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Royal City
Royal City, Vol. 2: Sonic Youth
In this second installment of bestselling author Jeff Lemire's (Descender, Sweet Tooth) ambitious new series we travel back to the year 1993 and follow the then teenaged Pike siblings and see the last week of Tommy Pike's life unfold. The mysteries of his death and all the sins that now plague the Pike family are brought to light in this heartbreaking and new story line.
A new chapter of superstar creator Jeff Lemire's critically acclaimed new series is here.
Collects issues 6 through 10
A new chapter of superstar creator Jeff Lemire's critically acclaimed new series is here.
Collects issues 6 through 10
120 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 2018
12 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Lemire
1,393 books3,874 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 153 reviews
May 13, 2018
“This town’s bones are loneliness.”
In the second volume of Jeff Lemire’s Royal City, we flash back to 1993. Peter (Dad) doesn’t like the factory, but he gets his son Patrick a job there. Pat wants to be a writer, but you know, he needs to work.
“Sometimes I wish I could get on a train and go somewhere far from here. Somewhere where no one knows me and I can be whoever I want.”
Pat’s older brother Richie cheats on his girlfriend. Sister Tara may be pregnant.
Their younger brother, Tommy, has headaches that sometimes lead to hallucinations. He’s the centerpiece of this volume, where we also get to read pages of his handwritten journal. We already know from volume one that Tommy will die, so this volume basically gives you the events of the week leading up to his death.
“That’s when I find her. And for the first time I realize that two people can be alone together.”
Royal City: Sonic Youth is about growing up teenaged in a small town. It’s one of the best things I have read this year, even better than the first volume. It’s bleak, but it’s honest about where some people actually live, and powerful. The sketchy drawing, the colors, the inventive layouts: A master at his craft. Achingly beautiful.
Sonic Youth’s “Teenage Riot”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23fL0...
If you are into Spotify, Lemire makes lists for some of his work, so you can listen as you read along.
Read also Lemire’s Essex County work, his Roughneck, Sweet Tooth, so much there.
Here’s Lemire talking about the series. I just found it and haven’t even yet read it myself:
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/03/...
In the second volume of Jeff Lemire’s Royal City, we flash back to 1993. Peter (Dad) doesn’t like the factory, but he gets his son Patrick a job there. Pat wants to be a writer, but you know, he needs to work.
“Sometimes I wish I could get on a train and go somewhere far from here. Somewhere where no one knows me and I can be whoever I want.”
Pat’s older brother Richie cheats on his girlfriend. Sister Tara may be pregnant.
Their younger brother, Tommy, has headaches that sometimes lead to hallucinations. He’s the centerpiece of this volume, where we also get to read pages of his handwritten journal. We already know from volume one that Tommy will die, so this volume basically gives you the events of the week leading up to his death.
“That’s when I find her. And for the first time I realize that two people can be alone together.”
Royal City: Sonic Youth is about growing up teenaged in a small town. It’s one of the best things I have read this year, even better than the first volume. It’s bleak, but it’s honest about where some people actually live, and powerful. The sketchy drawing, the colors, the inventive layouts: A master at his craft. Achingly beautiful.
Sonic Youth’s “Teenage Riot”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23fL0...
If you are into Spotify, Lemire makes lists for some of his work, so you can listen as you read along.
Read also Lemire’s Essex County work, his Roughneck, Sweet Tooth, so much there.
Here’s Lemire talking about the series. I just found it and haven’t even yet read it myself:
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/03/...
July 9, 2018
With Volume 2: Sonic Youth, Royal City goes from being a mediocre series into a flat-out terrible one.
The whole thing is a pointless flashback centred around the Kurt Cobain-looking kid, Tommy, the ghostly character every other surviving member of his family was haunted by in the first book. It might’ve been good if Tommy was an interesting character but he’s not. He gets headaches and he makes lists of his favourite albums. ... fascinating…
The rest of the book was an equal waste of time. Things we already knew about the characters from the first book are repeated again to absolutely no effect: Peter’s obsession with radios, Patti’s regrets about the man she didn’t marry, Tara and Steve start a family prematurely, Pat wants to write and Richie’s a fuckup. What was gained from seeing any of that soap-opera cheesefest begin when we got all that in the first book anyway?
Nothing in the second book adds anything to the already weak story, nor is any of it remotely entertaining. It’s just the cliched teen narrative of dull school and silly relationships ending when the kids go for a party and, like, feelings, man. Utterly pathetic and unoriginal.
I’m completely done with this title - Royal City is a royally crap comic!
The whole thing is a pointless flashback centred around the Kurt Cobain-looking kid, Tommy, the ghostly character every other surviving member of his family was haunted by in the first book. It might’ve been good if Tommy was an interesting character but he’s not. He gets headaches and he makes lists of his favourite albums. ... fascinating…
The rest of the book was an equal waste of time. Things we already knew about the characters from the first book are repeated again to absolutely no effect: Peter’s obsession with radios, Patti’s regrets about the man she didn’t marry, Tara and Steve start a family prematurely, Pat wants to write and Richie’s a fuckup. What was gained from seeing any of that soap-opera cheesefest begin when we got all that in the first book anyway?
Nothing in the second book adds anything to the already weak story, nor is any of it remotely entertaining. It’s just the cliched teen narrative of dull school and silly relationships ending when the kids go for a party and, like, feelings, man. Utterly pathetic and unoriginal.
I’m completely done with this title - Royal City is a royally crap comic!
February 28, 2018
Jeff Lemire's story of small town misery continues with a flashback to 1993. This volume chronicles the last week of Tommy Pike's life. Turns out, Tommy was a pretty regular teenager with regular teenage problems — girls, booze, music and boredom. But Tommy also recently started to get bad headaches that cause weird hallucinations — that's probably not good...
Volume 2 of Royal City was even better than the first one. The story feels more focused because it revolves around just one character, but through his eyes we learn more about his whole dysfunctional family. Jeff Lemire also captures the feeling of being a teenager in a small town perfectly, with all the emotions, uncertainty and fear. I had several uncomfortable flashbacks to my own youth while reading this volume, and a lot of the things about it rang true.
The only thing that was a letdown was the ending. The entire volume was building up towards Tommy's death, so that's what I was expecting — but Lemire decided to cop out with this weird cliffhanger that made me think I was missing a couple of pages. It's not the kind of story that warrants a cliffhanger at all, so the way it was handled in this volume was unsatisfying. I'm not going to hold that against the book, because it was a brilliant read otherwise, and it all won't matter when the next volume is out anyway, but still — not cool.
While Lemire didn't manage to stick the landing, at least he's on top of his game with the artwork. I always liked his style, but Royal City is on a totally different level. Gorgeous watercolours, imaginative layouts, excellent work with architecture and landscape. Royal City feels like a real, lived-in place with its own unique atmosphere and history, and reading this book is like going there and experiencing all of its torments first-hand.
When Jeff Lemire writes and draws his own comics, he's an exceptional storyteller, and not a lot of people in comics could rival him. Royal City proves to be yet another success — it's a bleak and depressing read, but it's also completely engrossing.
Volume 2 of Royal City was even better than the first one. The story feels more focused because it revolves around just one character, but through his eyes we learn more about his whole dysfunctional family. Jeff Lemire also captures the feeling of being a teenager in a small town perfectly, with all the emotions, uncertainty and fear. I had several uncomfortable flashbacks to my own youth while reading this volume, and a lot of the things about it rang true.
The only thing that was a letdown was the ending. The entire volume was building up towards Tommy's death, so that's what I was expecting — but Lemire decided to cop out with this weird cliffhanger that made me think I was missing a couple of pages. It's not the kind of story that warrants a cliffhanger at all, so the way it was handled in this volume was unsatisfying. I'm not going to hold that against the book, because it was a brilliant read otherwise, and it all won't matter when the next volume is out anyway, but still — not cool.
While Lemire didn't manage to stick the landing, at least he's on top of his game with the artwork. I always liked his style, but Royal City is on a totally different level. Gorgeous watercolours, imaginative layouts, excellent work with architecture and landscape. Royal City feels like a real, lived-in place with its own unique atmosphere and history, and reading this book is like going there and experiencing all of its torments first-hand.
When Jeff Lemire writes and draws his own comics, he's an exceptional storyteller, and not a lot of people in comics could rival him. Royal City proves to be yet another success — it's a bleak and depressing read, but it's also completely engrossing.
May 12, 2018
This is it. A freaking MASTERPIECE of a volume. I forced myself not to read through it so quick because I didn't want it to end.
The Pike siblings are a interesting bunch. All very very different from each other. And we seen them as adults. Now let's go back. To the time before the youngest of the group had died. Tommy is a tragic character because he's so in the middle of life as a teenager. Dealing with shit like fitting in, being alone, feeling lost, and then on top of that the major headaches he gets. Then when his brothers/sisters problems are also presented in a really fasnating and non-cliche way, we get some of the best family drama ever.
Good: Usually not a huge fan of Lemire's art but it works great here. The writing is masterful, filled with heart and emotional bits that will make you smile, laugh, and cry. The dialog is nothing short of perfection, really giving a sense of reality to it all. The ending is both sad and intriguing.
Bad: Nothing.
This is Jeff at the top of his game. I will re-read this a few times in my life probably. While volume 1 was great, volume 2 is a masterpiece. Thank you Lemire. 5 out of 5.
The Pike siblings are a interesting bunch. All very very different from each other. And we seen them as adults. Now let's go back. To the time before the youngest of the group had died. Tommy is a tragic character because he's so in the middle of life as a teenager. Dealing with shit like fitting in, being alone, feeling lost, and then on top of that the major headaches he gets. Then when his brothers/sisters problems are also presented in a really fasnating and non-cliche way, we get some of the best family drama ever.
Good: Usually not a huge fan of Lemire's art but it works great here. The writing is masterful, filled with heart and emotional bits that will make you smile, laugh, and cry. The dialog is nothing short of perfection, really giving a sense of reality to it all. The ending is both sad and intriguing.
Bad: Nothing.
This is Jeff at the top of his game. I will re-read this a few times in my life probably. While volume 1 was great, volume 2 is a masterpiece. Thank you Lemire. 5 out of 5.
January 24, 2025
Really good series
March 10, 2018
This second volume flashbacks our dark and conflicted characters to 1993. What makes this series stand out is its surrealism, especially through artwork. What makes this volume stand out is Tommy Pike’s journaling, in his own handwriting, to entrench the reader in his pathos.
October 26, 2018
Again filled with expressive art and lovely, aching writing, this 2nd volume continues to deepen the story of the Pike family by flashing back to the 90's during the siblings' teenage years and try to further explore what could've led to Tommy Pike's death.
I really enjoyed this one but I do think that given the fact that this flashback is the prime opportunity to look deeper into Tommy's character, I feel like Lemire didn't explore far enough and that Tommy isn't a very compelling character. But maybe, it's by design that he still remains a mystery. This is still one of the best comic series out there this year.
I really enjoyed this one but I do think that given the fact that this flashback is the prime opportunity to look deeper into Tommy's character, I feel like Lemire didn't explore far enough and that Tommy isn't a very compelling character. But maybe, it's by design that he still remains a mystery. This is still one of the best comic series out there this year.
November 6, 2019
If God was writing comic he would be jealous of Jeff Lemire!
September 20, 2018
In this second volume of Royal City, we flash back to 1993, and immerse ourselves into the final week of Tommy Pike's life.
As one would expect there is much going on with all the individual members of this family, and they ebb and flow around each other, none of them aware of what's headed their way. While I liked this flashback, it lacked the emotional gut punch of the first installment. This is the before, so that is to be expected, though there is plenty of ordinary drama underfoot already. I continue to love Lemire's sketchy and loose artwork, and look forward to see how this family drama unfolds.
As one would expect there is much going on with all the individual members of this family, and they ebb and flow around each other, none of them aware of what's headed their way. While I liked this flashback, it lacked the emotional gut punch of the first installment. This is the before, so that is to be expected, though there is plenty of ordinary drama underfoot already. I continue to love Lemire's sketchy and loose artwork, and look forward to see how this family drama unfolds.
May 9, 2018
This whole volume is set in the past--the 90's, specifically--as we learn about the Pike family and begin to see what happened to Tommy. There's a pervasive sense of loneliness and alienation throughout this book. Royal City is a town of limited possibilities, and some never manage to escape.
As usual, Lemire is a master storyteller, conveying meaning with a glance, or a well-chosen snatch of conversation. We know, from volume one, that Tommy eventually drowns, and that knowledge haunts the corners of this book--in the opening scene, for instance, Tommy is gazing at his reflection in a puddle. This is not a happy, cheerful book. I find myself imagining Lemire and Seth vying with each other to see who can write the ultimate stifling small town story … Not many laughs to be had here, for sure, but it’s quite good. Recommended!
As usual, Lemire is a master storyteller, conveying meaning with a glance, or a well-chosen snatch of conversation. We know, from volume one, that Tommy eventually drowns, and that knowledge haunts the corners of this book--in the opening scene, for instance, Tommy is gazing at his reflection in a puddle. This is not a happy, cheerful book. I find myself imagining Lemire and Seth vying with each other to see who can write the ultimate stifling small town story … Not many laughs to be had here, for sure, but it’s quite good. Recommended!
October 12, 2019
In this second volume, we get the backstory of the Pike family, the focus being on Tommy, the central figure the rest of the family revolves around.
Very relatable on feelings of loneliness, even when you're surrounded by family.
Very relatable on feelings of loneliness, even when you're surrounded by family.
December 2, 2018
Wow, Lemire. Wow
February 3, 2019
Well, that was depressing af.
And yet, I adore it.
And yet, I adore it.
June 10, 2018
Lemire substitutes in generic, low-key teen angst for volume one's generic, low-key midlife crises to the same muted effect. A powerful ending could retroactively make these opening chapters better, I suppose, and while I don't really hold out much hope on that front, I do wish I had waited to read this book until the whole series was completed. I'll try to hold off on future volumes until the conclusion has been published.
June 24, 2018
I cried during this one. I grew up in a shitty small town with 3 other siblings. Our town was the one factory shithole where dreams went to die. I was lucky that my parents allowed me to roam wild in the neighbourhood and back at the local abandoned stone quarries. It wasn’t an abusive household but we kids raised ourselves.
LeMire is so worthy of another Eisner for Royal City. The storytelling is wonderful. It captures the angst, pitfalls, peer pressure, broken miserable family structures of the Pike’s so well. We also see in this prequel to Volume 1 how many of the unfolding plot lines came to be. His art is also top notch.
5/5. This Volume was better than Volume 1 btw. Can’t wait to read Volume 3. This stuff is right up there with Essex County and Roughneck.
LeMire is so worthy of another Eisner for Royal City. The storytelling is wonderful. It captures the angst, pitfalls, peer pressure, broken miserable family structures of the Pike’s so well. We also see in this prequel to Volume 1 how many of the unfolding plot lines came to be. His art is also top notch.
5/5. This Volume was better than Volume 1 btw. Can’t wait to read Volume 3. This stuff is right up there with Essex County and Roughneck.
December 13, 2020
Mám pocit, že som to čítala tak desať minút. A to len preto, že je to napísané fakt skvele, neskutočne dobré tempo si to drží, stále som chcela viac a viac a viac som aj dostávala. Človek proste nesmie od tohto očakávať nič, čo už nikde inde nevidel (depresívne pubertálne decko, alkohol, namachrovaný týpek, tehotenstvo v 17). Napriek tomu, to ako to je podané je fakt bomba, Lemire ma vždy bavil a tato séria je jedna z jeho najlepších vecí, či už po príbehovej alebo kresebnej stránke.
December 2, 2018
The pain and heartache continues in this family saga, illustrated beautifully as usual but this volume also comes with Tommy's handwritten journal which serves as another gut-punching, emotional effect. Jeff Lemire brings it again, and as with his other series, Black Hammer, Royal City is one of the most underrated ongoing series right now - You. Have. To. Read. It.
October 4, 2021
Me ha encantado conocer el pasado de la familia. Aunque sabes el desenlace antes de tiempo, no sabes como se llega a él y la tensión es enorme!!
October 27, 2018
The first volume of Royal City painted the portrait of a family reunited in tragedy, but it dragged, and it was dragged down by the (literal?) ghost that was haunting them all.
Volume 2 is freed of that twist by returning to 1993, when the family was shattered, and it's an entirely enthralling volume. We learned enough about these characters in the present day to be intrigued by who they were decades earlier, and our eyes are riveted to the loss that we know is quickly approaching.
Though volume 1 was unfocused and weird, this second volume is a brilliant expansion that makes that all worth it.
And what a cliffhanger!
Volume 2 is freed of that twist by returning to 1993, when the family was shattered, and it's an entirely enthralling volume. We learned enough about these characters in the present day to be intrigued by who they were decades earlier, and our eyes are riveted to the loss that we know is quickly approaching.
Though volume 1 was unfocused and weird, this second volume is a brilliant expansion that makes that all worth it.
And what a cliffhanger!
May 18, 2018
I want to give it more stars! The last page turns were intense. Cant wait to see where this is going with Vol 3.
July 26, 2018
I am torn, I really like Lemire and Royal City but this volume felt like a bridge to a bigger story. Volume 2 is a flashback issue to when Tommy and the Pike siblings are younger in the early 90's. I do appreciate that it stayed in one time period, volume 1 had moments of confusion for me. There are a lot of characters in this series with the Pike family, neighbors, co-workers, and school friends I wish it was a tad more focused but I don't know where Lemire is going with this besides the Tommy Story. I guess my only small problem with this volume is it has a lot of build up for the end moment with Tommy. I do appreciate the character building but once again its a lot of people to juggle (especially when you think about older Lemire original stuff that has maybe 2-4 major characters in a whole book.) Art work (grinds teeth because I feel like a broken record) is OK.... Lemire has his style... its not my cup of comic art tea. I'll keep reading Royal City, I am a sucker for Lemire.
August 2, 2018
And this is why Lemire creates amazing stories. Love this. Simple but heart warming at the same time. Its dealing with along family and personal issues, some are heavy but Lemire makes this such an elegant and thought provoking story. Highly recommend!!!!
June 4, 2018
Yes, just yes.
10/10
10/10
September 21, 2022
This is even better that the first. The depth of the narrative is so rich, it's impossible to dislike. The characters don't fall into feel-good tropes of so many protagonists. They're flawed and mildly gritty. They're not wholly likeable but aren't bad or annoying. They're realistic portrayals of people who came up in a small town. They stare down the barrel of futility with a twinge of desperation. Aces from beginning to end.
July 5, 2018
Lemire's art and storytelling is just amazing, the plot is so simple yet so compelling.
May 31, 2018
We learn more about the family through some flashbacks in this volume. I finished it only to be tremendously sad that the third volume is not out yet. :(
February 25, 2020
Not quite as good as the lonely beauty that is in book vol. one but enough going on to want to continue.
April 22, 2019
I think most people consider “Essex County” to be Jeff Lemire’s masterwork. His multigenerational saga about betrayal, love, family ties, and hockey is justifiably regarded as one of the towering achievements in comics but I gotta say, when it’s all said and done, I think “Royal City” might have it beat. Originally released in single issues, “Royal City, Vol. 2: Sonic Youth” collects the second arc of Lemire’s series about the deeply fallible Pike family. Flashing back to the grungy early-1990s, “Sonic Youth” explores the little victories, bad decisions, and festering resentments that led to the Pikes’ modern-day struggles.
It had been a while since I’d read the first volume of “Royal City” but, as a flipped through this collection, I found myself falling right back into rhythm with the Pikes. Lemire does an incredible job of making his characters feel recognizable and relatable, particularly the melancholy, headache-plagued, music-obsessed youngest child, Tommy, the ghost that literally and figuratively haunts his siblings in “Next Of Kin.” Royal City is instantly familiar to anyone who’s ever grown up in a middle-class industrial town, full of good-hearted blue collar workers harboring unrealized dreams. Stylistically, “Royal City” doesn’t stray too far from “Essex County” but years of storytelling have given Lemire an even more confident and sensitive touch. No one does a better job of using tiny moments - a chance encounter in a grocery store, a private smile, a sunset viewed from a rooftop, etc. - to stand in for a larger story point or emotion and Lemire is at the height of his considerable powers in “Royal City.” Like a slow motion car crash, you can’t help but hold your breath and watch how the Pikes careen out of control.
As a ‘90s kid and a Lemire super-fan, maybe I’m a little biased in saying “Royal City” could be better than “Essex County” but I stand by it. Pulling together the history of “Essex County,” the magical realism of “The Underwater Welder,” and the raw emotion of “Roughneck,” “Royal City” feels like the culmination of Lemire’s various obsessions and passions. It’s an astounding series so far.
It had been a while since I’d read the first volume of “Royal City” but, as a flipped through this collection, I found myself falling right back into rhythm with the Pikes. Lemire does an incredible job of making his characters feel recognizable and relatable, particularly the melancholy, headache-plagued, music-obsessed youngest child, Tommy, the ghost that literally and figuratively haunts his siblings in “Next Of Kin.” Royal City is instantly familiar to anyone who’s ever grown up in a middle-class industrial town, full of good-hearted blue collar workers harboring unrealized dreams. Stylistically, “Royal City” doesn’t stray too far from “Essex County” but years of storytelling have given Lemire an even more confident and sensitive touch. No one does a better job of using tiny moments - a chance encounter in a grocery store, a private smile, a sunset viewed from a rooftop, etc. - to stand in for a larger story point or emotion and Lemire is at the height of his considerable powers in “Royal City.” Like a slow motion car crash, you can’t help but hold your breath and watch how the Pikes careen out of control.
As a ‘90s kid and a Lemire super-fan, maybe I’m a little biased in saying “Royal City” could be better than “Essex County” but I stand by it. Pulling together the history of “Essex County,” the magical realism of “The Underwater Welder,” and the raw emotion of “Roughneck,” “Royal City” feels like the culmination of Lemire’s various obsessions and passions. It’s an astounding series so far.
June 8, 2019
If the first volume focused on each of the living members of the Pike family, this volume focuses on the one that died and remained behind as a memory that is haunting them like a conscience. It's his descent into the moment when he decides to drown himself. The others are only fixtures, but there are welcome details into the events that led them to become as disfunctional as we saw in the first volume.
1993 is the last year when Timmy is still alive. He narrates the story and describes from the onset that he has awful headaches and can't control his own thoughts.
1993 is the last year when Timmy is still alive. He narrates the story and describes from the onset that he has awful headaches and can't control his own thoughts.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews