Light Carries On

Indie scenester Nadine debuts with a sweet yet gritty queer supernatural romance set in modern-day Chicago. Leon, a young Black veteran of the Afghanistan War who is getting by on disability and occasional photography gigs, accidentally unleashes the spirit of Cody—a queer punk rocker who died in 1977—from a vintage camera that once belonged to Cody. A bewildered Cody soon learns that he was murdered, though he remembers none of the details. He senses that until he learns what happened he will be unable to pass on. The two team up to solve the mystery, starting by tracing who last had ownership of the camera, developing feelings for each other along the way despite the obvious challenges of human–spectral being love. As Cody tearfully tells Leon, “I can’t hold your hand or comfort you when you’re sad.” Nadine’s story line seamlessly jumps back and forth between Cody’s life in the ’70s and the present, elegantly encompassing themes of grief and trauma while celebrating the fun and rich possibilities of Chicago’s underground queer culture, with crisp drawings of the couple. This romance serves up a heartfelt haunting. (Apr.)