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Top 33 Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga:
August 2023
There are plenty of classy, substantial offerings on the horizon this month, led by two graphic novels where ‘The Big Apple’ is more than merely their locale or backdrop. Jillian and Mariko Tamaki back together for a wide-eyed, 400+-page exploration of New York, while Julian Voloj and Andreas Gefe take us close to the ‘heart’ of their view of the city…
Personal reports and revelations from both the Ukraine and Russian sides of Putin’s ongoing invasion are recorded by Nora Krug in her latest graphic non-fiction…
Horror-mistress Emily Carroll is back with an extended immersion in fear…
Discover some much-needed diverse queer perspectives, from Lawrence Lindell’s ‘Black, queer and weird’ community…
to Lebanese auteur Joseph Kai’s private and political engagements as a gay man in Beirut.
To wrap up, in his new autobiographical comedy, discover yet another side of Spain’s multi-faceted comics-maker Paco Roca…
And two American legends of newspaper strip fame—Ernie Bushmiller and Charles Schulz—get comics-format biographies by Bill Griffiths and Luca Debus & Francesco Matteuzzi. There are these and plenty of other great titles hopefully to tickle your fancy, all due out starting in August.
A Book to Make Friends With
by Lukas Verstraete, translated by Laura Watkinson
Fantagraphics
$75.00
The publisher says:
A dizzying, psychedelic and psychological journey of a man in search of himself, rendered in hyper-energetic, eye-popping coloured pencils. Tick, tick, boom. Open the cover of this graphic novel to unleash a bombastic bomb blast of frenetic line work, a cacophony of vibrant colour, and an action-packed narrative that whirls and swirls in all directions like the furious, roaring winds of a mushroom cloud. Enter the blast radius of this conflagration of imagination and experience how brilliantly its creative fires burn. A Book to Make Friends With marks the explosive English language debut of Flemish cartoonist Lukas Verstraete. What begins as a Pulp Fiction-inspired heist, in which two masked gangsters rob a passerby of his mysterious briefcase, soon snowballs into a psychedelic journey full of chase scenes, shapeshifting, soul possession, spiritual hallucinations, and unrequited romance. It all culminates in an epic, breathtakingly rendered battle between good and evil. At turns playful, philosophical, and kinetically riotous, you’ve never seen a graphic novel quite like this. Printed as an oversized hardcover edition encased in a luxurious slipcase, this book is as much a gorgeous aesthetic object as an engrossing work of fiction. Lukas Verstraete fills his graphic world with losers, antiheroes, cowboys, knights, grotesque women, and wretched maniacs. Drawing on a generous dose of naiveté, smuttiness, stereotypes, and humour, he tries to establish the meaning of life. In 2013, he was awarded the prize for Best Script at the Fumetto comics festival. Since 2018, he has been teaching at LUCA School of Arts Brussels in the Graphic Storytelling Studio. Laura Watkinson is a keen reader - and translator - of graphic novels. She has translated graphic novels by authors including Brecht Evens, Marcel Ruijters, Barbara Stok, Simon Schwartz and Willy Linthout. Laura lives in a tall, thin house on a canal in Amsterdam with her husband, their cat and lots of shelves of lovely books. 208pgs colour hardcover.
A Guest in the House
by Emily Carroll
First Second / Faber & Faber
$27.99 / £18.99
The publisher says:
In Emily Carroll’s haunting adult graphic novel horror story A Guest in the House, a young woman marries a kind dentist only to realise that there’s a dark mystery surrounding his former wife’s death. After many lonely years, Abby’s just gotten married. She met her new husband―a recently widowed dentist―when he arrived in town with his young daughter, seeking a new start. Although it’s strange living in the shadow of her predecessor, Abby does her best to be a good wife and mother. But the more she learns about her new husband’s first wife, the more things don’t add up. And Abby starts to wonder . . . was Sheila’s death really by natural causes? As Abby sinks deeper into confusion, Sheila’s memory seems to become a force all its own, ensnaring Abby in a mystery that leaves her obsessed, fascinated, and desperately in love for the first time in her life. Emily’s masterful balance of black-and-white, surreal colours, rich textures, and dramatic lettering is assured to bring this story to life and give readers a chill up their spine as they read. Emily Carroll is the writer and artist of numerous award-winning comics, both online and in print. Her debut horror comics collection, Through the Woods, won both the Eisner Award and the British Fantasy Award in 2014. Her work includes When I Arrived at the Castle from Koyama Press, a baroque horror story dealing with lust and addiction, and a graphic novel adaptation of Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel Speak. She is also known for the short comics she posts on her website. Emily lives in Ontario, Canada, with two dogs and her wife, artist Kate Craig. 256pgs colour hardcover.
Guillermo del Toro says:
“The stories Carroll creates have a deep, literary-grounded feel but they are entirely original. Her voice is unique and powerful and I, for one, am addicted to it.”
Adventuregame Comics 2: The Beyond
by Jason Shiga
Amulet Books
$14.99
The publisher says:
Make decisions and pick your path to the perfect afterlife in this new addition to the innovative, interactive graphic novel series from the award-winning creator of Meanwhile. Adventuregame Comics is a new series of interactive graphic novels in the vein of Jason Shiga’s hit graphic novel Meanwhile. Readers follow the story from panel to panel, using tubes that connect them, and sometimes the path will split, giving readers the chance to choose how the story unfolds. The Beyond takes place in some sort of afterlife. You don’t know much when you begin, save that you’re dead and that you’ve ended up in a room that includes a door, a window, and a table with some books. You need to get out, so you try the door. And then the window. And then you finally turn to the books—and when you open them, you’re pulled into the worlds of those pages. Could these fictional worlds hold the key to your escape? Or is there more to this room than first meets the eye? Jason Shiga is a cartoonist from Oakland, California. His comics have a geeky side and often feature exciting uses of math, mazes, puzzles, and unconventional narrative techniques. In his 25-year career, Shiga has created eight graphic novels, 20 comic books, more than a dozen magazine and newspaper strips, and the world’s second-largest interactive comic. He has won two Eisner awards and two Ignatz awards, and his work has been featured as an official selection for the Comics Festival in Angoulême. 136pgs black & red pages.
All Tomorrow’s Parties: The Velvet Underground Story
by Koren Shadmi
Humanoids
$29.99
The publisher says:
An examination of some of rock’n'roll’s most iconic figures—The Velvet Underground & Andy Warhol—and the loaded push-pull relationship that distorted their lives and echoed throughout popular culture. Many cultural critics would agree that Andy Warhol gave the Velvet Underground their break simply by bringing them under his wing. While they reached a certain level of notoriety and local celebrity in their time and have since acquired a lasting cult following, their success was in large part fostered by Warhol’s patronage. But at the time, this relationship was muddied by a certain level of co-dependence and an insatiable appetite for fame and irony, leaving Reed to ponder quietly: Would we have succeeded without Warhol’s help? This doubt begins to spread like a malignant force, eventually leading to the band’s undoing as they break away from Warhol and, perhaps, give up their golden ticket to success. Explore the story behind the group The New York Times called “arguably the most influential American rock band of our time,” through good times and bad, as captured in emotive style by multi-award winning artist Koren Shadmi (Twilight Man, Love Addict: Confessions of a Serial Dater). Koren Shadmi is an award-winning illustrator and cartoonist. He studied illustration at The School of Visual Arts in New York where he now teaches. Koren’s graphic novels have been published in the US, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Korea and Israel. His latest book, Rise of The Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and The Creation of D&D (Nation Books), is a collaboration with esteemed tech writer David Kushner. Koren has contributed illustrations and comics to The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Playboy, Mother Jones, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Wired and others. 180pgs colour hardcover.
Blackward
by Lawrence Lindell
Drawn & Quarterly
$22.95
The publisher says:
Black, weird, awkward and proud of it. Welcome to the club! Tired of feeling like you don’t belong? Join the club. It’s called the Section. You’d think a spot to chill, chat, and find community would be much easier to come by for nerdy, queer punks. But when four longtime, bookish BFFs―Lika, Amor, Lala, and Tony―can’t find what they need, they take matters into their own hands and create a space where they can be a hundred percent who they are: Black, queer, and weird. The group puts a call out for all awkward Black folks to come on down to the community centre to connect. But low attendance and IRL run-ins with trolls of all kinds only rock everybody with anxiety. As our protagonists start to question the merits of their vision, a lifetime of insecurities―about not being good enough or Black enough―bubbles to the surface. Will they find a way to turn it around in time for their radical brainchild, the Blackward Zine Fest? Lawrence Lindell’s characters pop from the page in playful Technicolor. From mental health to romance, micro- and macro-aggressions to joy, our crew tackles everything life throws at them in this heartwarming tale about building a place to belong and the power of community. Lawrence Lindell is an artist, musician, and educator from California who works in many artistic disciplines, including comics, music, illustration, and mixed media. He is the co-founder of Laneha House. 212pgs colour paperback.
But You Have Friends
by Emilia MKenzie
IDW / Top Shelf
$14.99
The publisher says:
When a dear friend dies by suicide, Emilia is left with only memories. Full of humour and poignancy, this graphic memoir is a meditation on the meaning of friendship and a love letter to an irreplaceable friend. Emilia first met Charlotte in their school locker room in the late ‘90s. They quickly bonded over indie music, feminist literature, a love of purple, and a shared sense of outsiderness. Their joyful, intense friendship evolved through the years—until Charlotte died in 2018 following a long struggle with depression. Now, Emilia assembles her memories into a graphic memoir reflecting on the bond they shared and the ways it shaped them. As they pass in and out of each other’s lives, teenage ideals collide with adult realities, prompting reflections about the meaning of friendship. But You Have Friends is a tender tribute to an irreplaceable friend and a sharply observed, personal account of the aftermath of loss. It is also a humorous, candid memorial that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved. Emilia McKenzie was born to British/Finnish parents in 1984. She has been making and publishing comics since 2008, working primarily in the sci-fi genre under the alias Emix Regulus. Emilia lives in South London with her husband. But You Have Friends is her first graphic memoir. 120pgs two-colour paperback.
Cat-Eyed Boy: Perfect Edition Vol. 1 (of 2)
by Kazuo Umezz
Viz Media
$34.99
The publisher says:
A deluxe hardcover edition of Kazuo Umezz’s Eisner Award-nominated classic collection of horror stories featuring a strange cat-eyed boy, shunned by humans and demons alike. Hated by humans and demons alike, Cat-Eyed Boy dwells in the shadows of the human world. Wherever he goes, disturbing situations involving both men and monsters begin to unfurl. From the mind of Kazuo Umezz, undisputed master of Japanese horror manga and creator of The Drifting Classroom and Orochi, comes Cat-Eyed Boy. This deluxe edition contains five classic horror stories featuring a mysterious and dangerous cat-eyed boy who lives among humans, comes from the world of demons, and is despised by both. In four morbid tales, he interacts with humans and monsters to often-devastating ends. Then, in a final story, Cat-Eyed Boy must decide where his true loyalties lie—or if he has any loyalties at all. Kazuo Umezz started drawing professionally in the 1950s and is considered the most influential horror manga artist ever. His many horror and sci-fi/horror works include Cat-Eyed Boy, Orochi, The Drifting Classroom, Senrei (Baptism), My Name is Shingo (winner of the Prix du Patrimoine in 2018 at the Angoulême International Comics Festival), The Left Hand of God/Right Hand of the Devil, and Fourteen. His popular gag series Makoto-Chan and Again prove that Umezz is also an accomplished humour cartoonist. Umezz’s weird style, incredible ideas, and sometimes terrifying imagery have made him a fixture of Japanese pop culture, and his work has been adapted into movies, anime, and collectibles. Kazuo Umezz started drawing professionally in the 1950s and is considered the most influential horror manga artist ever. 544pgs B&W hardcover.
Diaries of War: Two Visual Accounts from Ukraine and Russia (A Graphic Narrative)
by Nora Krug
Ten Speed Press
$18.00
The publisher says:
Powerful graphic journalism that highlights the contrasting realities of a Ukrainian journalist and a Russian artist grappling with their own individual experiences of Russia’s war on Ukraine – collected, edited, and illustrated by award-winning author Nora Krug. Immediately after Russia began its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Nora Krug reached out to two anonymous subjects – “K.,” a Ukrainian journalist, and “D.,” a Russian artist – and began what would become a year of correspondence. Based on her weekly interviews with K. and D., Krug created this collection of illustrated accounts that chronicles two contrasting viewpoints from opposing sides of the first year in this ongoing war. With millions displaced, injured, or killed as a result of the invasion, Krug presents a look at the devastating effects on an everyday, individual level. K.’s diary documents a year of emotional and existential distress. She experiences loss in every sense of the word: the death of those close to her, the disconnection from her family and friends, and the devastation of her country – but her account is also a story about bravery and survival in the face of dire uncertainty. In juxtaposition, D.’s narrative details his disdain for his government’s murderous actions and his attempts at emigrating his family abroad. He navigates his own struggle with cultural identity, guilt, and lack of action in the face of a tyrannical regime – a perspective that is necessary in challenging readers to confront the political actions of their own countries. Krug approaches Diaries of War with the immense skill and thoughtfulness required to document these two complicated experiences for the purpose of encouraging critical thinking. Published as an Op-Comic series with the Los Angeles Times, with a portion of the entries unique to this book, Diaries of War is a harrowing real-time record of an international conflict that continues to devastate countless lives. Nora Krug is the author and illustrator of the graphic memoir Belonging, the illustrator of the adaptation of On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, and an associate professor at Parsons School of Design in New York. Her drawings and visual narratives have appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian and Le Monde diplomatique. Her short-form graphic biography, Kamikaze, about a surviving Japanese World War II pilot, was included in editions of Best American Comics and Best American Nonrequired Reading. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Maurice Sendak Foundation, Fulbright, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and has received gold medals from the Society of Illustrators and the New York Art Directors Club. She was named Illustrator of the Year by the Victoria and Albert Museum and was the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Autobiography in 2019. 128pgs colour hardcover.
Doctor Moebius and Mister Gir: Interviews with Jean “Moebius” Giraud
by Numa Sadoul, translated by Edward Gauvin
Dark Horse
$29.99
The publisher says:
Working closely with publisher Casterman and Moebius Production, Dark Horse now brings you Numa Sadoul’s landmark interviews with Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud. The master reflects on his many lives as an artist and man, from his Heavy Metal breakthrough era to a year before his untimely passing. Numa Sadoul - whose exclusive fourteen-hour interview with Hergé in 1971 was the basis of the 2003 documentary Tintin and I - is known for his book-length conversations with such major comics figures as Jacques Tardi, Andre Franquin (Spirou), and Albert Uderzo (co-creator of Asterix). Edward Gauvin, translator of over three hundred graphic novels, brings us Sadoul’s English-language debut, as he explores the mind of the maestro Moebius. While French artist Jean Giraud was already a well-known comic artist with his hard-boiled western series Blueberry, he built an entire second career under the pen name Moebius beginning in 1963 with a series of short stories. In later years, Moebius would become world famous for his science-fiction, artistic, and erotic art. He is admired for his many collaborations with Alejandro Jodorowsky and for the wordless comics fantasy, Arzach. In 1983 he co-founded the Aedena company and settled in Los Angeles. During his stay in the USA, he saw his most important works published by Marvel Comics. He also illustrated an episode of Silver Surfer by Stan Lee. In addition to his large comics and illustration output, Moebius remained active in the film industry as well. In addition to providing preliminary designs for such films as Alien, Tron, The Abyss, Masters of the Universe, and The Fifth Element, Moebius provided concept art for El Topo director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s never-realised adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune. Moebius passed away in Paris on March 10, 2012, at the age of 73. 248pgs B&W paperback.
Eden II
by Kenny Wroten
Fantagraphics
$39.99
The publisher says:
A blistering critique of digital media and a kaleidoscopic depiction of consumer culture, Eden II is both fanciful and satirical, a combination of deft cartooning and virtuosic storytelling. In the grungy, punk-inflected world K. Wroten creates, a cast of disaffected young characters struggle to find their purpose in life. Faced with a dying Earth and numbingly useless jobs, protagonists Ellis and Dr. Otis Heck invent an immersive virtual reality game, Eden II. But when Heck betrays Ellis and sells the game to a mysterious corporation, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur. As each chapter highlights a new character in the ensemble, the game’s impact grows as the world becomes consumed by fantasy. Coming off the heels of their acclaimed queer comics Cannonball and Crimes, Eden II is Wroten’s magnum opus, establishing them as a breakout graphic novelist. Philosophical, sarcastic, self-assured, Eden II is a vital work of the moment that positions Wroten alongside recent comics luminaries like Emily Carroll, Isabel Greenberg, Melanie Gilman, and Tillie Walden. Reminiscent of the stylised angst of Gregg Araki and Jamie Babbit’s works, Wroten’s imagery in Eden II reflects the blighted pastiche of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker―and they have suffused that pastiche with a dark sense of humour and technologically enhanced moral ambiguity. A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute with a BFA in Illustration, and originally from Kansas City, MO, K. Wroten is a Brooklyn-based artist. Their work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vice, Them, and many other publications. Cannonball (2019) won the Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Graphic Novel and their graphic novella Crimes won the 2019 MoCCA Arts Festival Award of Excellence. 452pgs colour paperback.
Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz
by Luca Debus & Francesco Matteuzzi
IDW
$39.99
The publisher says:
Discover the man behind Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts gang in this imaginative and tender-hearted tribute told in comic-strip format. Charles M. Schulz was arguably the most influential and popular cartoonist of the 20th century, and he poured many of his own emotions and experiences into the world of Peanuts over its iconic 50-year run. Now, Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi pay tribute to the master by telling the story of Schulz’s life in the medium that made him immortal: the comic strip. Every strip provides a laugh as well as a piece of insight into his remarkable life story. Starting with the last days of his monumental career, Funny Things jumps back and forth in time to narrate both Schulz’s artistic achievements and the personal episodes that formed him as an author and human being, ultimately shaping him into the most beloved cartoonist on the planet. Filled with affection, charm, and poignant insight, Funny Things imagines Schulz through the lens of the very world he created, inviting us all to meet the man behind the blanket. Francesco Matteuzzi has written for many publishers including Sergio Bonelli Editore, DeAgostini, Mondadori and Centauria among others. He has authored many biographies into comics, and his works have been published in Italy, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, Serbia and the United Kingdom. Luca Debus works in the medium of comic strips for publications both online and on paper, both in Italy and internationally. He has studied the work of Charles M. Schulz for years and written numerous academic papers on the topic. 440pgs colour hardcover.
Glitch Vol. 1 (of 4)
by Shima Shinya, translated by Eleanor Summers
Yen Press
$15.00
The publisher says:
“Are you one of the ones who can see them?” Minato notices something strange about their new town on their very first day of school, when they witness an eerie shadow. Together with their little sister, Akira, and their new friends, they set out to investigate what’s behind the bizarre visions plaguing them. Shima Shinya is the author of Lost Lad London, three volumes also from Yen Press, and co-wrote the first volume of the Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance manga series with Justina Ireland. A new sci-fi mystery manga series Void: No. Nine - 9-banme no Utsuro begins serialisation in the August 2023 issue of Comic Beam magazine. 256pgs B&W paperback.
Highlands Vol. 1 (of 2)
by Philippe Aymond, translated by Jerome Saincantin
Cinebook
$12.95
The publisher says:
Scotland, 1743. In Blackwater Castle, in the Highlands, the Duke of Plaxton is looking for a new portrait painter. A member of Clan Grant, supporters of the Act of Union with England, the duke has a son, William, whose heart leans towards the Jacobite cause, and a daughter, Amelia, betrothed to an English lord she has never met. It’s there, in this crucible of rebellion and ambitions, that arrives Joseph Callander, local boy back from years spent in Italy, and talented painter… Philippe Aymond, as both an artist and a colourist, has worked with some of the greatest scriptwriters of contemporary Franco-Belgian comics, including co-creator of Valerian & Laureline Pierre Christin and the legendary Jean Van Hamme, with whom he co-signed spy series Lady S., translated by Cinebook. Highlands is his first solo writer creation - and a marked success. 48pgs colour paperback.
Jet-Ace Logan
by Geoff Campion & John Gillatt
Book Palace - Fleetway
£45.00 / $64.99
The publisher says:
All the complete Jet-Ace Logan stories from The Comet. For the first time ever from the Fleetway Comics Archives, this hard cover volume collects the complete Jet-Ace Logan stories which appeared in Comet in the 1950s—over 360 pages of exciting science fiction artwork. In the 1950s and 1960s SF comic strips were hugely popular in British weekly comics. The most popular being Dan Dare in Eagle, Captain Condor in Lion and Jet-Ace Logan in The Comet. Jet-Ace Logan first appeared in The Comet #426 September 1956 with art by Geoff Campion who drew the first three stories. John Gillatt took over the art from issue #474 and continued honing his brilliant pen and ink artwork until the last issue of Comet in October 1959 by which time his artwork had become some of the finest and exciting comic strip art in British comics. This limited edition is a must for all comic strip and SF art fans. 376pgs B&W hardcover.
Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas
by Paco Roca, translated by Andrea Rosenberg
Fantagraphics
$29.99
The publisher says:
Spain’s answer to Seinfeld, these observational, relatable autobio vignettes by Spanish cartoonist Paco Roca poke fun at the vexing tribulations of modern life. At 40, cartoonist Paco Roca has finally achieved his childhood dream ― to spend all day at home in his pajamas! However, his blissful, loungewear-clad reverie is beset with a host of mundane problems: he dreads small talk with “the world’s biggest bore,” but his excuses and white lies are finally catching up with him. When good friends breaks up, taking either side could lead to social disaster. The simple mission to change his train ticket descends into an impossibly complicated, Kafkaesque affair. And worst of all, his partner keeps hanging the toilet paper roll the wrong way. In the vein of sitcoms like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Roca’s comic vignettes brilliantly satirise the pesky pitfalls of modern-day life. Like most of us, Roca’s alter ego just wants to be liked and to do the right thing, but finds that through crippling indecision, cowardly behaviour, and the absurd machinations of the universe, he is usually thwarted. The ensuing situations he finds himself embroiled in are as hilarious as they are often painfully relatable. Paco Roca (Francisco Martínez Roca) is a graphic artist and a cartoonist from Valencia, Spain, who has won several art/writing awards. His graphic novel Wrinkles has been adapted into an animated movie. Andrea Rosenberg is a translator who has worked on a variety of novels and graphic narratives in Spanish and Portuguese. Her translations of the graphic novels Run For It by Marcelo D’Salete and The House by Paco Roca won Eisner Awards in 2018 and 2020, respectively. 232pgs colour paperback.
Mexikid
by Pedro Martin
Dial Books
$14.99
The publisher says:
A poignant, hilarious, and unforgettable graphic memoir about a Mexican-American boy’s family and their adventure-filled road trip to bring their abuelito back from Mexico to live with them. Pedro Martín has grown up hearing stories about his abuelito—his legendary crime-fighting grandfather who was once a part of the Mexican Revolution. But that doesn’t mean Pedro is excited at the news that Abuelito is coming to live with their family. After all, Pedro has 8 brothers and sisters and the house is crowded enough! Still, Pedro piles into the Winnebago with his family for a road trip to Mexico to bring Abuelito home, and what follows is the trip of a lifetime, one filled with laughs and heartache. Along the way, Pedro finally connects with his Abuelito and learns what it means to grow up and find his grito. Pedro Martín is a former Hallmark artist of 27 years and the creator of Asteroid Andy. He chronicles his life growing up Mexican American online in a series called Mexikid. 320pgs colour paperback.
Mingus
by Flavio Massaruto & Squaz
NBM
$29.99
The publisher says:
“I play what I am. I play Mingus.” This comics biography tells the troubled life, the battles against racism, the brilliant music of a master who has left an indelible mark on the jazz scene, and beyond. From his beginnings in Los Angeles in the 1940s to his heartbreaking end in Mexico, the story of a man of indomitable and rebellious talent who crossed styles while always remaining himself, in perpetual struggle against a society that wanted him marginalised and subordinated. Flavio Massaruto writes for comics and is involved in jazz. Squaz is the pen name for Pasquale Todisco, an Italian comic artist with a very hard-edged expressionistic style of art reminiscent of the famous Argentine artist José Muñoz. 160pgs colour hardcover.
My Picture Diary
by Fujiwara Maki, translated by Ryan Holmberg
Drawn & Quarterly
$29.95
The publisher says:
The wife of Japan’s most lauded manga-ka documents a year in their lives with her own artistry. In 1981, Fujiwara Maki began a picture diary about daily life with her son and husband, the legendary manga author Tsuge Yoshiharu. Publishing was not her original intention. “I wanted to record our family’s daily life while our son, Shosuke, was small. But as 8mm cameras were too expensive and we were poor, I decided on the picture diary format instead. I figured Shosuke would enjoy reading it when he got older.” Drawn in a simple, personable style, and covering the same years fictionalised in Tsuge’s final masterpiece The Man Without Talent, Fujiwara’s journal focuses on the joys of daily life amidst the stresses of childrearing, housekeeping, and managing a depressed husband. A touching and inspiring testimony of one Japanese woman’s resilience, My Picture Diary is also an important glimpse of the enigma that is Tsuge. Fujiwara’s diary is unsparing. It provides a stark picture of the gender divide in their household: Tsuge sleeps until noon and does practically nothing. He never compliments her cooking, and dictates how money is spent. Not once is he shown drawing. And yet Fujiwara remains surprisingly empathetic toward her mercurial husband. Translated by Ryan Holmberg, this edition sheds light on Fujiwara’s life, her own career in art, writing, and underground theatre, and her extensive influence upon her husband’s celebrated manga. Fujiwara Maki (1941—1999) was an artist, actress, and writer. After growing up poor during and after World War II, Fujiwara moved to Tokyo in the 1960s and became a leading actress in the underground theatre scene. In 1969, she met the manga artist Tsuge Yoshiharu; they got married after their son, Shosuke, was born in 1975. She began drawing and writing in the early 1980s, completing her first and best-known work, My Picture Diary, in 1982. Her other publications include the children’s book Guess What Kind of Shop This Is (1985) and the painting collection Candy Store (1994). After cameoing in movie adaptations of Tsuge’s manga in the early 1990s, Fujiwara died of cancer at the age of fifty-seven. 284pgs B&W hardcover.
Not A New York Love Story
by Julian Voloj & Andreas Gefe
Fairsquare Comics
$17.99
The publisher says:
Is this a dream or reality? He can feel her presence. He knows she’s there… But she isn’t. She takes him on a trip around New York. In all the places he wouldn’t go before. Before the accident. From Coney Island to the Lower East Side, he’s turning the pages of his life with the one he loved. The one he lost. Not A New York Love Story is a tale of emotions, grief and a love letter to a city like no other in the world. Dream or reality? Julian Voloj’s tale plays tricks on your mind and your emotions but never loses his way through a powerful but simple story about two people forever intwined. Andreas Gefe’s art brings a mix of fine art and raw expressiveness with a muted colour palette that puts New York at the centre of the story. Not A New York Love Story is not a romantic comedy. It’s a drama, a tale of two lost souls with “the Big Apple” as its witness. The kind of story you’ll need to read twice to peel its many layers! 120pgs colour paperback.
Of Thunder & Lightning
by Kimberly Wang
Silver Sprocket
$13.99
The publisher says:
Corporate magical girls and the apocalypse! To fight is to live, to fight is to die, to fight is to become something unknown. Debut author Kimberly Wang crafts a thrilling two-tone sci-fi graphic novel, growing the seeds of hope from the gravel of apocalypse. To fight is to live, to fight is to die, to fight is to become something unknown. In a world where pop media meets military power, two idol-supersoldiers are locked in a world-ending conflict on behalf of their corporate nations. Battles blast across a dying land, both sides convinced of their own righteousness. Ragnarok looms on the horizon. Yet Magni and Dimo—young icons created for the sole purpose of eliminating the other—find their closest reflection in their opposite. Now, completing their mission means destroying the one who understands them most. Kimberly Wang is an Asian-American comic artist and illustrator based in New York. They enjoy roller skating, crocheting and learning new crafts. 80pgs partial colour paperback.
One Hundred Tales
by Osamu Tezuka
Ablaze
$12.99
The publisher says:
One Hundred Tales is a story about being careful what you wish for. Ichirui Hanri is an ordinary accountant servicing his master. Though innocent, he is ordered to commit hara-kiri after being entangled in some trouble in his master’s house. Just then, a witch named Sudama appears. She signs a contract with Hanri to obtain his soul in exchange for fulfilling three of his wishes. Hanri gets what he wants…but the price he pays is too high. An enchanting supernatural fable from Osamu Tezuka, known worldwide as the “Godfather of Manga” and the most influential person of the past century in the development of Japanese manga and anime. Osamu Tezuka (1928-89) is the godfather of Japanese manga comics. He originally intended to become a doctor and earned his degree before turning to what was then a medium for children. His many early masterpieces include the series known in the U.S. as Astro Boy. With his sweeping vision, deftly interwined plots, feel for the workings of power, and indefatigable commitment to human dignity, Tezuka elevated manga to an art form. The later Tezuka, who authored Buddha, often had in mind the mature readership that manga gained in the sixties and that had only grown ever since. The Kurosawa of Japanese pop culture, Osamu Tezuka is a twentieth century classic. 208pgs B&W paperback.
Paul Bunyan: The Invention of an American Legend
by Noan Van Sciver & Marlena Myles
Toon Graphic
$17.99 / $11.99
The publisher says:
Did you know that a mainstay of American folk culture was in fact created as an advertising ploy? Few people realise that Paul Bunyan, the legendary lumberjack, and his blue ox are the product of corporate marketing by a highly industrialised commercial enterprise. Cartoonist Noah Van Sciver shows us the myth creation as real life marketing man extraordinaire W.B. Laughead spins ever more wondrous tall tales. Van Sciver’s story is bracketed by rich contributions from contemporary Native artists and storytellers with a very different connection to the land that the Bunyan myths often conceal. Readers will see how a lumberjack hero, a quintessential American fantasy, captures the imagination but also serves to paper over the seizure of homeland from First Peoples and the laying bare of America’s northern forests. It’s a tall tale with deep roots . . . in profit-making! 48pgs colour hardcover / paperback
Restless
by Joseph Kai
Street Noise Books
$19.99
The publisher says:
What would life feel like without fear and oppression? Is it possible to find solace in the power of chosen family, underground art collectives, and ultimately revolution? Set in Beirut, Lebanon, a city once known to be a vibrant cultural centre of the region. It’s 30 years after the end of the civil war, and a few months before the disastrous explosion of August 2020. Samar, a young queer comic book artist, wanders between anguished dreams, childhood memories, romantic experiences, and Beirut’s alternative communities. This abstractly autobiographical story tells of the author’s anxiety over living in a complex city of changing colours and moods. Three powerful themes: art, sex, and political uprising, are interwoven in a compelling narrative and an otherworldly colour palette. Joseph Kai is a queer artist from Beirut, Lebanon. He has published several works with the Lebanese collective of Samandal Comics. Joseph has participated in numerous festivals and exhibitions in Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, and both Angoulême and Paris. He is currently living and working in Paris. This is his debut graphic novel. 160pgs colour paperback.
Roaming
by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki
Drawn & Quarterly
$34.95
The publisher says:
Spring Break, 2009: five days, three friends, and one big city. Roaming marks a triumphant return to the graphic novel and a deft foray into new adult fiction for Caldecott Medal authors Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki. Over the course of a much-anticipated trip to New York, an unexpected fling blossoms between casual acquaintances and throws a long-term friendship off-balance. Emotional tensions vibrate wildly against the resplendently illustrated backdrop of the city, capturing a spontaneous queer romance in all of its fledgling glory. Slick attention to the details of a bustling, intimidating metropolis are softened with a palette of muted pastels, as though seen through the eyes of first-time travellers. The awe, wonder, and occasional stumble along the way come to life with stunning accuracy. Roaming is the third collaboration from the critically acclaimed team behind Skim and Governor General’s Literary Award winner This One Summer. Moody, atmospheric, and teeming with life, the magic of this comics duo leaks through the pages with lush and exquisite pen work. The Tamakis’ singular, elegant vision of an urban paradise slowly revealing its imperfections to the tune of its visitors’ rhythms is a masterpiece―a future classic for generations to come. Jillian Tamaki is an illustrator and comics artist. She is the co-creator of Skim and This One Summer, and the author of SuperMutant Magic Academy and Boundless (2017). She has taught comics and illustration in New York City at SVA and The New School. She lives in Toronto. Mariko Tamaki is a New York Times bestselling Canadian writer of comics and prose. She is the co-creator of This One Summer, with Jillian Tamaki, and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, with Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, both of which received Eisner Awards and Printz Honors. She also writes superhero stories Marvel and DC Comics. Mariko lives in Oakland. 444pgs black+two colours paperback.
The Bodyguard Unit: Edith Garrud, Women’s Suffrage, and Jujitsu
by Clément Xavier, Lisa Lugrin & Albertine Ralenti
Humanoids
$17.99
The publisher says:
In the early 20th century, women in England were demanding the right to vote―and often faced violent retaliation. Rather than back down, the suffragist group the Women’s Social and Political Union formed an all-women security unit. Activist leader Emmeline Pankhurst asked Edith Garrud to train them. These “jujitsuffragettes” fought against abuse and arrest while pursuing long overdue rights. Edith Garrud was a pioneering instructor of women’s self-defense and a pivotal figure in British women’s suffrage. This graphic retelling of Garrud’s life reveals the resilience and (sometimes physical) resistance of her era’s voting-rights activists. Clement Xavier is a writer based in France. In 2015, Xavier and illustrator Lisa Lugrin jointly received the prestigious Prix Révélation (Debut Prize) at the Angoulême International Comics Festival for their first French-language graphic novel, Yékini, le roi des arènes. Lisa Lugrin is a comic book artist and author based in France. She is co-founder of Na editions. 136pgs colour hardcover.
The Horror
by Lars Jacobson & Eduardo Francisco
Dark Horse
$24.99
The publisher says:
Travel with Kurtz and his family as they enter the “heart of darkness” on a humanitarian mission for Belgian King Leopold’s Congo Free State, opening a trading post in the uncharted interior of the Congo jungle to promote free markets and end slavery. With the help of a local tribe, they establish the post, but to survive in this lawless jungle, they must contend with murderous slave traders from Zanzibar, corrupt Belgian officials, evil imperialists, psychotic explorers, and cannibalistic tribes. Along the way, however, they encounter a primordial evil whose origins and mythology date back to the womb of civilisation, perverting minds and corrupting souls while preying on the worst instincts of mankind. The locals speak of this insidious evil in fearful whispers, calling it, “The Horror.” The Horror provides a prequel to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, exploring the origins of one of the most enigmatic characters in storytelling, while examining one of the worst atrocities and humanitarian disasters ever recorded. 104pgs colour hardcover.
The John Severin Westerns, Featuring American Eagle
by John Severin, Will Elder & Colin Dawkins
Fantagraphics Underground
$65.00
The publisher says:
John Severin’s 1950s Western masterpiece, American Eagle, is collected for the first time in a gorgeous hardcover Fantagraphics edition. In the 1950s, between his legendary EC work and his celebrated Marvel comics, John Severin joined with MAD artist Will Elder and Two-Fisted Tales writer Colin Dawkins to introduce a new level of historical accuracy to the comic-book Western. While Native Americans had generally been vilified or left in the shadows of gun-slinging cowboy heroes, the American Eagle stories featured in Prize Comics Western were built around action-packed tribal intrigues and a heroic Crow warrior. Collected here for the first time are all of the American Eagle stories drawn by Severin from Prize Comics Western #85-#113. Plus Severin-drawn stories featuring The Fargo Kid, Black Bull and The Lazo Kid. More than 55 exciting, gorgeous, Western tales of bullets vs. arrows, stampedes, tribal warfare, prospectors, buffalo hunters, broken treaties, gun battles, cavalry charges, wagon trains and warriors on horseback. Thanks to Severin’s famously exacting art, you’ll be able to smell the leather and gunpowder. With commentary by comics historian Howard Leroy Davis. 488pgs colour hardcover.
The Journey to Lupan-On
by Arnold Arre
Tuttle Publishing
$18.99
The publisher says:
The third instalment in the best-selling series that kicked off with The Mythology Class, which Publishers Weekly called “a must-read” and a “genre-defining classic of Filipino comics.” It’s open season on the Mythology Class as an army of the undead hunts them down. The next chapter in the Mythology Class saga, this pulse-pounding epic plays out in the porous border between worlds. The Mythology Class has been placed in desperate situations before, but a new influx of evil must be driven back. Will the former classmates return to their former glory and summon the strength that once united their team? The Mythology Class friends thought they were safe from the Dark Anitos, but now the evil Budniaan has arrived in their world with his army of zombie warriors and demented engkantos demons, and their lives are once again at stake. With Rey and Misha on the other side of the globe and the group at odds over what to do, the one course they can all agree on is the inevitable one—reunite and combine their strengths to thwart Budiaan’s threat. Revisiting a scene of their past triumphs, the group uncovers an ancient artifact. Will it lead them to the safety of the Skyworld, the spirit realm? Will this group of intrepid adventurers be able to summon the spirit of resistance that once defined them? As the most powerfully evil force they’ve ever faced reaches their borders, they’re not really given a choice. This book can stand on its own, though it is part of an ongoing series. A recap at the beginning helps refresh the memories of readers, and for those new to the series, provides the background of the story. Arnold Arre won the inaugural graphic novel Philippine National Book Award in 2000 for The Mythology Class. He is the author and illustrator of many other popular works, including Halina Filipina, The World of Andong Agimat, The Children of Bathala, and The Journey to Lupan-On. 256pgs B&W paperback.
The Little Red Fish
by James Moffitt & Bizhan Khodabandeh
Rosarium
$19.95
The publisher says:
An aquatic reef held down by an oppressive regime of blood-thirsty herons struggles to rise up in this harrowing tale of self-discovery, heritage, and revolution. We follow The Little Red Fish as they journey deep into themselves and blossom into the leader they were meant to be. Guided by a magical orb and the will of the people, our hero strives to help a small reef in the Persian Gulf regain its freedom. The Little Red Fish is a creative retelling of the events of the Iranian Revolution from the perspective of those actually involved. A stunning mixture of political allegory and magical realism, The Little Red Fish collects the 6-part comic book series into one trade, including artist features and process notes. The Little Red Fish vividly captures an often-overlooked part of history, channeling folk history, oral histories from first-hand accounts, and academic research. James Moffitt is a writer and teacher living in Richmond, Virginia. He holds an MA in Writing & Rhetoric from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has published two collections of short stories, Swamp Gospels and What to Do When You Give Up. Moffitt has also been published in several academic and fiction journals and as a freelance journalist. James sees writing and teaching as a means to facilitating social change at the structural level. His publishing company Sink/Swim Press embraces a DIY ethic and strives to remind people of the value of tangible art. Bizhan Khodabandeh (The Day the Klan Came to Town) is a visual communicator who moves freely across the professional boundaries as designer, illustrator, artist, and activist. His works vary from small graphic art projects to major public campaigns. Khodabandeh is particularly fascinated by how art and design can catalyse social change. He has received numerous international and national awards for his work, including: a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators, a silver medal from the International Design Awards, a finalist in the Cross-Cultural Design Competition, and best in show through the American Institute of Graphic Arts. He has received numerous international and national awards for his work as both an illustration and designer through various institutions such as: The American Institute of Graphic Arts, Creativity International, Adbusters, and Creative Quarterly. Khodabandeh has had work featured in publications such as Print, Creativity International, Adbusters, and Comic Bastards among others. Currently Khodabandeh teaches full-time at VCU’s Robertson School of Media & Culture and freelances under the name, Mended Arrow. 168pgs colour paperback,
The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber
by Juni Ba & Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Dark Horse
$24.99
The publisher says:
An all-new original graphic novel packed with as much heart as epic combat from rising comic stars Juni Ba (Djeliya, Monkey Meat) and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (PanelxPanel). Join a brave young monster and their grouchy mentor on a heartfelt quest for redemption and growth in a world run by fear. Felix is a shy little beast growing up in a world where monster wrestling is the biggest spectacle there is. Lonely, and constantly bullied by the bigger monsters his age, Felix struggles to prove themselves and find their place in the world. Their fate is changed forever when a dare lands them on the doorstep of one of the scariest monsters in the whole world— Macabber Tails, one of the most famous monstering champions in history. Felix wants to be big and brave and strong and tough, just like Macabber, and so they decide to do whatever it takes to not be a fraidy little monster anymore. Their unlikely journey together sends them to Macabber’s hometown, to the mountains of the colossal flame-wielding Kilnver—a monster able to make an army of knights out of just its own saliva—and to the lair of the dastardly Amaret, the monster that made Macabber the champion they are today. Together they face some battles for their life, but not always in ways that are physical and by the end, Felix and Macabber may learn a thing or two about being tough. Juni is a monster-obsessed, orange juice-drinking cartoonist, who’s fond of cute cats (especially his own) and stories that break your heart. His favourite subjects are West African fantasy, magic, and cookies. Hassan is a British-Algerian letterer of comics like Poison Ivy, What’s the Furthest Place From Here? and Batman Beyond. He’s also the editor of the Eisner Award-winning PanelxPanel magazine, about the craft and art of comics. 152pgs colour paperback.
Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, The Man Who Created Nancy
by Bill Griffith
Abrams ComicArts
$24.99
The publisher says:
From Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead and Nobody’s Fool, comes Three Rocks, a biography of cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller, creator of the iconic comic strip Nancy. But this graphic novel is about more than a single comic book artist. It is the story of this American art form, tracing its inception to 1895 with the Yellow Kid, the creation of Nancy in 1933, and all the strips that followed, including Peanuts and The Far Side. When Bushmiller died in 1982, Nancy was running in almost 900 daily newspapers—a number few syndicated cartoonists ever achieve. Nancy is hailed as the “perfect” comic strip by fans and cartoonists alike. The title Three Rocks refers to the trope of three hemispherical rocks often seen in a Bushmiller landscape—just enough to communicate environment to the reader. This distillation is exemplary of the iconic, diagrammatic look of Nancy, a comic strip about the nature of what it means to be a comic strip—the perfect avatar for Griffith to expand upon his philosophy of creating comics. Bill Griffith is the creator of the syndicated daily comic strip Zippy and the author of Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead. Griffith’s prolific output has been included in such publications as the Village Voice, National Lampoon, and The New Yorker. According to Bartlett, Griffith coined the popular phrase “Are we having fun yet?” He lives in Hadlyme, Connecticut. 272pgs B&W hardcover.
Chris Ware says:
“I inhaled this book. If there’s one Nancy mystery greater than the peculiar, clean hum of the strip itself, it’s what Ernie Bushmiller, the man, was actually like. In this last, best volume of a three-book talismanic paean to the inspirations that have sustained and formed him for the past half century, underground comix legend Bill Griffith grafts all the real messiness of life—research, anecdotes, and interviews with those who knew Bushmiller—to perfect examples of the distilled graphic haiku of the Connecticut Zen master of the comic strip. The result, quite simply, is a page-turning, standard-setting, must-have work of biographical art. Two words: Three Rocks. Five stars!”
Toussaint Louverture
by C.L.R. James, adapted by Nic Watts & Sakina Karimjee
Verso
$24.95
The publisher says:
This impassioned and beautifully drawn book dramatically recounts ‘one of the great epics of revolutionary struggle and achievement’—the Haitian Revolution of 1794–1803. It is also the stirring—and incredible—story of Toussaint Louverture, a man born into slavery who rose to become the revolt’s indispensable leader. Perhaps more than any other figure from the Age of Revolution, he gave voice to a truly universal call for liberty and equality. Written by C. L. R. James, the Trinidadian revolutionary whose classic study Black Jacobins has been in print for eighty-five years and is the definitive history of the revolution, this book’s text itself has a fascinating history. It’s drawn from a play that opened in London in 1936, with Paul Robeson in the title role, the first time black actors starred on the British stage in a play by a black playwright. The script was lost for almost seventy years, then a draft copy was found among James’s archives, and now this extraordinary drama has been turned into a graphic novel by artists Nic Watts and Sakina Karimjee. This page-turning visual narrative surrounds Toussaint with fiery radicals like Haitian leader Dessalines and intransigent French like Napoleon. Above all, the book portrays the world-changing force of the enslaved Haitian people, for, as James famously wrote, “Toussaint did not make the revolution. It was the revolution that made Toussaint.” C.L.R. James was a Trinidadian historian, novelist, activist, and cultural and political critic. He wrote many books, including Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution. Nic Watts and Sakina Karimjee are artists based in London. This is their first book. 272pgs B&W paperback.
Two Tribes
by Emily Bowen Cohen
Heartdrum
$24.99 / $15.99
The publisher says:
In her poignant debut graphic novel inspired by her own life, Emily Bowen Cohen embraces the
