GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: The Daughters of Ys

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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GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: Two Dead by Van Jensen and Nate Powell

By Zack Quaintance — Two Dead is a recent crime noir graphic novel from writer Van Jensen and artist Nate Powell, set in Arkansas post WW II and based on an actual case that Jensen essentially uncovered and wrote about during his time as a crime reporter at a newspaper in Little Rock. Powell — a towering talent who has a stack of comics and literary accolades to his name — drew the book over a period of a few years while working concurrently on work such as Come Again and March, a three part graphic memoir about the life of the late Rep. John Lewis.

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