[Marchetto] has a whip-smart and wry sense of humor, and shows a serious bit of creativity [in this] graphic novel. Any good online gossip columnist worth her hits has a virtual Rolodex full of reliable sources. [But] the anti-heroine of Ann Tenna has a hotline to an even higher power. Ann suffers no fools or bad stories as the fashionable head of the all-seeing Eyemauler website, blogging and vlogging her way through the A-list New York City scene . . . Celebrities and co-workers alike are afraid of the influence and power she wields with the hidden camera in her Fendi purse. But when karma catches up to her, [and] she ends up on a literal Astral plane to the afterlife, Ann meets her goddess-like ideal self, named Superann, who has a deal for her.” —USA Today (three stars)
“A story of balance and self-discovery in our overly ‘media-cated’ culture. [Ann Tenna’s] protagonist is a glamorous, super-connected entrepreneur of glitz and gossip [who] becomes disconnected from her higher self—literally. Her cosmic doppleganger, SuperAnn, steps into Ann’s life, and results are a fantastical, sci-fi infused lesson in emotional and interpersonal priorities. Along the way, Ann visits psychedelic celestial planes, experiences out-of-this-world fashions, rubs elbows with the spirits of Coco Chanel and Heinrich Hertz, and taps into universal networks of communication that put our social media to shame.” —Comics Alternative
“Marchetto’s Ann Tenna is a bit Brenda Starr, a bit Nancy Sinatra and a bit Emma Peel—a gossip columnist [who’s] the uber-successful founder of the site Eyemauler. But when a collision with a garbage truck throws her in the hospital, she re-connects with her cosmic double, which puts into question everything she knows about her life in the universe . . . This being a book about fashion and Manhattan, there are cameos by Gianni Versace, Coco Chanel, Page Six editor Emily Smith, the once-hot but long-gone nightclub Moomba, and even an appearance from this particular column [WSJ’s ‘Heard & Scene’].” —Marshall Heyman, The Wall Street Journal
“If you’re a style lover looking for a laugh-out-loud, Technicolor read, Ann Tenna is the page-turner for you. New Yorker cartoonist Marchetto tells the story of a high-flying N.Y.C. gossip columnist who sports the latest runway looks (shown in glorious detail, right on down to her sleek Fendi baguette bag), and has a moral awakening. We follow Ann as she floats across the astral plane on a velvet, Pucci-patterned magic pillow, to meet her higher self and become a better person.” —Joanna Bober, InStyle.com
“An otherworldly tale of a gossip columnist who meets her maker.” —Harper’s Bazaar
“Ann Tenna is about an attention-addicted, body image-obsessed founder of a Gawker-like gossip site called Eyemauler. At the top of the dirt-digging media heap, Ann thinks she’s got it made until she gets into a horrible car accident. While unconscious, she meets her other half, the cosmic Super Ann, and gets her orders from above . . . Can Ann separate out her own sense of self-worth from constant media adulation? Can she disconnect from the empty life she once loved in order to fully reconnect with her higher self? No spoilers here: Read the book. It’s a visually explosive, pun-loving, fashion-filled frolic through heaven, hell, and the strangest place of all: 21st-century New York City.” —Julia Felsenthal, Vogue.com
“Trouble in the twitterverse—with comedic consequences. In her latest graphic novel, New Yorker cartoonist Marchetto dishes up [a] Champagne-chugging New York City gossip blogger who destroys reputations. Ann sails through a life of snark—until a traffic accident changes everything. As she hovers between life and death, Ann trades the Internet for the astral plane, where she meets Hendrix and Versace—and her mother.” —Billy Heller, New York Post
“Ann Tenna is a glamorous gossip columnist in New York City whose fall from grace lands her face-to-face with her cosmic double—in a parallel universe so colorfully imaginative you won’t want to return to reality.” —Jen Ortiz, Marie Claire
“OUT OF THIS WORLD: The cartoonist who gave us Cancer Vixen is back, with a graphic novel that takes cheerful aim at New York’s ‘It’ crowd—and herself. Ann Tenna is the sly, sweet story of a social climber who’s given a second chance at life—and this time, might just get it right.” —O, The Oprah Magazine
“Marchetto—who memorably chronicled her bout with breast cancer in her last book, [Cancer Vixen]—is back with a stunning, funny graphic novel about a top gossip columnist who questions her career after an encounter with her double from a parallel universe.” —Isabella Biedenharn, Entertainment Weekly, “7 graphic novels to get lost in this fall”
“Ann Tenna is a brilliant character who captures the cosmic connection among all the forces of the universe and the world of fashion. She’s a modern, fearless, and feminine superhero, one destined to become an icon.” —Robert Verdi
“Ann Tenna is clever, witty, ironic—and although a graphic novel, it’s terrifyingly real.” —Zac Posen
“Ann Tenna is a lushly vivid, singularly beautiful, and wholly original tale of redemption. This Sweet Smell of Success meets Sex and the City mash-up would be unexpected and irresistible enough, but Marisa Acocella Marchetto literally takes us to another galaxy in her exploration of fashion, family, karma, power, and being female. With Ann Tenna, she demonstrates that her creativity knows no bounds—and that her brain is one of the most fascinating places, on this or any planet.” —Wednesday Martin, author of Primates of Park Avenue
“Marisa Marchetto has taken the graphic novel to a new level. Cancer Vixen was amazing, but Ann Tenna adds a complexity of subject matter and artistic excellence to her career.” —Erica Jong
“A high-spirited graphic novel skewers the Twitterati. Like Roz Chast, Marchetto is known for both her signature cartoons in the New Yorker and for a deeply affecting graphic memoir. Her new graphic novel tells the story of Ann Tenna, a media-obsessed NYC gossip columnist, founder of a Gawker-like website called Eyemauler. She trash-talks live from Ann Cams embedded in her powder compact and in a baguette in her Fendi bag, and despite/because of how awful she is, she’s constantly beset by a crowd of sycophants . . . After a near-fatal traffic accident, she ascends to the astral plane, where she meets her eternal self and spirit guide, who gives her ‘full body, mind and spiritual, mental, emotional and electromagnetical treatments designed so you can see who you ideally are’ . . . Ann is allowed to return to Earth in order to become a ‘transmissionary’ of the truth, but her drama draws her right back in . . . Will Ann come to her senses and save the world in time? Zany with a touch of uplifting. You will be measurably hipper after reading it.” —Kirkus
“Splashy. . . a cautionary tale of celebrity warfare, family ties, and astral projection. Ann Tenna, the reigning queen of gossip blogging, has clawed her way to international fame and fortune; she’s as loathed as she is loved, but no one can ignore her. After a catastrophic car crash, she discovers that her destiny lies far beyond the red carpet and in the stars themselves. Ann has been called by the cosmic powers into service as a beacon of love and light for a cynical world . . . Marchetto’s art balances glamour and sleaze to wonderful effect: Ann’s eyelashes are dramatically long, guardian angels prowl about in Versace originals, and goddesses wear two-foot-high platforms. With art and writing in perfect harmony, Marchetto has crafted a warm romp of a story that’s a tribute to feminine fantasy and midlife transformation, with its heart worn boldly on a beautifully tailored sleeve.” —Publishers Weekly
“I am in awe: this is the work of a master craftsman at the top of her game. Ann Tenna is a great work of art, its storytelling fabulous and fresh. Marisa Acocella Marchetto defines our moment with social commentary that’s sharp, witty, and wise. Here is a universe of characters that will amaze and enchant you—a winning narrative that is timely, bold, and brilliant. Brava Marisa!” —Adriana Trigiani, author of Big Stone Gap and The Shoemaker’s Wife
2015-06-09
A high-spirited graphic novel skewers the Twitterati. Like Roz Chast, Marchetto is known for both her signature cartoons in the New Yorker—she's the one who does rich ladies in sunglasses—and for a deeply affecting graphic memoir (Cancer Vixen, 2006). Her new graphic novel tells the story of Ann Tenna, a shallow, mean-spirited, media-obsessed NYC gossip columnist, founder of a Gawker-like website called Eyemauler. She trash-talks live from Ann Cams embedded in her powder compact and in a baguette on her Fendi bag, and despite/because of how awful she is, she's constantly beset by a crowd of sycophants: "Kiss! Kiss! Come to my club! There's a 24-carat rose gold jeroboam of pink champagne in the VIP room with your name on it!" After a near-fatal traffic accident, Ann ascends to the astral plane, where she meets Super Ann, her eternal self and spirit guide, who gives her "full body, mind and spiritual, mental, emotional and electromagnetical treatments designed to remove your earthly layers so you can see who you ideally are," and visits with Coco Chanel, Gianni Versace, Jimi Hendrix, and her dead mother. Ann is allowed to return to Earth in order to repudiate her evil media-mongering and become a "transmissionary" of the truth, but her drama draws her right back in. There's her two-faced little stepsister, Farrah, who speaks entirely in text message-ese, written in a phone-type font: "we're sooooo srry 2 hr ur nt doing 2 wll!!!" There's her sleazy celebrity photographer boyfriend, Declan Zimmerman, who is trailed by starlets begging to get "zimmed." There's her webmaster, Mirra, who grabbed the mike herself the minute Ann went down, and the evil media magnate Rolf Fanger, who bought Eyemauler from Ann and now is jockeying to edge her out. Will Ann come to her senses and save the world from its cellphones in time? Zany with a touch of uplifting. You will be measurably hipper after reading it.
