Come Again by Nate Powell

Haven Station is a commune in the Ozarks where everyone pitches in to help produce sellable goods for market. It is now 1979 and a once thriving community is withering. The promise of a utopian life has been cut away by infighting and the draw of modern conveniences. A few families remain and two couples have been intertwined with friendship since grade school. Older with a child each, this lifestyle has tested not only their own individual resolves, but the bonds of their marriages.

An affair and a runaway child draw a humming tension to the forefront of the story. But, in the background lie secrets and ghost stories that now seem all too real.

Powell’s artwork is as dark as the subject matter in places. A cavern is lit only by a candle, and dreams are slashed with black, white, and dark reds. It’s a beautifully drawn book. And even though the hook doesn’t come until about two-thirds of the way through, it twists the narrative in a way that really gets the reader to think. Memory, friendship, and secrets.

Built around a subtle conflict that explodes in the last third of the book, Come Again is a powerful drama with exceptional art.

Pick it up from Top Shelf.