Unlike Crossplay, which tells a single continuous story, Bruised Fruit is a collection of ten distinct, short adult comics that Niki Smith created over a ten-year period, several of which had appeared previously for Filthy Figments and Smut Peddler. The anthology includes a spectrum of stories with queer, straight, trans, cis, polyamorous and kinky themes. It serves as a fascinating retrospective of Smith’s artistic development, showcasing her evolution from an emerging indie creator to a master of contemporary sequential art.

The visual style varies across the different stories, the collection unified by Smith’s signature warmth, emotional intelligence, and playful use of colour. Each of the stories has a distinctive colour palette and graphic style. The narrative is often very simple and told with few words, but the imagery is powerful and engaging.

The ten stories in Bruised Fruit are:
     Lion and the Lamb
     On Sundays
     Eleven Days
     Up with the Sun
     Ink
     Delay
     Farmgirl
     Umami
     Under his Apron
     No Questions

We have included just four of the stories; for the rest you can buy a digital download very reasonably from Niki Smith Comics here.