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Royal City Volume 1: Next of Kin
Royal City Volume 1: Next of Kin | Jeff Lemire
5 posts | 8 read | 9 to read
In his most ambitious and most personal project to date, JEFF LEMIRE spins the captivating and engaging story of a family from the small factory town of ROYAL CITY and the ghosts that haunt them. In a return to the literary and thematic territory of Lemire's breakthrough graphic novel ESSEX COUNTY, ROYAL CITY follows Patrick Pike, a fading literary star who reluctantly returns to the once-thriving factory town where he grew up. Patrick is quickly drawn back into the dramas of his two adult siblings, his overbearing Mother and his brow beaten Father, all of whom are still haunted by different versions of his youngest brother, Tommy, who drowned decades ago. As each member of the family struggles to keep themselves above water, it quickly becomes clear that Tommy's death isn't the only dark secret tearing the town, and this family, apart at the seams. Can each member of the Pike family come to terms with their own guilt over Tommy's death, and make peace with the many versions of Tommy that still haunt them, or will they all be dragged down below the river along with his lingering ghost? ROYAL CITY promises to be a sprawling, serialized graphic novel that will chart the lives, loves and losses of a troubled family and a vanishing town, across three decades. Jeff Lemire is the creator of DESCENDER (with DUSTIN NGUYEN), AD: AFTER DEATH (with SCOTT SNYDER), ROUGHNECK, SECRET PATH (with Gord Downie), PLUTONA (with EMI LENNOX), ESSEX COUNTY, SWEET TOOTH, TRILLIUM, and THE UNDERWATER WELDER. He had also written celebrated stories featuring Green Arrow, Animal Man, Bloodshot, Wolverine, Hawkeye, Teen Titans, the Valiant, the X-Men and Inhumans for the major comic book publishers. Collecting issues 1 through 5.
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vivastory
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The insanely prolific Lemire portrays a dysfunctional family & a town that is slowly falling apart. In a clever twist on the ghost story, the family members are haunted by different versions of Tommy, who died years prior. Volume 1 lays the groundwork with 90s nostalgia, regret, & dysfunctional family dynamics. At his best Lemire is one of the best graphic novelists around, on par with Brian K. Vaughan.

TieDyeDude I went on a Lemire deep dive during quarantine, and I maybe only got through a quarter of his stuff! I'll have to move this up the list. 2y
vivastory @TieDyeDude Any in particular stand out as favorites? 2y
TieDyeDude @vivastory I read the Black Hammer series and all their spin-offs. Descender was excellent. I really liked the first volume of Gideon Falls, I have to find tone to continue that series. 2y
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vivastory @TieDyeDude Has Black Hammer finished? I want to read that one but TBH I'm a bit intimidated by all of the spin-offs, lol. I LOVED Descender. I keep meaning to read Ascender. Gideon Falls loses it's footing a bit towards the end IMO but it's still an interesting series. Sweet Tooth is also excellent. 2y
Reggie I went to a comic store today in Santa Fe and asked for Something is Killing the Children because of you and they said they‘re all sold out but have more coming. 2y
Reggie I got an Ito instead. 2y
vivastory @Reggie I think you will really like Something is Killing etc. It really doesn't hold back. Which Ito did you pick up? I read Deserter a couple of months ago & really enjoyed it. 2y
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vivastory
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My local library has the first 3 volumes of Royal City. I know you have been on a Jeff Lemire kick @Addison_Reads Are you familiar with this one? It looks interesting. Each volume has a title related to a band/song.

Addison_Reads It's next up to read for my recent Lemire binge. I've heard great things about it. Check out the first one and we can compare notes. 😁 2y
vivastory @Addison_Reads I checked them out. I'll plan on reading it soon. I want to read the final 2 volumes of Gideon Falls first. I might need to go online & read a recap as I read vol. 1-4 a year ago 2y
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dougbooks
Pickpick

I am doing the same review for all three volumes. Highly recommend. If you like stories about families in dying/dead towns (e.g. Empire Falls) you will enjoy this. The added ghost elements make it even better. The art is excellent but may not be everyone‘s cup of tea.

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tonyahoswalt
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Trying a new graphic novel series.

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GrilledCheeseSamurai
Royal City Vol. 1 | Jeff Lemire
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Another #comic book Wedensday has come! 🙌

Any new release comic day that has Royal City in it is a good day in my books! Also...Mister Miracle is freaking incredible! All you trade readers might wanna keep your eyes out for this one when it's collection is released!
#NCBD #Comics

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Yep, definitely picking up Mr. Miracle when it‘s collected. Fourth World stuff usually gets on my nerves, but I‘ve loved Scott and Barda since they were in Morrison‘s JLA. 6y
GrilledCheeseSamurai @TobeyTheScavengerMonk Tom King (the writer) is suuuuuuper hot at the moment which is giving this book a pretty big boost in sales, which is nice. 👍 6y
Sweettartlaura Love Royal City - I can‘t pick mine up til Friday 😕 6y
GrilledCheeseSamurai @Sweettartlaura that's a bummer! At least you'll have it for the weekend! 🤗 6y
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