Broken Frontier

NBM ComicsLit’s most exciting new launch of this fall mixes Japanese manga with American and European influences for a touching story about two sisters against the world. It is Unholy Kinship, the first graphic novel, in full color, from Naomi Nowak, a Swede of Hungarian/Polish origin who speaks and writes perfect English.

Luca is the younger sister of the two now orphaned teen girls whose parents disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The parents’ work, involving research into primates and speech, upset people. Their sudden absence has sent Luca’s sister into a failing mental state, and Luca bears the full burden of supporting them both. Luca, caught between her sister’s perhaps insane wishes and her doctors’ decrees, drifts into depression and fantasy herself, and is not sure she can separate fantasy from reality.

"I’m quite excited about this launch," NBM publisher Terry Nantier explained, "as Naomi’s book provides a bridge for female manga readers into the rest of comics. This is the biggest opportunity given all of us right now. Manga has been remarkably successful at bringing a whole young female readership back to comics. Now the challenge is to retain these readers as they mature, not let them move on and forget comics as happens too often to our medium. I feel books like this one, which speaks very directly to a young female readership, can provide a bridge from standard manga to the next step, the books that we and other top graphic-novel houses publish."

Readers will note the time Nowak takes in creating atmosphere with panels devoted simply to decor and visual elements that set a mood. In this regard, Nowak brings a very fresh look to comics. "Nowak could be one of the most exciting new talents to burst on the comics scene. At 21, she’s only starting, and what a debut!" said Nantier.

Full color graphic novel
Trade paperback format
Length: 112 pages
Size: 5” x 7”
Price: $9.95
ISBN: 1-56163-482-4
Publication: November 2006