"In" by Will McPhail introduces readers to Nick Moss, a character who initially appears as a typical autobiographical protagonist but evolves into something more complex. While the story delves into themes of solipsism and emotional distance, it struggles to maintain a cohesive tone and balance between humor and depth. McPhail's transition from one-panel cartoonist to graphic novelist proves challenging, with artwork and story sometimes feeling disjointed. Despite these shortcomings, moments of genuine emotional resonance shine through, particularly when Nick confronts his self-imposed barriers. "In" shows promise as a debut novel, offering glimpses of McPhail's artistic voice amid its narrative shortcomings.

I love the kaleidoscopic motif and the story unveiling like matryoshka dolls throughout. Definitely a beautiful graphic novel.

An interesting exploration of loneliness, human connection, relationships and family that bears re-reading. Nick is an artist who works from his apartment, where he lives alone. He spends his days almost entirely alone, but frequents an array of pretentious and absurdly named coffee shops. The narrative consists almost entirely of his attempts to connect with people: his neighbors, a plumber, a woman he meets in a bar, his mother and sister. By the end, he's getting better at it (feelings, who knew?!) but just when he does, he loses someone important to him.
There are some weird almost interstitial bits where the POV character sort of leaves reality and goes into an abstraction. Those were the least successful part for me as I felt McPhail was trying to make some sort of statement each time and it came off ham-handed.
Overall a solid read that would be great for group discussion.

I had mixed feelings about this book but the more I think about the more I like it. Our main character Nick feels like there's something more to life but he can't quite figure out how or where it is.

Overall, this was a pretty good graphic novel. I recommend reading it slowly and savoring the artwork as you go through.

White man has grand realization that women around him are people, have feelings, are complex. His mind is blown.

The only thing that saves this book from one star is the generally very good art.

Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next! Thank you for providing me with an arc. I found the novel to be overall quite thoughtful and thought-provoking! I wasn’t sure this would be as good as it was and it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely looking forward to what this author is going to put our next!

This was just great! It’s was tear jerking. I truly connected with this book — I am Nick, trying to connect, especially now.



Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read & review this graphic novel.

I routinely choose to read graphic novels because I find them a unique experience (most of the time). They are quick and usually tackle a topic that a full-length work might incorporate.
This was no exception. I assumed it might be a sequence of panels, but it was, in fact, one entire narrative. We have Nick as our protagonist. The blurb pretty much lays out the whole story. I did not read the blurb completely before going in, a good thing in this case. I did not warm to Nick immediately. I realised the disconnect between him and the world shortly after. This made the growth arc that his life takes in the book's duration all the more interesting to watch.
There is not much more that I can go into with regards to this work except to say that maybe it is not meant for children or too young children. This is due to the more graphic descriptions of Nick's life, which may not be suitable. Otherwise, it works well in letting people introspect about their standing with the world around them and the conversations one has with the outside world at large.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I had mixed feelings about this book but the more I think about the more I like it. Our main character Nick feels like there's something more to life but he can't quite figure out how or where it is.

Overall, this was a pretty good graphic novel. I recommend reading it slowly and savoring the artwork as you go through.

A graphic novel about connections and stage of acceptance. The coffee shop puns broke up the protagonists overarching theme of trying to make connections with the people around him. With relatable moments, some dry comic elements and the unearthing of why the main character is having a crisis at this moment.
An enjoyable poignant read with thought provoking moments and art work to match.

There's no other way to say it, Will McPhail's debut graphic novel In. is amazing. The story of a withdrawn hipster who can't (and doesn't want to) connect with people is so relatable and engrossing in mundane greatness that when it turns more serious towards the end, the reader cannot but feel for the protagonist. The art is incredible too, but that's to be expected from someone like McPhail. Really looking forward to his next graphic novel.

*A review copy was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
t/w: sex, nudity

The perfect balance of an interesting storyline, gorgeous illustrations and a brilliant use of colour. This book is a work of art.

‘It’ is a funny graphic novel by New Yorker magazine illustrator Will McPhail, and it is snarky, creative and reflective. The dialogues were hilarious and comedic without trying too hard, and the characters were likeable. It has been a long time since I’ve read something as good and memorable as this.

The story follows Nick, a 21st century ‘woke boy’ who spends his days in and out of cafes, working a job he hates and often times could be heard exciting himself through the walls and listening to Joni Mitchell right after. He struggles with emotional intimacy, and often has internal monologues about keeping a façade in a world where people commonly engage in small talk.

Then enters Wren, a wry and outgoing oncologist that he met at a bar while he was reenacting the common ‘sad guy at a bar’ scene from a ton of movies (he reference movies quite a bit throughout the story, most of the references fly past my head but I can still appreciate it). They hit off almost immediately and form an interesting relationship with plenty of sarcasm, teasing and emotional moments. She’s my favourite part of this book.

A big chunk of the book was on Nick trying to have conversations that matter with the people around him, and trying to know the person before it becomes too late. I also loved how McPhail left hidden messages in the scenes, especially the names of bars and hipster cafes. A reflection of society and businesses. It’s clever and always a joy to read. He writes in a way that is holding a mirror towards the audience and reminding them to reflect and form better relationships, encased in satire.

Colour is used very wisely in this graphic novel. Most of the pages are in black and white, heavy on the shading, but there are instances where colour is used, commonly to portray the explosion of emotions and happiness when there’s a connection or vulnerability. It is literally a burst of colour, and it is beautiful. Some scenes even looked like photographs.

It’s amazing.

So, you have a cartoonist named Nick who is kind of coasting through life, trying to figure things out. He isn't good at connecting with people, and he spends a lot of time pondering how to make a connection with someone....and then not doing anything about it. One night while pretending to be a sad man being sad in a bar, he meets a cheeky, outgoing woman named Wren who knows he's faking, and calls him on it. They chat a bit, then Wren's date shows up, and that seems to be that. They meet again on the subway, and things kinda go from there. Other fairly ordinary events in Nick's life get covered- babysitting his nephew, helping his mom do DIY projects in the apartment building she's fixing up, and my favorite, going to endless coffee shops with the funniest names (seriously, I was dying reading these names). It's all pretty boring stuff, just a regular slacker guy's life, but it works. I got to know Nick along the way, and I feel like we could be buddies. Sure, he can be kinda dumb, not to mention awkward and weird, but so can I. He's relatable; like you and me, he's just trying to get through his life, one day at a time. When things turn serious toward the end, I felt his pain, I've been through that too, and it's hard.
The art throughout is great, I really like McPhail's style. The characters all have these sort of bug eyes -white circles with a black dot in the middle- that somehow convey a range of emotions that you wouldn't expect them to. The story is one that people will enjoy or not enjoy; for me, it was funny, dorky, and relatable, but I can definitely see why some readers might feel differently- you wanna smack Nick sometimes. It really worked for me, though.

#In #NetGalley

Wow! That packed a punch. Will is detached from most everyone, finding it very difficult to make a connection. When he does, the book changes to full color as Will starts to daydream about what it all means. Will's writing is witty and wry, his cartoon skills top notch conveying emotion and meaning with a look. He sucked me in for about 150 pages with his dry wit when he delivers an absolute gut-punch I didn't see coming. All the air escaped from my lungs as I inhaled the rest of the book. Just absolutely stunning. My book of the year so far.

An incredibly truthful and moving read, lightened by laugh-out-loud quips throughout and a brilliant art style. I would have loved for this book to be twice as long.

An interesting exploration of human relationships (acquaintanceships, familial relationships, friendships and romantic relationships). The depth of some of the insights of the character surprised me, and the moments of connection were unlike anything I have ever seen. Definitely a book that makes you think about your life and about how you're interacting with others.

The art style was not my favourite, but it's definitely expressive and unique.

One of my favourite lines from the book:
"It's just us two here, Why not say things that we care about?"

I love Will McPhail's cartoons for the New Yorker, so I'm really grateful I was given this ARC! Done in his inimitable illustrative style, 'In' is a semi-autobiographical story of Nick, a cartoonist who finds he just can't connect with people, and is going through the motions of his daily life. He doesn't derive much joy from his work and he just wants to find his way 'in', to a world where the real people live. There were a lot of gags that were hilarious, specially the names McPhail gives the coffee shops that Nick frequents, an excellent send-up of pretentious coffee-drinking. I found Nick's solipsism grating though, he's quite lucky to be privileged enough to have the time to ponder his detachment! The novel does seem self-aware in parts, of Nick's navel-gazing, through the ways his sister views him, and his conversations with Wren, a lovely, fascinating oncologist he occasionally dates. Nick's breakthrough was a little too forced, the deus ex machina seemed infantilising- though McPhail captures hospital visits and stays, and the complete information asymmetry you face when it comes to medical emergencies extremely well. Recommended for fans of Murakami, and this has a bonus of having intelligent, well-written female characters! For a debut novel, this was a fun read, and I would want to read any others he writes!

This book was well executed but not for me. I typically enjoy graphic novels and comics, but I found this one hard to follow. It jumped right into the story without any really introduction to the characters or setting, and I had a hard time getting invested in the characters.

Will McPhail creates a graphic novel with intention. The novel, while primarily in monochrome, has these bursts of beautiful and vibrant color. A tactic which only furthers the premise of the book which is that the main character, Nick, is presently going through life in a detached manner. He may meet and talk to people but it is always superficial, there is never any meaning to it.

He begins to question the status quo: why do we never have meaningful conversations? This leads him to attempt to create opening for meaningful moments. These can be a time where someone shares something more honest than normal, lets another person in on some truth, or says something of value or impact. When this does occur the entire book changes to show how this type of interaction actually feels. Sometimes it feel like you are standing on the precipice of something, sometimes it is like falling or flying, and so on.

It is these moments throughout the book that McPhail gives the story more life and the deeper you go into the story and the more moments you experience with the narrator the more you find yourself feeling connected to the book, the more the book feels like it has some sort of meaning. Because, frankly when I first started reading it I worried it was a semi-meaningless book with not much to offer other than some pretty darn good humor.

What a magnificently beautiful graphic novel!

I feel singularly honoured to have been able to read an advanced copy of this book. It's absolutely lovely, and funny, and self-aware, and relevant, and hard-hitting, and many, many, other things besides.

While the overall black-and-white artwork is interesting rather than what I'd call beautiful, the opposite is true of the coloured sections. The purpose and use of colour in this graphic novel drives it from a quaint, eminently relatable story to something that lifts you out of your thoughts and demands that you do some introspection.

I'm not exactly sure who I'd recommend this to, but I'll settle for saying I think everyone should just read it.