Archival Quality

A fun graphic novel for junior audiences. Good story and pacing!

*** Thanks to Netgalley and the author for giving me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.***


I thought it was a pretty good graphic novel. There was haunting museums , a ghost friendship and there was a little of mental health issues, that in the end gave a pretty good message. Hope I can get my hands in other novels by this author. Also the afterword I think is called was pretty interesting as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for setting me up with this advanced copy of Archival Quality. I am not often drawn to graphic novels, but when I saw this one, I was instantly intrigued.
This was a lovely story about a girl struggling with her mental health while she tries to manage her life accordingly. Cel is diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, but she is too afraid to take her prescribed medications or seek treatment. This leads to losing her job, and struggling to live her day-to-day life. Enter: The Logan Museum – it’s haunted, but it’s got a job opening where you don’t need a degree. I absolutely loved seeing the mix between contemporary/mental illness rep. meets YA/fantasy ghost story. We do not get enough fantasy stories with diverse characters.
The entire cast was incredibly diverse, but it read organically. We got biracial/black representation, mental illness representation, and LGBTQ+ representation. However, it did not come off as “TRYING” to be diverse. The story was all-consuming, the art was absolutely beautiful, and I would definitely suggest this graphic novel to anyone looking to read a little more diversely, or who is looking for a fun and spooky read. I've already told my three closest friends that they need to preorder this graphic novel. Can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy! 4.5/5

I loved the duality of storylines here--following Celeste's struggle to get on her feet with a job she finds fulfilling while battling depression and a relationship and trying to solve the mystery of the creepy museum. The other characters were great as well--I enjoyed seeing the roles they assumed as the story progressed and how they all coped with confronting mental illness. As a fan of the Mütter Museum, I was as fascinated by the museum's backstory here as the characters...I kinda wish it didn't end the way it did so I could follow the story here longer. I look forward to reading more of the collaboration between Ivy Weir and Steenz if they continue this partnership in future comics.

Thanks to Net Galley and Oni Press for the advance copy of Archival Quality.

Thank you, NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Archival Quality quickly wrapped me up in its storyline and took me along for the ride. I was intrigued by the slow discovery of what is going on. The story was beautifully paced with well-developed characters that made the story even more enjoyable to read.

This story was an excellent ghost story filled with deeper meanings about life. Throughout the story, Cel grows and shows just how strong she is despite struggling with her mental illness. It was truly refreshing and exciting to see a character like Cel.

I devoured this book in record time, and was so sad when it was over. As a librarian who has interned in archives, so many of the vocational aspects in this story rang true. Archives have an undeniable allure and air of mystery, and a medical museum's macabre overtones provide a beautiful setting. Weir's skill at storytelling, character development, and drive for justice are clear. I can't wait to read what she does next.

*thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.
This was quite good! Each time I had to stop and put the book down, I felt myself looking forward to when I could get back to it. I love when a book can do this. I'll admit that at the start I wasn't too fussed on the illustrations. I am ashamed to admit that now but yeah, I didnt appreciate them until part way through when I felt that they actually worked and that they are quite good! This story deals with mental illness, particularly depression and anxiety and allll that comes with that. It's a very true example of what it's like, even though it's always going to be a bit different for anyone who does suffer from this, but the basics and more common trates of it were shown. So it was no real suprise to find out in the author's notes at the end that she had based the characters on real life. Cel in particular. I LOVED the relationship between Cel and Holly! They really liked and cared for each other and their friendship was so sweet. I also liked Gina, Holly's girlfriend. Another thing I really liked seeing is that the characters weren't stick figures. The females were curvey in body size and shape. Plus they were mixed race. See, there is quite alot to like about this. 

Now the actual story. It's about Cel who was a librarian (books!!!) but lost her job which upset her quite alot (understandably) but ended up finding another in an old Museum as an archivist. She met and became friends with Holly (I love her purple hair!!) and a guy named Aba. She also has a boyfriend who stood by her which was nice but he wasn't a favourite of mine. The Museum turns out to be an old Psychiatric Hospital/Aslyum which I really loved, and it's haunted by a ghost! It was a good story and I really hope that the author and illustrator write another graphic novel.

4.5/5 Stars

This book ended up being a lot better than I thought it would be.

I'm not entirely sure what I expected from this graphic novel, but it certainly wasn't what I got. I was very hesitant when beginning this book, mainly because this could've been pretty good or pretty bad. Luckily, it was the former. It's difficult to describe in some simple words, but I really enjoyed this air of uncertainty that was consistently present throughout the story, and I also enjoyed the focus on mental health, and how important it is to try to be healthy.

When I first realized that our main character, Celeste, was mentally ill and hadn't sought either treatment or medication, I became very...hesitant. I was worried that her not dealing with her mental health issues was going to be used as a plot device to add this "unreliable narrator WOW" to it, and would never be challenged. Instead it really ended up being a huge part of the novel, and also really relevant to the plot-line.

Celeste was an interesting character, one who evidently was struggling with anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. I can't speak for the representation here, but it is own voices, the writer having dealt with both depression and anxiety (not entirely sure about the bipolar disorder, she never mentions it in her afterword). Celine wanted to almost be cured of her issues altogether, despite that being impossible. It was very clear that she enjoyed her original job at the library because she didn't need to worry or stress about anything, and was the closest thing to stability she had. She was also extremely insecure about most of her actions, and insecure about most of her relationships, always scared that everyone just wants her out of the way because she is mentally ill.

Speaking of her relationships, I really disliked her boyfriend, Kyle. Kyle seemed to be very overprotective, somewhat passive-aggressive, and seemingly very demanding of Celeste. While I did understand that he was concerned about Celeste's well-being, seeing as how she wasn't dealing with her issues, I didn't understand why he constantly made EVERYTHING about their relationship, even accusing her of not caring about him when she saw her boss passing by for ONE SECOND and didn't immediately try to introduce the two. He was...a lot, to say the least.

I really liked how this plot suited Celeste so well, being the perfect mix of internal and external conflict, which I very much enjoyed. The progression of the plot invariably helped character development in a perfect arc. It was genuinely really well-done, and I had never seen it anywhere else.

I also enjoyed all the representation that was involved in this graphic novel, with there being 2 interracial relationships, and one relationship between 2 women that didn't seem to just be there for diversity's sake, and also wasn't based on stereotypes or had this tragic element to their relationship. It was really nice, and I wished that there was more of the couple and less of Cel and Kyle.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read, and thought it was extremely well-executed.

Cel Walden is having some mental health troubles. As a result, she loses her job at the library, but soon finds gainful employment as an archivist at the Logan Museum, a little-known repository of medical history. The new job is not quite what Cel imagined it might be: she's required to keep odd hours, obey a byzantine set of rules regarding her comings and goings, deal with a uniquely abrasive (and oddly secretive) boss, and, on top of all that, the museum (and her new apartment) both seem to be haunted.

Though Holly, the museum's resident librarian, is friendly and accommodating, Cel finds that the other stressors of her job combine to aggravate her already fragile mental state -- and it doesn't help that the ghost who is haunting her seems to have undergone serious mental health troubles of her own.

As a trained archivist and practicing librarian, the setting of this book was delightful for me (and will be even more interesting for folks in the medical history field). The characters here are given space to slowly reveal themselves, grow, and change, and the central mystery surrounding the archives and their restless ghost messily parallel Cel's own mental health struggles and their eventual "resolution" at book's end.

A wonderfully drawn, delightfully diverse, and extremely compassionate story. Definitely an instant favorite for me.

This beautifully drawn graphic novel brings representation to mental illness while also being a fun, haunted library/museum ghost story. I love how more and more comics have diverse casts. The character designs for each of the characters are wonderful.

I also really enjoyed the afterword and Weir's own personal story. This story was very close to her and that is evident in the detail put into it.

I give this graphic novel a 4/5. If you like ghost stories, creepy old asylums, and libraries, but also want a story with heart, you'll love this book.

When Celeste has a nervous breakdown at work, it eventually leads to the loss of her beloved job at the library. After ignoring treatment for mental health, she finally scores a new job at the Logan Museum, a place that has a lot of history and possibly a dark past. As the Archivist, Celeste spends hours alone at night in the library, but when she begins to see a mysterious girl in her dreams, things start to heat up. Celeste must find a way to help this girl and convince the people around her that she isn't crazy all while avoiding the menacing eye of "The Board".

I was pleasantly surprised by Archival Quality. Normally, I don't enjoy reading paranormal stories, but I was hooked throughout the entire graphic novel. I think my reading was probably biased. As a librarian, I connected with Celeste's job and the environment.

4/5 stars for me.

Archival Quality is a gem of a little comic. Starring Celeste Walden, who has just lost her library job due to a nervous breakdown, the story follows her explorations as archivist in a strange and secretive library. There's a mystery to uncover, one that becomes deeply personal to her as she begins to identify with the ghost contacting her. But these things are harder to investigate when people question your perceptions at every turn, and maybe you question your own.

Delving into the dark history of the treatment of mental illness in America, and reflecting on lingering perceptions and reactions that all people who have mental illness must face, Archival Quality transcends its mystery format to be exploratory and highly relatable. I read it in one sitting and will probably purchase a paperback copy for my collection later in the year when it's published.

I'd also say that this story in itself would be a good text for cultural/literary studies for young people, and it could be well paired with many staples in literature that deal with a narrator that is treated as unreliable or dismissed based on their mental status.

Full review on SAF forthcoming.

An excellently told and heartwarming tale concerning mental health and redemption.

A quick, fun read full of mystery, ghosts, and diversity and good mental health representation. in a well-drawn graphic novel.

Sometimes you root for the ghost.

Celeste Walden has fallen on hard times. She’s struggled with anxiety and depression for most of her life, and a recent breakdown cost Cel her dream job as a librarian. So when she lands a position as live-in, night shift archivist at the mysterious Logan Museum, it seems too good to be true. And it is: before long, Cel begins to lose time and wake up in strange places. She pulls away from her long-time boyfriend, Kyle, and her already-strained relationship with her mother continues to fray. She dreams of a sad, hurt girl who roams the museum’s grounds.

Cel fears she’s losing her mind again – that is, until she sees the face of the sad girl, staring back at her from one of the photographs in the museum’s collections. Celine is real, and her ghost is stuck in the museum, calling out to Cel for help. But why? And can Cel convince her co-workers, librarian Holly and curator Abayomi “Aba” Abiola, that Celine is real?

There’s so much to love here. ARCHIVAL QUALITY is a great mashup of supernatural ghost story, historical fiction, and semi-autobiographical memoir. There’s intrigue, villainy, self-introspection, greed, and a haunting set in a spooky museum that used to be a terrifying asylum. As a former psych student who also has anxiety and depression, I found the mental health aspect both engaging and compassionately done. The history of psychiatry – steeped in racism, misogyny, and ableism – is equally parts fascinating and horrifying, and makes compelling fodder for a ghost story. The setting of a museum/library is pretty great too, and is sure to tickle the fancy of all the bookworms out there. (C’mon, who doesn’t dream of roaming a library after dark?)

Perhaps my favorite part, though, is the cast, which is fun and interesting and diverse as heck – but in a way that feels natural and organic. I fell in love with Holly – fabulous wardrobe and b*tchin’ purple-and-blue hair – from panel one, and her girlfriend Gina has an ace up her sleeve too. Aba is an enigmatic and ultimately sympathetic character. The only person I didn’t much care for is Kyle (good riddance!), who clearly cares for Cel but comes off as a bit of a nag (for lack of a better word).

Cel, though: Cel is awesome. I see a bit of myself in her struggle, and found hope in her ending. She’s just one cool broad.

Read it if you like: books and libraries; ghosts; revenge; research; museums of oddities; nefarious white guys getting their due.

First, the scoop: Cel Walden is a young woman who loves working with books. But she loses her library job, because she's also dealing with crippling anxiety and depression. She finds another job, this time as an archivist, at the Logan Museum, where she's responsible for putting records in order and digitizing them. Sounds pretty cool, right? (You know it does.) She meets Abayomi, also called Aba, the secretive curator, and the fabulous Holly, librarian extraordinaire. Cel starts scanning and archiving, but notices strange things afoot at the library and the archivist's apartment on library property; she also starts having some strange dreams about a young woman who needs Cel's help. Cel becomes consumed with finding out this woman's identity and what happened to her, which puts her job, relationship, and possibly, her mental health, at risk.

Now, the raving: Archival Quality is a great story on so many levels. It's a ghost story; it's got secrets; it takes place in a library - where better to have a ghost story?!; and it takes a strong and sensitive look at mental health and takes an hard look at mental health treatment in the past. Cel is on a mission to find out what happened to the ghostly girl who shares her initials and her mental health challenges. The ghost's story gets under Cel's skin because she empathizes; she understands, and she wants to help put an uneasy, persecuted spirit to rest: and that certainly has a double meaning, as we see the toll this takes on Cel through the story.

The characters are wonderful. Cel stands on her own as a fully realized character, and her friends: the mysterious Aba has his own fears and frustrations to work with, and Holly is strong and witty. Holly and Aba are characters of color and Holly's got a girlfriend whose family has its own ties to the Logan Museum, giving us a tertiary character that has a realistic connection to the story and isn't just there to be window dressing for Holly. Archival Quality is a solid story that works to bash away at the stigma of depression and anxiety. I love it, and I can't wait to get it into the hands of the readers at my library. I'd hand this off to my upper-level middle schoolers and high schoolers, and keep copies handy for the college kids.

Ivy Noelle Weir and Steenz also happen to be former librarians. See? LIBRARIES ROCK. Check out Ivy Weir's webpage for more webcomics (with Steenz) and general awesomeness. Check out Steenz's Tumblr for more art.

I really enjoyed Archival Quality...I'm still not sure how I can possibly describe it, but I truly loved it. The stylization of the characters' noses kind of bothers me for some reason, but I did end up not really noticing them by the end of the book. I also appreciated the realistic look at mental illness and that the characters were willing to stay by each other, even if they didn't believe the same things the other characters did; it was just a nice, healthy example of relationships where people truly care about each other.

I enjoyed this a lot. I felt that the illustrations and story were well matched. The emotions of characters are clear and the setting of the archives is creepy with its juxtaposed order and chaos.

I identified with the main character who is struggling with depression. Being I am currently acquiring my MLIS, I also connect with the setting of the archive and the research elements. My favorite line is from Holly: "Be gone. I must librarian." I want this as a pin pls, thx - get a table at an ALA conference and have a pin with that on it. You'll get much love. :)

Overall, engaging read with eye catching illustrations that is meant for ghost story lovers and librarians/archivist.

ARCHIVAL QUALITY is a graphic novel about a young woman who starts working at a spooky museum that used to be an asylum (and other things). It's a haunting, somewhat suspenseful story that deals with mental illness in a way that feels both realistic and respectful. Reading the author's note (from Noelle Ivy) you'll get a good idea of how Ivy used her own life experiences to inform the narrative.

The story has a distinctly gothic feel, but is populated with queer characters and characters of color, something a lot of the Victorian gothics neglected to do. It's also hopeful and honest. Steenz's art is super cute, which makes even a rotting skull seem not-so-scary, and transforms what could have been a depressing and scary book into something... more.

Readers will appreciate the main character's struggle with her own mental illness and her need for independence and a choice in her path to mental health. There's also a distinct focus on being healthy rather than "getting better," which those of us living with chronic conditions will recognize.

I loved this. The unreliable narrator works really well here and you really question the events happening. This is a great study on mental health and highlights a lot of my personal struggles, while still feeling like a light read with the humor. I think the art style really contributes to the overall effectiveness of deep issues confronted in a whimsical setting. The diverse rep in here is fantastic. The author's note and illustrator's notes were a fantastic addition and really added to the story in my opinion. I cannot recommend this enough. It also happens to be the first graphic novel I have absolutely loved.

Both spooky and thoughtful, this graphic novel looks at the grim history of psychiatric treatment and gives agency and closure to the ghost of a mistreated patient through the actions of a young archivist, who also struggles with her mental health. It's an important message that never gets preachy. The art is also lovely, with very expressive faces and eye-catching colors.

Archival Quality is a story about a young woman's quest to find her place in the world after a job loss, mental health issues, and many bouts of strange visions of a disturbed ghost whose body was sold in pieces for profit.

WHO WOULD ENJOY READING IT?
Fans of supernatural tales won't mind this one. There is a tiny plot in there about lesbians, though. Keep away if that rankles your chain.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT
I was initially concerned about the illustration style (I believe it looks crude) but was shown the error of my ways few pages down the line. The story is solid and dialogue is natural. The art style grrew on me after a while and I came to appreciate its uniqueness. More importantly, this is a story that explores the realities of mental health issues in a way that isn't wishy-washy, neither does it offer any quick fix for it.


......

Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir and Steenz is available to buy on all major online bookstores.

Many thanks to Oni Press for review copy.

Great artwork and pacing. The author really touched on a great story about friendship, mental health, and some fun supernatural elements. I hope to see more from this author!