THE BIZARRE BAZAAR

The employees of the Bizarre Bazaar hawk unusual artifacts for the morbidly curious—and tell stories warning would-be customers about the perils of their wares.

As she gently bickers with fellow worker Bruno, Babs launches into a tale about a newly acquired mirror. It all begins with Abel Azari, an unpopular, artistic boy who lives in a trailer park just outside Walnut Bend, Texas. Overlooked by friends, crush Ginny Mendoza, and even his busy, overworked mother, Abel stumbles upon the Bizarre Bazaar one day and finds a charm bracelet that’s perfect for Ginny. It’s out of his price range, but Babs is willing to take a trade. Back home, Abel rummages through his absent father’s old things for possibilities but comes up empty; after he does manual labor for his grumpy neighbor, she lets him take a mirror as payment. Before he can swap his new find for the bracelet, he falls into the mirror and enters a seemingly perfect world where his parents are together and everyone, including Ginny, adores him. But Abel quickly realizes that something isn’t right. In this start to a new graphic novel series, Nayeri’s cleverly structured narrative, paired with Enright’s bright, retro-style cartoons, sets a tone that’s by turns cavalier and chilling, delighting in mortal foibles and offering unexpected revelations. Brown-skinned Abel’s surname suggests that he’s of Iranian descent, Ginny is Latine, and the supporting cast is diverse.

Creepy fun.