New York City Glow (Rachel Coad, Upswell)

The first book by Margaret River-based artist and comic maker Rachel Coad, New York City Glow is an old-school action-packed romp through 1970s American counterculture. Mixing fact and fiction, the simple story follows Strawberry, a music-loving glowing octopus (a real species) on the run from the law. With stars in her eyes, she hooks up with sad-sack Kentuckian insurance salesman Snake (a literal snake) on a road-trip to NYC, eventually landing herself a job as a cleaner at the legendary punk club CBGB. Despite some bumps along the way, the pair eventually plays a significant role during the 1977 New York City blackout (a true historical event). Coad’s beautiful, sepia-toned caricatures, including cameos from Johnny Ramone and Lou Reed, are reminiscent of classic illustrated movie posters from the 70s—think American Graffiti or Rock and Roll High School. Not just concerned with music (the book includes a suggested soundtrack of songs on every page), references to movies also abound: one of the cleverest and most visually enjoyable scenes takes place in a movie theatre as Strawberry causes a commotion during a screening of The Exorcist. The story is relatively thin in terms of plot and character—but that seems to be the point: rather than an in-depth psychological study, this comic is a piece of visual art, most concerned with capturing the mood of a specific time and place in history. A love letter to the underground, New York City Glow is a gritty and gorgeous analogue throwback for comic-lovers and anyone who has ever been obsessed with the 70s, or, well, a fan of anything at all.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Kelsey Oldham is a former editor of Books+Publishing. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Reviews