Review by Karl Verhoven

Until We Meet Again concerns the tragedy of mental illness, and how in the case of afflicted parents the outward ripples severely affect young children incapable of understanding the condition and its consequences. Such is the case with Lily Kim Qian as an infant.

All events are from Qian’s viewpoint or relate her own experiences when younger, so we don’t know how far into her parents’ marriage her mother’s mental problems first manifested. However, Lily was barely able to understand her parents separating, although when at first custody was split equally between both parents she soon noticed how chaotic her mother was. She was also incapable of maintaining coherent parenting, and Lily eventually lived full time with her father.

As grim as events were for the entire family, what really brings the story alive is Qian’s imaginative art, with strong design a characteristic. Static compositions are deliberately distanced, sometimes the type of illustration seen in advice leaflets, but can then morph into emotionally strong allegorical pages such as the sample art, or Qian’s mother lovingly holding a bunch of lilies after giving birth. They’re exceptionally well conceived to represent different states of mind, and Qian has a formidable talent for honing in on heartbreak. A full page image shows a card Lily made for her mother cleared out of an apartment by a landlord with the remainder of her mother’s belongings and left to picked up as rubbish.

The writing is very matter of fact as Qian’s growth is measured by a move every few years, each new location initiating a new chapter. “I got used to the notion that nothing would stay long in my life”, Qian explains in hindsight, “I would make friends and have to leave them”. The biggest absence, though, is her mother. Brief reconciliations become fractious, with Lily’s father paying for his wife to return to her family in Shanghai, and when they eventually move there Qian shares some family history. It falls into place that she never names her parents.

Until We Meet Again is a patchy narrative. It’s strongest over the first third of a young child confused and bereft by her mother’s condition, and the illustrative introspection at the end as the adult Lily assesses herself. The middle section being a chronology of moves followed by a family history loses the unique intensity. This is nevertheless a graphic novel with much to offer and with spectacular art throughout.