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EXIT CITY

An illustrated SF story with skillful worldbuilding that raises intriguing ethical questions.

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An alternate-history graphic novel, written by London and illustrated by Mostert, tells the story of an unlikely pair of cops investigating a complicated first case together.

In the 1980s, tech billionaires built Exit City, an “artificial island city-state” in international waters off the coast of California. Its lack of regulation quickly turned it into a hotbed for corruption and unethical experimentation. Curmudgeonly, straitlaced Exit City police Det. McCormick is partnered with loose cannon Eve Miller, much to his dismay; their very first case together is bewildering. The crime scene includes a shredded car with two dead bodies inside, but there’s no CCTV footage to be found—which, to McCormick, makes it feel more like an “operational strike” than a random killing. Miller quickly notices some eccentricities about her new colleague; for example, he talks to his inner coat pocket. She does some digging and learns that he used to be Black Ops; after a mission went wrong, he saved his team members’ neural chips, which lets him converse with their “recorded minds.” As the killing spree continues and bodies pile up—all related to one suspicious building—Miller and McCormick use their expertise to pursue separate threads of the mystery, which reveals a widespread conspiracy. London and Mostert conjure a fast-paced, immersive plot with strong worldbuilding. The narrative explains the complicated inner workings of Exit City and its ultramodern tech succinctly and engagingly, drawing readers in without getting too far into the weeds. The illustration style is well suited to the genre, but some spreads are more effective than others. The images of a killer’s murderous rampage are gory, for instance, but could have used some adjustment; when a man’s head is ripped apart in a cloud of blood, with eyeballs floating in the air, for example, it lands closer to silly than macabre. Miller and McCormick’s relationship follows a path that will be familiar to anyone who’s seen a cop drama with reluctant partners, but it still feels fresh in the context of the futuristic plot, which ably sets up further installments.

An illustrated SF story with skillful worldbuilding that raises intriguing ethical questions.

Pub Date: June 10, 2025

ISBN: 9781545816974

Page Count: 88

Publisher: Mad Cave Studios

Review Posted Online: May 7, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025

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SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN

A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth.

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Superman confronts racism and learns to accept himself with the help of new friends.

In this graphic-novel adaptation of the 1940s storyline entitled “The Clan of the Fiery Cross” from The Adventures of Superman radio show, readers are reintroduced to the hero who regularly saves the day but is unsure of himself and his origins. The story also focuses on Roberta Lee, a young Chinese girl. She and her family have just moved from Chinatown to Metropolis proper, and mixed feelings abound. Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane’s colleague from the Daily Planet, takes a larger role here, befriending his new neighbors, the Lees. An altercation following racial slurs directed at Roberta’s brother after he joins the local baseball team escalates into an act of terrorism by the Klan of the Fiery Kross. What starts off as a run-of-the-mill superhero story then becomes a nuanced and personal exploration of the immigrant experience and blatant and internalized racism. Other main characters are White, but Black police inspector William Henderson fights his own battles against prejudice. Clean lines, less-saturated coloring, and character designs reminiscent of vintage comics help set the tone of this period piece while the varied panel cuts and action scenes give it a more modern sensibility. Cantonese dialogue is indicated through red speech bubbles; alien speech is in green.

A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth. (author’s note, bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 13-adult)

Pub Date: May 12, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-77950-421-0

Page Count: 240

Publisher: DC

Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020

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ROMEO AND JULIET

From the Campfire Classics series

Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times...

A bland, uninspired graphic adaptation of the Bard’s renowned love story.

Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times oddly psychedelic-tinged backgrounds of cool blues and purples, the mood is strange, and the overall ambiance of the story markedly absent. Appealing to what could only be a high-interest/low–reading level audience, McDonald falls short of the mark. He explains a scene in an open-air tavern with a footnote—“a place where people gather to drink”—but he declines to offer definitions for more difficult words, such as “dirges.” While the adaptation does follow the foundation of the play, the contemporary language offers nothing; cringeworthy lines include Benvolio saying to Romeo at the party where he first meets Juliet, “Let’s go. It’s best to leave now, while the party’s in full swing.” Nagar’s faces swirl between dishwater and grotesque, adding another layer of lost passion in a story that should boil with romantic intensity. Each page number is enclosed in a little red heart; while the object of this little nuance is obvious, it’s also unpleasantly saccharine. Notes after the story include such edifying tidbits about Taylor Swift and “ ‘Wow’ dialogs from the play” (which culls out the famous quotes).

Pub Date: May 10, 2011

ISBN: 978-93-80028-58-3

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Campfire

Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011

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