Penguins #[nn]

Nick Thorburn's Penguins from Fantagraphics is a charming and distinctive work that announces itself boldly right on the cover — rows upon rows of quirky, stylized figures marching, strolling, and shuffling across a cool gray background, with the title's letters tucked playfully among them in yellow and white. The sheer variety of characters — figures of all shapes, sizes, and gaits, rendered in Thorburn's confident, spare linework — gives the cover an almost musical rhythm, like a parade that never quite repeats itself. At $24.99, this 2018 hardcover feels like exactly the kind of thoughtful, visually inventive package that Fantagraphics does so well.