The Snips: A Bad Buzz Day by Raúl the Third. Colors by Elaine Bay. Little, Brown, and Company, 2025. 9780316528689. 126pp.
Raúl the Third's dedication is really all you need to know about this graphic novel:
"I drew this book pretending I was the Fleischer brothers, UB Iwerks, Bernie Wrightson, and Osamu Tezuka. Thanks for the inspiration!"
(The most amazing thing about The Snips is that the influence of each of the above artists is clear in one way or another.)
Scissors City is where the five barbers known as The Snips tackle hairtastrophes. They have their own museum, a world-famous H.Q., and celebrities come from all over the world to get their signature hairdos. Each has a particular set of skills, and they're going to need them all to face the family of G. Paw Buzzington, inventor of the Buzzitron 2000, and the man who once held the world record at 524 haircuts in a day. The Snips took that record, but with the original Buzzitron 2000 in hand and the Unruly Hairthing to set loose in the city, Buzzington's heirs are sure they can get the world record back.
This story's energy is insane. This superhero-ish haircutting adventure is non-stop, the art feels both new and nostalgic, and I just could not put the book down. Bonus: I even learned a bit of Spanish.
A sequel, Enter the Wigmaster, will be published in January 2026.
