Humorous and heartfelt, creepy and captivating; readers will eagerly hope for another volume.
Webcomic artist Gedris (YU+ME: dream Omnibus Book Two, 2014, etc.) delivers a compelling tale of supernatural mystery set in the Old West.
Brown-skinned, curly-haired identical twins Anna and Kat are inseparable members of the Samson Brothers traveling circus. Anna is a pragmatic inventor working as the carnival fortuneteller, while Kat is an impulsive and performative knife-thrower. But when Anna wakes to discover Kat has been murdered—literally stabbed in the back—she is unsettled to find that Kat’s soul hasn’t moved on. Represented as a translucent, green, floating version of herself, Kat takes up residence in her sister’s body, finding safety and security there while she teams up with Anna to solve her own murder. Gedris’ expressive lines and bold colors bring to life the Old West setting, and the characters have varied skin tones, gender presentations, and body shapes. The marginalized identities of troupe members are hinted at but rarely explored, with the exception of a Chinese immigrant’s experience working on the railroad. The cliffhanger ending satisfies, opening up just the right number of questions.
Humorous and heartfelt, creepy and captivating; readers will eagerly hope for another volume. (Graphic fantasy. 12-adult)Pub Date: May 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62010-492-7
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Oni Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
A warm, sweet, lovely tale of a world readers will want to live in.
In a not-so-distant future where changing one’s physical features is as easy as purchasing nanobot mods, Sunati falls for Austen, a girl who always looks the same.
Since Austen never changes, Sunati admires what she assumes is her bravery and confidence. As Sunati and Austen chat more, Austen bluntly asks Sunati if she only wants to get to know her more because of her medical condition, which prevents her from using mods. As they gradually grow closer, Sunati learns how to interact more respectfully with those who have overactive immune systems as well as to share her feelings more honestly. Austen, in turn, learns to trust Sunati. This beautifully illustrated slice-of-life tale that shows two young women of color getting to know each other and creating a relationship is so warm and charming that readers will hardly notice how much they are learning about how to better interact with folx who are different from themselves and the importance of not making assumptions. The story also successfully weaves in agender, genderfluid, and asexual characters as well as the subjects of parenting and colorism into the natural arc of Sunati and Austen’s developing story. The soft, romantic artwork evokes hazy watercolors. The speech bubbles are predominantly pink and blue, and the varied layout will maintain readers’ interest.
A warm, sweet, lovely tale of a world readers will want to live in. (Graphic romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1110-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Hinds adds another magnificent adaptation to his oeuvre (King Lear, 2009, etc.) with this stunning graphic retelling of Homer’s epic. Following Odysseus’s journey to return home to his beloved wife, Penelope, readers are transported into a world that easily combines the realistic and the fantastic. Gods mingle with the mortals, and not heeding their warnings could lead to quick danger; being mere men, Odysseus and his crew often make hasty errors in judgment and must face challenging consequences. Lush watercolors move with fluid lines throughout this reimagining. The artist’s use of color is especially striking: His battle scenes are ample, bloodily scarlet affairs, and Polyphemus’s cave is a stifling orange; he depicts the underworld as a colorless, mirthless void, domestic spaces in warm tans, the all-encircling sea in a light Mediterranean blue and some of the far-away islands in almost tangibly growing greens. Don’t confuse this hefty, respectful adaptation with some of the other recent ones; this one holds nothing back and is proudly, grittily realistic rather than cheerfully cartoonish. Big, bold, beautiful. (notes) (Graphic classic. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4266-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
