Forward

By Lisa Maas. Published by Arsenal Pulp Press.

Softcover, 208 pages, Colour, 2018. 

American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book

A moving and intimate LGBTQ graphic novel about two women, both of whom are trying to put the pieces of their lives back together.

Still smarting years after a horrible breakup, Rayanne diligently buries herself in her work. Aside from work, she has her cat. And other than her cat, she has her crushes: crushes that she prides herself on being able to resist. Then unexpectedly, one of her crushes begins to affect her more than the others, and threatens to upset the delicate balance of her carefully controlled life.

Ali is still feeling lost and numb almost a year after the death of her wife. Then one ordinary day something extraordinary happens: she is ambushed by her attraction to another woman that is both invigorating and fantastically inappropriate. Whether she's ready for it or not, it stirs up feelings Ali didn't think she was capable of having anymore.

Funny, moving, and full of heart, Forward is a graphic novel that explores the parameters of second chances and the tricky emotions of grief, fear, vulnerability, and desire.

• Winner, ALA Stonewall Honor Book 2019

Forward bristles with textual honesty and often highly charged, lovely artwork. -Vancouver Sun

Forward is a sweet and poignant look at just how hard it is to start over after a traumatic relationship experience . .. empowering and heartbreaking. -Shelf Awareness

Forward is a moving depiction of grief and loss, but it also includes sweet moments of sexual desire, joy, and laughter, which bubble up even in the most painful times -- kind of like real life! The book will resonate for anyone who's lost a loved one and struggled their way back into life and living.
-Sarah Leavitt, author of Tangles

A gentle and heartwarming debut about finding love after loss . .. This authentic, poignant love story offers a welcome depth of emotion to what might have otherwise been a simple romantic comedy. -Publishers Weekly

The courage to find new love after loss, in all its vulnerable, awkward, tender-hearted complexity, pushes our heroines 'forward' in this beautifully rendered, funny, sexy graphic novel. Lisa Maas' drawings are uniquely organic and hum with emotion; I read it from start to finish in one sitting, completely engrossed.
-Jenny Jaeckel, author of Spot 12: Five Months in the Neonatal ICU