Finder: Voice

April 15, 2011
When a comic needs pages of endnotes to illuminate whats happening, it usually points to a storys failure to cleanly integrate and present itself. In the case of this ninth volume of Finder, though, it reminds readers that the futuristic world McNeil has been creating and populating since 1996 is simply too massive and intricately imagined to fit into anything coherent, at least for newcomers. Much of her built world is simply background to be lived in and casually referred to in her character-driven stories, not pushed to the forefront of readers attentions in the grand sf tradition. Here, Rachel Grosvenor is trying to gain entrance into the flamboyantly multisexual Llaverac clan and, over the course of a few, make-or-break days, descends into the dark depths of the domed city of Anvard in search of a lost family talisman. McNeil is a tremendous cartoonist, and her savvily expressive, black-and-white artwork helps ease the daunting task of acclimating to the depths of her world. For those who persevere, this book will only whet an appetite for more.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)