- Burn It Down: Rigsby, WI vol 2
- Iron Circus Comics
- Written & Illustrated by S.E. Case
- Available in print, March 3, 2026
S.E. Case’s high school saga RIGSBY WI has been captivating webcomic audiences for years now, and the long-awaited print graphic novel series continues in March from Iron Circus Comics with the heartbreakingly beautiful second volume, BURN IT DOWN. Each book focuses on a new character from the core friend group, and now we spend time with Anna, who’s struggling to ace a school project with a difficult partner, deal with her oppressive home life, and settle some painful memories that all come crashing together on one cold, fateful night.
As the book’s editor lovingly refers to them, Rigsby’s “dirtbag teens” are coming of age in the early ‘aughts, a moment on the cusp before technology mitigated our social lives and fraught issues like identity and attraction were becoming even more complex and challenging. Anna’s odyssey in BURN IT DOWN toggles back and forth between her house with all of its uncomfortable secrets (revealed in beautifully rendered full color bursts), her older half-sister’s booze-soaked hangout apartment, and her best friend Beth’s bedroom for an old-fashioned sleepover and a break in the drama. All the while, Anna has to figure out a path forward with Frank, the delinquent student she’s been saddled with in her group project. But there’s more to Frank than meets the eye, and he may be what she needs to get through the night in one piece.
Fast-paced banter and humor fuel RIGSBY, reading like a Kevin Smith interpretation of a John Hughes movie. Case isn’t afraid to show us things that might be uncomfortable: the realities of teen life ,including sex, mental health, “misbehaviors” like drug use, swearing, and casual bigotry, as we watch the kids figure out how life works in real time. It’s a great read for adults who remember what this time was like, and anyone interested in true-to-life coming-of-age stories.
