Janssen debuts with a gentle queer romantasy that literalizes the magic of a Parisian romance. The world of the story exists simultaneously in both mundane and magical versions. Sebastién, a 20-something from the banal reality, has just hopped to the supernatural version of Paris to study spellcasting. His parents don’t approve of his talent for magic or his sexuality, but he and his pet bunny move in with a supportive aunt and uncle. Sebastién barely has time to unpack before he meets Elia, a blue bisexual vampire and the scion of a wealthy fashion house. Sparks fly, and as the two dance around the possibility of dating, their diverse crew of friends cheer them on and pursue a series of sweet, steamy relationships of their own. As with many webtoon-to-print series, the art is initially unpolished, with stiffly posed figures. But it improves as the story progresses, and the imaginative settings add a welcome sense of place. This Paris is multicultural and multispecies, peppered with amusing details like Monster Match, a dating app for supernatural beings. With nothing keeping the leads apart except their own mild hang-ups, the story pads along at a casual pace. Still, fans of cozy fantasy will be happy to follow these amiable characters on the winding path to love. Agent: Christabel McKinley, David Higham Associates Limited (for Janssen) (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Oublié, former editor of Africultures magazine, investigates the effects of pesticide use in the West Indies in this comprehensive work of graphic journalism. After moving to Guadeloupe in 2018, she began to research the history and effects of chlordecone, a pesticide developed in the 1950s and widely used on banana farms starting in the 1970s. Oublié interviews experts, journalists, farmers, and others to unpack the scientific evidence of harms to humans and the environment. Depicting these in-depth conversations, she unspools a nuanced story of racism, business interests, governmental indecision, and infuriating imprecision about the alleged health effects, which range from cancer to autism. Info-packed dialogue leads to dense panels, but Gobbi inserts whimsical moments in the art, like an ecotoxicologist explaining her research while riding a crawfish and a debate on blame and responsibility depicted as a tennis match. Gobbi’s figures are lightly stylized, cartoony in a throwback European comics style, with detailed backgrounds. Interspersed throughout are photos of Oublié’s profile subjects, which effectively remind readers of the human cost behind the headlines. The result is a nuanced conversation starter about of the long tail of pollution. Agent: Ivanka Hahnenberger, VIP Brands. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

This entertaining and self-aware graphic novel spotlights the Lynx, star of the comics series at the center of Segura’s novel Secret Identity. After reporter Simon Upton disappears, office secretary Claudia Calla springs into action as the Lynx, a roof-hopping, butt-kicking action heroine in a leopard print bell-bottom jumpsuit. She’s soon chasing supervillain Mr. Void, a demonic immortal who feeds upon his modern-day descendants, and his glowing skeletal henchmen the Voidoids. The action teases a fully populated comics universe with characters like glowing ghost girl Apparition, swordsman El Cid, and sexy information broker Scarlet Snake as Calla uncovers a sinister plot and makes startling discoveries about herself. The conceit that this is a reprint from the novel’s universe is upheld expertly in design; it looks just like a 1970s comic, with Jarrell’s art reminiscent of Frank Miller’s early Daredevil issues, zippy kinetic action paired with period-accurate off-white pages, and Ben Day color dots. Segura’s script plays on comics tropes: flashbacks, editors’ notes referring to past (fictional) issues, plot-convenient amnesia, and an inner monologue worthy of peak Spider-Man. Catnip for Segura’s existing readers, this also has enough in-jokes to appeal to fans of Ms. Marvel, Squirrel Girl, and Bandette. It’s a brisk thrill ride that begs for a sequel. (Nov.)

This review has been updated for clarity.

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Lebanese artist Abirached (A Game for Swallows) presents a simple yet striking reinterpretation of Gibran’s 1923 classic. God’s chosen, Almustafa, has spent 12 years in Orphalese, awaiting a ship that will bring him home. As the vessel approaches, the townspeople gather to engage the prophet in a dialogue, during which he opines about marriage, work, and freedom. A seeress asks Almustafa about love, to which he responds that love should be all-encompassing. A rich man asks about giving, and the prophet advises the townsfolk to give of themselves rather than of their possessions. A priest inquires about religion, and the prophet reminds him that “your daily life is your temple and your religion.” Abirached gives faces and personalities to what were nameless townspeople in the original text, equating them with the prophet through a consistent black-and-white color palette and her curlicue detailing (hair and mustaches are prominent features). Marjane Satrapi’s influence on the artwork is evident, but Abirached’s style also recalls illustrated classics like C.C. Tsai’s Dao De Jing. Admirers of Gibran will want to add this attractive and accessible edition to their collection. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

“Everyone writes about New York with so much tenderness, even when they are sick of it,” Sohini observes in the opening pages of her reflective, rambling debut. Born in a suburb of Calcutta, Sohini grows up immersed in a heady blend of Indian and Western culture but is particularly fascinated by New York City as depicted in American novels and films. As a young adult escaping an abusive relationship, she takes the plunge and moves to the Big Apple. Though her account is peppered with quotations from writers who lived in New York, including Joan Didion, Fran Liebowitz, and Dylan Thomas, it’s just as much about India and the ways Sohini balances her homeland with her chosen home. She draws luscious spreads of food to contrast her favorite family dishes with the international cuisine she encounters in America, and cutaway diagrams detail the pros and cons of living in a busy multigenerational house versus a two-person apartment. Much of the story is told in bold full-page compositions anchored by symbolic imagery: Sohini entering a door in the spine of a book, windows opening to reveal moments in time. The narrative builds to no great revelations, but those equally entranced by the mythology of New York will enjoy themselves. Agent: Leah Pierre, Ladderbird Literary Agency. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Vermeulen, a “chronically single and chronically childless” Cape Town artist and Instagram cartoonist, debuts with a savvy collage of self-deprecating personal anecdotes. Although many of Vermuelen’s subjects are familiar—dating, aging, body image—her astute observations about beauty standards and gender roles elevate the material (“I’ve been told I’m ‘brave’ for wearing an open back dress, asking a guy on a date, voicing my opinion, and cold emailing prospective clients. What they were really saying is, ‘You’re reaching’ ”). She delves into more complex territory in chapters on emotionally abusive relationships and an unwanted pregnancy that she nevertheless mourned after she learned it was ectopic (“[I felt] as if the Emotion Police were going to burst through my door at any moment and lock me up”). Charming illustrations add a welcome dimension of silliness, including a drawing of an Emotion Police officer and a whimsical map of Vermeulen’s chakras (“chatty chakra,” “upper vajayjay chakra”). In one chapter, Vermeulen wishes for an “inner golden retriever” to replace her harsh inner critic, but that critic, applied outward and tempered with plenty of humor, helps set this apart. What initially appears as breezy as a Cathy cartoon reveals a surprising well of novelty and depth. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 11/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

Purpah’s lighthearted webtoon-to-print debut dips readers into a cozy romantasy world of knights, fairies, pixies, and wizards. Lucia, a capable young woman with a mass of chestnut locks, serves as lady-in-waiting to Lady Kirsi, a hard-drinking noblewoman engaged to the local king. Lucia is a fairy, but the kingdom is at war with the fairy world, so she hides her butterfly wings under a corset. Intrigues accumulate when Lucia falls for Modeus, a living suit of armor conjured by the court mage, and begins to study magic. As her curiosity grows, she uncovers the secrets of other palace denizens, including a fairy intruder with a mysterious agenda and a knight concealing his romantic relationship with his squire. Purpah’s bright, simple, anime-influenced art improves from its initial stiffness over the course of the first volume; the characters develop visual personality, and the backgrounds, while remaining sparse, grow more evocative of the high fantasy setting. This sunny, inclusive romance sometimes shows the awkwardness of a first book, and there’s not much depth to the art or the story. Still, it’s easy to fall under Purpah’s sweet spell. Agent: Britt Siess, Britt Siess Creative Management. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

In this poetic, quietly moving ode to his deceased mother, the painter Sue Bird, cartoonist Bird (The Great North Wood) arranges a duet between his comics and her paintings. Tim recalls a home and childhood full of Sue’s artwork—a librarian with working class roots who grew up in the 1960s, Sue was an enthusiastic lifelong learner who “loved to paint the sea” but was not particularly interested in selling the results. After her death, Tim uncovers a discrepancy in a family story about a contest his mother won as a child, but it’s not a portal into a secret life. Rather, he discovers that “there are always mysteries—big or small—that go unanswered when you think you know everything about someone. There were so many things I wanted to ask her.” In a dialogue of sorts, Sue’s rich oil landscapes and still lives are interspersed throughout, along with a scrapbook of her letters and documents. Like his mother’s paintings, Tim’s narrative allows for physical and temporal space to bloom, though his touch is lighter and flatter. The final image depicts an elderly Sue in a small boat on a starlit ocean, as if Tim is granting her wish to be near the sea eternally. It’s an elegant and eclectic tribute to art as antidote to grief. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Energetic if ungainly, this debut from Unfins collects the first volume of his webtoon series and opens with a wicked hook: Paul, a lovestruck teenager, summons a demon to help him get a girlfriend. “I don’t want to set the world on fire,” he explains to Astaroth, the hulking, skull-faced duke of hell. “I just want to start a flame in her heart.” Paul trades his soul for six days with Astaroth’s powers, intending to snag his crush, cute barista Elena—not knowing that she’s secretly a demon slayer. Meanwhile, Astaroth is stuck hanging around Paul’s house doing chores and accidentally traumatizing his sister. It’s a delicious premise, but the script soon wanders into tangents involving side characters with their own drama and lore. The sketchy artwork, slapdash plotting, rapid-fire pop-culture references, and wacky humor (the thuggish enforcers of the secretive Holy Order spend multiple pages arguing over their favorite Powerpuff Girl) give this the vibe of an old-school, early-2000s-era webcomic. The lack of commercial polish can be refreshing, but subplots keep starting and sputtering out, and at times the art isn’t clear enough to make the gags work. Only the most dedicated fantasy fans will have the patience to stick around for the next installment. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Jay Neugeboren (Imagining Robert) and his son, Eli, buck the tortured genius trope by locating the brightness in this crackling graphic biography of wayward basketball prodigy Frankie King. The Jewish “baby-faced” teen from Brooklyn was scouted by the New York Knicks and the Washington Generals in the 1950s but suddenly quit the sport. Rumors flew that he’d been institutionalized or gone to work for mob boss John Gotti—in reality, he entered the military, went AWOL, and ultimately became a writer. Through a pleasingly chaotic assortment of quotes from family and friends, readers learn that the “wise scribe and wild card,” with “Brooklyn street smarts and the language of John Milton,” displayed self-destructive tendencies and a desire for “erasing himself.” He also churned out dozens of novels, including a bestselling cozy cat mystery series under a pen name, and popped by New York basketball courts to win cash against players deceived by his squat physique and street clothes—including a young Kareen Abdul-Jabbar. King stands apart from other sidetracked prodigies in this account—a man who fought to remain himself no matter what the world demanded. Art by Eli is appropriately jittery and grubby, rendering King’s roustabout life as a chain-smoking barfly, street philosopher, and autodidact. It’s a winning portrait of an unforgettable personality. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 11/08/2024 | Details & Permalink