April 3, 2023
Indie scenester Nadine debuts with a sweet yet gritty queer supernatural romance set in modern-day Chicago. Leon, a young Black veteran of the Afghanistan War who is getting by on disability and occasional photography gigs, accidentally unleashes the spirit of Cody—a queer punk rocker who died in 1977—from a vintage camera that once belonged to Cody. A bewildered Cody soon learns that he was murdered, though he remembers none of the details. He senses that until he learns what happened he will be unable to pass on. The two team up to solve the mystery, starting by tracing who last had ownership of the camera, developing feelings for each other along the way despite the obvious challenges of human–spectral being love. As Cody tearfully tells Leon, “I can’t hold your hand or comfort you when you’re sad.” Nadine’s story line seamlessly jumps back and forth between Cody’s life in the ’70s and the present, elegantly encompassing themes of grief and trauma while celebrating the fun and rich possibilities of Chicago’s underground queer culture, with crisp drawings of the couple. This romance serves up a heartfelt haunting.
August 18, 2023
Nadine's prodigious graphic-novel debut is both a ghostly love story and love letter to their Chicago home, particularly the city's landmarks and indie music scene. Leon is having a day: his favorite Slurpee flavor is unavailable, his latest boyfriend moved, his job prospects aren't happening, his army disability payment is delayed. And now he's a photographer without a working camera. His mother, luckily, owns an antique store where he's able to find a replacement that's not only still loaded with unfinished film but also . . . already occupied. The shutter click releases spirited Cody, who borrows Leon's sleeping body to enjoy a Slurpee (not cherry) and visit his old haunts. Introductions are made when Cody returns Leon to Leon: turns out Cody was the lead singer of a band that was "pretty hot shit when [he] was alive" in the 1970s. What he can't remember is his death: "Maybe that's why I can't like, move on?" If the pair can figure out Cody's demise, then perhaps Leon can get his own life back. Working in black, white, and turquoise (realistically adding red when panels progress in the darkroom), Nadine proves to be an extraordinary storyteller in words and art. From simple outlines to detailed skylines to photographic collages, their dynamic art is an unstoppable marvel, transforming the spectral into the spectacular.
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