"Once upon a time there were men." So begins this whimsical, feminist look at what the world might be like if only women were left to run it. In Dhaliwal's capable hands, it is one filled with friends and lovers who support and nurture each other, and with a noticeable lack of violence and the youngest generation informed by 1990s D-list films and Starbucks ruins, it's hard not to wonder if it might be a better place. The diverse cast of appealing characters, including a nudist mayor and transgender matriarch, focus on the practical realities of running a village, but the lack of conflict leaves plenty of time for leisure, including a memorable exploration of an adult novelty store. The sequential panels feature uncluttered, simple line drawings and grayscale tones that are energized through highly expressive body language and dry, humorous dialogue. Although their web-comic origins lend an episodic feel, several longer story arcs and the overall tone bind these vignettes together into a highly enjoyable, cohesive volume.

The apocalypse wreaks its havoc gently in this comic chronicle of women-s fortitude. Men worldwide have died out after a mysterious dearth of male births, leaving only women and girls to carry the flame of civilization forward. Ruins litter the landscape, medical advances find no way to produce viable male embryos, and knowledge of a past with men slips steadily away. But Dhaliwal-s snippets of story happen between and beyond those terrifying developments: romances, laughter, and family persist, as well as games of Boggle and love of Twinkies. Emiko, a young girl, worships Kevin James-s Paul Blart movies. The mayor is naked, not as a feminist statement, but to feel -the cool breeze on my underboob.- The simple-but-exuberant line drawing, with characters posing dramatically with bold facial expressions, alternates in black, white, and grays with pages of warm pastels. This comic is defiantly a comedy, albeit a dark one. Women-s creativity, sexuality, and fearlessness are unleashed by Dhaliwal-s end of days. These unlikely heroines are unafraid to meet Armageddon with irreverence as they laugh, love, and raucously live on in this unusual and charming farce. (Sept.)