Review by Frank Plowright
The Kissing Gate is a gorgeously drawn ghost story evoking both the exquisitely illustrated British girls’ comics of the 1960s and bucolic 20th century children’s stories set in the English countryside. However, despite starring children (for the most part), it deals with adult themes, predominantly loss.
In 1957 we meet the adult Alice Eaton returning to visit her Aunt Elspeth, with whom she stayed for one tragically memorable summer 21 years previously, aged twelve. Despite Alice’s mother always arguing with her sister, she has no problems leaving Alice with her for the summer when a second honeymoon cruise to Greece seems an attractive proposition. While there Alice meets Sophie, a mysterious girl around her age who becomes the ideal playmate.
A remote country house, a reclusive and eccentric owner, a forbidding groundskeeper and a little girl who knows more than she should are mixed for Aly Fell’s summer mystery in days gone by. There are some thematic links with Fell’s previous A Trick of the Light, but this is an even more accomplished work. After the previous book Fell’s amazing artwork is no secret, but this presents a more satisfying story. It rolls out at a leisurely pace, and the emotional resonance is stronger, the whimsy confined to a character whose role is small and brief. As before, the supernatural presence represents a mystery, but needs no explanation. In case the title needs explaining, though, it’s a form of hinged gate found in the British countryside through which only a single person can pass at a time, and preventing the passage of animals unless guided through.
As for that art, you’re really unlikely to see another graphic novel drawn as beautifully this year. Fell’s naturalistic people and evocative scenery shine on every page, with the storytelling deliberately old-fashioned, but crafted with a skill raising it above just a clever homage. You’ll be captivated by the story, but once its secrets have been revealed you’ll return to study individual panels.
The Kissing Gate is a self-published project, so unavailable via online booksellers. You can order a copy via Fell’s Etsy page.
