Every once in a while, a comic comes along that is so beautiful you just want to run around with copies and hand them out, screaming “READ THIS! READ IT RIGHT NOW!”

I Thought You Hated Me, by Mari Naomi is one of those comics.

I Thought You Hated Me is a tale of female friendship from  elementary school through adulthood, with all the trials and tribulations possible. Naomi’s stripped down art and short-vignettes highlight key pieces of two lives, from which we can extrapolate all the other emotions and experiences that fill a life. Like an incredibly sophisticated pastry, you could peel layers from this book for days and still have more layers to look at.

I read this book in one gulp, something I almost never do anymore. Paging through it with an urgency that surprised me, I needed to know where it would wrap up. And my thought upon completing it was that it was absolutely beautiful.

I Thought You Hated Me is a triumphant story of love and life shared between two people and a much-needed look at the complexities of female friendship.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
LGBTQ – 3

Overall – 9

I recommend this book highly. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon for a low $9 and you can read preview pages at Retrofit Comics. It’ll make a great gift for your best friend. ^_^

Thanks very much to Mari Naomi for the review copy. It was a real treat to read this and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!