Nothing is quite what it appears to be in this highly imaginative graphic novel. Part pirate tale, part ghost story, Aaron Renier's (Spiral-Bound) lavishly illustrated yarn stars unlikely hero Walker Bean, whose only real champion is his bedridden grandfather, Admiral Bean. For years, the Admiral has told Walker a bedtime story about Tartessa and Remora, the ocean bottom–dwelling merwitch sisters who constructed a wall of bone-shaped pearls with which they could view the world above the surface. One of these bones--a skull--goes astray and lands in the hands of a treasure-seeker. Admiral Bean, tempted by the skull's taunting, had taken a forbidden look at the merwitches' errant skull and instantly knew that Tartessa and Remora, freed from their fathoms-deep prison, were now pursuing the skull at full throttle. The Admiral sends young Walker on a mission: to return the skull in order to save his life and the lives of their townspeople.
A glorious spread in shades of ebony, jade and pearl depicts the lobster-like merwitches before their pearly sanctuary. Then we follow Walker, the only blond and bespectacled child in the book, through a sequence of small panels in what appears to be a Colonial village, populated by beer-bellied men in three-corner hats. The skull cries out in blood-colored speech balloons, and Walker succeeds in stealing it from his grandfather's men, only to be kidnapped by his grandfather's alleged physician, Dr. Patches, and pulled aboard a pirate ship!
Renier brilliantly controls the pacing. A full-spread image of the pirate ship in midnight blue and velvety purple explodes into golden and orange circular inset scenes that appear like images viewed through a telescope ("POW! BOOM! KRKK!" go the sound effects). Walker comes to and discovers that Shiv, a boy his age, has been keeping him hidden below decks. Another full-spread scene of Spithead Port--the ship's first stop--charts Walker and Shiv's progress as they wind their way through the streets of a town brimming with colorful characters, shops and peddlers. Neat coincidences unite the boys--Shiv knows the song about Leechi Boura that Walker's grandfather often sang to him, and he recognizes the importance of the travel gifts the Admiral entrusted to his grandson. When Shiv and Walker get in trouble with the pirates, their view, as they're bound together by rope and looking up from the deck into the heights of the mast, is enough to give anyone vertigo. The hideous gargantuan merwitches finally reappear, dwarfing the giant pirate vessel. Along with these dramatic developments, Renier tucks in some highly satisfying details, such as a message-in-a-bottle that really delivers, and rival pirate-gal Gen, who turns out to have a soft spot and a green thumb. The best part of all is that the young people perceive things the adults can't see (such as Dr. Patches's despicable character), and they alone--with a little advice from the Admiral--can set things right. This high-seas adventure will hold readers spellbound.--Jennifer M. Brown