The Tale of One Bad Rat

Bryan Talbot constructs a very special story in The Tale of One Bad Rat, which immediately endears the reader. The victim of child sexual abuse, Helen Potter becomes the armored knight before her own personal demons. It's a story of heroism and courage, and of defeating the greatest enemy--the one which lives within each of us. Full-color throughout. Graphic novel format.

Unlike most graphic novels, this powerful new effort is neither genre fiction nor autobiographical, but a compelling tale of childhood sexual abuse and recovery. Its heroine is teenager Helen Potter, who has run away from an abusive father and whose path to recovery takes her from a squat in London to refuge at an inn in the British countryside. Along the way, she meets characters and situations that Talbot derives from the work of Helen's namesake, Beatrix Potter, whose life he symbolically links to Helen's. Talbot's vivid, realistic full-color illustration brilliantly evokes the story's settings, yet even more effective are his compassionate characterizations. Although Helen's eventual decision to take responsibility for her recovery seems somewhat facile, her ultimate triumph is genuinely inspirational. This graphic novel has the potential to affect a large audience, notably including counselors and others who work with abuse survivors. Gordon Flagg