Ursula Murray Husted | books | cv | about | blog | contact
Looking Up (2008)
A graphic novel set in southern West Virginia with three sets of inward facing gate folds. Looking Up is a love story between a woman, a man, and a bottomless pit


"It's a gem- a sweet story of a young couple facing tough times in their life in rural West Virginia, and everything seems to come to a head because of one very large hole in the ground. I highly recommend it."-Tim Broderick
"Let me tell you about Ursula's graphic novel. The cover is stained, the pages are a bit raggy, the binding is starting to weaken in spots- oh, sorry. That's just my copy. I've read it so many times it's starting to take on the worn look of a book that's also an old friend. This is a wonderful book. It quietly lets us into the lives and possibilities of people seeming to live without possibility. The depth of the characterization is echoed by the flow of the art and the subtlety of the design. This is seamless storytelling."- Diana Green
"Husted's brushy ink style has a dreamlike elegance that's perfect for capturing greenery and landscapes. Her use of shadows and deep black space is also masterful; there's a truly haunting sequence where Colt remembers going into a forbidden cave with his brother when they were younger. As their candles flicker and go out, the black space around them slowly closes in, shrinking the panels and threatening the lost children." -Ted Anderson, Minneapolis Examiner
"It's very much a slice-of-life book, but of a life that isn't often captured in comics. Husted has worked hard to capture daily life in this kind of town, one where family is significant and the choice not to do what's always been done is incredibly difficult." Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading