What do you think?
Rate this book
Naked City: A Graphic Novel
In this long-awaited graphic comedy from an esteemed illustrator and storyteller, three bohemians struggle to answer the “Is it possible for an artist to survive in the 21st Century?”
A young singer poses for a painter who has shifted from landscapes to nudes, and both of them learn a thing or two about the purpose of art and the meaning of success. The original graphic novel Naked City takes us inside the head of native New York artist, Eric Drooker (frequent cover artist for The New Yorker). His award-winning graphic novels—beginning with Flood—have charted new terrain for the form, and Blood Song is soon to be a major motion picture. Don’t miss this epic meditation on art and life.
A young singer poses for a painter who has shifted from landscapes to nudes, and both of them learn a thing or two about the purpose of art and the meaning of success. The original graphic novel Naked City takes us inside the head of native New York artist, Eric Drooker (frequent cover artist for The New Yorker). His award-winning graphic novels—beginning with Flood—have charted new terrain for the form, and Blood Song is soon to be a major motion picture. Don’t miss this epic meditation on art and life.
Kindle Edition
First published October 8, 2024
5 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 28, 2025
Deeply shallow
A groaner, through and through - shallow is an understatement.
I usually don't publicly flame indie comics, even bad comics tend to be a labor of love. But since Eric Drooker has a day job painting covers for The New Yorker, he can survive some honest feedback.
This book has nothing to say, three hundred pages, and cliches.
A groaner, through and through - shallow is an understatement.
I usually don't publicly flame indie comics, even bad comics tend to be a labor of love. But since Eric Drooker has a day job painting covers for The New Yorker, he can survive some honest feedback.
This book has nothing to say, three hundred pages, and cliches.
December 12, 2024
Based on how thoroughly I had to search for this book on the web, and that it took me forever to get to it on Hoopla, I get the impression that this isn’t a very well-known book, but it was totally my cup of tea! I’ve not read any of Drooker’s other work, but he seems like an incredible artist with a unique perspective on lots of big things.
This book reminded me a lot of ‘Company,’ actually. Not so much in its theming or characters, but how it presents the story. There isn’t much of a central conflict in this story, moreso just observing the characters and how they interact with each other and the world around them, and it’s really good stuff. The broad range of lifestyles depicted in this book gave me new perspectives on art, living your truth, and vulnerability. As an artsy person, I was invested in both of the main characters’ lives, and if the book didn’t end when it did, then I would’ve happily read more!
This book reminded me a lot of ‘Company,’ actually. Not so much in its theming or characters, but how it presents the story. There isn’t much of a central conflict in this story, moreso just observing the characters and how they interact with each other and the world around them, and it’s really good stuff. The broad range of lifestyles depicted in this book gave me new perspectives on art, living your truth, and vulnerability. As an artsy person, I was invested in both of the main characters’ lives, and if the book didn’t end when it did, then I would’ve happily read more!
December 9, 2024
The last page was breathtaking. Even with no words on the last page it spoke volumes. This was a brilliant novel. Loved everything about the story, the illustrations, all of it just so gorgeous.
October 31, 2024
Just that last page alone was a five star experience. Adding words didn’t hurt the experience one bit. I am in awe of this person’s ability.
January 9, 2025
NAKED CITY IS AN EPIC ODYSSEY OF ART!
NAKED CITY is a melodic, graphic narrative of moral mayhem for the arts. This book, which is the third installment in Eric Drooker ’s city trilogy, has the power to throw the reader into existential crisis in asking the question: What is the purpose of art? What is the whole point? Especially if we can't eat art... or dollars... for dinner.
We are witnessing the journeys of three struggling city dwellers--a musician, a painter, and a dancer--who attempt to pursue their dreams and achieve some socially-constructed, fiscal version of "success." But we end up finding ourselves curled up in cringe, while watching all three artists being subjected to and attempting to overcome various systems of "artistic selection," or dejection-to-exploitation in the arts and entertainment industries. It seems like Isabel the musician and the nameless Painter are long-lost mutual muses at their core; two mystic ships passing in the dark, who faltered to genuinely connect due to the playful shenanigans of Alex the dancer, and mostly the gross interferences of commercialization of their crafts, leading to paths of further alienation.
Like many other industries, NAKED CITY exposes the cautionary, archetypal tale of the virtuous, empathic artist being cornered into making an unknowing deal with the corporate devil, which entails sacrificing one's morals, or even one's humanity, in exchange for the hokey holy grail of "red carpet" success in the arts. And in the end, we are all scratching our heads as to whether that pursuit is even worth it?
This is where the mysterious fourth character appears--the nearly invisible window washer of Mr. Nobody, who restores the heart of the arts. While the elite power brokers in entertainment are so blind in treating their talent as cash cow tools, it is Mr. Nobody who shows that art bears so much meaning, that it holds the inherent value of life itself; of being able to see and accept and embrace one another for who we inherently are. And to connect with each other in spite of whatever horrors of circumstance have happened to us, that had previously alienated us from one another. In this epic odyssey of art, Eric Drooker has found the true holy grail: the beautiful, melodic beacon of human connection in the dark and chaotic bowels of the city's capitalist beast.
When I close my eyes after reading NAKED CITY, I see Isabel the musician as an endangered species of bird with a dual resonance: a lone yet loving dove incessantly cooing for her parents and longing for her tribe, as well as a canary in a coal mine, warning us of the dangers of bearing the naked bedrock of one's soul into a fleeting crowd of city-slicking strangers. And the proverbial Blind Ego may have just met his perceptual match: I see the Painter, and Eric Drooker himself, stripping the City Naked into this fluid canvas of comipoetic Truth.…
~☆~☆~☆~
This graphic novel of gravitas exposes artists as one of the most valuable yet vulnerable contributors to our understanding of the human and environmental condition. And who are also most prone to the mutilation of their ideals through the pursuit of commercial success. And Society, in its current state of moral mayhem in 2024 and 2025, has failed to warn and implement various measures in protecting artists from these openly emerging patterns of systemic exploitation on the internet--from bad contracts, to products liability, to immigration rights, to work harassment and even assault from positions of power.
NAKED CITY is a call to action for our next generation of artists to be equipped with empathic vigilance: to know their legal and worker rights and how the dirty game of their industry works, before jumping into the pool of art sharks who are either out to bite you, drown you, or use you as a float for their own financial viability. Artists need to be transformed from expendable tools of their industry to indispensable members of our collective consciousness, who engage in treacherous journeys in rebuilding the backbone of what it means to be human.
Where Fight Club meets Asterios Polyp, NAKED CITY is a graphic love song to an emerging generation of artists who are exposing the wrongs of the commercial arts, and changing the game of their industries, by calling the beasts by their names, and forging their own unique entrepreneurial paths without compromise.
Eric Drooker
NAKED CITY
BLOOD SONG
FLOOD
NAKED CITY is a melodic, graphic narrative of moral mayhem for the arts. This book, which is the third installment in Eric Drooker ’s city trilogy, has the power to throw the reader into existential crisis in asking the question: What is the purpose of art? What is the whole point? Especially if we can't eat art... or dollars... for dinner.
We are witnessing the journeys of three struggling city dwellers--a musician, a painter, and a dancer--who attempt to pursue their dreams and achieve some socially-constructed, fiscal version of "success." But we end up finding ourselves curled up in cringe, while watching all three artists being subjected to and attempting to overcome various systems of "artistic selection," or dejection-to-exploitation in the arts and entertainment industries. It seems like Isabel the musician and the nameless Painter are long-lost mutual muses at their core; two mystic ships passing in the dark, who faltered to genuinely connect due to the playful shenanigans of Alex the dancer, and mostly the gross interferences of commercialization of their crafts, leading to paths of further alienation.
Like many other industries, NAKED CITY exposes the cautionary, archetypal tale of the virtuous, empathic artist being cornered into making an unknowing deal with the corporate devil, which entails sacrificing one's morals, or even one's humanity, in exchange for the hokey holy grail of "red carpet" success in the arts. And in the end, we are all scratching our heads as to whether that pursuit is even worth it?
This is where the mysterious fourth character appears--the nearly invisible window washer of Mr. Nobody, who restores the heart of the arts. While the elite power brokers in entertainment are so blind in treating their talent as cash cow tools, it is Mr. Nobody who shows that art bears so much meaning, that it holds the inherent value of life itself; of being able to see and accept and embrace one another for who we inherently are. And to connect with each other in spite of whatever horrors of circumstance have happened to us, that had previously alienated us from one another. In this epic odyssey of art, Eric Drooker has found the true holy grail: the beautiful, melodic beacon of human connection in the dark and chaotic bowels of the city's capitalist beast.
When I close my eyes after reading NAKED CITY, I see Isabel the musician as an endangered species of bird with a dual resonance: a lone yet loving dove incessantly cooing for her parents and longing for her tribe, as well as a canary in a coal mine, warning us of the dangers of bearing the naked bedrock of one's soul into a fleeting crowd of city-slicking strangers. And the proverbial Blind Ego may have just met his perceptual match: I see the Painter, and Eric Drooker himself, stripping the City Naked into this fluid canvas of comipoetic Truth.…
~☆~☆~☆~
This graphic novel of gravitas exposes artists as one of the most valuable yet vulnerable contributors to our understanding of the human and environmental condition. And who are also most prone to the mutilation of their ideals through the pursuit of commercial success. And Society, in its current state of moral mayhem in 2024 and 2025, has failed to warn and implement various measures in protecting artists from these openly emerging patterns of systemic exploitation on the internet--from bad contracts, to products liability, to immigration rights, to work harassment and even assault from positions of power.
NAKED CITY is a call to action for our next generation of artists to be equipped with empathic vigilance: to know their legal and worker rights and how the dirty game of their industry works, before jumping into the pool of art sharks who are either out to bite you, drown you, or use you as a float for their own financial viability. Artists need to be transformed from expendable tools of their industry to indispensable members of our collective consciousness, who engage in treacherous journeys in rebuilding the backbone of what it means to be human.
Where Fight Club meets Asterios Polyp, NAKED CITY is a graphic love song to an emerging generation of artists who are exposing the wrongs of the commercial arts, and changing the game of their industries, by calling the beasts by their names, and forging their own unique entrepreneurial paths without compromise.
Eric Drooker
NAKED CITY
BLOOD SONG
FLOOD
April 19, 2025
Lovely, thoughtful, and doesn't fall into any of the cheap traps that the reader might be concerned about (e.g. no, the model doesn't end up ). This is humane, slice-of-lifey and a bit trippy, musing on both whether it's possible to "make it" as an artist (the book says yes) and whether it's worthwhile to "sell out" if so (the book isn't sure).
The rendition of the painted works in-story are gorgeous, and there's a lot of quietly solid continuity in showing many of the same images over and over. Eric Drooker himself gets to do both a lot of cityscapes and a lot of nudes, while running his painter character in an arc that moves from doing one to doing the other.
There were some unrealistic points -- first, the idea that a poor singer in NYC would be smoking a lot, at this point in time when cigarettes are hugely expensive, banned in most places, and widely known to be terrible for one's singing. Second, the tremendous number of paintings our painter friend cranks out in one night. And third, well, the ending, which is much more like There are also a lot of scenes of Izzy going around alone and relatively incognito, after she's made it extremely big, that just don't seem likely.
It's a pretty book and a quick read, though, and seems likely to represent some maturation compared to earlier works (based on reading reviews for them, this tells a story with some similarities to Blood Song but does it better). I'll keep an eye open for future works by this author, and hope the trend continues.
The rendition of the painted works in-story are gorgeous, and there's a lot of quietly solid continuity in showing many of the same images over and over. Eric Drooker himself gets to do both a lot of cityscapes and a lot of nudes, while running his painter character in an arc that moves from doing one to doing the other.
There were some unrealistic points -- first, the idea that a poor singer in NYC would be smoking a lot, at this point in time when cigarettes are hugely expensive, banned in most places, and widely known to be terrible for one's singing. Second, the tremendous number of paintings our painter friend cranks out in one night. And third, well, the ending, which is much more like There are also a lot of scenes of Izzy going around alone and relatively incognito, after she's made it extremely big, that just don't seem likely.
It's a pretty book and a quick read, though, and seems likely to represent some maturation compared to earlier works (based on reading reviews for them, this tells a story with some similarities to Blood Song but does it better). I'll keep an eye open for future works by this author, and hope the trend continues.
May 27, 2025
I enjoyed this book despite a few flaws. First the artwork is amazing. I loved all the different hues with only browns, blues and black as the main colors. It seems that the colors were used to differentiate between the different character's lives. Even though the characters at times are naked, the drawings are tastefully done in a beautiful artistic way. I also liked the way the characters were drawn, the singer looked so cute, while the painter looked kind. The window washer appeared strong and kind which matched his personality. The storyline is actually not much. Its mainly about three people trying to make it in New York City which is tough. There is one part that was really, really sad and the ending was a bit meh. I wish there was more to the ending as I was wondering how everyone was going to come together. I think the whole point of the story was to give one some thoughts about what is success as an artist. I believe the author fell short of that particularly since the singer became successful but didn't seem successful. Perhaps that was the point. That one may think they are successful but in reality they are always trying to "make" it as an artist. It seems like the public only likes you if you are "in". However, true artists know they don't need to be the it thing to be a great artist.
January 21, 2025
Almost a slice of life comic about New York City if it was more realistic. It's about 3 different people struggling to make it in New York. The main character is a girl who comes to the city with only her guitar to make it big. She makes it pretty quickly with very little struggle which is not the real NY experience. My other quibble is how much she smokes. Yes, I know it looks cool on the page but having lived here very few people smoke. It's banned everywhere. You can barely even smoke outside buildings. Not to mention that cigarettes are over $14 a pack and have been for over 20 years. Not someone who is really struggling to get by can easily afford.
The connecting thread between the main characters is an artist who paints people in the nude. He paints the other two characters again seemingly easily making it. It's probably a good thing this book isn't more well known or people would come to NYC left and right to get their big city dreams shattered.
The connecting thread between the main characters is an artist who paints people in the nude. He paints the other two characters again seemingly easily making it. It's probably a good thing this book isn't more well known or people would come to NYC left and right to get their big city dreams shattered.
August 27, 2025
On a panel by panel word by word basis this one of the stupidest (derogatory) things I've ever read. I would give it 0 stars if I could. Here are some great quotes:
"Am I an alien? / Or just-- / Alienated?" (156)
"I'm a yoga instructor... / ... and on weekends, I teach yoga to copes... / it's a living." (203)
"In a naked city built on dreams and illusions-- / --the streets are the only real place left!"
In case this isn't obvious, it's supposed to take place in NYC.
EDIT: Also the pacing of Izzy becoming a star is so incredibly off. Like the whole book is horrible but that pacing esp makes absolutely no sense. Deserved a special note.
"Am I an alien? / Or just-- / Alienated?" (156)
"I'm a yoga instructor... / ... and on weekends, I teach yoga to copes... / it's a living." (203)
"In a naked city built on dreams and illusions-- / --the streets are the only real place left!"
In case this isn't obvious, it's supposed to take place in NYC.
EDIT: Also the pacing of Izzy becoming a star is so incredibly off. Like the whole book is horrible but that pacing esp makes absolutely no sense. Deserved a special note.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2025
A guitarist moves to the city and tries to make ends meet by posing for a painter. The painter recruits a bunch of people to pose for him and tries to make it big but realizes the art world is a fickle one. This book had very nice artwork and an easy to follow story. I thought that it was a bit trippy at times but I enjoyed it overall.
May 3, 2025
Another fantastic Eric Drooker graphic novel about art and city living. This story follows an orphan musician who tries her luck in New York and ends up modeling for an artist. Magic seems to be afoot and the artist’s painting start selling like they never have before, and he wonders if life is worth living If you make art for a living.
April 28, 2025
Very good. Very art. The ending hits very hard. It is quite literary and is filled with text which I do not prefer in a graphic novel, however the artwork is striking. Would recommend especially if you are not usually into graphic novels
January 16, 2025
Naked city is amazing. I loved that I came closer to NY city. A wonderful sensitive novel with so many social messages. Loved it
February 5, 2025
Beautiful graphics, lovely stories. Read this first, will have to go back to read beginning of series.
art, artist, living and loving your life
art, artist, living and loving your life
February 7, 2025
I enjoyed the read. I liked the characters, their interactions, and the whole arc. There were some elements that bugged me, but honestly nothing really worth writing about.
April 25, 2025
It reads like the ICE stuff was an afterthought that the author threw in there to make it more than just a book about artists struggling and eventually making it in the big city. Bit of a flop.
December 22, 2025
Beautiful book with beautiful artwork, the dialogue is lacking in places. It’s a great story but it lacked and I felt the ending just lacked commitment.
Loved the art and it was an easy read story
Loved the art and it was an easy read story
April 18, 2025
Occasionally a work of art is brilliant enough to provoke a stirring inside like a compressed feeling of elation. Naked City is one of these. Lavishly drawn, poignantly written, this is a thing of beauty.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews