You got this. Just, like, fall. It’s easy.

On a Sunbeam, ch. 7

Synopsis

Deep in space, Mia is starting her new job. Little does she know this motley crew, who repairs old and abandoned buildings among the stars, will soon become her new family. Char and Alma are the captains; Elliot is a quiet, brilliant mechanic; and Jules, Alma’s niece, is young and vivacious. Though Mia grows to love the crew, she’s never able to let go of what happened in her first year of boarding school.

Grace was Mia’s first love, and she was the only thing that made that first year bearable. But Mia lost Grace, and she still visits the memories of her whenever she’s reminded of their lost time together.

Through two intricately woven narratives, On a Sunbeam tells the love story of two girls whose time was cut short, and the love story of a found family drifting through space.

Review

I’ve been putting off reviewing On a Sunbeam because I couldn’t find the words to describe it. But I’m going to do my best. This is one of the most impressive graphic novels I’ve ever read–not only in length (it’s 544 pages! of hand drawn art!), but in scope, worldbuilding, suspense, and intricacy. Walden’s ethereal, breathtaking art is perfectly suited to the vast and billowing outer space setting in which On a Sunbeam takes place. She employs the especially effective method of revealing important things about her world slowly, so that you have to keep turning pages to discover what the characters already know. I want to gush about the worldbuilding more, but I also want to save it for you to discover in the pages of this book.

This is a high-stakes story told very quietly. It’s a page-turner, but it’s never loud or brash about the adventure that is taking place. You will feel every emotion under the sun while reading this book, and come out the better for it. I can’t recommend it enough.

Also, the universe in which this story takes place has no men. Zero. Everyone is queer and everyone is female or nonbinary. This is never discussed–I didn’t even realize it until the very end–and the quiet queer representation feels all the more powerful for it.

This book is available in print, and also as a webcomic at www.onasunbeam.com/.

Content Warnings: transphobia (misuse of pronouns)