Comics Features Reviews

Dreams Die Young In “All Talk”

all talk

All Talk, written by Sztybor and drawn by Akeussel, follows Rahim. He’s a young man from Berlin who is unfortunately involved with a gang. This in turn leads to the conflict of the comic. Rahim has big dreams and a sweet grandmother. But he does not appreciate her enough to abandon his goal of making it big in the gang. This leads to problems with another young member – Era – who is everything that Rahim is not. Complications arise when Rahim decides to show up Era by defeating a rival gang. Unfortunately for him, this does not go the way he wants it. As a result, he drags his friends down with him in the process.

The art style for this graphic novel is very unique; each character drawn with very distinctive features. This makes every character unique and different from each other. It feels very purposeful to me. Rahim is a good example of this style; he has a big body, but a long neck and a small head. This emphasizes how young he is; like a kid playing a game of pretend. Just like his design shows, he is in over his head. The color palette is another interesting feature of the book. It mostly consists of warm tones, with a filter over the panels to tint them in a specific manner.

All Talk has a few minor issues for me. His father’s story is very ambiguous, intentionally so. The graphic novel only clearly articulates the information that Rahim knows. Therefore, the reader also only has limited knowledge of particular matters. The cop that seems to be in a relationship with Rahim’s grandmother is also ambiguous. It is not clear what exactly goes on between the two of them. That takes place outside of the main story, so not much light gets shed on it. This makes sense within the context All Talk. But exploring that dynamic would have been interesting. Without this, the cop mostly serves as witness to Rahim’s actions. This seems to be his intended role. It makes sense for him overall.

These problems are all very minute, and the story is quite good on the whole. It expresses the insecurities of the young. That, and the invincibility that they believe they have. Rahim does not think about the consequences of his actions. By the time he does, it’s too late anyway. Nothing goes the way he wants it to in his head. All Talk takes a kid, puffs him up, then lets reality do its work. It is a cautionary tale, as well as a sad one. Rahim wants to believe he can become someone great, but he chooses the wrong people to idolize. One of the few genuinely kind people in this graphic novel is his grandmother; a gentle soul who wishes the best for him. Had he chosen her to be his role model instead, his life would’ve been very different.

Much like what it says on the tin, Rahim is All Talk; just another young idiot who bites off more than he can chew

Want a story that explores grandmother and grandchild dynamic? A story that highlights the insecurities and conflict that young people encounter? All Talk is available to order at stock bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Book Depositary. What kind of realizations does All Talk invoke within you? Tell us in the comments or through Facebook or Twitter!

About the author

Layna Putterman

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