Safer Places

by Kit Anderson

From road trips to doctors’ offices to the mysterious spaces under the house, Kit Anderson’s short stories explore the secrets and magic typically unseen in everyday life. A walk through the forest, a family move, a day in a normal life – Anderson’s depictions of these ordinary moments transform them with a double-take, revealing the strangeness, surreality, and transformation within.

With powerful and personal emotional writing and art, thoughtfully combining magic and life as we all know it – these stories establish Kit Anderson as a presence in short comics-format fiction.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Short Stories, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published May 7, 2024

About the author

Kit Anderson (she/her) is a cartoonist from Boulder, Colorado. Her short stories have been published by Parsifal Press and the Rumpus, and she received her MFA from the Center for Cartoon Studies in 2022. Kit lives near Zürich with her partner and tiny dog where she enjoys walking in the woods and making comics about memory, nature, and wizards sometimes, too.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of blah little short stories mostly bores but shows the talent of a promising newcomer.

Five of the tales are about a wandering wizard who is a caretaker for nature. His low-key adventures seem to be part of a comic book in one of the other stories, "The World's Biggest Ball of Twine." Three of the stories feature people listening to hypnotic, meditative narrations on a sleep app -- so, like, literal snoozers.

"The Basement" is the only story that really stood out for me as it explored an interesting metaphor for grief. And "Fallow" was sort of nice too as it reflected on agriculture's relationship with nature.

Many of these stories have previously appeared in mini-comics and were the basis for the author's MFA thesis.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Quest I -- The Basement -- Wonders of the Lost City -- Sleep Tape: Country Lane -- Quest II -- Deep Breath -- Sleep Tape: Forest Walk -- Lookout Station -- Morning -- Hills -- Waves -- Quest III -- Fallow -- Wallpaper -- Weeds -- Quest IV -- Sleep Tape: At the Seaside -- Whump -- The World's Biggest Ball of Twine -- Ride -- Quest V -- Acknowledgments

[Nash! · Rating 3 out of 5]

beautiful art, just could t get into the story

[King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kit Anderson is such a master of short form comics. All of them have a wistful sense about them with small magics and grasping forn something just out of reach

[J MaK · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.3) A collection of imaginative short stories that share common themes but way too short to actually build an actual narrative.

[Hayley (Shelflyfe) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received my copy of 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 by Kit Anderson today after backing it on Kickstarter, and I devoured it, reading it through twice in one sitting 🪴🌱🧙🏻‍♂️
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𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽
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The artwork throughout this graphic novel is beautiful. I especially loved how the art was not always confined to singular panels, and how Kit Anderson allowed her art to spread across the page, growing like flowers, or undulating like waves.
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𝗪𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺
𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵
𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽
𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆
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Safer Places reads like a collection of short stories, though there are threads that weave through the stories and connect the characters and settings across the universe that Anderson has created. 🧶✨️
I especially enjoyed the interludes between each story, and the magic of supporting nature through the wizard's quests.
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𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲
𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗵 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝘄𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗱'𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀...
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Reading through some of the cartoon stories genuinely feels like a meditation. In some places, Anderson's writing is like poetry. Rather than flying through the dialogue and details I found myself slowing down, and breathing with the descriptions on each page.
This worked so well with some of the themes within Safer Places: the importance of nature, that the journey is often more important than any singular destination, and the value of grounding yourself with your senses in any given moment.
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𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲.
𝗜𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗮𝗴𝗼 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳, 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀.
𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘃𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲.
𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄,
𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴,
𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲, 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂.
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There is also some beautiful LGBTQ+ representation within the stories, and a reminder that there is beauty in 'otherness' even if people can't always recognise it. 🥀
I highly recommed Safer Places to anyone who enjoys graphic novels, and especially to those who enjoy nature and meditation.
I will be reading this Safer Places again, and would definitely read more of Kit Anderson's comics in the future.

[Otto Joland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of mysterious stories in which characters deal with feeling out of place. Homesickness permeates each comic until the feeling imprints on you. It leaves you a little sad, but in a good way.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating series of what I'd call... narrative ruminations? In some ways this gave me the feeling of watching a really good short film collection. Would recommend to fans of Scavenger's Reign or the first season of Love, Death, and Robots, and definitely anyone who liked Undone (2019-2022).

[Jay Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short stories depicting side thoughts and experiences. Enjoyed the variations in artwork and themes

[Justina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of very versatile comics. I picked this book at a comic book shop, because the concept of it intrigued me (the name of the book, the introduction on the back), and the art style looked very inviting too.
I loved that there was some kind of continuity with the little wizard, who is definitely the best part about this book!
Loved the meditation series, but something was missing. The author/artist is definitely talented, but some comics did lack context/content. Or maybe it was an invitation to sit in silence and reflect, instead of getting lost in the plot and unnecessary words. Maybe I struggle to find safe spaces in silence/slow pace. :)

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Endearing, nostalgic, and healing collection of short stories. Each installment is engagingly short but I never had an issue with an underdeveloped narrative—the rest lies with you. Artstyle was beautiful, wistful. Especially loved the composition of the panels in ‘Weeds.’ My favorites were the ‘Sleep Tape’ stories, and the continuation of the World’s Biggest Ball of Twine storyline. I would love to have a copy of my own

[mariel !! · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars if goodreads had half stars ! “the basement” and “the world’s biggest ball of twine” and “weeds” stood out to me most, and even in the sections about meditation, the writing was beautiful. i didn’t feel a sense of connection between all the stories (maybe that’s the point of the collection??) but i had some fun reading it nonetheless.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are REALLY short short stories and some of them felt like they were over before I could really get what the story was about. But I really liked the wizard and sleep space ones and any art relating to plants/nature.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book. The art is charming and when the stories want to be emotional, they really are.

[Alysha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the meditative comics!

[Lucy Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really intriguing collection of comics. Any fan of Tillie Walden will also enjoy this work.

[Ry · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ishhh ? Some of the stories were great, others were hard to follow. I really enjoyed the art style!

[spoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

So formally this is a 5, 6 maybe. It's so brilliant esp that two-pager in the abandoned city.

Story-wise... some of them really shine. Is kinda what I wanted but didn't get from Girl Town. But as I went I... there's just a touch a tenderqueer aesthetics around the edges - just the slight smoothing over and ignoring or pain and lack of grit; the idea that trauma is self-evident (esp in the forest --> barren landscape firewatch comic). This makes sense when you see Tillie Walden is on the MFA advisors in the acknowledgements. I like this so much better than Walden, but if the comics could just shake the tenderqueer and really touch the grit instead of pretending it's not real... It's also a book about death of a lover as I think becomes clear in the like third to last story (maybe it was obvious before but I only got there's a hidden thread and it wasn't just thematic throughlines when the "biggest ball of yarn" shirt reappeared); I wish the lead wasn't so buried - in the past I would've loved it, been exited to read it again. Now I just wish it was clear earlier. The burying of the lead is not my fav. I think perhaps encapsulated in the forgotten city comic - showed it to someone and was told that it's funny! And when I saw that reading I couldn't help but see that -- I wished (my reading, trying to make the text what I wanted) was that it was more gritty, a bit of despair. Microcosm of the whole book.

I will also say - "Weeds" is a good concept, but feels like a disability metaphor that, again with tenderqueer aesthetics, is way too soft to touch on reality for me. This is a place I felt the book straining the most. I think it wants to be a dying metaphor, but visibly dying is disability, decaying at a faster rate. Just way too soft for my taste -- a floating, pain-free romp into ideas that, when they materialize in the body, are not so easy, and ponderous, and beautiful all the time. (V "Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt" vibes, but Vonnegut knew that phrase to stand had to be, at the very least satire.)

I wanted to put the book in the category of The Condratictions by Sophie Yanow, something that takes up bad aesthetics and critiques and does something interesting with them, but I think the book resolves into being solidly in contact with the tenderqueer bs (right down the that same boring androgynous bowl cut character type for the lover and love interest; it makes so much scene that this is published by Avery Press, which Walden is also published out of).

Formally so so so so so brilliant - which is giving it it's five. If it wasn't this formally good it'd be a four; the stories on their own would be a three for some occasional brilliance and a dose of technical competence, but quite often sucumb to some of my least fav tenderqueer tropes and fixture. Got a bit disapointed, but the book is good, recommendable.

[Simon Chadwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories, by necessity, require an immediacy that engages the reader quickly. In terms of comics, this can be done either visually or through the writing, as the tale shares a brief moment with you before moving on to another. Like an album, short story collections may have filler tracks, but as long as there are a few satisfying tunes you're left happy, more so if the ratio is higher.

Safer Places is a short story collection, and, like most graphic novels and cartoon books, the cover is part of the creator's presentation. It's one of the occasions where you should be able to judge the book by it – if not comprehensively, then at least allow it to give you a good idea. And it is a good one, beautifully illustrated and, with the character facing away from us, suggestive of something brooding and mysterious inside.

So does it fulfil that promise? Stylistically, the artwork within doesn't live up to the promise, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The great thing about cartoonists is that good writing can carry the art and vice versa. Which brings me back to my opening comments. Do the short stories engage? For me, personally, I struggled with Safer Places. I wanted to enjoy it, especially as it was recommended to me by a trusted source, but I just wasn't getting it. I think I was hoping for something tighter, sharper, or even surprising.

The Quest stories, running throughout the collection, were interesting, and the story Weeds tickled my fancy, but everything else felt a little to ephemeral. This could, indeed, be just a question of taste, and the book's general success seems to suggest I'm in the minority.

I aim to be positive with these reviews – on the whole, if there's a book I simply dislike then I just don't review it. There's enough negativity online. And the fact is, I didn't dislike Safer Places. I just didn't connect with it. I think Kit Anderson has talent and I'm intrigued to see what she does next now that she has Safer Places under her belt. But this one didn't work for me. Even though I didn't connect with it, you might, and for that reason you should give it a go. After all, we can't all like the same things, can we.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Safer Places takes the reader through a fantastical trip of thought provoking short stories. These stories have a literary feel to them, often floating along as a river of feelings flow underneath. There is a vibrancy to these stories, both in the writing but also on the page, the colors and style. Little things stand out to me, such as the flowers floating off the page or the check boxes (didn’t want to give any spoilers). There is also a playfulness in several of the stories, playing with our expectations in a way only the comic form can. Other stories test some of our assumptions about how and what the world is or should be. And in others, it asks about the essential nature of who we are as people. I also appreciate that these stories ask us to think about these ideas without forcing a particular view or forcing a moral of the story.

This book was an absolute joy to read and I would highly recommend you read it too.

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books you think you know then you don't. You have to take your time, as it is not one solid story, but multiple that feels as if they are flowing into each other. Themes such as sleep are repeated in more than one story. Overall, it is nice, cozy, but also intense. It is a mixture of everything and still, you are calm. And yet, you are ready to go! Honestly, though Anderson is both author and illustrator, each story almost feels as if it is written by a different person (but some you can see the similarities) and the same goes for the illustrations. The art is in various formats, making this collection connected and separated. There is one story with several parts that runs throughout the rest of the works. Strong 14 and up if you want the "deeper meaning" but most ages can take at "face level" for meanings. And while there is little in the way of "mature content," the concepts are heavy and not for all readers.

[mik · Rating 4 out of 5]

major themes are: feeling out of place, remembering, being present, and wonder. all of this with a nice dose of earthiness.

my favorites were:
the Quests (wizard guy just lives such a magical life full of nature and community with its creatures)

The Basement (memory is like the “basement” place in this story; we store things we don’t physically have. remember to come back to real life. love the cat, Coal.)

Deep Breath (um i’m just mystified)

Fallow (really speaks to re-wilding the land. the old retired farmer observes a bird he used to see all the time as a kid and now is rare. the young character laughs and says the old man needs a hobby. the old man takes down all of the farm fences. with these boundaries gone, more wildlife moves in 🧡)

[Neep · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art was pretty enough. But the stories weren't impactful enough for me. Too short to build the characters and their stories.

I liked the overarching theme of people using a relaxation app but at the same time I found those intermissions to be the most lacking in point/plot. And with the wizard story, the art didn't really make it clear just what the wizard was doing as he was wandering around, so I became bored of his pages too.

The Basement was really good and showed the artist's promise, in art style and in story. The theme of dealing with grief and loneliness was really well handled. There were a couple other stories that were good too, but that one really stood out for me.

[Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe the fact this was an MFA thesis makes it a little hard to connect with. Safer Places feels an exercise for personal growth vs an audience. "Fallow" really landed for me personally but everything else felt a little too oblique and repetitive, not really moving the needle for me emotionally.

We also don't truly ever get a resolution for any story, although at one point a character discussing their thesis and their friend mention the destination isn't the point of their work, which gets back to this being a more self-indulgent approach that at least left this reader at arm's length.

[K.C. Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was told this would be cozy. Turns out it was quiet but pretty depressing. Maybe bittersweet is a better word, but mostly it just made me sad. A lot of these are little stories about our relationship to nature, and how it’s so wildly out of balance right now—but it’s more about our individual relationships to nature than our whole species’ current destructive path. “Fallow” was probably my favorite short. Most of these stories ask something of the reader, and explore various themes (isolation, mandatory productivity, mechanization, and shortsightedness) from several angles throughout the collection.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“My advisor hates them [my poems]. Says they’re not going anywhere; I need to have an actual destination.”

Not much happens in the individual stories, but taken together they’re a tapestry about, among other things, how meditation apps and frozen food aren’t enough; people really need nature to find peace. My favorite story was “Lookout Station,” an anxious, colorful vignette about a sci-fi commander of some sort and their AI, which takes the form of different animals as it provides self-care routines. I really like how “Weeds” quietly interrogated the idea of a creative or spiritual destination.

[Andrew Eder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every story was really just blah and didn’t have much to them. It made me feel like I had to really overthink the mundane parts of everyday life. And as much as I love to glamorize the little things in my life, this attempted to make each moment super deep and dense which I could just not vibe with. Maybe if I read each story in isolation with a discussion group then MAYBE? But the only one I cared about was the wizard and they could write a whole book just on the wizard!!! I also really liked the Weeds story and wish there was a 200 page book on just that storyline.

Do not recommend.

[Bailee Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice art, couldn’t get into the short stories that much. I did like a few like “the basement” which was about grief. Some of the sleep meditation ones were interesting reflections on technology, every day life and nature. I liked the 1-3 page watercolor looking ones more as visual poems almost. “Fallow” was my favorite and explored an old farmer healing the land and returning the land to the animals. Borrowed from my local library because I like the conversations around safe spaces and the cover but isn’t really what I thought it would be!

[Chris Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Random grab from the library's adult graphic novel section. Log line caught my interest: "A new collection of stories about isolation, memory, and every day wonders, from one of comics' up-and-coming voices." Hadn't heard about this, I blame myself, often have blinders on and just scoop new stuff from Fantagraphics and Drawn and Quarterly. This is from Avery Hill, which I'm not familiar with. Quick one here; a little underdeveloped - they're short stories but really more like fragments. I liked it fine and will grab whatever Anderson does next (I'd never heard of her but the art is great).

[Melissa Orth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not finding books for me so far this year. A collection of vignettes, some wordless, all odd, tied together by the guiding meditation of a sleep app. Some stories are sweet; a wise wizard offers kindness to nature. Others are downright odd, like Kit’s previously published Weeds about a person dying of a flower metamorphosis. A few were off putting (to me). A mixed bag that I just didn’t have the energy to parse awhile wanting more tales about the sweet wizard.

[Thebulversaint · Rating 3 out of 5]

This selection of short stories in the form of comic strips is an escape from the pace of the modern world. I think it's best to take it slow and let it really sink in as it's often promotes mindfulness. Thematically it's all loosely connected and some stories come back in parts. Weeds is my favourite as it presents so many interpretations. All of the drawings are deceptively simple, but you notice how detailed they are when a face expressions says everything about the character's emotions.