GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: The Daughters of Ys

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By Zack Quaintance — Publisher First Second has, to my mind, published the most interesting fantasy comics this year. First came The Golden Age by writer Roxanne Moreil and artist Cyril Pedrosa, an allegory that translated modern issues of class and income inequality (as well as gender dynamics) to a fantasy setting. Next was Kairos by Ulysse Malassagne, which subverted traditional damsel in the distress fairy tales in favor of a meditation on the spiderwebbing nature of violence. And now comes a third book that fits into the publisher’s fantasy subversion trend for the year — The Daughters of Ys by writer M.T. Anderson and artist Jo Rioux.

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Kairos by Ulysse Malassagne - TRADE RATING

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By Zack Quaintance — Kairos by Ulysse Malassagne just got a new North American release and translation courtesy of publisher First Second. The book — which hit our stores this year in a pretty little hardcover that’s smaller than most novels — was first released in Malassagne’s native France as a three-part series. It is, essentially, a subversion of the damsel in distress narrative that has long been so pervasive in fantasy stories.

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TRADE RATING: Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang is the best comic of 2020

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By Zack Quaintance — In Gene Luen Yang’s new graphic novel, Dragon Hoops (out now from publisher First Second), the writer/cartoonist makes two of the book’s foundational ideas clear from the start, from the first page and the very first panel. Said first panel features Yang’s likeness talking directly to the reader, telling them I’ve hated sports ever since I was a little kid. Especially basketball, and then we cut to young Yang trying to catch a pass and getting a handful of jammed fingers.

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TRADE RATING: The Golden Age by Roxanne Moreil and Cyril Pedrosa

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By Zack Quaintance — We are in the midst of a U.S. election cycle where the status quo is a looming figure in all discussions, at least as it applies to the Democratic Primary. Early in the political process, candidates staked out positions on healthcare that essentially became bellwethers for their willingness to topple established systems, and off we went. As is so often the case, our politics were reflecting the fascinations of the electorate, an electorate that like many populations across the globe is largely finding itself on the wrong end of rapidly widening resource and income inequality gaps.

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