By Keigen Rea — Between its elaborate non-conventional format and sporadic shipping schedule, I feel like November hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves as one of the finest comics of 2020. Which to a certain degree also feels disingenuous. Any mention of it has been positive, at least from what I’ve seen, but it feels like people are over emphasizing writer Matt Fraction’s role, and, crucially, under-emphasizing artist Elsa Charretier. 

If there was any doubt that she’s one of the best artists in the industry, this volume should put it to rest. 

This volume — just like at least one other Matt Fraction comic this year — could reasonably be called undrawable in places. For example, 10 of the 60 pages of art involve a phone call depicted across 12-panel grids. One of the chapters also has the main character narrating over mostly silent panels, and the main character only speaks on four panels. This may make it seem like this is a boring comic, and it easily could have been with a different artist. Charretier, however, makes all of this work, with the phone call in particular being a visual highlight, maybe the highlight, of the book. 

But we don’t just get narration and conversations, and November Book Three has the series’ most momentous chapters and the most action-packed as well. I’m more excited for the next volume than I have been between the last two, and I’m happy that this seems like it will be the shortest wait. 

Now, Fraction may have written an undrawable script, but this volume really works all the same, and I think it shows why the series went from three parts to four. It was a great decision, especially when it feels like a lot of what’s here would be the stuff that maybe needed to be cut. The story here also does such a good job at moving the plot forward in interesting ways even while it spends 10 of the 60 pages on a phone call, which itself is an interesting way to move a plot forward. 

The rest of the team doesn’t drop the ball, either. Colorist Matt Hollingsworth is himself a major draw on any book he works on, and he puts forward incredible work here. The color shift from Dee through Emm is particularly spectacular, and makes so much sense that I didn’t even really notice it at first. 

My only small gripe with this comic has to do with letter artist Kurt Ankeny. I really like and appreciate most of his work on the book, and on the series, especially how each chapter has individualized fonts. However, the font for Kay can be difficult to read. The cursive handwriting is a good aesthetic, and it fits the character, but the combination of the font and the color of the captions makes it hard for me to tell. 

That aside, November Book Three is proof of how a different format can deliver a story that feels so separate (in a good way!) from everything else that elevates it. It’s a showcase for one of comic’s best artists in Elsa Charretier, and a place for everyone else to work hard to match her. 

Overall: This is the formalist comic of 2020, and everyone should be reading this book. 9/10

REVIEW: November Book Three

November Book Three: The Voice on the End of the Phone 
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Elsa Charretier
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth 
Letterer: Kurt Ankeny
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $16.99
Three strangers entangled by fate, coincidence, and cruelty find themselves at the end of the longest night of their lives, bound together against the dark forces of...well—fate, coincidence, and cruelty. Apart, none of them will see sunrise; together they might have a shot, in this thriller by MATT FRACTION & ELSA CHARRETIER, with colors by MATT HOLLINGSWORTH and stunning hand-crafted lettering by cartoonist KURT ANKENY.One night. One city. Three women. NOVEMBER.
Buy It Digitally: November Book Three

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Keigen Rea was trying to get this out earlier, but ran out of steam. He particularly wanted to use it to bring attention to Charretier’s Kickstarter, but that ended before he had even finished this. Find him @prince_organa where he’s probably spending money he doesn’t have on other Kickstarters.