Baby Blue

A disillusioned barista is swept up in the guerrilla resistance to a totalitarian regime in near-future Stockholm in Eriksson’s stylish English-language debut. In a society where emotions are stigmatized, Betty gets flagged for “antisocial behavior”—crying in a Metro station and attempting to google “Is this how life is supposed to be?”—and summoned for invasive therapy to mute her reactions. In treatment, she’s seated beside Berina, an outspoken misfit in a lop-eared bunny mask who recognizes something special in Betty. Through Berina, Betty falls in with a small gang (also masked) combatting the “Peacekeepers” who uphold the culture of mandated docility, though she struggles with the group’s often-brutal tactics. Eriksson establishes a chilling irreality by overlaying this clinical “happiness-fascist” society onto a familiar urban landscape. The narrative echoes the pessimistic surveillance state visions of George Orwell, Chantal Montellier, and especially Karin Boye, though Eriksson’s idiosyncratic visual aesthetic more aligns with the contemporary ennui of comics by Moa Romanova and Tommi Parrish. Sharp lines and sterile tiled interiors drive home Betty’s isolation, while the distinctive character designs—athletic figures festooned with masks, oversize hair bows, and a veritable runway’s worth of honky-tonk resort wear—burst from the page. This pop-toned rebel yell injects fresh feminist energy into the dystopian thriller. (Mar.)