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En mer
Dans un endroit que l’on imagine être l’Amérique ou l’Angleterre du 17e siècle, un colosse, poète sans le sous en manque d’inspiration, écume les bars d’un port. Kidnappé pour servir de matelot dans un navire en route pour Hong-Kong, il se frotte à la dure réalité de la vie en mer.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published August 10, 2010
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651 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
March 18, 2017
This is just a sweet little book.
A lovable galoot with the soul of a poet is kidnapped and forced to work on a ship.
He travels the world and has many swell adventures, discovering in the process what has been missing from his poetry.
The panels of our hero staring longingly into bookshop windows tugged at my heart.
I don't remember the last time I wanted to hug a book.
A lovable galoot with the soul of a poet is kidnapped and forced to work on a ship.
He travels the world and has many swell adventures, discovering in the process what has been missing from his poetry.
The panels of our hero staring longingly into bookshop windows tugged at my heart.
I don't remember the last time I wanted to hug a book.
April 6, 2021
Swept up by a press gang, a passed-out poet awakens upon the sea in this short but effective ode to creativity and the sailing life. Despite being 146 pages, with only one (often wordless) panel per page, this graphic novel only takes about as long to read as a 22-page comic book. The art is cartoonish but works well for the story.
March 11, 2011
From my blog:
I’ve been meaning to pick up Drew Weing’s Set to Sea since I read a glowing review of it in Time’s Comic Book Club last fall. I finally got around to it in the last week and I’m very thankful I did.
When I was purchasing it I thought, “seventeen bucks is pretty cheap for a hardcover graphic novel”. Then I opened the box it was delivered in and saw why. The book is very small and the story is told in a series of one-page panels. I read it in ten minutes. Then I read it again. Then I picked it up again that night and read it again. It’s safe to say I’ve read it ten times since plus I keep flipping through to look at favorite moments.
It’s the story of a big lug of a wannabe poet in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century struggling with writing a book of nautical poetry before finding himself on a real sailing vessel. Despite his size, he’s borderline useless on the boat, struggling with his life at sea before they’re raided and he gets his eye shot out. From there, he discovers what Joseph Campbell called his bliss as a sailor. Through the hardships of this life he not only finds purpose but also his voice as a poet.
The legacy of E.C. Segar (creator of Popeye) hangs over the entire work. I also thought a lot about Jeff Smith’s work on Bone. The characters are drawn in a similar fashion which many people make the mistake of calling simple. Their features may not be detailed but you know everything you need to at first glance. Every emotion is on the surface and they’re powerful.
And while the characters are “cartoony” the environment they’re in is anything but. You can see details in the grain in every piece of wood and every ripple on the waves that surround them. I could frame every panel in the book. In fact, Weing could have a very interesting gallery showing of his work from this book, where attendees could see the story unfold as they moved through the panels.
The storytelling is also first rate. In some sections of the book, the space between panels is mere seconds and elsewhere it’s months. By capturing the most important moments and discarding everything in between, the book allows you to make the connections. This is why the book gets more rewarding with every read-through.
The most powerful section of the book is where we’re taken through years of his experiences from the exotic locations he sees to a battle with a whale to the mourning of a friend. The pages may be small but they don’t feel that way.
I think I’ll continue to thumb through this book for a long time.
I’ve been meaning to pick up Drew Weing’s Set to Sea since I read a glowing review of it in Time’s Comic Book Club last fall. I finally got around to it in the last week and I’m very thankful I did.
When I was purchasing it I thought, “seventeen bucks is pretty cheap for a hardcover graphic novel”. Then I opened the box it was delivered in and saw why. The book is very small and the story is told in a series of one-page panels. I read it in ten minutes. Then I read it again. Then I picked it up again that night and read it again. It’s safe to say I’ve read it ten times since plus I keep flipping through to look at favorite moments.
It’s the story of a big lug of a wannabe poet in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century struggling with writing a book of nautical poetry before finding himself on a real sailing vessel. Despite his size, he’s borderline useless on the boat, struggling with his life at sea before they’re raided and he gets his eye shot out. From there, he discovers what Joseph Campbell called his bliss as a sailor. Through the hardships of this life he not only finds purpose but also his voice as a poet.
The legacy of E.C. Segar (creator of Popeye) hangs over the entire work. I also thought a lot about Jeff Smith’s work on Bone. The characters are drawn in a similar fashion which many people make the mistake of calling simple. Their features may not be detailed but you know everything you need to at first glance. Every emotion is on the surface and they’re powerful.
And while the characters are “cartoony” the environment they’re in is anything but. You can see details in the grain in every piece of wood and every ripple on the waves that surround them. I could frame every panel in the book. In fact, Weing could have a very interesting gallery showing of his work from this book, where attendees could see the story unfold as they moved through the panels.
The storytelling is also first rate. In some sections of the book, the space between panels is mere seconds and elsewhere it’s months. By capturing the most important moments and discarding everything in between, the book allows you to make the connections. This is why the book gets more rewarding with every read-through.
The most powerful section of the book is where we’re taken through years of his experiences from the exotic locations he sees to a battle with a whale to the mourning of a friend. The pages may be small but they don’t feel that way.
I think I’ll continue to thumb through this book for a long time.
August 27, 2021
A fantastic book that looks at what makes us who we are. The protagonist is a penniless poet who is kidnapped as a crew member for a ship bound for Hong Kong. When the ship he is on is raided he is forced to fight, and defeats the captain of the boarding crew. The men then gravitate to this gentle giant (who looks as if he could be related to Alice the Goon from the old Popeye comic strip) and soon this frustrated poet finds the inspiration to write from his heart. Shades of Treasure Island, Moby Dick and Mutiny on Board Hms Bounty make this a wonderful tale of finding yourself only after you have lost everything. Fantastic art - highest recommendation.
February 27, 2021
Мініатюрна, але цілісна та глибока історія про те, як реалізувати своє призначення в житті. Здоровезний громила хоче писати поезію, проте в нього якось все йде не так. Наче текст кладеться у рядки, але весь час чогось не вистачає. Раптом він опиняється на кораблі, де змушений виконувати фізичну роботу (work, work!) доти, доки екіпаж не атакують пірати. Будучи на межі смерті, він все ж рятує команду й себе, а згодом починає... відчувати поезію у морі.
Дивна, на перший погляд навіть химерна історія змішала в собі морську тематику, Мобі Діка й моряка Папая, але абсолютно дивовижно створила власну унікальну ауру. Цю історію можна тлумачити за різними варіантами. Ось вам метафора того, що людина так чи так знаходить своє призначення, якщо навіть цього не хоче. Ось ще ідея про те, що життя саме по собі є поезією, а тому, сидячи в таверні чи на березі (тобто нічого не роблячи), навряд чи вийде щось змінити в своєму життя. Ось ще пригоди, алюзії на світову культурну традицію, яку цікаво й весело розкодовувати.
Дивовижно, що усе це на маленькій брошурці із цікавим самобутнім малюнком. Як виявилось, Дрю Вейнґ присвятив цьому цілих п'ять років, щоб передати життєвий шлях свого героя від моменту розпочу до відчуття щастя і самодостатності. Чудова ілюстрація того, як творчий шлях автора збігається із історією свого героя.
Дивна, на перший погляд навіть химерна історія змішала в собі морську тематику, Мобі Діка й моряка Папая, але абсолютно дивовижно створила власну унікальну ауру. Цю історію можна тлумачити за різними варіантами. Ось вам метафора того, що людина так чи так знаходить своє призначення, якщо навіть цього не хоче. Ось ще ідея про те, що життя саме по собі є поезією, а тому, сидячи в таверні чи на березі (тобто нічого не роблячи), навряд чи вийде щось змінити в своєму життя. Ось ще пригоди, алюзії на світову культурну традицію, яку цікаво й весело розкодовувати.
Дивовижно, що усе це на маленькій брошурці із цікавим самобутнім малюнком. Як виявилось, Дрю Вейнґ присвятив цьому цілих п'ять років, щоб передати життєвий шлях свого героя від моменту розпочу до відчуття щастя і самодостатності. Чудова ілюстрація того, як творчий шлях автора збігається із історією свого героя.
April 1, 2019
চমৎকার! এক পাতায় এক ফালি ছবির কৌশলটা আগে দেখিনি। অল্প কথা, সূক্ষ্ম ছবি; শিল্প নির্দেশনার পেছনে যথেষ্ট খাটনির ছাপ একটু পরপর। গল্পটা সরল, সুন্দর, নাড়া দেওয়ার মতো।
August 4, 2019
Possibly the smallest graphic novel I’ve ever read, heh
Really enjoyed the story and unique art! And I adore the full circle ending. Wish I’d known about the eye horror beforehand though.
Really enjoyed the story and unique art! And I adore the full circle ending. Wish I’d known about the eye horror beforehand though.
August 12, 2017
Apparently, I read this four or five years ago (ish)--and gave it four stars and no review.
I reread it yesterday (no recollection of having read it before) and had mixed feelings.
On one hand, the style, pacing and humor are wonderful. It has one-page panels, which I love, and not a lot of text, which works really well. It's an immersive visual story and has a classic narrative coming of age arc along with a touch of Popeye and a dash of Hemingway. And it kind of makes fun of a cartoonified angsty, self-absorbed poet in a way that I appreciate in moments.
On the other hand, this "innocence to experience" motif--the crap inexperienced poet transforming to super-hero-pirate experienced poet is a bit worrisome to me. For kind of the same reasons I liked it. The classic, allegorical narrative is a bit lazy, and the Popeye + Hemmingway bits, well. Let's just say this book not only doesn't pass the Bechdel test, but I think the only female characters are 1) a forlorn waitress at an inn being ickily leered at by a pirate and 2) a more aristocratic woman singing the praises of the pirate-poet's book.
So much under the surface here metaphorically and philosophically in terms of what makes a poet's work authentic and meaningful and what it means to be experienced. And I'm not sure the book does justice to the complexities of the questions asked. It certainly values and centers ideas of masculinity that don't resonate with me.
So, I'm giving it three stars for immersive art and narrative brio and for giving me so much to think about (a close to classic story arc where a sensitive poet becomes popeye after spinach and then writes much better poetry; places where narrative simplicity and complexity meet and converse.)
I reread it yesterday (no recollection of having read it before) and had mixed feelings.
On one hand, the style, pacing and humor are wonderful. It has one-page panels, which I love, and not a lot of text, which works really well. It's an immersive visual story and has a classic narrative coming of age arc along with a touch of Popeye and a dash of Hemingway. And it kind of makes fun of a cartoonified angsty, self-absorbed poet in a way that I appreciate in moments.
On the other hand, this "innocence to experience" motif--the crap inexperienced poet transforming to super-hero-pirate experienced poet is a bit worrisome to me. For kind of the same reasons I liked it. The classic, allegorical narrative is a bit lazy, and the Popeye + Hemmingway bits, well. Let's just say this book not only doesn't pass the Bechdel test, but I think the only female characters are 1) a forlorn waitress at an inn being ickily leered at by a pirate and 2) a more aristocratic woman singing the praises of the pirate-poet's book.
So much under the surface here metaphorically and philosophically in terms of what makes a poet's work authentic and meaningful and what it means to be experienced. And I'm not sure the book does justice to the complexities of the questions asked. It certainly values and centers ideas of masculinity that don't resonate with me.
So, I'm giving it three stars for immersive art and narrative brio and for giving me so much to think about (a close to classic story arc where a sensitive poet becomes popeye after spinach and then writes much better poetry; places where narrative simplicity and complexity meet and converse.)
October 22, 2015
Set to Sea sam našao na ovoj listi "nijemih", odnosno stripova bez dijaloga, iako se tehnički ne bi trebao tamo nalaziti jer ima nešto dijaloga, no dobro. Na listu sam nabasao kada sam pročitao The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 i Cinema Panopticum vrlo zanimljive stripove Thomasa Otta i glasovao za njih, tu sam našao i The Arrival, Shauna Tana koji je opravdano na prvom mjestu liste.
Set to Sea mi je daleko slabiji.
Ovo je jednostavna priča o traženju inspiracije i (valjda) o tome kako treba pisati o onome o čemu nešto znaš. Napravljeno je to na zabavan način, ali nema tu ništa što bi zadivilo ili potaklo na razmišljanje. Ni crtež mi nije baš nešto, što je veliki minus kod ovako jednostavne priče.
Ipak pročita se za 10-15 minuta, čak i uz duže uživanje u crtežu - strip ima oko 140 stranica, ali svaka stranica sadrži samo jednu ilustraciju odnosno kadar - za što nema nekog posebnog opravdanja, jer crteži nisu detaljni. Autor je navodno, barem tako tvrdi u zahvalama, na ovome radio punih 5 godina - valjda računa od dobivanja ideje za strip i par godina razmišljanja o njoj, jer sumljam da mu je trebalo 5 godina da ovo napiše i nacrta.
Kod ocjene sam se premišljao između "it was ok" i "liked it" -
neka bude (slaba) trojka.
Set to Sea mi je daleko slabiji.
Ovo je jednostavna priča o traženju inspiracije i (valjda) o tome kako treba pisati o onome o čemu nešto znaš. Napravljeno je to na zabavan način, ali nema tu ništa što bi zadivilo ili potaklo na razmišljanje. Ni crtež mi nije baš nešto, što je veliki minus kod ovako jednostavne priče.
Ipak pročita se za 10-15 minuta, čak i uz duže uživanje u crtežu - strip ima oko 140 stranica, ali svaka stranica sadrži samo jednu ilustraciju odnosno kadar - za što nema nekog posebnog opravdanja, jer crteži nisu detaljni. Autor je navodno, barem tako tvrdi u zahvalama, na ovome radio punih 5 godina - valjda računa od dobivanja ideje za strip i par godina razmišljanja o njoj, jer sumljam da mu je trebalo 5 godina da ovo napiše i nacrta.
Kod ocjene sam se premišljao između "it was ok" i "liked it" -
neka bude (slaba) trojka.
November 23, 2012
Short, very nicely done drawings that primarily tell the tale. Homage to early comic days, to art and poetry (the main character is a sea-faring poet), to salty (not really that "salty", though) sea tales, very short and small. Kinda neat. Well done. Didn't bowl me over, but well done.
January 18, 2023
A short and simple read as every page is a single panel black and white drawing. Although the characters are drawn in a cartoonish style, they effectively convey emotions, but it is the backgrounds that are detailed and evocative, depicting life aboard a sailing vessel and visits to foreign ports. The main character is also cartoonish in appearance but sympathetic in nature and is recognizable throughout his maturation and change. It is his story as his unchosen and enforced life at sea expands his experiences and viewpoints and enriches his life so that his dream for himself comes true. The beginning and ending bookends of the story are a very nice touch also.
June 6, 2011
It is hard not to rush through Weing's gem of a book. His one-panel-per-page approach allows his wonderfully nuanced art to tell the story of how the life we imagine for ourselves can never approach the life we actually get to live. In Proustian form, Weing's poet acquires his wisdom painfully via life - how nothing is really learned properly until there is a problem, until there is some pain, until something fails to go as planned - and finds significant contentment on the other side of difficult truths.
There is a certain exaggerated roundness to Weing's style that is simultaneously sweet and disturbing. The main character is grotesquely disproportioned, a visual representation of the disparity between the notion of reality and actual reality. Each image, though rendered in simple black and white, conveys a sense of careful attention - be it the hundreds of tiny cross-hatch marks or the meticulously detailed bindings of books in a bookshop - that is easy to miss on the first read.
Set to Sea does not reinvent serial story telling, but it is a quietly delightful debut that charms as it spins its simple yarn about a poet who became himself.
There is a certain exaggerated roundness to Weing's style that is simultaneously sweet and disturbing. The main character is grotesquely disproportioned, a visual representation of the disparity between the notion of reality and actual reality. Each image, though rendered in simple black and white, conveys a sense of careful attention - be it the hundreds of tiny cross-hatch marks or the meticulously detailed bindings of books in a bookshop - that is easy to miss on the first read.
Set to Sea does not reinvent serial story telling, but it is a quietly delightful debut that charms as it spins its simple yarn about a poet who became himself.
February 6, 2022
It’s dangerous to sit at the end of pier at night and fall asleep. You’re likely to be shanghaied! Well, not now, but that’s what happens to this gentle giant who only wants to write maritime poetry. Now forced to be a sailor, he has many fine, and some not so fine, adventures on the high seas. He’s not quite as gentle as he was, but he certainly has more to write about now. It’s a stirring tale of man who conquered the sea and achieved his dream. The cartoon panels are quite detailed, and offer much in the telling of the story. This graphic novel is one you will want to read and enjoy again and again.
January 4, 2025
I got this one as a gift for my dad so I had to read it, and I got teary eyed 🙂↕️🫶
November 26, 2011
This book was magnificent. I haven't read a graphic novel like it yet. I loved it. LOVED IT.
Each page was it's own panel, and the art was outstanding. Like The Arrival it's an art-heavy/dialogue-light book.
Book summary without giving anything away: a big poet gets impressed into sea life.
It reminded me of several things: Bloody Jack and the whole Bloody Jack series.
Natalie Merchant and her Leave Your Sleep album. You can listen to it on the link. (Love it too.)
And, most notably, it reminded me of a song by The Decemberists: The Mariner's Revenge. I'm ticked that goodreads won't let me post the video here. ...It's worth it... go watch it.
Mariner's Revenge
Loved the book. I recommend it to all. When you get it, take your time with it. It's easy to fly through it.
Each page was it's own panel, and the art was outstanding. Like The Arrival it's an art-heavy/dialogue-light book.
Book summary without giving anything away: a big poet gets impressed into sea life.
It reminded me of several things: Bloody Jack and the whole Bloody Jack series.
Natalie Merchant and her Leave Your Sleep album. You can listen to it on the link. (Love it too.)
And, most notably, it reminded me of a song by The Decemberists: The Mariner's Revenge. I'm ticked that goodreads won't let me post the video here. ...It's worth it... go watch it.
Mariner's Revenge
Loved the book. I recommend it to all. When you get it, take your time with it. It's easy to fly through it.
May 17, 2011
Simple story about a poet who mistakenly goes to sea, then finds his poetic voice. Very nonthreatening, rounded illustration style, and I had to flip back through the book to realize that not only is there alcohol consumption, but an eye gets put out, some fights, etc. Which is probably why it's not a J. :) Only one frame per page, plus speech bubbles. Very quick read. Not particularly engaging, but a quick fun read.
January 24, 2018
A very lovely (at one or two points gruesome) and quick story about an accidental sailor and poet. I read it entirely standing at the shelf at the library and cried at the end.
February 8, 2021
A really nice little story of someone making the most of what is really a pretty dire situation. I love the cartoony art style and each page is a single panel which looks great. It’s a very quick read because of this but worth really looking into every detail in this book.
March 2, 2019
Love the art. Love old-fashioned sailing ships. This book is a little treasure!
June 22, 2021
It's moving in romantic fashion and as a whole ->solid<- in all things graphic novular.
Domestic stuff can be pretty good huh?
Domestic stuff can be pretty good huh?
April 24, 2022
A sweet, gentle palate cleanser of a book. Just perfect for what I wanted at the time.
May 10, 2023
I enjoyed the artwork and I like the idea of a poetry writing pirate.
July 5, 2024
Really amazing illustrations and storytelling
January 26, 2019
It's an okey book for me, idk why but I couldn't connect so much with this one.
March 29, 2019
This was such a lovely quick read - the story is concise but has so many subtleties that I just adore, the art style reminds me of Popeye and I love it, and there is honestly so much character growth in these 144 short pages. The main character is a sweetheart, and I fell in love with him instantly. I rooted for him the whole way through, and I hope he has a good nap. He deserves it.
February 6, 2021
A truly lovely little graphic novel found in Hoopla. Mark read this first and recommended to me. The artwork is exquisite. The story is quiet and gentle in the best ways. I loved this.
March 11, 2020
A down-on-his-luck poet struggles to write about life at sea from the safety of the pub. When he is shanghaied, he gets a taste of that life first hand. Hard labor, bad food, pirate attacks: the life of a sailor is less than idyllic. But once he begins to write from experience, the poet is able to write truthfully.
That's pretty much the story here. You'll find a version of that on the back cover, stamped in gold. But, as with any novel, graphic or otherwise, the story is only as good as its telling. This book tells its story perfectly. Each page is a single, black-and-white panel. Drew draws his people in a style reminiscent of Popeye: long noses, knobby knees and elbows. But the backgrounds are realistic, similar to what you would expect to find in an old woodcutting. The effect serves to place the reader fully in the setting while allowing the main character to be our everyman viewpoint. It’s a trick comics artists have been using for years. The emotional weight of the world flows through the cartoony protagonist, straight into the heart of the reader. The pirate fight early in the story is so visceral and unnerving, I had to put the book down. After the goofy, somewhat clichéd opening, I was caught unprepared for that level of emotional involvement.
As the story continues, the pages feel like a montage or a travelogue. How much time passes is unknowable, which I assume is how it would feel if you did set to sea for weeks or months at a time. With very little dialog, the reader must piece together the protagonist’s journey, thereby vicariously taking part in the life of a sailor. And the images are beautiful. I brought the book to work and showed a colleague. He read it at his desk while I taught a class. He said he would have finished sooner, but he kept staring at the pictures, wishing he could enlarge them and hang them on his wall.
It’s a wonderful book, short enough to read in fifteen minutes, but you may end up spending more. And when the beauty, joy, and loss lodge in your brain like harpoons, you may find yourself carrying it longer still.
That's pretty much the story here. You'll find a version of that on the back cover, stamped in gold. But, as with any novel, graphic or otherwise, the story is only as good as its telling. This book tells its story perfectly. Each page is a single, black-and-white panel. Drew draws his people in a style reminiscent of Popeye: long noses, knobby knees and elbows. But the backgrounds are realistic, similar to what you would expect to find in an old woodcutting. The effect serves to place the reader fully in the setting while allowing the main character to be our everyman viewpoint. It’s a trick comics artists have been using for years. The emotional weight of the world flows through the cartoony protagonist, straight into the heart of the reader. The pirate fight early in the story is so visceral and unnerving, I had to put the book down. After the goofy, somewhat clichéd opening, I was caught unprepared for that level of emotional involvement.
As the story continues, the pages feel like a montage or a travelogue. How much time passes is unknowable, which I assume is how it would feel if you did set to sea for weeks or months at a time. With very little dialog, the reader must piece together the protagonist’s journey, thereby vicariously taking part in the life of a sailor. And the images are beautiful. I brought the book to work and showed a colleague. He read it at his desk while I taught a class. He said he would have finished sooner, but he kept staring at the pictures, wishing he could enlarge them and hang them on his wall.
It’s a wonderful book, short enough to read in fifteen minutes, but you may end up spending more. And when the beauty, joy, and loss lodge in your brain like harpoons, you may find yourself carrying it longer still.
October 9, 2013
This is a story about a poet who tries to write about a sea without ever setting sail upon it. Sometimes to really know something, you have to lose your way without meaning to, and on your way back home, you find home wasn't where you needed to be.
The culmination of five years' worth of work, I felt guilty about reading through the entire thing within five minutes, but it is what it is, an engrossing read penned by a talented storyteller with an eye for poignancy and a well placed line.
When we find ourselves coming full circle, we feel content too, to put up our feet by the fire and warm our faces.
The culmination of five years' worth of work, I felt guilty about reading through the entire thing within five minutes, but it is what it is, an engrossing read penned by a talented storyteller with an eye for poignancy and a well placed line.
When we find ourselves coming full circle, we feel content too, to put up our feet by the fire and warm our faces.
October 20, 2024
Rating: 4.5 rounded-down
Just a cute little book with few words and gorgeous art. It does a good job in doing what it does and how it does it. That is all I ask in books like this.
Just a cute little book with few words and gorgeous art. It does a good job in doing what it does and how it does it. That is all I ask in books like this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews