Jenn Manley Lee‘s Dicebox has been one of my favourite comics for a few years. It has compelling characters, complex and fascinating interactions between those characters and an approach to dealing with important subjects that works very well. Its art is rendered with great intimacy, warmth and thoughtfulness. All of this makes the story flavourful and engaging throughout.
Dicebox is exceptionally good at presenting advanced technology and social understanding as normal. People who have lived with space elevators, gender fluidity and space travel wouldn’t react strongly to having these things in their lives any more than we do to the internet, having neighbours or air travel, and too often writers forget that we adapt incredibly well to new situations. Dicebox is a great example of science fiction that can embed what might be surprising to readers in the context of everyday life. By emphasizing character interactions, the story makes ideas accessible, tangible and realistic.
Dicebox, an online graphic novel by Jenn Manley Lee, tells the story of an eventful year in the lives of Griffen & Molly, a couple of itinerant factory workers in a space-travelling future.
Dicebox updates on a weekly basis, mostly Tuesdays and sometimes again on Saturday.
Dicebox has its fair share of adult themes: sexual situations, innuendo, nudity, and bad language
The first volume of Dicebox is available in ebook and print formats. The entire comic is available to read on its website, and is available at Comic Rocket for RSS serialization from page one or for automated bookmarking.
Jenn also has a process journal that sheds light on the behind the scenes work of the comic, a portfolio that is a joy to explore and a sketch blog.
