Neil Gaiman’s Troll Bridge
Written by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Colleen Doran
Dark Horse Books
October 18, 2016
Reviewed by Elaine Pascale
Troll Bridge is Neil Gaiman’s anti-The Giving Tree — instead of selfishly taking from a loving authority figure, this eerie and melancholy look at aging has a young boy bargaining with a troll at pivotal points in his life. The boy, Jack, prevents the troll from “eating his life,” but as he ages, he becomes despondent and loses his shiny wide-eyed niceness. Jack’s focus is self-preservation — a goal that becomes less and less honorable as he ages into a sad, unlikeable man.
Author Neil Gaiman is always wonderful, but it is Colleen Doran’s treatment of the story that takes it to another level. Her illustrations tell the tale so effectively that words are nearly not needed. When the boy is young and hopeful, she uses quaint greens and yellows. She details the individual pebbles drawn on the train tracks that no longer run, isolating towns from each other and allowing magical thoughts to percolate in the mind of a boy accustomed to playing alone. When he is an adolescent, each petal on the fertile flowers are visible. The plush feathered hair and soft pink bubble gum of the girl he desires highlight the hormone-laden romanticism. When the boy becomes a man, the colors are muted and the images focus on the skeletal trees and claustrophobic row houses that resemble gigantic grave stones.
The positioning of the first person narrator is evocative and leads a reader to the denouement without giving too much away. The young boy will turn his face to woodland creatures and running brooks, drawing the viewer’s eyes to Doran’s impressive work. The adult man looks down to his shoes, drawing the narrative into his disgruntled detachment from others.
Doran’s attention to detail is inspiring. Her artwork flows with a realism that gives the troll gravitas when needed, but also establishes the creature in the realm of magic. At times the troll is scary and threatening, at others, pathetic and needy. The troll’s transformation contrasts nicely with Jack’s development, and may not have reached the same success if left to a lesser artist.
While Troll Bridge is the anti-The Giving Tree, both stories speak of the weariness of life. That said, Doran’s artwork is the antithesis of weary, its vibrancy breathes new life into an already memorable tale.
