
Comics readers, rejoice: our preview of the spring's most exciting titles for fans of all ages is here. The feature also includes a dedicated manga list, a profile of British cartoonist Gemma Correll, and Q&As with two other movers and shakers in the comics space.
In other news, it's a rainy Friday in New York City, and my colleagues are recommending a slate of backward-glancing titles that suit the mood. We've got a gritty work of historical fiction set in the Hudson Bay, a melancholy graphic novel about cuddling one's own ghost, and an investigation of our obsession with the houses and workspaces where great works of literature were made.
—Conner Reed
By Ian McGuire (Crown)
I might have mentioned this before, but I don’t usually do historical fiction. When Ian McGuire releases a new book, though, I readily make an exception. I’m a huge fan of his last novel, The Abstainer, and can’t wait to dive into this new one, about the evils and ill fates of men hunting for gold along the 18th-century Hudson Bay. Like Cormac McCarthy, McGuire is a master of naturalism whose work always feels entirely modern. —David Varno, literary fiction reviews editorBy Roman Muradov (Fantagraphics Underground)
Why yes, Fantagraphics does have an even-more-indie imprint—cheekily called F.U. ("Fantagraphics Underground")—and I’m taken with this meditative, slyly sensual, and aesthetically delicious graphic novel. Muradov, an Ignatz-nominated Armenian artist living in the UK, brings the sensibilities of arthouse film to the visceral texture of his muted, abstracted visual storytelling. The story is about a woman who kills herself only to be reluctantly reborn to her dull existence, which is ironically enlivened by cohabitating—and snuggling—with her own ghost. —Meg Lemke, comics and graphic novels reviews editorBy Katie da Cunha Lewin (Princeton Univ.)
A few summers ago, I visited London with the sole purpose of walking the streets Virginia Woolf once roamed. Readers often pilgrimage to the sites where great works of literature were made, seeking closeness with the writers we love. Lewin taps into this desire in her insightful debut. She guides readers through the spaces where famous authors crafted their novels, from Woolf’s cottage in Sussex to the Brontë sisters’ dining-room table to Ernest Hemingway’s favorite Parisian cafés, attempting to pinpoint what it is about “the writer’s room” that fascinates us so. It’s a delightful and rewarding journey. —Marisa Charpentier, science and pop culture reviews editor|
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Theo of Golden
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You're My Little Cuddle Bug
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I Love You Like No Otter
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Heated Rivalry: Now Streaming on Crave and HBO Max (First Time Trade)
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Little Blue Truck's Valentine
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Llama Llama I Love You
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The Night Prince (Standard Edition)
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For more PW bestsellers lists, click here.