Gunnerkrigg Court Volume 4: Materia
The fourth collection of Siddell’s episodic webcomic finds Antimony Carver back in her fantasy industrial-complex boarding school after a summer in the forest. Siddell again balances chapters that advance the main story arc with digression and detours that explore various characters’ relationships (Shadow and Robot have especially strong showings here) and hint at deeper mysteries to come. Toward the end, he drops a few well-placed revelations and mind-bender bombs (and a few less artful exposition dumps) that will have fans perched for the next installment, and his moody-hued artwork remains particularly immersive. Grades 8-12. --Ian Chipman