bubble written by Jordan Morris and Sarah Morgan, adapted by Tony Cliff, Jordan Morris and Sarah Morgan. First Second, 2021. 9781250245557. 272pp. This is an adult science fiction graphic novel set in a world 99% like our own (they even have Trader Joe’s). The difference: it’s a city on an alien world surrounded by a bubble that’s supposed to keep its citizens safe. The problem: it doesn’t — alien monsters are constantly getting in and attacking. The solution: Huntr, an app that pays freelancers to exterminate monsters. At the center of it all is Morgan, who was born in the Bush and likes to kill monsters, and her roommate Annie who makes recreational drugs from monster remains. There are also a few other friends who round out their hipster friend group. What’s important is it’s entertaining, filled with violence and cleverness, social media hype, and the creepiest book club ever. Plus it has just the right amount of realistic swearing. A lovely, smart B-movie of a book drawn (I think) by the amazing Tony Cliff of Delilah Dirk fame. (If you haven’t read all of his other books go do so now, they’re so much fun.) Bonus: it’s based on a scripted podcast from Maximum Fun of the same name that I must now listen to.

Marshmallow & Jordan by Alina Chau. First Second, 2021. 9781250300607. 384pp. This is another entry in an amazing field of graphic novels from First Second about basketball. This one belongs right up there with Gene Yang’s Hoops and Sloan Leong’s A Map To The Sun, though it’s for a younger audience. After an accident, Jordan isn’t able to play on her school’s basketball team anymore, but she’s still a part of it and even helps out with coaching. One day on the way home from practice she helps an injured white elephant and takes it home. When her friends meet Marshmallow they love it, and it even learns to play basketball. (There’s a supernatural element to the elephant that ties into a local drought, all of which becomes clearer at the end of the book.) The story’s conflict involves Jordan joining the school’s water polo team where some of the players aren’t excited to have her (they think she can’t swim fast enough, though they’re clearly wrong); as she gets more involved with water polo her basketball playing friends feel a bit abandoned. I believe the book takes place in Indonesia. (Though the setting is very strong, I don’t think it’s ever stated directly.) Chau’s art and particularly the colors give the neighborhood and characters a brightness that makes it all feel very friendly.

Paranorthern And The Chaos Bunny A-Hop-Calypse written by Stephanie Cooke, art by Mari Costa. Etch, 2021. 9780358168997. 240pp. And there’s a recipe for a matcha latte after the story. Abby helps her mom at the Witch’s Brew, where they serve coffee and potions to North Haven residents. Abby knows her magic has been acting up lately, but she’s not clear about the crisis she’s caused until her friends Silas (a pumpkinhead), Hanna (a ghost), and Gita (a wolf girl) help her clean up one night. That’s when they find the first of many chaos bunnies who’ve come through the dimensional portal Abby accidentally created. It’s a recipe for chaos (of course) as the friends try to help Abby figure out how to close the portal. Each of the friends has their moment in the story, but my favorite is when Gita is at home with her parents, and they start talking to her about the urges she’s going to experience as a woman. (Gita rightfully bails on the conversation in favor of skateboarding.) Overall this is an enjoyable book with just the right sense of adventure and a friendly friend group.

Catch & Release: A Murder Book Story by Ed Brisson & Lisandro Estherren. Linney Incorporated / New Reliable Press, 2021. 9780973807981. 72pp. Dev and his friend Alex drive out to the country from Halifax take a look at a used car that seems to be a great deal — the owner says he’s moving to work in the oil fields and can’t take it with him. When Dev tries to pay with a bank draft instead of cash as specified in the ad, that’s when trouble starts. Estherren’s art really adds to this short, straightforward crime story — it looks like it’s all pencils with a bit of digital enhancement, and he uses the gray lines to expertly express character and create atmosphere in a way that kept me engaged throughout. This is the most recent in Brisson’s Murder Book series, and now I’ve got to find the previous books, too. (This book was published with funding through Kickstarter.)

When They Purr: Inspirational Interiors And The Cats Who Call Them Home by Paul Barbera with Queenie Chan. Thames & Hudson, 2022. 9781760762285. 240pp. 200 color illustrations. 28 interiors inhabited by 34 cats! This is my favorite coffee table book in a while. And it’s not because I’m a huge fan of interior design. (I mean, I get it, but I can’t really understand folks who don’t fill every nook and cranny of their space with bookshelves and everything that goes on them.) That said, there’s lots to love in this book — nice wall textures, hairy chairs, beautiful views… but I read it for the cats. Most live alone. A few live in pairs. In the best book design choice ever, I want to note that there’s a cat photo on almost every page, and that the text that accompanies the photos focuses more on the cats than the furniture. Each entry ends with a tasteful cat portrait and a Q&A. My favorites: Carol, a beautiful grey Abyssinian, and her buddy Luther, who seems to think he’s a dog. That’s them in the accompanying photo, running up the beautiful steps of their owners’ converted terrace house. Also: great table of contents, which features a photo of each cat. I really wish this one showed where the litter boxes are in each of these elegant interiors. I hope they’re cleverly hidden, or at least that they’re just out of sight behind those beautiful couches. But this does give me an idea for a sequel of sorts about the same elegant spaces: Where They Poop.

We Only Find The When They’re Dead Book One: The Seeker written by Al Ewing and illustrated by Simone Di Meo. With color assists by Mariasara Miotti. BOOM! Studios, 2021. Contains #1-#5. 9781684156771. 112pp. After asteroids are all mined out, humanity finds a new resource: enormous dead gods whose bodies can be harvested for materials. This science fiction graphic novel opens in 2323, when Georges Malik, a boy on his family’s autopsy ship, sees a dead god for the first time. Then it jumps to 2367 when, as captain of his own ship, Malik is about to lead his crew on another harvest. It’s hard to make enough money to keep going when corporate ships get all the most valuable parts, and when the price is controlled by the government. Being in the sights of Paula Richter, the most ruthless officer piloting an escort ship, makes it even tougher. But Malik and his crew are going to try their dangerous, get-rich-quick plan anyway — to find a live god. All does not go as planned. Di Meo and Miotti’s colors seem to glow on the page, and really bring this to life. The writing is stellar, too. Volume 2 is due out in 2022, but if you can’t wait that long issues of the comic are coming out every few months or so.

The Golden Age Book 1 by Roxanne Moreil and Cyril Pedrosa. English translation by Montana Kane. First Second, 2021. 9781250237941. 224pp. Princess Tilda’s father has just died, and nobles are arriving for her coronation. she’s saying goodbye to her father when her little brother arrives with soldiers and announces that many of their father’s vassals have pledged allegiance to him, and that Tilda will be sent into exile. Luckily her childhood friend Bertil and his master Tankred (a disgraced noble) rescue her. They are chased through a dark and colorful forest where Tilda is wounded and begins to have visions. She heals at a hidden compound where women who live peacefully, hidden from the world, though they also seem to be preparing for a fight. At the end of the book, Tilda, unsure whom she can trust, seeks something hidden, a treasure secretly left for her by her father. It may be the key to regaining her throne, though that seems unlikelier than ever as peasants have revolted against the nobles, and violence is imminent. This is the first of a two book series, and the second book was just published in the U.S. The writing is great, but it’s Pedrosa’s art, and particularly his colors, that make the book something special. Pick up a printed version of the book to see how spectacular they look.