Gruesome. Dramatic. Utterly wild. And just the beginning. I need more.
James Tynion IV is among the most exciting writers working in comics today. For Exquisite Corpses from Image Comics, he partners with Michael Walsh along with other artists and writers to deliver the first volume in a blood soaked battle royale conducted by the thirteen richest families in America who wield unchecked power from the shadows. To keep the peace between their factions, every five years these families select champions and unleash them within an unsuspecting small town on Halloween night. The last killer standing will claim a reward and another five years of unquestioned power for the family who sponsored them. The other killers will be dead. As for the town—well, it doesn’t look promising. This time, the killers have landed in Oak Valley.
Tynion has already built a reputation for layered, unflinching horror. What helps set his work apart is the thematic depth and character development that emerges amidst the carnage and action and intriguing stories he continues to build. As quickly as the body count starts to rise at the hands of mercenaries and flashy murders alike—we also meet the inhabitants of Oak Valley. A young couple. A young boy and his mother. A gas station attendant. Two EMTs unaware of the horrors that await them in the night. Tynion and the other writers (including Walsh and the acclaimed Pornsak Pichetshote), build a tapestry of character on all sides—townsfolk, ruling families, and the killers themselves. Even among the families and the killers, the story doesn’t shape the characters with only broad strokes. We get glimpses into rivalries, old resentments, and heartfelt loyalty among the shadowy rulers. Among the killers themselves—some are out for blood alone, but others have more complex reasons for stepping onto the killing floor. No side is entirely villainous. No side is only sympathetic. Some of these folks are larger than life while others are just trying to get by. It is these few, the desperate and the hopeful, that take the story beyond an action set-piece and into something that is crafted with flair—but also perhaps more relevant to today than some of us might care to notice.
Walsh’s art also maintains a gritty feel across each issue, blending shadowed realism with flashes of vibrant color. Along with Marianna Ignazzi and Valentine De Landro, the creative team build a small town that feels lived in and real, tucked in some quiet corner of the northeast where—unfortunately for them—help will likely not be arriving in time. This stylized realism balances well with the neons and blood spatter that explode across the page, especially in the presence of the eccentric killers. The visuals create a world of real places and people, telling story through costumes and expressions as much as the written narrative. Visually, the book is a delight—and as the chaos begins to unfurl, this unsuspecting town is only just starting to take notice.
Exquisite Corpses earns a solid mature rating with somewhat graphic violence and some language. It’s a story aimed at adults, though not out of reach of older teens who can handle the content. My only notable complaint about the book is that, at 3 issues, it was over far too quickly. There’s plenty more story to come, and this volume would sit happily in any collection with a focus on horror and crime-thrillers. Fans of titles like The Hunger Games, Battle Royale, and Alice in Borderland as well as Tynion’s other horror titles are sure to find plenty to enjoy within these pages. I highly recommend this one for anyone willing to take a step into the dark, and I look forward to the next installment.
Exquisite Corpses Vol. 01 By James Tynion IV Art by Michael Walsh Image, 2025 ISBN: 9781534331044
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Canadian, Gay, Character Representation: Black, Gay,
What starts out as a slice-of-life story about a young man who works at a coffee shop, quickly becomes so much more as the reader discovers that Eli has magic, and the new hot guy from the coffee shop, James, catches him trying to practice in secret. James introduces Eli to the magical world that regular humans don’t know about, as well as his friends. And in the process, they start dating.
Each chapter follows one of the ensemble characters through their day, which allows readers to connect with them while the story’s mystery progresses. Each character encounters something odd, so they bring the information back to the group and discuss a strategy to uncover what the adults are trying to conceal from them. When their questions go unanswered, and they can’t find anything through their research, the group decides to summon a spirit from the past to find answers. But all they find is more questions as volume one concludes.
This story starts with chapters that show the same sequence of events but from different points of view, which I really liked and thought the rest of the story might do the same thing. However, since the other characters did not overlap as much, this was not the case. As the series title, Arcana, suggests, there is allusion to the major arcana of tarot origin in the chapter titles and portrayal of character roles within the group. One character does use tarot cards to divine events, so this does happen on the page.
The author is inclusive with characterization and artwork. The Lost Heirs features a gay dating relationship, LGBTQ+ representation in side characters, and none of it feels forced nor does the inclusion of various body types of the main ensemble. The body types (thick and thin, short and tall) are rarely mentioned in the story and are portrayed with cartoon coloring and body proportions, which works to naturalize them. The color palette is rather limited, using a brighter color to highlight an important character or emotion when necessary.
There is non-graphic, consensual sex between two young men that happens behind closed doors, so no nudity is shown (apart from naked male chests while cuddling in bed afterwards). If you are looking to diversify your graphic novel collection, and want a story that happens to have healthy LGBTQ+ relationships and characters as well as different body types, this is a great addition. Just beware that volume one ends on a cliffhanger, so readers will be wanting volume two!
The Lost Heirs By Sam Prentice-Jones Feiwel and Friends, 2025 ISBN: 9781250290229
Shy Liam is a little confused when gregarious theater kid Milo wants to hang out with him, but they end up having fun together. After that, it seems they’re always running into each other at their boarding school, exchanging banter, and soon they’ve become friends. But Milo wants to be more than friends—and, once he lets himself think about it, so does Liam.
Admitting their feelings and getting together is just the beginning. Liam is terrified of his conservative, overbearing father finding out that he’s dating a boy, so the two agree to be discreet. This involves a lot of negotiation to determine how subtle they can be before it feels like they aren’t dating at all. Then, as they grow closer, it becomes harder to hide their relationship—and Liam starts to realize he might not want to.
This slice-of-life comic follows Milo and Liam through the emotional and logistical challenges of secretly being a couple. Meanwhile, they sometimes get dragged into hijinks thanks to various clueless and/or troublemaking school friends. A few of those friends get enough page time to have their own subplots, which then sometimes involve the protagonists, as when Liam’s roommate asks Milo to join the cricket team with him. We also see a little bit of what each boy is like outside of school, meeting Milo’s parents and Liam’s father, cat, and therapist.
The story touches on some difficult topics: Liam’s dad is critical and controlling, and Liam himself struggles with some ingrained homophobia—the first time Milo says something highly suggestive to him, a flustered Liam actually hits him in the face. Milo’s mom also becomes melodramatically miserable on learning that he is gay, though Milo seems mostly unbothered by this.
There is a little swearing, some smoking (mostly by Liam), and one scene of implied sex. No below-the-waist nudity is shown, but we do see the characters muddle through the realization that neither of them has done this before, and they turn to the Internet to find out “how to avoid it hurting.” There is a brief discussion of condoms and lube, and then we jump to the two cuddling in bed afterward.
The artwork has a manga feel, with most characters having big eyes, swoopy hair, and pointy little noses and chins. Much of the time, they are in school uniforms, though sometimes we see them in regular clothes (or Halloween costumes) that show a little more of their personal styles. The backgrounds are minimal: a few desks or cafeteria tables, a few trees outside, a glimpse of a messy dorm room. The focus stays on the characters, who are distinct and dynamic.
As a slice-of-life comic about two high school boys figuring out a romance together, this will likely have some appeal to fans of Heartstopper. The art is very different, and Liam is perhaps more prickly and walled-off than the boys of that series. Still, there are similarities, and fans of Heartstopper are a good place to start in recommending this new series.
Tripping Over You, Vol. One By Owena White Art by Suzana Harcum Macmillan First Second, 2025 ISBN: 9781250330710
Company Age Rating: 14-18
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Lesbian, Character Representation: Gay,
There are monsters in this world. This is a fact that children know all too well, but adults seem to forget as they grow older. The children in the care of retired actor William Jones know it, for all of them were orphaned by monsters.
William has done a fine job teaching his charges to defend themselves. Bullies hold no fear for one who has faced down faeries or a Chupacabra. But the kids aren’t content to avoid what goes bump in the night. They want to fight back. This leads to the formation of the Nightcrawlers; a group of kids who can fight the monsters most adults won’t admit are hiding in their midst.
The Nightcrawlers get their first case when a classmate comes to them about his parents being werewolves. Things are complicated, however, by the arrival of a grown-up charge of William Jones who is out for revenge. For it seems the Nightcrawlers aren’t the first group of young people the old actor mentored and that most of them did not survive the experience!
The influences of The Nightcrawlers are clear, even without reading the introduction by the author where Lopez speaks lovingly of the classic kids’ adventure movies of the 1980s and his hope to emulate that spirit. Goonies and Monster Squad are cited specifically, but the character of William Jones evokes the spirit of Peter Vincent from the Fright Night films. I like the idea behind The Nightcrawlers, in theory. The general concept is ambitious and kids fighting monsters is a beloved, time-honored genre for a reason. The execution, I’m sad to say, is somewhat shaky.
The chief problem is there is a large ensemble and a lot of plot for the first volume of what intended to be an ongoing children’s’ comic series. Most of the protagonists are given little definition through the narrative. Calvin, for instance, has no real defining traits in the text beyond having a crush on his classmate, Victor. We learn far more about Calvin and the other kids from their biographies at the back of the book than we do from the story. (Moving these biographies to the front of the book after the introduction might have helped.) Another problem is that the mythology of monsters is largely unexplained. While I appreciate Lopez not weighing the narrative down with excessive exposition, the confusion of our heroes will prove infectious to the reader. Presumably this will be improved in later chapters, where William will take a more direct hand in instructing the kids on things like whether or not vampires have reflections or garlic hurts them.
The story flow and setting are also often unclear. The point-of-view shifts constantly between narrators, including the villain Greta, whose internal monologue we are treated to long before we have any inkling who she is. The artwork further aggravates this issue. There are no visual cues, apart from one “Present Day” caption early on, to distinguish the flashbacks from the here and now. This causes the flashbacks involving William Jones’ original proteges to seem like they came from nowhere or are detailing a different group of kids at the same time. Similar issues arise in the flashbacks William’s assistant Maryisa has while sparring. It is unclear that the one-panel flash of a young William shouting at her is a flashback and not part of the same scene. Different color palettes for the scenes set in the past or more consistent labels between “Then” and “Now” would have helped immensely.
All that being said, The Nightcrawlers becomes a drastically different book once the action kicks in. While Lopez tackles too much in establishing the setting, he writes a darn good thriller. It is also here that the artwork of Rachel Distler shines best.
The Nightcrawlers is recommended for kids 8-12. I consider that a fair rating. Apart from one use of the word “hell” and general spooky stuff, there’s nothing objectionable for the intended age range. I think this would be a fine graphic novel for those young horror fans ready to move on from Scooby Doo but not quite ready for Stranger Things.
The Nightcrawlers Vol 1: The Boy Who Cried, Wolf By Marco Lopez Art by Rachel Distler Ablaze Publishing, 2023 ISBN: 9781684970582
Company Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
The heartwarming queer romance Navigating with You by Jeremy Whitley and Cassio Ribeiro is one of my favorite graphic novels that I read this year. Meet Neesha Sparks, an outspoken yet guarded teenager from Queens. Florida surfer girl Gabby discovers how to win Neesha over with persistence, an upbeat attitude, and vulnerability. Both girls are new to their high school in Durham, North Carolina. They quickly connect over a manga series that they each read but never finished and form a book club to re-read and, this time, complete the series. The problem is that Super Navigator Nozomi is out of print and ordering a set of the books online is quite expensive. Gabby proposes a competition to find the seven books of the series and Neesha accepts.
Navigating with You has phenomenal representation that plays out naturally in the story and art. Neesha has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, so she uses assistive devices such as leg braces. She confronts ableism and discrimination, such as when vehemently explains to her new principal that just because she is disabled, it does not mean he should re-assign her from Advanced Placement classes to Special Education classes. Neesha is Black. She has dark skin and wears her hair in braids. We see Neesha stumble and fall, and we see her sew fabulous costumes, drive Gabby around, and visit the farmers market. She typically wears long skirts or pants that conceal her leg braces. Gabby is half Puerto Rican and half Mexican. Her mom died and she lives in an apartment with her dad and two brothers. Gabby is bisexual and has a toxic long-distance boyfriend who does not validate her sexual orientation. She suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which triggers flashbacks and panic attacks related to her mom’s death. Ribeiro deftly illustrates one of Gabby’s flashbacks by alternating between each girl’s viewpoints, so we see Gabby’s memories unfold as Neesha observes and tends to her girlfriend.
Pages from Super Navigator Nozomi intersperse the main story, so the reader can enjoy the manga alongside Neesha and Gabby. As the manga sections are in traditional black and white with a cartoony style, and the rest of the story is in rich earth and jewel tones, it is easy to distinguish between the two.
This unpaged volume contains wonderful characterization with a sweet romance. Whitley unspools each teen’s backstory as they become better acquainted with one another. By the end, the protagonists feel real and their romance feels hopeful. Language, content, and themes are appropriate for tweens and up. Be sure to acquire and recommend Navigating with You!
Navigating With You By Jeremy Whitley Art by Cassio Ribeiro Mad Cave Studios, 2024 ISBN: 9781952303609
NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
Character Representation: Black, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Bisexual, Gay, Cerebral Palsy, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The continuing adventures of a family that played Dungeons & Dragons so hard, they cried. The Adventure Zone: The Suffering Game is the sixth installment of the eponymous podcast’s Balance Arc. It follows the trials and tribulations of Taako, Magnus, and Merle as they are tasked with retrieving the sixth Grand Relic – the Animus Bell – from a place called Wonderland.
Wonderland proves to be a true carnival of horrors, and the Suffering Game lives up to its name as two liches control the stakes and force our heroes to sacrifice until there is nothing left for them to give. Secrets are revealed, old memories come back to haunt, and that’s not even taking into account all the physical pain Taako, Magnus, and Merle must endure. Can the campaigners win an unbeatable game? They’ve gone this far, they can’t back down now.
The basic story of the trio going to Wonderland to get the Animus Bell is clear enough, but a first-time reader is going to need some background information in order to understand all of the finer plot points and why certain story beats hit harder than others. Fans of The Adventure Zone podcast, or maybe even just the McElroy Family network of shows might not need a whole lot of context for this series’ overarching plot, but this story is the sixth one in a series of seven and this book would be best kept with its siblings (please enjoy the pun).
Its 278 pages are easy on the eyes and while strict DnD players might not appreciate the modern, plain use of language in this book, it allows the comedy to flow and it has the potential to more easily connect to the average, young reader (as opposed to us folks who are into very niche podcasts). The book is filled with small notes and asides to very briefly explain the myriad of spells, creatures, and settings.
This book has a fun graphic style that incorporates a bright color palette that makes great use of color pops to indicate visual hierarchy, a clean and crisp art style, and a visually easy flow to the panels and pages.
Be warned, buyers: there are many instances of swearing, and a few pages feature a completely nude Magnus Burnsides. I will say that the swearing comes from the organic nature and adult-oriented audience of the original podcast that this story was based on, and the nudity is depicted without a sexual or exploitative gaze. But these are things to be considered when sorting into your collection. Additionally, violence is part of the storyline (there are many hack-and-slash fights) but there is no gore and no blood as the main army of enemies is made up of wooden mannequins. Wounds bleed for the characters who have that particular luxury, but there’s nothing alarming about the depiction of injuries.
I personally loved the Suffering Game. It masterfully blends action, adventure, with a little bit of horror, and the sundae is topped with a sprinkle of comedy and a very light drizzle of romance. It is all at once heartfelt and horrific. The art is expressive, fluid, and very firmly set in styles you might seen in an animated kids’ show. Fans of Gravity Falls, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and goofier DnD players will likely enjoy this offering.
The Adventure Zone vol. 6: The Suffering Game By Griffin McElroy, Clint McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy Art by Carey Pietsch First Second, 2024 ISBN: 9781250861726 NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
Publisher Age Rating: 18
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
Gaytheist: Coming Out of My Orthodox Childhood is Lonnie Mann’s graphic memoir about growing up in and eventually leaving his Orthodox Jewish family and community.
His family’s religious lifestyle served rigid cultural norms, especially around gender, sexuality, and traditional family life. Mann portrays the burden of his parents’ expectations, their angry outbursts, and their harsh and punitive nature. For example, Lonnie’s dad, sick of his son’s moping, forces him to remain at the dinner table until Lonnie shares why he has been so upset lately. Rather than inviting conversation, his dad sits silently nursing a shot, until Lonnie writes “I’m gay” on a piece of paper and hands it to him. After getting into a fight with his mom, Lonnie has to prepare his own lunches and dinners because his mom stops cooking for him. Lonnie eventually makes some close friends he can be himself around. He explains, “Becoming friends with Michelle and her other non-Orthodox friends felt like a series of short mental vacations. From the emotional prison of my family…from my community’s expectations of me marrying a girl…from the nearly endless list of moment-to-moment religious rules that controlled my every action…” (250).
The artwork consists of mostly pale watercolors and gentle lines. It lends some softness to the heavy themes of the story and intensifies when it needs to. The most emotional scenes involve Lonnie’s interactions with his parents. The coming out to his dad scene includes two full page panels without any text. A crying Lonnie hands the confessional paper to his dad. The opposite page is split, with a close-up of Lonnie sobbing on one side, and a close-up of his dad looking forlornly down at the paper on the other side. The colors are contrasting blues and yellows, creating a powerful visual representation. Later, while on a drive with his mom, Lonnie mentions to her that he won’t always be Orthodox. She blows up at him, and the rage on her face, with Lonnie terrified in the back seat of the car, clearly demonstrates what their relationship has become and why Lonnie needs to get away.
Gaytheist shines a light on Orthodox Jewish life and its rejection of homosexuality and other nonconformist identities. It offers a personal, highly emotional story that teenage and adult readers can connect with. Fans of both coming out and coming-of-age stories will enjoy Mann’s book.
Gaytheist: Coming Out of My Orthodox Childhood By Lonnie Mann Art by Lonnie Mann, Ryan Gatts Street Noise Books, 2024 ISBN: 9781951491277
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Gay Character Representation: Gay, Jewish
Twelve-year-old Ty is captain of the swim team, but he missed the last swim season because of a broken arm. That’s not all he missed: he hasn’t seen his best friends Max and Heather in months. They keep reaching out, but Ty doesn’t know how to talk to them now, because he’s feeling so many things he can’t explain. He’s scared to get back in the water, but doesn’t know who he is if not a champion swimmer. He hates that he gained weight while recovering. He gets overwhelmed frequently in social situations. Oh, and he secretly has a crush on Max.
So Ty has been hiding out at home, but that ends when he, Max, and Heather start summer camp. Camp means new friends and cool activities . . . and a looming swim competition that Ty can’t even think about. He’s struggling to rebuild his friendship with Max after avoiding him for so long. Meanwhile, he finds his own body disgusting and has started skipping meals. His friends and well-meaning camp counselors care about him, but they don’t understand what he’s going through. For Ty to get better – and to fix things with Max – he’s going to have to finally let other people in and ask for help.
This book, based on experiences of author Lee Durfey-Lavoie, touches on several serious issues without ever naming or diagnosing anything. Ty suffers from what might be panic attacks, depicted as water rising around him or waves crashing over him. He feels helpless and hopeless, and sometimes does things like go to bed super early to avoid doing activities and being around people. Ty hates his heavier body, often can’t bring himself to eat, and at one point digs his nails into his own stomach hard enough to leave marks that others notice. He also worries what others might think if they discover he is gay.
Ty starts asking for help fairly early, but the sympathetic camp counselors he talks to aren’t sure how to support him. Things get better as he makes new friends and starts to enjoy some new activities, letting him see himself as something other than a once-great, now-failed swimmer. Eventually, he stands up to his own cruel internal voice and finally shares his struggles with the person he has been shutting out for so long: Max.
The cast is diverse, including characters of various races as well as gay and trans characters. They have a variety of passionate interests, from bug catching to tabletop roleplaying games. Misunderstandings and hurt feelings cause Ty and Max to keep hurting each other, and the camp counselors are a little out of their depth with Ty’s problems, but the characters are all kind, supportive, and doing their best.
The art is colorful and active, with a cartoony style. The characters mostly keep the same outfits throughout the book, which is helpful for distinguishing between Heather and Max, siblings who otherwise look similar. The art is simple and clean, without much fine detail except in scenes that require it, like when Ty and his friends are designing and building a canoe.
Some readers may wonder about the fact that therapy is never suggested or mentioned, given the seriousness of Ty’s struggles. Because the book ends while he is still at summer camp, we also never get to find out whether he tells his parents what has been happening with him, or what they do next. Ty’s situation has improved by the end of the book, but one hopes this is only the beginning of his healing.
This is a hopeful book, with a protagonist who is struggling but who takes some good steps, like telling the adults in charge about his problems. The summer camp makes a fun backdrop, with lots of new friends and interesting activities. It may appeal to fans of Upstaged by Robin Easter, another story in which a queer kid goes to summer camp with their crush and has difficulty connecting. Fans of middle grade realistic fiction will enjoy this if they don’t mind some heavier subject matter than typical tween awkwardness.
Sink or Swim By Lee Durfey-Lavoie Art by Veronica Agarwal Penguin Random House Graphic, 2024 ISBN: 9780593125519
Publisher Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Indian American, Italian-American, Character Representation: Gay, Ambiguous Mental Illness, Eating Disorder
The Red Thread of Fate is an East Asian myth that says two soul mates who are meant to be together are tied to each other by an invisible red thread. This thread can stretch through boundaries of time, space and lifetimes.
In The Red Thread, Vol.1, a sweet but skittish college freshman named Pharm finds himself irresistibly drawn to the tall, handsome captain of the swim club, Dean. Dean feels a similar pull. Both young men are plagued by dreams of a romantic couple that they do not know and bear emotional scars from some unknown trauma.
This love-at-first sight story is pretty trite, but the romance narrative is sandwiched between flashbacks and the dreams of both boys. Of course the question of whether these two will remember each other from a past life is a moot point. The translation feels a bit stilted. It is packaged and sold as a Japanese manga (and in fact, was published in Japan). But other than a few throw away lines, the setting is not fully explained. The names are Thai, and Pharm is a member of the Thai Dessert Club at college.
There is next to no exposition, which makes it a little tough to figure out who is who based on the dream sequences and flashbacks. Other characters are set up as possible romantic rivals, but it is established pretty early on that this is a queer romance story. The dialog is flat and even the romantic scenes have little spark to them. The chapters feel barely strung together, leaving the reader lost between one scene to the next.
Since it is very obvious from the opening scenes that the two main characters are going to get together, there is little to do but wade through each interaction and decide when they will figure out their past lives and love and sort out their current feelings. Although the explanation of their past life trauma is not fully explained in the first volume, their current lives seem to offer very little in the way of obstacles for their future.
The art is adequate but not outstanding. The characters all have distinguishing characteristics and they are all attractive with typical indicators of a Japanese style Boys Love romance.
The manga is set in Thailand, where the series was also adapted into a live-action television show, and where same-sex marriage has only recently been legalized.
The Red Thread is appropriate for older teens, but there are certainly better LGBTQ+ romance manga out there for this age.
The Red Thread Vol. 1 By Lazy Sheep Art by Hibiko Haruyama Yen Press, 2023 ISBN: 9781975364090
Publisher Age Rating: 16+ NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18)
Creator Representation: Thai Character Representation: Thai, Gay
Don’t let its cute manga-inspired art fool you. Matchmaker, the queer slice-of-life comic book by Cam Marshall, addresses plenty of serious topics in its compact print volume, such as: staying safe during the Covid-19 pandemic; the stress of being unemployed or underemployed in a capitalist society; work life balance; and asserting and affirming sexual and gender identities.
In six chapters, the book reveals the lives of three young friends struggling through life and searching for romance, with fully realized side characters to round out the story. Transgender, nonbinary lesbian Kimmy attempts to set up gay cisgender Mason with the perfect guy. Meanwhile, Kimmy develops feelings for their mutual friend Marlowe. The relationships unfold at a natural pace while the reader waits to find out if Kimmy’s matchmaking will succeed. Romance is the core of the plot but subplots such as artist Marlowe’s wrist injury; animator Mason’s desperate search for decent paid work; the friends’ thorough efforts to protect immunocompromised Mason from Covid while others remain lax; and Mason’s sister Sam’s questioning of sexual identity balance out what would otherwise be a one-dimensional story.
Marshall’s art is in black, white, and gray. It is arranged in panels with full page artwork at the beginning of each chapter. The dialogue and images fit neatly within the panels and each enhances the other, especially in terms of humor which is depicted textually and pictorially. Exaggerated facial expressions and well-placed onomatopoeia give a fun, goofy vibe to the story. Picture a winking Marlowe handing a receipt with her phone number on it to love-struck Kimmy with a BAM! while Kimmy’s eyes spiral in a classic “knocked out” expression (151). The print book is about 5.5 inches tall by 5.5 inches wide, an unusual size for an adult section book. But it’s conveniently portable and surprisingly, the art and text are not negatively impacted.
The youthful sense of humor, timely existential woes, and art style of Matchmaker will mostly appeal to folks in the mid 20s to mid 30s age range. Recommend this charming book to fans of slice-of-life stories such as Giant Days or Wet Moon.
Matchmaker By Cam Marshall Silver Sprocket, 2023 ISBN: 9798886200294
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: Nonbinary , Character Representation: Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Nonbinary, Trans, Depression
What starts out as a slice-of-life story about a young man who works at a coffee shop, quickly becomes so much more as the reader discovers that Eli has magic, and the new hot guy from the coffee shop, James, catches him trying to practice in secret. James introduces Eli to the magical world that regular humans don’t know about, as well as his friends. And in the process, they start dating.
that, it seems they’re always running into each other at their boarding school, exchanging banter, and soon they’ve become friends. But Milo wants to be more than friends—and, once he lets himself think about it, so does Liam.
There are monsters in this world. This is a fact that children know all too well, but adults seem to forget as they grow older. The children in the care of retired actor William Jones know it, for all of them were orphaned by monsters.
graphic novels that I read this year. Meet Neesha Sparks, an outspoken yet guarded teenager from Queens. Florida surfer girl Gabby discovers how to win Neesha over with persistence, an upbeat attitude, and vulnerability. Both girls are new to their high school in Durham, North Carolina. They quickly connect over a manga series that they each read but never finished and form a book club to re-read and, this time, complete the series. The problem is that 
The continuing adventures of a family that played Dungeons & Dragons so hard, they cried. The Adventure Zone: The Suffering Game is the sixth installment of the eponymous podcast’s Balance Arc. It follows the trials and tribulations of Taako, Magnus, and Merle as they are tasked with retrieving the sixth Grand Relic – the Animus Bell – from a place called Wonderland.
Gaytheist: Coming Out of My Orthodox Childhood is Lonnie Mann’s graphic memoir about growing up in and eventually leaving his Orthodox Jewish family and community.
Twelve-year-old Ty is captain of the swim team, but he missed the last swim season because of a broken arm. That’s not all he missed: he hasn’t seen his best friends Max and Heather in months. They keep reaching out, but Ty doesn’t know how to talk to them now, because he’s feeling so many things he can’t explain. He’s scared to get back in the water, but doesn’t know who he is if not a champion swimmer. He hates that he gained weight while recovering. He gets overwhelmed frequently in social situations. Oh, and he secretly has a crush on Max.
