Sisters of the Mist

Otherworldly creatures, including the literalized specter of puberty, prowl this mercurial comic. As pale-skinned sisters Margot, Kyra, and Janna arrive for a two-week visit to their grandmother’s farmhouse near “old and ancient” Frygea Forest, middle sister Kyra excitedly anticipates snaggle-toothed Trolls, a slavering Hellhound, and wraithlike Fog Furies—“mist creatures who lure young girls into the fog.” Youngest sister Janna, meanwhile, attracts sprites with a song and harvests a carroty-looking Root Goblin to be her sidekick. But the perils prove child’s play until 12-year-old Margot encounters the Fog Furies and begins keeping apart from the others, her nose in a romantic vampire novel. At the sight of blood on Margot’s sheets, pragmatic Granny Annis observes, “Congratulations, your uterus is working.” Even if menstruation is “the most normal thing in the entire world,” according to their earthy grandmother, Kyra worries about Margot’s newfound tendency to reject her juniors and wander the hazy woodland. In swirling, bold-hued panels, animator Spaaij conjures a liminal space as Margot hovers on the brink of a mystical womanhood in this alluringly high-pitched drama. Ages 8–12. (July)