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Palefire
Everyone hates Darren, the firebug, the bad boy trouble follows everywhere. Alison finds a warmth to Darren, a spark everyone's missing. Alison knows what she's doing, but after tonight's fireworks, she'll find out who knows best. Can Alison play with fire without getting burned?
Palefire, the first collaboration between writer MK Reed and artist Farel Dalrymple, takes us back to high school for a hot date to the party of the year. When you're not a girl, and not yet a woman, the last thing you want is advice. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but everyone deserves a second chance—even if it goes up in flames.
Palefire, the first collaboration between writer MK Reed and artist Farel Dalrymple, takes us back to high school for a hot date to the party of the year. When you're not a girl, and not yet a woman, the last thing you want is advice. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but everyone deserves a second chance—even if it goes up in flames.
68 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2015
About the author
M.K. Reed
42 books28 followersMK Reed is the writer of Americus, The Cute Girl Network, Palefire, and Science Comics: Dinosaurs. She draws a web-comic adaptation of Irish mythology, About a Bull. MK lives with her very tall husband.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 15, 2016
A short story written by MK Reed (Americus) and illustrated by Farel Dalrymple (The Wrenches, Pop Gun War) about a small town high school party where Alison seems to have few choices between potential suitors, but of course chooses the local firebug Darren against everyone's advice. The dialogue is usually sharp and realistic. It's a story, and short, sort of slice of life, that seems both concise and affecting. Not much happens, but what does I think would be quite appealing to teens. I liked it quite a bit. The art work, pen and ink, fittingly a bit bleak, or at least subdued, reminds me of the artwork of Nate Powell in describing alienated teen life.
September 26, 2019
Old school art and great dialogue but the story was dumb.
March 28, 2016
I really wanted to like this book. It's been floating around for a couple of months and whenever I happen to spot it on the shelves I think, "I really need to read that." I seem to remember reading some great reviews of it.
I did not like this book. I wanted more. More story, more layers, more character development. More.
The art wasn't my style. I'm not saying that it was bad but it wasn't anything that I enjoyed. A couple of frames were beautiful and perfect but I would consider it about 15% of the book. I can't even really explain why I didn't like it. This is purely a taste thing.
The characters were completely and utterly two dimensional which led to a number of things that I found problematic about the story. Alison, the MC, has a crush on a bad boy, Darren, even though we have no idea why. I mean, he actually probably says the nicest thing to her in the whole damn book so I guess that I DO know why. The other guys are grossly stereotypical. They all seem to be "Nice Guys," the kind of guys who think that being nice to a girl means that she should date you seriously for a few years. Casey, the stoner, has a douchey masculinity attack and threatens to rip Alison's crush's nuts off. Tim is "boring" but I bet he's just shy. Then there's Paul who you know is "supposed" to be with Alison the second they start talking about him because he's "so nice" even though when he "saves Alison" he's kind of a dick about it and makes a point to tell her she's stupid and that he understands that "girls love assholes." Hey! Thanks for being a Nice Guy.
Also, can we please talk about this "saving Alison" bullshit? Basically, after Darren, an accused arsonist, says one of the swoon worthiest things in the whole to her and then takes her out to a field and sets her name int he middle of a heart on fire because "he's not good with words." Then here come Paul with his volunteer EMT sirens to scare Darren off and "save Alison" from a pretty under control situation. (I'm from the middle of nowhere. Darren's fire amounts to a bonfire for me.) I'm not going to say that Darren's reaction is great but neither is Alison's. Then Paul is all like, "Oh! I saved you! I know girls don't like nice guys!" Sigh.
I actually like this one even less now that I've written about it.
I did not like this book. I wanted more. More story, more layers, more character development. More.
The art wasn't my style. I'm not saying that it was bad but it wasn't anything that I enjoyed. A couple of frames were beautiful and perfect but I would consider it about 15% of the book. I can't even really explain why I didn't like it. This is purely a taste thing.
The characters were completely and utterly two dimensional which led to a number of things that I found problematic about the story. Alison, the MC, has a crush on a bad boy, Darren, even though we have no idea why. I mean, he actually probably says the nicest thing to her in the whole damn book so I guess that I DO know why. The other guys are grossly stereotypical. They all seem to be "Nice Guys," the kind of guys who think that being nice to a girl means that she should date you seriously for a few years. Casey, the stoner, has a douchey masculinity attack and threatens to rip Alison's crush's nuts off. Tim is "boring" but I bet he's just shy. Then there's Paul who you know is "supposed" to be with Alison the second they start talking about him because he's "so nice" even though when he "saves Alison" he's kind of a dick about it and makes a point to tell her she's stupid and that he understands that "girls love assholes." Hey! Thanks for being a Nice Guy.
Also, can we please talk about this "saving Alison" bullshit? Basically, after Darren, an accused arsonist, says one of the swoon worthiest things in the whole to her and then takes her out to a field and sets her name int he middle of a heart on fire because "he's not good with words." Then here come Paul with his volunteer EMT sirens to scare Darren off and "save Alison" from a pretty under control situation. (I'm from the middle of nowhere. Darren's fire amounts to a bonfire for me.) I'm not going to say that Darren's reaction is great but neither is Alison's. Then Paul is all like, "Oh! I saved you! I know girls don't like nice guys!" Sigh.
I actually like this one even less now that I've written about it.
July 12, 2025
This is... probably every small town high school experience after the 1970s or '80s, ever (unless you were, miraculously, in one of the small towns built on such wholesome values that managed to churn out exactly zero "delinquents" ever ever, which I doubt has ever ever ever happened).
I don't know. I didn't do going to "parties" at my schoolmates' houses or wherever, but this seems to be the collective experience of the less than stellar school teens, PARTICULARLY the "delinquents." So I guess I take it as read that this is in fact nonfiction the way "EVERYBODY KNOWS" and "EVERYBODY DOES" a lot of things that other people know and do. There's ALWAYS a
- pothead
- crazy pyromaniac that lost some number of fingers with fireworks
- goth girl who would "look much prettier without all that metal in [her] face"
- (some other types that aren't in the story and ones that are that I lost track of because I took too long thinking about this review and don't feel like rereading even this short book again)
...you know, *allegedly.* (My high school was too small to have those "types" be an issue, though I was also not terribly active in my community, as it were.)
I guess, somehow it feels like a stereotype despite its iconoclastic design? Like, I feel like I've seen/read enough stories about delinquents and gangs and other outliers that it doesn't really stand out to me, possibly. This is Every '90s Punk, Shitty Small Town story. It actually feels like it loses its edge just a bit, from the fact I'm not really surprised by anything that happens in it.
Like, if this had been the first book I'd ever read (or, first graphic novel, anyway), I'm sure I would have had an experience like an anthropologist's wet dream. Wow, kids are really like this? If I had been a wholesome, homegrown parent, I might have gotten nightmares about my kid(s) growing up this way.
Right now, as me, I'm sort of... "Art's pretty rough, and story is old hat, three stars." I don't hate it or love it, at most I respect that it's definitely more finished work than I've ever put to paper.
I don't know. I didn't do going to "parties" at my schoolmates' houses or wherever, but this seems to be the collective experience of the less than stellar school teens, PARTICULARLY the "delinquents." So I guess I take it as read that this is in fact nonfiction the way "EVERYBODY KNOWS" and "EVERYBODY DOES" a lot of things that other people know and do. There's ALWAYS a
- pothead
- crazy pyromaniac that lost some number of fingers with fireworks
- goth girl who would "look much prettier without all that metal in [her] face"
- (some other types that aren't in the story and ones that are that I lost track of because I took too long thinking about this review and don't feel like rereading even this short book again)
...you know, *allegedly.* (My high school was too small to have those "types" be an issue, though I was also not terribly active in my community, as it were.)
I guess, somehow it feels like a stereotype despite its iconoclastic design? Like, I feel like I've seen/read enough stories about delinquents and gangs and other outliers that it doesn't really stand out to me, possibly. This is Every '90s Punk, Shitty Small Town story. It actually feels like it loses its edge just a bit, from the fact I'm not really surprised by anything that happens in it.
Like, if this had been the first book I'd ever read (or, first graphic novel, anyway), I'm sure I would have had an experience like an anthropologist's wet dream. Wow, kids are really like this? If I had been a wholesome, homegrown parent, I might have gotten nightmares about my kid(s) growing up this way.
Right now, as me, I'm sort of... "Art's pretty rough, and story is old hat, three stars." I don't hate it or love it, at most I respect that it's definitely more finished work than I've ever put to paper.
December 29, 2019
i found this randomly at the library and it piqued my interest because of the art style.
it had a strong start. i was rooting for darren off the bat because everything the people around him expect him to be is unsubstantiated. he deserves a comeback. instead, mk throws in paul, like an afterthought. paul is fucking rude to alison for no goddamn reason and she accepts his treatment of her because she just dealt with an arsonist. both scenes where alison is alone in a car with first, darren, and last, paul, i expected the worst case scenarios because of my deep rooted fear of being alone in cars with strange boys. a niche fear apparently and entirely manifested by my shitty experiences with boys older than me while i was exactly alison's age. at one point in the story i found myself wondering why no one had actually stopped her, but their warnings sufficed and most lessons have to be learned the difficult way anyway.
i must admit it was more insightfully romantic than i expected, but closely walked the tightrope of manic pixie dream girl.
reminded me of life is strange (1 and 2).
in conclusion, nothing to write home about and not really my thing.
it had a strong start. i was rooting for darren off the bat because everything the people around him expect him to be is unsubstantiated. he deserves a comeback. instead, mk throws in paul, like an afterthought. paul is fucking rude to alison for no goddamn reason and she accepts his treatment of her because she just dealt with an arsonist. both scenes where alison is alone in a car with first, darren, and last, paul, i expected the worst case scenarios because of my deep rooted fear of being alone in cars with strange boys. a niche fear apparently and entirely manifested by my shitty experiences with boys older than me while i was exactly alison's age. at one point in the story i found myself wondering why no one had actually stopped her, but their warnings sufficed and most lessons have to be learned the difficult way anyway.
i must admit it was more insightfully romantic than i expected, but closely walked the tightrope of manic pixie dream girl.
reminded me of life is strange (1 and 2).
in conclusion, nothing to write home about and not really my thing.
September 16, 2023
Didn’t care for the art work and the story seems to miss the mark as it felt less like a tale of teenage angst in a small town and more like the first twenty minutes of a Netflix murder documentary.
August 28, 2018
This is great.
December 16, 2018
Predictable, interesting art, mostly stereotypical with a few small scattered moments throughout of surprising depth and thoughtfulness. Interesting read.
May 25, 2019
Not bad but wish there was more
Read
December 31, 2023The story had potential but it was too annoying for me to love. I also didn't like the graphic
March 11, 2021
Waited 2 weeks for my library hold, devoured it on the spot in 30 minutes, put it back in the book drop. I'm loving this MK Reed stuff. I am a difficult niche to hit, and you got me! I'm assuming the low stars are from the fact that this is a love triangle that lands you on Team Neither. But that's fine. The passive protagonist is an amused observer, riding through life like an onlooker without a firm dedication to a specific outcome. Same thing in Penny Nichols.
March 7, 2017
Reed really manages to capture the stubborn sulkiness that can often be found in teens, but it's a slim story and I definitely wanted more. Certain panels were really excellent, like the crowd scene at the party, though some of the facial expressions throughout were a little lackluster.
May 14, 2016
This is a pretty slight slice of life story about a girl and her night out with a bad boy. It feels a lot like the tropes you'd see in every high school coming of age movie played out, although the language and behavior does avoid some of the worst cliches. The artwork is serviceable but not memorable; the font for the dialog is a hand-lettered style that feels amateur, and aside from the nice cover art, it's all black and white. It feels a bit like an episode off of a teen drama show (albeit one on cable considering the language). It highlights what might be a pivotal moment in the character's life, but being long since removed from the point of life highlighted here (and as someone who would be seeing it from the opposite side), this really didn't do much for me.
March 29, 2016
The cover grabbed me and I was excited that it was illustrated by Farel Dalrumple (Wretches), beyond that though, this graphic novel wasn't much to write home about. Palefire is basically a glimpse into a night of a high school girl's night as she grapples with the fact that no one likes Darren, a firebug, teenage arsonist that no one cares for. She thinks there is more than meets the eye so she blows off all the advice and bails on her best friend's party so she can hang out with this misunderstood boy that's holding a candle for her. However, the night doesn't go as planned and both will have to face some hard truths. Not terribly exciting, but not awful either.
February 29, 2016
I really liked this story about a high school party. A girl who goes looking for love in all the wrong places; but her true love (or at least friendship) comes to find her when she really needs him. The dialogue between the mother, daughter and all of the teenagers is realistic and the drawings are well done. This is a fun, quick read.
March 30, 2016
A short graphic novel about a girl in high school who likes a boy who her friends don't like. It takes place on a single night of a party, and the reader just kind of observes the small events that happen without narrative guidance or much of a framework. It builds a little, but it's a short story more than anything larger.
June 1, 2016
This is a short, quiet book about one night in a teen girl's life, fighting everyone about the boy she wants to date, and then realizing that everyone was right to begin with. I loved Alison's attitude and could totally relate to her attraction to the "bad boy."
The art was a little off-putting for me, but the writing was strong enough to make up for that.
The art was a little off-putting for me, but the writing was strong enough to make up for that.
August 30, 2016
It's hard to place how I feel about this book - on one hand, it's a pretty accurate representation of how a party night can take you places you didn't really plan on going... but on the other, there was no real resolution or point to the story... which might be the whole point I guess? I'll just mark this one down as a slice of life experience.
April 9, 2016
I liked this. I felt like it was only the first chapter of a graphic novel, but I liked it. I hope there is more coming. And I know that many teenagers speak like this, but I got tired of reading the curse words.
August 1, 2016
Not a lot going on in this story (though the writing is pretty good for the minimal amount of stuff that does occur), and Dalrymple's art (which was the main reason I picked this up) felt like a bit of a letdown here after Wrenchies.
November 1, 2015
Unique, beautiful illustrations, but the story lacked depth and the characters were lackluster.
February 2, 2016
2.5 out of 5. It's a well-done, small, contained narrative. Feels a bit too short and heavy on the sad realism, so I didn't readily take to it.
May 28, 2016
Really liked Farel's art in this one.
May 13, 2016
AWESOME. Disenfranchised people!
October 12, 2021
Didn’t like the story and didn’t like the art.
December 12, 2015
For the art.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews