MARIONETTA

Book Cover

Kamille Bernaud and Julia Lazarrett are close friends on the verge of adulthood. They’re hoping to have fun before Kamille turns 22 and must choose a husband. It’s the law in Kalgratt—a custom Julia (who appears white) accepts but Kamille (who presents Black) detests. While visiting a traveling circus, the pair become separated. Kamille sees something odd—a pretty, pink-haired performer holding her own decapitated head. The next day, when Julia realizes Kamille is missing, she returns, frantically seeking her, but the massive tanklike circus is on the move—and she accidentally falls off her bike, right into its path. Julia awakens among the performers, where she’s greeted by the pink-haired pixie, who gleefully declares, “here at the Anthonn Gremminger Traveling Troupe…we’re all dead!” Julia, who makes a shady deal in order to join the troupe, struggles with reconciling her support for Kamille and her prejudices toward some members. Kamille, meanwhile, is eager to discover herself within this strange, new, racially diverse community. Tur explores discrimination, desire, and duplicity while utilizing the expansive nature of the webcomic format to build a richly textured world full of alluring characters. The manga-style artwork gleefully captures characters’ emotional interactions and delights in the aesthetics of the circus setting.