Broken Frontier

Not many comics succeed in making their protagonist so recognizable that any borders originating from its 2D origin drop away and his or her feelings resonate within your own emotional framework. Nao Brown however settles under your skin and becomes not only your own fears, irrationalities and doubts of ever making it into the real world but also those of your intimate friends, your lovers, your neighbours.

The Nao Of Brown by Glyn Dillon follows Nao on her journey in contemporarhy London dealing with life, love and her own worst fears in the form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. When a new love enters her life, how will she cope in combining a relationship with her OCD and how will the truth affect her search for balance?

Glyn Dillon charts a small part of a young adult’s life in such a mesmerizing way that you cannot help but be completely captivated by the trials and tribulations of this young illustrator, struggling to not only survive her transformation period into an adult but also her search for inner equilibrium. The delicate watercolours and luscious brushwork combine to create a gestalt where there is no difference between Nao’s inner and outer worlds. All is one. The reader is drawn into the summation of Nao’s emotional turmoil, and her actions in how she deals with the world, without the art ever overpowering the pages. Art and story work in a perfect tandem.

The Nao Of Brown is a powerful and resonating graphic novel that will provide you either temperance in life or the strength to carry on. It has recently won the Special Prix du Jury at Angoulême 2013 proving that great works cross the language barrier without ever slowing down.

Glyn Dillon has a great website for The Nao Of Brown where you can check out his creator process in terms through storyboards, sketches etc. Click here to view.

The Nao Of Brown is published by SelfMadeHero. It is a full colour hardcover counting 208 pages and retails for £16.99.