by Sophie (Ross) Campbell
Water Baby is a comic about Brody, a teenage girl
who lost her leg in a shark attack, who is trying to get on with her life.
Along with her friend and roommate Louisa, Brody has to deal with her new
disability, come to terms with the trauma of the shark attack, figure out her
complicated sexuality, and deal with Jake, her jerk of an ex-boyfriend. Which
manifests mostly as a teenage road trip to get rid of the freeloading guy.
Water Baby is an odd child. On the one hand, it's a comic with oodles of diversity:
featuring a female protagonist of colour with a visible disability who is
probably queer in a comic that does a great job finding beauty in everyone. On
the other, the comic sexes everything up in a way that feels kind of weird in a
comic that is marketed to teenage girls. It's kind of a weird look. I also have
questions about the narrative direction of the comic: it works kind of like one
of those small, kind of dumb adventures you have as a teen with all the
emotional turmoil, confusion, and lack of resolution of real life. Which is
fine, but for me pales in comparison to a story taking a more direct look at
Brody dealing with her injury. Although, this feels like being disappointed in
a thing for being what it’s not, which is probably unfair. Water Baby does
feature great art, good enough to justify a read.
Word count: 250
Post by Michael Bround
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