Adult
Dwellings.
By Jay Stephens. Illus. by the author.
Apr. 2024. 272p. Oni, $34.99 (9781637152911). 741.5.
Fictional small-town Elwich is located in Ontario, has a rich folklore tradition, and also happens to be a place where truly horrifying events occur on a regular basis. Introduced to readers by a local investigative reporter, six interconnected events are presented, including crows that torture a person who has accidentally committed murder, a graduate student studying a bizarre case of foreign-accent syndrome, a puppet that leads a woman on a journey, a haunted-house attraction, a dangerous fugitive, and a man whose traumatic childhood has led him to therapy. Compellingly formatted like old comic books, the stories are interspersed with advertisements for mail-order occult and horror items as well as local interests. The colorful and cartoony illustrations are at direct odds with the gruesome content; characters appear adorably childlike with small bodies and large heads, but they frequently meet dreadful ends. Though the cute characters featured are not as despicable, recommend this book to fans of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, where along with gory content comes a healthy dose of dark humor. —Suzanne Temple
Evil Eyes Sea.
By Özge Samanci. Illus. by the author.
Mar. 2024. 270p. Uncivilized, paper, $29.95 (9781941250600). 741.5.
At first glance, university roommates Ece and Meltem couldn’t seem more different—one short, the other tall; one comical, the other serious; one possibly failing, the other always at the top of her class. Opposites must attract because the pair are close friends, sharing an overcrowded dorm room and longing for financial autonomy and individual freedom—and the occasional functioning shower. Scuba diving in the Bosphorus provides an escape from Istanbul’s heat; on one such underwater excursion, the girls witness a plummeting car and attempt—but fail—to rescue the driver, who turns out to be a fellow student. Their heroic deed gets them embroiled with Aslan Adam, a powerful political candidate who, as a former cop, believes himself to be above the law. When he requests to hire the girls to retrieve a sunken safe, saying no is not an option. Spunky, tenacious Ece with her wild orange curls will undoubtedly, delightfully remind readers of Samanci’s avatar in her memoir, Dare to Disappoint (2015). The pages here continue Samanci’s distinctive style, layering cartoon characters over meticulously detailed settings—the Basilica Cistern’s interior, a curved staircase over an ostentatious entry, Rumeli Castle on the banks of the Bosphorus. As entertaining as it is exposing, Samanci’s sophomore title is an exquisite, multilayered showpiece confronting gender inequity, religious manipulations, political corruption, and the gray zones of morals and ethics—gray zones necessary for survival. —Terry Hong
Fall Through.
By Nate Powell. Illus. by the author.
2024. 192p. Abrams ComicArts, $24.99 (9781419760822). 741.5.
1994: scrappy punk band Diamond Mine tours the middle of the country, exposing their beating hearts wherever there’s a venue, counting on the kindness of fans for a place to sleep and on one another for everything else. Powell thus conjures a magical time when artistic revelation was deeply personal and shared passion wasn’t mediated by screens, offering deep melancholy for readers over a certain age and, perhaps, a view into a valuable, lost D.I.Y. world for readers below that age. Diana, struggling with mental health, is their creative linchpin, but she’s unable to see past her own vision, and we come to realize that, for all their commitment, Diamond (2008), Powell’s strength has always been communicating the feeling of an experience. Here, in inky blacks and incendiary bursts of orange and yellow music, he fills readers with the spirit and energy of punk. —