June 2, 2026 · 9:30 am

Vidal by Danila Botha book review

Vidal. Danila Botha. At Bay Press. 2026. 120pp. $30.

This is such a beautifully realized work in many ways. It is, no doubt, a grounded, thoughtful and graceful combining of words and pictures. It is one of those narratives that encompasses the world-at-large with its immense joys and tragedy, all within the journey of one individual, one scrappy and dapper man, Vidal Ben Soussan. The creator of this work is Danila Botha, an exceptional writer, having proven herself many times over with an impressive body of prose fiction. This is her first work combining her prose with her own paintings. It is a work full of good sentiment that evokes the quality of an autobiographical work.

The greatest strength to Danila Botha’s new book is in its prose narrative followed closely by her passionate paintings. The plot to this work is following the life struggle of our main character, one Vidal Ben Soussan. Young Vidal grows up in Tiberias (Ottoman Empire and then British Mandate Palestine) and moves to Paris to pursue his art and freedom and gets trapped there during World War II. Botha traces the steps of Vidal’s life with a combination of her poetic prose laid over her paintings that evoke Chagall. The reader goes back and forth between the paintings and the prose that present the life of Vidal Ben Soussan, from his Sephardic upbringing in Tiberias to studies in the Technion in Haifa, his artistic life in Paris, his work with the underground resistance, and his ultimate arrest and time in Auschwitz.

Botha’s family, like the one depicted in this book, are fifth generation Moroccan Jews who grew up speaking both Hebrew and Arabic and coexisting with their neighbors and friends in diverse harmony. There are numerous examples of these all-too-human exchanges. One culture blended into the other in everyday life. For instance, Vidal’s mother, who hated having to go to the market, would curse it in Hebrew and then again in Arabic for good measure.

Vidal undoubtedly offers the reader a wonderful window into history and a rich cultural experience. The question as to where it falls within comics is interesting and worth consideration. I see this work falling within the world of picture books, given that it is a series of paintings with text, while also laying claim to a spot within the world of graphic novels. The spirit of comics and graphic novels is such that all forms, including wordless comics, are welcome while some are going to be more closely related to the traditional sequential comics art form than others: works following the use of panels, word balloons, and various techniques that link words and pictures together. The important thing here is that Botha’s work is very special in its own way. I just offer an observation. She could certainly continue to create other works just like this and blaze a new trail. That’s exciting. The main point is that Botha is creating very compelling work, providing that valuable window of accessibility. It brings to life such subjects as Sephardic Jewish life and the Shoah in ways beyond words and, for that, it is essential. This is an important work any way you look at it.

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May 24, 2026 · 1:15 pm

CLOUD TOWN by Daniel McCloskey graphic novel review

Cloud Town. Daniel McCloskey. Abrams. 2022. 224pp. $24.99 hardcover. $14.99 paperback.

Daniel McCloskey is a comics artist on the rise, offering comics with a strange and fun bundle of energy. He has created an interesting body of work that stands out among all-ages content. The flagship title is his graphic novel, Cloud Town, published by Amulet, an imprint of Abrams. In this book, the reader is in for a wild ride, an evolving world that began with the fanciful notion of an island encased in a cloud, near a rip in the universe. If you are a fan of the offbeat, like the misadventures in Stranger Things, then this middle-grade graphic novel about best friends, giant robots, and monsters from another universe is for you.

The key to any good work of science fiction, fantasy, or any work of fiction for that matter, is a hook. There needs to be a way to hook in the writer as well as the reader. In this case, we’ve got two very compelling main characters. Pen is a fighter. Olive is a scholar. Between the two of them, these two teenage girls will make their way through high school. Pen fights off the bullies. Olive makes sure they both make good grades.

Pen and Olive!

And that’s just for starters. This high school is part of an island village floating along inside a cloud, near a crack in the universe that is vulnerable to the entry of an assortment of monsters, hobgoblins and all-around nasty critters. And there you have it. McCloskey has created a world where anything and everything can happen and he’s just the kind of comics artist who can deliver on such a promise.

Cloud Town defined in a nutshell.

I think McCloskey must be drawing and thinking comics all the time. He has a very expressive line, with a very determined style, something you get over time as you pursue your passion. It’s this dedication to his craft that brings his characters to life. You need to be able to buy into the characters and the premise very quickly if you want to sustain that magical reading experience. I see that happening here. There’s a certain amount of controlled chaos that wins me over. I can’t tell right away what is happening, as I flip through the pages, but I can sense that the narrative is moving along well, there’s a specificity at play, this is adding up, it will be be worthwhile. And it is. The characters fly off the page.

As I suggested at the beginning, McCloskey is a busy cartoonist. Since his debut graphic novel, he has been adding to his Cloud Town world, known as, Friends in Stormy Weather, and the second part will be available soon.

Friends in Stormy Weather, Part 2

In fact, a Kickstarter campaign in support of Friends in Stormy Weather, Part 2, is coming up. For more details, just go here. And you can keep up with the Cloud Town/Friends in Stormy Weather saga here.

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May 17, 2026 · 1:00 pm

Poem Strip by Dino Buzzati comics review

Poem Strip. Dino Buzzati. Translated by Marina Harss. New York Review Comics. 2026. 224pp. $22.95.

There’s a certain sense of freshness to Dino Buzzati’s Poem Strip, a work of comics originally published in 1969, while also carrying its own particular baggage. That fresh look and feel is the one-panel-per-page format which can be a good approach. Originally titled, Poema a fumetti, it is a graphic narrative that “modernizes” the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It has been translated into English and the latest edition is now out by New York Review Comics. It’s great to have a new edition out, for many reasons. There’s as much to learn as there is to admire. I think two things can be true at the same time: here is a significant work; and here is something we might push back on just a bit.

The original Italian, Poema a fumetti.

Buzzati, at 63, was entering the later stage of life when he created this book which is ultimately a meditation on mortality. This is Buzzati, known mostly as a novelist (The Tartar Steppe), leading the charge. For his first and only foray into comics, Buzzati floods his work with a sea of provocative and disturbing images of women, like a drunken Surrealist. Given that Buzzati did not have a background as a cartoonist, the years or decades of thinking in those terms, it’s not farfetched to say he might have made some overzealous rookie missteps. He pressed his foot down hard on the pedal, that much is certain. With a lurch, by accident or not, this moved a lot forward.

A shaggy dog, or bull in a china shop.

Remember, Buzzati was primarily a novelist. He was not attuned to the comics medium. The narrative plods along. And he loads up on images sourced from what appears typical sources, fashion magazines and porn. What I’m seeing is image after image of deer-in-the-headlights poses of women, mostly nude, acting as “assistants” to our hero, Orfi, as he descends into the underworld. The images reach their crescendo with a depiction of a nude woman strung up like a pig on a fire pit. Pretty nutty stuff. Good? Bad? Genius? What I surmise is that the subtext, or real driver to this work, is of an older man looking back with regret as old age stands in the way of any further carnal desire met at youth’s fever pitch. That reasoning would tie things up rather well. I’m not against this book at all. I don’t really see it as a masterpiece, per se. I do see it as a shaggy dog, or a bull in a china shop, that zigzags its way through. And that’s a great thing in and of itself. At the end of the day, you can still say that Buzzati made a contribution, laid some of the countless groundwork toward comics art that pursues more mature themes. We do want more weird comics, especially well thought out and well designed weirdness.

Ostensibly, this is a modern retelling of the ancient Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice. Orfi is a hipster musician; Eura is his girlfriend who is abducted by supernatural forces. Orfi searches, pleads, begs, even sings, his way to Eura. A bargain must be struck with the captors, as the myth would have it. If Orfi can leave with his beloved Eura without looking back at his captors, they are free to go. Otherwise, as the legend would have it, no dice. That’s the elevator pitch, so to speak. The reality, once you’re committed to reading, is a lamenting over old age and the end of any further lustful adventures.

Dino Buzzati revels in this lamenting. It’s an eternal dance with death. No matter how enticing or alluring, each of the maidens depicted are already dead, at peace with their fate. The bright day will inevitably give way to the infinite night.

This is a new English translation by Marina Harss. Her contribution is a wonderful compliment to this work: very natural, always moving the narrative, or poetry, forward. The slowest section in the book is a number of pages devoted to Orfi’s lyrics as he sings for Eura’s release. It’s enjoyable and I believe the Harss version saves it.

From sex to death.

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice, with a decidedly mod retelling, and regretful ode to lust and mortality, is what it is or was what it was. This new edition invites you to see for yourself. Unfortunately, there is no introduction or afterward or anything to guide the contemporary reader into this work. It would be wonderful to have such a written piece to accompany this most intriguing forerunner to the world of mature comics art.

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May 10, 2026 · 10:00 am

THE SHADOWER graphic novel review

The Shadower. Peter & Maria Hoey. Co-written by C.P. Freund. Top Shelf Productions. 192pp. $19.99.

Comics scholar Scott McCloud has offered up a number of ways that we will read/experience comics in the future. For me, all the future I need happened when ComiXology invented the panel-to-panel reading format known as, Guided View. This reading feature, around for over a decade now, zooms in on elements on a comics page, mainly the text, allowing the reader, by the tap of a finger, to quickly and efficiently progress through a work of comics. I don’t think this is the best way to read comics (print is ideal) but it has its place given certain limitations of reading digital comics on a static page, primarily a PDF. I mention this because, the comic I’m reviewing now is a perfect example of a comic that not only works well with this technology but seems to be meant for it as this quirky reading feature seems to showcase the unique rhythm and pace of the work by Peter & Maria Hoey.

The sibling creative team of Peter & Maria Hoey have perfected their crisply delineated storyboards-come-to-life style of comics for decades with each work seeming to outdo the previous effort. You read one of their comics and, propelled along by Guided View, it is a truly immersive experience as the panels seem to take on an animated life of their own. While reading it in print remains ideal, it’s nice to know that it adapts well to a tech version and that has to do with its finely detailed and edited style and substance.

While Hoey comics readily bring to mind some elaborate storyboard presentation for a classic Hitchcock film, the decidedly cool characters also make me think of spooky marionettes on a stage giving off a vibe of being objects that are being observed rather than actors inviting the viewer in. So, there’s definitely that going on which is endlessly fascinating and enchanting; and that’s because, as much as you feel that distance, you can’t help but be drawn in.

The Hoey siblings have created this sort of magic many times, often favoring a gritty and melancholic landscape, the sort that gumshoe detectives follow. One recent example comes from their ongoing Coin-Op series. See our review here. In Issue 10, a man and a woman, cogs in a vast bureaucracy, must confront the authorities that enslave them if only they can discover how they are controlled while they sleep. And, if you can’t escape your dreams, then heaven help you in attempting to find peace in the afterlife in Hoey’s In Perpetuity. Just dazzling stuff: otherworldly and close to home.

The Shadower is another delicious Hoey offering: a tightly-woven tale about Nadia, a lonely and directionless young woman who lives in a small flat with her mother. They inhabit a world of great intrigue, similar to East Berlin, circa 1960. It is a grim city life after a massive civil war that has left everything in a high-tension tizzy of various districts just barely tolerating each other’s existence. Nadia happens to be a promising drama student. Then, one day, a secret agent enlists her to impersonate a girl named Miriam, a waitress, for a week in order to gather intel on a rival district kingpin. All very convoluted cloak and dagger stuff. The primary thing here is that Nadia suddenly finds herself stepping into a pivotal role, something she’s not sure she’s totally capable of seeing through.

The book begins with a seemingly esoteric, yet powerful rallying cry by Montaigne: “Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself!” It is lifted from the collection of essays on how to live a worthwhile life and is certainly pertinent to our story. Will Nadia be able to give herself completely over to being someone else and still be able to remain true to herself?

We all take on roles in life and we must live with the consequences. Are we living our best lives? Or are we caught in a web of compromises and artifice? Why do we do what we do? Is there a greater purpose or is it all a game? These are the sort of questions that Nadia must grapple with. In the course of this story, Nadia grows into her role only to find her role is sinking much deeper roots into her than she ever anticipated. And it only gets worse as the stakes continue to rise. Quite a fitting scenario for this creative team who are no stranger to offbeat noir fiction. The Hoey golden touch is in full swing. This is a comic that can mesmerize.

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May 3, 2026 · 9:57 am

James Hilger Interview: On Treeboy and Comics Craft

“If I could easily describe it in a few words, I wouldn’t have put it into words and pictures. (Basically,) Treeboy is about obsession, loss and looking for family out there in the vastness of the void.” That is James Hilger’s response to my asking him what his new book is about. What a perfect answer. It’s a heart-felt answer without any of the irony we too often need to slog through in the worlds of contemporary media, whether it’s fiction, film or comics. Hilger knows about all three of these creative arenas. He’s been making headway in each and it is, Treeboy, his debut graphic novella, that he can point to with pride and anticipation for how it is received in the world. Well, I’ve received it quite well. During the course of our conversation, I did my best to emphasize to James that he’s heading in the right direction. He has created something special and worthwhile, hitting on the mark the very qualities so many of us hold dear in the comics medium, keeping to the high standards of the sequential art tradition.

I find James Hilger to possess a steadfast integrity. That’s the best way that I can cut to the chase and say it. He is someone who is compelled to tell stories, sometimes in prose, sometimes in film and sometimes in comics. In our conversation, making sure to circle back when needed, I asked him more than once to describe how he came to create comics. As you’ll find out, whether you view this interview on the Comics Grinder YouTube channel or listen to it on another platform, Hilger is the real deal, not one to provide quick and snappy answers but, rather, to wrestle with ideas and then finally offer up this or that observation. It seems to me that Hilger was drawing and thinking about comics all along. Life happens. You take on this responsibility, take on this creative project, and before you know it, you are coming back to that graphic novella that’s been brewing for a few years.

There’s nothing brash or snappy about James Hilger. He’s a guy who loves what he does. He creates excellent comics. I only see a bright future ahead for him. I can’t guarantee immediate success or fame and fortune but I feel confident that he will continue to reap the rewards of creating honest work. And, if that’s happening now, which it is (you must read Treeboy), and a consistent pattern emerges, then things will undoubtedly progress: more doors will open; more people will take notice. These sort of things happen and take on a life of their own. The work is its own reward and you go from there. I’ve been part of this world of creativity for quite some time now and I know it when I see it. I see Hilger embarking upon a decided literary comics path which is a more challenging climb but one that holds out the promise of something truly rewarding and purposeful. Hilger has begun that climb.

I welcome you to visit us at the Comics Grinder YouTube channel and Subscribe, Comment and Like. Every bit helps us continue to do what we do. Thank you.

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May 2, 2026 · 8:00 am

Diagon Alley Book Nook from Carrera-Revell

The new line of Tiny Adventures book nooks from Carrera-Revell are wonderful. There are three to choose from: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.

Display your Tiny Adventures Diagon Alley book nook among your favorite books!

As a storyteller, I am always building worlds of one sort or another. And that way of thinking leads me to a fascination with miniatures and dioramas. You might say it’s a fascination I share with such luminaries as Orson Welles and Walt Disney. Welles used a lot of miniatures for Citizen Kane; and Disney’s love of dioramas would go on to inform his work in theme parks. I’ve been tinkering with all manner of tiny worlds for years now. So, when the folks at Carrera-Revell reached out to me and asked if I’d feature one of their new line of book nooks, I had to say yes. These are kits that you build up from numerous pieces. It is a fun pastime and rewards you with a charming book nook at the end. For Harry Potter fans, there are key beloved landmarks, one of which is Diagon Alley and that was my book nook.

Here are a few words from Harry Potter canon:

Diagon Alley was a cobblestoned wizarding alley and shopping area located in London, England behind a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Inside the alley was an assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights. All items on the Hogwarts supply list could be bought at Diagon Alley.

The alley was completely hidden from the Muggle world, which was right outside of its boundaries. It was very large in area and essentially the centre of wizarding London.[1][2] Consequently, the demand for space here was steep, and rent costed “loads of Galleons“.[4]

I highly encourage you to get your own Tiny Adventures kit, whether it is Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley, Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. The level of complexity hits a sweet spot with it offering a challenge as well as being an all-around relaxing activity. Just follow along and zone into it. This is suitable for ages 14 and up. You won’t build this in just a couple of hours, nor would you want to. It’s really meant as a chill thing to do on a lazy afternoon or two. Take it at your own pace. Find your own zen with one of these kits at Carrera-Revell.

And do keep in mind that this kit is meant to cast a wide net of enthusiasts. It is not meant to be the most elaborate and meticulous diorama, nor would you want it to be! It’s at just the right level of complexity to satisfy most tastes, especially those of us who like to occasionally take on a diorama project. There are numerous examples of highly detailed Diagon Alley dioramas and this kit gives you a taste of that experience. At the end of the day, it will look great on your bookshelf among some of your favorite books.

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April 28, 2026 · 9:00 pm

Treeboy by James Hilger comics review

Treeboy. James Hilger. Self-published. 38pp. $11.

Once I started, I couldn’t put down this comic. We live in a world where we are constantly putting down one thing in favor of the next thing, and then the next thing after that. Well, I was hooked, compelled to read on, and so I did. James Hilger brings a lot to the table, the kind of set of tools that will serve any cartoonist well: a lot of reading; a lot of observation; and a lot of wisdom. I’ve been reading a book on Chester Brown and his comics, with the delicate line and the morbid originality, kept coming to mind as I read Hilger’s graphic novella. It’s longer than your typical comic book at 38 pages and certainly far more substantial, encompassing an in-depth look at one person’s struggle for meaning. So, yeah, a bona fide graphic novella, one that kept me inspired and intrigued.

If you’re looking for a literary comic, this is it.

Based on his social media activity, I see that James Hilger is passionate about prose fiction and filmmaking along with comics. To my way of thinking, that’s a terrific creative trifecta, as each medium informs and helps shape the other in the creator’s pursuits. Clearly, Hilger has a very strong visual and verbal sense. He’s working off what some of the great cartoonists from the alternative scene of the last thirty or forty years have built, people like Daniel Clowes and Charles Burns,  but I don’t cringe at any of his work, thinking he’s just lifting from this or that comics artist. Hilger has allowed himself the time to digest and process and offers the reader his own refreshing take. Hilger dives in with his own anti-hero, one unsure lad named, Alvin Leif Limoncello. And, as bullies and insensitive clods are prone to do, they find a weak spot and take aim. Alvin, due to his quirky middle name, will henceforth be known as “Treeboy.”

Alright, well, originality is one thing. But I’m not suggesting to avoid climbing the same mountains. You just can’t help it, nor would you want to, really. I’m referring to a grand ole coming-of-age tale, with the earnest young person in search of meaning, who thinks meaning can be found in a soul mate. In this case, Hilger takes the traditional route of boy idolizes girl–and later learns from his miscalculations. Getting back to originality, Hilger has come up with a number of new wrinkles to the classic set-up, stuff that surely Clowes and Burns would approve of.

From what I can tell, Hilger is into pursuing his comics the old school way. Everything appears to be physically drawn, all analog, hand-drawn, including the lettering. Perhaps, as a writer, and I’m assuming he gravitated to drawing while focusing on writing, Hilger took up making comics in much the same way that aspiring cartoonists commonly pursued it in the past, just by setting down some paper and picking up a pen. There’s beauty in simplicity, a more direct approach, I think. If it turns out he uses an iPad and Procreate, hey, I still feel it’s all about the mindset. Looking over his work, I imagine someone excited about crafting a truly sound and coherent story and seriously finding the best ways to combine words and pictures. Comics are a lot of things but they’re not always simple. Often, it is a complex endeavor and it helps to come from a multi-discipline background.

A dream girl epiphany.

When Alvin, aka Treeboy, first sets his eyes on his dream girl, it seems to be the portal into another world he’d always been looking for. By the time he has this epiphany, already pushing thirty, he has all but given up on his ideals. But one fateful visit to a McDonald’s drive-thru sets him on a whole new course. If this beautiful and flawless maiden handing him his greasy purchase would connect with him, then all is not lost. There is suddenly hope in the world and that is exactly what Alvin intends to make his own. That is until things don’t go according to plan. Tragic stuff and Hilger knows how to spin that into wonderful storytelling.

Well, it is a pleasure to share with you an outstanding new comic on the scene. It is literally something new. It recently came out, available through comics festivals, and now set up with an online shop. I’m thrilled about Treeboy with its old soul heart and fresh new spirit. So, just to reiterate, this is a one-shot full story with a full-bodied beginning middle and end. It feels like something totally out of left field and that’s a good thing. As Hilger states on his social media: “Treeboy is an intensely personal journey through my growth rings–from acorn to firewood.” Alright then, that makes total sense!

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April 28, 2026 · 8:35 am

REAL LIFE COMIX: Only in New York Kickstarter Alert

REAL LIFE COMIX: Only in New York by Eli Schwab — Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ghostagents/real-life-comix-only-in-new-york

Crunch Time!
Here is where we are as of today:
$15,939 pledged of $20,000 goal
262 backers
10days to go
A tour de force comics anthology about New York City is all in: All or nothing. This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Fri, May 8 2026 12:00 PM EDT.

Dean Haspiel and Eli Schwab, publisher of Cosmic Lion Prods @OAX 2026

Attention all of my fellow cartoonists, comics enthusiasts, lovers of great storytelling and lovers of New York City, we have a very special book campaign at Kickstarter and we’re nearing the nitty gritty time of getting this project over the finish line. Look at it this way, for all of you fellow backers and potential backers, if everyone pitches in just a bit more, this truly awesome book will be on its way!

Dean Haspiel.

From Comic Buzz:

Co-edited by veteran comix creators Dean Haspiel and Doug Latino, this vibrant collection brings together a wildly eclectic mix of legendary and emerging voices, including New Yorker cartoonists, MAD contributors, and American Splendor collaborators. Storytellers hail from across comix, comics, graphic novels, literature, art, film, and music, each offering their own take on the city that never sleeps–humorous, heartbreaking, surreal or unmistakably true–capturing the everyday chaos and accidental poetry of New York life.

“Being able to present a project like this is an amazing honor for an independent publisher like myself” says Cosmic Lion Publisher Eli Schwab. “Honoring NYC, a place that has meant so much to the history of my family and my career, and to do it with one of the greatest comic rosters ever. It’s unfathomable. It’s an honor and a privilege to work with Dean and Doug and it’s an honor to be able to help these stories get told. In NYC, there’s one around every corner!”

REAL LIFE COMIX: Only in New York by Eli Schwab — Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ghostagents/real-life-comix-only-in-new-york

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April 26, 2026 · 8:35 am

The Roots of My Hair by Lou Lubie graphic novel review

The Roots of My Hair. Lou Lubie. Helvetiq. 2026. 220pp. $24.95.

This graphic novel grabbed my attention right from the start, provoking questions and alternatively answering them in a steady and impressive back and forth rhythm. Lou Lubie delves deeply into the subject of hair as someone fully committed and passionate to the task. I know hair is part of my identity. I’ve changed it up over the years, from super short to super long, only answering to myself. This I relate well with Lubie who has gone on a particularly challenging journey from as far back as she can remember, having to confront her own mother’s obsession with keeping her daughter’s naturally curly hair at bay. This is a story, among other things, about Lubie’s right to her own body, specifically her hair.

Just like my writing a review of a graphic novel takes work, building it up bit by bit, willing it into existence, so I am humbled by all the thoughtful details that go into this book, all seeming to effortlessly fit into place. Ah, now this is a work of integrity: honest, focused and purposeful. There is definitely no one definitive way to create a graphic novel. That’s the beauty of the art form which includes everything from the most raw and experimental to the highly polished. This work is in a more traditional graphic novel format with an educational component to it. This book has been acknowledged in Europe and won awards there. Now, available in English for the first time, it makes its way across the pond.

Our story follows Rose, the author’s alter ego, a mixed-race young woman, split between identifying as white or Black. Her family is from a remote area known as Réunion Island, located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. It was a French colony from 1642 until 1946. By the time her parents are born in the 1960s, and into the present, the region reverberates from its colonialist past, that established deeply entrenched social, racial and economic hierarchies. Rose grew up to aspire to the sleek flowing hair of the white minority, who were at the top of the social strata. Kinky hair was looked down upon as coming from the Black community, at the bottom of the strata. Rose’s mother struggles with the brainwashing of what had been accepted as social norms. Rose, herself, while ever defiant, must also face her own struggles to overcome a misguided, and outright racist, mindset once she tries to find her place at a liberal arts college in Paris. The fairy tale fantasy of a princess with flowing hair is very alluring and hard to fight off.

Throughout the book, Lubie provides various passages that inform the reader on pertinent information related to the unfolding narrative. It is accomplished very deftly, in a natural way that keeps to the flow and tone of the work. It begins gradually, with a casual analysis of Rose’s family’s hair types. Then we move along to a more formal look at hair types. Next thing you know, we’re covering genealogy, biology and history.

Lou Lubie has a very clean and lean drawing style that is direct and impactful. Lubie has something specific to say, avoids detours, and pursues a clear consistent path. Her mission is to remain focused and follow her story’s own specificity. The goal is to follow a young woman’s journey, from childhood to adulthood, as she must process what it means to be a fully realized person, sometimes having to be at odds with the majority. Lubie’s Rose is a fighter, up for a fight, even when success seems out of reach. In the end, it was never out of reach at all. What a satisfying and hard won touch of insight!

Lou Lubie has created a very inspiring work! It’s great to find a graphic novel that delivers on so many levels. Lubie even provides endnotes at the back of the book, something that more graphic novelists should consider. Again, there’s no right or wrong way to tackle a graphic novel. Some books are more spot on than others and this one is high on my list. It will be on yours too.

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April 22, 2026 · 10:30 pm

The Machine is Broken by Jared Sarnie graphic novel review

The Machine is Broken. Jared Sarnie. Fieldmouse Press. 2026. 30pp. $13.95. (release date: May 26, 2026) Available for pre-order at Fieldmouse and Asterism)

How to tackle a sensitive subject? Sometimes, you just have to dive in, honey. That’s the approach that Jared Sarnie has taken with his debut graphic novel about suicide. Sarnie appears to have come out of nowhere with this provocative work. Let’s dive in.

Our focus is a young woman named Lux. She has decided to kill herself. She goes to Zurich which is supposed to have the world’s first fully legal “suicide pod.” Who knew? Lux is bringing along her mom and, rather begrudgingly, her sister. Even if you’re familiar with how suicide has been treated in various media, recently and even throughout the ages, it retains its own particular sense of shock. How successful a work ends up being depends, in large part, on how you work with that sense of shock. We aren’t actually cheering, Lux on, are we? Sarnie leans hard on the provocative throwing in every dark comedy trope he can get his hands on in this over-the-top narrative that careens around in a very free-wheeling, sometimes confusing, sometimes glib, conversational style. The work goes in and out, this way and that way, sometimes comics, sometimes pop art, sometimes an ad promoting itself as the author’s debut graphic novel. At one point, Sarnie states that Alison Bechdel would be rolling in her grave only to then state that, no, Alison Bechdel is certainly not dead. So, quite a fun house effect.

No doubt, this is packed with energy and often has a special quality to it, offering interesting bits and visual treats. What inspired Sarnie to create his first graphic novel about a young woman seeking to end her life would be an interesting question. Often, the question reverts back as to what makes any creator believe they are the person to tell such a story. It’s a very significant question and one that anyone in crisis can make note of. Take this dark comedy for what it is, no more, no less. And then this begs the question: What exactly is this dark comedy? Well, as I suggest: it’s something packed with energy offering some interesting bits and visual treats. It’s an ambitious undertaking and perhaps thirty pages is a good start. Sarnie needs to ask himself why he chose to undertake this work in the first place and then go from there.

Sarnie presents the reader with a portrait of today’s troubled youth as he sees it with Lux as a stand-in. She is dealing with conflicting emotions, and she finds solace a little too often in fast food, especially McDonald’s. But life keeps letting her down. She can’t even rely on some soft serve ice cream from McD’s because, drum roll please, the machine in broken. And then she kisses a girl and that seems to help.

So, sure, I want to see more in the future from Sarnie and I hope my criticism proves constructive. Overall, Sarnie is on the right track and where things fall short is just part of the process. Making really good comics is not a sprint but a marathon. I don’t think anyone wants to leave the bar set at simply checking off boxes to whatever the zeitgeist seems to demand. That way of thinking will never create anything of lasting value.

Big shout out to Emil Ferris!

And, as for cartoonists rolling in their graves, who aren’t really dead, I’ve gotta say, big shout out to Emil Ferris as Sarnie clearly is feelin’ an influence there. And that’s okay, no doubt. I think Sarnie is having a good time as he basically is pushing this and that button, seeing how everything works in the world of comics. Yes, Jared Sarnie, there’s a lot you can do with this amazing comics medium. I look forward to seeing more.

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