From Booklist
Abel's slice-of-life comics about aimless but anxious twentysomethings, collected in Mirror, Window [BKL O 15 00], have been praised for verisimilitude and insight. Although not as fully realized, Abel's earlier stories in this volume show that she had already discovered the milieu of her work since and developed her considerable facility with characterization and dialogue. Several experimental pieces, however, don't take the straightforward storytelling approach that is her greatest strength, and her drawing style herein is more rough-hewn than it would be later. The volume also contains a generous sample of Abel's comic-strip journalism, in which she covers such events as a reading by Camille Paglia and a Godzilla-fan convention. Such real-life stories help account for how she developed her skill at writing realistic conversation and creating the sense of real places. This collection, ragtag as it may be, will keep Abel's fans happy while they await another collection of recent stories. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
