World Heist

by Linnea Sterte

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Sequential Art

80 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2025

About the author

Linnea Sterte is a Swedish illustrator and comic book author. She gained international notoriety with her graphic novels Stages of Rot (2017) and A Frog in the Fall (2022). The latter book won the 'Prix Révélation' at the Angoulême Festival in 2023.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wears its influences--Moebius, FromSoft games, Yoshitaka Amano--on its sleeves, but what beautiful, brocaded sleeves!

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two thieves, one a cursed child and the other with the face of a cat, set out to steal things as rare and difficult to obtain as a whole magical pocket realm and the lover of a god. Dreamy, brief, and gorgeously illustrated. Linnea Sterte is doing comics on a whole other level!

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short comic about two thieves - Tiger and Task - who steal an egg-shaped crystal from a cosmic deity's bedside. Contained within appears to be a realm of sorts, and the two thieves soon find themselves traveling within, hatching a plot to steal something else. A hazy, ethereal story that crafts a complex fantasy setting of dimensions within dimensions and eldritch beings.

Linnea Sterte's dainty lines adds surprising heft to the visage of World Heist, a fantastical story that seems never ending in its imaginative scope. The story does have a touch of unfinished quality to it though, as if more may come with time. Whether or not that is true is irrelevant, since the comic as presented here is substantial enough in scope to allow for multiple readings to digest the grandiose ideas.

[anna b · Rating 5 out of 5]

girl, what is going on? this is the least narratively-comprehensive Sterte comic I've read so far (which is Saying Something) and it's also such a short little bite of a story.

loved it. 5 stars. thanks for letting me read your copy, Nicole!

[Carl Krantz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Sterte's way of drawing and admire her ability to drive a narrative forward with simple ques and means. However, as gorgeous and well executed the drawings are, I find it difficult to follow what happens in the story. I don't know if it's the printing or what it is, but the images blur into each other and all zoom in on details are hard to comprehend what they actually show. It's a recurring theme throughout the whole book, which kind of ruins it for me.

[Meggie Ramm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Linnea's Sterte's a Frog in the Fall is hands down one of my favorite books of all time.

That being said-

-I had NO idea what was happening in this one. The art was gorgeous as always, but the plot escaped me. Maybe it was because there were jumps in time but no visual indicator to show that? Maybe I need to read it again? Maybe lightning doesn't strike twice in the same spot? Still beautiful though.

[Zoe Ysabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of my comic tear on March 30 :) This was a concept that was executed in a way that did not try to normalize or explain its ideas. It didn't try to ground or make sense, just its lyrical fantasy holding the tone. It's whacky but enthusiastic and I want more. I want to live in that universe. Kind of disco elysium vibes as well

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful but underbaked. The story is charming but slight. And the visual storytelling isn’t enough to make up for it. While Linnea’s linework is etherial and delicate, the color that helped make Stages of Rot one of the most incredible looking books on my shelf are sorely missed. For a story so devoid of narrative, the art could have really used some additional clarity. I wouldn’t be shocked if we eventually get a colored version of this, and I feel strongly that it will be more successful.

[Dan P · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful, ethereal comic that's not really a story as much as it is a scene from a story. And by conjuring that larger, even more beautiful story in your imagination, which you'll never be able to read, it is both delightful and cruel.

[Sai · Rating 5 out of 5]

what the hell how can you make that

[Flora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not entirely sure what happened but enjoyed it nonetheless.

[Graham Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite. I'm desperate for a longer form story from Sterte, though.

4.75 on Story Graph.

[Stephan Brusche · Rating 4 out of 5]

You really feel transported to another world, a beautifully drawn world that doesn’t tell you everything.

[drown_like_its_1999 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pair of thieves steal an artifact from the tomb of a long deceased god. The object contains a pocket dimension which the two enter in hopes they can retrieve the treasures inside, one of which appears to be a mystical being.

Yet again Sterte constructs an immersive world and populates it with an intriguing premise that is rendered beautifully. While the narrative doesn't stretch much beyond the concept, I still found myself quite engaged just exploring what was established. I do wish the line work was a bit less sparse at times as some compositions could be a bit unclear and I missed the soft coloration of her other works but the overall visual presentation is as delicate as ever and the art direction is expectedly stellar.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I read her Stages of Rot , Linnea Sterte has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary comics artists. In the vein of that earlier book, World Heist takes the reader into a fantasy realm where some elements of the milieu resemble aspects our own Earth, and others are completely alien and magical.

Sterte's lines combine a rough, sketch-like execution with a precision of vision that allows the story to flow beautifully between panels and pages: this is one of those comics that almost compels the reader to pause reading and wander in the small details of the artwork. The measured tempo of the narrative encourages this slow turning of the pages, and when the characters break for coffee at story's end, Sterte's mastery of pacing reveals itself as the equal of her visual mastery.

[Fania Muthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

10/10 art style, absolutely beautiful and intricate. I really loved the way Sterte evokes beauty and charm to the way things move in the way they are drawn. My only problem with this is the art style, even though beautiful, can be very difficult to picture out. At times I’m seeing an octopus when its the ground twisting, or what I thought is a rock turns out to be an eye — I had to take a second/third glance before proceeding. Though unlike other graphic novels, this can be a charming aspect as I get to take a longer second to piece in the story per frame in comparison to quickly scanning the frames because the plot is exciting. I’d love to see her other works to compare and study how she depicts things regardless!

[C Sarah S · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I story is this obtuse I wonder if it’s intentional or just badly written. The story telling and the art are very dreamy, like a half remembered story. The art is so ethereal and other worldly, which works for and against in certain parts. The first few pages especially I couldn’t really tell what was going on. But after that, the art became much clearer. Maybe those first few pages needed another pass? The “heist”, if you want to call it that, is the thieves exploring a memory from a dead world. I don’t know, I see what it tried to do but I feel it could have used some cleaning up on the writing side. It just needed a little more clarity. The ending felt magical and unexpected. This reads a little drafty to me, the writing needed a second pass.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book to savor. To wander through and wonder at. Deserted wastelands and lush gardens, opal spires falling into picturesque ruin. I am confounded by the immense worlds and histories she hints at with the simplest line and partial turn of phrase. It’s visual poetry that asks the reader to bring as much imagination to the story as she provides but, oh, she makes it worth your while. I will be visiting again.

[Pip Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A frog in the fall is one of my favourite graphic novels ever - so I came into this with high hopes.

The ideas here are great, and the line art is extraordinary, but the execution wasn't as perfect as AFINTF. I found that it was really hard to follow the action from panel to panel - I had to reread sections 2 or 3 times to try and decipher what was happening.

Once I cracked it, there was definitely gold beneath, but Sterte makes you work for it.

[Aisling · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow I want 50 sequels with these characters thanks

I wish this was just a little more fleshed out but for the length it really does hit all the right notes. A beautiful imaginative little tale, thoughtful in all the right places, wonderfully opaque when it needs to be. And Christ, the art!!!! So glad this was printed on these huge pages, every landscape just swallows you up.

[gynura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linnea es una de mis dibujantes favoritas, su trazo y sus diseños son maravillosos. No soy muy fan de su forma de narrar pero sí de la grandiosidad de sus ideas y de lo visual de estas. Una lectura muy inspiradora que ojalá fuese algo más.

[Isaac Lewsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating premise and just beautiful beautiful art — Linnea Sterte has done it again!

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

JUST clear enough for me to understand what's happening but some panels I definitely needed to double back. Regardless I love her line art so much, what a nice read

[Jin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice moments. Nice images.

[Sarah]

Absolutely stunning. Need more.

[Rafael Cejas · Rating 3 out of 5]

so much promise but so short! I need more of this!

[Ed Oakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have read the first world heist before this one. Seemed pointless to me

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cool, wish it had been longer

[Lasse Koopmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

should probably be 100 pages longer, then it could have been 5 stars

[Jua · Rating 4 out of 5]

i could look at linnea's drawings forever