Brian Ralph

Brian Ralph is a talented artist whose comic book work I like a lot. I haven’t seen any new books from him for a couple of years now, but maybe I’m looking in the wrong places. The comics that I do have are really great pieces of work that left me wanting more.

Cave-In is a wordless graphic novella about a cave dweller’s adventures in his weird little world. I don’t think it was intended to be purely for kids, but it’s suitable for all ages, as the narrative flow is very easy to follow. Best of all, the book is a cool little package. It measures 5 inches wide by 6 inches long, and the ink color changes as you progress through the story. The book came out in 1999, but it’s definitely worth a look if you can get your hands on it.

Climbing Out is Brian Ralph’s other graphic novel; this one involves the subterranean adventures of a monkey creature. The story has some dialogue, and it’s a little more involved than Cave-In, as there is an underlying sadness in the main character’s quest to escape his bleak world. This book came out in 2002 and is also worth seeking out.

Brian Ralph’s next book was supposed to be Crum Bums, a continuation of the story from Climbing Out. However, I don’t think that this book was ever released since Highwater Books, Brian Ralph’s publisher, went out of business last year. Hopefully someday it will see the light of day.