New World

by David Jesus Vignolli

As cultures collide with the discovery of the New World, an unlikely trio of heroes work together to combat a supernatural force.

The discovery of the Americas forever changed the landscape of the world as cultures collided with violent consequences. New World weaves the stories of three characters from unique backgrounds—a Native Indian seeking revenge against those who invaded her land, an African musician fighting for freedom against those who enslaved him, and a Portuguese sailor in search of redemption. These three unlikely heroes, connected by fate, will work together to free the New World from the darkness of the old.

Written and illustrated by David Jesus Vignolli (A Girl in the Himalayas), New World intertwines the cultures of his personal heritage to explore the European discovery of the Americas with a vibrant blend of fantasy and history.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Bande Dessinée, Fiction, Indigenous

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2019

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

New World is a beautifully colored comics tale about colonialism and imperialism and the “discovery” of the Americas by Europeans shaped at least partly by the author’s own Brazilian heritage. So, it's story we know, about white people stealing Native American lands, and then developing the world in part through slavery, with three heroes: An indigenous brave seeking revenge on the invaders, an African musician fighting for the freedom of slaves, and a Portuguese sailor. Magical realism and fantasy reign as the three join forces against the colonizers, after white folks turn into (actual) monsters. Maybe a little overkill there? But an innovative and entertaining approach to heavy subjects.

[Anne Jaconette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing premise! Beautiful artwork! But I was really frustrated by this book.... so much sub-text just ended up being text/dialogue and it really impacted the story. The action scenes and dream sequences with Iracema, flashbacks, and scenes that weave in real text were really beautifully done and effective. And occasionally the dialogue is funny and refreshing.

But...a certain character shows up halfway through and describes EXACTLY what must happen to destroy the monster, rather than the main characters figuring it out themselves... and it played into the whole "white savior" stereotype that the book opposes. This character also had too much magic / power, and it felt COMPLETELY un-earned, especially compared to Iracema's abilities.

But overall, an interesting story with some stunning spreads. I was wondering how the ending could be satisfying, but the last lines are incredibly effective.

[Dom Nuno · Rating 1 out of 5]

The nice colouring doesn’t make up for the drug-addled distortions, the rambling senselessness and the wishy-washy art.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting this story to take a detour into fantasy and obvious metaphor, but I enjoyed the teaming up of a powerful Native American and a runaway slave battling their mutual enemies. I think having the White guy turn into a literal monster was a bit of disservice to the narrative, as no fantasy elements were necessary to make the White guy a monster. I think the reader would already be on board with a slave owning, Native American land stealing white guy being called a monster even if he just looked like a White guy.

Having Bartolomeu Dias redeem himself for his role in the invasion of America by being a magic teleporter was also ... odd.

None of this was bad. It's a great story, expertly drawn. All of my issues are, as a storyteller, why certain choices were made, and do they do a mild disservice to the message of the book? I don't have a definitive answer.

I recommend this for anyone looking for a subversive Columbus Day read, fans of period piece fantasy set in colonial times, and parents/teachers who enjoy over-the-top metaphor to drive home anti-racism in young readers.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An allegorical take on colonialism and "exploration".

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

A cool magical realist tale about the invasion of the New World with a really nice art style. Historically conscious without feeling like a textbook, it tells the story of Irecema, a warrior from her tribe who lives in harmony Pochahontas-style with the creatures of the forest. As the white men attack, she finds allies in an African slave and a white Sailor with magical powers. It was pretty cool that there were multiple stories told at once, and the magical realist aspect that turned the slave owners into monsters (literally) made a really visceral and purposeful tone.

[Book Prisoner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Krótka, ale intensywna opowieść, choć można rzec też bajka, o kolonializmie z niespodziewanym wątkiem magicznym i z zabijaniem potworów (takich prawdziwych). A wszystko to z walczącą o wolność Irecemą na czele. Są ładne ilustracje, inteligentne wykorzystanie kolorów i gigantyczna papuga, czego chcieć więcej?

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Read Harder 2020 prompt Historical Fiction Not Set in WWII

[Paula Greenfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting look at the discovering of the new world.

[Argiris Fakkas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique and original story about the conquest of the Americas by the white men. The story is interesting, despite some parts being awkward, as for example the stranger tale of the monster in Lisbon.

Iracema, the native girl, is indubitably the main protagonist of the story, searching revenge for the loss of her village and the death of her friend, Guarani. Amakai, the black slave also has a main part in the story and the same is true for Bartolomeu, who seeks atonement for his crimes on the new world. The story of the colorful parrot, that doesn’t end well, is really touching and heartbreaking.

Two other characters that give very funny notes to the story is Iracema’s bird, Tucano and of course Curumin, the chubby Indian boy, who make hilarious remarks to Iracema.



Prologue

After 67 days of sailing the ocean, through terrible tempests, the ship reaches a new world. Sixteen men go ashore. They witness an earthly paradise; they discover a new world.

Chapter 1

Iracema, a native girl, hop on water lily kind of green platforms, with her bird, Tucano. She tries to domesticate a giant parrot, who calls Werehi spirit. She gives him a papaya. The parrot gulps the present and she caresses him. She hops on him and they fly. But Werehi flies too fast and she falls over with Tucano.

Three kids on trees scold her lightly. Curumin asks her to cut for him a papaya with an arrow. The other boys call him shorty and asks her not to do it. Iracema shoots the arrow and Curumin eats the fruit. She wants to cross the river and the two boys say that she mustn’t. She pays no attention to them. A huge boy with a crocodile meets with her. He’s Guarani. Not anyone can stop that girl he says to the boys from doing what she wants.

Iracema follows a bird song and sees a black man refreshing at the river. He’s chained. A white man tells him, he’s the best bet to come out of the forest alive. He mishandles him and grabs him by his chain. Many men come out of the trees.

Chapter 2

There is a council in the village at the evening. Iracema tells the people she saw a man with dark skin and that pale giants are getting close to their village. The old chief tells them that in his dreams he saw them coming. They were terrifying dreams of disaster and death. He commands the tribe to hide deeper in the village. Iracema tells him that she now has the bow of god Tupa and they shouldn’t be afraid. The old chief takes her to his place and shows her blue feathers of Werehi spirit. He tells her a story where an awful monster makes them slaves of the pale giants. They manage to kill the monster but it is reborn as a man. They should use the bow only against monsters, not humans. Only the melody of the flute will transform the man back to monster. If they use the bow against it, it will be killed. Iracema insists to hunt the monster, but the chief tells her it’s too dangerous, the tribe must be protected.

Guarani agrees with her, that they should fight. He is in love with her and hopes after the victory her heart would be his too. She just needs to notify him to follow her. Iracema sneaks out of the village at night, with her bird, Tucano. She founds the giant parrot dead, being chained to the ground. She puts flowers on his head and takes away the bonds. She moves near to European like building. She falls asleep. In the new day she wonders if the dark stranger is inside and says freedom is coming.

She witnesses a civilized man dressed in yellow, requesting a slave playing the flute. One slave merchant reply to him that he has such a slave, Iracema spots her dark man! The merchant says there’s a superstition that when he plays the flute a monster appears. Iracema prepares to set him free. The man dressed in yellow wants only the flute and pays for it. Guarani returns with an army, and they attack. Iracema breaks the dark man’s chains with an arrow, and he plays the flute. The man dressed in yellow transforms into an ugly monster. It pushes away Guarani and Iracema that attack it.

The dark man plays the flute and the monster shrinks. Guarani is mortally wounded, he demands her to avenge her people. She prepares to arrow them down, but the dark man, Amakai, grabs her away to save her. The white men send to them angry dogs that Iracema manages to calm down and pet. The white men surround them but a ship emerges. Tucano flies to the ship and the two of them swim and embark through many gun shots. Tucano leads them to another white man, who unlocks an Indian chakra and now they can understand one another. His name is Bartolomeu and he tells them that the white men were searching for India originally. A doctor treats Mr. Montenegro’s wounds at the fortress. Bartolomeu cooks for them with spices, more expensive than gold. A crow helps him with the ship, from another world. Iracena seems indifferent, Amakai explains she lost someone dear to her. The stranger asks her what she has on her skin, but she doesn’t want him to touch her. She wants to go back and kill the monster, but the stranger knows her name, through some Indian sages. He offer her a pear and she eats it.

Iracema suggests that they shouldn’t trust Bartolomeu, despite her bird liking the guy and offering them a meal. Amakai recounts his story, he was member of Banzur tribe, with the charisma of playing the magic flute and revealing the monsters hidden inside men’s bodies. Their tribe was attacked by another, and they were sold to white men as slaves. His sisters, which had the singing charisma were forbidden to sing. His magic flute was also stolen. The melody is their only hope to reveal the monster, and they should wait for tomorrow to talk to Bartolomeu to know if they could trust him. For the moment they should dance away their burdens.

In the morning, they wake up and are surrounded by dodo birds. Bartolomeu tells them that he brought them there to make realize they need one another. Long time ago, magical weapons were given to different tribes to preserve human life from the beasts. But while nearly extinct, those creatures managed to take human form and tries to destroy humanity from within. So they brought together people from different cultures to make them destroy one another. All the weapons from Africa were destroyed except Amakai’s flute. The same for the indigenous people, only Iracema’s bow remained. He was slave merchant himself, but when his ship sank, Indian sages gave him a new life and a magical ship. They could use it to hunt down the monster. The monster has the flute now though. Iracema faints and Bartolomeu says the monster must have toucher her. His eagle-like assistant on his ship take care of her. She has marks on her body. Bartolomeu can connect with his ship and go instantly all over the world. They go to the Arctic cycle where it’s the monsters’ cemetery. He sends his assistant to get the antidote. The eagle brings back some petals from a flower growing on the monsters’ bones. There are whales there. Amakai has no choice but to trust Bartolomeu. He is afraid of losing his freedom again, but the creatures are too dangerous for all humanity. The assistant returns with the antidote.

He gives one drop to Iracema, she sweats and start dreaming. First Amerigo Vespucci present himself to her, calling her America. He had her dressed very elegantly, but she throws away the shoes with the hill. Amerigo says his book, Mundus novus, became a best seller in Europe. There he recounted his voyages in the New World, especially how he butchered the native population. Iracema starts crying and another man comes, telling Amerigo a fraud and claiming the New Word should have been named Columbia. Iracema flees and sees a giant snake with many heads. She spears the heads and then spears the core eye. Little things rain from the sky, and she returns to the European style building. Inside one of the rooms is Amerigo drinking wine.

Iracema is set free of her bonds and Guarani prompts her to avenge her people, to shoot the white men. She sees in her vision the giant colorful parrot that takes her up the air. She wakes up in the ship’s cabin and thanks the eagle man. It is revealed that Mr. Montenegro has an Indian boy that he knows where they hide the bow. The Indian chief tells the kids that the bow was taken by Tupa because it’s not necessary to have it. Iracema is far from there. Iracema tells Bartolomeu that she trusts him. She wants to go home, there’s a monster to kill there. When they’ re back Iracema and Amakai jump off the ship into the river.

The white men find the Indian chief Paje and his people. They want the bow. Paje doesn’t want to attack to protect women and children. One christian Indian begs Paje to give them what they want, after all they want to free their souls. Paje tells the white man that the bow isn’t with them. Bartolomeu disembark from the ship with a boat and the eagle man accompanying him. One white man lets the dog to eat the small Indians but Curumin manages to befriend the once angry dogs. The Portuguese commander tells Paje that if they were willing they could use them instead of the negroes as their workforce. He tells him that they would have done the same to them if they had their weapons. Paje just says that land cannot be owned. Iracema and Amakai attack the white men. The flute is nowhere to be found. The christian Indian tries to justify the actions of the Portuguese, saying the Indians are sinners and that enrages Iracema.

While she talks with Amakai, the Indian kid emerges, saying the pale giants are taking their people to their village. They attack again and a white man accuses Iracema they had lost money and goods because of her. That enrages Amakai who punches the man, saying the goods were his brothers and sisters. The white man tries to knife him. Iracema tells the white men to run away and they do. As Amakai and the white man fight, Bartolomeu intervenes eliminating the white man.

They all get together and find another white man playing the flute. Amakai tells him to stop. He has Paje isolated in a rock on the river. The white man tosses the flute to Amakai and tells the girl to prepare her bow. Amakai starts playing it and he transforms into a giant monster. He tells them to think if he’s the monster they should kill or the monster that brought the white people to their land. That’s Bartolomeu. He spread rumors about Iracema’s land being a place called Eldorado and prompted many men to plunder it. The monster has gone to Lisbon and promised the Portuguese sailors he could help them become the rulers of the sea. The King accepted the offer and all they go to Iracema’s land.

The monster says it isn’t enough to kill it, Iracema should kill Bartolomeu as well. Iracema is really angry with Bartolomeu but first shoots the monster to shut it up. Then she releases and arrow but in the sky. In the rain, the monster has taken again its human form. It is dying and says the white men will eventually take their land and none will ever remember they were the monsters. But Bartolomeu denies this, saying they won’t let them forget. The rain continues to fall as the human shapes become smaller and smaller.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting presentation of colonialism and the clash of cultures. I was not expecting the appearance of supernatural elements, but there they were. Nice illustrations.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book dabbles into the trope stuffs of BIPOC peoples being connected to spirituality, which is dubious. However, there seems to be a little more even treatment of the spirits across races in this fantastical, folklore-styled adventure.

The art is very attractive without being objectifying. Each character has their own shape and identity. There are nods to native fruits and beliefs. I'm not super sure that some of those beliefs aren't built on top of stereotypes. I'd say the same for our cast of characters:

Adventurer who wants to break the rules.
Stoic elder who is always in elaborate dress.
Warrior who dies.
Magical animal companion.
Outsider who shakes things up.
White savior.

I know . . . that cast sounds suspiciously like Disney's Pocahontas.

On the bright side, one of the outsiders shaking things up has some moral ambiguity and culpability to him. The other outsider is a man kidnapped and struggling to free himself from the Atlantic Slave Trade. Also, the "white savior" is marvelously slapped down by the protagonist. One of the things this text does right is putting a critical eye on the church and its push to convert even at the danger of those it was converting. There is something malicious about it that I like.

Also, most of the POC in this text have agency and indeed power over their captors/colonizers -even the children. That's not something you see everyday in stories about indigenous struggles.

Putting aside the allegorical magical elements of the story, it is also a commentary about the dangers of contact with outside peoples to the people indigenous to the Americas. This is also not something seen everyday in literature. It's not just the bad intentions, the greed, and desire to spread across space they had no claim over; the actual physical presence of these traveled westerners brought death and destruction by disease.

[yen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The coloring of the book is exquisite. I love colorful pages in comics! It was an intriguing take on colonization and three perspectives on it—an indigenous Latinx woman, an African slave, and a European sailor seeking redemption. These perspectives are often not crisscrossed. Sometimes what’s obvious works (white colonizers turning into literal monsters); colonization still has pressing influences to this day and it must have felt as if monsters were among natives when colonizers arrived in The America’s. It is not on people of today, but history cannot be ignored. I do recommend reading this historical Brazilian perspective. Plus, Iracema is a great character, she kicks ass.

[Lemondrop Booktalks · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.25

I really loved the art here. It was beautifully colored and drawn, with wonderful action scenes and very serene scenes. The art was my favorite part of this graphic novel.

The area it felt like it was lacking in was the story. I was originally drawn in by the plot, thinking it will have wonderful commentary on colonization of the Americas. It certainly had that, but the magic was what threw me. It felt all too fast. I originally thought the monsters was part of the tribe's culture and story telling, but when the three main characters are suddenly able to talk to each other without a language barrier because of some fast magic learned in India, I was thrown off. The magic simply felt too sudden. The end felt too soon, too simple.

The graphic novel wraps up well and open ended. Perhaps if this is a series, it will feel more complete and less rushed. It has wonderful themes on the monsters and colonizers, different cultures all mixing as the Americas were starting to be taken over. It was simply all too fast and the magic was poorly explained.

If this is going to be a series, I would love to read the second one to see if it suffers from the same too fast plot. I loved the art and the concept, I just did not love the execution. I would certainly give the sequel a chance (but, again, not sure if that is a thing), and I would love to read Vignolli's other work (A Girl in the Himalayas) since I think he is a talented artist. Perhaps since the other work focuses more on one culture than three, it will feel less crowded and sped through.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know it’s cliche, but I was drawn by the art and stayed for the story. I knew after just a couple pages: after a stunning opening showing the discovery of the “new world,” we are introduced to the character of the young Native. She is running through the forest with her magical bow looking for her parrot friend. A giant animal that she can ride about the jungle. She lands, messes with some kids playing in trees, goes exploring and then hears a scuffle at the riverside. A ‘white giant’ is harassing an African slave… the young Native follows and sees the extent of the slave trade. From there the narrative expands to a clash between all cultures with magic and monsters taking a large part in the fight.

First off, I would definitely call this an all-ages comic. There are a slew of metaphors that are both easily accessible and have great depth. The book presents many different perspectives which is key to illuminating the powerful plot threads as the narrative gets going. And the art: Please go to Vignolli’s website here to get a preview of New World.

If this at all sounds like something you would be interested in, pick it up! Definitely Recommended.

For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2019/10/30/ne...

For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog

[Helen Leigh-Phippard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the artwork in this book but I found the story confused and confusing. The role of Bartolomeu Dias is especially odd - but also the white man as monster metaphor. This is both overblown but also simplifying a complex history. What makes a man (and they were men) a monster for Vignolli? Why were only some of the invaders monsters (is Dias not one because he seeks redemption?) ?
Perhaps I’m not meant to think this deeply but the story raised so many questions for me perhaps because it treats Iracema, Dias and the slave as “equal” victims of history and allies in this story and for me they aren’t.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A magical realist look at the colonization of America by Europeans, New World reads too much like a fable to be interesting. Events occur, followed by other events, followed by other events in turn. Character speak in complete sentences, as if they've never spoken to another human before. Magic infuses the occasionally fact-based story, making it hard to tell whether the author wants to condemn colonization or draw a ship that teleports and a bow that shoots lightning. It's all theoretically exciting, but I was bored throughout.

[Bill Coffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot to like here, from the basic premise to the narrative to the art, but along the way, each one of those things also has shortcomings that might make it hard for some readers to love the whole thing without reservations. Big kudos for such an inventive way to tell a heroic tale about a world experiencing colonization. Would not mind reading additional installments in this setting.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vignolli, again, strikes an enviable articulation of the dangerous interface of adolescent wonderment and the consequential fears of emerging adulthood. The artist's stories blend and shift and merge and swallow an array of ferocious cultural truths that themselves tend to twist and dissolve with time. In NEW WORLD, readers find the cracking open of what was once mutely defined as terra incognita by colonists but is now named Brazil.

NEW WORLD finds a young woman and her community pushed to the brink by European slavers and spoilers of land. The pale-skin giants are encroaching upon the forested land deemed sacred by indigenous people and these unwelcome visitors have no respect for the locals. Iracema, a native warrior woman, endeavors to change all that . . . not the least of which with the aid of an enchanted lightning bow, bestowed upon the native community by its deity.

As Iracema tracks and battles the white man, she meets and engages a small cast of helpful folks who encourage her on her quest but with one terse, unspoken acknowledgment: the delegitimizing and degradation of native culture is, perhaps, inevitable. Still, Iracema fights. She kicks ass. She frees black slaves. And she kills a monster or two.

NEW WORLD charts an exciting but humble path for graphic novels that feels increasingly important as Own Voices literature gains prominence. Vignolli produces in Iracema a brash but brilliant young woman who values freedom in all its forms — a character who understands loss and is well aware of the dangers of her pursuits. Iracema knows her people's history and she is in no hurry to see that history wiped out by a few venturing white visitors.

The creative team again nurtures a visual narrative that prioritizes simple lines and mostly flat color schemes. The simplified style frees characters to express their emotions and to own their environment with fewer barriers, it seems, relative to comics that rely too strongly on keeping things on-model. Further, the graphic novel can more readily offer readers a dash of joy, curiosity, anger, and uncertainty with a flick of a wrist, as opposed to an exaggerated conjuring of wrinkles and angles and poses.

The book relies on a handful of coincidences to propel the narrative forward, such as the appearance of a repentant explorer who bails out the heroine at a time of need, but for the most part the book is smooth from start to finish. NEW WORLD doesn't shirk the obvious crimes of arrogance birthed from European expansionism and glory-hunting; it produces a swirling and echoic commentary on how only the venerable must focus on protecting history, not on making it for themselves.

[Δημήτρης Μπ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μια άκρως συμπαθητική εξιστόρηση της αποίκησης της Αμερικής και της σφαγής των γηγενών Ινδιάνων από τους Ευρωπαίους εξερευνητές/κατακτητές με πρωταγωνιστική ομάδα μια πολύ ιδιαίτερη τριάδα (τετράδα αν συμπεριλάβεις και το τουκάν της πρωταγωνίστριας) μιας ατρόμητης Ινδιάνας, ενός Αφρικανού πρώην σκλάβου που η πρώτη απελευθέρωσε και ενός και ενός Πορτογάλου εξερευνητή που προσπαθεί να βρει λύτρωση για τα λάθη που έκανε.

Πρόκειται για μια ιδιαίτερη και πρωτότυπη μίξη ιστορικών στοιχείων μαζί με κομμάτια από την κουλτούρα της κληρονομιάς του ίδιου του, Βραζιλιάνου στην καταγωγή, συγγραφέα και μπόλικες δόσεις φαντασίας, η οποία άλλοτε λειτουργεί καλά και άλλοτε κακά. Το κομμάτι των πνευμάτων του δάσους στα οποία πιστεύουν οι Ινδιάνοι της ιστορίας μας και αντίστοιχα τα μαγικά αντικείμενα των αφρικανικών λαών είναι πολύ όμορφες πινελιές γιατί σε έναν σημαντικό βαθμό πιστεύω ότι, παρά το φανταστικό τους χαρακτήρα, είναι κομμάτι των παραδόσεων και πεποιθήσεων των αντίστοιχων λαών και ταιριάζουν υπέροχα στην ιστορία. Αντίθετα η απόφαση για παρουσίαση του μεγάλου λευκού κακού και καταστροφέα ως ένα τέρας είναι άστοχη, καθότι ήδη απ' την ιστορία (και την καθημερινότητα γύρω μας) γνωρίζουμε ότι οι άνθρωποι είναι πέρα για πέρα ικανοί για τα χειρότερα των εγκλημάτων χωρίς να έχουν μορφή τεράτων, οπότε νιώθω ότι δε χρειαζόταν αυτή η πινελιά φαντασίας. Το ίδιο το πρόσωπο του λευκού κακού λειτουργεί εξίσου καλά και ακόμα καλύτερα όσο έχει την ανθρώπινη μορφή του.

Τα σχέδια είναι πολύ απλά, αλλά οι χρωματισμοί είναι υπέροχοι, τραβούν το μάτι και κρατάνε το ενδιαφέρον. Επίσης πάρα την απλοϊκότητα της εικόνας, τα συναισθήματα που μου δημιούργησε ο συνδυασμός του θέματος της ιστορίας με τα απλοϊκά μεν αλλά αρκετά εκφραστικά πρόσωπα των χαρακτήρων, ήταν πολύ πλούσια.

Αν δεν υπήρχε αυτή η αρκετά σημαντική, για τα δικά μου μάτια, ατασθαλία με το τέρας, η βαθμολογία θα ήταν σίγουρα 5/5 μιας και θεωρώ ότι το New World είναι ένα υπέροχο ανάγνωσμα, ειδικά για το κοινό που ψάχνει κάτι περισσότερο από απλά δυτικά superhero comics.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an impulse borrow at the college library, because I like to teach with graphic novels that have historical themes, and this is vaguely in that category. It is different though - this is a magical realist allegory, about (some) of the white people arriving in the Americas as literal monsters disguised as people. Then you have these gifts that have been given to the people of the world - a lightning bow to the Native Americans, a magic monster-exposing flute to Africans, a kind of sailing ship/TARDIS to Europeans - to combat said monsters.
It is kind of an odd, fascinating graphic novel. Set mostly in Brazil in the roughly late 1500s time frame, when you would have Portuguese, Africans, and Native Americans settling into contact and conflict. I keep thinking about it. I don't think I can use it for teaching exactly, but I can mention it as one example of wrestling with this history through art and literature.

[Siann · Rating 4 out of 5]

First thing first the art. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMAAAAAZZZZINNBNNNNGFGGGGG!!
Vignolli is soo talented.

I found that simplicity in illustration is extremely extremely difficult and he manages to use the right amount of line work and simple colours to make it easy to read. So definitely five stars for me in the illustration department.

However, a graphic novel is not judged by its artistry but also its story telling. I’m from Australia so I’m not too familiar with American colonialism. New world combines fantasy maybe mythology and historical fact together to create stunning illustrations. But the story line is a little choppy and characters aren’t solid. But then again it is a stand alone and it would of taken years to write this book. So I very much appreciate it.

Siann our.

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artistically well done, story was missing "something." Due to the aspect of "literal monsters" coming out of the white people, this "surreal" aspect can take the literal reader out of the story. Realistic fantasy/science fiction that shows history in a fantastic/poetic manner. While not "preachy" there is no question who the "villains" and "heroes" are.

However, the fantastical creative element works fantastically with the illustrations. While they can have an abstract feeling at times, that suits the overall feeling of the story and can help with the less-than-traditionally elastically story.

[Jaren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda disappointed with this. I liked the concept behind it but I wasn't really a fan of the artwork. To me I feel like it looks rushed, almost like the artist put 5 mins into drawing everything before they started inking and colouring it. I like minimalistic or even "messy/busy" types of art styles but I felt like this story could've have been so beautiful if everything had been a bit more detail oriented or even put together better. I feel like the artist published their drawings while still in the planning/layout phase (essentially unfinished looking) It just didn't hit the target for me unfortunately 😒

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magical realism in early colonial Caribbean. The art is fantastic, and I loved the two main characters: a Native woman and an African musician and escaped slave. But then a third character shows up halfway through, and although he doesn't quite entirely ruin the book, it's a near thing. I don't think there was any need for a European character, especially one this all-knowing, this all-powerful. Worse yet is that all his power comes from India for some reason, and when his identity is revealed it's yet another sour note. I get why Vignolli wanted to include a European character, but I think it could have been done in a way that doesn't smack of the white savior trope.

[Dan Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads as a recently unearthed folk tale about the struggle to fight against the colonization of the New World. Partially a story of redemption, as well as someone who profited from those horrors, looks to right those wrongs. The art is the right type of simple

The use of limited lines and the reliance on primary colors enhance the sense this was taken right from a lost culture's forgotten history. Colors, in general, are quite luscious especially the use of red and yellow to punctuate important moments.

[Ilana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dynamic and gorgeous art, and an exciting premise. Unfortunately, I felt the plot was a bit predictable and the tension was resolved too quickly and easily. The characters were a little underdeveloped. As well, the character of Bartolomeu essentially was kind of a white saviour, and presented as a "good" white character that can be held up against the villainous one(s) (and with whom a white reader can identify, thereby escaping the unpleasant feelings of guilt by association).

Still, an enjoyable and quick read. It just felt a little simplistic and underdeveloped.

[Austin Wrathall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to review. It sets child-friendly, Disneyesque characters and scenes alongside darker, more mature ones. At times it feels like a piece of anti-colonialist art that stands on its own and other times it feels like a rough storyboard for a longer comic or movie. I’m not sure who the target audience is since it seems too juvenile for adults and too dark for kids.

On the plus side, the book is very cinematic. The illustrations are very easy to follow and you always know exactly where to look and what to focus on. The author also takes a familiar setting and uses imaginative fairytale elements to make it fresh.

[Rowan Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read that seeks to explore complex issues of imperialism, colonialism, slavery, and other difficult subjects. It makes use of fictionalized South American and African tribes in a way that read surprisingly well to me.

I can't help but wonder if one of the major conceits of this story, that those men who have invented subjects like slavery or colonialism are literally monsters in disguise, might not be hiding the much more terrifying fact that those men were human.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story based on the european invasion of the Americas. While the drawing was quite nice, the story seemed a bit too fast. There were several cringey issues though: The fact that there were monsters among europeans, but not thew europeans, the white savior Bartolomeu (because your Obi Wan **must** be white, right?) the magic ship, etc) .

It reminded me a bit of La Saga de los Confines by Liliana Bodoc, but I enjoyed that series much more. 2.5 stars.