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Fishflies #1-7
Fishflies Vol. 1
ADVANCE SOLICIT
A strange and surreal new tale of friendship and small town tragedy from the creator of Sweet Tooth and DESCENDER.
A small-town crime sets off a chain of events that will permanently alter the lives of several residents of bucolic Belle River, Ontario. As the manhunt heats up, a lonely girl named Franny Fox forms an unlikely friendship with a fugitive that leads them both on an odyssey of discovery and redemption... a journey that also uncovers dark secrets from the town's eery past.
Collects FISHFLIES #1-7
Select praise for
“Eerie and creepy till the final page, FISHFLIES is an absolute must-read for all fans of comics.” —The GWW
“A unique exploration of LEMIRE's creative storytelling prowess.” —GonkBonk
“LEMIRE combines natural horror themes with a touch of fantasy to present a story that stands on its own.” —Nerd Initiative
“Equal parts Tales from the Crypt and Stand By Me.” —AIPT
“A bizarre book but unquestionably memorable.” —ComicBook.com
“It's not really a surprise when JEFF LEMIRE creates another great story—but it is refreshing… It's vintage Lemire—and that is a very good thing for readers.” —Comicon
“A great slow burn of a comic that keeps readers guessing.” —Major Spoilers
A strange and surreal new tale of friendship and small town tragedy from the creator of Sweet Tooth and DESCENDER.
A small-town crime sets off a chain of events that will permanently alter the lives of several residents of bucolic Belle River, Ontario. As the manhunt heats up, a lonely girl named Franny Fox forms an unlikely friendship with a fugitive that leads them both on an odyssey of discovery and redemption... a journey that also uncovers dark secrets from the town's eery past.
Collects FISHFLIES #1-7
Select praise for
“Eerie and creepy till the final page, FISHFLIES is an absolute must-read for all fans of comics.” —The GWW
“A unique exploration of LEMIRE's creative storytelling prowess.” —GonkBonk
“LEMIRE combines natural horror themes with a touch of fantasy to present a story that stands on its own.” —Nerd Initiative
“Equal parts Tales from the Crypt and Stand By Me.” —AIPT
“A bizarre book but unquestionably memorable.” —ComicBook.com
“It's not really a surprise when JEFF LEMIRE creates another great story—but it is refreshing… It's vintage Lemire—and that is a very good thing for readers.” —Comicon
“A great slow burn of a comic that keeps readers guessing.” —Major Spoilers
Kindle Edition
First published March 18, 2025
12 people are currently reading
283 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Lemire
1,395 books3,872 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
July 30, 2024
Hmm... If you've read one personal Jeff Lemire project, you've read them all.
I've read most if not all of the books Lemire writes and draws himself. Your mileage may vary, but I'm definitely at the point where it's a bit too similar.
I really like his artwork, I know its an acquired taste. Here there were a few faces that I thought were a bit too funky, but overall I like the atmosphere his green shading and scratchy lines creates.
After a robbery that ends with a young person getting shot, the fugitive hides out in the barn of an alcoholic and his young daughter. The girl and the fugitive begin an unlikely friendship that helps both of them deal with their trauma. It's a bit bizarre when the fugitive turns into a man-sized bug and the ending is quite existential as he closes the loop on his generational trauma.
It's quite similar to Frogcatchers and Mazebook with a similar small-town Canadian setting as Essex County and Roughneck. I really wonder how I'd feel if I had read this one first - perhaps a 5-star book?
I've read most if not all of the books Lemire writes and draws himself. Your mileage may vary, but I'm definitely at the point where it's a bit too similar.
I really like his artwork, I know its an acquired taste. Here there were a few faces that I thought were a bit too funky, but overall I like the atmosphere his green shading and scratchy lines creates.
After a robbery that ends with a young person getting shot, the fugitive hides out in the barn of an alcoholic and his young daughter. The girl and the fugitive begin an unlikely friendship that helps both of them deal with their trauma. It's a bit bizarre when the fugitive turns into a man-sized bug and the ending is quite existential as he closes the loop on his generational trauma.
It's quite similar to Frogcatchers and Mazebook with a similar small-town Canadian setting as Essex County and Roughneck. I really wonder how I'd feel if I had read this one first - perhaps a 5-star book?
July 23, 2025
Jeff Lemire returns to Essex County for a small town crime story of a mini mart robbery gone wrong. But then Lemire goes wrong by having the fugitive robber take a left turn from Crime and Punishment straight into The Metamorphosis.
Overly long with a bunch of characters whose thoughts and fates meant nearly nothing to me.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contains material originally published in single magazine form as Fishflies #1-7.
Overly long with a bunch of characters whose thoughts and fates meant nearly nothing to me.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contains material originally published in single magazine form as Fishflies #1-7.
January 10, 2025
Lemire tells yet another story about broken families and children trying to find friendship outside those families, and it feels like one of his most artificial and constructed tales yet. The whole of the story, including its fantastical elements never truly coheres, reading like a list of movie cliches in comic form. Its characters never come to life, and dance around eachother with artificial movie dialogue. Lemire has the tendency to introduce wholly new elements towards the end of a story, to force an ending, and here we all of a sudden get a bit of time travel that creates a ridiculous paradox.
Why is this book so long? So much pages feel wasted.
(Thanks to Image Comics for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
Why is this book so long? So much pages feel wasted.
(Thanks to Image Comics for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
July 14, 2025
Really good story!
September 8, 2024
3.5/5
Fishflies has its ups and downs. It's definitely worth a shot if you're into small-town gloom, dysfunctional families, and a side of magical realism. Set in yet another sleepy Canadian town, the story follows young Franny, who finds and helps a giant humanoid bug. Naturally, this isn't just any overgrown insect, but one linked to local tragedy and Franny’s own desperate need for connection.
I'm a fan of Lemire’s muted watercolors and expressionistic art and the somber mood they create. I also enjoy his usual take on friendship, guilt, and redemption and a touch of magical realism. Longtime fans will find themselves right at home. With that said, I found the ending underwhelming and bland.
Fishflies has its ups and downs. It's definitely worth a shot if you're into small-town gloom, dysfunctional families, and a side of magical realism. Set in yet another sleepy Canadian town, the story follows young Franny, who finds and helps a giant humanoid bug. Naturally, this isn't just any overgrown insect, but one linked to local tragedy and Franny’s own desperate need for connection.
I'm a fan of Lemire’s muted watercolors and expressionistic art and the somber mood they create. I also enjoy his usual take on friendship, guilt, and redemption and a touch of magical realism. Longtime fans will find themselves right at home. With that said, I found the ending underwhelming and bland.
July 18, 2024
Fishflies is the newest comic from Jeff Lemire, written and illustrated entirely by Lemire himself. Like most of Lemire's solo ventures, Fishflies is set in a small Canadian town where there's plenty of family drama/generational trauma, the denizens harbor distaste for outsiders and a melancholic main character. There will be striking familiarity across his various works when reading this one, though there is a much clearer push towards magical realism and surrealism here.
The story follows a young girl named Franny who finds in her family barn an enormous humanoid bug-like creature, who may be responsible for a tragedy involving a local boy. As the recipient of abuse from her drunkard father and loneliness from the lack of friends, Franny immediately takes a liking to "Bug", who she finds she must conceal from the local authorities. What progresses from here is a tale of friendship, guilt and redemption, where Franny, Bug and a local police officer named Danny must all come to terms with.
Lemire is no stranger to cultivating a sense of poignancy in his comics output, so Fishflies knows exactly how to tug at the heartstrings when needed. A lot of that is achieved by Lemire's expressionistic art style that effectively uses the muted watercolors to cast a gloomy atmosphere over the bucolic town of Bell River, Ontario. Franny and Bug are an eclectic pair, fully realized by Lemire's idyllic character designs. A quick read despite the lengthy page count, Lemire's visual storytelling remains a strong aspect to his cartooning.
Though I can say I've grown a little wary of Lemire's repeated tropes, there's still plenty fresh about Fishflies to enjoy. The small town strangeness has been explored before, but there is a whimsical quality to the magical realism here that feels a bit more novel. Still, there is a bit too much homology to previous works to really consider the entire comic unique, but longtime fans of Lemire will find plenty to appreciate here I'm sure.
The story follows a young girl named Franny who finds in her family barn an enormous humanoid bug-like creature, who may be responsible for a tragedy involving a local boy. As the recipient of abuse from her drunkard father and loneliness from the lack of friends, Franny immediately takes a liking to "Bug", who she finds she must conceal from the local authorities. What progresses from here is a tale of friendship, guilt and redemption, where Franny, Bug and a local police officer named Danny must all come to terms with.
Lemire is no stranger to cultivating a sense of poignancy in his comics output, so Fishflies knows exactly how to tug at the heartstrings when needed. A lot of that is achieved by Lemire's expressionistic art style that effectively uses the muted watercolors to cast a gloomy atmosphere over the bucolic town of Bell River, Ontario. Franny and Bug are an eclectic pair, fully realized by Lemire's idyllic character designs. A quick read despite the lengthy page count, Lemire's visual storytelling remains a strong aspect to his cartooning.
Though I can say I've grown a little wary of Lemire's repeated tropes, there's still plenty fresh about Fishflies to enjoy. The small town strangeness has been explored before, but there is a whimsical quality to the magical realism here that feels a bit more novel. Still, there is a bit too much homology to previous works to really consider the entire comic unique, but longtime fans of Lemire will find plenty to appreciate here I'm sure.
May 8, 2025
Jeff Lemire, a name that already has me reaching for my wallet, is back with Fishflies, and this time he's pulling double duty on both words and pictures. Now, let's be honest, Lemire's artwork can be... an acquired taste. But this time I dug it, because it has this eerie, unsettling vibe with a story to back it. It's echoing the raw emotion of Sweet Tooth in some ways, but I think it's actually more refined this time.
At the heart of this strange and wonderful tale are two unlikely souls: a hulking fly-creature (formerly a man haunted by a terrible mistake) and Franny, a young woman adrift in her own lonely world. Thrown together by circumstance, they find themselves on the lam, the cops are hunting the fly-man for his past, Franny is desperate for any kind of escape, and their small town is unraveling thread by fragile thread.
Make no mistake, Fishflies is a damn good read. Lemire's dialogue crackles with authenticity, and his characters breathe with a messy, relatable humanity. The weight of past actions and the yearning for redemption feel genuinely earned. Plus, the story unfolds at a solid pace, offering a satisfying blend of plot progression and intimate moments that let these characters truly shine.
While I saw a few narrative beats coming down the road, the journey was so captivating that it barely registered as a flaw. Initially, I had this pegged at a solid 3.5 out of 5, but the connection I forged with these flawed, fascinating characters nudged it up to a well deserved 4. Definitely dive into this one.
At the heart of this strange and wonderful tale are two unlikely souls: a hulking fly-creature (formerly a man haunted by a terrible mistake) and Franny, a young woman adrift in her own lonely world. Thrown together by circumstance, they find themselves on the lam, the cops are hunting the fly-man for his past, Franny is desperate for any kind of escape, and their small town is unraveling thread by fragile thread.
Make no mistake, Fishflies is a damn good read. Lemire's dialogue crackles with authenticity, and his characters breathe with a messy, relatable humanity. The weight of past actions and the yearning for redemption feel genuinely earned. Plus, the story unfolds at a solid pace, offering a satisfying blend of plot progression and intimate moments that let these characters truly shine.
While I saw a few narrative beats coming down the road, the journey was so captivating that it barely registered as a flaw. Initially, I had this pegged at a solid 3.5 out of 5, but the connection I forged with these flawed, fascinating characters nudged it up to a well deserved 4. Definitely dive into this one.
June 3, 2025
There are certainly common themes in Jeff Lemires work...that may trick you into thinking he's writing the same story over and over.
but..he's not.
I love his sparse Ontario landscapes..that he knows so well..and the lost children characters who find some kind of redemption / peace.
but..he's not.
I love his sparse Ontario landscapes..that he knows so well..and the lost children characters who find some kind of redemption / peace.
July 25, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for the e-copy to review.
3.75 stars
Fishflies is classic Lemire. A small rural town in Canada, a history of generational trauma and the supernatural mixes with a story of redemption and second chances, of violence and the innocence of a friendship between a girl and the monster she sees herself reflected in.
The story starts with the heat of the summer. A group of teen friends walking to the grocery store to buy some popsicles are stopped by the annual invasion of fishflies, the kind of flies that come from the river once a year and stick to every part of lakeside villages. One of the kids decides to walk the path full of them to enter the store, however he steps into the scene of a crime. A man is robbing the store and immediately shoots the kid. What follows is the search of the shooter through the town. The fugitive's transformation after escaping. And the meeting of a lonely girl and the monster that will become her protector.
The story, divided in seven chapters, has different povs, different timelines and supernatural elements. As always, and with Lemire's classic haunting art style, the finished product is a tale that makes you think about humanity and mortality. About the experiences that shape us, the never-ending cycles of trauma, and the second chances we take. It's an existential story, one of those Lemire loves to tell in his indie stuff. And this one works, it's not my favorite but it's a strong graphic novel.
The pacing is great, and this is almost four hundred pages, the eco-horror is unsettling and the characters feel realistic. The ending left me with a bleak feeling, even with the hopeful elements teased in the last scenes.
If you are a fan of Lemire, you know you have to pick this one immediately. If you are not familiar with his work, this is a great sample of the haunting stories he crafts. He writes and illustrates such beautiful yet eerie human stories, hopefully you'll give him a chance.
3.75 stars
Fishflies is classic Lemire. A small rural town in Canada, a history of generational trauma and the supernatural mixes with a story of redemption and second chances, of violence and the innocence of a friendship between a girl and the monster she sees herself reflected in.
The story starts with the heat of the summer. A group of teen friends walking to the grocery store to buy some popsicles are stopped by the annual invasion of fishflies, the kind of flies that come from the river once a year and stick to every part of lakeside villages. One of the kids decides to walk the path full of them to enter the store, however he steps into the scene of a crime. A man is robbing the store and immediately shoots the kid. What follows is the search of the shooter through the town. The fugitive's transformation after escaping. And the meeting of a lonely girl and the monster that will become her protector.
The story, divided in seven chapters, has different povs, different timelines and supernatural elements. As always, and with Lemire's classic haunting art style, the finished product is a tale that makes you think about humanity and mortality. About the experiences that shape us, the never-ending cycles of trauma, and the second chances we take. It's an existential story, one of those Lemire loves to tell in his indie stuff. And this one works, it's not my favorite but it's a strong graphic novel.
The pacing is great, and this is almost four hundred pages, the eco-horror is unsettling and the characters feel realistic. The ending left me with a bleak feeling, even with the hopeful elements teased in the last scenes.
If you are a fan of Lemire, you know you have to pick this one immediately. If you are not familiar with his work, this is a great sample of the haunting stories he crafts. He writes and illustrates such beautiful yet eerie human stories, hopefully you'll give him a chance.
July 23, 2024
Few of the last Lemire’s book weren’t my favorites and it felt like he’s writing the same stuff over and over. Which he basically does, but this time it felt a bit different, a bit more interesting and mysterious. I think Fishflies had pretty strong beginning with quality going up with each issue, and even though I feel like the ending could be a bit more emotional, it ended nicely. Loved Kuruneru’s parts too!
August 17, 2025
It's a Jeff Lemire graphic novel (collects all issues #1-7) so I knew I'd like the sketchy illustration style. This small town tale kicks off with a crime, and we are reminded that that while the past is prologue, it is never really past. Really interesting themes were lightly explored and I wanted more.
Read
May 20, 2025So when I read Frogcatchers thinking it was a more recent Lemire comic, Fishflies was the one I had in mind, which is pretty forgivable as mix-ups go. And this is once again familiar Lemire territory – literally, it's set in Essex County, but also in the sense of featuring bullied kids, adults turned bitter by life and lashing out, and others making faltering efforts to do better than life has treated them. Envisaged as a rural crime story, it ends up more like an ickier Iron Giant as Franny – probably the possessor of comics' runniest nose now Snotgirl has those new allergy meds – taking refuge from her brutal father with... well, you can see on the cover, and he has something to do with the annual swarming of the titular bugs. There is an affecting story here somewhere, but being 400 pages long definitely doesn't do it any favours.
(Netgalley ARC)
(Netgalley ARC)
November 17, 2024
A work of art.
November 4, 2025
I think this is my new favorite Lemire miniseries. He’s sort of playing the hits, but I think he’s grown a lot as a storyteller over the years. And this is very much my kind of thing, more so even than his other work.
August 14, 2025
In the backmatter to this dense tome, Jeff Lemire notes that at first he wanted to write a teenage crime thriller in the Brubaker/Philips mode. Then, he had the brilliant idea to merge such a thriller with a monster movie. The effort ultimately became Fishflies and the execution of this merger is... pretty blah.
The recurrent swath of fishflies on the landscape is certainly intriguing, and would lend itself to a decent horror story for sure. And the opening scene with the teens and the robbery at the mini-market is pretty engaging. But then, well, the guy randomly turns into a giant bug monster. And meets a kid who needs a friend? And they go on an adventure?
Fishflies has all the Lemire tropes, expanded out to 400 pages. It's never quite boring, but it's also pretty weird and ungainly. The time traveling conclusion is baffling. The best part is the origin story reveal about three-quarters of the way through. I would have happily read just that book.
The recurrent swath of fishflies on the landscape is certainly intriguing, and would lend itself to a decent horror story for sure. And the opening scene with the teens and the robbery at the mini-market is pretty engaging. But then, well, the guy randomly turns into a giant bug monster. And meets a kid who needs a friend? And they go on an adventure?
Fishflies has all the Lemire tropes, expanded out to 400 pages. It's never quite boring, but it's also pretty weird and ungainly. The time traveling conclusion is baffling. The best part is the origin story reveal about three-quarters of the way through. I would have happily read just that book.
November 24, 2025
4.5 stars---FISHFLIES is a stunning graphic novel that brings to mind "Amazing Stories" or one of the more self-contained episodes of "The X-Files." If you like memorable, creative horror/sci-fi stories with heart, don't miss this one.
November 3, 2024
Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.
In the small town of Belle River, Canada, bugs known as Fishflies descend upon the residents for once a week every year. But once a generation, a different plague besets them. What started as a simple dare lands one young boy in the hospital and begins a manhunt that entangles the boy’s classmate, Franny. The young girl takes pity on the fugitive and makes a friend in the process. The townsfolk, Franny, and her new friend embark on something much more supernatural and rooted deep in the town's history, and many of the discover something much more than they bargained for.
This mystery has fantastique elements that rival Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and would be a good partner read for the story. Fans of Lemire’s other writing won’t be surprised to see the supernatural elements at play here too. There are plenty of surprises throughout the story, and I appreciated the historical & mythological elements Lemire wove in as well. The ending leaves a bittersweet feeling of redemption, but not everyone gets out entirely happily in the end.
There is some violence and murder in this story, as well as uncensored cussing.
Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12, Adult
In the small town of Belle River, Canada, bugs known as Fishflies descend upon the residents for once a week every year. But once a generation, a different plague besets them. What started as a simple dare lands one young boy in the hospital and begins a manhunt that entangles the boy’s classmate, Franny. The young girl takes pity on the fugitive and makes a friend in the process. The townsfolk, Franny, and her new friend embark on something much more supernatural and rooted deep in the town's history, and many of the discover something much more than they bargained for.
This mystery has fantastique elements that rival Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and would be a good partner read for the story. Fans of Lemire’s other writing won’t be surprised to see the supernatural elements at play here too. There are plenty of surprises throughout the story, and I appreciated the historical & mythological elements Lemire wove in as well. The ending leaves a bittersweet feeling of redemption, but not everyone gets out entirely happily in the end.
There is some violence and murder in this story, as well as uncensored cussing.
Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12, Adult
April 12, 2025
Interesting little story, I think the writer is starting his own little multiverse of stories😂
He's got some minor acana characters and maybe more 🤷🏽 i dont love it but whatever.
Also there is like a 20 page repeat of issue 1 in issue 7
Totally unnecessary in my opinion
3⭐️
He's got some minor acana characters and maybe more 🤷🏽 i dont love it but whatever.
Also there is like a 20 page repeat of issue 1 in issue 7
Totally unnecessary in my opinion
3⭐️
May 8, 2025
3.5 Stars
September 23, 2025
2.8 (biblio) Solid entertainment.
July 6, 2025
What a strange book...but i really enjoyed it. Definitely not something I would recommend to everyone but the artwork was fantastic and the story was really compelling. I didn't want to put it down...but I had to because this book is HEAVY and caused a flare up in my wrist. But im glad I read it physically because its absolutely gorgeous in print like this.
May 28, 2025
3.75, and I have to say I finally enjoyed this more than I was expecting, based on the first couple chapters/issues.
I am personally not a super fan when it comes to Jeff Lemire (I've started some of his series in the past, and just dropped them when they failed to hook me), but I think the book format in this one just did the trick for me.
And you could say this is a very Lemire story in a way, and I didn't really love Franny's character, nor the dynamic between her and Bug pull my heart strings as it should have. But I still enjoyed the folklore in this one, and the small town crime vibe.
Also, kuddos to the art and the use of color. It really work for this story.
I am personally not a super fan when it comes to Jeff Lemire (I've started some of his series in the past, and just dropped them when they failed to hook me), but I think the book format in this one just did the trick for me.
And you could say this is a very Lemire story in a way, and I didn't really love Franny's character, nor the dynamic between her and Bug pull my heart strings as it should have. But I still enjoyed the folklore in this one, and the small town crime vibe.
Also, kuddos to the art and the use of color. It really work for this story.
March 31, 2025
95
This was great. So good in fact, that I had my LCS order a copy of the hardcover for me.
I’m pretty sure this one makes my top five stories he has both written and drawn. I’m excited to revisit the art in Hardcover, as I read this digitally on hoopla.
If you can, go into this one blind. Don’t read the blurb on the back and just have no expectations of where the story will take you. It was quite fantastic.
This was great. So good in fact, that I had my LCS order a copy of the hardcover for me.
I’m pretty sure this one makes my top five stories he has both written and drawn. I’m excited to revisit the art in Hardcover, as I read this digitally on hoopla.
If you can, go into this one blind. Don’t read the blurb on the back and just have no expectations of where the story will take you. It was quite fantastic.
August 13, 2024
Lemire is one of my favorites in the comic book industry.
Fishflies is maybe a bit too similar to his other personal works, but a great emotional read nevertheless.
My elevator pitch for the book? The emo metamorphosis.
Fishflies is maybe a bit too similar to his other personal works, but a great emotional read nevertheless.
My elevator pitch for the book? The emo metamorphosis.
March 24, 2025
It starts off really well, and the conclusion is pretty satisfying, but that middle meandering kind of takes all the steam out of this great story. I felt like JL tried to introduce too many things that just muddled up the mystery he was going for.
July 31, 2024
How to make a Jeff Lemire solo book: small town, Canada, sad kids, attempts to tug at your heartstrings. Mix and match to appropriately mixed results. This ain't it for me.
August 1, 2024
The kind of stuff which makes Jeff Lemire such an amazing storyteller. Loved the fact that he decided to draw this one.
May 5, 2025
I hate bugs but I liked this book. Cool art style and a really strange supernatural story.
Read
September 24, 2025If Jeff Lemire is to be believed, this was initially going to be his take on a Brubaker-Phillips type of book. Yet as he continued working on it, his own imagination took over, and we ended up getting this book. I can't say I was disappointed.
Fishflies feels like a return to form for Lemire, one where he's operating on familiar grounds, spinning surreal yarns about rural Canada and the eccentric characters who often populate it. It initially starts out as a rural crime drama, before turning into an offbeat take on Cronenberg's version of The Fly. Lemire juggles the genres and tones that he plays with here magnificently and once the supernatural elements are introduced, it doesn't feel forced. He grounds this strange story, as always, with the well-drawn characters and their personal struggles.
Lemire captures loneliness and alienation like few others, and like many of his best stories, we see another tale of lonely characters trying to make connections with others. This time it's young Franny Fox as she forms a unique friendship with a troubled criminal with a...strange affliction. If there's one thing Lemire captures exceptionally in all his work, it's desolation. His settings are always so hollow, and he exudes such an atmosphere and mood with very little. There's a deep melancholy in his work too, from Essex County, Roughneck, Royal City, and even Sweet Tooth from time to time. Fishflies is an attempt from Lemire to combine the quiet desperation that can be found in Essex and Roughneck, along with the genre trappings found in Sweet Tooth and for the most part, he succeeds.
Guilt is a recurring theme in crime fiction, rather it be Poe's narrator from The Tell-Tale Heart, James Ellroy's many broken cops, or the doomed Pinky Brown from Brighton Rock, Lemire makes it more literal here with the surreal, bordering on fantastic themes he introduces into the narrative. Our fishfly creature is shown to not be a vicious criminal at heart. But a sad, confused man who has made one too many bad decisions in his life and doesn't know how to come back from any of them. We see this theme further developed as the fantastic elements rear their heads, with the theme of a curse that's been passed down from generation to generation. The guilt of our past sins that poisons everything in the present, which is a theme we can identify with right now. But where there's guilt, there's also room for forgiveness and redemption too. And like in many of Lemire's other stories, it's the connections we make that redeem us in the end, that remind us what it means to be a person and why that matters.
Pacing has always been a recurring issue with Lemire, in some of his books he sometimes rushes to the finish line. Yet here he paces himself splendidly. Perhaps it's because he has full control over the narrative and indeed, he shines bright when he does comics himself. Lemire's fluidity here is reminiscent of Frank Miller at his best, particularly with how he uses visual storytelling. His pacing and sense of mood recalls an auteur director when he's firing on all cylinders, and his paneling sometimes borders on the cinematic. Though his art is an acquired taste, few can deny Lemire's skill in using the comic book medium to its fullest potential and he uses all the tricks one can and the things he's learned as a creator in full force here.
But with my praise, there also come weaknesses. The ending of the story is rather predictable. It's not entirely a bad thing; some stories don't need to break the wheel to be good. But I didn't gain the emotional catharsis that I've had with some of his best works that he's done himself. I also wished that he had spent more time with some of the characters, particularly Franny and the fishfly. Lemire is often at his best when he allows his characters to sit and breathe and as well plotted as this book is, I did wish there was more of that Lemire slice of life charm that I love so much in his best works.
Fishflies makes me sad that we never got a proper Swamp Thing run from Lemire. Sure, he worked on a miniseries with Swampy, but after reading this, I would have liked to see what Lemire would have done. No disrespect to Charles Soule, but this book makes me wonder what Lemire could have brought had he followed up Scott Snyder's run on Swampy as was originally intended. If we had gotten anything like this, I imagine it would have been a richer and far more compelling run. A man can certainly dream...
Fishflies is one of those books that shows that, even when he's out of his comfort zone, there's always going to be a little of that Lemire strangeness that sneaks in there. A very good book from the mind of one of our great talents in the comic medium.
November 3, 2025
4.5 stars - Since entering the world of graphic novels, I have come to appreciate the incredible diversity of stories. However, that appreciation moves to inspiration when it comes to the artwork. Many have pulled off stories that have tugged at my emotions, but few have ignited my wonder in the illustration like Jeff Lemire has. Honestly, I seem to be drawn to his work – pun intended.
Fishflies is a rerelease of a series of seven comics in trade paperback that details an incident in the small town of Belle River, Ontario. A criminal fugitive and a lonely girl named Franny Fox meet and develop a protective bond that is eventually tested when it comes to righting some wrongs in the town. Theirs is an unexpected friendship with elements of supernatural ties to the past as they break free from each of their chains in the present.
Originally released through Lemire’s Substack between August 2021 and August 2022, he revised and revisited the story until it became what it is presently.
Thank you to Image Comics for the opportunity to review Fishflies through Edelweiss.
#Fishflies #JeffLemire #ImageComics #Edelweiss #books #bookreview #nerdventureswithbooks
Fishflies is a rerelease of a series of seven comics in trade paperback that details an incident in the small town of Belle River, Ontario. A criminal fugitive and a lonely girl named Franny Fox meet and develop a protective bond that is eventually tested when it comes to righting some wrongs in the town. Theirs is an unexpected friendship with elements of supernatural ties to the past as they break free from each of their chains in the present.
Originally released through Lemire’s Substack between August 2021 and August 2022, he revised and revisited the story until it became what it is presently.
Thank you to Image Comics for the opportunity to review Fishflies through Edelweiss.
#Fishflies #JeffLemire #ImageComics #Edelweiss #books #bookreview #nerdventureswithbooks
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