The Field

Relatable and nostalgic: Set in the 1970s, this memoir provides a glimpse into a world where children make the rules and narrowly avoid terrible consequences on a day-to-day basis. The town is universally familiar--it could be anywhere in North America.

Relevant and timely themes: The Field skewers the nostalgic idea of the past as "a better time" by highlighting a loss of childhood innocence, set against the backdrop of suburban development.

Untraditional but highly effective pacing: This is what people mean when they say a writer has to understand the rules in order to break them. The pacing of this graphic novel is long and slow, however, instead of losing interest, the reader becomes caught up in the feel of an endless summer of daily "play"—and the darkness that runs through all of it. This, alongside Lapp's incredibly skillful lines, is what Chester Brown is referring to when he calls The Field "a masterpiece."