Moon and Bá's Daytripper is a masterful novel by any metric
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Daytripper
by Gabriel Bi and Fibio Moon
Vertigo
2011, 256 pages, 6.7 x 10.2 x 0.5 inches (softcover)
$12 Buy a copy on Amazon
I don't think it would be too hyperbolic of me to say Daytripper is one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. It's a big story told in small moments. The epic, emotional core is powerful and life affirming, but brothers Fibio Moon and Gabriel Bi get there through the lightest touch of character.
Without giving too much away (because there is so much to discover), the story is about Bris de Oliva Domingos, an aspiring novelist stuck writing newspaper obituaries. His life is both unique and unremarkable, and we meet Bris at a different age in each chapter. Theses ages are told in a non-linear fashion, and mostly feature life-changing moments. The twist is that these moments rarely seem life changing as they are happening, as is usually the case in real life. We live each day as if it is any other, only noting the important bits later.
For Moon and Bi, recognizing the personal is a matter of life or death. Bris spends most of the book pining for more in his life, always dissatisfied with where he is. It's as if he's constantly waiting for his "real life" to begin. Moon and Bi suggest that life isn't the point when you finally find the success you've been craving, or when you finally meet the love of your life, or any number of other things. Your life is now, today, in whatever situation you happen to be in. Life is happening all around you, and it's crucial that you not miss it.
The storytelling alone is incredible, but the art pushes the novel to even greater heights. Moon and Bi employ a realistic style that makes their Sio Paulo feel like the real city. This is crucial considering the more fantastic elements they periodically introduce into the book; they tiptoe across magical realism, and the art helps to keep you grounded. Their work is incredibly rich in detail, while the color has an almost sun bleached quality to it that appears lifelike. This is a masterful novel by any metric.- Alex Strine