Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Drawn and Quarterly, graphic novel, jessica campbell, rave

Preview: Evangelical & Goth Girl Sleepovers in Jessica Campbell's Rave

Rave is a new graphic novel by Jessica Campbell being published this April by Drawn & Quarterly that pairs a dutifully evangelical 15-year-old with the Wiccan goth girl next door for a study-date sleepover. It's described as a queer love story that wrestles with sexual awakening and shame, set in the early 2000s against the soundtrack of dial-up internet.

A queer coming-of-age story, complete with secret cigarettes, gross gym teachers, and a lot of church It's the early 2000s. Lauren is fifteen, soft-spoken, and ashamed of her body. She's a devout member of an evangelical church, but when her Bible-thumping parents forbid Lauren to bring evolution textbooks home, she opts to study at her schoolmate Mariah's house. Mariah has dial-up internet, an absentee mom, and a Wiccan altar―the perfect setting for a study session and sleepover to remember. That evening, Mariah gives Lauren a makeover and the two melt into each other, in what becomes Lauren's first queer encounter. Afterward, a potent blend of Christian guilt and internalized homophobia causes Lauren to question the experience. Author Jessica Campbell (XTC69) uses frankness and dark humor to articulate Lauren's burgeoning crisis of faith and sexuality. She captures teenage antics and banter with astute comedic style, simultaneously skewering bullies, a culture of slut-shaming, and the devastating impact of religious zealotry. Rave is an instant classic, a coming-of-age story about the secret spaces young women create and the wider social structures that fail them.

Jessica Campbell is a Canadian artist based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Represented by Western Exhibitions, we have an eight-page preview of Rave below.

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