By Deidre Freitas — A macabre fascination with death and what it may or may not hold has held the fascinations of writers for centuries. And when we decide ghosts are real, what shapes do they take? Why do they stick around? Is it something they’ve missed in life, or something that holds them over in death?

Brenna Thummler’s Delicates shows us ghosts are very real, taking on the classic sheet-like appearance with friendly eyes and small smiles, each with their own unique qualities about them. A sequel to Sheets, it shines in every way. But the comic shows us ghosts exist in another, very real way: in how we treat the people around us. 

Throughout the novel, Marjorie, the young girl who can see ghosts, struggles with her newfound popularity in the eighth grade class. In the first novel, she doesn’t take too much interest in high school politics, deemed the outcast. To finally be liked by the “cool kids” she shrugs off her friendships with the ghosts who live in her father’s laundromat. Marjorie spends less time with her six-year-old brother, and turns a blind eye to the bullying ghost-photographer Liza endures at the hands of her supposed new best friend, Tessi.

Marjorie is handed a slew of tricky situations at the beginning of the school year: Wendell, her best ghost friend, feels neglected as she spends more and more time with the other eighth graders. Eliza, a young girl who doesn’t fit in with the rest of the pack, is determined to get a photograph of a real ghost no matter what. And Tessi and her friends, who constantly seem one “slip-up” from kicking Marjorie from the group. 

A recurring motif in the novel is the idea of memory, of the memories of both Marjorie and Liza. How Marjorie’s mother’s passing has affected her, and the last year of her family’s life. She looks through photos of her family together, when it was whole, and wonders how they can possibly reach that point again. In contrast, Liza looks through photos of empty landscapes, of quiet homes and hilltops. She wants to find proof of ghosts, of the supernatural. All the while, her parents are tentatively encouraging, knowing this is a part of who she is, what makes her distinctly Liza.

Another detail was the way Marjorie and Owen’s father seemed to glide listlessly from unfinished hobby to unfinished hobby. Without their mother, he’s another form of phantom: someone who’s lost the one closest to them. Never wanting to look through her things or the photography she loved so much, struggling with the fact he still needs to be a father, without knowing who he is without their mother. 

As the story slips through summer and into the fall and the school year picks up, the feelings of loneliness and emptiness seep through the dark room Liza spends so much of her time in. Through Thummler’s words and distinct style, we begin to understand this young girl’s hopelessness. She sees herself as a bad kind of weird, while the rest of her family has always seemed to be the “cool” kind. 

I was particularly struck by the moment Liza wondered what it would be like to be a ghost. No worries about what one would think about you, because they couldn’t see you. Her spiralling thoughts and lingering moments on contemplating what the world would be without her was, unfortunately, a story I know almost too well. 

Each character in this novel has a moment to shine, something that shows they’re more than just a paper character. Wendell may be a ghost, but he wants to experience life, regardless of what state he may be in. Accidentally meeting Liza at the movies shows Wendell that maybe there could be other people like Marjorie that would accept him, like him for who he is and wouldn’t be afraid. 

Tessi, who antagonizes Marjorie and Liza, in different ways, isn’t quite what she seems, either. This story excels at showing us that yes, sometimes one person does the most damage with their words, but while others stand around and watch, they are just as hurtful in what they don’t say. People are messy, and even when we think we aren’t doing anything to hurt someone, our inaction does more damage than we could possibly know. 

Without giving too much away, this story pulls the reader in quickly, and once you’ve started, you’re not likely to stop. I’ve always found that a good book makes me ask questions, and once I’ve started asking questions, I won’t stop reading until I get an answer or two. It’s an incredibly human story, relatable to kids and adults alike.

The title of the graphic novel, Delicates, plays a dual role, as well. The sheets and the laundromat are the clear connection, but with the ongoing theme of people and how fragile they can be, even if we don’t see it, is also there. We must be delicate with each other, and extend our kindness where we can because we really never know what someone’s going through.

GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: Delicates by Brenna Thummler

Delicates
Writer/Artist: Brenna Thummler 
Editor: Andrea Colvin
Publisher: Oni Press
Price: $14.99
Marjorie Glatt’s life hasn’t been the same ever since she discovered a group of ghosts hiding in her family’s laundromat. Wendell, who died young and now must wander the earth as a ghost, soon became one of Marjorie’s only friends. But when Marjorie finally starts to fit in at school, she begins to worry that if anyone learns about her secret ghost friends, she’ll be labeled as a freak who sees dead people. Wendell isn’t the only one pushed to the outside, though. Eliza Duncan, Marjorie’s classmate at school, is constantly seen as different by Marjorie’s new friends, and starts to feel like a ghost herself. Is it worth it to Marjorie to fit in if it means she excludes both Wendell and Eliza? Following the events of Brenna Thummler’s first graphic novel, Sheets, Delicates tells a powerful story about what it means to fit in, and those who are left on the outside. It shows what it’s like to feel invisible, and the importance of feeling seen. 
Publication Date: March 2021
More Info: Delicates by Brenna Thummler

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Deidre Freitas is a pop culture lover and resident theatre kid who’s sometimes funny on Twitter as @deidrefrittatas.