old people + radiation = disturbing graphic novel

December 15, 2006 11:17 AM

Help me find the name of a graphic novel, in which a naive elderly couple deal with the aftermath of an atomic bomb. . .

I found it in the bookshelf of my Science Fiction/Fantasy Writing professor a few years ago. The art was very cartoonish, I remember.

A bomb went off somewhere, and this elderly couple was terribly naive when it came to radiation and fallout--- like drinking water with ash in it from the fireplace. Or is that from Children of the Dust? I remember further along they grew thin, and their hair fell out. . . Obviously, a disturbing book. But it's been nagging at me for years. Anyone?

posted by changeling to media & arts (12 comments total)

Raymond Briggs, "When the Wind Blows"
posted by buxtonbluecat at 11:19 AM on December 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

That was insanely fast. You are awesome.
posted by changeling at 11:23 AM on December 15, 2006

There is also an animated version. Disturbing as well.
posted by Constant Reader at 11:38 AM on December 15, 2006

Oh I love this book.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 12:56 PM on December 15, 2006

I just bought this book based on the Amazon info. It sounds haunting.
posted by Telf at 12:58 PM on December 15, 2006

I also highly recommend Ernest and Ethel by Briggs (there's no radiation plotline, but it's very touching).
posted by leesh at 1:10 PM on December 15, 2006

I totally remember this, I think from when I was a kid... haven't thought of it in years, but it was definitely a favorite at one time. And I looked at the amazon page and absolutely recognized that cover. anyway, thanks for the reminder.
posted by mdn at 1:20 PM on December 15, 2006

ZOMG: My mom read that too me when I was a kid!
posted by delmoi at 1:36 PM on December 15, 2006

Actually a couple of months ago my mind was wondering and I thought of the book, and I realized that it didn't seem like normal childrens liturature at all. In fact, the story seemed so out of place that I began to wonder if I'd just made the whole thing up.

I actually asked my mom about it the next time I talked on the phone, and she told me that it was real.
posted by delmoi at 1:40 PM on December 15, 2006

That was a remarkable book, and very grim.

The mistake people made when it came out was to think `Oh, it's drawn? Kids book!'.

It was in the library of my primary school!
posted by tomble at 2:38 PM on December 15, 2006

My primary school had it as well. It also had some other Raymond Briggs stuff which was more obviously directed at children, so I guess they either mistakenly assumed it was a children's book like Fungus the Bogeyman or they wanted to teach us a lesson about nuclear holocaust.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 4:42 PM on December 15, 2006

Not related to the question per se, but this thread has finally given me the clue to start my google-fu and find this film, which was shown on a tv special about nuclear war aftermath many, many years ago, just following the animated version of "When the wind blows".

I had been looking for this movie for YEARS. Thanks, askme.
posted by ArchEnemy at 6:15 PM on December 15, 2006