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Saturday, April 28, 2018

Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir


 This brand new graphic novel is a must-read for anyone who loves museums, ghost stories, or creepy mental hospital lore.  Our protagonist is troubled yet persistent Cel, who takes a questionable job as an archivist at a medical museum after losing her long-time job as a library assistant due to a mental breakdown.  Even though no one ever seems to visit the museum, Cel is required to work outside opening hours (i.e. in the middle of the night) and is encouraged to live in the windowless basement apartment that used to house tortured patients.  Oh, and her boss is clearly hiding something from her.  Add in artifacts that move around when no one’s looking, mysterious writing on the walls, and a girl who keeps visiting Cel in her nightmares, and you have all the ingredients for a story that should only be read by daylight.

Despite its many elements of horror, at its heart this is really a story about a young woman’s reckoning with her own inner demons.  As our cultural conversation begins to include more and more about mental health, it’s interesting to watch the impact this has on all literary genres, including the graphic novel.  The minimalist illustrations are colorful and expressive; I’ll definitely be waiting impatiently by the next work by both author (Weir) and illustrator (Steenz).

Recommended by Sophie 

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