Review by Booklist Review
Lemire has been scripting corporate superhero comics in recent years, but he began his career writing and illustrating the acclaimed family saga Essex County. With Royal City, he makes a welcome return to human-scaled storytelling as well as to the drawing board. When his father suffers a stroke, Patrick Pike, a once-promising novelist suffering from writer's block, reluctantly returns to the dying industrial town where the rest of his family his overbearing mother, ambitious sister, and reprobate brother still live. Also still inescapably present, even though he drowned two decades ago, is the adored youngest sibling, Tommy, who haunts the damaged lives of his family. While Lemire's introduction and development of the characters and their backstories are quietly masterful, his wispy graphics spindly figures, understated staging, and muted colors are equally intrinsic to the work's potency. Although these initial chapters of the ongoing series are largely devoted to stage setting and establishing the milieu, Lemire leaves readers eager to see what lies ahead for the troubled Pike family.--Flagg, Gordon Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Royal City, a factory town teetering between obsolescence and rebirth, Peter Pike suffers a stroke and hovers between life and death. Meanwhile, his wife and children each stand at the brink of dramatic personal decisions, played out under the shadow of their patriarch's illness. Lemire (Essex County) creates a nuanced family portrait: Peter's son Patrick, a once-famous author, returns from the big city, seeking inspiration and grappling with his identity; Patrick's ambitious sister, Tara, has a troubled marriage and Royal City's future weighing on her mind; their self-destructive black sheep brother, Richard, spirals down in drink and debt; and their domineering mother confronts her suppressed desires. Weaving through each personal story is the specter of Tommy, the siblings' younger brother, who drowned decades ago, and who morphs into different versions of himself to suit each person. The sketchy lines and pale watercolors capture the spirit of a fading town and the denizens who struggle to find their place within it. Lemire's characterizations are so real and truthful that many readers-particularly those who are from small towns, encumbered with adult siblings, or grieving an enduring loss-will find something deeply familiar and resonant about the Pike family and their past and future ghosts. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
This latest work from writer/artist Lemire (Essex County; Roughneck) is an engrossing human drama that tells the story of the Pike family in the titular city whose decline mirrors their own. Following the massive stroke of patriarch Peter, the clan attempts to come together after their paths diverged for more than two decades. Lemire ties the urban decay of the setting with the personal degeneration of each family member, weaving a tapestry of hard decisions and heartbreak. Yet despite their difficult times, they look to youngest son, Tommy, for hope, and it is through Tommy's different roles and what is desired of him by others that the author roots the moral heart of this series. Lemire's art style is uniquely original and evocative, granting an eerie elegance to the gripping plotline. It is impossible not to feel something genuine about the trials and tribulations of the Pikes and Royal City. Verdict A worthy selection for those interested in literary graphic fiction.-Alger C. Newberry III, Genesee Dist. Lib., Flint, MI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
