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Prokaryote Season
COMIC starring STARMAN and SYDNEY about SICKNESS, OBSESSION, ROMANCE and SINGLE CELLED ORGANISMS.
164 pages, ebook
First published June 14, 2023
7 people are currently reading
951 people want to read
About the author
Leo Fox
5 books77 followersLeo Fox is a UK-based cartoonist and painter. He is transmasculine and makes work about it sometimes. His work includes Prokaryote Season, My Body Unspooling, and Boy Island.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
February 9, 2025
‣ we need more of this - more angsty & anxious neurodivergent gay stories populated by complicated they/them characters - stories about being weird and sad and deeply discontent, but living anyway.
‣ this weird queer graphic novel is so fucking good.
‣ the agony of longing, of putting all your hope and care and energy into that one person who doesn't seem to know that they're your entire world.
‣ the black and white art is dramatic and abstract - there are no grays, only contrast. the repetition of images is trippy and impactful.
‣ sydney's mindset is scary real - the invisible jury personifying one's own deep inner shame, human selfishness, autistic compulsions, sheer chronic loneliness.
‣ starman grants sydney's wish for their beloved, laurelie, to need them - but this wish is granted by laurelie contracting a horrible illness.
‣ deep-seated desire to become a prokaryote, a single celled organism, to be spared the discomfort of having thoughts, feelings, discomforts, desires, fears, actualizations.
‣ jarring absurdist humor is peppered into the dark existential pain and grief.
‣ also i love when starman makes a meta narrative nod to the author's own storytelling devices. badass.
‣ the remarkably high average gr rating of 4.64 tells me that the people who are reading this book are the ones who need it, and that makes me happy.
‣ this weird queer graphic novel is so fucking good.
‣ the agony of longing, of putting all your hope and care and energy into that one person who doesn't seem to know that they're your entire world.
‣ the black and white art is dramatic and abstract - there are no grays, only contrast. the repetition of images is trippy and impactful.
‣ sydney's mindset is scary real - the invisible jury personifying one's own deep inner shame, human selfishness, autistic compulsions, sheer chronic loneliness.
‣ starman grants sydney's wish for their beloved, laurelie, to need them - but this wish is granted by laurelie contracting a horrible illness.
‣ deep-seated desire to become a prokaryote, a single celled organism, to be spared the discomfort of having thoughts, feelings, discomforts, desires, fears, actualizations.
‣ jarring absurdist humor is peppered into the dark existential pain and grief.
‣ also i love when starman makes a meta narrative nod to the author's own storytelling devices. badass.
‣ the remarkably high average gr rating of 4.64 tells me that the people who are reading this book are the ones who need it, and that makes me happy.
January 1, 2024
"in the city i feel like a diluted, sad version of myself, and what sucks the most is that i will be perpetually leaving and returning to this, my entire self."
"i want to live a life full of stickiness and strangeness and good things and bad things and what's more i am going to, it's inevitable!"
what i admire maybe most about fox's work is the sheer boldness. there is really no time spent on subtlety (in the best way!).. every feeling and theme is presented with a kind of fearless honesty. fox simply gets right to the messy heart of things. his art is gorgeous - such a recognisable stylistic flair + so delightfully dense to look at + honestly inspirational 2 me. and not to even speak of the existential teen adult angst! the messy queerness! the t4t of it all!! this put a (cathartic) spear thru the most embarrassed, self-ashamed parts of me. could not adore it more and cannot wait til i am also able to hold boy island in my hands.
"i want to live a life full of stickiness and strangeness and good things and bad things and what's more i am going to, it's inevitable!"
what i admire maybe most about fox's work is the sheer boldness. there is really no time spent on subtlety (in the best way!).. every feeling and theme is presented with a kind of fearless honesty. fox simply gets right to the messy heart of things. his art is gorgeous - such a recognisable stylistic flair + so delightfully dense to look at + honestly inspirational 2 me. and not to even speak of the existential teen adult angst! the messy queerness! the t4t of it all!! this put a (cathartic) spear thru the most embarrassed, self-ashamed parts of me. could not adore it more and cannot wait til i am also able to hold boy island in my hands.
July 27, 2023
i am a comics guy now.
leo fox has this ability to take fantastical yet beautifully simple parable-like worlds and place within them deeply realistic characters and emotions. it was also visually STUNNING, every page an absolute feast for the eyes. leo fox is going to do great things for the comics world (i am currently reading leo fox's ongoing comic, boy island, which is periodically posted on his instagram, which is also fantastic).
long live transgenderism and disease and homosexuality and messy complicated relationships and omniscient wish-granting creatures and weird freaks!
leo fox has this ability to take fantastical yet beautifully simple parable-like worlds and place within them deeply realistic characters and emotions. it was also visually STUNNING, every page an absolute feast for the eyes. leo fox is going to do great things for the comics world (i am currently reading leo fox's ongoing comic, boy island, which is periodically posted on his instagram, which is also fantastic).
long live transgenderism and disease and homosexuality and messy complicated relationships and omniscient wish-granting creatures and weird freaks!
August 3, 2023
this comic is primordial soup,
and every chefs are kissing it
and every chefs are kissing it
October 14, 2023
"it's gonna be horrible and painful and lovely and occasionally boring but it's ok! it's everything and it's all that there is!"
March 16, 2025
transgender situationship meets munchausen by proxy meets teenager angst by way of an obssesively detailed medieval manuscript art style. leo fox is doing incredible, revolutionary things with the comics genre and i am SO obsessed with everything they put out
September 24, 2025
some of the most beautiful art i've ever witnessed in a graphic novel. breathtakingly gorgeous and weird and funny and real.
June 19, 2023
fucking incredible. the art, the writing, all of it. leo fox's work has always been inspiring, but seeing it in long form really drove home how incredible of a storyteller and artist he is!! i can't wait to reread a million times.
October 21, 2023
Content warnings are listed at the end of my review!
I feel spacey after reading this, it's really strange in this vulnerable way, like I'm being stared at too closely, too knowingly. It really hits the nail on the head with the queer limbo of disassociated half-alive isolation and craving, and the work to shake yourself out of it, sober up, and make your own path. Here you get to both enjoy a brutal tango where all dancers smash each others feet, but also step away once you learn that pain isn't sustainable. In a way, it was scary and nauseating because of it, being very forthright with thoughts of suicide, overthinking, obsession, loneliness, jealousy, rage. All of the characters are incredibly flawed people, you understand them but wince as you hear their innermost desires- and we get to see the dangers of these unchecked fantasies, and how they aren't truly fulfilling.
This is really strongly abstract with a vague but present and brief plot to follow- it benefits from a re-read to appreciate the imagery. We follow Sydney who has had a complex relationship with their best friend Laurelie, often venting and musing about the dream of being a single celled organism in the primordial soup. The duo illegally ventures from the city into the toxic forest to party with other outcasts, until Sydney makes a dark wish to get the romantic attention of Laurelie that has dangerous consequences. From here Sydney goes up against Laurelie's boyfriend Trip to see who can heal them first to be the triumphant true love. We see many snippets of Laurelie's past with Sydney and the ambiguity of their relationship, and learn more about Trip and their relationship with Laurelie. Everyone sucks, everyone hurts each other, and everyone needs to drag themselves out of the soup and find their own selfhood.
Summary:
Readability: ★★★★☆, Leo Fox's style is amazing, it is beautifully cartoonish yet lavishly detailed, and I read this because of my enjoyment keeping up with his comic Boy Island. The absolute intricacy of the style and the overwhelming visual busyness at times did make some pages difficult to read. I think it is a quirk of the style, and it wasn't a constant hurdle whatsoever, but it did take some getting used to. The nudity featured is all incredibly stylized, so it lacks graphic detail making it fairly safe to read in the open. I really felt seen in the melconholy of the story, but readers might want to be aware of the content warnings before diving in.
Entertainment: ★★★★★, I loved this a lot, it's very philosophical and gets into queer existentialism so beautifully without feeling dry at all. The story was minimal but poetic, complimenting the grander thoughts presented within the comic. I'm really looking forward to more from Fox.
Audience: Obviously, Boy Island fans will get enjoyment here, but anyone who likes thoughtful and blunt stories can appreciate this. It's not as much a happy queer story, or even a queer romance, rather it's observational and astute. I recommend!
Content Warnings: abusive relationships, brief body horror, crying, depression, derealization, disassociation, drinking, drugs, dysphoria, illness, killing an animal, kissing, nudity, obsession, pollution, possessiveness, regret, smoking, suicidal thoughts, violence, vomiting, vulgarity
I feel spacey after reading this, it's really strange in this vulnerable way, like I'm being stared at too closely, too knowingly. It really hits the nail on the head with the queer limbo of disassociated half-alive isolation and craving, and the work to shake yourself out of it, sober up, and make your own path. Here you get to both enjoy a brutal tango where all dancers smash each others feet, but also step away once you learn that pain isn't sustainable. In a way, it was scary and nauseating because of it, being very forthright with thoughts of suicide, overthinking, obsession, loneliness, jealousy, rage. All of the characters are incredibly flawed people, you understand them but wince as you hear their innermost desires- and we get to see the dangers of these unchecked fantasies, and how they aren't truly fulfilling.
This is really strongly abstract with a vague but present and brief plot to follow- it benefits from a re-read to appreciate the imagery. We follow Sydney who has had a complex relationship with their best friend Laurelie, often venting and musing about the dream of being a single celled organism in the primordial soup. The duo illegally ventures from the city into the toxic forest to party with other outcasts, until Sydney makes a dark wish to get the romantic attention of Laurelie that has dangerous consequences. From here Sydney goes up against Laurelie's boyfriend Trip to see who can heal them first to be the triumphant true love. We see many snippets of Laurelie's past with Sydney and the ambiguity of their relationship, and learn more about Trip and their relationship with Laurelie. Everyone sucks, everyone hurts each other, and everyone needs to drag themselves out of the soup and find their own selfhood.
Summary:
Readability: ★★★★☆, Leo Fox's style is amazing, it is beautifully cartoonish yet lavishly detailed, and I read this because of my enjoyment keeping up with his comic Boy Island. The absolute intricacy of the style and the overwhelming visual busyness at times did make some pages difficult to read. I think it is a quirk of the style, and it wasn't a constant hurdle whatsoever, but it did take some getting used to. The nudity featured is all incredibly stylized, so it lacks graphic detail making it fairly safe to read in the open. I really felt seen in the melconholy of the story, but readers might want to be aware of the content warnings before diving in.
Entertainment: ★★★★★, I loved this a lot, it's very philosophical and gets into queer existentialism so beautifully without feeling dry at all. The story was minimal but poetic, complimenting the grander thoughts presented within the comic. I'm really looking forward to more from Fox.
Audience: Obviously, Boy Island fans will get enjoyment here, but anyone who likes thoughtful and blunt stories can appreciate this. It's not as much a happy queer story, or even a queer romance, rather it's observational and astute. I recommend!
Content Warnings: abusive relationships, brief body horror, crying, depression, derealization, disassociation, drinking, drugs, dysphoria, illness, killing an animal, kissing, nudity, obsession, pollution, possessiveness, regret, smoking, suicidal thoughts, violence, vomiting, vulgarity
December 25, 2025
god i love abstract comics
April 8, 2024
Prokaryote Season by Leo Fox is a quaint and somewhat surreal coming-of-age tale featuring plenty of teen angst, queer relationships and self-acceptance. Set amidst a world with some amounts of magical realism to it, a mysterious illness plagues society while some teens who live in the woods come to terms with their inter-relationships and coping with nihilistic tendencies. With plenty of queen, trans, non-binary, etc. characters to go around, the primary feat here is to demonstrate the variety of angst that can arise from non-heterosexual teenage hormonal urges. It's a fairly unique take on how kids handle their intense crushes since it provides a very different spotlight, and the Woodring-esque backdrop adds a lot to the overall bizarre quality to the tale. Experimental and existential, Prokaryote Season is an interesting take on the coming-of-age subgenre that is worth checking out both for the creative storytelling and the imaginative artwork.
August 26, 2023
This is a graphic novel that my teen loves, so I read it so that we could talk about it. From the beginning, I wasn't a fan of the artwork because it's not my style. The story line was interesting and for me a bit disjointed. I feel like the message was more about figuring out who you are and what's important to you and not focusing on happiness in or from others. And it was a story of love and forgiveness. So the message overall was strong, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2022
intriguing, special, gorgeous artstyle. beautiful existential teenage identity angst story that got oh so wonderfully encapsulated in this comic. loved it so much! Leo Fox's art and thoughts always feel so good to read and look at, in this very real and relatable sort of way.
July 8, 2023
I read this instead of going to therapy
July 10, 2024
Beautiful and trippy artwork, a not so simple message conveyed in an easy to read manner, and some good laughs
December 20, 2024
I love Leo Foxes work. His writing encapsulates a sort of “teenage dread”, that cynicism and melodrama of existing as a young adult. I loved the hypocrisy of each character and also the way that Sydney’s autism was portrayed like some sort of jury, weighing the morals of every action. I think it’s a beautifully symbolic representation of the trials of neurodivergence and trans-ness, just the sort of absurdist queer drama I’d come to expect from the artist. The cover and print is gorgeous too.
October 10, 2024
One of those comics that can only exist in comic form. It was bizarre and spellbinding. It is slightly wonderful to see yourself represented in a work so strange. They’re cruel to themselves and each other. They have twisted fantasies, jealousy, and obsessions. But it’s all so refreshingly human. We sentence you to live!
January 29, 2022
me lo he vuelto a leer porque cuando lo hice no había salido del armario y quería ver como ha cambiado mi percepción sobre el amor el cuerpo lo sublime y la biología. conclusiones: estoy mucho más tranquilo sobre los bordes de mi cuerpo y sobre la manera que tengo de querer, y ya no quiero volver a la sopa primordial como método de escapismo
August 12, 2024
one of the most visually stunning and poetically written graphic novels i have ever read! made me tear up at work!!! need to reread expeditiously… i cw to read his other stuff
#silver sprocket forever
#silver sprocket forever
July 30, 2023
so beautiful genuinely unbelievable art + so queer + gnarly + sweet + evil ! writing so good 10/10
August 10, 2023
Beautiful, bold detail and awesome grossness.
Read
September 8, 2023Whelp! I’m having a breakdown!
October 2, 2024
Such a weird and touching book. A delight to the eyes and heart.
February 24, 2025
My kind of niche
February 25, 2025
i love angsty mfs!!! swear i had the exact convo about not wanting a body in high school. leo fox the artist you are….
May 5, 2025
This graphic novel had a psychodelic style and just felt damn cool. Funny and meta, Fox does a good job of balancing a wacky structure with some poignant moments. Would recommend!
July 12, 2025
I think this is my new favorite graphic novel! The writing is something that I felt particularly in tune with and the story was full of emotion and the art was fantastic! Highly recommend!
November 17, 2024
10/10 made me feel like myself which i haven’t in a while. I am terrible queer representation
October 19, 2025
DNF/
maybe I did not give this graphic novel enough of a chance, but it felt like a notebook of random doodles and stream of consciousness, as opposed to an actual story with a coherent plot.
I did not care for the artistic style/ illustrations.
maybe I did not give this graphic novel enough of a chance, but it felt like a notebook of random doodles and stream of consciousness, as opposed to an actual story with a coherent plot.
I did not care for the artistic style/ illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews