Mad Cave Studios’ young adult imprint, Maverick, has announced an English translation of Across the Widest Sea. Today, The Beat has all the details.
Written and illustrated by Belgian cartoonist Jean Cremers, lettered by Taylor Esposito, and translated by Joe Johnson, Across the Widest Sea follows three adolescent characters who band together to literally journey across the sea together. All three are forced to face adulthood (the sea) sooner than they’re prepared to do, and they manage by relying on each other.
Here’s the synopsis:
Abandoned in the middle of the ocean by her parents to learn to fend for herself, Leonie must find dry land. She meets Balthazar, a teenager whose canoe is taking on water, and Agatha, who lets herself be carried by the current and no longer has any hope of landing. They join forces to find a shore. A metaphorical story about the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Check out interior and cover art below.
“I started making comics with my first album published by Éditions Le Lombard, Vague de froid (Cold Front), which didn’t earn me enough to make a living. I began looking for storyboard work, but that search was interrupted by floods that struck my village in July 2021,” Cremers said.
“Three days after the water receded, I received an email from Robin Jolly, who would become my editor at Glénat. I wrote this story from that moment, drawing from both the disaster and my own transition into adulthood, which is why it takes place entirely on the water,” Cremers continued.
“This album is my favorite of the three I’ve created. I wrote it quickly, trusted myself, and became deeply attached to the characters. It represents what I hope is the best side of my work: impulsive, fast-paced, and colorful. More than anything, I hope it inspires readers to read more comics, a medium that brings together the best of words and art.”
Across the Widest Sea will be available everywhere books are sold on July 14.
