Mental Floss commends Beverly

In Beverly, Nick Drnaso gives us stories of suburban dread, sexual longing, and the poor decisions people make when trying to deal with one another’s hangups. With a minimalist drawing style that looks like Chris Ware (if Ware directed a Cartoon Network show), Drnaso’s first major comics work shows that he is entering the scene already a very accomplished storyteller.

Beverly's interconnected vignettes are set in and around the same suburban town, and they include: a young woman dealing with sexual feelings for a childhood friend, a pre-pubescent boy whose sexual curiosity about his sister ruins a family vacation, and a teenage girl who finds the worst possible way of dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. Drnaso tells these stories at an almost languid pace and takes unexpected turns that keep you anxiously looking ahead. It’s a fresh and compelling book that I am mentally filing away for inclusion in my Best of 2016 list.