The Cautioner's Tale A Visual Journal

By combining a journal entry format with a visual style, R.M. Wilburn utilizes page space to help unravel information and tension that comes in following Mary Morgan’s journey. The reader can pick up subtle clues visually that reveal information Wilburn does not have to explain. The wrinkled, mismatched pages, torn clippings rather than cleanly cut, and blotches and spots found on the entries, all express Mary Morgan’s life on the run. We, as readers, infer that she is collecting random scraps of paper to write on in what was left of the world after “The Great War” and Rump’s reign. At one point, she writes on what looks like a  blue envelope that consists of half the entry on the page. The readers do not need long description or exposition to understand Mary Morgan’s life as a fugitive. We see that the mismatched collection scraps that she calls her journal. The events are what hold importance and Mary Morgan is doing everything she can to document it. 

Although the journal format evokes a sense of privacy and intimacy, for the speaker it is a dialogue with the readers. She states in her opening entry that she writes the journal in case something happens to her. She writes knowing that others may read her work, and uses “us,” in the following page, also addressing the reader as “you,” and thus blurs the line of public vs. private in her personal journal. This journal is meant to be public and including various forms of documentation from official documents, letters, physical items, all make it easier for Mary Morgan’s readers to grasp the situation as quickly as possible. 

As a visual journal, one that is public, allows Wilburn to build tension through what is seen but not explicitly commented on. One great example is on location/page 35 upon entering Poison Skillet. Visually, there is a pink page that serves as the written entry, with a ripped corner, and labels and surveillance footage below. Wilburn uses the page space to divulge as much information as possible without telling it. The surveillance camera focuses on a “target,” a human male, and that is placed by the labels of mysterious “meat-like substance” Rump rations and a deliver tag for “human flesh (muscles and fat).” These visuals follow the note that describes Poison Skillet as “one of the many shady places” that is also referred to as “Rump Dumps since he did nothing but worsen their conditions.” Wilburn goes further by having the ripped page reveal the entrance to Poison Skillet, blocking out the tag underneath except for the underline word “LEAVE.” Mary Morgan does not speculate what the meat might be, not to the reader, but gives all the clues to the readers. The cluttering that happens on this page, with sections of the different documents being cut off, does not take away or hide information. Rather, it makes the reader focus on specific words or phrases. 

This visual genre opens possibilities for the arc to develop quickly, avoiding long descriptions and the reader being dependent on the speaker’s words for information. The evidence works not only to progress the story, but also to avoid having an unreliable narrator. Rump’s reign is distorting and manipulating media and information in Mary Morgan’s world, and she is making sure that the reader has all the correct information through various sources. Though the graphic novel is short, it depicts Rump’s rise and fall as a complete arc, and addresses multiple deaths of Mary Morgan’s allies. The pace did feel too quick, and it may be due to the vast amount of information presented on each page.