The follow up to last year's
Lucky, Cecil and Jordan is the second hardcover collection of Ms. Bell's acutely observed and finely rendered slice-of-life comics. Amazingly, this 148 page hardcover volume printed in full color, three-color, two-color, and black and white is priced the same as last year's 111 pager that was limited to black and white only. And that's just the surface reality. More importantly, the work itself clearly demonstrates Bell's continuing growth as both an artist and storyteller, demonstrating ample lucidity in both form and content. Almost all the work collected here has seen print in one place or anohter – Bell's own (now discontinued) title,
Lucky, MOME, D & Q Showcase, Kramers Ergot, and several one off anthologies – so hardcore fans may have already encountered much of this material. Only the collection closer, "Helpless," appears here for the first time. That said, the material here marks Gabrielle Bell as Adrian Tomine's heir apparent at D & Q, and is recommended to all who enjoy insighitful tales of coming of age in America. Take a moment to read this
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