What's not to love? Abbott is a tough journalist who's also a Black, bisexual woman determined to get to the bottom of a bunch of bizarre murders. ( )

Summer 2019 (Hugo Award Nominee 2019 - Graphic Novel);

This book is a gold mine from the moment you open the first page and are introduced to Elena Abbott, hard knock, truth-seeking detective, playfully called the "Lois Lane" and "Brenda Starr" of the African-American populace of Detroit in the 1970's. It deals with sexism, racism, and the LGBTQ themes of the time (both now and then).

I really hope that there will be more written in this series because my only two holdbacks from giving it five stars at the fast, first read go, is 1) I don't feel the art is as great as it could be and 2) it needs to be a lot longer, and to answer a lot more of the questions about who and why Elena is, and letting her handle the fall out of that discovery, and her lost job, her last scene with Amelia. ( )

Abbott is so freaking cool. I don't know if I want to be her or be with her.

The 70's aesthetic was pleasing to look at while reading. The lingo, clothes, cars, and smoking everywhere because it hadn't been outlawed yet. I am here for it.

The fantasy aspect was a bit boring since the villain wasn't so scary.

The kiss in the end........ I loved it. ( )

Blending genre settings with social commentary offers a lot of potential and crafts a literary heft I enjoy in what's otherwise comfort reading. There seems to be a renewed recognition of this, spotlighted in recent television adaptations as Lovecraft Country or Watchmen, the Jordan Peele cinema offerings Get Out and Us. Ahmed does well in the same sandbox, without feeling at all derivative.

Abbott blends Detroit locale & the cultural zeitgeist of late 60s / early 70s (age of aquarius, race relations, black panthers, chocolate city, women's lib). This story takes place 1972, the sequel itself is titled "1973". The intertwining of plot and social mileau is underscored with chapter titles lifted from song titles or lyric.

Ahmed very well might leaven the text with various blaxploitation references, I'm not familiar enough to identify them, but it feels like they'd be there. Weird references include the name of the local professor and suspect, Philip Howard Bellcamp: HPL, Frank Bellknap Long. Overall there seems to be plenty of layering, perhaps extending to the artwork, it's detail like that which will reward another read.

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As her support network begins to fail her and her luck appears to be running out, the story takes a turn: with some changes more believable than others (Fred, Sebastian), Amelia, no cop access to Sgt Gratham. Somehow that left me with the impression of a story that wasn't superhero, wasn't inevitable that she would triumph. I liked it -- though I somehow missed how she got her '68 Mustang fixed. ( )

Art and writing are both well done. The story of supernatural horrors in economically devastated 1972 Detroit. A Black woman journalist in a White man's world. She holds her own, and then some. Greek mythology meets Walter Mosely with a twist. My only complaint is that it ended too quickly. ( )