MixedThe BeatTo step into the work of Lisa Hanawalt is to prepare oneself for a potpourri of surreality, charm, wit, and weirdness. Her piquant watercolors and use of a cartoon-inspired aesthetic lends itself to subverting expectations, as if the inherent quirkiness is used to distract from the often more serious, contemplative underbelly of her oeuvre ... Hanawalt’s latest work, Coyote Doggirl, is an unabashed western with a contemporary twist as well an imaginative take on the genre that feels more mature and grounded ... Where this story falters, and it does falter somewhat, is in the ambiguity of the main character’s journey. What does she learn? How exactly does she grow? These aren’t left answered as much as they are dismissed before the end. Doggirl experiences so much, and the reader does as well vicariously, be we are left a little empty-handed. There is so much to explore here
