Coyote Peak
Marc Hess and Ira Bobrovska
North Street Book Prize 2025 (view all the winners)
Honorable Mention, Graphic Novel & Memoir
Critique by Jendi Reiter
You know that guy in your friend group whom you don't really like, and who doesn't really like you, but somehow you keep hanging out together, because he propels you into adventures that you don't dare attempt on your own? Mark Hess' graphic novel Coyote Peak, illustrated by Ira Bobrovska, imagines what could happen when such a relationship is further strained by an unexplained paranormal event.
The two friends in question are Gridley, a juice barista at a Whole Foods in Austin, Texas, and Tucker, who pops in on Gridley at work to announce that he's just been fired from REI (presumably the sporting equipment company). Right away, we can tell Tucker's the kind of bro who likes to stir up conflict and then blame someone else for it. For him, being canned is an opportunity to go hiking—and not just anywhere, but in an off-limits part of McKitterick Canyon, a national park within the Guadalupe mountain range that spans West Texas and New Mexico.
Gridley's role in the dynamic is also familiar. He's the shyer, nerdier-looking foil to Tucker's rugged bad-boy charm. After the perfunctory protest, he goes along, probably because he doesn't want to seem weak. If things go wrong, and you know they will, he'll have one-up on Tucker because he did warn him.
The layers of power struggle and ambivalence between these young men are mostly implied, not spelled out, with admirable concision. Hess and Bobrovska use the graphic medium to suggest a tense backstory through nothing more than action-oriented mundane dialogue and body language.
Soon, Gridley, Tucker, and the latter's teenage cousin Lilly are making a challenging hike through rocky terrain, continuing to bicker along the way about who's wearing the wrong gear and which way to go. The trip takes a strange and frightening turn when they're camped out overnight in the desert. A tall figure in a three-piece suit and trench coat, with the head of a bobcat, appears out of nowhere and starts speaking to them. One of the hikers panics and shoots him. Now they're bonded by a crime—or was it a hallucination? The power dynamics in the trio shift dramatically.
Coyote Peak is the first installment of a three-part story arc, so I cut the creators some slack for ending on a cliffhanger. Even so, too much was left unexplained for me. There's a fine line between originality and randomness. The mysterious figure was so unlike any familiar creatures from paranormal lore, I was left wondering what, if anything, its appearance meant.
The binding, lettering, and paper quality were very professional. The color scheme was drab and dim, with a lot of olive green, tan, and purplish-grays. Though this may be true to the landscape of West Texas, the artist could still have used more contrast in lighting to give the pages energy.
I'm eager to see the next issue and find some answers to this intriguing mystery!
Read an excerpt from Coyote Peak (PDF)
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