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Victory Point
On a summer's day, Ellen returns to the coastal town she grew up in, the picturesque, yet architecturally strange, Victory Point. Revisiting old haunts and people from her past, she feels increasingly disconnected from her previous life, and exhausted by the constant struggle of trying to forge the path ahead. Exploring a town, which itself is an experiment in how to live, Ellen searches for some comfort in her own history that might just give her the strength to move forward. Victory Point quietly explores the idea of how we choose to live and be remembered, asking whether we should strive for a higher calling, or if a simple, domestic legacy is the most honest and admirable achievement we can hope for. And if the land from which we disembark feels as alien as the one we hope to reach, how does anyone make their peace with a life amongst the ever-changing ocean waves?
70 pages, Hardcover
First published October 14, 2020
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392 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
September 24, 2024
One can't really call this a graphic "novel," nor even a "graphic short story". It is slim, and sleek, and slight, clocking in at 70 pages and can be read in about eleven minutes. It's pretty, but what is it?
The story of a young adult returning to her hometown that doesn't feel like home anymore. . . The art is colourful, and the lettering is tiny, and faint. Punctuation is invisible to the naked eye, but then, who really needs periods? The design of this book is intended, one supposes, to evoke the unique architecture of the titular coastal town . . . and so?
Is sleek, and slim, and slight, enough? What is enough? Is the sentimental, unrealistic ending supposed to be satisfying? How many questions can there be from one eleven minute book?
The story of a young adult returning to her hometown that doesn't feel like home anymore. . . The art is colourful, and the lettering is tiny, and faint. Punctuation is invisible to the naked eye, but then, who really needs periods? The design of this book is intended, one supposes, to evoke the unique architecture of the titular coastal town . . . and so?
Is sleek, and slim, and slight, enough? What is enough? Is the sentimental, unrealistic ending supposed to be satisfying? How many questions can there be from one eleven minute book?
September 24, 2024
A slow, medidative non-story story. The most beautiful thing about the artwork is the light and the color.
Recently I described a book in my negative review of it as: no plot, just vibes.
And this here is also no plot, just vibes. However, here it is a marvellous thing.
Victory Point is an invented (sadly, I was ready to book a trip there) home town of the main character who returns there for a short visit. The town feels like a Greek vacation spot that was given a UK New Towns Act makeover. And you can tell Owen D. Pomery has a background in architectural drawing.
I imagine that if I grew in Victory Point I'd never leave, but the truth is I probably would. And then I would return occasionally, feel all sentimental and wonder if I should just go back for good. But I would never actually go back.
Man, I just love the vibes of this little graphic novel, I'm going to go read it again. It should take about 9 minutes.
Recently I described a book in my negative review of it as: no plot, just vibes.
And this here is also no plot, just vibes. However, here it is a marvellous thing.
Victory Point is an invented (sadly, I was ready to book a trip there) home town of the main character who returns there for a short visit. The town feels like a Greek vacation spot that was given a UK New Towns Act makeover. And you can tell Owen D. Pomery has a background in architectural drawing.
I imagine that if I grew in Victory Point I'd never leave, but the truth is I probably would. And then I would return occasionally, feel all sentimental and wonder if I should just go back for good. But I would never actually go back.
Man, I just love the vibes of this little graphic novel, I'm going to go read it again. It should take about 9 minutes.
April 9, 2023
3.5⭐
A poignant and reflective read that's perfect for anyone who has ever felt lost and disillusioned. The book was a bit too short for me to form a deep emotional connection, hence I didn't give it a higher rating. However, I enjoyed its themes about revisiting one's past, the way we live and human connection. Like the story, the artwork is stark and simple but conveys much emotion.
The setting of Victory Point and its history is extremely realistic. I actually thought it was a real place until I tried Googling it and nothing came up, sadly. I love how the author interspersed 'facts' about the town throughout.
Definitely worth a read overall.
A poignant and reflective read that's perfect for anyone who has ever felt lost and disillusioned. The book was a bit too short for me to form a deep emotional connection, hence I didn't give it a higher rating. However, I enjoyed its themes about revisiting one's past, the way we live and human connection. Like the story, the artwork is stark and simple but conveys much emotion.
The setting of Victory Point and its history is extremely realistic. I actually thought it was a real place until I tried Googling it and nothing came up, sadly. I love how the author interspersed 'facts' about the town throughout.
Definitely worth a read overall.
January 8, 2021
A really smart short story about a girl returning home to Victory point to see her dad. They story is sweet and thoughtful. The art is really beautiful with defined panels that are really sharp and vivid. Highly recommend.
February 5, 2021
10/10 on the artwork
November 25, 2023
I really like the art.
May 23, 2021
It isn’t a particularly long story, you can breeze through it in a short sitting, but it does leave you contemplative and with a hint of a smile.
March 7, 2025
This was a beautiful little book, only around 70 pages in length. The story was delicate, relatable and very nuanced and the artwork was simply stunning. There wasn't really a story, but there was a lot emotion conveyed in the subtlety of the writing. If you are looking for a meditative and gently thought-provoking book, then I think you will be quite happy with Victory Point!
July 8, 2021
I've been getting caught up reading all the graphic novels that I ordered in the first half of this year and this is my favorite. I can see why it might not be everyone's favorite, because it's "quiet". I don't know how else to describe it. It's like going through zen meditation via reading. The story is a day in a woman's life. It could be anyone's life. It's not stimulating with tons of action.
BUT - the imagery is amazing. Pomery is now a favorite. I got completely lost in the images. The horizon lines and perspective and attention to light and detail really put me in this place. It was like taking a vacation.
If you need a moment of zen, check it out.
BUT - the imagery is amazing. Pomery is now a favorite. I got completely lost in the images. The horizon lines and perspective and attention to light and detail really put me in this place. It was like taking a vacation.
If you need a moment of zen, check it out.
January 14, 2021
Very short, sweet, and smart. The artwork is gorgeous!
July 28, 2021
This was not interesting to me unfortunately. Good thing it was short. The art was strange too. Sometimes the main character had a nose and sometimes she didn't.
July 18, 2023
I don't feel like the ending was connected at all to the protagonist's experiences in Victory Point. I spent the whole book waiting for a payoff that never arrived at all.
January 1, 2021
Short and sweet little story with some really pleasant artwork.
October 31, 2023
I want to visit Victory Point - it looks so beautiful! But alas it’s an imaginary British costal town…
I love slice of life stories so I’m so pleased to have happened upon this - all the best stuff is on the ‘recently return’ trolleys at the library.
Adored the colour scheme and especially loved how the bits marked with an asterisk were her inner monologue, brilliant!
I love slice of life stories so I’m so pleased to have happened upon this - all the best stuff is on the ‘recently return’ trolleys at the library.
Adored the colour scheme and especially loved how the bits marked with an asterisk were her inner monologue, brilliant!
July 28, 2021
There are some beautiful frames in Owen D. Pomery's Victory Point, and the simplistic style relying on lines, stippling, and solid colors is something I find I appreciate and enjoy in certain graphic novels. This story has something of a nostalgic, slice-of-life feel that carries a sort of somberly optimistic note throughout. More than a story with an arc, this is a psychological exploration that spends little more than a day with a relatable character still trying to make sense of life. It's not a bildungsroman, not a mid-life crisis tale, but something else.
It isn't groundbreaking, nor particularly profound, but I still enjoyed it. 3/5.
It isn't groundbreaking, nor particularly profound, but I still enjoyed it. 3/5.
January 16, 2021
A quiet, unassuming book that presents only questions through the journey of a young woman returning home to visit her aging father. I suppose the message of the book is that any experience is colored by the lessons you choose to assign to it, and anything further is to be determined by the individual, or in this case the reader. The scenery steals the show with the gorgeous fictional oceanside town of Victory Point. It's very pleasant to read through. I've done it 3-4 times by now. I highly recommend it.
March 20, 2023
The artwork is cool (even though it’s not particularly my kind of vibe), but the story and the style of writing is… just meh. It’s trying too hard to be more than it actually is, to be ‘thoughtful’ and something something nostalgia something something society something something urbanization, but it’s really so little of it there. If it wasn’t a graphic story, I would rate it as ⭐️1,5
February 28, 2021
Paisajismo instrospectivo narrativo. Una delicia para leer y contemplar.
October 18, 2024
This is a quiet, slim graphic novel that I enjoyed last evening as a reward for making it through my day with the viral illness, congestion, and coughing that's been going around.
The illustrations are crisp, invigorating, cold, and welcoming, all at once. The story is both deep and brusque, social and solitary at once.
Many reviews have remarked on how this book is more about a feeling or a mood (or set of moods, such as the protagonist's questions about if she can accomplish her goal of owning her own bookshop one day as well as her tenderness towards her father's aging as well as her own), and I find that to be 100% true to how I experienced the book as well.
I enjoyed the cast of characters in the book, including the cafe owner and her quirky daughter, the endearing widower father, the memories of the mother who died far too young, and also the town and architecture, which are themselves characters in this story.
The only audience I wouldn't recommend this book to would be: audiences who don't like slow-burn stories about art or graphic novels, stories with young protagonists or seaside towns, stories with some cursing and/or a page of nudity (swimming in the river, nothing gratuitous), and stories about architecture/small towns that didn't fulfill their original hopes/purpose.
If you want nonstop action and adventure, this quiet book isn't for you. If you want a peaceful yet deep idyll to a new locale that feels both brand new and familiar to tender, complex human experience, then it's very likely for you.
I love best what Publisher's Weekly said on the inside flap of the book: "This impressive yet unpretentious comic boasts both a cool look and sincere heart." I agree with the review from The Quietus, too: "You get the sense that you could step in and meander through its paved streets, enjoying the breeze." Indeed.
The illustrations are crisp, invigorating, cold, and welcoming, all at once. The story is both deep and brusque, social and solitary at once.
Many reviews have remarked on how this book is more about a feeling or a mood (or set of moods, such as the protagonist's questions about if she can accomplish her goal of owning her own bookshop one day as well as her tenderness towards her father's aging as well as her own), and I find that to be 100% true to how I experienced the book as well.
I enjoyed the cast of characters in the book, including the cafe owner and her quirky daughter, the endearing widower father, the memories of the mother who died far too young, and also the town and architecture, which are themselves characters in this story.
The only audience I wouldn't recommend this book to would be: audiences who don't like slow-burn stories about art or graphic novels, stories with young protagonists or seaside towns, stories with some cursing and/or a page of nudity (swimming in the river, nothing gratuitous), and stories about architecture/small towns that didn't fulfill their original hopes/purpose.
If you want nonstop action and adventure, this quiet book isn't for you. If you want a peaceful yet deep idyll to a new locale that feels both brand new and familiar to tender, complex human experience, then it's very likely for you.
I love best what Publisher's Weekly said on the inside flap of the book: "This impressive yet unpretentious comic boasts both a cool look and sincere heart." I agree with the review from The Quietus, too: "You get the sense that you could step in and meander through its paved streets, enjoying the breeze." Indeed.
November 18, 2024
A book that I had seen at the library and was mildly interested in. Decided to read it after reading the author's book, The Hard Switch; it wasn't my favorite but the fact that they seemed like such different books intrigued me.
By coincidence I had shortly before read Swimming in Darkness which is weirdly a foil to this book: a weird, fantastic story set in a real place created by a famous architect, while this one is a very plain, mundane story set in a fictional place created by a fictional architect.
Not quite sure what to feel about this. I like the sort of laid-back nature of the story. But there is also this strange tension in reading it, like it should be going somewhere but it isn't clear where. And then there's a timeskip at the end which feels jarring for a story that spends so much time--as measured in panels-- doing nothing much, just walking through town really.
By coincidence I had shortly before read Swimming in Darkness which is weirdly a foil to this book: a weird, fantastic story set in a real place created by a famous architect, while this one is a very plain, mundane story set in a fictional place created by a fictional architect.
Not quite sure what to feel about this. I like the sort of laid-back nature of the story. But there is also this strange tension in reading it, like it should be going somewhere but it isn't clear where. And then there's a timeskip at the end which feels jarring for a story that spends so much time--as measured in panels-- doing nothing much, just walking through town really.
November 17, 2021
Ellen returns from the city to her small coastal town, a planned architectural utopia of sorts, to visit her dad. She doesn't feel of Victory Point, but isn't sure of her future in the city either.
This dreamy short graphic novel is a one sitting read, which I appreciate. I loved the art to the point that I think it would be just as powerful without any text. I appreciated her conversation with the gas station owner and his wife, highlighting Ellen's distance from her hometown, but her conversations with both her father Isla's mom felt forced and overly done. The text-free pages with Ellen in the water were more subtle and powerful. I really loved the details of both the natural and man made landscape. I think this could be suggested to slice-of-life graphic novel readers and I just requested another title by this author.
This dreamy short graphic novel is a one sitting read, which I appreciate. I loved the art to the point that I think it would be just as powerful without any text. I appreciated her conversation with the gas station owner and his wife, highlighting Ellen's distance from her hometown, but her conversations with both her father Isla's mom felt forced and overly done. The text-free pages with Ellen in the water were more subtle and powerful. I really loved the details of both the natural and man made landscape. I think this could be suggested to slice-of-life graphic novel readers and I just requested another title by this author.
August 2, 2020
I saw the drawings online and decided to preorder it. It's really beautiful, and I also love the choice of subject (going back to one's small-town origins for a short visit after working in the big city for years), however, the story could have been developed much more. It feels like the author had this great design idea for this town, and had to find a subject and a story to take place in it. Characters are developed, the personal story of the protagonist is slowly unveiled, and, as soon as this is done, the book ends rather abruptly.
January 4, 2025
It's visually beautiful, but the occasional pages of text really took me out of the story, and they were often gramatically awkward on top of it. It felt like Pomery got tired of illistrating the narrative, so he just threw in a few pages of exposition to skip the parts he didn't care about. Weird choice in a graphic novel.
That aside, there were some nice moments dealing with Ellen's complicated relationship to her hometown. Is she a visitor, now that she doesn't live there anymore? Does she still have a stake in what happens there? I can relate to that.
That aside, there were some nice moments dealing with Ellen's complicated relationship to her hometown. Is she a visitor, now that she doesn't live there anymore? Does she still have a stake in what happens there? I can relate to that.
November 15, 2025
Pomery modernist şehirleri, güneşli sahil kasabalarını, geometrik yapıları o kadar temiz bir çizgiyle veriyor ki, adeta kitabı değil, bir mimarın eskiz defterini okuyormuşsun gibi. Bana göre bu kitap bir hissedilme hali sunuyor. Pomery’nin çizgileri modern ve neredeyse mimari bir disiplinle inşa edilmiş. Hikayede herhangi bir drama mevcut değil; aksine okuyucuya küçük bir dönüşün ağırlığını hissettiriyor. Geçmişle barışma, bir yere ait olma, kendini tekrar dinleme gibi basit ama etkileyici konuları hızlıca okumak isterseniz…(7/10)
February 25, 2023
A small tale about a daughter, her parents and a place.
A quick, fine and gentle read.
A detour from typical "slice of life" graphic novels, drawn in a beautiful luminous style.
(I should add that I really like this style of illustration, that somehow reminded me of the "Blake and Mortimer" sci-fi adventure books.)
The story is introspective and slow paced, allowing the reader time to appreciate the little details and the peculiar atmosphere of the delightful Victory Point.
A quick, fine and gentle read.
A detour from typical "slice of life" graphic novels, drawn in a beautiful luminous style.
(I should add that I really like this style of illustration, that somehow reminded me of the "Blake and Mortimer" sci-fi adventure books.)
The story is introspective and slow paced, allowing the reader time to appreciate the little details and the peculiar atmosphere of the delightful Victory Point.
September 9, 2025
A slight, quiet graphic novel that I wanted to like more than I did. The architectural drawing is stunning, and the facts about this fictional town were convincing enough that I had to google to make sure it wasn't real. But the personal narrative about returning to one's hometown/feeling unfulfilled/worrying about an aging parent, which I should have found very relatable, didn't quite work for me; there just wasn't enough "there" there, and it wrapped up a bit too neatly.
August 12, 2020
"You know it's not just 'you versus the world' don't you? Hold what's important, be flexible on everything else." - my favorite quote from the book.
I discovered Owen D. Pomery on twitter and ordered the book for the art. The art is a pleasure and the writing pairs well. I would describe as a good emotional escape or a quick vacation back to childhood roots and uncertain futures.
I discovered Owen D. Pomery on twitter and ordered the book for the art. The art is a pleasure and the writing pairs well. I would describe as a good emotional escape or a quick vacation back to childhood roots and uncertain futures.
August 10, 2023
Enjoyable, quiet slice of life fare. Relaxing peaceful visuals with very real feeling world building, with just enough whimsey to make the mundane storyline feel nostalgic and fateful. Great looking ligne claire stylings with a clear love of architecture coming from the artist.
Overall a very intelligent and good looking book. A great read, would recommend.
Overall a very intelligent and good looking book. A great read, would recommend.
October 14, 2021
A quick read, but I enjoyed lingering over the clean lines and ocean colors of the artwork. The story was unique in that the setting was essentially another character, but I identified with the story of the conflicting feelings of visiting home.
March 26, 2023
The story is very slight, the dialogue is as wooden as the boat the old man is making but I could look at Owen Pomery’s drawings of coastal buildings and seashores all evening long. Beautiful and full of nuance, they are masterful images of longing and peace.
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