The Book Nook: "Trillium" (Jeff Lemire)

I have always felt that great literature wasn't limited to simply prose style books. Rather, I feel that the world of graphic novels, and comic mini-series can provide great additions to the literary field.

One such mini-series is Jeff Lemire's eight issue series, "Trillium".

The year is 1921, and William Pike- a veteran of The Great War, is on an expedition to a lost Inca temple in the dark jungles of Peru...

The year is 3797, and Nika Temsmith- a botanist, is on a research mission seeking a mysterious flower in the dark expanses of space...

The year is 1921, and Pike is seeking to save his sanity by finding meaning and purpose in Life again...

The year is 3797, and Temsmithh is seeking to save humanity from an all consuming virus...

The two will discover that time and space are meaningless... but that Love can save more than one person...

"Trillium" is one of those amazing sci-fi stories that you'd find in a wrinkled covered anthology books sold in used book stores. You'd expect to see this story in a book from the 1950's- when sci-fi B-movies were the rage. There are strong elements of that in the storyline and the artwork... but it all works so well to give you an entertaining, and emotionally engaging read.

The characters are developed beautifully throughout the story- as is their growing relationship. You come to care about William and Nika as the series progresses, and want them to succeed. They are unique, and complex characters that ARE the core of the story. This is rare to find in comics these days.

The artwork is very raw, and emotional. Just some amazing panels such as the page below:

It's a remarkable blending of solid, strong pen strokes, and fluid, moody colours. Jeff Lemire and colourist Jose Villarrubia brought life and atmosphere to each panel without detracting or distracting from the story and the characters.

I'm glad that I was able to pick this series up as a trade paperback so I could discover such a wonderful story. I recommend checking it out as well. A nice, solid "Good" from me.

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