The classic idea of a magical transformation, and the lesson of being careful what you wish for, is revisited in The Altered History of Willow Sparks by Tara O’Connor. This high school-set graphic novel does a terrific job with individual moments but doesn’t fully assemble them into a coherent whole. Willow has acne, one good friend, and a part-time job at the local library. Both she and her friend are bullied by the pretty, popular crowd, a situation Willow is […]

Sometimes you can go home again. I’ve always loved the Hopeless Savages series, created and written by Jen Van Meter. It ran from 2002-2005, was collected in 2010 (previous link), and finally had a new installment in 2015. In cases like these, one worries that nostalgia won’t be enough, that the magic has been lost (and decade-older readers won’t recapture the same sense of wonder). Thankfully, that’s not the case here. Which is wonderful, since the whole series is based […]

A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns is exactly what it says: an introduction to general-neutral pronouns in comic form. The short graphic novel by Archie Bongiovanni and co-writer Tristan Jimerson is out this week. It’s immediately approachable, with the two talking the reader through this introduction to what may be a new way to use language for some readers. The non-binary Archie uses they/them pronouns, while the cis Tristan uses he/him. They purposefully designed a guide that could […]

Open Earth is the first original graphic novel from Limerence Press, the Oni Press imprint dedicated to erotic and sex education comics. As expected, it has several diverse and explicit sex scenes (which makes it problematic to read on an airplane, as I tried to). Unfortunately, the actual story isn’t as fleshed out or lovingly portrayed. As written by Sarah Mirk and illustrated by Eva Cabrera, this is about the culture clash between the generations on a space station. Rigo’s […]

This impressive debut graphic novel uses a ghost story to explore questions of medical ethics and mental health. I found myself eager to follow along with Celeste as she struggles to understand the situation she’s in in Archival Quality, written by Ivy Noelle Weir and illustrated by Steenz. Celeste’s depression and anxiety kept her from graduating college and just lost her a job she really liked. Her only option seems to be an archivist job at a creepy local museum […]

Out later this month is Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom, a terrific concept that unfortunately disappoints in the execution. This camp-based murder mystery is the debut graphic novel of co-writers Terry Blas and Molly Muldoon as well as artist Matthew Seely. Seely has an animation background, which shows in the expressive and slightly exaggerated character design. It felt like I was watching a cartoon, in both good — clear emotion, colorful settings, outsized facial features — and bad ways […]

Katie O’Neill (Princess Princess Ever After) has created a wonderful world in The Tea Dragon Society. Outstanding character designs and concepts populate a book driven by a quiet feeling of exploration and discovery that is both relaxing and refreshing. Greta is a blacksmith’s apprentice, working with her goblin mother. When she rescues a small creature from attackers, she’s introduced to the world of tea dragons. They grow leaves and flowers from their bodies, which are used to brew special teas. […]

There are good mash-ups, and there are great ones, ones that make you wonder “how terrific! why haven’t I seen this combination before?” Megan Rose Gedris’s Spectacle is great, combining life in the circus, steampunk touches, a ghost sibling, and a murder mystery. Anna is the practical twin, creator of a steam-driven conjecture engine that can predict future events using statistics to 78% accuracy. Ironic, then, that she tells fortunes, knowing that they’re trickery. Kat is the twin liked by […]