SuperMutant Magic Academy

I was not expecting to love this book. I didn't know it was adapted from a webcomic and so I was a little disoriented upon finding that it did not have an overarching plot or narrative. Most of the short sketches are contained in 4 to 6 panels with a few exceptions. Despite my initial resistance to the format though, the characters really won me over.

Jillian Tamaki is really good in portraying relatable characters (yes, even super mutant ones) and the various ways they negotiate with the world. She does not gloss over topics such as teenage sexuality, dealing with insecurities and their various hormone-driven angst and she does it with so much heart that you start feeling for these characters in the very short strips that you encounter them.

I especially love the antics of one character named Frances. She appears to be your typical prickly, jaded, pseudo-intellectual teenager. She smokes in class and does a lot of crazy things in defiance of societal norms and expectations. But she does it with so much sass and acerbic wit that I can't help but love her.