Adam

Written with stark honesty and no fear, Time Under Tension provides an intimate glance at a season in the life of author/illustrator M.S. Harkness. We see her move from college graduate to aspiring artist and personal fitness trainer while dealing with the trauma of a sexually abusive childhood, a physical relationship with an MMA fighter who is dating someone else and her own life aspirations. She tries therapy and drugs to help sort through all she is feeling towards the people in her life and, ultimately, the direction her life is going. It is one of the better crafted autobiographical graphic novels I have read where the author has some real skeletons to deal with in their closet. She doesn't paint herself as victim or hero, simply protagonist trying to find the best way forward. The art style feels lifted from my favorite bygone indie newspapers and magazines. This is Harkness' 3rd full length book it benefits from her practice; the art feels polished in a way her personal life doesn't. Not always an easy read and not for all readers, this was a story I found both interesting and a little heartbreaking. I'm glad to know that in real life the author is well received, she certainly left an impression.

This volume touches on the idea of graduating for what feels like the first time in the series. For all Magari's medical issues, we've never really looked at what happens at or after graduation. It was a jarring conversation because so much of this series exists inside of small, quiet moments and this really stuck out. It was very natural now that they are no longer the youngest class, but I didn't anticipate it and found myself really considering what it meant. I like that there are still surprises in this series and there are still things at stake. It felt earned and really influenced the rest of this volume. I'm looking forward to seeing how this is handled in subsequent volumes and how the relationships around them continue to evolve.

This story does such a good job finding wonderfully quiet moments and truly human moments. I have nothing negative to say about this story. The deliberate pace of the storytelling lets you live in each beat, the joy and sadness have a chance to settle. Magari's optimism continues to push them both forward while Ganta's practicality reminds the reader that there are real problems in front of them.

At the end of the day I can honestly say there isn't another ongoing series I look forward to as much as this. Part of that largely stems from how different this is from much of my other reading, but without fail this series provides the heart and carefully crafted visuals that make it perennially great.