Fluorescent Mud

This meandering, loosely plotted comic is set in a bruise-colored urban dreamscape. The unnamed, gender-ambiguous protagonist, who uses they/them pronouns, has recently dropped out of art school. They are trying to support a friend, Hamilton, who has insomnia but refuses to take his medication. Hamilton seems to have no responsibilities. He follows the main character around town, waits for them after work, lives at and frequently trashes their apartment, and plays music all night so they can’t sleep. The now similarly sleep-deprived protagonist begins to slip in and out of hallucinations. When another friend, Lou, invites the protagonist to visit, they abruptly quit their job and set off on the 12-hour train ride. But, after meeting a few of Lou’s friends at a party, they become hopelessly lost. Howey’s gorgeously rendered watercolor and gouache paintings build the deep anxiety surrounding the fragile hero of this strange tale. Spiders, snakes, and bats flutter and creep around the dark edges of their world; alcoholism, drug use, and run-ins with the police add to the impending threat of mental breakdown. This moody graphic novel’s challenging lack of linear narrative perfectly captures its protagonist’s emotional disorder and fragmented memory, and will appeal to art comics fans. (Nov.)