The Journey of Teddy and Marla by Godsteeth. 18/20.
This is a beautiful book.
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, artist Godsteeth has pulled words and visual art into a unique creation.
Marla is a wanderer. She is lost. Teddy the kitten is lost, as well. They meet and journey together.
Brought to life through sparing sentences and stark, darkly beautiful illustrations, this is a picture story – but it isn’t for little kids. Not unless the kid in question is comfortable with ambiguity, silence and the concept of mortality.
Because I’m not at all sure Marla is travelling in our reality. Teddy, colossal within the book, was inspired by the artist’s childhood pet. The real Teddy didn’t live to adulthood. This loss obviously left its mark; this book is a kind of elegy to the short-lived kitten who was buried in a red sock – as though it was a sleeping bag.
Marla could literally be a lost soul, gliding through a black and white landscape where they are no shadows and “home” is somewhere else. She encounters Death, who is harried and curious rather than frightening. The landscape is otherworldly.
Teddy becomes her wordless companion as they search for a familiar place, sharing a journey without an end.
For all the hard, sketchy lines and blank whiteness, for all the wide spaces and solitude, this is a tender piece of work.
Teddy wreaks havoc (as a giant little kitten would). He purrs. He curls up and keeps Marla warm. In the end, perhaps Teddy is home.
I haven’t seen anything like this before, and I don’t think I will again.
The Journey of Teddy and Marla is not on Goodreads or Amazon. Find out more by reaching Godsteeth on Twitter
Other Worlds 