This bright, imaginative graphic novel moves from the universe’s creation to its destruction, taking in clay tablets, the Gutenberg Bible, the birth of hip-hop and DNA sequencing. Out of Nothing gives its odyssey a human face through its narrator, a blue-skinned, green-eyed time traveller who is as happy waiting in a sea of blackness for time to begin as she is talking about the world wide web with Tim Berners-Lee.
Her account celebrates humanity’s attempts to explore the world around it and the great beyond, from cave paintings and lion totems to scientists and astronauts. Darkness (whether the Manhattan Project or existential nihilism) lingers around the edges, but this is a mostly breezy account, fuelled by the good stuff – campfire companionship, creative leaps and symbols that talk to us across the centuries.
The book looks great, mixing human drama with deep-green forests, magnified cells, vibrant stars and wine that seems to hover in the glass. Stories that celebrate storytelling are nothing new, but Out of Nothing shows they can still feel as fresh as a daisy.
• Out of Nothing is published by Nobrow. To order a copy for £14.44 (RRP £14.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99.
