In her luminous debut, Stalvey meditates on her separation from fundamentalist Christianity and how she found love despite questioning her faith. Born into a “lineage of preachers and teachers,” young Stephanie and her sister grow up so conservative that they’re discouraged from looking at “unnecessarily graphic” Bible illustrations. Sermons about sin and sacrifice lead Stephanie to self-harm at an early age (pinching herself, she speaks to Jesus: “This pain is nothing... compared to what I deserve”), and her family considers corporal punishment essential to correct children’s inborn sinfulness. “Everything was either black or white,” Stephanie reflects, and the art literalizes this in monochrome anecdotes from her youth. In the present day, rendered in full color, adult Stephanie is married with a young son, teaching art, and deciding whether she wants to return to church. Her perspective changed, as fundamentalist parents often fear, in college. Though she initially steeled herself against “dangerous ideas coming from a secular professor,” she started to ask questions in her Bible study group, and her romance with gentle seminary student James made her doubt the harsh, punitive version of love she was raised in. Stalvey’s sensual, organic art is especially striking in the full-color passages. She devotes pages to richly symbolic compositions of saints, devils, wolves, and nature. Readers of Craig Thompson’s Blankets will fall for this nuanced self-portrait. Agent: Amelia Appel, Triada US. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/23/2026 | Details & Permalink

A queer coven fight to save their fellow wytchfolk from a celestial force in this fresh and edgy debut by the late Reese and Spanish cartoonist Carril. Adriyel, a divination wytch; Michele, a green wytch; and Em, a necromancer, all spellcasters of color, accidently plunge New York City into a lasting eclipse. Their spectral matriarch, known as MTHR, proclaims this a “dark omen,” which draws the unwelcome attention of religious leader Lady Genevieve, who launches a psychic attack that slays local wytches, and gathers their blood for rituals to ensure her ascendancy. The coven embark on a quest to stop her, which involves traveling to various realms where they recover weapons and guidance needed to triumph over Genevieve. Twists and turns lead to sacrifices, losses, and a climactic battle. The expansive and ambitious worldbuilding includes delightful details like a night out in a supernatural nightclub complete with Minotaur bouncer, a star-crossed romance with a rival coven called the Gorgons, and a powerful black unicorn. Carril’s dynamic art mixes stylish contemporary fashion with colorful mysticism. It adds up to an alluring portrait of found family that will leave readers wondering what Reese might have done next. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/23/2026 | Details & Permalink

Activist Opal Lee, known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, gets an uplifting graphic biography from journalist Roché, with art by Alvin Epps (I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005), Millicent Monroe, and Bex Glendining (On Starlit Shores). The account opens in 2021, when Juneteenth is given federal recognition and Granddear (as Lee insists everyone calls her) prepares for a White House visit with President Biden. Lee reflects back on her upbringing in a segregated Texas, and the ways her family were victimized by the surrounding white community. Woven throughout is a historical account of Juneteenth, from the events of 1865 when enslaved people in Texas belatedly learned slavery had been abolished, documented with ample quotes from contemporaneous sources. Subsequent civil rights milestones covered include Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Lee’s lifelong advocacy culminates in her symbolic 1,400-mile walk from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., in 2016, taken in two-and-a-half-mile increments twice a day to symbolize the two and a half years Texans were kept enslaved after the Emancipation Proclamation (a Union Army major had to be sent to enforce the law). Capable full-color art follows a straightforward template but adds charm and wonder to the educational tone, and Lee’s passionate, distinctive voice is well represented. This shines an overdue spotlight on a modern-day hero. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 01/23/2026 | Details & Permalink

Actor Day (The Guild) and cartoonist MacColl (Nightmare in Savannah) spin an ancient Greek myth into an enchanting and unexpected love story. Spartan princess Philonoe has been raised apart from her royal family because she was born with two curses: a strawberry birthmark read by the Greeks to mean that her face is “marked with blood,” and familial misfortune in marriage that has already doomed her more famous sisters—Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra, and Timandra. Desperate to prove herself to her parents, Philonoe begs the goddess Aphrodite for help. She’s sent on a quest to lift the curse on her house, with riddles in the immortal’s promises. Then another goddess takes an interest in her: Artemis, protector of maidens and embodiment of independence. In the course of her adventures, Philonoe begins to question her need for acceptance. “Wishing for perfection is wishing for a prison,” warns the dragon Echidna, who, like other beings Philonoe encounters, has learned to be wary of the gods’ whims. MacColl’s fluid art works hints of ancient Greek design into its stylized linework and clay-red spot color, and the characters are appealingly human—including the gods and monsters. Peppered with knowing references to classical mythology, it’s a smart and spirited retelling. Agent: Erin Malone, WME. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/23/2026 | Details & Permalink

Quintanilha (Listen, Beautiful Márcia) navigates the unsteady currents of male friendship in this propulsive tale of fishing and football set along the working-class beaches across from Rio de Janeiro in 1950s Guanabara Bay, Brazil. When Hélcio—a headstrong pro soccer prospect—spots a boat dynamite-fishing, he convinces his reluctant friend Noel (nicknamed “Turtle” for his hunched back) to row out with him and scavenge fish to sell. They haul in more than their boat can carry, but the scheme turns perilous when Hélcio dives too deep in pursuit of a still-lively mullet that would make a favorite stew. As he scrabbles back toward air, his life flashes before him—childhood memories, work in a textile factory, recruitment to the Canto do Rio football club, and coaches bawling him out for straying from the back line. He surfaces in time to breathe, but the bay has further tests in store. At the low point of their ill-fated quest, Hélcio calls Noel a slur, shattering the friends’ brittle bond. The story’s second act pursues a reconciliation complicated by the growing disparity of their futures: Hélcio at the soccer club, Noel collecting bottles on the beach. Quintanilha’s cartooning favors crisp, stylized realism, with a swashbuckling vigor that recalls classic Tarzan and Corto Maltese. This is adventure storytelling with disarming emotional heft—a taut study of wounded pride, precarious camaraderie, and words that can’t be taken back. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/23/2026 | Details & Permalink

Novelist Moreno (This Thing Between Us) and artist Rebelka (Cyborg 2077) summon fresh horror from the familiar premise of clergy teaming up to exorcise a possessed child. Father Manuel Barrera, a troubled Mexican priest, is dispatched to study under Father Stygian, who specializes in obscure esoteric rites. “To be an exorcist, you need to let go of your past,” Father Stygian warns. “Otherwise it can be used against you.” Sure enough, the duo’s efforts to free a possessed boy in a rural island community appear to be thwarted by the spirit of Father Varden, Stygian’s previous apprentice, who died by suicide. Meanwhile, monstrous animal births and sightings of the undead suggest there’s more than one rogue demon haunting the island. Rebelka’s roughly blocked, subtly distorted art, with hints of woodcut prints and Latin American folk art, evokes an unbalanced feeling to the setting, as the characters tour through foreboding dusty towns, stark ranches, rain-soaked forests, and gloomy cemeteries. The story takes a while to kick into gear and ends abruptly, but there are plenty of chills and some effective twists along the way. Supernatural horror fans will enjoy the ride. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/16/2026 | Details & Permalink

Ozanam and Carrion (Temudjin) concoct a brutal yet beautiful medieval fantasy that reads like Prince Valiant scripted by George R.R. Martin. When the teenaged prince of the Kingdom of Etelkoz goes missing and is presumed to have been eaten by a monster called the Nameless One, the sickly, bedridden king orders representatives from the six ruling clans to hunt the beast down. These delegates reveal they’re secretly happy to see the prince eliminated, as they each have claims to the throne. “Alas, only one of us will sit upon it,” observes Lady Megyer. Count Atras stays out of the action as the rest set out across the kingdom; the true scope of his agenda unfolds as the prince’s fate is revealed. Carrion’s classically illustrative fantasy art is naturalistic but full of singular touches, enlivening a tale of intrigue, power, and literal backstabbing. He draws squadrons of distinctive figures against epic backdrops: a towering waterfall, a mist-draped circle of standing stones, a hidden forest village. Color is skillfully deployed to set moods: blue-green gloomy nights, sun-bleached battlefields, the blazingly warm interior of a tent. At first, it’s hard to keep track of the many characters, but as the action heats up and the body count rises, the battle grows personal. Fans of artsy Euro-comics going through House of the Dragon withdrawal can get their fix here. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/16/2026 | Details & Permalink

Three queer 20-somethings from “Squarebanks,” Alaska, push each other to find their respective paths—to love, work, and an authentic identity—in this clever graphic novel from Bongiovanni (Mimosa). Laura, an ironically self-proclaimed “gay icon,” vlogs as a #lesbianwarrior. That brand begins to feel confining, however, when Laura develops crushes on men, then starts thinking about becoming one. Rachel has been Laura’s rock since high school, but now she wonders if her dull job at a tour company—not to mention Laura’s self-centeredness—could be holding her back. Court, a trans man and transplant to New York, returns to town to help his emotionally manipulative mom. He encourages his old besties to take stock of their lives. For Laura, this means googling “lesbians who are into men NOT porn,” trying out the name Leo, going on a Grindr-style app, and fumbling through awkward hookups. For Rachel, it means emerging from Laura/Leo’s shadow and starting her own business. Bongiovanni’s loose, confident linework and ensemble of sassy characters make for plenty of affectionate riffs. On-point details of queer life in a small tourist town (Leo works for a combination bird observatory and gift shop) are a fun bonus. This lighthearted but sincere riff on the queer Gen Z zeitgeist hits its mark. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/16/2026 | Details & Permalink

In her accessible and endearing first full-length graphic memoir, web cartoonist Correll (A Pug’s Guide to Life) cannily employs her trademark frank humor to discuss living with anxiety and depression. The narrative opens with Gemma undergoing an attack of “the bad feeling” so intense she checks herself into a hospital. She visits the psych ward for group therapy, prompting flashbacks that recount her lifelong struggles. “Little sparks followed me everywhere, ready to ignite at the first sign of potential danger,” she recalls. At one point, she develops such severe claustrophobia she’s unable to put on turtleneck sweaters; there are also periods of dissociation, which “would be kind of cool if it wasn’t so utterly terrifying.” As anxiety begins to limit her adult life, including her dream of moving from England to the United States, she becomes determined to expand her comfort zone. Correll’s cute, chunky art, simple but bursting with personality, lends a sweetness to the hard times, and her narration is peppered with witty asides: “Why is everyone telling me to drink tea? Is it just because I’m British?” In a running visual joke, “Anxietyland” is depicted as a carnival with attractions like the “Control Freak Show” and “House of No Fun.” It’s one of the funniest and most affable mental health memoirs to come along in a while. Agent: Monika Verma, LGR Literary. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/16/2026 | Details & Permalink

Shimizu (Qwan) stitches body horror into the aesthetics of traditional Japanese ghost stories in this gleefully gruesome chiller. In a forgotten Japanese village hidden in the mountains, Lady Kamiya and her beautiful, strangely scarred daughter Kiriko rule over deformed villagers who worship Kiriko for her healing powers. Outsiders who wander into the village soon find themselves absorbed into its weird rituals—and cannibalized for parts: “Will you become one of us?” Lady Kamiya asks. “Or will you become part of us?” The loosely connected early chapters, in which unfortunate victims keep stumbling into the village, give way to a larger story arc when Minato, a neurotic young man, is kidnapped to become Kiriko’s husband, a process no one has survived intact thus far. He sets out to uncover her secrets and discovers that they share scars—literal, in her case—from abusive, controlling parents. Shimizu’s delicate, fine-lined art is somewhat generic to the genre but effectively lends eerie elegance to dismembered bodies, sewn-up monsters, killer cultists, and creepy poppets (the ceremonial dolls displayed during the Japanese holiday of Hinamatsuri provide a running motif). Despite its uneven seams, this patchwork is suitably unsettling for manga horror fans. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 01/09/2026 | Details & Permalink