Brugpieper Roos Vink #6

The sixth volume of Jan Vriends' charming Dutch series finds Roos Vink in a thoroughly awkward spot — on the cover she clutches a gift box with a hilariously uncomfortable expression while a grinning, armor-clad admirer behind her waves roses and flowers, hearts floating in the air, as a crowd of onlookers fills the background. Subtitled Hilarisch! ("Hilarious!"), this 2022 collection gathers strips from magazine Tina and captures perfectly the cringeworthy comedy of early secondary school life. Vriends handles every line of art and every word of story himself, and his lively, expressive style makes Roos's exasperation leaps right off the page.