Sky in Stereo

by Sacha Mardou

Iris, a young woman turning eighteen in early 1990s Manchester, England, is slowly losing her tenuous grip on her world of burger-flipping, drugs, and rock 'n roll. After quitting her job at a clothes shop, Iris takes a position at a burger bar at the train station, where her crush on fellow burger-flipper Glen takes her down a dark path. A Revival House Press production in association with Alternative Comics. Mardou is from Manchester, England and now lives in St Louis, Missouri. She has been making mini-comics since 2001, and was a founder of the all-girl comic Whores of Mensa . Mardou contributed art to the 2015 film The Missing Girl .

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Adult, Fiction

180 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2015

About the author

Mardou was born and raised in Manchester, England in 1975. After gaining her BA in English Literature she started making mini-comics, mostly stories about women trying to figure life out. She has made comics for web, print and film and now lives in St Louis, Missouri with her cartoonist-husband, Ted May, and their daughter. She has written and illustrated two volumes of her graphic novel, Sky in Stereo. Her next graphic novel called 'Strange Kind of Love' be published by RevivalHouse Press in late 2021.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started off strong with Iris being drawn into the world of Jehovah Witnesses with her mother. But that quickly dissolves when she decides the church isn't for her. Next we get typical teenage angst and then an acid trip that lasts for days and the last 100 pages of the books. It's beyond awful. I was bored to tears seeing her amble through the streets for days. (Not to mention it's grossly inaccurate.) Then the book ends right as the story picks up again. I was really ticked off with how the book ended and won't be picking up the next volume.

[Rod Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, this is sooo horrible. I was initially drawn in by what I thought would be an examination of the main character's interaction with the Jehovah's Witnesses. But that aspect of the story was pretty quickly dismissed and then it turned into a typical teen angst story with lots of crushes and awkward sexuality. I was thinking of stopping reading around page 70 but thought I'd push through to the end since it wasn't very long. That was a stupid, stupid choice on my part. Literally, the second half of the book is just the main character walking around on an acid trip. She stares at litter on the ground and believe she is finding direction and making profound connections. I'm left with the unsettling feeling that the author is endorsing drug use. "Look how interesting drugs can make even the most inane or crappiest aspects of your life!" Or maybe, by making the reader suffer through 90 pages of garbage, the author hopes to make the reader realize drugs are a bad thing. In the end, I do not know and I really don't care. And since I didn't bother to read the back of the book before I began, I did not realize this was the first part of a series and that pushing through to the end of this odious work would leave me without an actual ending. A preview of the next volume shows the main character being forced into some sort of awful drug rehab. I almost want to read it to see her suffer for the ordeal she put me through in reading about her in this bad, bad book. But I'm not that stupid.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive. This is, presumably, fiction, though it borrows many tropes from autobiographical comics. Iris, a young woman in Northern England is just starting college. Her upbringing has been religious, but she's starting to rebel. Her world, as the back cover copy puts it, consists of "... crap jobs, boys, drugs, and the slide towards a teenage breakdown ..." Yes, she makes some questionable choices, but nothing dramatically terrible. As a reader, I understood her motivations. There are parts when you just want to reach into the panel and tap her on the shoulder and tell her, "Hey. It gets better. Really." The teenage breakdown itself is masterfully handled. Iris clearly is not in her right mind, and her actions have a dreamlike logic to them that's fascinating to read. Mardou does an amazing job at putting us into Iris' head. Be warned that this book ends with a big, fat To Be Continued, though Mardou is gracious enough to provide a teaser for the next chapter. I really enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to the next volume.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've not taken acid. And nothing herein makes me think I'm likely to change that status soon...but I adored Iris' hopped-up meanderings through her going-nowhere town, seeing (or is she?) signs and portents (or are they?) in her search for that guy that could be, you know, the guy. Anyone who's ever driven past a would-be paramour's house hundreds of times when it's on the route to exactly nowhere can relate. Or anyone who's worked a crap job but done it fairly well. Or who's sat in an outsized giant plastic mushroom at an age far past appropriate for such activity. (That, in fact, was my favorite panel: Iris dejectedly sliding out of the mushroom.)

[MariNaomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and intense. I wish there were more stories like this out there.

[J.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I'm not a teenage girl and haven't taken hallucinogens (have worked a number of crap jobs, though), I found this extremely relatable. Drawn in a simple style akin to Gabrielle Bell. Engaging story that leaves you wanting more (luckily, future volumes are promised).

[Joe Decie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book. Will remind you how wonderful and painful teenage years are. Unless your a teenager in which case you probably don't need reminding, but you'll find a friend in this book. Everyone's a winner. Very good comics.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, that is one long acid trip.

[Lisa]

I get the vast majority of my books from the library and rarely buy books, but I'd heard so much about this volume that I sought it out when it wasn't available at any of my libraries. I was so disappointed. I love so many graphic novels, autobiographical or not, and especially seek them out from non-male perspectives - but this story, after an interesting start about religious upbringing, devolved into what felt like a tedious drug trip searching for a crush. I guess this captures a lot of adolescent moods quite well, but as an older reader, I was not interested.

This was compounded by the patronizing blurbs by male graphic novelists (admittedly, I am not a huge fan of either of their works), one of which said "Sky in Stereo is like a modern romance comic. I think it would be appreciated by those who don't read comics (i.e. most girls)" UGH!

Maybe this picks up after the first volume.

[Brandon Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows you how an attraction to a person can drag you down into a hell you never knew existed, while showing a real look into the life of a woman in Manchester coming into adulthood with all it's temptations and adventures, finding out who she really is outside of the confines of religion.

Reads like a very long acid trip, and shows the dangers of mental instability that can arise from the use of hallucinogens. Highly recommended read, even if you're not a graphic novel fan.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aside from being a good read, this book is notable for being one of the relatively rare extended comic depictions of psychedelic-induced psychosis. In particular, the final part of book 1 (this volume) show how loose associations take on meaning. Mardou threads the needle of a realistic depiction without either glorifying or demonizing psychedelic use. The main character, Iris, does face uncomfortable treatment following her intoxication--depicted extensively in volume 2.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young woman deals with a lot of mental health issues along with some heartbreak in the first part of a two part graphic novel. I read her newer book before I read this one and I really liked the newer one much better.

[P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing and spare but finely-observed art make this much more than another coming of age/drugs/bad romance choices narrative. Kicking myself that I didn't put V.2 on hold at the same time as V.1

[KileyV · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good illustrations, strange vocabulary (northern England), and an acid trip that's going to stick with me for a while.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Erin Riedle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an acid trip story for sure, but I enjoyed it and would read more from this author/artist!

[Christa Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you forget how crazy your teen years are...this graphic memoir sheds some light on that time of life.

[Lyndsay Durbin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this. The secret book description was nonfic/memoir and that was not what this was. there also wasn't any sense of plot or direction to this.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really starting to get into this just as I got to the last few pages -- of course the ending was the most interesting bit - it's arguably the first major turning point in Mardou's story. I'm a fan of autobio comics, generally, and this was no exception - I just wish that she had finished it out rather than releasing it in separate volumes, as this one does feel a little unfinished.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A British teen tries to sort out what she wants as she explores religion, relationships and drugs. I'll be checking out more comics published by Revival House Press.

[Centauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

waiting for the sequel, is all I need to say.
great storytelling

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel starts to get truly interesting once she starts losing touch with reality. I am interested in seeing what happens in the next book.

[Dixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first half of this book more than the second, but I look forward to the next installment.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite mini-comics has now been collected (and expanded) into one of my favorite books. There are a lot of things about Sky in Stereo that are up my alley (90's, indie music, teen angst), but at the top of the list is the fact that Mardou is such a strong writer and storyteller, in addition to being a great artist. I can't wait to read the conclusion of this story when book #2 comes out.