Wine Ghost interrupts the narrator introducing her and her pitiful afterlife existence for a very important delivery (it’s pizza). Except that’s not who she finds ringing the doorbell. Instead, it’s an old friend, Seb, who says he just died and “moved in” recently. Wine Ghost invites him to stay with her. Not just for pizza, but until he finds a place of his own. When they start looking at apartments the next day, it becomes painfully obvious that Seb is only out for himself and embodies the term “gaslighting”: calling Wine Ghost out on behavior that isn’t true but makes her think it might be; flirting with other ladies behind her back; and negging whenever possible. Luckily, Wine Ghost has another friend, Pepper, who teaches Wine Ghost that when someone else tells you what to think and it distorts your perception of yourself, to take a step away from that person and re-center yourself. That they don’t define you. You do.
This is an incredibly deep and thoughtful narrative that tackles some big adult themes in under 100 pages. Most of it centers around self-perception and self-degradation. Including how easy it is to be open-minded towards others’ choices and lifestyles while not giving yourself the same courtesy. Wine Ghost also presents as very self-aware until Seb comes along and muddles things up with his lies. It was nice to have the story include the emotional support of a friendship between ladies. It mimics real life situations unlike other media that only showcases women backstabbing each other, especially when a guy is involved. Honestly, it was refreshing.
Although I find the art style incredibly distracting and not to my liking, that is very much a personal preference as I can appreciate that the art reflects the characters and world built by the author. The one negative is that occasionally some of the panels appear out of order. Normally, this would be signified by overlapping panels or text bubbles connecting them in a way that draws the eye, which is the case here, but it is harder to follow. This could be because it is more subtle, or it could be the bright clashing colors. Because of the adult content (including a sex dungeon in use by a variety of hell’s occupants), this belongs in the adult graphic novel section of any public or academic library. Upper teens will likely find it as well, but may not understand the content without the life experience to back it up, so I don’t recommend it for high school libraries.
Wine Ghost Goes to Hell
By Sage Coffey
Iron Circus, 2024
ISBN: 9781638991052
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
Creator Representation: Nonbinary, Trans
Character Representation: Bisexual, Addiction
