Flocks

(Paperback)

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Description

L. Nichols, a trans man, artist, engineer and father of two, was born in rural Louisiana, assigned female and raised by conservative Christians. Flocks is his memoir of that childhood, and of his family, friends and community, the flocks of Flocks, that shaped and re-shaped him. L.'s irresistibly charming drawings demonstrate what makes Flocks so special: L.'s boundless empathy.

Reviews

"Part of a growing body of trans comics, L. Nicholss autobiographical Flocks upbringing in southwest Louisiana where he was raised as a girl and present his improbable, fraught journey to M.I.T. and later into his transition and marriage Nicholss narrative uses cartoon figuration in this case, a shifting, button-eyed rag doll to represent nonbinary gender identity, revealing how comics can help offer a language of expression outside of societal norms."The New York Times

"Written and drawn with equal parts raw honesty and a wide-open heart, this lovely full-color book should have crossover appeal for younger readers, middle school and up, opening up the experience of any reader challenged by their gender identity, sexuality, and/or conflicting religious beliefs."Publishers Weekly

"Flocks is a generous glimpse into the most personal of issues, shared by an author who knows how to look at a situation from every angle."Foreword

"Flocks is one of the most powerful works Ive read Its remarkable in that it avoids judgement and preachiness in her handling of what are generally perceived as extremely sensitive subjects... ...a searingly honest piece of work." Comics Beat

"(Nichols) brings an instantly apparent, appealing, and accessible intensity of emotion and craft to whatever hes doing, in whatever vein." The Comics Journal

"The intimacy of a mini-comic that deals with an issue close to the heart of the author and reader can make for powerful reading My own personal experience came later than it did for Nichols, but I can still feel the pain and fear on every page of her comic as though it were my own." Panel Patter

"Nichols's incredibly empathetic and humane autobio series about the various groups that have had an impact on their life reaches an almost unbearable point of agony and then resolves in an unexpected but remarkably hopeful way... ...After extending empathy, compassion, understanding and the benefit of the doubt to everyone else, Nichols finally gave it to themself. The joy and radiance in Nichols's line at this point fairly bursts off the page." High-Low

Author Bio

L. Nichols was born and raised in rural southwest Louisiana and went on to earn a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and a masters degree in Media Arts and Sciences, both from MIT. L. has a unique voice that utilizes the language of science and engineering to add an additional layer of meaning and complexity to his work. Nichols also incorporates elements of comics to turn his paintings into broader narrative forms. L. lives works as an illustrator, comic artist, graphic designer, educator and sometime blacksmith with his wife and their two children in New Yorks Hudson Valley. He has been published in over a dozen comics and art books.