When I Arrived at the Castle

I have read a bunch of comics by E.M. Carroll, and they are typically very scary, creepy, and totally engrossing. They adapted the celebrated YA novel Speak into graphic novel form, and you can also enjoy an anthology of some of their best short stories, Through the Woods. They are an Eisner and an Ignatz Award winning artist, and they won one of those awards for this book, When I Arrived at the Castle.

The plot of this book is that a cat-woman has been traveling through the countryside in a rainstorm and she comes to a castle. The countess of the castle takes her in and lets her warm up, but (surprise, surprise) she is actually a vampire who is playing with her prey. 

Or is she? As we progress through the book, we learn more (maybe?) about the cat-woman, and not only has she met the vampire before, she may just be stalking her instead. Or maybe she is actually courting her?

When I Arrived at the Castle is a beguiling book because of its complex plot, which takes several turns. It takes its framework from classic fairy tales, but twists them into a different configuration. It is gorgeously illustrated, full of feeling, blood, and gore as well as gothic architecture and furniture. Reading it has its share of suspense, but it is also a very atmospheric book, and the ambience powers it just as much as the plot. After reading this very potent and disturbing tale, I was compelled to re-read it, to make more sense of what I just experienced and also try to figure out if this was a book about murder or romance. It is a frightening and a frightfully good book, haunting readers with its images and tone.

All of the reviews I have read of this book sing its praises. Andy Oliver called it "as hypnotic as it is terrifying." Shea Hennum commented on "Carroll’s incredible capacity to scare." Sara L. Jewell wrote that "what is so satisfying about Carroll’s oeuvre is its resistance to a single reading or interpretation."

This edition of When I Arrived at the Castle was published by Silver Sprocket, and they have a preview and more information about it here. 

Dogs on Dates

Dogs on Dates began a few years ago as a series of strips on Luke Healy's Instagram account, and I have been looking forward to this book. It follows the lives of Brad and Bernie, a couple of gay dogs whose "meet cute" involves a broken plate glass window and a shared ambulance ride. 

What follows is a series of dates, some quotidian and others quite outlandish, and the duo gets to know each other. Much of the book is composed of single page strips that depict a single date, though there are some extended sequences where some of their more complicated adventures occur. These sequences are suspenseful and well-plotted, making them real page-turners. Also, the character designs, gestures, expressions, and interactions make these cartoon dogs palpable and relatable.

Overall, I loved getting to know these characters and seeing how their relationship develops and unfolds. There is lots of drama and emotional baggage, from meeting parents to dealing with employment issues to learning about past relationships, but this book presents them in frank, refreshing, and utterly charming ways. It made me laugh and worry and my heart melt. It is a feel-good read, in a wonderful and substantial way, a reaffirming tale that shows the realities and absurdities of love.

The book's author Luke Healy is a cartoonist, comedian, and screenwriter. He has made all sorts of comics from short-form to graphic novels like Self-Esteem and the End of the World and The Con Artists. I feel the need to read more of his work soon.

All of the reviews I have read of it have been positive. Lindsay Pereira wrote, "There is a lot of sensitivity on display here, especially when one considers that these feelings are being filtered through the lives of two anthropomorphic canines." Jeff Provine highlighted "the genuine humanness of two guys just trying to be a couple in a world packed with awkwardness and responsibilities as well as amazing snacks and belly laughs." Killian Fox called it "an endearingly scrappy piece of work whose charms make up for its occasional misfires."

Dogs on Dates was published by Drawn & Quarterly, and they offer an excerpt and more here.

 

Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy

Hockey/romance books seem to be all the rage right now, and I just borrowed this one, published a couple of years ago, from my local library. Have I mentioned before that libraries rule!? I have not read a book by Faith Erin Hicks in a while, and with Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy she is hitting on all cylinders. This books has strong, fully realized characters, interesting personal dynamics and relationships, and a plot that left me wanting more. 

It is about Alix, a star hockey player on a team where her teammate and captain Lindsay constantly berates her in the locker room and on the ice. 

One day she snaps and attacks Lindsay, which shocks everyone and herself. In order to help herself and also convince her coach to approve her invitation to the Canada National Women’s U18 Team’s summer camp, she decides to ask Ezra for help managing her anger. Ezra is a drama kid who presents as gay and deals with a lot of antagonism from a couple of bullies because of that. Alix admires how Ezra can diffuse the hostility directed against him and redirect it through cleverness and humor. The two strike up a friendship and get to know each other. It turns out that Ezra is more gender fluid than gay, and they end up in a relationship.

The artwork and how it conveys emotional scenes and facial expressions is one big reason this book works so well. The characters come to life in their reactions and in actions, but the hockey and drama scenes work just as well as the interpersonal ones. Hicks is magical with her line-work, an alchemist who makes the flat images breathe and emote. 

I also loved how this book contained so many nuanced, complex, and realistic relations. Alix and Ezra's relationship is a focal point of the book, but there are also a few forays into their family lives, including how they deal with their parents and their own relationship issues. None of the love stories here are idealistic or perfect, but they all feel real. In addition, Alix and Ezra have to navigate how some of their friends take these new developments, and they find out about some other unresolved feelings related to bullying from the past. Ironically, it does not look so much in depth at the hockey team dynamics, other than to point out that no on in that locker room ever had Alix's back. The way the book ends is very open-ended, and I hope that it gets a sequel because I would love to spend more time with these characters. They were very easy to fall in love with.

As I mentioned above, this book was written and drawn by Eisner Award winning artist Faith Erin Hicks. She has created some of my favorite books over the past decades, including The Nameless City trilogy, The Adventures of Superhero Girl, Pumpkinheads, and Friends with Boys. She talks about her work on this book as well as her own hockey skills in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews wrote that "the ending feels a bit abrupt, but readers will forgive that thanks to the overall incredible storytelling and character building." Ian Keogh concluded, "The general path is predictable, but handled with such delicacy and sympathy that Alix and Ezra carry readers through with the smoothness of skates on ice." Amanda Melilli called it "a feel good romance that doesn’t shy away from the painful side of life."

Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more here.

Lunar New Year Love Story

The 2025 Eisner Award winner for Best Publication for Teens, Lunar New Year Love Story is a book that I approached much differently than I usually do when I read a graphic novel. Typically, I read through one in as close to one sitting as I can. I tend to read voraciously and at a fast clip, but this one I took my time with, reading each chapter individually and taking time over a few days to complete the book. It worked really well, because this book's narrative is set over the space of a year and is divided into chapters that each had so much going on in terms of plot, revelations, and emotions that the extra time helped me develop my thoughts and get ready for what was to come. So, I treated it like a serial comic, even though I had the entire graphic novel.

I have to say that the payoff for me was a great one, as this was one of the most satisfying books I have read this year and the ending gave me the tingles. It is a love story of sorts, but it is based strongly in family and community relationships. The plot revolves around Valentina, a Vietnamese-American teen whose mother died when she was young and is being raised by her father. They tend to be a self-contained unit, not even having much interaction with her paternal grandmother, who is a vivacious character who loves cooking and poker. She learns that her family is cursed to be unlucky in love while also developing a strange imaginary relationship with St. Valentine. Eventually, she enters into a dire bargain with Saint V., vowing to abandon love and give her heart away to him if she cannot find true love in one calendar year.

Over the course of the book, Valentina learns that she has been lied to by multiple people her entire life, and the revelations rock her world and cause her to look for community beyond her best friend, Bernice. She joins a lion dance troupe and meets a boy named Les, who is sort of a flirt and attention hog, but somehow they click. She begins to question her destiny and also goes on a surprising path of discovery, which includes her getting more familiar with her heritage, the local Vietnamese-American community, and Les's sullen cousin Jae.

I feel I am not doing this book justice with my descriptions, and I am trying not to give too much of it away, but it is simply fantastic. The artwork and narrative meld to make a very moving and impactful story, and it deserves the many accolades it has received.

Lunar New Year Love Story was created by powerhouse graphic novelists Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham. Yang is one of the premier comics creators working today and a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Additionally, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and has also won the Printz Award for his graphic novel American Born Chinese. He has won multiple Eisner Awards. He has explored themes of immigration, belief, identity, and growing up in his many works. Pham is one of the premier children's book illustrators working today, the winner of the Caldecott Medal for her work on the Bear Came Along. She is known for her collaborations on the popular Friends series of graphic novels and The Princess in Black picture books with Shannon Hale. And she also drew the Vampirina Ballerina series of picture books that were adapted into a Disney cartoon. Both creators speak about the book and romance in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have sung its praises. Thúy Đinh wrote of its use of lion imagery and how "this dual, transcontinental symbol of life and death, truth and mystery, reason and emotion, male and female, gracefully captures the complicated heritage of characters impacted by their parents' diasporic experiences." Kirkus Reviews concluded their starred entry, "A sparkling romance anchored by a poignant coming-of-age story." Zack Quaintance commented on the "stellar" artwork, adding that "the character acting is strong yet distinct, making for an immersive reading experience."

Lunar New Year Love Story was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more information about it here.

Karate Prom

Karate Prom was written and drawn by Kyle Starks and colored by Chris Schweizer, two of my favorite comics creators who have collaborated before on the series like Rock Candy Mountain, Mars Attacks!, and Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton. Their storytelling and artistic chops complement each other very well, and they are expert at conveying action and atmosphere. 

In Karate Prom they are abetted by Liz Trice Schweizer (on color assists) as they spin the tale of Don Jones. He is participating in the All-City Karate Tournament, but he has been training so much that he almost arrives late for his match, where he meets Sam (short for Samantha) Steadman. He is instantly smitten, then she knocks him out with one kick. 

After he comes to, they get snow cones, they get to know each other, and she asks him to prom. What follows is an escalating series of high school dramas involving exes, ninjas, crime cartels, and a battle royale to end battle royales. However, this book is not just a fight-fest, it is also hilariously funny. There are witty banter, fun nicknames, and clever plot twists that subvert stereotypes. Karate Prom is a lot of fun to read, and I hope that it opens up opportunities for more YA-focused work from Starks and Schweizer.

These two creators have a bevy of other graphic novel and comics work available as well, including Starks's Kill Them All, Sexcastle, The Legend of Ricky Thunder, Old Head, and Assassin Nation. Among my favorite works of Schweizer are his series The Crogan Adventures and The Creeps as well as his contributions to the History Comics and Makers Comics graphic novels. Starks speaks about making Karate Prom in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews called it "mercurial and cartoonishly violent but enjoyable thanks to its exuberance." Jordan Jennings wrote that it is "a delightful graphic novel that is full of action and romance," featuring "a strong cast of characters that you will come to love by the end of the story." In a starred review, Adam Fisher summed it up as "a joy-filled story about two teens who want to be together so badly, they are willing to fight for it."

Karate Prom was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more information here. 

Santos Sisters, Volume 1

This collection gathers the first five issues of the 2025 Eisner Award winner for Best Continuing Series. Santos Sisters is a tough book to categorize, but I think it characterizes some of the best aspects of comics in general. It looks like an Archie comic, features adventures and characters straight out of superhero stories, and is mostly full of clever repartee and relationship talk. This strange amalgamation makes for some very funny and engaging stories, and I have really enjoyed reading this series and revisiting the comics in this version was very rewarding.  

Ambar and Alana are the titular sisters, and one day they discovered a pair of medallions on a beach and were transformed by the mysterious and mystical Madame Sosostris into masked super-beings to defend the fictional town of Las Brisas. That is, when they are not laying about the house, watching silent bee cartoons, and bickering, especially about Ambar's self-absorption or boyfriend Dirk. 

Together they deal with a motley crew of threats such as the saboteur 8Ball, Scope the assassin, Weird A.I. Ankhovic, Kreg the Handsome Barbarian, and Bridgette Spinner (say it out loud). These characters are a vivid and distinctive bunch, and a lot of the fun of this book is seeing just how ridiculous they and their villainous motivations are. The sisters often defeat them more out of personal reasons or irritation than altruism, and as they battle they are often engaged in side conversations about food, relationships, or sex acts. 

And there are lots of comics Easter eggs. Check out those teeth!

They also talk to lots of anthropomorphic animals, including a bunch of jerky forest animals and a know-it-all dolphin. These are some surreal, fun, and smart comics that have a lot going on but also trust the reader to catch onto what's happening without needing much context or backstory. I love the episodic way the tales are structured like classic Archie comics: each one is a celebration of comics, a burst of inventiveness and joy. And much like stones in a mosaic, cumulatively these stories depict a wonderfully realized fictional world.

This book's creators Greg & Fake collaborate between Chicago and Manzanillo, Mexico, respectively. Fake Petre is the writer and Greg the artist, and they also incorporate ideas and input from Graham Smith, Dave Landsberger, and Marc Koprinarov. G&F speak more about their origins and work in this interview. You can learn more about the series at its official website.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been full of praise. D. Morris opined, "It is a book that knows great comedy comes from putting well defined characters into absurd situations." Timothy Callahan wrote, "None of these three- to eight-pagers would feature in a Best American Comics anthology. But as a whole, the accumulation of details and comedic elements and relentlessness work to make this a highly entertaining comic." 

Santos Sisters was published by Fantagraphics, and they offer a preview and more about it here. This book is not for kids. 

Holler

Continuing with my haul of comics from HeroesCon, today I am sharing Holler by Jeremy Massie. One of the best parts of going to Charlotte is seeing friends and getting to talk, even if it is while they are manning their booths and selling their wares. I always make a point to check in with pals Henry Eudy and Eraklis Petmezas, who are typically tabled next to each other, and this year they were joined by Massie. I was very eager to get Holler, as I had gotten the first few issues that were published by It's Alive but had not had the chance to finish the series. Lucky for me, Jeremy had this book for sale, and I loved reading it.

It's a pretty specific book, but I am the target audience in a few ways, because of my age and musical tastes. And I should note that it's not quite autobiography, but it is based on some real events and people. It's set in the 1990s in a small, rural town in Appalachian Virginia. Its narrator and main character is Mark, a high school student who does not really excel at academics, but he is a talented enough artist and musician. He plays guitar and joins his friends in a band called Magnesium Mama that plays grunge rock covers and some original songs. This scene puts him at odds with his family in some ways, as well as with the religious figures that factor heavily in his life. 

It also puts him in a clique that is at odds with the local "rednecks" (as he calls them), which leads to conflicts, both verbal and physical. Over the course of the book, Mark deals with a lot of different situations. He gets his first girlfriend, then experiences his first break-up. He experiments with drugs. He plays a lot of gigs and gets involved in a few different battles of the bands. He switches churches, sort of dates the preacher's daughter, and has to navigate the complicated ways his parents and he practice religion. 

The stories here are all told in episodes, and I found them highly compelling and poignant. The artwork is well paced, and is particularly excellent at capturing people's expressions and emotional reactions, which works very well as this book is very character driven. This book touches on a lot of issues that young people contend with as they get older and start trying to carve out spaces in the world, and it does so in a way that is sometimes humorous, occasionally cringe-inducing, and always relatable and human. Holler is one of the best coming-of-age graphic novels I have read, and I highly recommend it.

This book's creator Jeremy Massie has made all sorts of comics in various genres, including the superhero tales Amazing Age, horror stories Blood-Drenched Creature Double Feature, and the more realistic, solo-authored book All My Ghosts. He speaks about his work on Holler in this interview.

I was not able to locate many reviews of this book, which is a shame, because I feel it should be more widely known and read, because it is so good. Publishers Weekly concluded their review, "This bittersweet blast from the past will strike a chord with recovering high school outcasts."

Holler was published by Dark Horse, and they offer more information about it here. Because it features some drug use, sexual situations, profanity, and adolescent shenanigans, I recommend it for readers mature enough to deal with those matters. 

Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey

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Two of my favorite things are comics and hockey, and this book combines both! I cannot think of many books that do both, save for Robert Ullman's Old-Timey Hockey Tales mini-comics, which are great by the way. Check, Please! began as a webcomic, and the first two of the four seasons are collected here. The premise is that we are following the life of Eric "Bitty" Bittle, an incoming freshman to the fictional Samwell University that is located in the real-life state of Massachusetts and plays in the real-life ECAC conference. Bitty is a former figure skater turned hockey player who comes from Georgia, loves to bake and vlogs about his life. He is also gay, and wonders when and how he should come out to his teammates. Over the course of the book, he shares about his struggles to adapt to college life, his quirky teammates, his culinary creations, and his adapting to the rules and rigors of college hockey.

For instance, dealing with contact is new to Bitty...

Over the two seasons in this book, we get glimpses into Bitty's freshman and sophomore years. He transitions from being a newbie to moving into the team house. There is some light hazing, intense feedback from the team captain, heavy partying, and typical college shenanigans. A slight spoiler: It is refreshing to see a bunch of macho athletes appreciate Bitty's baking and sexual orientation with not just tolerance but acceptance and joy. This book is fun to read for its sports intrigue, personal drama, charm, clever banter, and humor. I am very much looking forward to reading the next book that runs to Eric's junior and senior years.

Check, Please! was created by Ngozi Ukazu. She began making webcomics but has transitioned into making graphic novels, including Bunt!, which is about a college baseball player, Barda, which is a YA graphic novel from DC Comics featuring Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters, and the forthcoming Flip. Ukazu speaks more about Check, Please! in this interview.

This series has won a Reuben Award, a Harvey Award, and an Ignatz Award, and it's been very well reviewed. The starred entry from Kirkus Reviews concluded, "A fun and deeply satisfying read for teens." Thoroughly Modern Reviewer called it " a well-written, immensely enjoyable rom-com," and added that "it’s also a delightful exploration of male friendship, a really funny coming of age story, and an exciting look into the softer side of hockey culture." Nick Goodsell summed up, "It’s funny, its heartfelt, its deep, and it’s another great coming of age story for anyone to enjoy!"

Check, Please! Book 1 was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more information about it here. This book features profanity and some adult situations, so it is recommended for readers mature enough to handle those things, probably more mature teens.

Sunburn

The main character of Sunburn is Rachel, a 16-year-old British teen whose summer plans involve working at a butcher shop where she'll be elbow-deep in pig guts as well as the typical week-long family trip to a rainy cabin. Those plans get exploded when a mysterious invitation appears from the Warners, family friends who own an island house in Greece. They invite her to a summer of fun and sun, and she happily accepts.

Once there, she lives a comfortable life, with wonderful food, free new clothes, and scenic views. She also gets daily visits to the beach, afternoon naps, and dinner parties at different people's houses. The cherry on top of this sundae is that she also gets to spend time with Benjamin, a slightly older British boy, and the two flirt and get involved. 

Of course, nothing this awesome comes for free, and over the course of the book Rachel uncovers the details about why she is there. I very much enjoyed this book, as it made me nostalgic for my own vacations in Greece when I was younger, but it is also a compelling combination of a mystery and character study. Aside from the interesting plot, the artwork is also gorgeous, with a limited color pallette and plenty of landscape imagery that sets the atmosphere.

Sunburn was a collaboration between writer Andi Watson and artist Simon Gane. Watson is a cartoonist, writer, and illustrator who has created a number of books and graphic novels and who has been nominated for four Eisner Awards, two Harvey Awards, and an official selection of the Angoulême International Festival. Gane has drawn a number of comics series and books, including They're Not Like Us and Ghost Tree. Watson talks about making this book as well as some of his other projects in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Darryll Robson wrote, "You will not find immediacy here, but the narrative is better for its slow, dreamy walk through the lives of its characters." Kirkus Reviews called it "a contemplative study of a girl battered and disillusioned by her first glimpses of adult complexities." Ramon Piña opined, "The art in the book is nothing short of spectacular."

Sunburn was published by Image Comics, and they offer more info about it here. 

Mr. Boop

Mr. Boop collects the four books of a webcomic about a man who is married to Betty Boop, works at Subway with Bugs Bunny, and is roommates with Peter Griffin. Despite its inclusion of beloved cartoon characters, this book is definitely not for children. One of its prime targets is copyright laws and corporate ownership of characters, and the series loves to push boundaries by putting these characters in inappropriate and adult situations. However the series also has a heart, as it is a look at romantic relationships and how they play out. The set-up is a faux diary comic where Alec, the narrator, speaks about his love for his wife, Betty.

Things spiral out of control pretty quickly, as Alec's insecurities cause him all sort of grief and anxiety about his wife leaving him or him stupidly deciding to divorce her. Also, his co-worker Bugs Bunny starts explicitly telling him how jealous he is of Alec's relationship with Betty and how he is plotting to murder him. Once Alec realizes that Bugs is not joking, he and Betty decide to have a threesome with him to defuse the situation. And it works. And then they do the same thing with a variety of other cartoon characters. This all happens in the first quarter of the book, which ends tragically, and the rest takes many dramatic, silly, and surreal turns.

Reading this book, things get raunchy and weird pretty quickly, but I found something utterly compelling and charming about it all. The episodic quality of the individual strips is addictive. I also think there is some sort of alchemy about the sorts of satire and parody that are going on here, coupled with the intentionally amateurish drawing style and some clever commentary on corporate machinations, that combine to make this a memorable, unique, and baffling reading experience. As I wrote earlier, this book is definitely not for kids, and I don't think it is necessarily for everyone's tastes, but it really appeals to a unique demographic (which includes me).

The mastermind behind this grenade of a book is Alec Robbins. Robbins has worked in all sorts of media, and he also currently produces another webcomic CRIMEHOT. He speaks about his work on Mr. Boop in this interview.

Almost all of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Publishers Weekly called it "a Rube Goldbergian maze of multilevel, tongue-in-cheek internet ironizing, catnip for those who love such stuff." Kalyleigh Hearn called it "a Tijuana Bible for the Twitter age, racy and absurd and a jab in the eye of every intellectual property law in existence. It’s also the most romantic comic strip of the year." In a contrary take, Lane Yates offers a long meditation on why he did not really enjoy this book.

Mr. Boop was published by Silver Sprocket, and they offer a preview and more info about it here. There is also much more material, including the strips, videos, and a video game, about Mr. Boop at its official webpage.

Fungirl

I have not read a book as enjoyable, funny, and profane as Fungirl in a long time. The title first came to my attention because of a kerfuffle about its mature readers label (an depictions of sex toys) for a book on Free Comic Book Day. I picked up that issue from my local comic shop, and it set me up well for the whole book. 

This book reads like a wonderfully deranged situational comedy, in the best kid of way. It stars the titular Fungirl (her actual name is not given), a young woman who I have seen described aptly as a "hot mess." She has no job, a long line of dysfunctional sexual relationships, and few prospects for the future. She lives with her roommate (an ex-girlfriend) Becky, a hard working relatively normal person, and they often deal with Peter, Becky's polite-to-a-fault boyfriend. Much of the humor of the book comes from watching these three bounce off each other, but there are also lots of strange, unique situations.

Early in the book, Fungirl finds a job as a mortician's assistant, a position where she creates all sorts of mayhem. She takes naps in coffins, sets multiple accidental fires, gets extreme in making up the corpses, and has some really strange interactions at a professional convention that features unusual rivalries between undertakers. In addition, there are lots of other embarrassing, uncomfortable, and hilarious situations she finds herself in, including visits to llama farms, drunken revelries, bus rides, shopping expeditions, and a memorable self help seminar.

Whenever there is a crossroads, Fungirl can be counted on to make a misinformed decision that ends in calamity and hilarity (for the reader). Still, she does try her best and occasionally there are moments of fleeting clarity and insight. These are few and far between, however, and most of the book is chock full of jokes and humor. I laughed out loud while reading this book quite a few times, and I could not stop reading it, even though I planned on taking my time. If you like compelling graphic novels and laughing at others' misfortune, this is the book for you.

Fungirl was written and drawn by the German artist Elizabeth Pich. She is best known as co-creator of the popular webcomic War and Peas.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Calvin Reid called it "awkward, biting, shameless, wildly improper, aroused, maybe even dangerous." Publishers Weekly described it as "an outlandish romp past the boundaries of good taste and into dangerously revealing—and truly funny—psychic territory." There are more reviews at Goodreads where it has a 4.1 (out of 5) star rating as of this writing.

Fungirl was published by Silver Sprocket, and they offer a preview and more information here. As should be clear by now, this is not a book for kids.

The Girl From the Sea

The Girl From the Sea stars a Morgan, a 15-year-old young woman who is a planner. She plans to do a lot with her life once she escapes the small coastal town where she lives as well as a lot of personal drama. She is going to figure out how to cope (from afar) with her parents' divorce and a grouchy younger brother. She is going to get decent grades, hang out with her friends, and do what she can to get by until she can move away, go to college, and live the life she actually wants. Morgan realizes that she is attracted to girls, but she wants to stay closeted and wait to explore that side when she is not under the gaze of an entire small community. Her plans get blown to bits one day, however, when she accidentally falls into the ocean and is rescued by a mysterious young woman named Keltie.

Not to spoil things, but Keltie has a big secret of her own, and she is not entirely human. Also, she does not fit in with Morgan's friends, has a unique style, and really wants to be physical. But Morgan is not ready to be public with their relationship, even though she does feel a strong attraction. When she starts ghosting her family and friends to hang out with Keltie, lots of questions come up, and Morgan has to decide whether or not to be honest or stay in the closet.

This book has lots of personal dimensions, and I love how it explores a variety of relationships, between friends, family, and romantic partners. I feel that the characters are all strong, distinct, and realistic, and I was rapt by the various dynamics of how they try to get along with each other. I also liked how it used social media to deliver both exposition as well as character development. It was an effective, contemporary touch.

The artwork is very expressive in detailing their various emotional states and interactions, and I found this a book that was very easy to get lost in. Even though a few of the plot developments seemed telegraphed, I enjoyed reading it, and would suggest it to any reader, young adult or otherwise, looking for a magical tale of love and searching for identity.

This book's creator Molly Knox Ostertag. is one of my favorite graphic novelists. I love her trilogy of The Witch Boy, The Hidden Witch, and The Winter Witch. I also am a big fan of works she illustrated like the webcomic Strong Female Protagonist, which has been collected in two trade paperbacks from Top Shelf, and the sci-fi tale The Shattered Warrior. She speaks about her career in comics as well as The Girl From The Sea in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Michael Berry called it "a perfect summertime treat -- heartfelt and touched by magic." Avery Kaplan wrote about how it is a book based on cycles and how it "succeeds because it recognizes the beauty in every stage of those cycles: not just the thrill of beginning, but the joy of the journey, and the bittersweet but wholly necessary nature of conclusion." Kirkus Reviews summed it up, "Sweet, fun, Sapphic fluff."

The Girl From the Sea was published by Scholastic Graphix, and they offer more information about it here. 

Lore Olympus Volume One

Lore Olympus is a wildly popular webcomic, one of the most viewed ones on the WEBTOON platform. It is a modern retelling of the myth of Persephone and Hades, with the gods and goddesses possessing cell phones and social media while also engaging in all the sorts of soap opera antics associated with classic Greek mythology. It presents realistic situations that are not always pleasant, and it does so in ways that are compelling and compassionate. It is also frequently funny.

Reading this story, I felt that I knew who these characters were, almost immediately, and they act in surprisingly vibrant ways. The twists on classical storytelling are expert and intriguing. All of the various personalities and relationships are cast in a way that heightens the drama and emotion of the goings-on of this book. It is one of my favorite comics of the past decade, and I am glad to see it in a physical format that will gain it new readers.

The narrative kicks off one day at a posh party at Mount Olympus Hades (who does not even want to be there) makes a remark that this new young goddess (Persephone) puts Aphrodite to shame in terms of beauty. That is a big mistake, because the vain, spiteful goddess of love sics her son Eros on poor Persephone, and she ends up with a spiked drink that knocks her out for the evening. Somehow, she ends up under Hades's care and ends up in his kingdom, where she wakes up and endears herself to his many dogs. There is some flirting, but nothing serious happens. What follows, however, is a lot of rumors, gossip, and wondering by various mythological beings.

What makes this book, which is retelling a tale that is thousands of years old and has been retold countless times, so exceptional is how it depicts its characters. The artwork is full of life and personality. Each god/goddess has their own color scheme and unique designs. They pop off the page in an almost alchemical way. They seem very alive and animated. I was curious to see how effects that worked with vertical scrolling webcomics would work in book form, and they translate extremely well. The story does not flow in the same manner, but the glossy pages and layouts make this a very attractive reading experience.

In addition to the artwork, the personalities are all defined in bold, distinct ways in the narrative as well. Persephone herself is young and sheltered, a bit naive but smart. She wants to get out of her mother's broad shadow and make something of herself. She does not want to be a simple conquest for a lecherous elder god. Her life gets further complicated by her relationship with Artemis, her roommate who is the goddess of chastity, among other things, and who is very protective of her.

However, Artemis is too distracted to see her brother Apollo making unwelcome advances towards  Persephone. One night he takes advantage of her, and she feels too ashamed and conflicted to deal with the violence afterward. She questions her role in this event, and she fears what others will think. I feel that an important aspect of this book is its telling this sort of story, which is too painfully common though not often shared.

Lore Olympus is the debut comics work of Rachel Smythe. She has won a Harvey Award for her work on it, and has also been nominated for an Eisner. She speaks about her work on the webcomic and adapting it into a print version in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been glowing. Etelka Lehoczky wrote that "anyone who's drawn into Smythe's world will appreciate its beauty and wit, and few will escape its seductive ambiguity." Publishers Weekly summed it up, "As rich as baklava but snacky as a bag of potato chips, this romance is hard to resist."

Lore Olympus Volume One was published by Del Rey, and they offer more info about it here. The webcomic appears at WEBTOON, and is currently on Episode 184. This book contains episodes 1-25.

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me

 

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me has been on my shelf for way too long, one of those books that has been universally praised that I have extremely high expectations for. It lived up to them and more, I must say. I was especially caught up in the last third of the book, and it had me utterly transfixed. 

The protagonist here is Freddie (short for Frederica). She is a bi-racial, 17-year-old lesbian who is in a toxic relationship with Laura Dean. Laura is White, beautiful, popular, and narcissistic, constantly stringing Freddie along with false promises, lies, and capricious attention. Freddie's friends know the score, and they are supportive of her without being judgmental. They wish she would dump Laura, but she just can't seem to bring herself to do that. She seeks the advice of a fortune teller and an advice columnist as well, but she does not really attend to anyone.

In addition to the major plot-line involving this romantic entanglement, this book is also one about friendship, particularly Freddie's with her best friend Doodle (Deidre). Doodle tries to support her but is frustrated by her failure to take up for herself. Also, she has quite a few issues of her own going on, issues that Freddie is too preoccupied to notice or offer support.

This book is exceptional in two ways, as a powerful narrative and as a phenomenally drawn book. Both combine to actualize strong characters, as even the secondary ones are vibrant and unique. Just as important is the setting, Berkeley, California, a place full of diverse people in a variety of senses. It is also a bohemian place full of coffee shops and organic food restaurants. All these factors combine to make a realistic, vital story. I very much appreciated how the relationships are depicted, warts and all, as well as how the individuals are shown as strong but flawed. This cast was great to spend time with and get to know, even when I was frustrated by some of their actions. This book really captured the ambiguity of being in a failing relationship but also feeling powerless to end it. I love how it disrupts simple notions of romantic love.

Both of this book's creators have won multiple awards for their work in comics. Writer Mariko Tamaki is known for This One Summer, Skim, and a number of more recent works for DC and Marvel Comics. Artist Rosemary Valero-O'Connell is best known for a number of excellent short stories that have been collected in Don't Go Without Me. Both creators speak about their collaboration on Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me in this interview.

This book has been hugely celebrated, winning Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Awards, and all the reviews I have read about it have been excellent. Kirkus Reviews concluded their starred review, "A triumphant queer coming-of-age story that will make your heart ache and soar." Shanda Deziel called it "fresh and exhilarating." Oliver Sava described it as "complex, experimenting with form to find different ways to expressively convey information."

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more info about it here.

Stage Dreams

Having read and loved As the Crow Flies, I have been looking very forward to reading this book by the same creator. Stage Dreams is a fun piece of historical fiction that features two queer women trying to find their way in the Old West. The first, named Flor, is a Latinx bandit who robs stagecoaches under the sobriquet of The Ghost Hawk. During one escapade she kidnaps Grace, who happens to be a trans Civil War deserter from Georgia. Because getting any ransom for her is a moot point, Flor instead uses Grace in a plan to defraud some Confederate robber barons who have designs on the New Mexico Territory.

Over the course of the book it is fun to see the two characters bounce off each other in their scheme and also develop a romance. They begin to see what the other can do, and they also show just how resilient and resourceful they both are. They are vibrant characters who really come to life through the vivid facial expressions, excellent line work, and the unique art style done with colored pencils. Of course, their scheme brings complications and things do go off the rails, but all resolves relatively well. The ending is also very open-ended, and it begs for a sequel.

I am a big fan of of this book's creator Melanie Gillman, who also teaches in the Comics MFA Program at the California College of the Arts. They have been doing a webcomic named As The Crow Flies, a celebrated work, nominated for Eisner and Ignatz Awards, the recipient of a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators, and named Best Book in the Middle Grades category for the 2018 Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards. They speak more about the creation of Stage Dreams in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews summed it up, "An engrossing escapade with a heart-stealing queer romance." Suzanne Krohn called it "a fun and thoughtful adventure romance."There are more reviews available on GoodReads, where it has a 3.87 star (out of 5) rating as of this review.

Stage Dreams was published by Graphic Universe, and they offer an excerpt and much more here.

Kiss Number 8

Kiss Number 8 is set in 2004, but I feel that the story is also very relevant and contemporary. It stars a 17-year-old named Amanda who goes to a Catholic school. She gets along well with her father, and they are big minor league baseball fans who also like to watch cheesy fantasy TV shows and play video games. She feels a little more tension with her mother, though this starts to shift over time after she learns about a secret her parents are keeping that seems to implicate her father in some serious infidelity.

That is the background of the subplot, and more immediate in Amanda's life is her relationship with her school friends. Her best friend Cat is a tornado, sneaking out to clubs, drinking, carousing, and hooking up with boys. Her next door neighbors, Laura and Adam are more staid, though Adam has had a crush on her that is getting increasingly difficult to ignore or play off. As the book goes on, Amanda realizes that she does not really have any feelings for Adam but for Cat, and then things really go off the rails.

This book was a fantastic read. It features very realized, nuanced characters, both in terms of the plotting and how they are visually depicted. There are many sorts of emotions in play in here, and I feel that it handles all of the drama, humor, love, and pain in excellent fashion. I also admired that the book takes the issues at hand very seriously and does not resolve with simple, pat responses to complex relationships. It handles issues of gender and sexuality in a frank manner that shows all people's humanity, including their strengths and foibles. Finally, it highlights the awkward, painful, and weird ways that adolescent relationships form, evolve, and crumple that made me both cringe and ring a little nostalgic. That last feeling was heightened by the characters frequently interacting via instant messaging, which was the style at the time. I was genuinely moved several times in reading Kiss Number 8, which is a testament to its characters and craft.

This excellent book was a collaboration between Colleen AF Venable and Ellen T. Crenshaw. Venable is a book designer and author who is known for her Eisner nominated Pet Shop Private Eye series. Crenshaw is an illustrator who has also contributed to The Nib. I enjoyed both their work and also getting to know more about them in the substantive Q&A that followed the story. Both creators speak about their work on this book in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been glowing. Kirkus Review gave it a starred review that summed the book up as "A rare blend of tender and revolutionary."  Publishers Weekly gave it another starred review that concluded, "A queer coming-of-age story that earns its powerful emotional impact." Dahlia Adler called it "a layered, funny, sharp-edged story of teen sexuality and family secrets." Alea Perez wrote, "Overall, Venable and Crenshaw do a wonderful job of using the characters to present teaching moments to readers without it feeling unnatural or patronizingly didactic." Andrew wrote that he was "happy to read an LGBTQ+ story that definitely had stakes and drama but did not have to end tragically or lack humor."

Kiss Number 8 was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and much more here.

On a Sunbeam

On a Sunbeam was originally published as a webcomic (still available to read online in its entirety here), and it is a fantastic science fiction comic experience. It features two narratives, one set in the present that follows a group of outer space archaeologists/restoration experts as they travel from job to job, documenting and repairing abandoned sites across the galaxy. The second one is told through the eyes of Mia, one of the space archaeologists, about her days in boarding school and of her first love with a classmate named Grace. Fifteen years separate the narratives, but the past still has a massive influence on the present.

I do not really want to delve more into the plot, as I feel it will not be done much justice with a recap, but I will tell you about my three favorite characteristics about this book. First, it is a piece of science fiction but it is more in the vein of fantasy/science fiction, as the future here is not cold and stark but rather more warm and organic. The spaceships resemble giant flying goldfish, and the interiors more like giant cathedrals or castles. I love the kind of world-building used throughout the book, which  you can see from this excerpt:

 

 

 

 

Second, although this is ostensibly a sci-fi tale, it is more about people's relationships to each other than influence of scientific invention on people's lives. And my third point follows from those relationships, in that the characters in this book are fully rendered both in terms of the art and their roles in the story. They are bold, nuanced, and complicated. They really left their impression on me, and this is a book that has been in my mind long after reading it.

This book's creator Tillie Walden is one of my favorite comics creators. Even though she is a relative newcomer, she has already racked up a few huge accolades, including the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work for her graphic memoir Spinning (also one of my favorite books of the year). On a Sunbeam was nominated for a 2017 Eisner in the category of Digital Comic (even though it is technically a webcomic). You can learn more about her work on this webcomic/book in this interview I helped conduct on the Comics Alternative podcast.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been glowing. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly concluded that "this masterful blend of science fiction–inflected school drama, road trip, and adventure is nothing less than marvelous." Kirkus Reviews called it "An affirming love story full of intriguing characters and a suspenseful plot." Caitlin Rosberg summed up, "It’s hard to imagine Walden continuing to put out books at the pace she’s had for the past three years, but comics are richer for it, and hopefully there’s many more years to come of her beautiful work."

On a Sunbeam was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more information about it here.