readers will thrill at God’s victory even as
they struggle, as Miriam did, to understand God’s plan. This novel is biblical
fiction at its finest. (Apr.)
What Happened on Beale Street
Mary Ellis. Harvest House, $14.99 trade
paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-7369-6171-4
Nicki and Nate Price, private investigators and cousins, follow up on a suspicious call from Danny, an old school friend
and part-time saxophonist on Memphis’s
Beale Street. When Danny is found dead,
his sister, Isabella, urges the two PIs to
investigate alongside the official police
case. Nicki’s zealous enthusiasm earns her
the censure of the local police, leaving
Nate to do most of the work—which conveniently allows him to explore his attraction to Isabella. Emotionally fragile
Isabelle, struggling with her own feelings
for Nate, must also attempt to placate a
disgruntled former suitor. In the meantime, Nicki uncovers a decades-old mystery involving heiresses and jewelry at the
luxury hotel where they are staying. The
two mysteries develop side by side, but
somehow never overlap—a curious plotting strategy for veteran author Ellis
(Midnight on the Mississippi). Each investigation, however, does showcase both the
complex, well-developed personalities of
the main characters as well as the world of
jazz and blues that makes Memphis
famous. This newest whodunit proves a
worthy addition to the Secrets of the
South Mysteries series. Agent: Mary Sue
Seymour, The Seymour Agency (Apr.)
Comics
Carpet Sweeper Tales
Julie Doucet. Drawn & Quarterly, $15.95
(184p) ISBN 978-1-77046-2397
This is an offbeat and startling new col-
lection by a major voice in feminist and
underground comics. Doucet (My New
York Diary, Dirty Plotte) gave up tradi-
tional drawn cartooning a decade ago;
here she rearranges found elements into a
new work, built from images from Italian
photographic romance comics (fumetti)
clipped and shuffled into new narratives
accompanied by clipped typography as
free-form dialogue. The reader is
instructed “read it out loud,” and the con-
versations take on a surreal, peppy, hip-
hop-rhythmed cadence. Accompanied by
the oh-so-serious longing gazes of the
models, the gleefully unconventional
panels evoke a beatnik poetry jam, or a
spoken word reading of James Joyce or
Spike Milligan. The dialogue appears to
be babble at first glance, and the serious-
faced characters take on the roles of cur-
rent culture’s celebrants, spouting care-
fully restricted pop advertising slogans in
retro typography. The playful combina-
tion of visual, verbal, and even aural ele-
ments (if you read the book aloud as sug-
gested) that make up these avant-garde
collage romances display Doucet’s fine eye
and ear for storytelling outside of tradi-
tional pencil-and-ink comics. (Mar.)
Uptight
Jordan Crane. Fantagraphics, $10 trade paper
(112p) ISBN 978-1-60699-798-7
This ongoing anthology series, which
includes stories from Crane’s (The Clouds
Above) webcomic of the same name, mixes
jarring emotional surrealism with clear,
accessible pen work; this latest issue
explores mortality. The first story,
“Keeping Two,” connects two narratives
of three people whose stability has been
shattered by death. In one, William grapples with the death of his wife. In the
other, suicidal Claire clings to the lifeline
of a troubled pregnancy. Claire’s story is
presented as a book that William reads to
get his mind of his own troubles, not
expecting it to be such a dour
drama. Other stories cover a psychotic episode that leads to a cycle
of murder, and a bungled space
mining mission that becomes a
self-fulfilling prophecy of disaster,
rendered in an otherworldly lavender. The common link here is
Crane’s portrayal of psychological space as
an unpredictable netherworld that mixes
our fears, sorrows, and immediate surroundings into a barely comprehensible
prison, one made accessible thanks to
Crane’s clean, down-to-earth drawing
style. (Feb.)
Prez, Vol. 1
Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell. DC, $14.99
trade paper (144p) ISBN 978-1-4012-5979-2
This new version of a 1970s series that
lasted only four issues finds America’s first
teenage president gender-swapped. Prez,
now female, is elected via Twitter and
deals with Middle Eastern terrorists and
Big Pharma in a broad satire of modern
America. While Russell’s (God Is
Disappointed in You) story gets many of its
political beats correct, and its heart is per-
haps in the right place, its devotion to
broad satire comes at the expense of any
personality for the title character. Prez is
ballsy but naive, she cares about the mar-
ginalized and says smart-ass things to old,
white male politicians, but this is just a
collection of traits rather than a character.
These traits can’t compete with the huge
collection of constantly shifting charac-
ters and scenarios that make up the story,
despite the desperate need for a real center
to the action. Although beautifully
drawn, Caldwell’s art doesn’t manage to
transcend the obvious. It’s a kitchen-sink
approach to political satire that spreads
itself too thin. (Feb.)
★ Octopus Pie, Vol. 1
Meredith Gran. Image, $14.99 trade paper
(200p) ISBN 978-1-63215-632-7
In this collection of the first two years
of the long-running webcomic, Eve’s boy-
friend abruptly dumps her, and she finds
herself in need of a roommate—a need
filled by Hanna, a young woman Eve
hasn’t seen since preschool (they’re now in
their 20s). Together, they attempt to
make a life in Brooklyn, where Eve works
at an organic grocery store and marijuana-
fueled Hanna runs
a pastry company,
Bake ‘n’ Bake. As
the wonderfully
diverse cast of
flawed characters
stumble through
laser tag wars,
renaissance faire shenanigans, a bizarre
Halloween party, and shallow Brooklyn
art shows, they confront their own short-
comings and desperately try to find (and
keep) love. Gran’s (Marceline and the Scream
Queens) cartooning is top-notch, as is her
pacing; the wit is far more sophisticated
than a typical “gag a day” strip. Part send-
up of the borough’s hipster residents, part
soul-searching slice-of-life saga, Gran’s
work dissects what it means to be a
modern 20-something. Agent: Hansen
Literary. (Feb.)
