Very beautiful illustrations and a lovely book. Sadly it was just not for me personally; but I can definitely see myself recommending it to others whose taste differs from my own!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an eARC.

I liked the art style and plot overall. It’s a story about a woman on self-discovery and some important historical events progressing simultaneously.

*Potential Spoilers*

This book was read as an Advanced Reader Copy provided through NetGalley for the Fantagraphics 2024 Edition. Has been reviewed on GoodReads.

Please note that while the rating of the novel is 16+ in most countries, there are clear depictions of sexual orientation displayed not suitable for some.

This is my first dip into Manuele Fior and the story that he crafted captivated me endless where I was not able to put the book away until I was finished. Hypericum dives into the live of Teresa as she explores a new city on a study grant working on King Tut's museum exhibition in the late 90's/early 00's. Unsure of herself and her path finds her in a relationship of love but what some of us today would call mutual toxic-ness. Diving into her research is the only solace she has as she explores herself and her depth in a similar fashion as Howard Carter unearthed King Tut's tomb in the 1920's. The parallel that Manuele Fior creates on inner discovery to historical artifacts and the beauty that we can find within, even in the darkest of our nights or days. Absolutely beautiful.

I enjoyed this graphic novel, both the story of Epgyptologists discovering King Tut's tomb as well as a scholar living in the 1990s. Both drawing styles were very different and showed the illustrator's range of skills. Both story lines were compelling and linked enough for me. I do wish the book dealt a bit more with ethics and ownership of the items from King Tut's tomb.

Very interesting story. At times a bit hard to follow due to font changes, but that that does not detract from the actual story and writing. Wonderful art and drawing.

Teresa, an Italian girl in her early 20s, gets a job in Berlin as a scientific assistant to prepare an exhibit on King Tut’s treasure. There, she meets the bohemian Ruben and the two begin a whirlwind romance. Also, the story of Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb. And the two are connected… buh?

I was a bit puzzled as to why Manuele Fior would contrast the two stories of an unremarkable romance at the end of the 1990s with the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in the 1920s - they don’t really mesh naturally, thematically or otherwise, and feel awkward together. Neither are compelling to read as well making this a confusing and often dull comic.

There’s the superficial connections: Teresa’s preparing an exhibit on the famous pharaoh, and she’s an insomniac who takes St John’s Wort, aka hypericum (hence the title), and the yellow flower is found in the Egyptian tomb as well. But these are tenuous connections at best and you could have easily excised one storyline without affecting the other - so why have both, other than for padding?

Teresa and Ruben’s romance is straightforward. She’s a dreary girl, he’s a poseur dweeb living off his dad’s money while pretending to be an artist. They meet, have sex, fight a little, etc. - standard relationship stuff with nothing to make it stand out as memorable. The Howard Carter parts are simply a retelling of what happened in 1922.

All of the book looks good but the Carter parts of the comic look especially amazing with Fior showing off his artistic skills painting beautiful scenes of Egypt pre-mass tourism. There’s not a great deal to know about Carter’s expedition but you get a good sense of what happened, so the book is informative in that regard.

A boring read about a mundane romance and pointless flashbacks to yesteryear, having great art and a semblance of history isn’t enough to make Manuele Fior’s Hypericum worth going out of your way to check out.

Beautifully drawn and told. Love story that transcends time and space. Love is the most valuable treat one can discover in this life.

Having recently returned from Egypt, I really enjoyed this. The artwork and colouring are just perfect for this many layered story of discovery and love.

Teresa is a young studious woman who has never done anything outrageous in her life. She has always been conventional and good, partly because she suffers from severe insomnia and partly because she likes clarity and purpose in her life. This clarity and purpose enables her to win a prestigious scholarship to help mount an exhibition in Berlin celebrating the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb by Howard Carter in 1922.

She moves from Italy to Berlin and meets a young Italian called Ruben who is nothing like her but yet they begin to have a relationship. Ruben is wild and somewhat irresponsible and pushes Teresa to break out of her conventional ways. Teresa begins to take risks and she discovers things about herself in the same way Howard Carter took risks and discovered the tomb.

These two stories of discovery are told in parallel and yet weave together in a way that is surprising but meaningful for Teresa and for Ruben. It is such a beautiful story and I enjoyed reading it.

Copy provided by Fantagraphic Books via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Duel storylines are happening in this graphic novel. One is with Carter finding the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings. I’ve read about that discovery in several books but found it the less interesting storyline. The other story has an Italian woman named Teresa getting the opportunity of a lifetime to help an exhibition in Berlin of the Tutankhamen’s treasures in 2001. She struggles with insomnia and when housing is hard to find she finds herself sharing a room with an artist named Ruben. I was more interested in this storyline and had a time making the jumps between plots. There is intimacy depicted in the relationship so I’d say this is geared towards adult readers. Thank you to NetGalley and Fantagraphics Books for the temporary ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

I was mostly confused while reading this book. I really like the graphic style but the overlapping of the two story was a bit confusing, especially in the beginning. I wasn’t particularly interested by the story of carter but the story of teresa and ruben was interesting enough to keep me reading.

3,5 stars

This is the first I’ve read of Fior’s work, and what will stay with me most is art. Especially for the parts set in 1922 Egypt, it works really well. The exaggerated expressions as a contrast to the sparse outlines are evocative and brought home the sense of urgency discovering Tutanhkamun’s tomb must have created.

For anyone (like me) who’s ever had an interest in ancient Egypt, this will be a joy to read. Many passages from Carter’s notes on their discovery were copied, which seems like a fitting choice.

Teresa’s story, on the other hand, could have done with more elaboration. This is a quick read, maybe half an hour to 45 minutes. In that time, quite a lot happens, but we never really learn very much about who our protagonist is, which is a shame.

On a more practical note, reading this full-size is probably a good idea. On a smaller screen, I found the text difficult to read at times, which distracted me from the art and the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Fantagraphics Books for the ARC!

This graphic novel follows Teresa, a scholar who travels to Berlin for an exhibition on Tutankhamen’s tomb. The story explores Teresa’s new life as she navigates her own ambitions and career, but also juggles her romantic entanglement with Ruben, a carefree man who’s attitude towards life directly opposes hers. Another story runs parallel to theirs, set in 1922 and depicts the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb by Egyptologist Howard Carter.

The art of this graphic novel suits the story well. The muted color palleted and movement lines appropriately engage the written story, and I’d say if this was replaced by a different art style I may not have enjoyed the reading experience as much. The use of Howard Carter’s notes from the original <The Tomb of Tutankhamen> shows attention to detail and I appreciate the research and care that went into crafting the backdrop of this story.

Given this is really a woman’s journey of self discovery, I found the exploration of Teresa and Ruben’s relationship to be somewhat lacking. There’s a lot that is not said on the pages, and while as the reader I can fill in the gaps with a more hopeful take on a tense and manipulative relationship, I feel like Teresa’s journey would benefit from greater nuance prior to the resolution. But the story works well as it is and stays true to the core of the characters.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for this eARC.

i just don't think i'm a fan of manuele flor's writing after reading 5kms per second as his social commentary seems to be marred by his depiction of women. it's one thing to have a female character denounce abusive actions here but then make it seem neutral by not expanding on it. i just wished this was intertwined with teresa, the main character's connection to Egyptian history more with the 9/11 depiction not earned as well. i loved the art style though.

I enjoyed it. I do not know if it was entirely successful-I would have traded much of the look back at Carter for more Teresa. That being said, I did very much enjoy Ruben and Teresa's story.

Quite the visual illustration of Teresa's journey to finding herself, being more confident in herself and making friends and giving love a chance.
Loved the art, and the flow of narration.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

Thank you Fantagraphics for a copy of Hypericum!

Hypericum by Manuele Fior is a good fit for those seeking a poignant and visually stunning exploration of love, history, and personal growth, with a focus on the transformative power of time and the interconnectedness of human experiences.

Hypericum is for anyone looking for...
- gorgeous art
- exploration of love
- personal growth
- interconnectedness of human experiences

Blurb: It's 2001, and Teresa, a young Italian suffering from insomnia and a generally fragile state of mind, has just arrived in Berlin with a grant to help organize an exhibit of Tutankhamen's treasure. Though she finds support in Ruben, a fellow Italian expat, she struggles to keep it together. Her one anchor is reading Howard Carter's book about his discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922, finding solace in the Egyptologist's writing and the thought of that noble young pharaoh resting undisturbed for three thousand years.

Review:
The art is gorgeous in this graphic novel, especially the 1922 plot line. I do wish there was more emphasis on Carter and Teresa's interconnectedness; however, due to the romance plot, I felt it took away from the main story. Overall, a quick read on history and our connection to it!

The design in this comic is lovely. The contrast in color scheme for the stories, the artist type of drawings and the journal entries for Carter’s parts.
However, it could have done without Teresa and Ruben’s story — it felt like it took away from the plot more than anything. What I found fascinating and captivating was Carter’s archeological story and Teresa’s connection to it.
Thank you to Fantagraphic Books and NetGalley for this arc is exchange for a honest review.

It had quite a sweet drawing style, I enjoyed the page-alike texture on the book parts. The stor was quite beautiful as well. The characters dynamics felt quite realistic and reasonable. Though, the 9/11 part at the end felt quite unnecessary, I don’t like it when Westerns use it as a way of opression. But overral, it was interesting to read with flawed yet humane characters!

to start, the art in this is so unique for a graphic novel, almost with a watercolor element. i really enjoyed the way this book was illustrated. however, pacing was bizarre. it was hard to track the progress of teresa and ruben's relationship because i wasn't quite sure how much time was passing between scenes. because of this, i wasn't sure whether their actions in their relationship were believable or not. additionally, the notes in carter's section were near-illegible for me. when including handwritten elements, especially ones that are VERY important to the narrative, they shouldn't be hard for a reader to understand.

Hypericum tells the story of insomniac Teresa as she is awarded a scholarship to work on a Tutankhamen exhibition in Berlin. Her life has always followed a straight line and she has always gotten what she wanted, but she takes a detour when she meets romantic and chaotic Ruben. The story alternates between Teresa's experiences in Berlin as she discovers herself and what she really wants out of life, and the journal entries from the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in the 1920s. The story will really resonate with young adults finding their way in the world and those interested in ancient Egypt. The beautiful art is an added bonus.