Title: THE UNDERWATER WELDER
Author: JEFF LEMIRE
Genre: GRAPHIC NOVEL (ADULTS & TEENS), CANADIAN FICTION
Length: 221 PAGES
Publisher: TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS
Release Date: 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60309-074-2
Price: $25.00 CDN
Rating: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
DESCRIPTION:
Pressure. As an underwater welder on an oilrig off the coast of Nova Scotia, Jack Joseph is used to the immense pressures of deep-sea work. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the pressures of impending fatherhood.
As Jack dives deeper and deeper, he seems to pull further and further away from his young wife, and their unborn son.
But then, something happens deep on the ocean floor. Jack has a strange and mind-bending encounter that will change the course of his life forever. … Equal parts blue-collar character study and mind-bending science fiction epic, The Underwater Welder is a 250-page graphic novel that explores fathers and sons, birth and death, memory and truth, and treasures we all bury deep down inside.
MY REVIEW:
Graphic novels aren’t just for kids anymore and there is no better novel to demonstrate that fact than “The Underwater Welder.”
The story is about a blue collar guy named Jack Joseph. He lives and works in Nova Scotia as an underwater welder just offshore on an oil rig. He is about to become a father and that fact makes him think about his own father and how he died.
Jack dives deep underwater and one day, while welding, he spots something on the ocean floor and decides to investigate.
Above, on the oil rig, Jack’s supervisor notices that something is wrong and Jack is rescued and returned to the rig. The doctor sends him home.
However, the problems Jack is experiencing are not based on location. They are all inside his head.
This graphic novel is an amazing character study. It demonstrates the impact the loss of a parent as a child can have on a person, and that left untreated, depression can continue into adulthood and have a lasting impact on a person’s life, even without them realizing it.
The story also highlights the stress of becoming a father (or mother) for the first time. Family dynamics are also explored and it proves that it can take a major event to break through the shadow of the past to become the person you want to be.
There are numerous life lessons in this 200+ page graphic novel and even if readers do not realize it, those lessons may sink into the reader’s unconscious mind.
Even without considering the lessons learned, this graphic novel is a well thought out and exquisitely plotted tale about an average guy leading an average life. There are no superpowers to be found and none are needed.
It is easy to see why this graphic novel won so many awards and also became a Best-Seller.
I strongly recommend this graphic novel to readers over the age of eighteen. If you have ever been curious about this type of story, THE UNDERWATER WELDER would be a perfect first purchase.
The Underwater Welder was Amazon’s Top Ten Graphic Novels of 2012, Amazon Canada’s #1 Best Graphic Novel of 2012, and A.V. Club’s Top Ten Graphic Novels for 2012. It received a Publishers Weekly starred review and the Comics Alliance’s Charles Xavier Memorial Award Best Comics of 2012 for “Best Melancholic Welding Drama.”
In researching this title, I discovered that Ryan Gosling, Ken Kao, and Anonymous Content are planning to produce a movie adaptation of Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel “The Underwater Welder.” I know that I will be watching it on the big screen one day soon.
I rate “The Underwater Welder” as 5 out of 5 Stars in the graphic novel category. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
** I purchased a signed copy of this graphic novel at WORD ON THE STREET – TORONTO.**
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Click HERE to watch the video highlighting Jeff Lemire’s next project – the movie.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jeff Lemire is an award-winning Canadian cartoonist, and the author of the Essex County Trilogy, Sweet Tooth and The Nobody. Lemire is known for a his moody, humanistic stories and sketchy, cinematic, black-and-white art.
To learn more about this author, visit the following links:
Upcoming graphic novel:
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