Quiet GN Review

 

Quiet GN Review

Writer: Kim-Joy

Artist: Alti Firmansyah

Letterer: Sara Linsley

Editor: Allison O’Toole

Graphic Designer: Cindy Leong

Publisher: Comixology

Kindle Price: $6.99 US

Release Date: September 22, 2026

 

Mary Odette Casper likes Ms Emuka. She seems to care about her. And while she has sparkle and personality, she doesn’t overwhelm Mary. Still, some of her fellow students make Mary uncomfortable. So, as her math teacher explains how to solve the day’s problem, Mary keeps an eye on the clock. Why does Mary struggle at school? And can anyone make her school days easier? Let’s leap into Quiet and see!

 

Story

Mary dislikes all the noise of public places. She cringes when people talk excessively. Multiple voices fill the air with a sonic storm. But worse is when people pay attention to her. Mary tries to turn away from her classmates. She seeks to escape people who annoy her. But Toby, Shivan, and Jessie sense weakness. So, when they see Mary, they attempt to make her miserable.

 

Mary lives in Manchester, United Kingdom, 34 years from now, in Quiet. As Mary navigates her difficult school days, plagued by noise and bullied by classmates, Ms Emuka notices her distress. Her mother thinks Mary is shy. But her math teacher believes there is more to it than that. So, as she keeps an eye on her troubled student, Ms Emuka suggests a way to help Mary adjust to the world around her.

 

As Kim-Joy's graphic novel focuses on Mary's anxieties and what brings her peace, Ms Emuka gives her silent student a friend. A prototype robot, or Serenibot, looks for ways to help Mary be more social. At first, Mary finds the robot’s intended helpfulness annoying. But then she realizes that the robot, not governed by a sense of morality, can make her life easier in Quiet.

 

Art

Large circular glasses hint at the big personality hiding behind Mary’s demure features. While she wears her school uniform and braids her hair, Mary watches as Ms Emuka teaches using holograms instead of a whiteboard. Mary also enjoys generating holograms on her personal computer. But when she tries to resolve her problems, Mary pens a letter on ruled paper.

 

Alti Firmansyah enhances today’s recognizable world with futuristic technology, such as Mary’s sleek, hovering Serenibot. While Mrs Redfern, the school’s head teacher, and Mr Bell, the baking instructor, have conventional appearances, Ms Emuka showcases youthful energy and diversity. Yet as Mary gets to know her, she realizes that her math teacher also reveres technological marvels of past eras.

 

While Alti Firmansyah shades her Black-and-White art with gray, color occasionally creeps into Quiet. Mary’s features turn green as she compares herself to her contemporaries. Her robot also produces a rainbow of colors to protect Mary and signify that no member of society should be singled out for their differences.

 

Sara Linsley places uppercase letters in white balloons. Dotted balloon borders accompany lowered voices. Sounds like a sigh, or the conversations filling a room appear in panel backgrounds. “Sid,” Mary’s Serenibot companion, asks questions using white letters in black fields or black letters in rectangular balloons. Yet sound effects highlight Mary’s discomfort with a world that demands she speak, when she’d much prefer to be Quiet. Thanks to Comixology and Superfan Promotions for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Mary has a good heart. She wants to take part in the world around her. Still, the noise and the bustle of society push her away. So, when a robot designed to help her integrate into society attempts to alleviate her discomfort, Mary struggles with the sense of empowerment it gives her in Quiet.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

To look inside see Quiet GN Preview. 

For more from Kim-Joy and Alti Firmansyah, see Turtle Bread Review.