The word ‘hibernating’ always provides such a sense of cosiness and warmth. Meaning ‘to spend the winter in a dormant state’, for a homebody, this might sound like total bliss. However, in Vaso Michailidou’s debut comic Hibernating, the feeling is quite the opposite. Rather than being a narrative of rest and recuperation in the colder months, Hibernating is a story about the navigating modern life, told through the perspective of a disillusioned young woman.
Hibernating was self-published in 2025, is 48 pages long and is digitally drawn from start to finish. The cover instantly strips away any misinterpretation of the title; stark reds, pinks and purples are the core colour palette, with decaying flowers around the border, and two crows either side. In the center, the roof of a house is plucked away by a gigantic hand. Definitely not the cosy vibes readers may have expected.
Rather, Hibernating is a melancholic story told as a tragic-comedy, mixed with elements of magical realism. Our protagonist works in a nail salon, something she finds incredibly mundane. Day-to-day, she is an impassive spectator to the treatments and gossip. With her colleague Carly, she idly discusses her escape, and living her life to the fullest – something which never materialises. However, the arrival of a new customer in the form of a little old lady flips life as Carl knows it on its head (and not in a good way…). The seemingly sweet old lady is not what she seems, and she has STRONG opinions on Carly ‘wasting her youth’. Maybe someone who would really utilise it should take that youth instead?
It’s a twist readers won’t see coming, as the tale moves from a mundane nine-to-five job into psychedelic territory from then on, with huge mouths, magic, and a moustachioed, pipe-smoking caterpillar with a nicotine addiction (yes, it’s as brilliant as it sounds). The deadpan humour works wonderfully well with Michailidou’s digital illustrations, which are inky black and full of the most unique facial expressions. Particularly exciting was the versatility of the panels – each page was unique in how it would use adapt to the action on the page, from beautiful borders, to speech bubbles running cohesively through various panels to characters popping just out of the border (used especially well when opening a door or peeping over something). Michailidou has lots of fun playing with perspective and distortion, with imposing customers often dwarfing our protagonist, and panels being sliced into segments to depict various events happening simultaneously.
Vaso Michailidou is new to making comics and Hibernating is her very first one. However, with the humour, pacing, intriguing storyline and eye-catching illustrations, I very much doubt it will be her last. I certainly hope not!
Vaso Michailidou (W/A) • Self-published, £9.65
Review by Lydia Turner
