Stack Overflow: 3 Mysterious Comics

Geek Dad

2 days ago

We took a trip recently for a family reunion in San Diego—it was the first time I've gotten to see both of my siblings and my parents all in one place since 2018, so there was a lot of catching up to do! It was great to hang out with my nieces and nephews, teach them some board games, and find out what sorts of things they're all up to these days. And now that I'm back, there's a lot of catching up of a different sort. I haven't entirely gotten myself out of vacation mode yet, getting back to meal planning and article writing, not to mention getting ready for the start of school at the end of the month! Even though we've got some hot weather this week and it definitely feels like summer, my calendar tells me fall is quickly approaching.
Today's stack is three comic books that I read before my trip—which means some of the details have become a little murkier already, though each of these three still left a strong impression. Though they're very different books, the one thing they have in common is a bit of mystery.
Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones
Eli Jones lives in a small town and works in the local coffee shop, but he has a secret: he can do magic. What he doesn't know, though, is that there's a whole organization of witches, the Arcana, and his dabblings in magic has caught their attention. When James is sent to investigate some odd rumors, he ends up meeting Eli, which sparks a romance and also introduces Eli to this magical world, and he soon becomes friends with several other witches. The majors, who run the Arcana, have some secrets of their own. In hushed meetings behind closed doors, they've been discussing these younger witches—and something about a curse?
The illustrations are wonderful: most of the pages use a single hue (which changes from section to section), which makes dashes of contrasting colors stand out. These contrasting colors can mark when characters are using magic, or shifts in mood, or to indicate somebody's memory, and so on. I also liked the way that the illustrations are given room to breathe, with occasional panels that have little or no dialogue, letting the artwork tell the story.
Note that this is the first book of a planned series—I didn't realize it when I started, but by the end I was wondering how they would be able to wrap up so many twists and answer all the questions … and then it ended on a cliffhanger. I'm definitely eager to find out what happens next, though since this one is brand-new I suppose I'll have to wait a bit!
Greater Secrets written by Ananth Hirsh, illustrated by Tess Stone
Maya's family has a strange ability. Each person in her family can see their own pillar of light, off in the distance—and nobody can remember if it's a family curse or some sort of blessing. Maya's father sought the light when he was younger, and refuses to talk about it. Her aunt went off to toward the light, and never came back. And now her older sister Amara has abandoned a budding music career to follow the pillar and has been gone for two years with no communication.
Maya is angry because she feels like Amara abandoned her, but she also wants her to come back. Eventually, she decides to go after Amara, traveling with two people she just met who have their own reasons for the journey. They've found clues about where Amara might have gone, and it seems to be taking them toward Maya's own pillar. What will she find when she gets there? Will it be a blessing or a curse?
I really enjoyed this one as well. Even though Maya's relationship with her parents is strained and she's often shouting about Amara, you can also see the way that they care about each other. Cardea is obsessed with Amara and is the one who really drives the search, convincing Maya to join her. Dyno, meanwhile, has a personal connection with the town where they found a clue about Amara, and he feels like it's time to go back. They all have their secrets, which are eventually shared as they make the long drive and get to know each other.
I won't spoil it, but while the ending does answer some questions, it also keeps some things a mystery. If you like your books to have everything tied up neatly and the answers spelled out, this might not be the book for you. But if you're more interested in the journey itself, then this road trip with Maya, Cardea, and Dyno is worth taking.
Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy: The Graphic Adaptation by Paul Karasik, Lorenzo Mattotti, David Mazzucchelli
The New York Trilogy was originally published in 1987; it's a trio of postmodern stories that start off like detective stories, but then spiral off in strange directions. This book is a graphic novel adaptation of the three stories: City of Glass , Ghosts , and The Locked Room . While City of Glass was adapted into a graphic novel in 1994, the other two books were not adapted until now, and all three are collected in this hardcover. I hadn't actually heard of these books before—they were first published when I was just a kid—so this version was my introduction to them.
City of Glass starts off with a wrong number. Quinn, a mystery writer, gets a phone call in the middle of the night from somebody asking for Paul Auster, a detective. He says it's a wrong number and hangs up, but the third time it happens he decides to go along with it, pretending to be Paul Auster and agreeing to investigate the case. The case involves some very strange people, but he's hired to protect Peter Stillman from his father, who has just been released from prison. Quinn throws himself into the case, going to extremes to track the Elder Stillman and record his movements, trying to piece together his intentions. The mystery goes off the rails and into some very strange territory, particularly when Paul Auster himself makes an appearance.
The adaptation of Ghosts is a little different—much of it isn't formatted like a comic book, but as prose paired with illustrations, so it includes a lot more text (possibly it's the entire text of the original story, though I don't know that for sure). We're introduced to a bunch of different people with color names: 'White wants Blue to follow a man named Black.' Blue is provided with an apartment across the street from Black, and he's tasked with observing Black and sending in reports, for which he will get paid. But what is he watching for? How long will he need to follow Black? Blue's life becomes entirely subsumed by his assignment, and he starts to wonder if he's actually the one under surveillance.
The final story, The Locked Room , is about a writer who becomes tangled up with the life of his childhood friend, Fanshawe. When Fanshawe vanishes and is presumed dead, he leaves behind piles of writing. His widow, Sophie, was given instructions to pass the writing along to the unnamed writer (and narrator of the story). He agreed to take a look, and eventually helps to get Fanshawe's books published. The books are successful—more successful than the narrator's own writing has ever been—and there is a lot of material to pull from. But as he dives more and more into Fanshawe's work, he also starts to lose himself in Fanshawe's identity.
My descriptions of the stories are just barely scratching the surface. A lot of the stories is about what's going on inside the minds of the three protagonists, and the illustrations often serve as visual metaphors: falling into pits, getting trapped in a room or a box. In each story, the protagonist spins out of control in some way, usually getting lost in a maze of their own thoughts. The mysteries aren't really solved so much as they're dissolved, crumbling to pieces under the weight of a man's obsession. I don't know if I'd say I enjoyed reading The New York Trilogy , but I did find it really fascinating and disturbing. My Current Stack
Aside from these comics, I've finally gotten around to a couple of 'Art of' books for some older movies and TV shows, with a few more in the stack. I also enjoyed Infinite Archive , the latest installment of the Midsolar Murders by Mur Lafferty, and a short story collection called An Oral History of Atlantis by Ed Park. I also just recently started reading The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal, the fourth book in the Lady Astronaut series. More on those in a future column!
Disclosure: I received review copies of the books covered in this column. Affiliate links to Bookshop.org help support my writing and independent booksellers! Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!