08/27/2018
The first story in this magical collection of short comics opens on a group of female pals who “all got kicked out of astronaut school for being too good looking to be sent to space.” This sets the tone for the entire escapade, which mixes elements of fantasy and science fiction—enchanted pork pies, android boyfriends, underwater hotels—into a contemporary young-adult milieu of zines; podcasts; sleazy gaming guys; sarcastic roommates; and smart, cool, insecure women. Two friends confront their doppelgängers; a girl is fitted with an electric prosthetic tongue; a young divorcee travels to her parents’ lake house with her new girlfriend. Though the plots are eclectic, the stories share a common thread in their exploration of memory and self, themes that mesh with the melding of fairy-tale past, millennial present, and cybernetic future. Nowak switches up her visual style for each piece, but her art is consistently appealing, with relatable funny-faced characters inhabiting imaginatively detailed settings, all drenched in bright broad-paintbox colors. Two of the stories won Ignatz Awards, and the full collection represents the emergence of a promising new comics talent. Agent: Jennifer Linnan, Linnan Literary Management. (Oct.)
WINNER of 2019 IGNATZ Award for OUTSTANDING COLLECTION
Paste Magazine's 25 Best Comic Books of 2018
The Beat's 100 Best Comics of the Decade
“Nowak tosses off more wildly imaginative ideas per page than some creators have over their entire careers.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“These stories… illuminate something profoundly familiar and deeply resonant about women’s interactions, relationships, and ways of being in the world... Though their playful art, bright colors, and sly humor might make this seem light and breezy, there are poignant, surprising undercurrents here, and they are simply captivating.” — Booklist (starred review)
"Spellbinding... The girls in this book are flawed, unique, and complex... Girl Town is a cerebral, spirited work of art." — Foreword Reviews (starred review)
"Magical in the tradition of Allende, Borges, and Okazaki… You don’t finish the stories collected here so much as emerge from them: wistful, yearning, and as from all the best dreams, changed." — The Verge (Best of 2018)
"Messy in the best, most invigorating way... Girl Town, like its protagonists, is caught in a swell of uncertain feelings, and will stick with you long after you’ve finished the short stories within." — Paste (Best of 2018)
“Exquisitely illustrated... captures the intensity and the absurdities of female relationships.” — Publishers Weekly (Best of 2018 Critics Poll)
"Each story is quirky and thoughtful... deeply Millennial in every way possible." — Tor.com (Best of 2018)
"Poignant and funny." — Barnes & Noble (Best of the Month)
"On top of being incredibly charming, Girl Town is also full of some incredibly strong characters." —CBR
“Nowak’s comics always hook me from the first panel. It’s such a joy to be surprised, entertained, and touched by the sexy, sweet, fully-realized worlds they create in each of their stories.” — Lisa Hanawalt, creator of Tuca & Bertie
"I raise my glass, tip my hat, and set off a million dollars worth of fireworks to Casey Nowak's electric brain, electric fingers and eclectic, electric storytelling smarts. What a wise, sad, funny, exhilarating book!" — Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble and Magic for Beginners
★ 12/01/2018
Nowak (Lumberjanes) tosses off more wildly imaginative ideas per page than some creators have over their entire careers in this invigorating collection of short stories. In the opening piece, a woman kicked out of astronaut school for being too attractive pines for her neighbor, whose arm mysteriously vanishes overnight. The next story, which follows two friends as they shop at a market specializing in fantastic goods and bizarre attractions, is charming and funny right up until the end, when it becomes extremely poignant. The standout piece follows and stars a woman with an electric tongue (she lost the original in a motorcycle accident) who attempts to get over her ex by purchasing a robot boyfriend. That might sound like a premise straight out of Black Mirror, but Nowak makes it her own by eschewing heady speculation about artificial intelligence in favor of a probing yet tender character study. VERDICT Nowak's characters banter, bicker, and yearn for love, connection, and acceptance. Their world isn't quite ours, but their struggles are familiar and very entertaining.—TB
Winter 2018
This anthology gathers five stories, including one previously unreleased tale and two Ignatz Award winners. Though the entries cover a range of genres (sci-fi, realistic, horror, and more) and topics (astronaut school rejects, an emotional house-sitting stint), all explore discovering and accepting oneself. Refreshingly, female characters express vulnerability and strength. Relying on sturdy, at times unpolished linework and a palette of pinks and purples, the art depicts people of different body types and sexualities. The minimalist backgrounds and shading of many of the tales reflect the character-driven storytelling, although "Radishes" and "Girl Town" provide numerous detailed backdrops, and "The Big Burning House" stands out for its text-heavy presentation intermingled with other visuals. The lettering throughout is difficult to read owing to its angled, handwritten, and inconsistently kerned style, but the dialogue, while sometimes absurd, is authentic. There is some cursing, nudity (including a bacchanalia scene), and limited, unrevealing sex scenes. VERDICT Empowering and beautifully haunting, this work will find its home among hard-core graphic novel fans and those seeking nuanced representations of women.—Alea Perez, Westmont Public Library, IL
