Dragman: A Novel

by Steven Appleby

Overview

WINNER OF SPECIAL JURY PRIZE AT 2021 FESTIVAL D'ANGOULÊME — NAMED A BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL OF 2020 BY THE GUARDIAN

From "Britain's most loved comics artist" comes a superhero epic like no other—an ordinary man gains superpowers by donning women’s clothing, saving London and maybe even himself.

August Crimp can fly, but only when he wears women’s clothes. Soaring above a gorgeous, lush vista of London, he is Dragman, catching falling persons, lost souls, and the odd stranded cat. After he’s rejected by the superhero establishment, where masked men chase endorsement deals rather than criminals, August quietly packs up his dress and cosmetics and retreats to normalcy — a wife and son who know nothing of his exploits or inclinations.

When a technological innovation allows people to sell their souls, they do so in droves, turning empty, cruel, and hopeless, driven to throw themselves off planes. August is terrified of being outed, but feels compelled to bring back Dragman when Cherry, his young neighbor, begs him to save her parents. Can Dragman take down the forces behind this dreadful new black market? Can August embrace Dragman and step out of the shadows?

The debut graphic novel from British cartoon phenomenon Steven Appleby, Dragman is at once a work of artistic brilliance, sly wit, and poignant humanity, a meditation on identity, morality, and desire, delivered with levity and grace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250172648
Publisher:	Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/07/2020
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,045,716
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Steven Appleby is an acclaimed British artist who has created comic strips for The Guardian, The Times, and the New Musical Express, among numerous other periodicals. He has also created and written a comedy series for BBC Radio 4; a highly successful animated television series, Captain Star; and regularly exhibits paintings and drawings. He lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

01/20/2020

In Appleby’s offbeat fantasy, August Crimp is keeping a lot of secrets from his wife: since his teen years he’s been dressing in women’s clothes; when wearing them he has the ability to fly; and he used to be the superhero Dragman. This all takes place in a world in which superheroes only save those folks with the proper insurance coverage and human souls can be removed from the body and then bought, sold, or stored on tiny disks. An unknown murderer is targeting trans women, stealing their souls and dumping their bodies. (Notably, the violence of these scenes are retold in prose, reducing their sensationalism.) August, who thought he’d put his crime-fighting days behind him, gets dragged back by his old sidekick, Dog Girl, and Cherry, a girl he saved. The complex plot plays out with spirited color scenes of present-day action mixed with multiple flashbacks, shown in monochrome, including a few excerpts of news clippings and “officially licensed” comics about the exploits of their superhero milieu, with Appleby’s loose, light comics reminiscent of Roz Chast and Quentin Blake. Despite its many twists and turns, the graphic novel’s emotional heart lays with August’s struggle to accept his own identity and its full power. Gender fluidity in this jaunty superhero story is trumpeted not only as a gift and a source of strength, but as something that might just save the world. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Fans of Steven Appleby's brilliant cartoons know already of their unique energy; his first long-form graphic novel will surely bring him massed armies of new admirers. Funny, sweet, and emotionally true, it doesn't so much tiptoe on to fraught cultural territory as dance wildly across it." —The Guardian

"An intricately plotted graphic novel, complete with a serial-killer mystery (trans women are being murdered in gruesome circumstances), plenty of social satire, philosophical ruminations and elements of autobiography. . . . Dragman is the fable we need for a changing world." —Times Literary Supplement

“An intricately plotted epic starring a huge cast of memorable characters and a tender, illuminating meditation on identity. Imaginative and uncommonly moving.” —Library Journal (starred review)

"Fabulous! Only Steven Appleby could or would lob in such a profound statement of elevating empowerment and celebration disguised as a superhero sub-plot. . . . . This is an astutely insightful comedy [with] the nimblest and most nubbly of lines." —Page 45

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2020

Augustus Crimp is keeping three secrets from his wife: that he's only ever really comfortable while wearing women's clothing, that when he's dressed as a woman he can fly, and finally that he briefly served as a superhero dubbed Dragman by the media before quitting after finding the superhero community less than welcoming. When a serial killer begins preying upon trans women, Augustus is forced back into action. British cartoonist Appleby (The Coffee Table Book of Doom) imagines a world where a mysterious corporation offers people cash in exchange for their souls—leaving them dull and amoral—and superheroes only bother saving those who can afford to pay for their services. It's all very offbeat and might sound merely quirky reduced to a brief summary, but Appleby's first graphic novel is, in fact, an intricately plotted epic starring a huge cast of memorable characters and, most important, a tender, illuminating meditation on identity, as Augustus struggles for acceptance, and to accept himself. VERDICT Imaginative and uncommonly moving, with extra poignance provided via an afterword by the author detailing his personal connection to the text. [See Prepub Alert, 10/14/19.]

Library Journal