WRITER: MARIEKE NIJKAMP| ARTIST: MANUEL PREITANO | PUBLISHER: DC INK | FORMAT: PAPERBACK | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
DC Comics release of its young adult graphic novel The Oracle Code is a timely one, albeit inadvertently. As our world changes beyond recognition we may find ourselves asking questions, not only about events unfolding around us, but about ourselves, about our very identity, about the person we thought we were and what we actually are, and how will this change us when our world returns to some semblance of normality. These are essentially the themes of novelist Marieke Nijhamp’s first foray into the comic book world.
After being shot, teenager Barbara Gordon is admitted to the Arkham Center for Independence, a rehabilitation centre for Gotham youngsters. Here she will receive help and training to physically and mentally prepare her for her new life, a life in a wheelchair. As Barbara angrily comes to terms with her situation she questions her identity. Is she the same person as before the shooting, who is she now that she no longer has the use of her legs, and who will she be in the future? When a patient disappears, and a mysterious child’s voice echoes through the building throughout the night, Barbara becomes determined to discover the centre’s sinister secrets.
Nijhamp does a masterful job of combining a haunted house mystery with a story about a young girl adapting to life after a horrific incident. Although Barbara initially rejects friendship and help not once does Nijhamp give us any course to dislike her. We are taken on Barbara’s journey, a journey of rage, guilt, fear, and acceptance. As a novelist, Nijhamp also excels at keeping a tight rein with exposition and being overly wordy. The dialogue and internal monologue is enough to keep the reader informed without being intrusive.
Artist Manuel Preitano’s art is exquisitely beautiful in its simplicity and yet it’s also deceptively detailed with lots of little details Bat-fans will appreciate. Jordie Bellaire’s colour palette is suitably subtle. Patients are shown in a single colour whilst the main characters are in full colour, which automatically draws the eye to them. It’s a technique that hacks back to the comic books of yesteryear. Bellaire creates an effective atmosphere for the scenes at night, and particularly for the ghost stories that are told to Barbara, which serves to notch up the sense of tension.
The Oracle Code is a tale of identity, adversity and revelation. Barbara reclaims her sense of self, she will not let her tragedy define her. Instead, it makes her stronger shaping her into the hero that she will become.
