Pinky & Pepper Forever | |
---|---|
Creator | Eddy Atoms |
Date | May 2018 |
Main characters |
|
Page count | 70 pages |
Publisher | Silver Sprocket |
Original publication | |
Language | English |
ISBN | 9781945509223 (1st, paperback) |
Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel created by Eddy Atoms.[1] It debuted at the 2018 Toronto Comic Arts Festival before being widely released on May 30, 2018.[2] Pinky & Pepper Forever follows anthropomorphic dog girlfriends Pinky Cooper and Pepper Parson after the former commits suicide in a performance art piece, after which both of them go to hell.[3] The graphic novel is based on the discontinued Pinkie Cooper and the Jet Set Pets toyline that ran in the early-mid 2010s.[3] Pinky & Pepper Forever was widely praised for its writing, art, and themes.[4]
Background
Pinky & Pepper Forever is based on the discontinued Pinkie Cooper and the Jet Set Pets toyline that ran in the early-mid 2010s.[3] Author Eddy Atoms was inspired to create comics after attending zine fairs, and disregarded traditional rules of illustration while drawing comics.[5] Atoms' first comic work was Clone Void, which Atoms described as "a totally grotesque sci-fi horror that people would probably be repulsed by if I put it out today."[5]
Story and content
Pinky & Pepper Forever follows anthropomorphic dog girlfriends Pinky Cooper and Pepper Parson. After Cooper commits suicide in the fictional performance art piece Final Piece,[6] Cooper and Parson both go to hell.[3] Atoms created the comic's artwork in colored pencil illustrations, sculpture, and Microsoft Paint.[2]
Reception
Following its announcement in January 2018[7] and debut at that year's Toronto Comic Arts Festival,[2] the graphic novel was positively received by comic critics. The Comics Journal reviewer Carta Monir praised the comic's coloring, writing, themes, and authenticity, observing that "As a lesbian with lots of lesbian artist friends, the relationship depicted in Pinky & Pepper Forever might be the truest representation of a sad, undergraduate, gay art student relationship I’ve ever seen."[3] Monir predicted that Pinky & Pepper Forever would "inspire a generation of artists."[3] The Advocate praised Pinky & Pepper Forever as "a fabulous dark comedy about two lesbian puppy-girls, determined to stay together through art school, death, and hell itself."[8] Autostraddle described the graphic novel as "hilarious" and said, "If you’re a recovering Christian, you will be delighted by [Eddy] Atoms’ dark comic about a devoted girlfriend (Pepper) who follows her dead girlfriend (Pinky) into hell and is shocked to find that she's a superstar in the eternal abyss."[9]
Pinky & Pepper Forever was nominated for the Outstanding Artist award at the 2018 Ignatz Awards.[10] Author Atoms was the winner and featured artist of the Columbus Museum of Art's 2019 Columbus Comics Residency for his work on Pinky & Pepper Forever.[11] The graphic novel's popularity has grown in the years since its debut, with sales of the comic from Silver Sprocket increasing nearly threefold between 2021 and 2022.[12]
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Anderson-Minshall, Jacob (December 26, 2018). "The Best Books We Read in 2018: Graphic Novels". The Advocate.
- Atoms, Eddy (August 14, 2018a). "Interview with Ivy Atoms about DIY and Pinky and Pepper Forever in the new Previews Catalog". Silver Sprocket.
- Atoms, Eddy (May 2018b). Pinky & Pepper Forever. San Francisco: Silver Sprocket. ISBN 9781945509223.
- Ehrlich, Avi (February 9, 2023). "Sales Chart: Silver Sprocket Top 200 Indie Bestsellers of 2022". ComicsBeat.
- Enrico, Robin (July 2, 2018). "Pinky and Pepper Forever – A Deeply Human Story Rendered in a Fantastical Manner by Ivy Atoms". Broken Frontier.
- Hauman, Glenn (August 27, 2018). "Small Press Expo Announces 2018 Ignatz Award Nominees". ComicMix.
- Hogan, Heather (December 27, 2018). "20 of the Best LGBTQ Graphic Novels of 2018". Autostraddle.
- "Ivy Atoms: 2019 Columbus Comics Residency Exhibition". Columbus Museum of Art. 2019.
- MacDonald, Heidi (January 15, 2018). "Exclusive: Silver Sprocket Announces 2018 Spring Line-up with Nowack, Passmore, Sweater and more". ComicsBeat.
- Monir, Carta (June 18, 2018). "Pinky & Pepper Forever". The Comics Journal.
- "SPX 2018 Ignatz Awards Nominees". Small Press Expo. 2018. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022.
- Terror, Jude (May 8, 2018). "Look Inside Ivy Atoms's 'Pinky & Pepper Forever', Debuting at TCAF This Weekend". Bleeding Cool.