The central character of Set to Sea is a big lug and an aspiring poet who runs up tabs at the local bars by day and haunts the docks by night, writing paeans to the seafaring life. When he gets shanghaied aboard a clipper bound for Hong Kong, he finds the sailor's life a bit rougher than his romantic nautical fantasies, but he learns to live — and love — a Conradian life on the sea, all the while writing poetry about pirates, bad food, unceremonious funerals, foreign ports, and unexpected epiphanies. By the end of his life, he's found satisfaction in living a life of adventure and finding a receptive and appreciative readership. What more could one ask for? Set to Sea is part rollicking adventure, part maritime ballad told in visual rhyme. Every page is a single panel, every panel is a stunning illustration, every illustration a part of a larger whole that tells a story in the deft language of cartooning.
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