Unlovable — Esther Pearl Watson

Loosely based on a teenager's diary from the 1980s found in a gas-station bathroom, Unlovable Vol. 2 is the remarkable story of Tammy Pierce, as filtered through the pen of Los Angeles artist Esther Pearl Watson. This second and concluding volume picks up where the first volume left off (winter break) and finishes Tammy's tragicomic sophomore year of high school in 1985. Tammy has built a devoted following over the last several years in the pages of Bust Magazine, where Unlovable continues to be serialized on the magazine's back page, and this beautifully produced, dayglo-orange and sparkly pink hardcover presents over 400 pages of her sometimes ordinary, sometimes humiliating, often poignant and always hilarious exploits. Her hopes, dreams, agonies and defeats are brought to vivid, comedic life by Watson's lovingly grotesque drawings, filled with all the '80s essentials - too much mascara, leg warmers with heels and huge hair, etc. - as well as timeless teen concerns like acne, dandruff, and the opposite sex (or same sex, in some cases). Girls and women in particular will find much that resonates, but men will also relate to Unlovable's universal humor and wide cast of characters.