Gumballs

Part autobiography and part visual diary, this anthology collects the first four issues of the serialized comic of the same name. The volume includes nearly 80 short works separated into eight different categories using a color-coded key. In stories coded "Tales of Being Trans," which make up the bulk of the book, Nations chronicles his transition, documenting everything from the physical effects of testosterone injections to the reactions of those around him as he came out. In other autobiographical entries, he recounts interactions with siblings, encounters with rude patrons at work, and miscellaneous observations about life (for instance, how redheads protect themselves from the sun). Serialized comics about Tobias—a lone teenager who desperately longs for a boyfriend—and short dating ads for other fictional characters add dashes of quirky humor to the raw honesty of Nations's more painful memories. Since some readers will have to flip back and forth to decode the types of stories, the table of contents is slightly more cumbersome than helpful. Still, the thematic exploration of humanity weaves into a cohesive whole. References to Portland, OR, and other Pacific Northwest locales firmly establish a sense of place. Nations's trademark style combines angular black lines with a limited palette of bright colors. Most characters present as white, but there is some racial diversity among the supporting players.