Nothing Better #2 is now available at better comic shops.

The series is about two college girls finding themselves and learning to deal with different beliefs and worldviews from their own. In the excerpt, Jane’s experiencing one of those “is this a date or just two friends hanging out?” situations so common at that age. From the art, it’s clear that her friend, who invited her to watch The Iron Giant with him in his room, is interested, but she doesn’t get it. She’s inexperienced at putting herself in the place of others to understand their motivations, so she doesn’t even seem to recognize that there’s a question.

She’s starting to stretch mentally, though, with baby steps. She can’t stop thinking about the film (a great choice both for the character and the author’s purposes), which spawns her curiosity into the beliefs of her roommate, an avowed atheist. If I’m remembering right, this is the girls’ first direct conversation about their different beliefs.

It seems as though Jane’s never questioned the religion she was raised in, before, and this journey is likely to be quite a struggle. The character’s necessary pain is what makes this such a promising read.

For more information, visit the book’s website.