MOTHBALLS

In this moving family saga, a teenage woman uncovers the hushed history of sexual violence that shattered her grandmother’s life.

New York Public Library Best Comics for Adults 2024

Publishers Weekly Best Comics of 2024

San Martín, Argentina, 2001. Upon her estranged grandmother Vilma’s death, 19-year-old Rocío moves into a house haunted by memories. Seeking a deeper understanding, Ro delves into her family history and uncovers the episodes of violence and betrayal that shattered Vilma’s dreams. All the while, the familiar scent of mothballs permeating the estate serves to remind Ro of the ineluctable spell of the past that she must break in order to forge her own path in life. Tender, heartrending, and leavened with biting humor, Mothballs is at once a moving family saga and a poignant reflection on the need to hold fast to one’s identity, despite how painful it can be. A showcase of tour de force cartooning that marks Sole Otero as a major talent in the global comics scene.

Full-color illustrations throughout

Sole Otero (b. 1985, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a comic artist, children’s illustrator, and textile designer. She has published the graphic novels Poncho Fue, Intensa, and most recently Naftalina (Mothballs), which won the Fnac-Salamandra Graphic Novel Award in 2019 and the Audience Award from the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2023.

Andrea Rosenberg is a translator who has worked on a variety of novels and graphic narratives in Spanish and Portuguese. Her translations of the graphic novels Run For It by Marcelo D’Salete and The House by Paco Roca won Eisner Awards in 2018 and 2020, respectively.