I feel “The Arrival” by Shaun Tan really sent me through an immersive experience with so much detail in every panel in this wordless comic. The comic has a very mysterious and whimsical environment around the main character that his story almost felt haunting, yet at the same time nostalgic. Many full page panels have surreal landscapes that thoroughly establish the emotion the main character is feeling as he travels throughout an unfamiliar land as an immigrant. Looking at these different environments makes me feel like I’m reading an old children’s book. With such symbolic scenes and unreal creatures, I felt so lost in this world building and leaves me wanting more out of the story. The imagery in every panel is fantastic and fills me with tons of curiosity of what is really going on in this foreign city that Tan illustrates without any context at all. I think the comic having no words especially adds to this experience of wonder because it leaves so many questions in the best possible way. Imagining this “untold” story with written words would take away so much; the world is supposed to be confusing and unfamiliar, and I feel like context would result in the comic losing its charm. What makes this comic especially beautiful is the use of body language between characters in this story, because it creates a kind of movement that develops character relationships and absolutely no dialogue is needed. It almost feels like Tan is tapping into the concept of human nature and illustrating people’s actions that we are familiar with. Body language is the biggest point in this comic because it is something anyone can understand without words.
