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Nick Pope: Summer of ’88

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by Laboni Das Christopher Stanton and Raymond Klecker’s Nick Pope: Summer of ’88 continues the evocative, diaristic exploration of adolescence introduced in its prequel, Nick Pope: A Diary (2023), deepening its engagement with questions of identity, embodiment, and emotional vulnerability. While the earlier volume foregrounded Nick’s social alienation and bullying, this sequel turns inward, charting a more complex terrain of emotional fragmentation, artistic self-exploration, and relational instability. Presented once again in the form of an illustrated diary, the narrative unfolds over the summer of 1988. The diary format remains central to the book’s appeal, combining handwritten text with expressive black-and-white… Read More

Bionic

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By Martha Cornog   Bionic centers on the flawed romance between two high school students: Victor and Patricia. Patricia’s father runs Venn Industries, which manufactures  robotic replacement parts for injured humans (i.e., prostheses), including eventually the pretty Patricia. Victor’s father works for that corporation. Science fiction comics starring a beautiful bionic girl have already attracted large fandoms, especially through two popular manga/anime characters: Major Matoko Kusanagi of the Ghost in the Shell stories, and Alita of the Battle Angel Alita manga series. Other graphic novels centering on the body enhancement theme include fiction/nonfiction blended in Helene Chauchois’ The Body Factory… Read More

Joe the Barbarian

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by Matt Peters   Content Advisory: Brief depictions of bullying and homophobia and extensive depictions of insulin shock   In Joe the Barbarian, a pre-teen named Joe Manson finds himself uprooted from his familiar reality and cast into a strange realm where ancient magic coexists with exotic technology. What sets Joe on his surreal journey is something strikingly ordinary by comparison—in fact, a daily part of his existence. Joe has type 1 diabetes, the autoimmune disorder that disrupts blood sugar regulation by attacking insulin-producing cells. One day, while Joe is alone at home, he slips away from reality when his… Read More