A provocative look at history’s most notorious villain.
Villainy is re-examined and religious narrative questioned in this bold and uncomfortably thought-provoking graphic novel about Judas Iscariot.
Judas’ status as villain of the Christ tale is an almost universally unquestioned fact, until now. Loveness’ (Venom, 2018, etc.) haunting continuation follows Judas post-suicide into hell, where he meets the devil and learns that he is a pawn in a much larger game of doctrinal chess, designed to elevate Christ at his expense. This story’s success lies in the author’s use of plot holes in the New Testament to make Judas a sympathetic character enslaved to forces beyond his control. If mankind has free will but God knows all, then Judas’ “villainy” is an inevitability rather than a fate he was ever capable of avoiding. Rebelka’s (Namesake, 2017, etc.) chilling illustrations provide the perfect lugubrious backdrop for hellish conversations. The color palette of muted blues and vibrant reds brings Satan’s kingdom to life, evoking the horror of eternal damnation and the vastness of a kingdom plunged into a darkness that its inhabitants might not deserve. Before encountering Jesus again, Judas runs into Jezebel, Goliath, and other Old Testament villains whose fates force readers to question God’s reputation as merciful father. This book is not for all readers, but all who read it will be challenged and enriched by the questions it raises.
A provocative look at history’s most notorious villain. (Graphic novel. 15-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68415-221-6
Page Count: 112
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2018
A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.
In this YA graphic novel, an alienated Métis girl learns about her people’s Canadian history.
Métis teenager Echo Desjardins finds herself living in a home away from her mother, attending a new school, and feeling completely lonely as a result. She daydreams in class and wanders the halls listening to a playlist of her mother’s old CDs. At home, she shuts herself up in her room. But when her history teacher begins to lecture about the Pemmican Wars of early 1800s Saskatchewan, Echo finds herself swept back to that time. She sees the Métis people following the bison with their mobile hunting camp, turning the animals’ meat into pemmican, which they sell to the Northwest Company in order to buy supplies for the winter. Echo meets a young girl named Marie, who introduces Echo to the rhythms of Métis life. She finally understands what her Métis heritage actually means. But the joys are short-lived, as conflicts between the Métis and their rivals in the Hudson Bay Company come to a bloody head. The tragic history of her people will help explain the difficulties of the Métis in Echo’s own time, including those of her mother and the teen herself. Accompanied by dazzling art by Henderson (A Blanket of Butterflies, 2017, etc.) and colorist Yaciuk (Fire Starters, 2016, etc.), this tale is a brilliant bit of time travel. Readers are swept back to 19th-century Saskatchewan as fully as Echo herself. Vermette’s (The Break, 2017, etc.) dialogue is sparse, offering a mostly visual, deeply contemplative juxtaposition of the present and the past. Echo’s eventual encounter with her mother (whose fate has been kept from readers up to that point) offers a powerful moment of connection that is both unexpected and affecting. “Are you…proud to be Métis?” Echo asks her, forcing her mother to admit, sheepishly: “I don’t really know much about it.” With this series opener, the author provides a bit more insight into what that means.
A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.Pub Date: March 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-55379-678-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HighWater Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Light and refreshing fare.
The summer after graduation, high school besties in New York City play an epic game.
Cassie Donato and her three best friends have big plans to live it up before setting off on their post–high school lives. But while the London-bound Latine musician Nico, body-positive Asian artist Marcy, and Aaron, who’s Black and headed to Harvard, all seem certain of who they are and where they’re going, Cassie, who reads white, is taking a gap year to work at her family’s diner, and she isn’t so sure what she wants. All she knows is that this is the last chance for their friend group to be together before everything changes. But as the weeks pass, she’s disappointed that the others seem too busy to make the most of this summer. Her solution? A revival of Risky Slips, their favorite childhood game during which players take turns on increasingly risky dares. They have 24 hours to complete them or forfeit. But as the friends compete, the stakes get higher and unspoken tensions rise to the surface, testing their friendships and future. Porretta’s debut is narrated through speech bubbles and color-coded texts, and it captures Generation Z in all their exuberance and acceptance as well as anxiety. Despite a last-minute romantic twist that feels out of step with the work as a whole, the themes of embracing and growing with change prevail. The attractive, jewel-toned art dynamically conveys the urban setting.
Light and refreshing fare. (Graphic fiction. 15-18)Pub Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781665907033
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
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