Review by Ian Keogh
Rain is primarily set in a local community around the Yorkshire moors of Northern England, spotlighting various forms of conflict. There’s emotional conflict between partners Cath and Mitch, who have different interests despite both being concerned with forms of land contamination. There’s vested interest conflict between ecologists aware of nature’s delicate balance and those ignorant or unconcerned. There’s ethical conflict between folk who consider grouse hunting a perfectly acceptable sport, and those who consider it wholesale slaughter for fun, and further with those concerned about the environmental damage it causes.
Until Rain Mary Talbot’s collaborations with husband Bryan have been biographical, and shifting to reality-based fiction involves some gear-crunching. The research is impeccable and enlightening, with even the well informed activist likely to learn from Rain. As most readers won’t have participated in grouse hunting, for instance, it’s astonishing to learn a single session costs in the region of £3000, and Rain notes some profoundly disturbing statistics connected with the pastime. However, too often these are delivered as lectures rather than the natural conversations intended.
Artistically Rain isn’t far removed from The Tale of One Bad Rat, in which Bryan Talbot supplied beautifully drawn views of the English countryside as part of a bigger story concerning social awareness. With exceptions made for full page illustrations, the landscape format accommodates two tiers of panels per page, so resembling a newspaper strip, which is appropriate considering the message of the content. What’s new to Talbot’s pages is the evocative use of watercolours. At the most obvious the result is decorative images, but brown and grey and sepia washes are also used. They’re possibly a time saving practicality, although sometimes indicate flashbacks, and when combined with colour as on the sample page, the result is beguiling.
The passing of time is indicated by use of a tree in various shades indicating the seasons, and it makes little difference to the activities of vested interests, sanctioned by the organisations intended to protect the countryside. Beyond the dangers of flooding due to prioritising land use generating gross profits, a wide-ranging selection of other evils are mentioned in passing. There are discussions of pesticides killing bees, fracking, the chemicals in cleaning products, how other chemicals are passed into the food chain, poor rail service… It’s all passionately well intentioned and important to know, but the introduction of topics is scattershot, and the characters are conceived to deliver messages rather than from a desire to tell a story, so lack depth. Concentrating on the single issue without distractions would have provided a more cohesive graphic novel.
Rain validates the convictions of those who care, but the end result is likely to be preaching to the converted, as anyone who’s never really considered the issues won’t find enough story to connect with.
