Time Under Tension, pgs. 256-257 (2023)

18 x 28 DPS

Harkness works at a surprisingly large scale for a graphic memoirist and her latest book, Time Under Tension, features several massive and intricate double page spreads. I've included a couple of these DPSs as additional images so you can see how Harkness visually represents her interiority, the events of her own life, and her family history in compelling ways. A storyteller to keep an eye on.

Publisher's description of Time Under Tension:

M.S. Harkness is graduating from art school in Minneapolis and facing a crossroads in life. She has a strained relationship with her mother, a sexually abusive father on parole, and is in love with an aspiring MMA fighter who mostly hangs out with her to get high and already has a girlfriend and career prospects with a fight promotion. An art career feels untenable ― as one professor tells her, “Don’t expect to get by on this fucked-up broke girl shit.” She decides to get a personal trainer’s certificate ― it seems like a feasible and sensible career option ― but continues to dabble as a sex worker and weed dealer because the money is too irresistible. With idle hands due to no classes or full-time work, M.S. has ample time to aimlessly fuck around ― or, to get her shit together. “I want to be better, I want to be stable and solid. I don’t want to keep aimlessly shifting between untenable situations.”