Intense, imaginative visuals pair well with the futuristic fight between idealism and oppression.
Lubchansky’s second graphic novel melds dreamlike horror and anthropology in a story about seeking utopia in a hostile world.
In 2081, Lucius Pasternak, a young transgender academic, gets a commission to conduct an anthropological study of a radical luddite group, the Spiritual Association of Peers, in what was formerly a town called Simplicity in New York state. Lucius relocates from the industrial, smoke-belching, walled-in New York City Administrative & Security Territory to this community in one of the Exurb Zones. The whole project is funded by the Van Wervel Trust, which is working to establish a museum. The evil Mr. Van Wervel is also the mayor of the NYC-AST and looks like an early 1900s political cartoon of a monopolist. When Lucius arrives in Simplicity, the colors on the page transition from the gray and radioactive neon of the city to yellow sun and green plant life. The community was established in the 1970s, and it still exists in a similar form decades later, after the dissolution of the United States. Lucius is eager to interview subjects and start documenting his ethnographic findings, but the people don’t trust him at first, until he begins working the land alongside them. Although he was meant to observe, the freedom that the community members display with their feelings and bodies seduces him into becoming a participant. Lubchansky shows that nature is just as dangerous as the industrial city through the darkness of the forest and the gory violence that starts to encroach on the closed-off commune. Lucius’ relationship with one of the leaders, Amity, is thrown into jeopardy when he finds that his employer is planning to bulldoze the community in Simplicity to build the museum along with futuristic luxury apartments. Instead of returning to the city to share his findings, Lucius stays and tries to parse his dreams of a giant, Lovecraftian creature. Lucius and Amity seek out the dangers lurking in the woods around the enclave, and come across a dystopian conspiracy meant to crush their way of life.
Intense, imaginative visuals pair well with the futuristic fight between idealism and oppression.Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780593701126
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced...
A pairing of the text of the Scottish Play with a filmed performance, designed with the Shakespeare novice in mind.
The left side of the screen of this enhanced e-book contains a full version of Macbeth, while the right side includes a performance of the dialogue shown (approximately 20 lines’ worth per page). This granular focus allows newcomers to experience the nuances of the play, which is rich in irony, hidden intentions and sudden shifts in emotional temperature. The set and costuming are deliberately simple: The background is white, and Macbeth’s “armor” is a leather jacket. But nobody’s dumbing down their performances. Francesca Faridany is particularly good as a tightly coiled Lady Macbeth; Raphael Nash-Thompson gives his roles as the drunken porter and a witch a garrulousness that carries an entertainingly sinister edge. The presentation is not without its hiccups. Matching the video on the right with the text on the left means routinely cutting off dramatic moments; at one point, users have to swipe to see and read the second half of a scene’s closing couplet—presumably an easy fix. A “tap to translate” button on each page puts the text into plain English, but the pop-up text covers up Shakespeare’s original, denying any attempts at comparison; moreover, the translation mainly redefines more obscure words, suggesting that smaller pop-ups for individual terms might be more meaningful.
Even so, this remains Macbeth, arguably the Bard of Avon’s most durable and multilayered tragedy, and overall, this enhanced e-book makes the play appealing and graspable to students . (Enhanced e-book. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: The New Book Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
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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