PositiveEntropySylvia Nickerson is a gentrifier—a label that would cause many in the neo-upwardly mobile community to virtue signal in response, but it instead drives Nickerson to confront her complicated relationship with the city she calls home ... It’s this strange juxtaposition—the harsh reality of the city and the one people want it to be—that Nickerson lays out for us in seven chapters ... Nickerson interweaves introspection and wide reflection throughout Creation. It’s this duality that allows her to paint herself and the city in the same honest and exacting brushstrokes. And thus, the memoir isn’t just about her but also about Hamilton. Each chapter could be its on powerful, standalone critique of a particular element of Hamilton or Nickerson; however, each chapter contains moments of intersection that make the graphic memoir a more cohesive narrative ... Creation isn’t just about gentrification. Nickerson does not shy away from exploring complex subjects. She deftly renders the interconnections between motherhood, violence, poverty, capitalism, and pollution throughout the graphic novel. But Creation is also a tribute to life (and death) in the city ... Creation’s open-ended nature is aided by Nickerson’s illustration techniques ... The lack of details combined with the neutral color schemes allows for the city- and landscapes to achieve universality.
