In her forthright debut, Cooklin, the nom de plume of zinester Caitlin Cook, documents her asexuality and its impact on romantic relationships throughout her life. At age seven in 2004, Caitlin moves to small-town Appalachian Ohio. “Incredibly bored,” she picks up the socially expected habit of developing crushes. But her first real attraction in sixth grade is less of a romantic spark and more of a desire to “shrink to a microscopic size, climb into his brain, and just see what was inside.” Raised in a nonpracticing Catholic family, she joins an evangelical youth group, where the fellowship pulls her out of a depressive episode. She then latches onto purity culture—sex she’s uninterested in seems easy to resist. Her first boyfriend repeatedly violates her stated boundaries, however, and she later realizes he sexually abused her. As a result, she “stop[s] asking God to step in... he clearly felt I wasn’t worth saving.” In college, she has what she describes as a “hoe phase,” or “exposure therapy.” All the while, she returns to internet searches about bisexuality, asexuality, etc., as she spirals around other labels—“broken; failure; prude; unworthy of love.” Ultimately, she comes to believe love really means “to know” another person, which first requires she know herself. The simplistic art focuses on character close-ups and sitcom-style montages, all in the color palette of the asexual pride flag. In the same vein as My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, this is an unabashedly vulnerable and informative account. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

British cartoonist Chapman follows up Breakwater with another affecting, low-key drama, in this case about a trio of restaurant workers balancing work, personal, and familial conflicts. Claudia Grace, chef-owner of Alley, runs the buzzy London restaurant with her sous chef and best friend Lisa, plus bartender and potential hook-up Ben. Despite her growing success, Claudia perpetually feels like she’s in the shadow of her famed chef father. At the encouragement of a food journalist, she enters a “Pro Chef of the Year” contest, even though the stressful competition complicates her day-to-day. Reflecting on her fatigue to Ben, she says, “My life’s been studying and working, that’s about it.” Meanwhile, Lisa struggles to balance her long shifts at Alley and her home life with her husband and young son, while Ben does his best to get his parents, who bemoan his preference for gardening and artisanal mixers over football (or a higher paying job), to acknowledge his accomplishments. Chapman’s graceful art, muted color scheme, and focus on character development serve her storytelling. The details of restaurant operations lend the proceedings an insider’s view, while the many parent-child relationship stresses and strains touch upon universal emotions. It adds up to a kinder, gentler—but no less probing—graphic novel riff on The Bear. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

The delirious debut by animation artist Darrow, daughter of cartoonist Geoff Darrow, revels in the excess of classic exploitation films with confidence and style. After the apocalypse, Earth has become “a glorified landfill ruled by testosterone and off-brand E.D. medication,” but Baby, Babette, and Belladonna, three tough ladies straight out of a Russ Meyer movie, have escaped patriarchal control and roam the wastelands in a VW Beetle, robbing unsuspecting dudes. Cecil, the nebbishy survivor of their latest raid, promises to lead them to a mysterious, sought-after artifact before the warlord Master Quest can get his hands on it. Thus begins a self-aware action extravaganza of guns, grenades, martial arts, and vehicular homicide, as Master Quest’s loyal minions sacrifice their lives to stop the “voluptuous nuisances.” Darrow’s blocky, kinetic art is perfect for the pulpy fodder. The story dances on the line between parody and pastiche, both mocking and delighting in its source material with dialogue like “You got a lot of attitude for a third wheeler in a tacky outfit!” Readers will have a blast. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Costa (Belle of the Ball) serves up a raunchy romantasy with a devilish sense of humor. Helianthes “Hell” Beausoleil is a cambion, a half-demon born to a human family. In his Victorian-esque fantasy world, such beings are usually killed at birth, but Helianthes has grown into a sly, sarcastic, and horny (in both senses of the word) rake with a reputation for seducing men. (Or, as patrons at the local tavern gossip, “That bastard puts this nasty spell... that makes ’em fall for him!”) Cast out of his noble family for bedding his sister’s fiancé, he finds work as a freelance exorcist, dispatching demons with the help of his burly, perpetually exasperated bodyguard, Elias. Costa draws a cast of colorful characters with hilariously animated faces and lithe figures, then sets them loose in a vividly imagined sepia-toned period setting. Helianthes and Elias battle demons in a brothel, a basilica, and a country house; receive an invitation to the apocalypse; and face off against Helianthes’s most dreaded ex. Beneath the fighting and flirting is a warmhearted romance, in which the leads learn to lower their emotional defenses as they hone their fighting skills. Along the way, Helianthes’s half-demon status and society’s reaction to it serve as a saucy commentary on queer identity. It’s a wicked treat. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

STARember’s stylish manhua debut, an adaptation of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s Chinese webnovel, is more satisfying to look at than read. In a lush fantasy historical version of China reminiscent of wuxia movies, Prince Xie Lian achieves divinity as a reward for his heroic deeds. For as-yet-undisclosed reasons, however, he loses the favor of the gods. He’s banished back to the mortal world, where his repeated efforts to regain his heavenly status by humble deeds (busking on the streets, collecting trash) make him “the laughingstock of the three realms.” Subsequent serialized plots feature Xie Lian and other earthbound immortals recruited by the gods to deal with supernatural troubles plaguing humanity. In this opening volume, they investigate the mystery of a “ghost groom” who abducts brides from their wedding processions. The lavish painted art is rife with lithe figures in flowing silks surrounded by butterflies, blossoms, eerie lights, and dramatic shadows. The script, unfortunately, is mired in confusing info dumps and wonky asides on heavenly bureaucracy. Additionally, the action can be hard to follow visually, in part because the many attractive, elegant characters look so much alike. (At least the young man with disfiguring “human face disease” stands out.) This eye-catching confection lacks flavor. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 12/12/2025 | Details & Permalink

Folk horror meets small-town noir in this chilling outing from Jordan (The Strange Talent of Luther Strode), Shehan (House of Slaughter), and House (Morning Star). Fresh out of prison, tough guy Harley Creed returns to his Appalachian hometown of Briar Falls to check on his estranged daughter, Maybelle, despite being warned, “Ain’t nothing here but death.” Briar Falls is a stronghold of dark folk magic, and the most powerful witching family in town, the Weavers, nurses an old grudge against Creed. When he’s hexed with the Black Bone Curse, which will kill him if he can’t kill the person who cast it first, he’s forced to unleash his own deadly mystical skills. If the story is sometimes too elliptical for its own good—the narrative almost reaches its end before sketching a clear picture of the feud’s stakes—the streaky, shadowy, and boldly colored art, reminiscent of classic Vertigo artists like Duncan Fegredo, sets the perfect eerie backwoods mood. In the book’s most effective recurring image, spectral faces hover behind Creed as a reminder of the secrets he carries. Horror fans will fall under this graphic novel’s spell. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 12/12/2025 | Details & Permalink

The informative and inspiring graphic nonfiction debut by Ukrainian researcher and podcaster Naiem assumes that most readers outside Ukraine know little of its history. In a framing device, a woman named Vika takes shelter from bomb blasts and finds solidarity with her fellow evacuees. From there, Naiem deftly synthesizes past and present as she tracks tensions from 10th-century Kyivan Rus, when a powerful, newly Christian Ukraine was closely tied to Byzantium, up through Russia’s recent and ongoing attempts to seize Ukrainian territory under the guise of “liberating” Russian speakers from fascism. Ukraine’s tradition of courageous resistance is well documented by Naiem, as is its long history of oppression at the hands of Russia. During the Holodomor (Great Famine) of 1932–1933, an estimated 3.3 million Ukrainians died because of Soviet theft of land and grain—but numerous peasant farmers fought back. This spirit continues in the pro-democracy Orange Revolution and recent grassroots fundraising to supply soldiers resisting Russian military attacks. Artists Vus and Kypibid’s delicately shaded, innovatively paneled pencil work makes room for just one color: orange—not only for accents, but for backgrounds, walls of flame, and entire crowd scenes. The effect suggests a people inseparable from their drive for freedom. This packs a punch. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 12/12/2025 | Details & Permalink

Dwayne McDuffie award winner Daniels (Upgrade Soul) and debut artist Sucre delve into the hidden history of Florida bayou country in this satisfying brew of slasher and Southern gothic. Kirah, a young Black woman, works at the youth home where she grew up after surviving an attack by the Gator Man, a serial killer who has since passed into local legend. When the Gator Man resurfaces, Kirah’s old wounds are reopened, not least because she’s always believed the man behind the alligator mask was her estranged father. With the help of her colleague and friend Sedale and a Greek chorus of foster kids, Kirah sets out to solve the mystery once and for all. The mission takes the crew through swamps, to the bottom of a lake, and into the twisted history behind a local candy company. Along the way, they stir up old racial tensions and unresolved family traumas. Sucre’s funky character designs and simple but atmospheric settings, with bursts of yellow cutting through eerie gray ink wash, set an appropriately off-kilter vibe. Fans of elevated horror will enjoy wading into this unpredictable swampland noir. Agent: Chad Luibl, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/12/2025 | Details & Permalink

This unnerving Southwest horror by Fawkes (Batman: Eternal) and debut artist Rimanti pits a pessimistic ex-con against the residents of an outré desert town. When heavily tattooed toughie Kristine Woods is released in Tuscon following a 15-year prison stint, she finds that her mysterious father is missing but has left her a gassed-up sports car with money in the glove compartment. She buckles in for a search, and rolls into the sinister oasis of Promise, his last known address, on the night of a local festival that gives off Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery vibes. Cue the occult sacrifices, cryptic sightings of her dad, and an obstinate sheriff who’s intent on preventing him from escaping the town even if that means taking Kristine out of the picture. Meanwhile, the ceremonies summon Pallanna, a shape-shifting mother goddess who embraces and tries—it seems—to protect Kristine. The plot is unpretentious, and Fawkes’s use of a 24-hour timeline ups the dread, conjuring the fight-or-flee emotions of a horror flick. Rimanti’s semi-realistic character design recalls Steve McNiven or Frank Quitely, and makes the story’s supernatural elements even more disconcerting. Bright colors by Rifan Kartakusumah liven up the visuals. The result is a dark southwestern fantasy that will appeal to fans of writers like Margaret Killjoy and films such as Route 666. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 12/05/2025 | Details & Permalink

Love is a battlefield—albeit a cutesy one—in this adorable manga comedy about an invisible war for human hearts. When schoolgirl Koharu dies in a gruesome accident, she’s resurrected as a winged cupid, the outcome for all humans who die without falling in love. Cupids have the chance to earn karmic points, and someday return to life, by playing matchmaker. Bows and arrows are passé; Koharu’s comrades shoot love from guns and grenade launchers. Alongside supportive team leader Kanna, gleefully violent Chiyo (“Hitting two hearts with one bullet? Freaking awesome!”), and logical, bespectacled Ena, Koharu wields her armory for romance. Inee’s fine-lined art is relentlessly charming, and the premise delivers endless opportunities for slapstick: the cupids engage in friendly firefights over their preferred pairings, stray bullets cause bystanders to become smitten, and grenades set off heart-shaped explosions. A deliciously bittersweet sentimentality punctuates the action, as the cupids ache over the mysteries of love and deal with their own mortal pasts. Notably, the couples include same-sex pairings, which the cupids treat as no different from heterosexual relationships. For romantics with a refined sense of humor, this offbeat fantasy delights. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 12/05/2025 | Details & Permalink