Like a filmmaker having a soft spot for movies about movies, I am a sucker for a book or comic on the importance of stories. The Author Immortal is for anyone who has a soft spot for the stories that made you.
The plot follows a writer named Hector Ramirez when he is given the opportunity to reboot a classic young adult fantasy series. The opportunity comes with a cost and what’s worse is that his loved ones may pay the price. By the time he learns that the original author was sucked into his own fiction, it is too late. He and his nonbinary teen, Al, are whisked away to a fantasy land corrupted by dark magic and ink that runs like blood. There, they meet the very characters of this story, but something is wrong. Monsters run rampant and the heroes have changed into something wilder and more dangerous. We follow Al and their father as they navigate the corrupted land of The Mage’s Apprentice, a fantasy series with a strong influence from C.S.Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. Even the title is a nod to The Magician’s Nephew, the first and often forgotten book in the series. What follows is an exploration of identity, the role stories play in our lives and the things you are willing to do for the ones you love.
This queer fantasy is a love letter to the stories we got lost in. Childhood hours spent lost in the pages of a book, going on adventures in a world far from ours. This new world of magic and monsters is from the new creative duo: Frank J. Barbiere (he/him) and Morgan Beem (she/her). Both creators have worked in the industry for years, but this is their first collaboration. Barbiere has written on titles like Violent Love and Lobo, meanwhile Beem has drawn for titles like Swamp Thing and You Belong Here. This debuting duo complement each other’s styles marvelously.
Barbiere’s biting script full of emotion is elevated to eleven through Beem’s expressive art. Her watercolor illustrations create a world not bound by limitations similar to how her paints are not bound to the pencilling on the page. Her color palette contrasts itself to match the changing tone of the scenes within the comic. The pair really knocked it out of the park with this one.
There is no publisher’s age rating but the violent and horror elements are geared towards older audiences.This new and terrifying world is not for the faint of heart. Vol. 1: Death of the Author collects issues #1-5. There is currently no release date for issue number 6. Image comics would be remiss if they do not continue this run to a conclusion. The story does not strike me as one made for an ongoing series, but a satisfying ending is for sure a possibility if allowed to run its course.
The Author Immortal Vol.1: Death of the Author By Frank Barbiere Art by Morgan Beem Image, 2026 ISBN: 9781534334786
Die is back with a new party of players and whole new corners of the world left to explore. Penned by the original creative team of Gillen and Hans, Die: Loaded picks up a year after the original series. After having fallen into the world of a sentient role-playing game twice already, and with one of their number dead from the last time it happened, the remaining members of the friend group are doing their best to pick up the pieces and find something resembling normalcy in the real world. But living so much time in a fantasy land changes a person, and unable to explain to their loved ones the truth of what happened, to say things are uncomfortable would be putting it mildly. The kicker, Sol—who remains tangled in the game’s ambitions—has plans to release Die the game to the public. All is not well for our heroes who barely managed to find their way home the last time—but they are not the ones setting out on this next adventure.
The dice come as gifts, delivered discreetly to loved ones of the original adventuring party. Unaware of the danger, each unwitting hero touches their token and falls into a world of magic and monsters, proud gods and devastating prophecies. The first is Ash’s wife Sophie. Ignorant about Die and the rules of role-playing games in general, it now falls to her to navigate these strange landscapes, find the other players, and escape back home—but to do that, she’ll have to learn the rules, and quickly. Because death is all too real in Die, and nothing can be trusted. Especially not the game itself.
For anyone who read the original story arc, there’s plenty to settle back into here. Familiar faces fill the opening before tossing Sophie and the others into Die’s fantastic realms. Familiar character classes take on new flavors in response to the griefs and traumas of the players—because the game certainly does love to play off people’s darkest secrets. There’s a whole pantheon of gods looking to trade for favors. One entire realm is made of art while another is full of chosen one characters, all seeking to fulfill their destinies. With its meta-textual awareness, complex themes, and inside jokes aimed at gamers, Die has lost none of its edge.
In some ways, this series offers a landing pad for new readers. With a cast of characters not familiar with the rules of the game, there’s some explanation naturally woven into the reintroduction of the world. And being a new campaign, it’s not necessary to know every detail that transpired previously. At the same time, the shadow of the previous campaign looms over everything, with references to characters and events that will mean little to anyone who missed the previous story.
For new and familiar readers alike, Die: Loaded is full of the darkness and complexity the series showcased on the last outing. Lore and character conflicts unfold over time, but it’s the baggage that the players bring with them that sits at the core of the story. Grief, identity, betrayal—the nature of Die forces the characters to confront themselves and each other if they want to make it home alive. With volume 1, this new arc feels tighter and more intimate than before but remains a remarkable feat of storytelling to bring all these elements together, balancing humor and horror with an ensemble cast and a world that just keeps getting bigger.
While the writing remains on point, the art from Hans is also as gorgeous as ever. Shifting styles and palates across the story, the bold colors and sharp detail float in the watercolor landscapes and stranger spaces of the fantasy world. It’s dreamy, it’s horrifying, and it brings each character to life with vivid emotion. Even for readers who may be hesitant to dive into this world, it’s worth it to wander these realms for a while and discover what might be hiding around the next corner, with artwork that helps shape Die into such a unique title.
Image hands Die: Loaded a Mature rating. With graphic violence, strong language, mature themes, sexual references, and some heavy content in general, it’s definitely a title aimed at adults. For those more mature readers though, there’s so much here to love. Obviously, many readers of the original series will be interested to see what unfolds in this new chapter, and the series will have the most appeal for fans of fantasy stories and role-playing games. However, for anyone open to a fantasy comic with a lot of layers, complex characters, and a good bit of darkness, Die is one of those titles that may challenge the boxes people sometimes try to stick graphic novels into. I found it delightful to return to this world, and with the adventure only getting started, I eagerly await the opportunity to see where things go next. Things are already looking pretty dire, and if we’ve learned anything from Die—it’s that the situation can always get worse.
Die: Loaded Vol. 01: Zero Sessions By Kieron Gillen Art by Stephanie Hans Image, 2026 ISBN: 9781534335356
The graphic novel medium has the ability to convey complex ideas and emotions through images, revealing many interesting aspects of the human condition. Then there are books like Final Boss, Vol. 1, written and drawn by Tyler Kirkham with additional art by David Miller.
Final Boss is not a story that will have its readers feel a variety of emotions or discover any universal truths, save for the truth that seeing people hit extremely hard appeals to many people. However, it’s important to note that this book is not trying to be anything complex or grandiose; Kirkham and Miller seem perfectly fine with Final Boss being a vehicle to show characters that could have stepped out of a video game pummel each other.
The person that does the majority of the pummeling in this story is Tommy Brazen, which is a name that could have been picked up from any martial arts movie script floating around Hollywood or Hong Kong during the 90’s. Brazen earns money by being really good at hurting people, whether it’s through his job as a paid enforcer or competing in underground street fighting matches. He’s recently acquired an ancient talisman left to him by his grandfather that not only increases his strength but lets him acquire the strengths of the various opponents he dispatches. This newfound power will be put to the test as he and his best friend Rabak travel to the mysterious country of Farthica for a fighting tournament, and while there, he meets several enemies that feed his and his talisman’s power.
The setup Kirkham presents of a mysterious fighting tournament is the same basic premise for nearly every fighting game that’s been played on a computer, gaming console, or arcade cabinet, and Kirkham leans heavily into the plot merely being the connecting tissue between bloody, high-octane fighting. In fact, Kirkham’s story could be one used for a fighting game that follows a particular protagonist. Brazen might be an ex-Special Forces guy searching for information about his grandfather, but he’s not exactly a well-developed, multifaceted character. He ultimately doesn’t need to be well-developed, though, as long as he beats the enemies he encounters within an inch of their lives, often in cinematically violent ways.
And “cinematically violent” seems to be what Kirkham and Miller are going for in their artwork, along with equating this book to a fighting game/online role-playing game. Among the splattered skulls and bisected bodies, all rendered in stunningly vivid reds, the book is presented like a video game. Panels will describe the stats of Tommy and whoever he’s fighting before a panel declares “FIGHT!” and victories are announced with words like “BRUTALITY!” plastered across the page. After Tommy kills his opponent, the book details Tommy’s updated stats in the same way many online role-playing games do.
Final Boss isn’t a book that requires deep thinking, going straight for the readers’ collective hypothalamus. To clarify, many studies have concluded violent video games don’t necessarily cause violence, but for fans of fighting games and online role-playing games, reading this book will feel like picking up a controller and playing. Librarians who count these video games fans among their patrons should consider getting this book and letting their patrons play.
Final Boss Volume 1 By Tyler Kirkham Image, 2026 ISBN: 9781534334243
When most people think of Robert Kirkman’s zombie apocalypse story The Walking Dead, they likely remember two aspects of the show. The first is, of course, the zombies (or “walkers,” as they were called on the show). Everpresent and always hungry, they drove much of the story’s survival narrative. The second aspect, and perhaps the secret of the show’s popularity, was its non-zombie characters, humans who once had jobs, families, and lives before society collapsed and are now stuck simply trying to survive this new, deadly world. Everything Dead & Dying, a zombie apocalypse tale by writer Tate Brombal and illustrated by Jacob Phillips, shows Kirkman’s legacy throughout its DNA, even as it makes a subtle but poignant tweak to his formula.
The series focuses on Jack Chandler, the lone survivor of a zombie outbreak that has decimated the community and is consuming the world, but Jack cares little about the outside world. All he cares about is the community that had once welcomed him and the husband and daughter he loves. Despite the fact that they are zombies, he still treats them like human beings. He makes sure his zombified husband and daughter eat at the dinner table and that the members of their community, despite showing minimal awareness, are able to still go about the routines they performed while alive. Jack is able to maintain this precarious pantomime of existence until a group of survivors come to his community to “rescue” Jack by destroying all the zombies that were his family and friends.
Brombal’s zombie tale might seem like a lot of other zombie apocalypse stories that came before it, but he adds his own spin. The story takes place between two narratives, before the zombie outbreak and after. The reader is introduced to these characters as living, breathing human beings with personalities before showing them in their current undead state, sometimes on the same comic page. Readers also see these people accept Jack’s lifestyle when his own father doesn’t, which makes their zombified state even more tragic. Salt is finally poured into the emotional wounds when the book delves into Jack’s time with his husband Luke, revealed to be a man who was many times Jack’s anchor, and his daughter Daisy, a precocious child whom he loved dearly. In other zombie stories, the zombies are seen mostly as obstacles or environmental dangers; Brombal forcefully reminds readers that these zombies with a taste for human flesh were once human.
That isn’t to say that the book ever downplays the fact that these zombies eat human flesh. Phillips’s art showcases the dichotomy between the community pre and post zombie apocalypse. Many of his panels are bursting with reds, showcasing blood and viscera no longer contained by human skin. The zombies definitely look like zombies, with skin sloughing off and mouths and clothes stained red from previous meals. However, the realistic way Phillips illustrates human faces and anatomy hammers home the similarities and differences between these people when they were alive versus after they became zombies. Finally, Philips’s rural landscapes evokes a bucolic rural existence, even if that existence becomes a grim, bloody parody of itself.
This book should be resting in the same section as Kirkman’s The Walking Dead and other horror graphic tales that skew toward adults. It offers enough gnarly illustrations to attract graphic novel gorehounds, but the story is a tragic, heartbreaking tale of a man who’s trying to hold onto his humanity by helping his community hold onto theirs. Like The Walking Dead, this book ultimately asks how long a person can remain human when so much of humanity has become inhuman.
Everything Dead & Dying By Tate Brombal Art by Jacob Phillips Image, 2026 ISBN: 9781534332539
The killers are back and they’re bloodier than ever.
Exquisite Corpses Vol. 2 picks up right where the first volume left off—with the citizens of Oak Valley, Maine fighting for survival against a cabal of thirteen powerful families and the menagerie of violent murderers they have gathered to compete in a “game” that has already left a trail of bodies behind. From Image Comics and helmed by James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh, this new volume yet again offers up an incredibly talented roster of writers and artists for these next five issues of carnage and survival.
With Tynion as co-writer, each issue of the series maintains a consistent voice and tone, while the other writers—Che Grayson, Jordie Bellaire, Tyler Boss, Michael Walsh, and Pornsak Pichetshote—have the chance to shift focus among people on all sides of the conflict—townsfolk, killers, and the families behind it all. It’s a stacked roster of comics creatives, all coming together to tell a story that steps on the gas from page one. The pace in this volume is as quick as ever as the young people of Oak Valley gather for a party, unaware that they are creating a possible killing ground. The unhinged killers, each with their own vivid personalities and approaches to violence, crash onto and off of the page with the same chaos they have introduced to the quiet town, battling each other and anyone unlucky enough to get in their way. But the story continues to find its quieter moments as well. Not all the killers are bloodthirsty. The infighting of the rich families leisurely watching the night unfolds in layered questions of morality and power. And the town survivors must decide for themselves if they will hold onto hope or give into darker impulses as they struggle to save their loved ones.
For a story of nonstop action, Tynion and the others never forget that the humanity of the characters gives the rest meaning. The writers give the story space to breathe and allow vivid emotion amidst gripping pacing and an unfolding sequence of reversals and revelations. There are compelling personalities on all sides, and even as the bodies continue to fall, it’s hard to look away from the spectacle. Perhaps that is its own sort of commentary on the whole ordeal.
The art remains excellent throughout the volume. Claire Roe, Gavin Fullerton, and Adam Gorham join Michael Walsh deploying a relatively muted color palate across the grittier scenes, bringing realism to the visuals that helps ground the bold premise of the series. At the same time, the artists shift the major colors across characters and sequences, capturing mood and stylizing action to dramatic effect. There’s just something about a morally ambiguous woman in a fox mask flying across the page with a katana that captures the attention. The art is equally effective when two trained killers in masks are participating in a dance of death in a quiet graveyard—and when grief and horror settle in as the survivors realize the increasing cost of the nightmare that has settled over them. There’s a striking cinematic quality to the entire series, and with Walsh and Tynion both as co-creators, it’s an excellent example of artistic vision brought to life.
Fair warning to potential purchasers and readers, Exquisite Corpses earns its mature rating with graphic violence and injury and strong language throughout. The visuals never revel in the violence quite as much as the killers do, but the series never shies away from it either. Hands are removed, eyes come out, and character good and bad, young and old, are caught in the crossfire. For those who can stomach the violence and occasional sadism however, Exquisite Corpses sits comfortably in the evil rich people genre that has been popular these last few years—including films like Ready or Not and The Menu as well as comics such as Sarah Gailey’s Eat the Rich. Mix all that with a serial killer battle royale, and there’s plenty here for older readers to enjoy. Be sure to track down volume one first, but this is an action horror series well worth your time.
There’s still hours to go until dawn for the citizens of Oak Valley, and with the series still ongoing, I suspect the worst is yet to come. I, for one, will be back to see what happens.
Exquisite Corpses, Vol. 2 By James Tynion IV Art by Michael Walsh Image, 2026 ISBN: 9781534334687
Company Age Rating: M
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: Gay, Character Representation: Black, Queer,
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,
Picture this establishing shot in the opening scene of a movie: A howling wind blows across miles of sand dunes. Its towers partially crumbled, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco stands amidst this sandy wasteland. A lone mermaid glides by to some unknown destination. Thus begins the dystopian saga of Derek Kirk Kim’s (Same Difference and Other Stories, The Eternal Smile) The Last Mermaid, a story set in a bleak, post-apocalyptic world plagued by desolation shrouded in mystery and adventure.
The story begins with a solitary mermaid accompanied by a tiny salamander-looking companion named Lottie who stays by her side. Driven by a memory from her late mother, she presses onwards in search of a legendary silver trident that points to home, “where the water stretches to the horizon in every direction as far as the eye can see.” Stepping into a transformable robot suit, she learns that the suit is rapidly draining power while toxic levels in the water rise. How long will they survive? Pan over to another angle, and a lone figure, cloak billowing in the wind, stands atop the bridge, eyeing the mermaid and her faithful companion. Is he a threat or an ally? Meanwhile, predatory cyborg creatures and cannibalistic monsters lurk about the rough terrain of this strange and bizarre land, wreaking destruction in their wake.
His first graphic novel in a decade, Derek Kirk Kim conjures up a dystopian fantasy that delves into uncharted waters toward an uncertain future. Numerous wordless panels propel the plot forward against the lush background of sprawling desert wastelands saturated in rusted orange juxtaposed by the light turquoise hues underneath the ocean waters, exuding the sea-like ambience of Disney’s The Little Mermaid and scorched deserts of Frank Herbert’s Dune. The manga-like mecha and its versatile transformation from a walking robot to a motor vehicle by which the mermaid travels adds a unique flair to this cinematically rendered, stroboscopic panel-sequencing story. Survival and the quest to finding a way home is fueled by a tinge of hope that resonates in the balance.
Stunning artwork transports readers into an immersive world within the open pages of this dystopian saga. The back matter features a gallery of character designs and concept artwork from a variety of artists with varied takes on the book’s characters. Collecting the first six issues, this volume sets the stage that pulls readers into a ravaged world populated by mutant nightmares and unforeseen dangers. As the introductory arc to a larger story, The Last Mermaid will expand the imaginative breadth of science fiction narratives for both older teen and adult graphic novel collections.
The Last Mermaid, Book 01 By Derek Kirk Kim Image, 2024 ISBN: 9781534359215
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Korean-American,
Fans of superhero comics and non-superhero comics might be familiar with the name Jeff Lemire. Lemire is a comic book writer and artist who has worked on mainstream superhero books like Superboy, Moon Knight, and Green Arrow. He has also worked on his own creations, including Sweet Tooth, about an antler-headed boy navigating a post-apocalyptic landscape, and Gideon Falls, about people from all walks of life who come into contact with the mysterious, universe-crossing Black Barn. Lemire has consistently demonstrated a writing style that blends both the strangely unreal and the uniquely human, and he has doubled down on that formula in his latest project Fishflies, which he not only writes but illustrates. Canadian Lemire has set this surreal fairy tale in small town Canada. In Belle River, Ontario an armed robbery has left a boy in the hospital fighting for his life and a wounded man who is on the run from the authorities. As the manhunt continues, this fugitive finds the home of young outsider Franny Fox and Franny offers him shelter, but this fugitive is soon transformed by a curse rooted in the town’s history and one that demands blood. Lemire’s story combines the sweetness of Sweet Tooth and the surreal horror of Gideon Falls. Young Franny Fox, an ostracized girl who comes from a broken home, might remind Lemire fans of Sweet Tooth’s Gus. However, Lemire has filled Belle River with other endearing, three-dimensional characters like officer Daniel Laroque, a cop who wants to do the right thing and follows his heart when logic stops working, along with Helen Dupuis, the single mother of the boy who was shot and who is receiving little support from a town that considers her strange. Lemire’s story also hints at body horror, folk horror, and surreality that makes the book feel like a modern fairy tale. Lemire’s art style also makes the book feel like a children’s book illustrated for an adult audience. While many of Lemire’s own books have been drawn by other artists who have included a variety of styles, Lemire’s own style looks like a film animated by the same people who animated the stop-motion modern fantasy Coraline, with facial features exaggerated just enough to clearly show the beautiful imperfection of humanity, asymmetrical faces and thick, dark worry lines, while allowing for a range of expressions. The use of cooler colors also makes the book feel like a darker but ultimately uplifting bedtime story. Librarians responsible for adult graphic novel collections might already have some Jeff Lemire-penned books in their collection and this one would make a great addition. Its story and art style might remind Lemire fans of Sweet Tooth, but with its center in small town Canada, it illustrates the trauma experienced not by living in an apocalypse but the trauma of living in a world where society keeps rolling even as it threatens to roll its people over.
Fishflies By Jeff Lemire Image, 2025 ISBN: 9781534395176
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Canadian,
Weird West is a relatively new subgenre of speculative fiction that combines the setting and themes of Westerns with elements of fantasy and horror. Like any subgenre that’s a mashup of two other genres, Weird West can produce works that simply rely on the novelty of pushing two seemingly incongruous genres together, but the standouts of Weird West fiction are those that utilize the best parts of both genres. One such example is a two-fisted, guns-blazing journey through the underworld called Ain’t No Grave, which also serves as a reunion between writer Skottie Young and illustrator Jorge Corona.
The protagonist who makes this journey is Ryder, a former desperado who made her living by her wits and her guns. She has finally settled down with a husband and daughter but the bliss of family life is interrupted when Ryder finds out she is dying. Knowing her time is short, Ryder once again grabs her gunbelt and sets off on a physical and spiritual journey to track down Death himself, and Ryder is willing to use any means necessary, including and especially violence, to get the extra time she wants.
Those familiar with Young’s I Love Fairyland, a fiendishly fractured fairy tale about a young, murderous girl trapped in Fairyland, might expect an abundance of gunfire and an exuberant amount of blood and corpses, but this tale is more indicative of his and Corona’s earlier collaboration, The Me You Love in the Dark, a slow-burn tale of a toxic relationship between a painted and the entity that haunts her house. Ain’t No Grave features more subdued storytelling with minimal dialogue in places and the dialogue that is used serves to showcase the complex relationships between characters. Young’s Ryder is a complex character who has done some very terrible deeds, revealed through flashbacks, yet loves her family and her life away from violence. However, her willingness to return to her outlaw ways puts into question whether Ryder’s past is really past.
Young’s tale of a bandit who reluctantly yet readily returns to their old ways skillfully uses a Western trope, but Corona’s artwork definitely adds the “Weird” in Weird West. Corona offers up depictions of an underworld that are visually interesting while retaining a Western motif, from a riverboat that serves as a ferry for souls (and an opportunity to gamble away one’s soul) and a depiction of Death in full black hat regalia that’s more terrifying than any flesh-and-blood gunfighter.
As a surprisingly sedate meditation on the true price of a violent life, “Ain’t No Grave” tells a mature story that’s strictly for adult patrons. There may be a few fans of Westerns who might be turned off by both the book’s supernatural elements and the graphic format, it tells a story that’s as much a Western tale as anything written by Cormac McCarthy or Zane Grey. Like many Westerns and stories featuring the personification of death, Ain’t No Grave features death but also has a great deal to say about life in the face of death.
Ain’t No Grave By Skottie Young Art by Jorge Corona Image, 2024 ISBN: 9781534331488
A magical land of imagination and infinite possibilities collides with very real dangers in this portal fantasy epic from a pair of debut comics writers who are here to show readers what they’re capable of.
Rose’s imperfect but bright childhood fell entirely to pieces in a single night when the land of her fantasies ended in bloodshed and horror the same night she lost her mother. Years later, institutionalized and with only her friend, Elliott, left to support her, Rose’s life is again upended by the discovery that the imaginary land she used to play in is very real.
And not only that, the violence she witnessed there as a child has raged in her absence, threatening the lives and futures of the colorful animal denizens who were once her loyal subjects. When Rose and Elliott are pulled between worlds by Rose’s faithful lieutenant—Wallace the purple elephant—they will find that lives and futures on both sides of the portal now hang in the balance.
Kill Your Darlings from Image Comics is complete in a single volume. With a couple time jumps across Rose’s life and interwoven with a historical legacy that carries dire implications in the present, this is a bright, colorful story with scarlet blood in its heart. Rose’s growth and isolation lie at the center of the comic, but the writers also capture questions of generational trauma, the flaws of childhood memory, and the power of joy even in the face of tragedy. It’s an immensely personal story of one young woman growing up with a past that haunts her; but across sweeping landscapes, it’s also a thrilling and dramatic fantasy epic complete with lovable creatures, fierce battles, and sinister powers lurking in the dark places of the world. If there’s one criticism to be made, it’s that the book’s ambition stretches a little beyond its reach.
For a debut told in a single volume, there are a lot of threads to be untangled and everything doesn’t quite have the space to breathe that it might deserve. Especially toward the ending, there are moments of plot and character where I would have loved to get even more time to watch things unfold with the level of development they deserve. But even this complaint is simply a desire for more of what the story has to offer, and what we do get remains a thrilling quest of heart, empathy, and grand adventure.
This may be a debut for two exciting new writers, but Quinn and Hill are no strangers to the world of comics and bring the art and visuals of worlds both real and imagined to vibrant life across these pages. Full of bright colors and fantastical designs, the artists take us into the wonders of a child’s imaginary kingdom. It’s not all rainbows and talking animals though on panels soaked with gore of overcome with dark magic. Shuttling the reader across time and worlds, the art is rich and delightful—albeit occasionally horrifying as well. Entire worlds feel larger than life with stakes that fit the setting, but the artists are equally able to capture the moments of heartache and uncertainty that make grand stories worth telling. It’s a great blend of realism and the dynamic visual possibilities that comics offer as a medium.
Kill Your Darlings rightly carries a mature rating. Don’t be fooled by the color and whimsy of the early pages; the story also includes graphic violence, child death, strong language, and some intense themes wrapped up together in a tale of adventure. It’s a story most meant for adults, but following Rose on the journey from childhood to adult understanding, there’s some narrative work here that’s sure to resonate with older teen readers who can handle a bit of blood spatter. Overall, a few hiccups in pacing and development aren’t enough to derail this wonderfully engaging story. Especially for readers of Kelly’s I Kill Giants, Gillen’s Die, or Young’s I Hate Fairyland, the blending of real-world issues with the tropes and visuals of epic fantasy make for a wild ride of a story that also has something much more personal to say. It’s worth adding to the shelves of any collection for older readers who like their fantasy stories wrapped up with themes and experiences that land quite a bit closer to home.
Kill Your Darlings By Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, , Art by Bob Quinn Image, 2024 ISBN: 9781534397828
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Like a filmmaker having a soft spot for movies about movies, I am a sucker for a book or comic on the importance of stories. The Author Immortal is for anyone who has a soft spot for the stories that made you.
Who’s ready for a new campaign?
The graphic novel medium has the ability to convey complex ideas and emotions through images, revealing many interesting aspects of the human condition. Then there are books like Final Boss, Vol. 1, written and drawn by Tyler Kirkham with additional art by David Miller.
When most people think of Robert Kirkman’s zombie apocalypse story The Walking Dead, they likely remember two aspects of the show. The first is, of course, the zombies (or “walkers,” as they were called on the show). Everpresent and always hungry, they drove much of the story’s survival narrative. The second aspect, and perhaps the secret of the show’s popularity, was its non-zombie characters, humans who once had jobs, families, and lives before society collapsed and are now stuck simply trying to survive this new, deadly world. Everything Dead & Dying, a zombie apocalypse tale by writer Tate Brombal and illustrated by Jacob Phillips, shows Kirkman’s legacy throughout its DNA, even as it makes a subtle but poignant tweak to his formula.
The killers are back and they’re bloodier than ever.
crumbled, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco stands amidst this sandy wasteland. A lone mermaid glides by to some unknown destination. Thus begins the dystopian saga of Derek Kirk Kim’s (Same Difference and Other Stories, The Eternal Smile) The Last Mermaid, a story set in a bleak, post-apocalyptic world plagued by desolation shrouded in mystery and adventure.
artist who has worked on mainstream superhero books like Superboy, Moon Knight, and Green Arrow. He has also worked on his own creations, including Sweet Tooth, about an antler-headed boy navigating a post-apocalyptic landscape, and Gideon Falls, about people from all walks of life who come into contact with the mysterious, universe-crossing Black Barn. Lemire has consistently demonstrated a writing style that blends both the strangely unreal and the uniquely human, and he has doubled down on that formula in his latest project Fishflies, which he not only writes but illustrates.
fantasy and horror. Like any subgenre that’s a mashup of two other genres, Weird West can produce works that simply rely on the novelty of pushing two seemingly incongruous genres together, but the standouts of Weird West fiction are those that utilize the best parts of both genres. One such example is a two-fisted, guns-blazing journey through the underworld called Ain’t No Grave, which also serves as a reunion between writer Skottie Young and illustrator Jorge Corona.
pair of debut comics writers who are here to show readers what they’re capable of.
