Animal Denial by Emilie Gleason (Mini Kus! #131)

Emilie Gleason utilizes amusing figure designs with inky lines and a fun color palette, which really makes the characters pop in the foreground against the more muted, representational, near-monochromatic backgrounds. The protagonist is in search of meat dishes amid a sea of vegetarian options, to the point of absurd fun, like biting a dog who promptly bites back. The traveler encounters other people who lay down factoids that either support meat-eating throughout human history, or present compelling counter-arguments, all of which reveal confirmation bias when we seek out only facts that support our preconceived conclusion. This is a smart narrative move that portrays the (ill)logic of arguments on both sides of the conundrum. Despite the importance of the topic, Gleason maintains the funny, with an almost manic gleeful tour of food-sourcing, despite the horrid conditions present. It’s a far-reaching examination of why multiple streams of consumption are problematic. I enjoyed the cultural observation that it’s easy to be vegetarian and enjoy flavorful, balanced meals when you’re a rich celebrity with the resources to do so. I was also struck by how much story Gleason was able to squeeze into the relatively diminutive package, with up to 7 panels per page and plenty of dialogue in this small size. It really feels like a full feature-length read. The end notes are appropriately inconclusive, with the hope that people will not continue to live in “happy denial,” ignorant of the facts (willfully or otherwise), and that once exposed to the reality they may change their consumer habits. But people also simply want what they want and typically operate from a place of doing things primarily for themselves. Animal Denial has the rare ability to both entertain and educate in a visually engaging manner, and that’s exactly what true art is supposed to do, making it one of the best books of 2025.