Oracles by Olivia Sullivan

I’m pretty sure that this is meant to be an illustrated poem, but that’s not the only thing that baffles me about this purported graphic novel.

Leaving heartbreak behind, the protagonist pares down their physical existence and decides to go on a long hike in the woods. Things get weird very quickly, as the narrator starts hallucinating, presumably from having consumed something foraged that they shouldn’t have. Soon, they’re on a trippy mental journey (yes, Terence McKenna is name checked here and yes, I rolled my eyes hard) as they try to process their fresh grief over their breakup, their lingering grief over their mother’s death some time earlier, and their desire to turn their back on modern life and live in the woods a la Richard Proenneke (which I did not roll my eyes at. There is value in living a minimalist lifestyle even if it isn’t for me.)

But oh man, the romanticization of that “simple life” just made this so hard for me to care. McCandless Camping — a reference to the guy who essentially starved himself to death in the Alaskan wilderness — is presented as something aspirational, and y’all, I cannot. It’s not romantic to die because you’re a dumbass. Mr Proenneke knew what he was doing; Mr McCandless very much did not. I get that this was written in the throes of self-abnegation but honestly, to what end? Who benefits when you starve yourself in isolation? Are you going to subsequently go out into the world and spread a message of doing good for others?

Perhaps this book is an attempt at doing just that but it left me weirdly cold, as admittedly many other Buddhist texts of detaching from the world in search of enlightenment do. I appreciate a good spiritual retreat as much as the next person — deliberately forcing a separation from material inessentials in order to better understand your self and the universal needs of humanity is important work — but don’t believe that you can solve any problems, either the world’s or your own, by running away from them and taking a bunch of recreational drugs. Perhaps Olivia Sullivan is trying to suggest a better way of engagement with the world by detailing her grief and coping mechanisms here, even as she acknowledges how poorly cut out she is for the self-sufficient life of which she dreams.

It doesn’t help that the color scheme, while meant to evoke older and naturalist texts, lands firmly in a zeitgeist dominated by the Backrooms. Ms Sullivan’s art is at least clear, with excellent layouts. The writing could definitely use a little work, tho perhaps people who enjoy Beat poetry more than I do would also appreciate this more than I did.

Oracles by Olivia Sullivan was published June 20 2026 by Avery Hill Publishing and is available from all good booksellers, including