Our Colors

Praise

“Rich with visual metaphors, Tagame’s cartooning masterfully reveals the inner life his protagonist battles to conceal.”
—R. Kikuo Johnson, author of No One Else

“Only Tagame could create this deeply moving and original story that at first seems to be about an older gay man mentoring a younger one—and instead, becomes about how they help each other heal.”
—Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiography

“Our Colors is a beautiful coming-of-age story describing the complicated inner feelings of characters whose coming out narratives are at least as nuanced as their day-to-day relationships with each other. This is a world full of grace and tenderness for people at all stages of coming into their own.”
—Bowen Yang, writer and actor, “Saturday Night Live”

“Tagame returns with an affecting coming-of-age/coming-out saga, presented in 21 episodic chapters . . . Tagame’s intimate narrative mixes pathos with a healthy dose of melodrama, and his supremely confident artwork, replete with genial character designs and dynamic panel compositions, lend it gravitas. It’s a poignant story that should delight devotees of queer comics, with nice crossover appeal for YA readers.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“Japanese manga powerhouse Tagame follows the phenomenal success of My Brother’s Husband with another poignant, empowering, gay-centered narrative, again translated by queer manga expert Ishii . . . Tagame’s expressive, detailed, black-and-white drawings once more delight and gratify.”
—Booklist
 
“The Eisner Award–winning Japanese author of dozens of graphic novels and short stories translated into multiple languages, Tagame tells the story of an artist dreamer named Sora Itoda struggling to negotiate high school as a young gay man, who keeps up the pretense that friend Nao is his girlfriend until he meets openly gay Mr. Amamiya, a middle-aged coffee shop owner who becomes Sora’s mentor. But Mr. Amamiya has his own painful past to confront.”
—Library Journal