Tales from Outer Suburbia, Shaun Tan

It's funny how these days, when every household has its own intercontinental ballistic missile, you hardly even think about them.

 

Where The Arrival had a not a word in it past the title, Tales from Outer Suburbia is positively made of words. Fifteen stories, in fact, each one illustrated with different materials, moods and graphic styles. There are a number of standout stories, but each is infected with Tan’s enigmatic and gently absurdist worldview. In Eric for example, an overseas student comes to stay with a family but things don’t quite go as expected as Eric is fascinated by the everyday things and completely unmoved by the expected highlights. The story also incorporates the graphic elements, those things words can’t say, in a beautiful and surprising way. For those who found The Arrival a little austere, Tales From Outer Suburbia will open up the world of Shaun Tan in a whole new way.

Tales from Outer Suburbia is longlisted for the Golden Inky.