Nick, a young illustrator, can’t shake the feeling that there is some hidden realm of human interaction beyond his reach. Delivery charges may apply.A poignant and witty graphic novel by a leading New Yorker cartoonist, following a millennial's journey from performing his life to truly connecting with people To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at. by Will McPhail is published by Sceptre (£18.99). It’s a very fine debut, from a serious talent. fizzes with zeitgeist-skewering wit at others, it probes the quiet places where doubt lurks and love can flourish. But McPhail’s skill makes it all feel wonderfully fresh. is far from the first book to offer hipster satire or an account of a young creative waking up to the world, and love interest Wren lacks the depth of the rest of the cast. Elsewhere, he breaks from black-and-white to explore Nick’s inner life, rendering vast glaciers, strange beasts and deserted cityscapes in rich, surreal colour sequences that offer a lovely counterpoint to his nuanced sketching.
Many of his most moving panels are silent, holding the reader in the moment as emotions unravel. McPhail brilliantly catches the rhythms of conversation, the beats and platitudes and pauses that punctuate both day-to-day routines and our most meaningful moments. As the mood darkens, the book’s grip tightens. Nick’s world is jolted by bad news from his mother and a chance meeting with Wren, a doctor with a healthy disrespect for convention and a low tolerance for nonsense.
One coffee shop boast of “a mischievous blend with notes of fermented apricot and polished concrete” another is staffed by “translucent stable boys” who “leak cold brew from crystal tanks” a third offers free coffee but charges by the number of pages you write of your screenplay. McPhail laces his middle-class, not-quite-adult life with satire. follows Nick, a city-dwelling illustrator who mixes his own projects with ad agency work and strikes poses in coffee shops and craft-beer bars, while feeling like there must be something more to existence. This clever, thoughtful debut graphic novel shows that he can produce extended narratives with just as much panache as his single-panel cartoons. He started drawing for Private Eye while still at university, and sketches regularly for the New Yorker his Instagram feed is a parade of sharp ideas. Will McPhail’s funny, shrewd cartoons often feature animals – amorous crocodiles, sly mice and bickering lizards – and cast a curious eye on human behaviour.
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