Another book recognised in the 2023 Broken Frontier Awards nominations, Lawrence Lindell’s Blackward has already had some extensive spotlight time at BF when Lindell provided this pre-publication creator commentary ‘Inside Look’ feature for the graphic novel last year. A narrative evolution from Lindell’s webcomic The Section, Blackward comes with the tagline “Black, weird, awkward and proud of it. Welcome to the club!”; a concise summation of the heart of this character-led slice-of-life tale.
Blackward follows four main characters, “nerdy queer punks” Lika, Amor, Lala and Tony who are looking to discover a space where they can be themselves without fear. After being booted out of their community centre these young friends find themselves dealing with toxic elements and opposition as they look to build a place where being Black and awkward can be embraced. Struggling to bring their vision to life the quartet set up a zine fair they name ‘Blackward’ in an all-out effort to make their dream a reality…
What Lindell skilfully pulls together here is a socially conscious story that touches on multiple relevant themes. Through the four leads he is able to explore issues like mental health awareness, bigotry, belonging, and the power of community to elevate and celebrate. Identity is at the very soul of the book whether that be characters fearing they are not Black enough or dealing with the negative projections of others. Lindell is also adept at the art of showing not telling when it comes to how his cast identifies, often using their respective environments to impart information about gender or sexuality, for example, and using colour coding motifs for his characters. (You can read more about that aspect in the aforementioned creator commentary).
Lindell’s cartooning style may appear uncomplicated but it’s wholly expressive and actually very sophisticated in the way in which it utilises the tools of the form, allowing us to get to the heart and the essential personalities of the characters. Look out too for his tour-de-force employment of hand-lettering to embellish and define story facets like interaction, emotion, character and conflict.
While Blackward tackles some very important questions about finding one’s community and the characters expressing their true selves, it’s also a heartwarming and extremely funny book in places (an early meeting scene with constant inane interjections from a performative white “ally” is particularly memorable). This first long-form work from one half of the Laneha House micropress was eagerly anticipated by anyone who has been following Lindell’s work. The wait was certainly worth it.
Lawrence Lindell (W/A) • Drawn & Quarterly, $22.95
Buy online from Gosh! Comics here
Review by Andy Oliver
