In the foreword to this, Mardou’s second full collection of stories (aside from Manhole #1 three years ago, her work has either appeared in anthologies such as Whores of Mensa or formed one half of a collaboration), the writer/artist states that the main tale here, ‘King of It’, is “fictional for the most part. I guess only emotionally does it count as ‘near biography’.” And in a way, ‘King of It’ could be read almost as wish fulfillment. Ostensibly about an extra-relationship affair, an early interlude where the narrator/lead Heidi discusses her conflicted feelings with her best friend Heather could possibly be interpreted as actual autobio, with the affair itself perhaps a ‘what if?’ scenario (some of the dialogue between the illicit lovers – “You’re incredible” – strikes a near Mills & Boon note). The line is further blurred by the central character bearing a marked resemblance to the author, as in many of Mardou’s comics.

Ultimately, however, the veracity of ‘King of It’ hinges, as Mardou suggests, on its emotional honesty, and it’s here that a deeper truth is explored beyond the establishment of simple ‘fact’. Heidi moves from guilt to longing to excitement to anger and back to guilt as she turns over her predicament in her mind – all this having already made the decision to travel to London and meet Mark, her longtime correspondent and now prospective lover. When Heidi and Mark do get together, the passion she feels and the romance of the encounter is tempered by the constant nagging thought that both of them have long term partners. One sequence in particular neatly encapsulates this, flashing back to Heidi reading Mark’s letters, then detailing a tender scene over the washing up with her boyfriend Dan, and finally returning to the darkened hotel room she currently lies awake in (with Mark sleeping next to her).

What’s striking about the tale is the confidence Mardou displays in the telling of it, shifting around in time as the story suits. Her line has never looked more natural, and the pacing is wonderfully controlled. The page where Heidi and Mark leave the hotel consists of two small panels separated by an expanse of white space, the top one showing the two of them dressing, the bottom one depicting a cleaner hoovering downstairs with Heidi and Mark out of shot upstairs, their distraught off-screen dialogue causing the cleaner to look up curiously.

If ‘King of It’ was all Manhole #2 had to offer, it would already be an essential read. The inclusion of two excellent back-up strips takes it further. The first, ‘Snapshot’, follows two friends as they discover a box of intriguing old postcards in a mildewed bookshop; the second, ‘What People Were Reading Last Year (In My Town)’, inhabits the back cover, a brightly-coloured guide to the books borrowed (and the people who borrowed them) from the library Mardou once worked in. Sporting a striking pink collage front cover, Manhole #2 is indispensable.

Review by Nick Jones

£2.50, www.mardouville.com