Written by Jake Wyatt and illustrated by the mononymous Choo, The Well is a 2022 graphic novel that takes the emotional and narrative beats of a Grimm fairytale and frames them in an East Asian inspired low fantasy setting. With a main plot built on allegory and archetypes that is grounded by a delightful romantic B-plot, the graphic novel follows a pivotal week in the life of Li-Zhen aka Lizzy.
After her parents passed away fighting a sea monster, baby Lizzy was raised by her goat-herding grandfather on the small island in the archipelago they called home. Now a young adult, it is her first time taking their wares to market by herself and Lizzy is excited to make the most of this chance. Including reciprocal flirting with the delightfully blushy Eli. But when she finds herself in need of urgent funds, she nicks a few coins from a sacred well—and ends up saddled with an impossible curse. In under a week, she must grant three wishes of increasing difficulty. Or find herself pulled into the dark waters forever.
For me, reading this echoed watching Pan’s Labyrinth as a child. Much like Ophelia, Lizzy is not some platonic ideal of a good and moral child. She is a young person tasting and testing the boundaries of newfound responsibilities and freedoms. She has fun. She makes mistakes. Her actions, much like most people her age, are informed by a nascent sense wanting to quell injustices and protect those she cares for—sometimes even at the cost of her own wellbeing. The panels where Lizzy scoops the coins from the titular well reminded me so much of the scene where Ophelia plucks grapes off the Pale Man’s table. It’s a few grapes, a few coins that can be replaced. But in breaking the taboo, the two young women are set up for a staggeringly disproportionate punishment—one the narrative recognizes as such and depicts without vilifying or making an example of the girls.
Of course, being somewhat older, Lizzy also has a love interest in oarswoman Eli, who ferries Lizzy between the small island she lives on with her grandfather and goats, and the main island in the archipelago where The Well and most of the narrative connective tissue is. The clear reciprocity of their feelings grounds and adds a softer, more human element to the adventure, as well as raising the emotional stakes for Lizzy and readers. She is not Odysseus or Gilgamesh or some figure out of myth. She is a tired, scared girl who is trying to be brave for the people she wants to protect.
It’s might also prove an interesting read for older readers, one that might merit discussion. The first quest is about struggling to let go of the past, the second is about greed and injustice in the present, and the last is about finding lasting solutions for the problems our predecessors were only able to find temporary solutions for—solutions that are becoming increasingly weakened and untenable. While it does lean more heavily on the One Lone Hero archetype in that last third than the reality of efforts to effect social change ever has, I believe it is a fine starting point to discuss how sometimes younger folks can become alienated from community and those who care about them if they feel like they have to shoulder all the burdens of their mistakes by themselves. It’s notable how Lizzy is never really alone in her questing.
While the pacing might feel rushed or underdeveloped, it’s cadence and flow will remind readers of traditional fairytales and D&D one-shot campaigns. It’s a nice, self-contained story. And if an eleven year old cousin who borrowed my copy is to be believed, it makes an excellent read before bedtime.
