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Top 21 Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga:
November 2019
There are lots of highly anticipated graphic novels coming up this autumn, but for me this all-new, 192-page collection of mirth and meditations by 85-year-old RaymondBriggs may be the most significant. Also new from the UK is Sarah Lippett’s second graphic novel, again a deeply personal, revelatory memoir.
Two great American cartoonists deliver some of their career best as well, Peter Kuper adapting Conrad, John Pham crafting a multi-media experiment, with free flexi-disc…
Frenchman Lucas Harari makes his print debut in English with this very strong graphic drama…
To be honest, I never believed this funny and clever manga about Jesus and Buddha in modern Tokyo would ever come out in English, but here it is…
Also not to be missed is this new graphic novel, a contemporary satire from Cassava Republic exposing the secrets and hypocrisies undermining one Nigerian family…
And last but not least is this compendium of pun-filled grotesqueries from Britain’s sublime Ken Reid. Wishing you continuing pleasure as we keep exploring this special medium together…
Activist: A Story of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Shooting
by Lauren Elizabeth Hogg & Don Hudson
Zuiker Press
$12.99
The publisher says:
Lauren Hogg, one of the survivors of the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, Florida, dramatically tells her story in graphic novel form. The tragedy of yet another mass shooting has galvanised the young people of the country, and helped launch a movement that continues to gain momentum. Lauren Hogg lost her two best friends that horrible day, but despite her loss she, along with other Parkland students, found her voice and created meaning from the horrors of that day. She and her brother, and so many other Parkland students refuse to allow the memory of their fallen classmates to be forgotten. Empowered with a unique voice, Lauren Elizabeth Hogg is truly an activist for our times. For ages 11 and up. 96pgs colour hardcover.
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists
by Mikki Kendall & Aster D’Amico
Ten Speed Press
$19.99
The publisher says:
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists is a fun and fascinating graphic novel-style primer that covers the key figures and events that have advanced women’s rights from antiquity to the modern era. In addition, this compelling book illuminates the stories of notable women throughout history - from queens and freedom fighters to warriors and spies - and the progressive movements led by women that have shaped history, including abolition, suffrage, labor, civil rights, LGBTQ liberation, reproductive rights and more. Examining where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re going, this is an indispensable resource for people of all genders interested in the fight for a more liberated future. 208pgs colour paperback.
American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and The Battles of Lev Gleason
by Brett Dakins
Chapterhouse Publishing, Inc.
$24.99
The publisher says:
American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and The Battles of Lev Gleason is the story of Lev Gleason, a titan among comic book publishers in 1940s New York, who fell victim to two of Cold War America’s defining crusades: a nationwide campaign to censor comics, and the paranoia of the Red Scare. 200pgs [tbc] B&W hardcover.
A Puff of Smoke
by Sarah Lippett
Jonathan Cape
£18.99
The publisher says:
When the headaches started, Sarah Lippett would stand alone on a different side of the playground from the other children. When she started to drag one of her legs, her parents took her to hospital, and so began the visits to many different doctors, each one more bewildered by her illness than the last. Initially schooled at home, when Sarah went back to school she was placed with the struggling kids, and still so often ill, she felt even more alone. But although Sarah’s parents often despaired of the stream of appointments and no cure, they never showed it and she grew up in the midst of a boisterous, loving family and found good friends at last, as well as venturing into bands, art, boys, books and records. Finally, when Sarah turned sixteen, she was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital where the doctors diagnosed her with the rare disease, Moyamoya. The book ends with Sarah waking up after brain surgery. 296pgs colour hardcover.
Billionaires: The Lives of The Rich and Powerful
by Darryl Cunningham
Myriad Editions
£16.99 / $17.29
The publisher says:
The super-rich are often portrayed as self-made, as if their wealth was created entirely by their own efforts. But is this true? In his latest book of graphic analysis, cartoonist Darryl Cunningham examines the evidence in his graphic biographies of media baron Rupert Murdoch, oil and gas tycoons Charles and David Koch, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Cunningham wanted to focus on their stories because ‘the values of our society tend to be those of white males - they are the ones who hold all the levers of power through ownership of the media, political influence and control of the economy’. Cunningham makes comparisons with the ‘Gilded Age’ (1870s to 1900), the last period in America in which a few individuals gained colossal wealth. Carnegie, Rockefeller, JP Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt and others made fortunes, but also helped create the modern world of railroads, manufacturing, and finance. What essential elements have the modern equivalents brought us? Despite the often reported disadvantages brought by the widening gulf between the poorest and the super rich, are such wealthy individuals necessary to finance technological progress? Would we be poorer without them? 240pgs colour paperback.
Bradley of Him
by Connor Willumsen
Koyama Press
$15.00
The publisher says:
Bradley’s gone running for a role, but his life is as hazy as a hot-road mirage. A somewhat familiar method actor prepares for a role as long-runner under the heat and bright lights of a near future Las Vegas. The lines between character and actor are blurring under the verisimilitude of the Vegas strip, the desert sun and the impossibly shiny surface of Bradley’s shades. 64pgs colour paperback.
British Ice
by Owen Pomeroy
IDW / Top Shelf
$14.99
The publisher says:
Working for the British High Commission, Harrison Fleet is posted to a remote arctic island which is still, inexplicably, under British rule. As he struggles to understand why, and what interests he is protecting, Harrison learns just how much of the land and its community lies in the shadow cast by the outpost’s founder. Caught between hostile locals, the British Government and an unforgiving physical environment, he begins dragging dark secrets into the light, unaware of the tragic repercussions they will cause. And help is very, very far away. Part noir, part historical mystery, British Ice explores the consequences of colonialism and the legacy of empire. 128pgs B&W paperback.
Buyan: The Isle of the Dead
by Martin & Xabier Etxeberria & Aritz Trueba
Insight Comics
$29.99
The publisher says:
The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu, and his Golden Horde have just begun a ruthless march across Siberia, intending to spread his Mongolian empire all the way to Europe. Meanwhile, the Teutonic Knights of Europe spread the Crusades eastward, burning cities one by one in their unstoppable advance. But in the midst of all this fighting, a small village in Nenetsia is attacked, and a simple hunter named Maansi tragically loses the love of his life. Determined to be reunited with his wife, Maansi travels toward the sea in search of the mythical island of the dead: Buyan. But the path to Buyan is fraught with not only bloodthirsty warriors and religious zealots, but also ancient spirits who have been angered by the war as well as the unforgiving gods of old. Still, desperate to see his wife’s face again, Maansi will not let anything stand in the way of his quest to find Buyan. 208pgs colour hardcover.
Chasing Echoes
by Dan Goldman & George Schall
Humanoids Inc.
$19.95
The publisher says:
Welcome to Malka Solomon’s life: broke and recently divorced, she’s also her family’s self-appointed historian. After guilting her way onto the trip, it soon becomes clear that they’ve drifted apart, and everyone has brought more baggage than suitcases. A graphic novel about a generation of survivors surviving each other. 152pgs colur paperback.
Ditch Life
by Amy Lockhart
Fantagraphics Books
$30.00
Two ditch dwelling degenerates and a dog are the protagonists of this dark comedy / absurdist graphic novel from acclaimed filmmaker and animator Amy Lockhart. Body horror, celebrity obsession and wealth disparity collide in this satirical romp about an aspiring plastic surgeon to the stars who is forced to live in a shapeshifting, maggot-infested pizza box. This full-colour hardcover also includes a fold-out board game, Females As: Furniture! Help Barb get her ticket to justice before Smarnold turns her into furniture! 104pgs colour hardcover.
Heart of Darkness
by Peter Kuper
W.W. Norton
$21.95
The publisher says:
Heart of Darkness has unsettled generations of readers with its haunting portrait of colonialism in Africa. Acclaimed illustrator Peter Kuper delivers a visually immersive and profound interpretation of this controversial classic evoking the danger and suspense at the heart of this brutal story. Kuper’s graphic adaptation engages with Conrad’s colonial attitudes, European racism at the time, and he invites readers to grapple with these issues on their own terms. Longtime admirers of the novella will appreciate his innovative interpretations, while new readers will discover a brilliant introduction to a canonical work of twentieth-century literature. 160pgs B&W hardcover.
J & K
by John Pham
Fantagraphics Books
$39.99
The publisher says:
J & K follows the misadventures of a pair of idiots navigating life in the modern world, like Seinfeld mixed with Peanuts. J & K is also a singular art object unto itself. As Jay and Kay reference pop culture ephemera, these artifacts are made real and will be included as separate extras and inserts to the book: an issue of Cool Magazine, plus posters, stickers and even a 5” vinyl record! Fun for all ages! Printed in three fluorescent pantone inks, J & K will be one of the most unique and eye-popping releases of 2019. 144pgs colour hardcover with extras.
Ken Reid’s World-Wide Weirdies Vol. 1
by Ken Reid
Rebellion
$24.99
The publisher says:
Glorious grotesques from around the globe! Beautiful and bizarre illustration collection from the legendary British cartoonist (ir)responsible for Faceache, released to coincide with the holidays. World Wide Weirdies collects the almost weekly run of Reid’s beautifully bizarre illustrations from IPC’s Whoopee! and Shiver and Shake. Usually displayed in colour on the back cover, they are among the most striking images to have appeared in British comics! 112pgs colour hardcover.
La Voz de M.A.Y.O. Vol 1.: Tata Rombo
by Henry Barajas & J. Gonzo
Image Comics
$16.99
The publisher says:
La Voz de M.A.Y.O.: Tata Rombo is based on the oral history of Ramon Jaurigue, an orphan and WWII veteran who co-founded the Mexican, American, Yaqui, and Others (M.A.Y.O.) organisation, which successfully lobbied the Tucson City Council to improve living and working conditions for members of the Pascua Yaqui tribe, paving the way to their federal recognition. Meanwhile, Ramon’s home life suffered as his focus was pulled from his family to the wider community, and from domesticity to the adrenaline of the campaign. A resonant, neglected slice of American history is brought to life for the first time with art by J. Gonzo, letter art by Bernardo Brice, editing by Claire Napier and a script by Henry Barajas, the great-grandson of Ramon Jaurigue, a.k.a. Tata Rambo. 128pgs colour paperback.
On Ajayi Crowther Streer
by Elnathan John & Alaba Onajin
Cassava Republic Press
£15.99 / $24.95
On the noisy Ajayi Crowther Street in Lagos, neighbours gather to gossip, discuss noise complaints and faithfully head to church each Sunday. But beneath the surface lies a hidden world of clandestine love affairs, hidden pregnancy, spiritual quackery and hypocrisy that threatens to destroy the community from within. On Ajayi Crowther Street peels back the curtains on the lives of Reverend Akpoborie and his family, to reveal a tumultuous world full of secrets and lies. His only son, Godstime, is struggling to hide his sexuality from his parents, whilst his daughter Keturah must hide the truth of her pregnancy by her pastor boyfriend to preserve her and her family’s image. But it is the Reverend himself who hides the darkest secret of them all, as his wondering eye lands on Kyauta, their young live-in maid. Elnathan John is a Nigerian writer and one of Nigeria’s most well-known contemporary satirists. He has twice been shortlisted for the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing (2013 & 2015). His writing has been published in Per Contra, Evergreen Review and Chimurenga’s The Chronic. His debut novel, Born on a Tuesday, won the Betty Trask Award 2017. He is one of the judges for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize. Alaba Onajin is a published Freelance Cartoonist and Illustrator, currently based in Ondo, Nigeria. His work includes Anike Eleko, a children’s comic book on girls’ education, and other art collaborations with UNESCO on the Role of Women in African History Project. 192pgs colour hardcover, published in the USA May 19th, 2020.
Road of Bones
by John Lees, Rich Douek & Alex Cormack
IDW
$17.99
The publisher says:
Horror, history, and Russian folklore collide in this brutal survival tale, where the worst prison in the world is merely the gateway to even darker terrors. In 1953, the Siberian Gulag of Kolyma is hell on Earth-which is why Roman Morozov leaps at the chance to escape it. But even if they make it out, Roman and his fellow escapees still have hundreds of miles of frozen tundra between them and freedom. With the help of a mysterious being straight out of his childhood fairy tale stories, Roman just might make it – or is the being simply a manifestation of the brutal circumstances driving him insane? 128pgs colour paperback.
Saint Young Men Vol. 1
by Hikaru Nakamura
Kodansha Comics
$12.99
The divine live among us…in a flat in western Tokyo! After centuries of hard work, Jesus and Buddha take a break from their heavenly duties to relax among the people of Japan, and their adventures in this lighthearted buddy comedy are sure to bring mirth and merriment to all! Buddha the Enlightened One and Jesus, Son of God have successfully brought the 20th century to a close, and after a few millennia of guiding humanity to salvation, these two sacred ones are in need of some rest and relaxation. They decide to share an apartment on Earth in Tokyo, but living among mortals in the 21st century is no cakewalk for the saintly duo… They may find it difficult to navigate modern Japanese living, but Jesus’ carefree attitude along with Buddha’s domestic qualities and maybe a few divine interventions will surely allow them to enjoy their new lives with peace and love. With an afterword by https://kodanshacomics.com/2019/04/22/read-essay-hikaru-nakamura-saint-young-men-power/Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, IFAC Handa Curator of Japanese Arts, British Museum and Research Director of Sainsbury Institute, University of East Anglia. 144pgs B&W paperback.
Swimming in Darkness
by Lucas Harari, translated by David Homel
Arsenal Pulp Press
$24.95
The publisher says:
Pierre is a young man at a crossroads. He drops out of architecture school and decides to travel to Vals in the Swiss Alps, home to a thermal springs complex located deep inside a mountain. The complex, designed by architect Peter Zumthor, had been the subject of Pierre’s thesis. The mountain holds many mysteries; it was said to have a mouth that periodically swallowed people up. Pierre, sketchbook in hand, is drawn to the enigmatic powers of the mountain and its springs, and attempts to uncover the truth behind them in the secret rooms he discovers deep within the complex. But he finds his match in a man named Valeret who is similarly obsessed, and who’d like nothing more than to eliminate his competitor. 152pgs colour hardcover.
The Bad Bad Place
by David Hine & Mark Stafford
Soaring Penguin Press
$19.99
The publisher says:
It seems that Faraway Hills, the modern community built on the site of the far, far older Crouch Heath, did not satisfy all the needs of the community. When the Castavette Estate reappeared on the edge of town, years after it had been demolished, those needs, those urges, those cravings were satisfied. But at what price? David Hine and Mark Stafford, the team responsible for The Man Who Laughs and Lip Hook, bring a new tale of Urban Unease, a horror tale of dreams turned dark, and a mother’s soul blackened with revenge. 120pgs colour hardcover.
The Blue Road: A Fable of Migration
by Wayde Compton & April de la Noche Milne
Arsenal Pulp Press
$18.95
The publisher says:
In this stunning graphic novel, Lacuna is a girl without a family, a past, or a proper home. She lives alone in a swamp made of ink, but with the help of Polaris, a will-o’-the-wisp, she embarks for the fabled Northern Kingdom, where she might find people like her. The only way to get there, though, is to travel the strange and dangerous Blue Road that stretches to the horizon like a mark upon a page. Along the way, Lacuna must overcome trials such as the twisted briars of the Thicket of Tickets and the intractable guard at the Rainbow Border. At the end of her treacherous journey, she reaches a city where memory and vision can be turned against you, in a world of dazzling beauty, divisive magic and unlikely deliverance. Finally, Lacuna learns that leaving, arriving, returning - they’re all just different words for the same thing: starting all over again. The Blue Road - the first graphic novel by acclaimed poet and prose writer Wayde Compton and illustrator April dela Noche Milne - explores the world from a migrant’s perspective with dreamlike wonder. 128pgs colour paperback.
The Old Geezers Vol. 1
by Wilfrid Lupano & Paul Cauuet
Ablaze
$24.99
The publisher says:
The Old Geezers series tells the story of three septuagenarians who have been friends since childhood: Antoine, Emile and Pierrot. They have each taken different paths in life, made different choices and started (or not) their own families. The series moves back and forth between the 1950s and the present day, telling the tragic-comic tale of our time, with all of its social, political and cultural upheavals. Beautifully written and gorgeously illustrated, volume 1 features two complete stories: ‘Alive and Still Kicking’ and ‘Bonny and Pierrot’, plus bonus material. The books regularly top the graphic novel bestseller across Europe, with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, and a hit movie based on the series came out last year, with a sequel in development. 128pgs colour hardcover.
The Pits of Hell
by Ebisu YoshikazuM
Translated & with an essay by Ryan Holmberg Essays by Minami Shinbō & Ebisu Yoshikazu
Breakdown Press
£14.99
A teacher tortured by his students finally explodes in a violent rage. Exhausted Salarymen are pushed beyond the brink. Blood, sweat and screams of ‘FUCK YOU!’ pour out of the characters within The Pits of Hell, and yet a sense of humour always shines through. Since his debut in the legendary alt-manga magazine Garo in 1973, Ebisu has been spinning out surreal nightmares that combine the edgiest styles of Tokyo’s artistic counterculture with the absurd and infuriating realities of work and life in the big city. A cult classic upon its publication in 1981, The Pits of Hell offers nine stories that established Ebisu as one of the leading figures of the ugly-but-amazing ‘heta-uma’ movement, the Japanese equivalent of punk and new wave. If you’ve ever wanted to sabotage a lecture about the Mughal Empire, control race boats through telekinesis, or rip your boss’s head off with a crowbar, this is the book for you. Angry, awkwardly drawn, and funny – the stories explode with personal, playful and expressionistic creativity.
The Pits of Hell collects nine classic stories by Ebisu Yoshikazu, originally published between 1969 and 1981. The collection features a foreword by Minami Shinbō and an essay by Ryan Holmberg placing Ebisu Yoshikazu and his work into context. Also included is a retrospective essay by Ebisu Yoshikazu. Ebisu Yoshikazu (b. 1947) is a Japanese comics author and actor. As a child, he drew manga influenced by Osamu Tezuka and Mitsuteru Yokoyama. He later discovered the emerging gekiga (‘dramatic pictures’) style. Ebisu Yoshikazu’s work first appeared in Garo in 1973, at the tail end of underground manga’s first golden age, and his darkly menacing, surreal comedies have been a mainstay ever since. He was included in Blast Books’ 2018 anthology Comics Underground Japan. More recently, he has become more widely known as a television star. In 2016 he starred in the film Ninkyo Yaro (‘Heroism Guy’); he voices characters in anime series Bananya and Magical Girl. 200pgs B&W paperback.
Time for Lights Out
by Raymond Briggs
Jonathan Cape
£18.99
The publisher says:
In his customary pose as the grumpiest of grumpy old men, Raymond Briggs contemplates old age and death… and doesn’t like them much. Illustrated with Briggs’s inimitable pencil drawings, Time for Lights Out is a collection of short pieces, some funny, some melancholy, some remembering his wife who died young, others about the joy of grandchildren, of walking the dog… He looks back at his schooldays and his time as an evacuee during the war, and remembers his parents and the house in which he grew up. But most, like this one, are about his home in Sussex:
Looking round this house,
What will they say,
The future ghosts?
There must have been
Some barmy old bloke here,
Long-haired, artsy-fartsy type,
Did pictures for kiddy books
Or some such tripe.
You should have seen the stuff
He stuck up in that attic!
Snowman this and snowman that,
Tons and tons of tat.
192pgs colour hardcover.
Two Dead
by Van Jensen & Nate Powell
Gallery 13
$29.99
The publisher says:
After World War II, tensions rise in a Southern city ruled by organised crime, touching countless residents as they struggle to make sense of the new world. A sudden act of violence sets off a series of bloody events between the police and mafia as they lash out against one another. As the violence worsens, desperation grows to stop it, by any means necessary. Told in multiple perspectives, from a seemingly untouchable mafia don, to a gun-happy seasoned detective succumbing to the depths of his schizophrenia, to a newly minted police lieutenant haunted by his recent service in the war, and two African-American brothers, one mired in corruption and the other leading a local militia in an effort to see that justice is served. 256pgs B&W hardcover.
What’s Michael? Fatcat Collection Vol. 1
by Makoto Kobayashi
Dark Horse
$19.99
The publisher says:
True-to-life daily cat scenarios and off-the-wall crazy feline fantasies combine in this epic manga collection, Makoto Kobayashi’s hilarious series returns in a set of oversized collections, starting with our first Fatcat Collection. What’s Michael? FatCat Collection Volume 1 contains the out-of-print original What’s Michael? Volumes 1 to 6. Over 500 pages of tumultuous fun, including the out-of-print volumes Michael’s Album, Living Together, Off the Deep End, A Hard Day’s Life, Michael’s Favorite Spot and Michael’s Mambo. 520pgs B&W paperback.
