A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR FROM COMIC BOOK HERALD • From the acclaimed author of horror sensation
Boys Weekend a vibrant new graphic novel about a timid academic sent out from the walled
dystopian security territory of New York City to investigate a cult in the wilds of the
Catskill Mountains "Mattie Lubchansky is a genius.”—Kristen Arnett New York Times
bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things and With Teeth "[Lubchansky] blends dystopian
science fiction and folk horror into a queer trans story of hard-won hope in a future as
terrifying—and as ridiculous—as our present. Sexy insightful and darkly funny.”—Lindsay
King-Miller author of The Z Word In 1977 a group called The Spiritual Association of Peers
decamps to the woods of the Catskills taking over an abandoned summer camp. They name their
new home Simplicity. In 2081 scholar Lucius Pasternak a fastidiously organized trans man
tries to keep his head down living in the New York City Administrative and Security Territory
which was founded after the formal dissolution of the United States in 2041. Then he's offered
a job by the mayor billionaire real estate developer Dennis Van Wervel to complete an
anthropological survey of the people of Simplicity for a history museum he's financing. A wary
Lucius is nevertheless drawn in by the people of the small wooded community intrigued by its
strange rituals and in particular by the charming acolyte Amity Crown-Shy. Born and raised on
the compound Amity is comfortable in their own skin a striking contrast to Lucius' repressed
reserve. But Lucius' control starts to slip when he begins to suffer visions both terrifying
and sensual—visits from beautiful but nightmarish creatures. Then just as Lucius discovers
that Van Wervel's project is more sinister than it seemed members of the community begin to
disappear leaving behind grisly signs of struggle. The denizens of Simplicity believe that a
being they call “The Lamentation” is responsible for the attacks. Amity and Lucius set out to
hunt for the creature in the dangerous Exurb Zones a wild wood full of libertarian doomsday
preppers wealthy isolationists and worse. There they'll finally discover the true threat to
their way of life—and what they're willing to do to stop it.
