Graphic Novel Review: Blood of the Virgin by Sammy Harkham

Posted on February 1, 2024 at 8:17 am by Gene Ambaum

Blood of the Virgin by Sammy Harkham. Pantheon, 2023. 9780593316696. 296pp.

Seymour, a film editor, sells a script for what feels like a 70s grindhouse-type movie and then gets a chance to direct it. The production is out of control and there are budgetary problems. Seymour’s marriage is also in trouble.

But enough about that, the plot details seem unimportant. What I think you need to know is that the story is adult, the is a true novel among graphic novels, and every element feels perfect: the pacing, the illustrations, the layouts, the lettering. Several comics folks told me to check out Harkham’s work, and I’ve been reading bits and pieces of this book in Crickets and Kramer’s Ergot for more than a decade; they were enjoyable, but it was more than worth the wait to read it in a single volume.