A fictional and complex portrait of bestselling author Patricia Highsmith caught up in the longing that would inspire her queer classic, The Price of Salt.
FLUNG OUT OF SPACE:
The Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith
by Grace Ellis
illustrated by Hannah Templer
Abrams ComicArts, February 2022
FLUNG OUT OF SPACE is an imagined portrait of the wild and complicated figure that was infamous crime writer Patricia Highsmith. As the story opens, we meet Pat begrudgingly writing low-brow comics. A drinker, a smoker, and a hater of life, Pat knows she can do better. Her brain churns with images of the great novel she could and should be writing—what will eventually be Strangers on a Train (which would later be adapted into a classic film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951).
Pat is a chronic womanizer, but she’s ashamed of being gay, and so on the recommendation of her therapist, she enrolls in conversion therapy, where she meets many of her future sexual conquests.
This is also not just the story of a queer woman, but of a queer artist. Written and illustrated by two heavyweights in the comics world—Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer, it’s a comic about what it was like to write comics in the 1950s, but also about what it means to be a writer at any time in history, struggling to find your voice.
FLUNG OUT OF SPACE isn’t a rosy portrait of queer life, but rather an unflinching one. Ellis’s savvy writing combines with Templer’s stunning illustrations to create a work that will intrigue and fascinate comics fans. An afterword written by Highsmith’s authorized biographer, Joan Schenkar, contextualizes the writer’s life with this fictional portrayal and offers insight into Highsmith’s complex legacy. Highsmith was unapologetic but guilt-ridden, talented but self-sabotaging, magnetic but withdrawn, vicious but hilarious. In short: She was a hell of a woman and a hell of a protagonist.
Grace Ellis made a name for herself in the industry by creating unforgettable, lovable, and funny characters. She burst onto the comics scene with The Lumberjanes, which she cocreated and cowrote. It was a New York Times bestselling, Eisner and GLAAD Award–winning comics series that broke the mold of both YA and superhero comics. She is also the author and creator of the series Moonstruck, illustrated by Shea Beagle, and writer of the soon-to-be-released series Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge for DC Comics. Ellis lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Hannah Templer is a queer cartoonist currently living in Baltimore, Maryland. They have worked as a colorist, cover artist, and interior artist on titles such as GLOW, Samurai Jack, Jem and the Holograms, Captain Marvel, and Tomb Raider. They are also the creator of Cosmoknights, an original graphic novel series published in 2019 by Top Shelf Comics. Their work as a cover artist—with clients like Dark Horse, IDW, Valiant, BOOM! Studios, Marvel, HarperCollins, and Abrams Books—is as extensive as it is dynamic and stunning.
Decades after being imprisoned for threatening his city with an army of giant robots, an elderly scientist reenters society, only to discover he needs help navigating life in the 21st century. Experiencing real kindness and friendship for the first time ever, his new relationships challenge the inventor’s single-minded devotion for vengeance—just as his plans threaten to spiral out of his control. An homage to the classic cartoons of the 1940s, THE LAST MECHANICAL MONSTER is about ambition, creativity, mortality, friendship, and legacy. How do we want to be remembered? And what will we leave behind?
Vera has a nagging feeling that she’s forgetting something. Not her keys or her homework—something bigger. Or someone. When she discovers her best friend Riven is experiencing the same strange feeling, they set out on a mission to uncover what’s going on. Everyone in Vera’s world has a special ability—a little bit of magic that helps them through the day. Perhaps someone’s ability is interfering with their memory? Or is something altering their very reality? Vera and Riven intend to fix it and get back whatever or whomever they’ve lost. But how do you find the truth when you can’t even remember what you’re looking for in the first place? The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass is a cleverly constructed, heartbreaking, and compelling contemporary YA novel with a slight fantasy twist about memory, love, grief, and the invisible bonds that tie us to each other.
It’s Tally Tuttle’s first day of second grade, and she’s so nervous that she feels like she ate butterflies for breakfast! On top of moving to a new town and new school where she doesn’t know anyone, everyone starts teasing her when her full name, Tallulah, is revealed during roll call. She just wishes she could retreat into a shell . . . Then, all of a sudden, the desks and her classmates around her seem enormous, and Tally is shell-shocked to discover that she’s actually turned into a turtle! She’d heard that Mrs. Norrell’s class was special, but she hadn’t expected this. Tally likes having a shell to hide in, but there are other parts of turtle life—like the fear of being stepped on—that aren’t exactly ideal. And once she’s tired of hiding, how can she change back into a girl? Tally will have to forge her own transformation back to herself and come out of her shell—both literally and figuratively!
Owl just wants some peace and quiet to read his books—alone. But when the forest youngsters ruffle his feathers, he enlists the local bookshop owner to send him handpicked books to help cope with the chaos and the mess. It’s not long before Owl discovers Squirrel and learns that just as important as solitude are companionship and community. Told entirely in letters, this charming picture book celebrates books and bookshops, letter writing, and love.