A review by charlottedante
Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson by Mark Siegel

4.0

Set on the Hudson River near the turn of the 20th century, Sailor Twain is a lengthy tale of one man’s encounter with a mermaid, one of the most intriguing and dangerous creatures of mythology. The story begins Captain Elijah Twain meeting a mysterious woman in a bar, asking her, “Don’t call me captain.” What soon follows is a deep graphic retelling of Twain’s story on board the Lorelei and his discovery of an injured mermaid who Twain nurses back to help and bonds with, all under the notion that she promises not to sing to him. Siegel’s protagonist is drawn comically, conjuring up images of Sesame Street’s Bert, but his life and situations are anything but. The remaining cast of characters are uniquely rendered, background people drawn beautifully so while main contenders are given more animated features, like large eyes and long noses. The rest of the novel is drawn with lovely shading and depth in simple pencil; the lack of color takes nothing away from this story. The complexity of the tale and the graphic—no pun intended—depiction of the mermaid (she’s topless throughout the entire story) makes me wonder how much Sailor Twain really is for young adults, though it’s doubtless that they could definitely find it enjoyable. It feels like an adult novel, but graphic works seem to always struggle with finding their place with the correct audience.