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In Spite of Ourselves

It’s the first review of 2020 and it’s for a book with a listed publication date of January 2020. This website has never been more current! Enjoy it for this one comic, because that’s not going to last. This is listed as a graphic novella; there was a time when I remembered the cutoff point between a novel and novella, but that information has since flown out of my brain. Anyway, this is a autobiographical tale of an Oregon bike ride with Natalie and her partner Allie. They have a clear plan for how they’d like things to go, events on the ground force them to change their plan very quickly, and they soon settle on a second plan. The comic does a nice job of bouncing back and forth between things that happen on the road (good and bad) and the tension that comes in any relationship when you’re on a trip together, particularly a trip where one half of the duo feels constantly less than their partner because one of them is the more accomplished cyclist. The people you meet along the way are always half the fun of road trips (or, if they’re not fun, great fodder for stories once you get back), and Natalie put more than a few memorable characters into this one. If you’re a fan of the comics travelogue format, this one is a welcome addition to the genre. Or if you’re just a fan of autobio, there’s enough drama and uncertainty to keep you happy. If, however, you’re a fan of robots, you’ll have to find another comic. I realize I could say that for almost any comic, so I’m not sure why I mentioned it here. Give it a shot, is my point. $15