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A review by justabean_reads
Firebugs by Nino Bulling
3.5
I don't see a translator here, so I'm assuming Bulling wrote the English version themself. This was originally published in German a few years ago, and is now out in a gorgeous English edition by Drawn & Quarterly, whose books are so well-constructed that I want to lick them. The art is sketched, all fast-moving curves, black and white save for the many meanings of red as it comes in and out of the picture. And again, the book is so pretty as an art object.
As wild fires rage in Australia and existential dread creeps over a whole generation as climate change makes things very bad very quickly, a queer German party enby tries to figure out of there's much point exploring their gender feelings or figuring things out as the world's in the midst of ending. They're dating a trans woman, who is doing her best to be supportive, while dealing with her own damage, but as the months pass, stress builds in the relationship.
As you can probably tell from the above, there are a lot of unresolved feelings on the go here, and they remain unresolved at the end of the graphic novel. I appreciated the rawness, and how of the moment it felt, but I do think I'd have liked it to be a little longer, and to have spent more time with the characters.
As wild fires rage in Australia and existential dread creeps over a whole generation as climate change makes things very bad very quickly, a queer German party enby tries to figure out of there's much point exploring their gender feelings or figuring things out as the world's in the midst of ending. They're dating a trans woman, who is doing her best to be supportive, while dealing with her own damage, but as the months pass, stress builds in the relationship.
As you can probably tell from the above, there are a lot of unresolved feelings on the go here, and they remain unresolved at the end of the graphic novel. I appreciated the rawness, and how of the moment it felt, but I do think I'd have liked it to be a little longer, and to have spent more time with the characters.