‘Light’: This Silent Graphic Novel Delivers an Adorable Adventure

Writer: Rob Cham / Artist: Rob Cham / Magnetic Press and Buno Publishing When I received Light, I was told that it’s a treat. What I can tell you is that Light is definitely that and so much more. It’s beautiful, charming, adventurous, and a great example of the power of visual storytelling. What immediately caught my attention with Light is the fact that it’s presented as a silent graphic novel. A moniker that while simple, can easily fail to meet expectations. Even graphic novels and comic books that have the benefit of both words and images find trouble conveying their story. Trying to tell one with artwork alone is a difficult task. However, Light succeeds in that regard by telling a story that is equal parts easy-to-follow and adorable.

Light’s main protagonist (who we’ll call the Adventurer) is an interesting one. The first page will tell you everything you need to know about them. The Adventurer is a hero who is a bit weary and seems reluctant to embark on this daring journey to collect five magical stones. Over the course of the book, you soon learn the hero’s motives and why they’ve decided to do something they are not otherwise excited about. What’s amazing is that all of this is conveyed through the use of imagery alone, moving you from one scene to the next without ever questioning what’s going on. The Adventurer’s visual design reminds me of the main characters from Bone, just without their eccentric personalities. In fact, much of Light reminds me of the classi…