Graphic Novel STARLING

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graphic novel, starling, sage stossel, superhero comics, super heroine, amy, cartoon
Click here to read Starling at GoComics.com.
Click here to read Starling at the StarlingComic.com website.

“If Jane Austen had written this—and in an alternative universe, she could have—it might be called ‘Capes and Coffeebreaks’… The delightfully complicated and cannily crafted plot interweaves Amy’s romantic uncertainties with her super-heroic adventures… This whimsical romantic comedy injects welcome humor into the superhero genre… and will probably appeal more broadly to fans of Dilbert, too.” —Library Journal

Why Superheroes Still Can’t Have it All (Atlantic interview with Sage Stossel).

The Anti-Heroine (Harvard Magazine May-June 2014). “Starling” can handle thugs and palookas, but not daily life. By Craig Lambert

“A book straight out of the age of ‘New Girl,’ ‘Sex in the City,’ and ‘The United States of Tara,’ in which we are drawn to watch a female protagonist for her flaws or peculiarities, not in spite of them… [Starling] pokes intently at the glass ceiling that hangs, weirdly enough, over comics as well as other parts of our culture.” —The Boston Globe

“A winning story about overcoming adversity, finding oneself and even having a shot at achieving true love, all lovingly ladled out in a savvy, self-deprecating, droll, artfully humorous manner…”
—UK Comics Review

“The sweetest book about trying to make life work, which all of us have trouble with. Even though we can’t generate electricity with our hands like Amy does.”
—“7 Outstanding Comics About Being a Hero,” Planet Jinxatron (Other comics selected in this review include Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag, Red Sonja: The Art of Blood and Fire by Gail Simone, The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang)

“Humorous and touching… Three pages into the graphic novel and I was already hooked by Stossel’s heroine.” —The Retroist

“Hilarious and uplifting… Stossel’s soft washes of color and zippy dialogue make Starling more than just a superhero comic. Amy’s juggling of her family, personal and work lives echoes every modern woman’s struggle to have it all without letting anyone down.”
—Jaclyn Fulwood, Shelf Awareness (Starred review)

“Starling is an imaginative superhero with a unique take on the world… The situations she gets into only make you love her more.” —Games Fiends

“A fun read and a good bet for fans of Sex and the City and any young women in need of a superhero like themselves.” —Bookbitch.com

“I loved it… Reminds me of James Robinson’s masterpiece, Starman, about a reluctant hero taking on the job after his father retires and his brother is killed.” —Gene Ambaum, Unshelved

“A funny, intelligent and engaging superhero story … Utterly charming. Warmly recommended.” —Sembtext: Göran Semb

Interview with Sage Stossel at the Graphic Novel Reporter.

LA Times interview with Sage Stossel.

LitReactor: Ten Questions with Starling author Sage Stossel by Leah Rhyne.

Newsarama: STARLING: Sibling Creators & Their Anxiety-Filled Superheroine by Zack Smith.

Four Questions with Sage Stossel by Molly Parr.

“Hilarious… A realistic, relatable female superhero.”—Feminist Texican Reads

“Stossel’s plotting is excellent as she slips in necessary items on several occasions without the reader considering them anything other than incidental details, and the way Starling’s messing up her own life while attempting to help others proves a compulsive guarantee of the pages turning. The constant tension from the halfway point is excellently sustained because Stossel has by then established Amy as an essentially likable woman who makes the occasional error of judgement.” —Ian Keogh, Slings and Arrows

“Funny and lighthearted … a good read.” —Rambles.net

“A superhero comic for people who don’t read superhero comics … Rated teen and up, but it’s a good pick for adults, too.” —Geek Dad

“A terrific choice for readers searching for a low-key superhero comic and for DC fans (and Marvel fans) fed up with how their favorite superheroines have been treated.” —In Bed With Books

Comics Juice, Celebrating the Golden Age of Graphic Novels: Great Graphic Novels, Superheroes category

“Utterly engaging and entertaining…a fantastic book.” —Bookshots

Order the book from Amazon.

Children’s Book: On the Loose in Washington, DC

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washington dc children's book

With simple rhymes and colorful, highly detailed images, cartoonist Sage Stossel creates a “Where’s Waldo?”-style hit, setting animals free from the National Zoo and challenging children to find them in settings from the National Mall to Georgetown, Dupont Circle, and the Air and Space Museum. Children will have a ball helping the keeper find a monkey at the Library of Congress, a kangaroo at the Supreme Court, or a Hippo in the Tidal Basin. Over 100 animals are hiding cleverly in favorite DC locations in this colorfully-illustrated rhyming picture book. [Click here to buy the book.]

Reception for On the Loose in Washington, DC:

Recommended by Mommy Nearest D.C. as one of 7 Books All D.C. Area Kids Should Have on Their Shelves: “You’ll get a chuckle over all the satirical choices made by the artist, and your kids will adore finding the cuddly animals hidden among major Washington, D.C. landmarks.”

“Beautifully illustrated, intelligently conceived, brilliantly witty and entertaining… If you are visiting, or if you live here, or if you just want to take memories with you, On The Loose in Washington, DC is the book to own.”
—Tom Edsall, New York Times Columnist, former Washington Post political reporter (1981-2006), and author, most recently of The Age of Austerity

“Antelopes in Dupont Circle and kangaroos at the Supreme Court? In this funny and whimsical picture book, which offers readers both an engaging story and a hidden-object game, Sage Stossel turns the city of Washington into a giant playground, with benevolent beasts hiding just out of eyesight in every neighborhood. Like all the best children’s books, On the Loose in Washington, DC takes the familiar and transforms it into something wondrous.”
—Carolyn Parkhurst, bestselling author of The Dogs of Babel (a New York Times Notable Book), Lost and Found, The Nobodies Album, and the 2010 children’s book Cooking with Henry and Elliebelly

“This imaginative book is as much fun for parents as it is for children. Sage Stossel is a longtime political cartoonist, and older readers will enjoy her clever sense of satire: a donkey and elephant tussle outside the Capitol, while a kangaroo approaches the Supreme Court. Younger readers will love finding the animals. And people of all ages will delight in seeing the nation’s capital as it should be—a cheerful city with beautiful buildings, blue skies, and all kinds of happy creatures.”
—Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, Smithsonian Magazine senior editor and Washington, D.C., parent

Exciting News!—The first book in the series, On the Loose in Boston, has been selected by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh for his Youth Reading List.

Review of first book in the series, On the Loose in Boston, at Boston Mamas.com:
Not only are the illustrations awesome, Stossel engages the reader with challenging searches for the Franklin Park Zoo animals artistically hidden among her drawings, and she entertains us with a rhyming plot that tickles the tongue with wonderful vocabulary. Read more…

Also visit the On the Loose in DC web site for Washington pictures to print and color, ideas for things to do with kids in DC, puzzles and mazes, and more.

(Or try On the Loose in Boston.)