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When Douglas Adams, of Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy fame, was asked for his views on e-readers, he said

“Lovers of print are simply confusing the plate for the food��

I know that several of my GR friends do not agree with this and have a strong preference for paper books, but my personal view has always been that the words in the book count for more than the way those words are delivered (I do about half my reading in print and half on the e-reader or iPad) and that the message of those words is more important again.

I don’t read many graphic novels, but I have a similar take on them. A graphic novel is an alternative way to deliver a message, to meditate on themes, to stimulate the reader’s imagination.

Sabrina has disappeared and Teddy, her boyfriend, heads to the home of one of his oldest friends, Calvin, who works as a “boundary technician�� in the US military, leaving Sabrina’s sister, Sandra, alone to cope with her grief. Gradually, Calvin is pulled into a web of conspiracy theories and he himself becomes a target of fringe elements who see conspiracies everywhere, including in what has happened to Sabrina.

Calvin’s job is worth noting as (as Gumble’s Yard has pointed out) boundaries and borders are a key element in several of the Man Booker long listed books this year. Calvin tells Teddy,

”We have our networks, right? You know, sensitive information is being exchanged electronically across the globe. I look for weaknesses in the system, update firewalls, investigate possible security breaches.

Everything Under and Warlight have also used boundaries as key elements of their story-telling. Given that the judges this year have clearly stated that they picked the longlist to reflect the state of “a world on the brink��, it is not surprising that the topic of borders, boundaries, edges is common across several books. You don’t have to look at our modern world for long to see issues related to this.

There is a lot of loneliness in this book, too. From Sandra left alone when Teddy leaves, to Teddy hiding away, to Calvin’s family problems: many of the images poignantly show just one person alone in a room. The effects of victimisation through the Internet (emails, message boards etc.) that isolates a person is highlighted as Calvin and Sandra in particular are set upon.

I was thinking about why this works as a graphic novel rather than more standard text narration. In the end, both ways could work: I am sure someone could have written a novel in words with the same story as Drnaso has communicated in pictures and it could have worked equally well. But, as I said at the start, for me, all delivery methods are valid: it’s the message that counts and, if that is strong, who, really, is worried about how it is presented?