It’s been over a decade since I first covered Olivia Sullivan’s comics, back in the days when she was contributing to the much-missed Dirty Rotten Comics anthology. Since then, of course, Sullivan has not only been named as one of our early Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ creators but has created a significant body of self-published abstract comics work. In that time I have watched as she has experimented with formats, reinterpreted the very language of comics, and watched her practice develop into its own unique take on graphic poetry. She’s one of the most truly innovative voices in the UK community, constantly carving out her own distinctive niche in our indie comics scene. And greater recognition for her practice is long overdue.
All of which brings us to Oracles, her first long-form work published by Avery Hill. The book, described as an exploration of grief, loss and healing, fuses autobiographical elements into a narrative that casts the reader in the role of observer, as its narrator takes us on an emotional journey of self-discovery, catharsis and understanding.
In that regard it uses Sullivan’s established process of asking the reader to play their own part in analysing, deciphering and taking meaning from its pages. We follow our protagonist on a journey through nature, echoes of the past impinging on the present as memory and environment converge in their meditations. Sometimes these reflections are oblique, inviting interpretation; sometimes they feel direct and universal, mirroring our own lived experiences with an eerie familiarity.
This blend of powerful words, visual metaphor, and constantly changing, dream-like layouts combines to provide a connection between reader and page that feels both visceral and instinctive, yet articulate and sophisticated as well. Traditional panel-to-panel storytelling flows into lyrical, one-page, illustrated text sequences without the transition ever feeling awkward or uncomfortable. Sullivan doesn’t just embed meaning in “panels”, or the gaps between panels, but also in the space around panels as well.
Oracles examines loss and coming to terms with it. It’s a visual essay charting a quest for truth, identity and an understanding of the forces that shape us. A trip through a symbolic landscape of realisation and acceptance. It’s Sullivan at her most reflective and profound, and the culmination of a decade’s work reshaping and reforming the foundations of comics into her own inimitable style and dialect.
Olivia Sullivan (W/A) • Avery Hill Publishing, £11.99
Buy online from Avery Hill here
Buy online from Gosh! Comics here
Review by Andy Oliver
