Archival Quality

After losing her job as a library assistant, Celeste Walden scores another one as an archivist at the Logan Museum, a strange old building that once served as a sanatorium. Haunted by a long-dead patient, Celeste, who struggles with depression, is certain that there is something malignant in the museum’s history, bringing stress to her relationships with her boyfriend, Kyle, and new coworkers, Abayomi and Holly. Weir and Steenz, newcomers to comics (and former librarians), create a slow-burning paranormal mystery set against the backdrop of mental health stigmas and treatment. The many unknowns surrounding the museum are intriguing, but Celeste’s investigation has little momentum, and the secrets she uncovers come so abruptly and late in the story that it diminishes their impact—readers are essentially kept in the dark until all is revealed in one fell swoop. Steeenz works in a chunky cartoon style that helps temper some of the horrors of mistreatment that Celeste pieces together, and the dull red and brownish hues that settle in around everything at the museum are a rich metaphor for the depression that Celeste battles daily. Ages 13–up. (Mar.)