The Weight by Melissa Mendes. Drawn & Quarterly, 2025. 9781770467163. 574pp.
Set in what feels like a timeless rural community, this is a story of family, bad relationships, and generational trauma with a side of domestic violence. It’s a story about being stuck with one’s decisions, and the long-term consequences for a family.
It’s traumatic, dark, and absolutely amazing. I wouldn’t pick up a prose novel about this family, but Mendes’s art pulled me in and kept me engaged throughout. I find it hard to understand how she was able to maintain its tone for such a long book, and the results are impressive. This book deserves a wide audience among fans of the format and beyond.
