For the new comic Living Statues “The attention to detail is impressive and anyone who has been to Florence will enjoy walking around its streets once again...As a slice of life short story the prose presented could stand alone but when the visual is added to it we are given a rare and rewarding treat.” .........—Steve Saville, Silver Bullet Comics “Blair’s art is dark, detailed and terrific, giving a lovely contrast between the intricate architecture and art of the ancient city and the human story that unfolds within it. This also is a nice-looking book; a self-contained story in a single comic book that is a satisfying reading experience all on its own, from the graphic design to the paper stock.” ..........—Tom McClean, Bags & Boards

“Living Statues is a story about becoming enslaved to memory, living so much in the past that one cannot appreciate the present. Blair unfolds her tale like an onion, and her heavily inky artwork fits perfectly with the story she is telling. Emily Blair may not produce comics very often ... but when she does it's worth tracking down.”
........................................................—Dave Carter, Yet Another Comics Blog

“A one-shot comic from the talented Emily Blair hits comic shelves this July... and should get more notice than it inevitably will...It's a very interesting look and a work with a lot of depth, particularly impressive for a single 32-page work. I encourage people to watch for this one when it comes out.”
........................................................—Dave Ferraro, Comics and More

“...a powerful story that captures classical design and art, explains it, and gives readers a complex character that will leave you wondering whether or not you like him, a character that is not unlike everybody else.”
........................................................—Aaron Stueve, Broken Frontier

“The stony architecture and artwork of Florence comes to life in these pages. Blair’s eye for anatomy is quite good, and the darkness of her artwork helps to bring out the downtrodden mood of the main character. ”
........................................................—Don MacPherson, Eye on Comics

For previous comic Soap Opera “Above all else I tell you — buy this comic right now. It's the best thing I've seen this year...It's both funny and melancholy (and gorgeous — the striking scratchboard illustrations must have taken forever to do)...this is something you need. Lovely. Amazing.” .........—Karlos, Zine World, No. 21 “Every element of the work coalesces for a specific effect and nothing extraneous dumped in. With the strong controlled pacing, dialogue and art, Emily Blair plays like a master of the form already.…If this is a debut, it’s the best debut I’ve seen in a long time.” ........—Steven Grant, Permanent Damage , Comic Book Resources

“... in its quiet, unassuming way, [Soap Opera is] more impressive than a lot of independent projects that have been greeted with much more fanfare ... Blair's scratchboard-style art avoids the sameness that afflicts so many alternative comics. Despite a touch of stiffness itn the facial expressions, it's very good: Blair has an excellent sense of design, both for individual panels and for each page as a whole. Soap Opera appears to be Blair's first comic book: With luck, many others will follow. ”
...................................—Adam Stephanides , The Comics Journal , Jan/Feb 2005

“Soap Opera is a funny, smart one too, well written and expertly structured... Blair’s casual dialogue resonates with deeper meaning but never seems pretentious. Her strong design sense and excellent handling of the scratchboard technique offset the photo referenced appearance of the art, giving a shimmering feeling that reminded me somehow of the animation in the film Waking Life. Plus there a page skewering soap opera clichés that’s hilarious. This is a strong debut from an artist with a natural knack for the comics form.”
................................—Sean Bieri, Poopsheet

“If this is her first book, it’s phenomenal, if it’s not, it’s still a really great book (but it would make more sense if she’d already done a few comics to explain this one.) The art is great and there’s a constant sense of Megan drifting away and trying to find something solid to cling to.”
................................—Kevin Bramer, Optical Sloth

“All the elements of good storytelling come together to produce a work that is infused with melancholy.”
................................ —Darren Schroeder, Silver Bullet Comics

“I really loved the art in this book.…I look for more things worth reading from Emily Blair in the future.”
................................—David LeBlanc, Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine
................................ .. (the archived magazine is only available as a zipped file)

“It’s an extremely assured, poignant debut for a creator well worth investigating further.”
................................—Chris Allen, Movie Poop Shoot

“Aside for the story which is very well developed, the art used to tell this story is exceptional! Emily has illustrated the entire comic in scratchboard giving each page a great dramatic effect as the strong black and white areas cast their own mood throughout. This is a quality small press comic worth checking out!”
................................—WEE, Almost Normal Comics

“Near as I can tell, this is the first comic by Blair, and it's good stuff...Rating 4 (of 5)”
................................—David Carter, Yet Another Comics Blog

“I really liked Emily Blair's one-shot about two friends who bonded over soap operas growing slowly apart —so much so I did all these other reviews so I could mention it. Not perfect...but the dialogue is strong, the ideas well-developed, and the ending tender and apt. Blair's got the potential to become a significant talent, and I hope she gets the attention she deserves to become one. One of my favorite books of the week.”
................................—Brian Hibbs, Brian Hibbs' Savage Critic

“Normally I’d have turned a comic over to one of the reviewers who does one or has a deep affinity for them. However, I read this and was really impressed and decided to be greedy... The twilight of fiction and reality meld for a moment. Recommended.”
................................—Davida Gypsy Breier, Xerography Debt #13