite being born and growing up there Alex mysteriously remembers very little of her time living in the town. A place where sentient falling stars come to land and mythical creatures may be just a sidestep away. As she attempts to come to terms with her loss one name keeps reappearing. Who was the mysterious Elizabeth and what was her relationship to her grandmother?
What immediately strikes the reader about On Starlit Shores is the way in which it repositions the magical and the bizarre in a very everyday and, ironically, down-to-earth scenario. Slice-of-life storytelling blended with fantasy elements. Glendining’s art is rooted in realism and yet is also stunningly beautiful in composition in a quiet unobtrusive way, with a delicate use of colour that underlines the subtlety of their work. Important in a story that explores themes of loss, grief and the importance of friendship and family.
There are elements here that are not necessarily fully explained but that never feels frustrating. It only adds to the eerie atmosphere of the town and its surroundings. Whether that was the intent, of course, or whether Glendining has intentions to return to Indigo Harbour in the future to expand on some of the other plot points of the book remains to be seen. Hopefully it’s a mixture of both because the world-building in On Starlit Shores is both nuanced and enticing. A standout release for 2025 and Thought Bubble offers the opportunity to pick up a copy of this unforgettable book from the artist themself.
Bex Glendining (W/A) Abrams,
Review by Andy Oliver
Visit Bex Glendining’s website here
Bex Glendining is at Table A1 in the Bubbleboy Hall at Thought Bubble.
Thought Bubble 2025 runs from November 1oth-16th with the convention weekend taking place on the 15th-16th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2025 coverage so far in one place here.
Poster by Ng Yin Shian
