It’s a love story.
It’s a breakup story.
It happened to you.
It happened to me.
Heartcore is a roller coaster of the ups and downs of falling in and out of love. Author Št?pánka Jislová examines her relationship with 
relationships. How do we form preferences? What do our preferences say about our personal character? How are we informed about our identities? How do our identities dictate our roles in society? And, more importantly, how do we rebel against those dictations?
I am very thoroughly impressed how Jislová manages to blend all these things together in a way that is coherent and relatable—this book is a memoir, it’s a comic, it’s a romcom, it’s a tragedy, and it’s also a bit of a character study/psychological evaluation. Follow Jislová through her “classic Eastern bloc postcommunist 1990s childhood” and learn about the things that made her her. English language magazines, the coming of the widely-available internet, the contradictions in societal expectations for girls and women, the emotional repression of boys and men, first and early relationships, and navigating the isolation she felt as a young person.
“With infatuation came mania, and with mania, obsession. And with obsession, frustration.”
Heartcore was one of New York Public Library’s Best New Comics for Adults of 2025, and I do want to emphasize this is a book for adults. A lot of adult subject matter is discussed – casual hookups, alcohol, drugs, assault, and the like. The book is not explicit nor graphic, but there is nudity and sexual themes throughout.
The artwork is a simplistic and smooth style – no rendering with a very limited palette. The reds stand out among the grays and gives importance and hierarchy to the items or people the comic wants to highlight. The text and narrative are very easy to read, despite how densely packed this comic is.
A thoughtful and compelling read about the lines of sex and love and where those lines interconnect (or don’t). Be mindful of its placement in your collection if you add it – the clean, uncomplicated drawings might give off the idea that the story within is simple, but it absolutely is not and it is absolutely not for children.
Heartcore
By Št?pánka Jislová
Graphic Mundi, 2025
ISBN: 9781637790908
Company Age Rating: 16+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Creator Representation: Czech, Bisexual,
