The Secret Loves of Geeks

The excellent and inclusive follow-up to Nicholson’s The Secret Loves of Geek Girls brings together, once again, dozens of cartoonists, prose writers, and general-purpose nerds to tell 37 stories about the intersections between love, dating, sex, and pop culture. The tales run the gamut, both in subject matter and aesthetic, from Dana Simpson’s lighthearted story of finding romance and her true gender through the online “furry” community to Shee Phon’s watercolor scenes expressing the beauty of shared asexual love. Margaret Atwood is the most notable name returning to the project with memoirs of being a horror-obsessed babysitter, brought to eerie life by Pretty Deadly colorist Jordie Bellaire. Nicholson herself briefly interjects with a few candid and warning remarks on creators hooking up at comic and fan conventions, which plays well in complement to Hope Larson’s reminiscence of a con-weekend fling. Though the pieces vary wildly in tone and content, Nicholson’s careful organization ensures nothing feels out of place. In fact, the variety of creators’ experience is this book’s strongest suit: no matter what each reader thinks of “love,” there’s a love story here for them. (Feb.)