Sailor Twain or the Mermaid in the Hudson HC
Publisher: First Second
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Price: $24.99
Creator: Mark Siegel
Format: 399 pgs., Black & White, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-59643-636-7
Age Rating: Teenagers/Mature
ICv2 Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Children's book illustrator and Editorial Director of First Second publishing Mark Siegel has released a hardcover collection of his Webcomic serial strip first launched in January 2010. Whereas the webcomic allowed Siegel the benefit of daily postings, communication with his audience, and the ability to post auxiliary supplements as special features to his narrative, the hardcover abandons these for a pristine print edition that does great credit to Siegel's illustrative strengths as a visual storyteller.

At times, Sailor Twain can be enjoyed as a set of single page strips and Siegel's mastery at narrative pacing and story allocation, meter, beat, and timing is commendable. In fact, Sailor Twain benefits from a collected edition as it allows greater opportunities for reflection and immediate reference unlike the format of the online serial. And, for a graphic novel with so many interrelated mysteries, unfolding sub-narratives, and engaging characters, ready access to what has already transpired is a tremendous benefit.

In Sailor Twain, Siegel introduces readers to late-nineteenth century New York, specifically the culture and life of the Hudson River. Siegel deserves commendation as Sailor Twain is more than a modern and affectionate experiment in or homage to genre fiction--instead, Sailor Twain finds common ground in the serialized nature of nineteenth-century literature, the horror and atmosphere of Edgar Allan Poe combined with the intrigue of Arthur Conan Doyle, and the comedic sensibilities of travelling stage performances that later formed the basis for vaudeville as well as early silent cinema and newspaper comics. Told in retrospection through a conversation between Captain Twain and a mysterious, unknown woman named Miss Camomille, the story traverses the Gilded Age and Civil War eras aboard the Lorelei, along the shore, and below the Hudson River itself. With a cast resembling a ship of lost souls, Siegel has crafted an original and innovative supernatural and romantic tale involving the disappearance of passengers coinciding with the arrival of a wounded mermaid named South.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Sailor Twain is Siegel's utilization of charcoal. While the influence of manga and Bryan Lee O'Malley's style of art are immediately apparent in the facial structures and features of his cast, Siegel masterfully renders his panels in a mixture of softer charcoal and inkwash, producing a variety of gray tones throughout. The incorporation of newspaper articles and maps, as well as varied lettering and captions, only reinforces the haunting nature of Sailor Twain. In sheer production quality alone, Sailor Twain deserves merit.

Although Sailor Twain contains nudity and some adult situations, the narrative should appeal to high school-age audiences and beyond.

--Nathan Wilson