Comics
Review: No Place Like Home #2
The winds are beginning to blow in the second issue of Angelo Tirotto’s debut, No Place Like Home. Our heroine, Dee, has returned to her hometown, the modest village of Emeraldsville, due to the death of her parents. Here, she encounters an unusual cast of characters, including her pierced and punked-out best friend, Lizzie. There’s even a crazy drunk; what’s not to love? However, Dee is not the only one who has returned to Emeraldsville; a mysterious entity has also made an appearance, to severe consequences. Read on for the skinny…
WRITTEN BY: Angelo Tirotto
ART BY: Richard Jordan
PUBLISHER: Image
RELEASE: Out now
Issue #2 opens with the eccentric drunkard, Frank, being taken into custody for a crime that he insists he did not commit. Apparently, this is not the first of this series of crimes, and it is uncovered that a strange, possibly otherworldly being is causing the ghastly deaths. Soon, Dee and Liz uncover a gruesome secret (or two) that will take them one step closer to revealing the truth.
In my review of the first issue of No Place Like Home, I mentioned (in a large paragraph) the similarities between Lizzie and me. Now, I’m starting to notice a few subtle differences in personality; however, in this issue, I noticed that we actually have some of the same clothes. I feel like I’m looking at a caricature of myself in every issue, and I have a feeling that the similarities are only going to multiply. But, I’ll put my narcissism aside for now.
The complex story is really starts to come together in this issue, and the art is moving swimmingly along with it. Richard Jordan continues to wow me with his fantastic line work, The faces in this issue are especially fantastic. Dee’s face is stunningly drawn; she truly is a classic beauty with her large, round eyes and square jaw. Paul Little continues to use a more neutral colors, even the brighter tones are slightly dulled. The brightest color is the shade of red used for the blood, which definitely adds action to the gory scenes, and makes you think of Dorothy’s bright red shoes. And, of course, the rest of the book is chock-full of references from The Wizard of Oz, among other works.
The last section of the book, entitled “Lizzie’s Letters,” hasn’t had any actual letters yet. If you want to send some fan-mail to Lizzie, e-mail Lizzie@noonemournsthewicked.com, although Angelo’s entries are entertaining, as well. It always ends the comic on a light note to help me recover from the jaw-dropping cliffhangers. Image is releasing the next issue of No Place Like Home on April 18th – can’t wait!
Comics
[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream
Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.
“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”
Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.
Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.
Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.
Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.
Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.
Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.
Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.
Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion.
Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.
‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.
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