Soliciting Multiversity: The Best of the Rest for November 2021

November is one of those excruciating months. The weather takes a drastic turn. We celebrate how colonialists exploited the indigenous peoples whose land they invaded. And the capitalistic machine revs up into full gear in preparation for the end of the year. So, in order to bring ourselves down, to get our heads cleared, we turn to comics, to adventures, to spectacles, to the quiet moments that remind us of the best things in life. And November definitely offers a wide swath of titles to fill that need.

1. Down and Out in the Golden City

A queer romantic comedy set in San Franciso, Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli’s new series follows a young writer trying to make a new name for herself. The team promise a lot of sex, a lot of emotions, and a lot of passion in this story where the characters struggle to find real connections among their fairy tale explorations.

Alice in Leatherland
Written by Iolanda Zanfardino
Illustrated by Elisa Romboli
Published by Black Mask Studios

“Meet Alice, a writer of children’s books with a huge heart … that is absolutely crushed when she discovers her girlfriend is cheating. The crisis inspires her to seek a new life, and perhaps a new love, in San Francisco. This romantic comedy, written by Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli, who are a couple, is most assuredly for adults: The story depicts – sometimes with little left to the imagination – the ups and downs of casual sex.” -The New York Times

Alice, a young writer of children’s story books, is hurtled out of her fairytale-like life when she discovers her girlfriend has been cheating on her! Charmingly defiant, she leaves her small forest town and leaps into a new adventure to seek love (and find herself) in the fast life of San Francisco. There, her concept of pure, magical love will be completely overturned–but her biggest challenge won’t be reckoning with other people’s sexual drive, it’ll be getting a grip on her own!

From your new favorite writer and artist team of Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli, Alice In Leatherland is a comedy about sex and so, inevitably, about every other aspect of life, too. As Iolanda and Elisa describe the book: “Sex is recounted as a way to investigate our relationship with ourselves and others, with our bodies and our place in the world; sexual pleasure as self-affirmation and growth. There is room for Love, too, and bravery. And for many good laughs, that never hurts.”

2. Through Spain, Through Time

This Spanish comic uses the medium to explore deep emotions and the elasticity that is human connection. It’s a big sweeping story told in miniature. The images in these slice-of-life type comics might feel modest and humble, but the feelings they carry are seismic.

Castaways
Written by Pablo Monforte
Illustrated by Laura Perez
Translated by Silvia Perea Labayen
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Madrid in the eighties, and Barcelona ten years later.

In these two vibrant locales, Castaways follows the relationship between Alejandra and Julio against the backdrop of these poetic urban spaces where dreams, love, and uncertainty intertwine. Drawn to one another but constantly pushed or pulled in different directions by work, family, and life, Alejandra and Julio circle in and out of each other’s lives, while first denying and then coming to accept the fact that by the time they are ready to love one another, the chance has already passed.

Intensely emotive and poignant, this stunning graphic novel from Laura Pérez and Pablo Monforte depicts themes of maturity, responsibility, and human connection.

3. Once Upon a Time in . . . Mangolia

Oliver Ho, Daniel Reynold, and Ruth Redmond have packed so much into this title that it’s impossible to know where to start. International races. The lingering ghosts of war moguls. Con artists. I think the only way to sort through all this is only by reading the comic.

Genghis Con
Written by Oliver Ho and Daniel Reynolds
Illustrated by Ruth Redmond
Published by Renegade Arts Entertainment

Guilt-ridden grifter Alexis, seeks redemption for herself and justice for her sister, by taking part in a win or die rally race from England into the mountains of Mongolia. Along the way, she must team up with her ex-lover and fend off attacks from parties unknown, including one particularly ruthless gangster. Meanwhile, the spirit of a mysterious Mongol warrior haunts Alexis on her journey.

4. The Rink is the World

There’s only one true way to save the world, and that’s by roller skating.

Getting Dizzy
Written by Shea Fontana
Illustrated by Celia Moscote
Published by BOOM! Studios

Dizzy wants to be the best! But in the case of everything she’s tried, including roller skating, this teen has only been able to achieve one thing –  disaster.

Just when she is ready to pack it in, everything changes when the Negatrixes attack, forcing her to take up the mantle of ‘Burb Defender!

But if she wants to save the world, she’s going to have to assemble the coolest skating crew in the ‘Burbs.

From New York Times bestselling author Shea Fontana (DC Super Hero Girls, Wonder Woman Rebirth) and acclaimed artist Celia Moscote (Juliet Takes Breath) comes an aspirational new series, perfect for fans of Save Yourself! and Rollergirl, that reveals a true hero is nothing without her friends.

5. Pulling You In

“Lure” is a feat of the imagination. Milburn’s visuals are mind-bending and elaborate, with so many shapes and designs there’s no way you’ll see everything your first time through. This is a book to immerse within, to lose everything about yourself.

Lure
Written and Illustrated by Lane Milburn
Published by Fantagraphics

In this SF graphic novel, a group of idealistic young artists from Earth are commissioned to collaborate on a corporate art project for a planet that has been colonized for luxury living.

The world’s elite use the ocean planet of Lure as a luxury vacation hub for a decade. But when climate change threatens Earth’s long-term habitability, many of those who can afford it move to Lure for good. When the opportunity to work there for a year is offered to visual artist Jo Sparta, as part of a group of artists collaborating on a large-scale installation of public art, it seems like the chance of a lifetime. But then, Jo stumbles across a nefarious plot by her corporate benefactors and feels compelled to go public.

Lure showcases Milburn’s rich visual imagination, with the planet Lure itself an ever-seductive, otherworldly paradise against which he spotlights themes of climate change, the disparity of wealth, and the value of art – all in the service of a grippingly moral thriller.

6. Here There Be Magic

This all ages adventure comic features pirates and magic mapmakers and a cast of diverse characters. Often, some of the purest, most outrageous rides are those directed toward a younger audience. It’s as if all the creators involved allow themselves to get unhinged for a minute.

The Mapmaker
Written by Ben Slabak
Illustrated by Francesco Carita
Published Scout Comics

Imagine a parallel Earth during The Age of Discovery. Imagine The Pirates of the Caribbean where the prize is a fantastical power wielded by a mysterious individual known simply as “The Mapmaker.” Any map he creates comes to life, a power highly desired by King Gus, who will stop at nothing to obtain it. The crew of the privateer ship The Rogue Wave, captained by the courageous Lei Li, are the only ones standing in their way with a mission to deliver The Mapmaker’s successor before his power wanes and is lost forever.

7. Spy Kid

Here we have a middle-grade spy thriller about a girl who discovers her parents have always been working for the CIA. Everything untangles around her. Glock has provided cartoons for The New Yorker. Her style reminds me of old storybooks, with flowing, fluid pencil lines and an almost gentle touch. Which might go great when pitted against unraveling secrets and dangerous situations.

Passport
Written and Illustrated by Sophia Glock
Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Young Sophia has lived in so many different countries, she can barely keep count. Stationed now with her family in Central America because of her parents’ work, Sophia feels displaced as an American living abroad, when she has hardly spent any of her life in America. Everything changes when she reads a letter she was never meant to see and uncovers her parents’ secret. They are not who they say they are. They are working for the CIA. As Sophia tries to make sense of this news, and the web of lies surrounding her, she begins to question everything. In the hands of this extraordinary graphic storyteller, this astonishing true story bursts to life.

8. Pedal to the Metal

This cover of this book features a shark strapped to a car, which has been set on fire, leaping over a bunch of reptile demons in a desert canyon. I don’t think there’s anything else you need to know.

Roadshow #1
Written and Illustrated by James the Stanton
Published by Silver Sprocket

Arriving at the start of a mysterious race three days late isn’t ideal, and discovering that the entire race is one long battle might be worse. Monolithic rock monsters, hoards of lizards, sharks and truck driving birds face off in the first issue of this humorous battle comic mini-series.

9. The Pneumatic Void

Sergi Puyol’s new book, “Strange Blood,” is one of those titles that doubles down on its graphic design elements to weave its obsessive narrative. Think Chris Ware or Charles Burns. The lines are thin and open, the characters deceptively simple, the whole presentation has this handcrafted feel; it’s one of those books that screams it’ll be an experience.

Strange Blood
Written & Illustrated by Sergi Puyol
Published by Centrala

Strange Blood is both a mystery thriller and psychological exploration of what triggers obsession inside the human mind. What exactly does stranger blood stand for? Arnaldo’s life is filled with a pneumatic void. He can’t stand Fridays, can’t stand working, he can’t stand, in general, his sorry postmodern existence. Until one day something random happens. Against his will, his spirit is shaken to the core leading him into an all-consuming obsession. He goes on a compulsive hunt to find answers, and his search will lead him through Russian novels, gallons of beer and into metaphysical questions to finally realize one can escape any place on earth except his mind.

10. Baby Baby It’s a Wondrous World

On one hand, it looks like it’s set to be a proof of concept for an animated project down the line. On the other, it’s bristling with imagination and energy and a sense of spectacle. Sometimes, that’s what you want out of a comic.

The Wondrous World
Written by Howard M. Shum
Illustrated by Armando M. Zanker
Published by Axiom

A group of kids have heard tales of a magical world with advanced technology and strange creatures and discover that the world actually exists when they are transported there and now have to find their way home as they face real danger.

That was fun. Let us know what you’re excited for in the comments!