Title: Pixels of You
Author: Ananth Hirsh & Yuko Ota, Illustrated by J.R. Doyle
ISBN: 9781419749575
Publisher: Amulet Books
Copyright Date: 2021
Genre: LGBTQIA+, Romance, Science Fiction
Format: Graphic Novel
Reading Level/Interest Level: Grades 9+, Age 14+
Awards or Honors: None
Plot Summary
In the not-too-distant future where AI and humans co-exist, global surveillance has been initiated and is carried out by AI in the wake of a deadly pandemic. Though the AI programmers attempted to remove all bias, it was discovered that AI surveillance bots still taught themselves biases, particularly against women and people of color. In this future, Indira is a human photographer who is still recovering from a tragic accident years ago that damaged her eye. After the accident, her eye was replaced by a cybernetic one that causes her a great deal of pain, despite the benefit of allowing her to see. Indira works at a photography gallery, where she meets Fawn, an AI with the appearance of a human, who is the incoming intern at the same gallery. After the two have a fight in the gallery, their boss tasks them with working together on a piece for the upcoming show in order to solve their difference, or else they will both be fired.
At first extremely reluctant to collaborate, Indira and Fawn come to realize that they have much more in common than they originally thought. Fawn faces prejudice due to being AI, both from humans who are wary of her and other AI who judge her human appearance. Indira, as a woman of color, grapples against prejudice as well as nightmares of the accident and her chronic eye pain. The two continue working on their photography exhibit together and become closer, their friendship deepening with the potential for more.
Author Background
Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota are a writer (Ananth) / cartoonist (Yuko) team based out of Brooklyn, NY. Their work together on the comic Lucky Penny won a Junior Library Guild Award and received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly. The duo also won an Ignatz Award for their webcomic collection Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us in 2019. Hirsh and Ota’s more recent project is Barbarous, which won a Reuben Award in 2019 for Outstanding Long-Form Online Comic (Hirsh & Ota, n.d.).
J.R. Doyle is a comic and storyboard artist who is best known for their comic Knights-Errant, which originated as a webcomic before being published as a graphic novel in 2016. They are the co-creator of Battery Acid as well as the illustrator for Pixels of You.
Critical Evaluation
This graphic novel accomplishes a lot in only about 170 pages. A full world is built through exposition and overlay of Indira’s day-to-day life, as well as through interspersed lines of text with context into how things have changed with the incorporation of AI. The images and use of color in this graphic novel are also striking, with bright pinks and purples offset by dark backgrounds and details. Fawn and Indira both have their own color palettes, which almost take the same journey as their friendship: at first, they clash, but as the two characters work together, the reader can see that they complement each other very well. The overall concept of this graphic novel is really interesting and well done, which I think teens will appreciate, and the characterization of Fawn and Indira will appeal to a teen audience as well.
Though I do feel that what was covered in this graphic novel was fairly comprehensive in terms of telling the story and letting the reader get a good sense of the characters, I did feel that the ending was rushed. I could definitely see it as being a series as opposed to a one-shot, with how in-depth the creators got into building the world and the people in it. The romance aspect of the story really doesn’t come into effect until the very end, leaving many unanswered questions.
Creative Use for a Library Program
Take on the role of Indira and Fawn by hosting a photography workshop for teens. Incorporating images from the graphic novel, such as technology, florals, and portraits, will let teens step behind the camera in a sci-fi future just like the characters.
Speed-Round Book Talk
In a world that pits them against each other, human Indira and AI Fawn are forced to work together, much to their dismay, after they are caught at each other’s throats on the job. They are asked by their boss to create a photography exhibit together, or else they will lose their internships. But once they put the proverbial boxing gloves aside, these fierce enemies quickly realize they have more in common than they thought and must overcome their own biases if they are going to make this gallery a success.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation
There are no challenges to date for this item. There is minor swearing in this graphic novel and discussion of drugs, but otherwise, I feel it is fairly clean. In my research on challenges of this material, I did find an article from the ALA noting that graphic novels and comics have been under fire over the last few years, especially those featuring persons of color and LGBTQIA+ themes, which are both present in this graphic novel (Coleman, 2022). If this challenge ever came up in response to this work, I would say that the library collects items that represent patrons from all backgrounds and this piece is part of the collection for that reason.
Reason for Inclusion
There are so many great things about this graphic novel that I loved. Though it is sci-fi, it transcends the genre and showcases the relationship between two young women who both struggle with their place in the world. We get to see both of their points of view throughout the story, showing that you really never know what someone else is going through until you get to know them, which is a theme that I think resonates with readers of all ages.
References
Coleman, T. (2022, April 15). GNCRT seeks information about censorship of comics in schools and libraries. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/news/member-news/2022/04/gncrt-seeks-information-about-censorship-comics-schools-and-libraries
Doyle, J. R [@theyoungdoyler]. (n.d.). Profile photo [Twitter Profile]. Twitter. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from https://twitter.com/theyoungdoyler
Ksmckaythingstolove. (2021, May 1). #random cameras #vintage camera #camera aesthetic [Image]. Tumblr. https://ksmckaythingstolove.tumblr.com/post/650383973177032704/capture-the-image
Hirsh, A., & Ota, Y. (n.d.). Author illustration [Image]. Johnny Wander. http://www.johnnywander.com/about
Hirsh, A., Ota, Y., & Doyle, J. R. (2021). Pixels of you [Cover Image]. Amulet Books. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Pixels-You-Ananth-Hirsh/dp/1419749579/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=pixels+of+you&qid=1649100117&s=books&sr=1-1
Hirsh, A., & Ota, Y, & Doyle, J. R. (2021). Pixels of you [Image]. Amulet Books. Retrieved from http://www.johnnywander.com/comic/pixels-of-you-preview-page-4
Resomusic-mood-boards. (2019, June 1). Moodboard inspired by the song “Gasoline” by Halsey for anon [Image]. Tumblr. https://music-mood-boards.tumblr.com/post/185304453340/moodboard-inspired-by-the-song-gasoline-by
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