Tiny Fox and Great Boar by Kolomycka Berenika
Published: Europe Comics, 2018
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Tiny Fox is content in his valley home under the apple tree until the day Great Boar shows up. Sharing everything is hard at first, but the pair is soon inseparable.
Tiny Fox and Great Boar is a short graphic novel aimed at young readers. It’s common for modern children’s books to be light on conflict, and this example is not an exception. Most of the three-part adventure is internal, with Tiny Fox agonizing over every new change. First Great Boar is a disruption, then he can’t live without him; should he cross the road, pick a direction, or stay under the apple tree? His problems are more metaphorical than earth-shattering.
The art is paneled and at its most effective when the characters are traveling. The lonely, rural landscapes are reminiscent of Snoopy’s World War II dream sequences, and the woods are so empty it’s not hard to understand how the animals come to depend on each other’s company. The character designs are appealing enough to make their back-and-forth conversations entertaining, but also too flat to convey some of the action scenes. The palette is limited and the watercolors can sometimes look rushed and muddy.
At times I was charmed, but with this much length to work with, I was also left looking for more things to happen. The story would appeal best to young readers with brand-new siblings in the house.