An interesting piece of SF canon but one that feels somewhat dated.
Montellier’s comics from the late 1970s and early '80s are reissued with new translations.
This collection gathers three comics (Wonder City, Shelter, and 1996) originally published in France’s Métal Hurlant and updates them with new English translations. (When they appeared in the American Heavy Metal magazine, “her dialogue was translated from straightforward French into such outlandish English that readers essentially had to translate it again,” according to translator Brock.) Wonder City is the story of a couple who meet and fall in love in a dystopian near-future New York before uncovering a terrible secret about the state-supplied birth control given to every woman. In Shelter, a group of strangers is trapped in an underground mall after a nuclear attack, and survivors live under the thumb of a tyrannical mall director. 1996 is a collection of shorter pieces; most are only a page or two long and echo the ideas and themes in the other two comics: totalitarian societies; oppression of women and people of color; violent suppression of protests, and more. The art consists of simple pen-and-ink drawings, done entirely in black and white except for some swaths of vibrant pink. A translator’s note by Brock and an interview with Montellier offer compelling and illuminating insights into the times in which these comics were written. However, as is often the case with older SF, what was once innovative is now commonplace—and, as such, these comics currently feel unsubtle and unsurprising. It’s a dystopian future but one viewed through the lens of the late 1970s with few 21st-century concerns. There are female protagonists—unusual for the time—but they’re constantly victimized by men or society or both; there are scenes of actual or implied sexual assault that feel exploitative. Although this collection can (and should) be appreciated as a piece of comic history, readers might be better served by translations of Montellier’s work from this century.
An interesting piece of SF canon but one that feels somewhat dated.Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781681377407
Page Count: 200
Publisher: New York Review Comics
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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