An ex-con must come to terms with his past before it destroys him in this haunting graphic novel from Conrad (the Nightwing series) and newcomer Ooten. After nearly two decades in prison, Corey Harrison reflects upon his lost years, the result of a convenience store holdup he committed alongside his brother, James, and his friend, Shawn, that left two people dead and multiple families shattered. His return to society is bittersweet; Shawn’s ghost is already talking to him (Corey doesn’t mind, it’s “less lonely that way”) when he learns that his brother has died under mysterious circumstances while working at Neptune Farms. The nightmarish, Kafkaesque slaughterhouse is also the only employer willing to take a chance on Corey. At the bleak farm, a tortured journey through reflection, self-discovery, and questioning the brutal capitalist motives of his employer leads Corey to uncover an intricate plot surrounding his brother’s demise. Conrad scripts a brooding saga of a man caught up in a maelstrom of conspiracy, but it’s the inspired, hallucinatory artwork of Ooten, which mixes a cut-paper look in punky character designs with brash graffiti vibes in the background, that makes this stand out. It’s a gripping tale of regrets, revenge, and redemption. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/28/2025 | Details & Permalink

New Yorker cartoonist Bliss (A Wealth of Pigeons) lets it all hang out in this poignant, generously illustrated graphic memoir, which combines prose and comics in mordantly funny and moving vignettes. Confiding at the outset that “intimacy is my intention,” Bliss delves into the death of his beloved dog Penny, and springboards from that grief to all manner of life events and transitions. He grew up in a fractious household, and then as an adult had to manage his highly difficult parents as they got older (“My genuine fear is that Mom will burn the house down”). Bliss describes seeking solace in romantic partners, who harbor him from “the kind of sorrow that comes from living with family dysfunction marinated in narcissism.” Lighter anecdotes share stories about old jobs and friends, including notables like occasional collaborator Steve Martin and fellow New Yorker artist Edward Koren. Bliss frequently returns to Penny, comparing his human anxieties with her blissful, oblivious contentment—and how he’s “still discovering what I learned from loving her.” Bliss’s candor is easy company, bolstered with his cartoons and sketches—he’s adept at realism as well as a skilled caricaturist. Readers won’t need to be dog lovers to appreciate Bliss’s wit and insights. Agent: Esther Newberg, CAA. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 03/28/2025 | Details & Permalink

The socially inept, perpetually uncomfortable protagonist of this wicked dark comedy from indie cartoonist Pettinger (Werewolf Jones & Sons) shuffles his way through a series of awkward and disturbing scenarios. Depicted as a feckless man-child, Tedward navigates a world of hustlers, lovers, malcontents, and weirdos, all of whom see untapped potential in their ineffectual friend. When he’s dumped by his girlfriend, for example, Tedward doesn’t mourn long—because he gets recruited by a mysterious stranger for a prestigious job power-washing upper-class patrons of Eyes Wide Shut–style sex parties. But Tedward doesn’t fit in with high society—or anywhere, for that matter. His cluelessness and inability to read social cues lead to a series of romantic and other misadventures, such as an ill-fated gig as a television salesman. Throughout, Pettinger highlights ill-advised fashion choices, the tension between Tedward and his elderly mother, and random violence. The hapless-yet-chipper oddball and his milieu are brought to life through crisp yet creepy art reminiscent of Dan Clowes’s early Eightball comics and Gilbert Hernandez’s idiosyncratic sci-fi tales in Love and Rockets. Fans of such gonzo cartooning will revel in the absurdism of this grotesque saga. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/21/2025 | Details & Permalink

This pulpy yet pious crime drama from Hazan (Nottingham) and Kivelä (Abbott) pits a pair of renegade “Kosher Nostra” against the rising tide of Nazism in pre-WWII America. When Howard Berkowicz, reluctant bookkeeper for the Jewish mob, raises the alarm about Hitler to mob boss Moishe Levinson, hit man Ephraim Gold is sent to “retire” Berkowicz for threatening the uneasy truce between the German and Jewish syndicates. Instead, Berkowicz and Gold form a rocky partnership to expose the American Nazis. The script parcels out graphic violence and religious contemplation in equal measure, most of the latter in banter between the uneasy allies, whose sharp dialogue embodies Jewish didactic argument in method and persuasion. Gold champions the ease that assimilation has brought the syndicate; Berkowicz asks “if all we’re doing is becoming more like the goyim that want us dead, what is it we’re preserving?” A standout extended scene juxtaposes the readings of Yom Kippur against brutal fistfights and bloody shoot-outs. Kivelä’s artwork is reminiscent of Joe Kubert in both facial expression and punch-throwing, resulting in an action comic with heart—and some genuinely clever twists. This gritty period piece recalls Road to Perdition and A History of Violence. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/21/2025 | Details & Permalink

Rainey follows Why Don’t You Love Me? with another mordantly funny, reality-bending graphic novel featuring malcontents obsessing over the minor frustrations of their humdrum lives. Mousy adult fanboy Cliff (handmade Dalek replica and all) longs for the affections of his roommate Kelly, an anxiety-rattled office drone who self-medicates by binging on yogurt. Rounding out the core cast is Cliff’s friend Barry, a noxious 30-something pop culture collector and porn addict. Rainey plays out their otherwise lowkey interpersonal dramas through an extraordinary development: not only does time travel exist in this world, but visitors and updates regularly beam in from the future. This creates challenges and opportunities ranging from discovering the date and manner of one’s death to opening up new avenues of media consumption (hooking up to “the ultranet” allows advance viewing of Dr. Who; “It’s only from next week so, legally, it’s already been made,” Barry reassures Cliff). Flash-forwards depict the characters in various time continuums, from Barry’s late-in-life regrets in a rest home to Kelly’s adventures, in which people “coast” across time and planets like present-day backpackers. Rainey’s blocky drawing style is simple but admirably attuned to complex concerns about aging, ethics, and such paradoxes as a relationship ending after a lover “started seeing a younger version of his ex-wife.” Fans of existential science fiction should dive in. Agent: Timothy Travaglini, Transatlantic Agency. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/21/2025 | Details & Permalink

In this introspective graphic memoir debut, biology professor Gormally uses loose lined drawings and a straightforward panel grid to explore a complex topic: trauma. As a self-described “badass,” Gormally is accustomed to pushing toward defined achievements. They run miles every morning, ignoring worsening muscle pain, and spend their days overworking themself in their university lab (“Gotta double down”). But when they receive a social media friend request from the man who assaulted them years ago, it unleashes a tidal wave of flashbacks and panic. Gormally seeks out a new therapist, who suggests EMDR, a treatment that uses rapid eye movement to reprocess traumatic memories. At first, “healing feels like a full-time job,” but over time Gormally learns to let go of self-blame, interrogate homophobia and “meta-shame,” and explore the survival mechanisms they developed during childhood, when they were rejected by their parents after coming out as queer. Gormally’s comics seamlessly employ symbols to break up the simple character drawings, as when blue tidal waves crash onto the black-and-white panel grid when Gormally feels like they’re drowning. Elsewhere, Gormally breaks the fourth wall to remind readers of the nuances that make trauma so difficult to grapple with (“Writing this is hard”). It’s a cathartic deep dive into an all-too-common experience that will appeal to readers of graphic medicine like Our Little Secret and Couch Fiction. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 03/21/2025 | Details & Permalink

An action-packed journey through the Underworld centers grief and personal transformation in this fantasy adventure debut. Twelve-year-old Senka spends her days assisting Charon, the Ferryer of the Underworld, in guiding souls to their afterlives. When Poppy, a Living girl, arrives in search of her dead younger brother Joey, Senka decides to prove herself capable of doing the job on her own by leading Poppy back to the realm of the Living, or else risk Poppy’s losing her memories and life force. Before Senka can begin her task, however, both girls become lost in the wilderness of the Underworld, known as the Underwild. There, they must navigate memory-stealing kakodaimons, imprisoned gods, and a terrifying dragon chimaera that seems to be stalking Senka. The deeper they travel, the more secrets Senka uncovers—including some being kept from her by Charon himself. Targosz’s inventive setting proves a fertile backdrop for nuanced depictions of how loss can guide actions and shape memory. Employing a memorable cast that includes a cheerful psychopomp and a nonbinary shape-shifting fox child, Targosz touches on themes of friendship, loyalty, and love, making for an exciting and promising series launch. Ages 8–12. Agent: Andrea Morrison, Writers House. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/07/2025 | Details & Permalink

Nigerian comics writer Ayodele and frequent collaborator Akande (I Am Iron Man) underwhelm in this action-packed African fantasy launch, featuring a monster hunter on a vengeance mission. In the opening creation-myth sequence, a god of chaos, Obatala, falls to the world of man and creates monsters and revelry. The god of war, Ogun, is sent to drag him back to the heavens—leaving his monsters behind. Divine political scheming ensues. Thousands of years later, a stealthy creature of Obatala’s melds his mind with a pregnant woman, resulting in the birth of Akogun, Brutalizer of Gods. Akogun grows up to kill monsters and harvests materials from their bodies to create weapons to use against the desert raiders who killed his family. As Akogun barrels along on his revenge plot, his destiny as Obatala’s weapon against the gods comes into focus. At times the story becomes hard to follow, with its multiple story lines told in various points of time and hard-to-distinguish side characters. The super-muscular hero easily overcomes any obstacle in his path, draining the otherwise dynamic fight sequences of suspense. Cinematic and evocative fantasy art by Akande are a saving grace, but there’s little to make this stand out in a crowded genre. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink

Rufus Baxter is too old to rock ’n’ roll but too young to die in this snarky character study of a human train wreck from Van Sciver (Fante Bukowski). The dirtbag rocker’s history of bad decisions and antisocial behavior have led him to a gig-to-gig subsistence, playing dive bars and cut-rate wedding receptions while living out of a storage unit in Denver. In his own words, he’s just “shambling forward... denying death its sweet treat.” Facing eviction from his illegal dwelling, Rufus finds a cassette tape of “Let’s Get Funked Up,” a single recorded by his late, unlamented hair metal band Funky Cool in the 1980s, which leads him to a drug trip and then a road trip. He winds across the country confronting his past mistakes en route to the New Jersey offices of his old label, Bliggum Records, determined to collect on the royalties he’s convinced he’s owed. It’s familiar territory for Van Sciver and showcases his affinity for finding the humor and heart in aggressively unpleasant protagonists. Van Sciver’s gritty rendering of Baxter’s misadventures and muted palette of orange, brown, and blues perfectly capture the hardscrabble life of the self-centered legend-in-his-own-mind. The narrative itself is distinguished by its flair for comic timing, turn of phrase, and unexpected plot twists. It’s a must-read comic about a must-avoid person. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink

A disillusioned barista is swept up in the guerrilla resistance to a totalitarian regime in near-future Stockholm in Eriksson’s stylish English-language debut. In a society where emotions are stigmatized, Betty gets flagged for “antisocial behavior”—crying in a Metro station and attempting to google “Is this how life is supposed to be?”—and summoned for invasive therapy to mute her reactions. In treatment, she’s seated beside Berina, an outspoken misfit in a lop-eared bunny mask who recognizes something special in Betty. Through Berina, Betty falls in with a small gang (also masked) combatting the “Peacekeepers” who uphold the culture of mandated docility, though she struggles with the group’s often-brutal tactics. Eriksson establishes a chilling irreality by overlaying this clinical “happiness-fascist” society onto a familiar urban landscape. The narrative echoes the pessimistic surveillance state visions of George Orwell, Chantal Montellier, and especially Karin Boye, though Eriksson’s idiosyncratic visual aesthetic more aligns with the contemporary ennui of comics by Moa Romanova and Tommi Parrish. Sharp lines and sterile tiled interiors drive home Betty’s isolation, while the distinctive character designs—athletic figures festooned with masks, oversize hair bows, and a veritable runway’s worth of honky-tonk resort wear—burst from the page. This pop-toned rebel yell injects fresh feminist energy into the dystopian thriller. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 03/14/2025 | Details & Permalink