Here

Here by Richard McGuire is a graphic novel that charts what happens in once particular spot over the whole course of history, and also far into the future. Most panels show the main living room of the same house over time, though the scenes are not chronological. It jumps around different eras, even within the same page, with smaller sections overlaid on the main picture. The story also takes us back to pre-historic times and so far ahead that people have vanished again. But, for the most part, it shows moments in the life of the house (both big and small). The way the individual stories gradually build up over the course of the book, and also the way parallels are drawn between vastly different time periods, is masterful. This is a wonderful piece of art that is very definitely "an exercise in consciously experiencing human dignity in others and ourselves", to steal from a recent Vlogbrothers video.

Timekeeper

Timekeeper by Tara Sim tells the story of Danny, a clock mechanic in an alternate England, where mystical clock towers keep time in check. Any problems with the clocks cause fluctuations in time that interfere with the surrounding area, and the mechanics have to keep the clocks in good shape, lest a town end up stopped completely. Danny's father is trapped in Malden, where the clock has been damaged and the town has stopped. His life becomes more complicated when he visits the clock tower in Enfield (where I live!) and falls in love with the spirit that embodies the clock.

It's a mostly rather sweet tale of romance, with an added mystery about clocks being sabotaged in different areas around London. I liked Danny and his car mechanic friend, Cassie. I liked the complexities of his relationship with the spirit, who couldn't leave the clock tower. I liked the idea of the clocks beings guardians of their towns. But the time fluctuations were a bit vague and rather inconsistent so it was difficult to visualise their effects. And it wasn't clear how far the mechanics' abilities with time extended or what they could actually do. So, the world building was a bit lacking. But I enjoyed the story overall.