Rating: 
Summary: a beautfiul voyage on the road of self-discovery
Review: i first learned of "Lost at Sea" (and Bryan Lee O'Malley) by reading the Lost At Sea comic strips on the Oni Press webpage. after reading all of the web strips, i started visiting Mal's webpage and became an avid fan. thus, i had been waiting for this book to come out for close to two years.
its rare that i say something like this, but it was worth the wait.
i have read a LOT of graphic novels in the past few years, and the only one that moved me more than Lost at Sea was Craig Thompson's "Blankets." (Mr. Thompson, coincidentally, wrote the shining review on the back cover of Lost at Sea)
this book is both playful and mystifying. heartwarming and achingly sad. adorable and thought provoking.
the story really hit close to home for me as it reminded me very much of the relationship with my last girlfriend and many of the conversations we shared. Mal has obviously had his share of beautiful moments in relationships, because no one could write such honest and well-developed dialogue and soliloquy on these topics without having been put through it themselves.
of course, the story and the script isn't the only beauty of this graphic novel. Mal's art is superb. i don't think anyone else with any other style could have ever illustrated this story as effectively.
Mal's cartoony drawing style portrays an innocence and magical quality that is not only adequate for the themes explored, but is absolutely enchanting. the thick lines and heavy spaces reinforce the serious, unsteady nature of the lead character, raleigh. her struggle and insecurities are exemplified by mal's broad strokes and dynamic illustrations.as i said, the book is thoroughly engaging and heart-touching.
it may only be a half-hour read. but it is one i intend to read at least once a month until august. probably longer. thank you, Mal, for finally putting this together. now make another, please.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I maintain that Bryan O'Malley is one of the few artists actually doing something different that stands on its own merit, and doesn't try to emulate anything else that's being done right now. His art is a refreshing change of pace, and his matter-of-fact storytelling succeeds in capturing the thought processes we all have and puts them on paper. Bryan doesn't mess around. Every panel in Lost at Sea is there for a purpose, and every panel has something to say. There are no computer-colored splash pages or implied action panels, just a wonderful story backed up with a wonderful artistic style. You owe it to yourself to read this book. If you've just been a casual reader of comics until now, this might change the way you look at comic books entirely.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I maintain that Bryan O'Malley is one of the few artists actually doing something different that stands on its own merit, and doesn't try to emulate anything else that's being done right now. His art is a refreshing change of pace, and his matter-of-fact storytelling succeeds in capturing the thought processes we all have and puts them on paper. Bryan doesn't mess around. Every panel in Lost at Sea is there for a purpose, and every panel has something to say. There are no computer-colored splash pages or implied action panels, just a wonderful story backed up with a wonderful artistic style. You owe it to yourself to read this book. If you've just been a casual reader of comics until now, this might change the way you look at comic books entirely.
Rating: 
Summary: Superrific
Review: I said it once, I've said it again: Mal is a master of teenage, female angst. Which, I suppose is sorta strange when Mal happens to be a tall Korean-Canadian male. ;-) In this delightful graphic novel, Mal delves into his inner-femme and talks about the percarious bridge between youth and adulthood. His cutesy anime-esque style only serves to emphasize this transition. It's not quite messy, but it's not quite clean either. Fan-freaking-tastic. Some people may not get the book merely because they haven't had similar experiences happen in their lives. Also, the narration occasionally makes a turn for melo-drama, in a soap-opera kind of way, and he tries occasionally to make things seem deeper than it may actually be (though, it could be argued that is how all teenage women treat events in their lives, thus the direction is waranted); but, the steady, consistent feel and interesting character interactions make up for it. But, if you believe in first loves, unexpected friendships, and the realization it's OK to be scared, to be stupid, to make mistakes, to break away from childhood, to make peace with fate, and that everything will turn out well in the end... read this novel. Because, not only is it pretty, it's also true.
Rating:
Summary: Radness
Review: I'd been waiting for this for close to forever, and it was absolutely worth the wait. Normally when I finish a book or a movie or whatever, I get sort of depressed that I have to leave the characters behind after that. Finishing this book didn't result in that kind of depression, which was rad. I told my friends I'm gonna slowly but surely buy copies for each of them, and I mean it. The first friend I bought one for loved it immediately. Mal is brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Just what it needs to be
Review: I'm a big fan of this kind of work, and Brian Lee O'Malley doesn't disappoint. I've been waiting for Lost at Sea since it came out, and between it and Hopless Savages : Ground Zero, I'll be keeping an eye out for anything he puts out.
Rating:
Summary: Lost at Sea
Review: It's a GOOD BOOK. I cannot stress that point enough. The art style is unique, the dialogue is great, and the story is touching. If you've ever been through high school, it's easy to identify with the characters. The highest praise I can give it, however, is the fact that I've only owned it for a few months and it's already dogeared from overuse.
Rating:
Summary: Lost at Sea
Review: It's a GOOD BOOK. I cannot stress that point enough. The art style is unique, the dialogue is great, and the story is touching. If you've ever been through high school, it's easy to identify with the characters. The highest praise I can give it, however, is the fact that I've only owned it for a few months and it's already dogeared from overuse.
Rating:
Summary: Still lost...
Review: Just a beautiful, intelligent, amazing journey of a book. Maybe you've never taken a road trip from California to Canada with three strangers, a trip full of cats, new friendships and lost souls, but Lost at Sea will make you nostalgic for that time you did. And that's a very good thing.
Rating:
Summary: a mandatory title field is retarded.
Review: lost at sea almost moved me to tears. that puts it right up there with edward scissor hands and i am sam. anyhow, i just want to thank brian for his music and his art, and for daring to be human, something too many of us are afraid of.
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