On sale date: March 11, 2025
This haunting dystopian thriller graphic novel explores themes of mental health, queer identity, and the dangers of unchecked fascism.
A Library Journal Best Book of 2025
In the not-so-distant future, twenty-something Betty lives in a fascistic society that menacingly polices mental health. When she is caught crying in public, the Peacekeepers take her to an Orwellian health facility to control her emotions. There, she meets the defiant Berina, who opens her eyes to an alternative reality: the Resistance. If Betty can navigate a rollicking underworld, where all manner of queerness is celebrated, she just might have a chance to strike back against the regime.
Deliciously twisted, fiercely contemporary, and backed by a Swedish pop soundtrack, Baby Blue is the dynamic graphic novel debut of comics artist Bim Eriksson. A vital manifesto about the need to express your unique identity in a chillingly conformist world.
Praise
"A hopeful graphic novel about fighting social compulsions to conform and finding strength in one's own identity." — Foreword Reviews
"In her English-language debut, Swedish comics artist Eriksson draws a nuanced portrait of queer women rebels. ... The beautifully coherent interpenetration of design and content elevates Eriksson's book beyond simply a compelling read; it's an artful classic." — Library Journal Starred Review
"This pop-toned rebel yell injects fresh feminist energy into the dystopian thriller." — Publishers Weekly
"A riveting story anchored by [Eriksson's] stylish blue-and-white artwork." — Cinema Sentries
"Eriksson does a wonderful job of world-building in Baby Blue. In the end it's up to the reader to see if Betty takes a defibrillator to their dystopian world and breaks the flatline of this horrific future society. " — Broken Frontier
Specs
- Pages
- 264
- Format
- Paperback/Softback
- Color
- One color illustrations.
- Dimensions
- 7.4" × 9.9"
- ISBN-13
- 9798875000416