The past, present, and future of the world is captured in Richard McGuire’s graphic novel Here. From 500957406073 BCE to the year 22175, McGuire’s illustrations take readers through 300 pages of history of one limited setting: something that, through the years, is woodland, a corner of a living room, and wildlife. 

Inspired by his 1989 comic strip, the generational graphic novel covers multiple stories all at once which can at times be a little overwhelming and hard to keep track of as often, the comic squares labeled by years don’t show up in consecutive pages. However, it depicts prehistoric times, Native American experiences, colonial life, the growth of a family, a funeral, and even the future, where people learn about the artifacts they’ve discovered (a wallet, a watch, and a key) and what it might have been like to live in those times. In a parallel way, readers can use this book to imagine what life might have been like in the various times covered in this book.

Throughout the book, although the environment changes as homes are built and torn apart, each comic square holds its own piece of the story. For one family, their family portraits are the center of their story as it follows them through the years until the children have grown up. For a different family, it’s the protective dog that remains their defining feature, one who continues to bark at strangers even as they slowly stop getting up to do so. And for another man, this setting is the place where he’s united with his son and his father until an argument splits them apart again.

In certain sections of the book, McGuire focuses on different things. He combines scenes from every time period where people are in their lows, and then in the highs, and then scenes of nature, where homes and buildings were just waiting to be built back up again or landscapes not yet touched by humans. Through this, he illustrates the constancy of these themes.

Although the stories are short and can be harder to follow, altogether they tell a story of a space and the lives that touched it, all throughout time. McGuire’s unique concept is expanded on and for readers who are curious about the possibilities of the history and the future of the world around them, Here might be the next lesser-known book to explore.