DANDELION explores an invention’s fate in bold sci-fi graphic novel

Dandelion

Creator and Writer: Sabir Pirzada
Artists: Martín Morazzo, Vanesa Del Rey, Eric Koda, Roy Allan Martinez, Gegê Schall, Thomas Campi, Adrian Rivero, Juha Veltti, Marquis Rogers
Colors: Juha Veltti, Jacob Phillips, Lee Loughridge
Letterers: Aditya Bidikar, Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: June 19
Price: $16.99
Buy Dandelion.

I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for climate change dystopia stories. Seeing predictions of the existential threat we face coupled with imaginative stories about what threads of hope there might still be (or lack thereof) give me both an escapist adventure and observations that feel almost practical nowadays.

Dandelion, out now from Image Comics, delivers my sought-after qualities of this cli-fi tradition while adding a fresh take: the invention of floating habitation pods called “Dandelions,” to which many displaced citizens are relegated. The graphic anthology of interwoven short stories was spearheaded and written by Sabir Pirzada, known for his writing on TV shows like Ms. Marvel and Moon Knight, and brought to vivid life by many talented artists including Martín Morazzo, Vanesa Del Rey, and Eric Koda.

Pirzada and the team of artists play with the comics medium, serving up visual montages, interview transcripts, flashbacks, and good old-fashioned action. Dandelion contains a picturesque series of moments in the lives of many characters. It is by turns brutal and heart-warming, zooming in closer on the destinies of a few to help us understand the lot of many. The enigmatic inventor of the Dandelion, Jen Nakamuto, is a unifying presence across the collection. Each story adds a piece to the larger mosaic of the world, one blighted by heat, flooding, poverty, job displacement, and violent class struggle.

The vignettes, though wide-ranging and each by a different artist, feel deliberate, designed to share different angles of life after Dandelions and let us piece together for ourselves what the future might hold for some of these characters. A few characters do recur across tales, like old friends.

Pirzada’s powers of writing episodic drama within a fantasy universe serve him as well in comics as they have in TV. I don’t have prior experience with the artists and colorists in the collection, but all are very capable. Most take a clean, lightly stylized approach. A few notable divergences were Del Rey’s bold and brush-y inks, and Thomas Campi’s realistic, painterly style. Lettering by Aditya Bidikar and Taylor Esposito is interestingly varied and effective, but never distracting, conveying many conversations, moods, and sound effects.

Without giving too much away, a few of my favorite stories include: a crime story called “Smile” (art by Roy Allan Martinez and colors by Juha Veltti), a holiday story called “True North” (art by Martinez and colors by Jacob Phillips), a story about family and the future of agriculture called “Secret Recipe” (art by Gegê Schall), and a story about virtual reality and emotions called “The Bird” (art by Morazzo and colors by Veltti).

The ethical themes explored in Dandelion are thought-provoking. What responsibility do those in strong societal positions have to make life better for others? How does an inventor let go of a technology’s destiny once it is loosed on the world? And how does the average citizen live a meaningful life amidst a series of planetary tragedies and injustices?

If you’re comfortable with some open-endedness and ambiguity in your social commentary, there are rewarding depths to mine here. Given its expansive concept, Dandelion is a relatively short anthology but feels rich and digs into unexpected corners, exploring the floating home concept and its ripple effects well. You’ll encounter rebels, inventors, explorers, victims, businesspeople, and folks just trying to get by. The collection also emphasizes loving connections between people and diverse representation without feeling forced.

Dandelion’s stories are satisfyingly twisty and often cathartic. I came away touched, haunted, and hopeful. I like that the creators of the collection weren’t going for comprehensiveness. Instead, Dandelion is more like poetry, with sketches that suggest a larger world and implied reckonings to come.

If that sounds like your cup of tea, give this multifaceted collection a try. I think you’ll like it.

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