BUUZA!!, Volume 1: Good Morning, Salwa: An Original Graphic Novel

by Shazleen Khan

Cartoonist Shazleen Khan brings their Ignatz Award–winning young adult web series, BUUZA!! to print in Good Morning, Salwa, the first of three volumes collecting the original webtoon

On New Year's Eve 1997, in the bustling city of Salwa, Zach, a down-on-his-luck phone operator, receives a misdialed call from a distressed man named Zhen which sparks an undeniable connection. Zach is thrown into a search for his mystery man that stretches across multiple cities and a tangled web of exes, missed connections, and frenemies.

Set in the vibrant, low-fantasy realm of Dawlat Al-Harir—an eclectic melting pot inspired by Silk Road history and rich Asian and African Islamic cultures—BUUZA!! is a queer YA romance that features a uniquely dynamic blend of magical realism and political drama, with a richly diverse cast and an intricate plot that explores themes of identity, family, and transformation. This story will take readers on a captivating journey through a world where the divine and mundane collide in the most unexpected ways.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Queer, Comics, LGBT, Young Adult

368 pages, Hardcover

Published May 26, 2026

Reviews

[Alice Oseman]

A mysterious web of friendship, family and blossoming queer romance in a world sprinkled with magic and mysticism. BUUZA!! is a cosy and heartwarming journey through the interweaving lives of young people finding themselves and each other. I adored meeting this charming cast of misfits and can't wait to see where their adventures take them.

[Hari Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous new chunky-volume print of one of the best queer comics online. Set in a nostalgic world rich with family secrets, unlikely friendships, intrigue and magic, BUUZA!! is full of warmth and juicy, real-feeling drama - a must-read for any fan of slice of life manga or addictive webtoons.

(Also, the hardback has INCREDIBLY nice endpapers and just feels amazing in person!)

[tillie hellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love graphic novels!!!!!
it’s always a treat when i get one… a treat that i eat very quickly. worse, this one is the beginning of a series (okay well this is better in the long term but RN it’s worse) so things weren’t even wrapped up!!!! so many mysteries to explore!!!!!!
anyways… this was so much fun! islam norm world (where islam colonized more then the europeans? or smth like that. this isn’t super plot important rn, just interesting) with animal people (tho TBH we don’t see a lot of this on page!) and future telling and art and secrets and burgeoning romance and lots of friendship!!!!
honestly don’t really care about the main romance rn buuuut the friendships were amazingggg. mlm wlw animosity to roommates to besties for the resties!!! and now they’re befriending an ace character (who i think the rep of was done really well of, often times ppl do a weird job of writing side ish ace characters).
art was beautifulllll. i loved the kinda rough background look? it wasn’t all the time but it had a cool character to it. great character designs. gorgeous colors. often i had a hard time identifying the characters gender at first but like that’s life LOL
loved the queer norm, like only one single straight character out of a decent amount of characters. and all the characters have diff cultural backgrounds and i really loved seeing that in the backgrounds and their interactions with the world. the author’s notes in the end were super interesting!!! wish more authors would point out details like that and explain choices they made, i think it’s so cool to see into people’s heads.
just a cool world but like a vibey fun story, not super stressful, just interesting character development and future conflicts building. excited to see where this goes next!!!

[Phaedra Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stellar artwork and an intriguing story, what's not to love!

[Emily Kolach]

beautiful art but not a super coherent plot

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary and original new graphic novel series. This story is set in a low-fantasy realm of Dawlat al-Harir, this world is based on the culture, language, customs, and mythology of various cultures of Asian, southwest Asia, and northern Africa. While the story is set in 1997 (complete with flip phones), it also has multiple characters who are Rasuls- originally heralded as messengers of their deities, but over time became a regular people- deer people, bird people, cat people, etc. We see a dominant Muslim culture, while Hindu and other polytheistic cultures are also accepted. There are a range of characters representing different gender and personal identities.
Not only is the setting, language, and mythology a fascinating and beautiful mix of an alternate history, the art is just gorgeous! There is almost a watercolor element to Khan's work, rich is warm deep earth tones, and layers of realism and fantasy combined.
The premise is loosely about connections between people of various social and religious strata, as well as identities exposed and hidden. But more than anything, the richness of the world is what the reader will fall into. I absolutely loved reading this novel and look forward to the next volume!

[Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up because I liked the art.

In a low-fantasy world inspired by Asian and African Islamic cultures, sex phone line operator Zach gets a call on New Year's Eve 1997 from a distressed man named Zhen and the two strike up a tentative connection that spans far-off cities, family drama, and new relationships.

I thought the setting of this graphic novel was very cool, and I'm interested to see if it delves more into the fantasy elements. There's magical deities and people who can divine the future and characters who are magical beings called Rasul who can transform into animals, and I would have liked more of that rather than it just being sort of set dressing. Zach and Sam's relationship was a lot of fun, and adding Musa into the mix was even better. Honestly whatever is going on with Zach and Zhen is the least interesting thing to me at the moment.

I'll definitely pick up the next volume if/when it releases, the first volume isn't very plot heavy but I'm curious where things will go from here.

[K.C. Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty great. Loved the art style, the fact that it's queer AF, and all these little storylines coming together. It's pretty funny at times, and very emotional in others. The more I read, the more I felt myself being drawn into this world full of *wheezing* unreasonably beautiful people. Also, didn't realize that the one MC is a trans man until the end, and then I died of joy. So much diversity and representation here, in a way that felt casual and also joyful. Truly cozy.

There are some plot things I don't understand, but I'm hoping that they'll be explained in the next volume. This was just so stinkin' gorgeous and lush, and it looks like there's going to be more food art in the next book so COUNT ME IN!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This was delightful and I can't wait to scream about it more next March.

[Amelia Suedel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Abrams Kids for a digital copy of this graphic novel in exchange for my review!

This author does an amazing job of building an interconnected world with many different characters. The art is very beautiful and I was drawn into the story by some of the interesting connections throughout the world. As I am unfortunately very localized to my western experiences I did not quite understand all of the different cultural references but I can tell the author is making an effort to tell a really diverse and interesting story that while in a fantasy world, feels remarkably true to life. The world itself is interesting with animal shapeshifters and various religions and I question where these details are leading the future of the series.

[Armina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy to finally have a copy of this wonderful comic in my hands, having followed it for a long time. It has some of the most gorgeous art I've seen, with thick, flowing lines, a warm colour palette and beautiful backgrounds. And I'm always happy to see these characters again, and how they meet and bond with each other.

The world presented is so unique compared to what I've seen before: a fantasy world where different cultures (mostly Asian) intersect and interact, with a mythology steeped in Islam, set in the 90s, and unapologetically queer as hell. I loved pouring over the translation/cultural notes at the end of the book, and seeing all the thought that went into creating this. I can't wait for the day I can see the entirety of Buuza!! on my shelves!!

[Ellen Knowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

I thought this was really great, I loved the representation and the art style is gorgeous. I liked all the little stories and different characters and finding out how they connect as we go through the book. Also I loved the world building, I thought it was interesting.

The art is amazing, I thought the character designs were lovely and very distinct from each other. The backgrounds were beautiful.

I would definitely recommend this graphic novel.

[Gabriele | QueerBookdom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Representation: trans demisexual gay Turkish protagonist, bisexual Kazakh-Mongolian protagonist, deaf asexual aromantic Black Sudanese protagonist, Chinese-Sudanese protagonist, lesbian Black Sudanese secondary character, non-binary bisexual Persian-Malay-Arab secondary character, Arab tertiary characters, gay South-Asian tertiary character, non-binary omnisexual Egyptian tertiary character, lesbian South-Asian tertiary character, Chinese tertiary characters, non-binary Chinese tertiary character who uses a wheelchair.

Content Warning: none.

[Lucy Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the world building in this graphic novel!

[Julia Pika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the artwork! The characters are so vibrant and alive!

I wish more things about this world was explained but I assume it'll be explained later.

[shatterinseconds · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 stars

Loved, loved, loved the art style so much. Looking forward to the other volumes!

[ₓ˚ ୭ ˚○◦˚shmava˚◦○˚ ୧ ˚ₓ · Rating 5 out of 5]

the art style is so beautiful!!!!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very good and drew me in right away. I finished it almost in one day and I'm looking forward to the next volume.

[Mal · Rating 5 out of 5]

WTF blown away

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, enjoyable read. I love the art style, the world, and how queer the characters are. I highly look forward to reading more in the series.

[Wren James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully drawn queer graphic novel about a found family of queer people, set in a world of low fantasy magic. I loved this one so much!