Eartha

"Cathy Malkasian’s previous graphic novels combine fabulist fiction with social satire, and in the gorgeous, gently surreal Eartha, the satire hits particularly close to home. Consider: Her main character visits a city whose residents are addicted to biscuits printed with headlines of lurid tragedy (“Septic Jackass Gambles Naked! Prominent Orgy Provokes Rabies!”) and are ruled by thuggish, Mussolini-like figures who encourage the populace to embrace dull-eyed cynicism and performative despair. Eartha is an extended dream with a fixed moral compass, a story about the abiding, transformative power of believing in humanity, even when – especially when – it lets you down."