Time Under Tension

Time Under Tensionis a smart, funny, no bullshit work of autobiography, a story of searching for dignity in a world that rarely affords it and taking agency of adulthood in the face of so many easy excuses not to.

Publisher Marketing: With Time Under Tension , Harkness stops being an 'artist to watch' and becomes one who we are watching ascend to the next level. Her craft is sharp, incisive, and as dark as her humor; her storytelling acidic yet poignant, laying bare her life in a way that most memoir work flinches away from. This isn't sad-girl bullshit -- this is the truth, in literal black and white.--Laurenn McCubbin (Chair, Comics & Narrative Practice, Columbus College of Art & Design) Review Quotes : Harkness reaches for something deeper and more emotionally resonant [and] proves she is a cartoonist worth watching.-- "The Comics Journal" Review Quotes : M.S. Harkness is quickly establishing herself as perhaps the premier comics memoirist of our time.-- "Solrad" Review Quotes : Harkness is a smart, tough, fearless cartoonist.--Kevin Huizenga (A River at Night) Review Quotes : With this book, M.S. Harkness has elevated her work to the elusive 'next-level.' The drawings and pages are beautifully designed and rendered deftly; both the artwork and story possess a true sense of weight, volume, solidity, and presence, while somehow retaining touches of whimsy (that hair!) and wit (so many telling and perceptive conversations, all captured perfectly). Time under Tension is heartbreaking, unsentimental, unpretentious, forthright, brutal, fragile, even shocking. We are not kept at a distance; rather, we live inside the story with these characters, as they struggle to understand others, themselves, and life.--Ivan Brunetti (Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice and Aesthetics: A Memoir) Review Quotes : Harkness delivers one of the best releases of 2023 in this exhilarating, heartbreaking, and often humorous memoir.-- "Library Journal Starred Review" Review Quotes : Harkness's work is consistently tough, funny, and candid, and this plunge into the depths of her gloriously messy life is her strongest outing yet.-- "Publishers Weekly" Brief Description : "M.S. is graduating and facing a crossroads in life. She has a strained relationship with her mother, a sexually abusive father on parole, and is in love with someone who mostly hangs out with her to get high. She dabbles as a sex worker and weed dealer. It's time to make some life decisions. Time Under Tension is a story of searching for dignity in a world that rarely affords it and taking agency of adulthood in the face of so many easy excuses not to."--Publisher's description. Review Quotes : A profound and confident memoir... one of the most remarkable releases of 2023.-- "Women Write About Comics" Publisher Marketing : M.S. Harkness is graduating from art school in Minneapolis and facing a crossroads in life. She has a strained relationship with her mother, a sexually abusive father on parole, and is in love with an aspiring MMA fighter who mostly hangs out with her to get high and already has a girlfriend and career prospects with a fight promoter. An art career feels untenable -- as one professor tells her, "Don't expect to get by on this fucked-up broke girl shit." She decides to get a personal trainer's certificate -- it seems like a feasible and sensible career option -- but continues to dabble as a sex worker and weed dealer because the money is too irresistible. With idle hands due to no classes or full-time work, M.S. has ample time to aimlessly fuck around -- or, to get her shit together. "I want to be better, I want to be stable and solid. I don't want to keep aimlessly shifting between untenable situations."

Format: Paperback | Pages: 264 | Publication Date: 2023-10-24