Unimpressed

By Miranda Tacchia. Published by Fantagraphics.

Hardcover, 400 pages, Colour, 2021.

As seen on her popular Instagram account (@mrmtacchia), Southern Californian cartoonist and animator Miranda Tacchia's first book collects more than two hundred hilarious one-liners (and even funnier drawings) tackling modern friendship, romance, urban living, and self-image.

Have you ever schemed with a friend? Stared at your phone screen well after you should have gone to sleep? Braced for heartbreak? Been told to smile more? Then Unimpressed will undoubtedly speak to you. In a book that bridges comics and memes, Tacchia uses her biting sense of humor and background in animation to create brilliant character portraits of women with only markers, Post-it notes, and tape. A master of expression, figure, and subtle (and other times not-so-subtle) comedy, Tacchia's protagonists are usually "unimpressed women" — who all share the fact that "they don't give a shit about you," as Tacchia puts it.

What makes Unimpressed so impressive and entertaining is how Tacchia taps into instantly relatable feelings and situations while simultaneously creating art that exudes confidence and vulnerability. (Sample caption: "When you went from giving him an earful to a mouthful.") Her often scabrous depiction of life as a young single woman today echoes that of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's (Fleabag) or Abbi Jacobsen and Ilana Glazer's (Broad City). Funny, smart, observant, sexy, gross, and relatable — Unimpressed is a wonderful debut and a great gift idea.

"Tacchia explores the inner lives of modern women with scabrous wit and deep insight. An emotionally resonant, often hysterically funny debut." — Library Journal (starred review)

"Tacchia's observations about friendship and romance are funny, sometimes poignant, and all emphatically of the moment. There's charm and energy to their basic takes. This would be a fitting gift book for one's best and drunkest girlfriend." — Publishers Weekly

"Tacchia perfectly captures intimate moments of friendship, love, and being on your own. You can't open this book without finding a moment you recognize. Unimpressed is a delight." — Aminder Dhaliwal (Woman World)

"A series of sassy, curvy ladies with tons of attitude." — It's Nice That

"Unimpressed draws on the energy of 2021 with humor and vulnerability." — Solrad