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Who Will Make the Pancakes: Five Stories

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A suite of five brilliant comics stories united by themes of motherhood, family, and love. The Guardian, Best Graphic Novels of 2022 Publishers Weekly, Best Graphic Novels of 2022 Who Will Make the Pancakes collects five deeply social stories by the acclaimed cartoonist Megan Kelso, exploring the connective tissue that binds us together despite our individual, interior experience. These stories, created over the past 15 years ― roughly contemporaneously with the author’s own journey as a mother― wrestle with the concept of motherhood and the way the experience informs and impacts concepts of identity, racism, class, love, and even abuse. The book opens with “Watergate Sue,” originally serialized in The New York Times Magazine over six months in 2007. Spanning two generations of mothers/daughters, Eve’s obsession with Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal throughout 1973 heightens her self-doubt about whether she wants to raise more children (resonantly mirroring the anxiety many of us had while doom scrolling our way through the Trump administration). Some 30 years later, her daughter, Sue, is now grown and beginning her own family and attempting to reconcile her mother’s experience with her own. “Cats in Service” is a contemporary fable about how a death in the family leads a young couple to adopt several cats who have been expertly trained to tend to their every need. “The Egg Room” profiles middle-aged Florence, caught between dreams of how her life might have unfolded and the shrunken reality. “The Golden Lasso” turns the focus to adolescence, using rock climbing as a set piece for a story about innocence lost, while “Korin Voss” chronicles a few months in the life of a single mother in the late 1940s. Taken collectively, Who Will Make the Pancakes showcases Kelso’s unique voice in graphic fiction (one more in tune with writers such as Alice Munro, Sarah Waters, or Ann Patchett than most graphic novelists) and a stylistic command that tailors her approachable and warm cartooning style for each story’s needs. Full-color illustrations throughout

200 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2022

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About the author

Megan Kelso

19 books25 followers
She graduated in 1994 from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

Kelso started working in the 1990s, with the minicomic Girlhero, which won her a Xeric Foundation grant in 1993. She has since published several other projects including Queen of the Black Black and The Squirrel Mother. She was the editor of the female cartoonist anthology, Scherherazade: Stories of Love, Treachery, Mothers, and Monsters (published by Soft Skull Press). Among many other publications, Kelso had a story (which she co-created with Ron Rege) in SPX 2004.

She received two Ignatz Awards in 2002, for Outstanding Artist (for Artichoke Tales #1 and her story in Non #5) and Outstanding Minicomic (for Artichoke Tales #1).

From April 1 to September 9, 2007, Kelso published a weekly comic strip in The New York Times Magazine titled Watergate Sue. She is currently completing her Artichoke Tales graphic novel for Fantagraphics Books.

Kelso has also created work for several magazines, including the now-defunct Tower Records' Pulse Magazine.

Kelso is married and lives with her husband and daughter in Seattle, Washington.

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5 stars
57 (17%)
4 stars
91 (27%)
3 stars
119 (35%)
2 stars
52 (15%)
1 star
13 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
Profile Image for Dave Schaafsma.
Author 6 books32.3k followers
November 22, 2022
I have read three previous works by Megan Kelso and given them 2-3 stars, but when I saw this big (oversized) book from Fantagraphics of five stories, I picked it up right away. Why? Because I have always found her artwork relatable and inviting, warm and . . . comfortable. I always think the stories are always sorta weird/whimsical, I am not sure why I am supposed to be reading them, but there’s something there that keeps me coming back.

These five stories span a couple generations of mothers and daughters, so it’s mainly about motherhood.

The first story is “Watergate Sue,” based on a weekly comic strip Kelso created from April 1 to September 9, 2007 in The New York Times Magazine. It’s about a woman who was obsessed with the Watergate trial even as she navigated the birth of her child: “Should I even have this child with people like Nixon in the world?!” Sound familiar? I liked this one best, but then I lived through that period as she did, every damned day. I can relate to sitting in front of the tv and yelling at the trial as it unfolded.

“Cats in Service” is what I mean by weird and whimsical. A death in the family leads them to hire a bunch of “service cats” to take care of all their needs. . . okay. . .

“The Egg Room” is about middle-aged Florence, not happy about her life, which went differently than she imagined.

“Korin Voss” goes back to the late 1940s, where a woman chronicles parenting and relationships in the war years.

“The Golden Lasso” is a story of youth, a cool rock-climbing crowd. A woman looks back on why a guy might have touched her inappropriately all those years ago.

The overall effect is better than the effect of any one story. I like the focus in this one on motherhood. I love all the warm round faces. Warm and inviting images, yeah. 4 star art, 3 star stories. . . 3.5 or so over all. Extra half star for the typically beautiful Fantagraphics production. Her best work yet? I think so, though it’s still short stories, some of them sort of weird and sketchy.
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
7,854 reviews305 followers
January 23, 2023
A middling collection of domestic fiction short stories, many of them expanded from shorter works previously published elsewhere (see below).

Watergate Sue

A generational family drama about mothers and daughters, jumping from the present day where a grandchild is about to be born to a woman not yet born in the flashbacks where her mother is obsessing over the Watergate scandal. So?

Cats in Service

A family inherits the cats the mother's sister has trained to be household servants. Creepy but pointless.

The Egg Room

More meandering family drama. Meh.

Korin Voss

Set in 1947, a single mother's daughters are peripheral to the shambles which are her career and love life. But at least she tries to be nicer to Black people???

The Golden Lasso

A young girl is obsessed with rock climbing and a cute older boy. The most engaging story in the book, it wobbles around in a typical coming-of-age manner but mostly works as it takes a dark turn.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:
• Watergate Sue / Originally serialized in The New York Times Magazine, April to September, 2007.
• Cats in Service / Originally published as a minicomic of the same name in 2014.
• The Egg Room
• Korin Voss / An expanded version of a story previously entitled "The Good Witch," which originally appeared as a one-page comic on the back cover of Strumpet #1 and as a nine-page story in Runner Runner (Free Comic Book Day 2012).
• The Golden Lasso / An expanded version of a 14-page story that previously appeared in the 2011 minicomic Acorns & Pebbles.
Profile Image for Liv.
550 reviews17 followers
January 11, 2023
DNF at 72 pgs.

I'm not a big fan of old fashioned comics about adult life-I don't know what it is but I just see that format and struggle to care. I like a running story. I read the first two stories, but in the middle of the third one, I realized I still didn't care much and put it down. Not for me.
Profile Image for Christine.
1,382 reviews93 followers
July 1, 2026
Rounded up to 3 stars. I appreciated Watergate Sue, The Egg Room, and The Golden Lasso, but got nothing out of the other two stories, and didn’t love any of them enough to make up for it.
Per the info in the back, several of the stories had been shorter (including one winning awards) and then were lengthened for this collection. I wonder if the original versions were stronger; one of the ones I disliked was originally 14 pages and expanded to 60 pages for this collection, and it didn’t feel like it had 60 pages of story.
Profile Image for Shoshanna.
1,595 reviews2 followers
April 1, 2023
Five completely different stories with different vibes. Some heavier, some lighter. Kelso is a really good storyteller. Definitely worth checking out!
Profile Image for Joanne.
2,183 reviews48 followers
August 21, 2023
This collection highlights the versatility of this comic artist, although I found them uneven. Two stars for the two out of five stories I liked.
Profile Image for Alina.
148 reviews4 followers
June 3, 2024
this lady needs to take an art class
Profile Image for Rick Ray.
3,549 reviews43 followers
December 11, 2022
An enjoyable series of stories that I found varied from interesting to a little dull at times. Kelso implements a varied cartooning style and a range of media styles across individual stories that was quite refreshing and allowed for each story to make a distinct impression upon the reader.

While I found the stories to range in art style, they also did range in how interested I was in each one. I found the first story, "Watergate Sue", to be the most engaging since it really drove home how much we tie memories of external events to highly personal moments in our lives. The parasocial nature we take on with our media consumption has funny ways of bleeding into our personal lives, and I thought Kelso really nailed this aspect.

I also really enjoyed "The Egg Room", a story connecting themes of sensuality with the obligation to have children that was rendered with vibrant water colors. The fluidity of the art works well in conjunction with the nature of the story.

The other stories were decent, but I did find myself less connected with those. Perhaps that's just the nature of an anthology, but I would overall say this was pretty impressive work and I enjoyed it enough to recommend this to others.
Profile Image for Naomi.
9 reviews
April 25, 2023
I enjoyed 3/5 of the stories, so three stars?
Profile Image for Chris Brook.
357 reviews5 followers
January 7, 2023
Fantagraphics suite of five comics stories I missed from last year. Honestly had a hard time getting into these but appreciate how they all do a decent job establishing a time and place. Korin Voss is set in the ‘40s, Watergate Sue and The Egg Room has some slice of life stories of childbirth and sexuality respectively.
Profile Image for Stephanie Bange.
2,143 reviews24 followers
February 23, 2023
An intriguing mix of five short stories about women in different ages/stages of life told by Kelso, all previously published - whether in another form (syndicated comics) or as an expanded story.

Kelso shares several experiences faced by women - in many stages of life. First published in 2007 as a comic strip, "Watergate Sue" speaks of the conflicted feelings of a young mother as she raises her daughter and is pregnant with her second child - in light of the Nixon Watergate hearings. This is enriched with a series of additional "comic strips" at the top that may/may not be related to the story. "Cats in Service" is a quirky story about a woman who passes away, leaving her house filled with cats she has trained to be household servants - and what happens to the cats after they go to live with her sister. "The Egg Room" is about the dreams one woman had and how they what might have been, yet leaving her with her reality when she awakens. Set just after WWII, "Korin Voss" provides a peek into the reality of one single mother struggling to make ends meet while raising her daughters. Finally, "The Golden Lasso" is about releasing the guilt of being the victim of sexual abuse by a teenage crush.

Kelso does an amazing job of letting the art tell as much of the story as the text. For this reason, each bears multiple readings to catch nuances missed the first time. Many women have either experienced some of these feelings (ex. Do I really want to raise a child in today's political climate?) or know someone who has (ex. "Because I started it, I felt responsible.")

Kelso uses different mediums for each story: traditional full-color ink frames for "Watergate Sue", B&W pen and ink for "Cats in Service" and "Korin Voss", watercolor for "The Egg Room", and graphite and color pencil for "The Golden Lasso". By doing this, she makes it easier for the reader to transition from one distinct story into another.

Certainly much to think about with each of these tales, making them linger in your thoughts for awhile.

Recommended for adults.
Profile Image for Clint.
1,228 reviews13 followers
February 17, 2023
A collection of five mostly unremarkable indie comics about depressive middle-aged experiences; I’ve enjoyed several comics that might be described the same way, but nothing about these ever connected with me and it ended up a DNF. The first story is an okay but not great recollection of a mother’s Watergate-era pregnancy to her adult daughter. It was interesting to see the parallels to how people can become unhealthily obsessed with seemingly unprecedented political grievances in any period. The second story is more fantastical about a cat lady who trained her cats to be domestic servants and then died and left them to her younger sister; it’s not bad but again mostly unremarkable. The third story follows an unhappy middle-aged woman with mundane regrets as she daydreams a lot and considers cheating on her partner; I finished it but lost my remaining interest in the process. Neither of the remaining two stories grabbed me in their first few pages so I skimmed them and called this finished.
Profile Image for Peter Hollo.
231 reviews31 followers
December 15, 2022
These five stories are remarkably varied, with gorgeous artwork and comics craft. The stories take differing looks at motherhood, family, and growing up, with a steely, unsentimental gaze. I was aware that Megan Kelso was a great comics practitioner, but until this beautifully-designed hardcover I don't think I quite understood her significance.
I was pleased to be reminded that I have both The Squirrel Mother and Queen of the Black Black on my shelves, so I look forward to rereading them soon!
12 reviews
January 31, 2024
This had some really impactful stories. In particular I thought "Korin Voss" was very compelling telling the story of a single mother during the 1940s trying to make ends meet for her daughters. "The Golden Lasso" gave an interesting look into the live of a pre-teen girl in Seattle in the 1980s. Despite being an semi-autobiographical time period piece on the surface it did not shy away from the message it was trying to deliver. "Watergate Sue" and "The Egg Room" were both quite good in there own ways, but were harder to relate to with me not being a middle-aged women... Lastly I thought the "Cats in Service" story was a miss. Had it been as strong as the other 4 stories I think this would have been a 5 star book.
Profile Image for Mark Schlatter.
1,253 reviews15 followers
June 7, 2024
Five short(ish) stories from Megan Kelso, whose work I don't think I have read much, if any, before. I really liked the first story, "Watergate Sue" that contrasts adult Sue's pregnancy with her birth and her mother's then-obsession with the Watergate hearings (so much so that important dates - such as Sue's mother's water breaking - are correlated with turning points in the case). It's a fascinating look at the pulls of a political life and a domestic life, and it's especially meaningful during these days of Trump. "Cats in Service" is a family horror story which raises questions about the place of pets in the home, and the last story "The Golden Lasso" is a tale of adolescent trauma and truth-finding. But the other two stories ("The Egg Room" and "Korin Voss") felt incomplete to me.
Profile Image for ericas.library.
253 reviews12 followers
May 22, 2025
I hate it when a book seems like it would be right up your street, and you just don’t enjoy it 💔

Who Will Make The Pancakes is a collection of five stories by graphic artist Megan Kelso, dealing with topics such as motherhood, sexuality, relationships, and family dynamics.

I loved the first story, and thought the last one was great too, but unfortunately I wasn’t captured by the three in between. I’ve read a few graphic novels now and I prefer stories where I get an insight into the author’s thinking during the events they’re depicting, rather than the more birds-eye view which was depicted here.

However, it was great to see a mix of drawing styles featured in this book, and the author depicts every day life in an interesting way.
Profile Image for Averil *rat emoji*.
429 reviews2 followers
August 26, 2024
Watergate sue: there is definitely something to be said about relearning who your mother is when you become a mother yourself. Emotion focused plot.

Cats in service: great concept, could have said something a little more about poverty/racism in housekeeping staff.

The egg room: I didn’t actually understand the choosing your egg part., life not turning out how your eggspect haha

Korin voss: whew life of a single mum in WWII.. the decisions we make and the decisions that are made for us

The golden lasso: best story of them all. Love rock climbing (and so accurate), complex feelings about childhood: realising an assault.

Profile Image for Michael McCormick.
175 reviews3 followers
November 11, 2024
These stories are great illustrated works of fiction for adults, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading all five of them. This is now the second graphic novel that I've read in my life, and after experiencing these two, I will be on the lookout for more to enjoy. It is a genre that is new for me.

Upon reflection, these stories of Ms. Kelso's all are dramatic tales to reflect deeply on, and in reading them, one takes one's own life that much more seriously. In reading "Who Will Make the Pancakes: Five Stories," I felt like all that I have lived up to now has been a preparation for me to become serious in every coming endeavor from now going forward that I will ever undertake.
Profile Image for Lillian.
39 reviews
March 20, 2023
In part, I think that I just didn't get along with the art style in most of these illustrated short stories. The style, which felt very similar to a Saturday paper cartoon strip didn't feel like it could carry the weight that some of these stories were attempting to convey.

Secondly, I didn't feel like there was a full level of catharsis in any of these narratives. It felt like we were scratching at the surface of some deeper themes - but not actually getting to them.

I like the idea of an illustrated short story collection, this one was just okay though.
Profile Image for Kyle.
43 reviews
July 3, 2023
This is a collection of mostly sad, but often beautiful, short stories. Each one is told in a totally different art style which feels a bit disjointed at first, but becomes engrossing once you get used to it. The standouts for me were "Cats in Service" (a strange story about a woman who trains her cats to be housekeepers) and "The Golden Lasso". This was probably the best find from TCAF this year!
Profile Image for Chris Drew.
186 reviews21 followers
July 22, 2023
Funny, odd, and each unique. Kelso puts effort into creating something new and I think that comes through for me. The water color in some and line work in other stories is equally interesting and careful, and the quirkiness of the worlds she reveals feels right for the dreamy take on the medium she has, while the human subject in the work tries well to build something worth telling out of maudlin or everyday stories.
Profile Image for Daria Orlowska.
30 reviews
August 15, 2026
These were not happy stories, and they often did not have satisfactory endings. But they brought up a lot of difficult topics (motherhood, womanhood, toxic relationships, intergenerational trauma, assault, belonging, manipulation, financial struggles, parenting) that I will be thinking about for awhile. The art varies significantly between stories, and the disjointed slice of life vignettes will definitely not be for everyone, but I happened to read it at the "right time" for me.
Profile Image for Stephanie Dargusch Borders.
1,153 reviews28 followers
May 26, 2023
I’ve never been drawn to graphic novels. I’ll give one a shot every now and then but it’s a genre I read v infrequently. I absolutely adored this collection though. The themes and emotional depth to each story was surprising to me, given the format. The art was so varied between the stories as well; I was impressed by the author’s range.
Profile Image for Abigail Pankau.
2,153 reviews23 followers
June 5, 2023
A weird collection of graphic short stories. All are very different from each other, though they are all telling stories about the lives of women, whether growing up or becoming mothers or dealing with relationships. But they are very stream-of-consciousness and much more like literary fiction. They’re not bad, they’re just not to my taste.
Profile Image for Michelle  Tuite.
1,738 reviews20 followers
July 5, 2023
Reading 2023
Book 89: Who Will Make the Pancakes by Megan Kelso

GN review #14 for June.

Synopsis: A suite of five brilliant comics stories united by themes of motherhood, family, and love.

Review: A collection of comics bound in a book. This was not a graphic novel, so one hit to the rating. The comics were okay, not really my speed. My rating 3⭐️.
Profile Image for Yvette.
491 reviews2 followers
September 9, 2023
第一次接触 Megan Kelso的作品。很喜欢这五篇风格不同的充满女性视角的故事。Watergate Sue是比较写实的一篇,讲的是母女两代关于怀孕生产的故事。我很喜欢Cats in Service,因为父母家里也有很多猫。我觉得这个故事有讨论家庭生活里的养育照顾。最后的结尾很有意思。The Egg Room 通过现实和白日梦的交错以及不同的时间线讲述的是一个中年女性的欲望和缺憾。Korin Voss 是一部色条简练的黑白时代剧,讲的是二战结束不久一个有两个女儿的单身母亲的故事。喜欢这个故事的坦率。Korin 或许在选择男人上需要更好的眼光,但她是一个好母亲。最后一篇The Golden Lasso 的主角是个13岁的少女,在攀岩和徒步露营的户外背景下,故事却是五个里面最沉重的一篇。
Profile Image for Henrique Justini.
120 reviews1 follower
Read
April 16, 2024
A necessidade do sexo e a carência, a necessidade do nascimento e a dificuldade de sobrevivência configuram o mundo das mulheres de Kelso. Elas estão escalando montanhas para se livrar dos traumas e para conseguirem desempenhar seus desejos sem estarem atadas aos fracassos dos passados. Ou, pelo menos, conviver com eles sem que se intrometam tantas vezes em seus afetos.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews