Women and cartoons

craftsmanship of animations such as 1974’s adult cartoon “Dirty Duck.”

“Nashville Combat,” the pair’s brainchild, is the byproduct of Mel’s forlorn youth in central Florida swampland. It chronicles Mel’s childhood while living alongside most of her life from the public and from her partner up to this point, would soon rediscover her own demons. At Mel’s insistence, the two would go on to animate her horrific memories in their second film.

In the rare moments where “The Animators” loses steam — sometimes the comic book descriptions are self-indulgent for those who care about the characters over their craft — Ms. Whitaker makes up for it with her prowess in language.

With painstaking attention to both generational and geographical dialogue, delicious descriptions of place and an eye for character development, Ms. Whitaker paints the portrait of the artist as an evolving figure. Kayla Rae Whitaker has created an earnestly funny story about two successful women in their ‘30s struggling with the pains of past demons and addictions. She has artfully reproduced the reality of women when they are alone, casting aside feminine manners for bags of Cheetos and foul language.

“The Animators” is a quick read, with delightful language and quirky characters that are difficult to forget long after finishing the last few pages. It fills a literary gap, which has been waiting for a tale of millennial female friendship and love without tacky genre borders or stereotypes.