Speaking from personal experience, costume parties and Halloween dress-up are often a gateway to cosplay for many people, especially if they live in an area that is short on comic and pop culture conventions. Which makes now a perfect time to spotlight graphic novel Needle and Thread, which combines cosplay and coming of age themes.
From writer David (Fight Like a Girl) Pinckney, artist Ennun Ana Iurov, and letterer Micah Myers, Needle and Thread is also notable as the first title released by indie comics publisher Mad Cave Studios under their new Young Adult imprint, Maverick.
Needle and Thread is clearly orientated towards younger readers, with its cute, cartoony art style and relatable plot that should find traction with teens tentatively exploring their sense of self. As the book’s official synopsis states upfront, “Choosing between living the life you want and living the life you’re ‘supposed to have’ is not always an easy choice.”
In Needle and Thread, two different high school seniors are struggling with that exact dilemma. Noah wants to become a Hollywood costume designer, which puts him at odds with his otherwise supportive parents – a firefighter and police officer who are thrilled to see their son attend a prestigious university and set himself up for a “real career.” His sewing passion is dismissed as a hobby.
Meanwhile, golden girl Azarie is under pressure from her image-obsessed mayor father, and Mean Girls social circle, to embody conservative notions of success. Azarie lives in a state of permanently smiling, “best self” performance – especially on social media – while secretly she’s miserable. All she wants to do is embrace her geeky side, and become an actress.
Despite being on opposite sides of the high school ecosystem, and coming from very different backgrounds, Noah and Azarie form a connection over cosplay. Working on a costume entry for an upcoming competition will give Noah a portfolio piece for his art school application, while Azarie will get to embody, in public, the superhero who gives her inner strength.
It’s hard to read Needle and Thread and not imagine it as a young adult TV series. The 200-page graphic novel offers readers multiple pleasures. To start with, a small but enjoyable touch is that chapter dividers take the form of phone screens which show a combination of character messages, and trending hashtags on stand-in social media apps. This is the world of today’s teenagers after all.
On that note, things are never plain sailing for the book’s leads, but their journeys of self-discovery and burgeoning self-confidence are feel good and satisfying. In a refreshing change, there’s also no forced romance. Noah and Azarie’s bond deepens, but their relationship is primarily one of connection between kindred spirits.
Noah and Azarie are in turn backed by a colourful supporting cast, with matter-of-fact inclusion of queer, gender fluid and trans characters. A particular standout is Noah’s food-obsessed best friend Hiroki. Hiroki injects comic relief but also appears as a striking example of how it’s possible to not understand someone’s passion, but support them unquestionably in its pursuit anyway.
The only real gripe about Needle and Thread is that it becomes repetitive later on. Azarie’s story is especially tedious as her father drones on in multiple scenes about reputation, which in turn sees Azarie continually flake on her new friends. Noah is the more likeable, interesting character, and after a while you resent being tugged away from his low-key, less clichéd tale of personal development.
Also, if you were expecting it, the graphic novel isn’t a deep dive into the intricacies of cosplay. Downplaying the pastime’s own clique drama, and the stresses associated with it (although Cosplay Hospitals do make an appearance), cosplay is instead treated as a creative outlet in much the same way that fine art, drama, poetry and photography have previously been positioned in high school series and movies.
It’s still enjoyable to see cosplay in that role though, and Needle and Thread is evidently the first project in any pop culture medium to portray it as such a powerful and empowering form of expression. Which makes the graphic novel special, regardless of anything else it has to offer.
Needle and Thread is out now in physical and digital formats. Read Chapter 1, and find various purchase links, here.