Penny Nichols, Penny Nichols! This graphic novel from Top Shelf and IDW will keep you reading and reading and reading. It’s the ‘novel’ in graphic novel, and in more ways than one.
It’s the novel-length story of (obviously) Penny Nichols, a middle-aged woman who seems to be floating along, taking temp jobs, staying single, and starting to get on her roommate’s nerves. She’s smart, and not too timid to speak her mind.
One day, while working at a trade show for health products, she meets a couple of guys who are making slasher movies on a shoestring budget. They want her help. But what happens when Penny starts to impose her sense of practical reality on these guys’ dreams?
Penny Nichols is written by MK Reed and Greg Means and illustrated in black and white line art by Matt Wiegle. Wiegle’s style is delightful and detailed. He gives us a real sense of Nichols’ world: quirky, off-the-beaten-path, and not so beautiful. But beautifully realized in its complexity.
This is a long long read. Page after page of small panels, crammed full of dialogue. Are you tired of flipping through your comics, looking at the pretty pictures and finishing the book in 4 minutes? Not with Penny Nichols! Hunker down and follow along. It’s an unvarnished gem!
IDW Top Shelf, Penny Nichols GN, $19.99 for 212 pages of content. Not rated, assume Teen +
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