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Daniel Brown
Professor Cruz
Creative Writing 155
October 23rd, 2015
We’re Not Broken Anymore
In the world of comics, juxtaposition as a form of both artwork and storytelling has never
been more apparent or used as brilliantly as in Jeff Lemire’s latest work, Trillium. I spent a great
amount of time browsing the graphic novel section of Rivera Library here at UCR, looking
through book after book waiting to see one that shined brighter than the rest. I pulled out many
different comics, gazed over the covers and shuffled through the pages, but none seemed to spark
my interest. That is until I came upon Trillium. The cover itself was maddeningly engrossing,
with the upside down, space suited head of a girl over a war torn battlefield from the First World
War. The art style on the cover itself was thoroughly captivating, with much emotion and detail
seen in the characters that I had not even grown connected to yet. I flipped the book over, and
saw another beautifully drawn juxtaposition. The face of a tired, bloody 20th century soldier,
again upside down, over the scene of a lone female astronaut on a desolate planet. Just the cover
and back of the book alone pulled me in enough to sit down and read the novel. I myself am a
great fan of both science fiction and war stories, so the clear admittance of both into the novel
pulled me closer and spoke to me as a reader. On impulse, I quickly flipped through the pages
and saw exactly what I wanted to see in the artwork; gritty, violent, and realistically portrayed
scenes ranging from space flight to Victorian style exploration. From that moment on I was
hooked and knew immediately this was the graphic novel for me.
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Trillium is the latest graphic novel both written and drawn by Jeff Lemire. Published by
Vertigo Comics on August 6th, 2014, the coloring is done by Jose Villarrubia with lettering by
Carlos M. Mangual. Lemire is a rising star in the world of comics, with notable and award
winning works such as Essex County Trilogy, Sweet Tooth, The Nobody, and Animal Man. Jose
Villarrubia is arguably one of the greatest colorists at work today in the comic field. His blending
of mood inducing colors helps to bring Lemire’s drawings to life in ways I did not expect. From
the gritty, dirty nature seen in the jungle and battlefield scenes to the grandeur of space,
Villarrubia does a superb job enhancing Lemire’s already impressive artwork. In this latest
addition to Jeff Lemire’s already reputable and impressive library of published works, Lemire
delves into the genres of science fiction and romance in a way not quite seen before. Through the
use of juxtaposition in both artwork and the story itself, Lemire crafts an intensely captivating,
