This week sees the release of The New York Four, the young adult, aimed-at-teenage-girls graphic novel I created with artist Ryan Kelly, published my DC/Minx. This book is a big deal for me, and I think it came out great. It’s probably not aimed at most of you reading this, so don’t feel bad at giving it a pass if you’re pretty sure its not for you, but at it’s core it’s not so different from something like Local.
The ultimate insider’s guide to NYC is seen through the eyes of Brooklyn-born Riley Wilder. Raised in by stuffy, academic parents, Riley’s a shy, straight-A freshman who convinces three other NYU students to join a research group to earn some fast cash towards an apartment share. Along the way, their unique personalities clash horribly and the stress of school, love, and being in New York City for the first time threatens to unravel it all.
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The New York Four is the classic first-semester-away-at-college story skewed a bit. Four girls - Riley, Ren, Merissa, and Lona - are all at the top of their class and decide to earn some extra money after hours by joining a research group, the goal being to escape the dorms and all move in together by New Years’. But they barely know each other and soon enough it becomes clear to all these aren’t the stereotypical squeaky-clean academic types. RIley’s shy, a virtual recluse who prefers to interact with the world through texting. Lona is a spooky perfectionist-turned-voyeur-turned-stalker who has a real problem with how her professors are grading her papers. Merissa is a manipulator, pure and simple, ruthlessly using whomever to make her days go by that much easier, and Ren has zero boundaries when it comes to the opposite sex - too old, too young, married, crazy, completely inappropriate - she doesn’t see a problem.. and she wonders why nothing works out.
The primary focus of this first chapter is on Riley Wilder, who’s been haunting her estranged older sister’s Facebook page for months, determined to track down this black sheep of the family once she’s safely out of the parent’s control and off at college. She also falls in love with a boy she’s never met, a guy online who goes by the name ‘sneakerfreak’. Spanning the course of the first semester, the four girls struggle to keep their heads above water and their unique personalities from threatening their goals: the dream apartment and maintaining their group friendship.
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