The Merman Trapped in My Lake

Beneath its pastel-pretty surface, this print debut from writers Chi pa rang and Mitchu with art by R.PPOBI offers a feverish take on gothic pulp fiction. Servaine Noxirel, the scion of a wealthy family in a fantasy world reminiscent of 19th-century Europe, is bedridden with physical and mental ailments inherited through her troubled bloodline. Her father, who’s desperate to entertain her, gives Servaine an alluring captured merman named Mel—and her infatuation swiftly turns obsessive and controlling. “He is mine and only mine,” she sneers, and only after near-disaster does she begin to understand the cruelty of her behavior. Flash forward years into the future, when a relative also named Servaine Noxirel sets out to claim her inheritance, only to find a man who looks like Mel standing in her way. Is the merman back? And if so, does he seek romance or revenge? The delicate, decorative art is reminiscent of a Victorian valentine, all pastels, flowers, silks, washes of light and art nouveau compositions framing attractive leads in elegant poses. But the plot is rife with murder, melodrama, and other gothic tropes, up to and including madwomen not quite in attics. The momentum sometimes pauses too long for tormented inner monologues, and the time jumps between the two Servaines can be confusing. Even so, devotees of all things gothic will want to dive in. (Feb.)