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Top 36 Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga:
June 2023
Beautiful, bravura books are a-blooming, plenty to look forward to, as spring arrives. Three translations of bandes dessinées from France pique my interest, from the last masterpiece by the sadly late writer Hubert…
To the hugely overdue English-language book debut of Chantal Montellier’s outspoken, charged graphic novels, more relevant than ever…
To the arrival of recent success-story autrice, Camille Jourdy, with more than a touch of Posy Simmonds to her sensibilities.
Two major mangaka, Shunji Uchida and Saito Nazuma, further enrich our appreciation of real riches of Japanese comics.
From Germany, Matthias Lehmann offers a poignant reminder of societal stigma and suppression in the past…
...while Matti Lubchansky captures a transfemme person’s experiences and transitioning in today’s world. I’ve picked out these PG Tips, and several other titles publishing soon, hopefully to intrigue and entice you!
A Boy Named Rose
by Gaëlle Geniller
Fairsquare Comics
$29.99
The publisher says:
Paris. The 1920s. Rose is a boy and, like all the girls he’s spent time with since he was born, he wants to dance at “Le Jardin”, the cabaret managed by his mother. As Rose blossoms into a 19 year old young man, he discovers love and tries to find his place in a society that’s not ready to welcome true love between two men with open arms. Created and beautifully drawn by Gaëlle Geniller, ABoy Named Rose is going to make you fall in love with this story, set in Art Deco Paris and where a young man discovers who he really is in a place filled with entertainment and drama. What is Rose’s place in the world? Is he just a boy? Is he a girl inside? Rose just wants to be accepted for who he really is and live, love and dance as free as he can be. A beautiful LGBTQIA+ tale from a time where loving differently was a challenge, A Boy Named Rose will move you, in all its subtleness and tenderness. 212pgs colour paperback.
Arca: Into the Dark Labyrinth
by Romain Bennasaya & Joan Urgell
Humanoids
$24.99
The publisher says:
In the not-too-distant future, the planet Earth has been destroyed, its orbit withering and its citizens desperate to escape to the stars. The solution? The Arca, massive vessels bound for the distant promised land of Leonis. When the passengers of Arca III awaken from their long intergalactic journey, they realise they’re not in Leonis. Not only that, their journey has taken much longer than the planned two hundred years, and has landed them in a starless, seemingly endless place. Eric Rives, the ship’s second-in-command, and his partner Jia Tang are sent on an exploratory mission to investigate the dark labyrinth that surrounds them… but what they find is beyond belief. Romain Benassaya was born in Nice in 1984. After studying linguistics in Paris and obtaining a master’s degree, he taught French in Canada, then in Uganda, before settling in Bangkok. Passionate about science fiction, and by his own admission deeply influenced by Frank Herbert’s Dune and Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, he naturally turned to space opera. Pyramides (Critic, 2018; Pocket, 2020), his second novel after Arca (Critic, 2016; Pocket, 2018), was acclaimed by critics. With his third novel, Les Naufragés de Velloa (Critic, 2019), he continues his exploration of infinite space but above all of the infinite complexity of the human soul. Born September 10, 1982 in Catalonia (Spain), Joan Urgell preferred drawing to school. His parents took the risky (but ultimately beneficial) decision to enroll him in the Joso School in Barcelona, a drawing academy where Joan spent four years. The discovery of the world of work follows, with the first disappointing experiences, two complicated years, but they serve him to better understand the complex universe of the professional draftsman. Over time, he manages to feel more comfortable and begins to better understand his personal ambitions in comics. Joan has worked for Disney, for Connecta (a design company with which he collaborated prolifically for several years) and made several illustration works for many small companies. With La onzième plaie, he finally realised his dream: to enter the world of European comics. 112pgs colour hardcover.
Big Ugly
by Ellice Weaver
Avery Hill Publishing
$19.95
The publisher says:
Work, health, family—Mel feels like her life is just circling endlessly as she begins to renew her relationship to her brother in this vibrant graphic novel. Mel isn’t going anywhere—except to work every day. But when she offers the spare room in her apartment to her struggling brother, everything she loves and hates about wanting to live up to the expectations of her family becomes part of her every day again. It turns out that even as adults, living with your sibling brings back the dynamics of tween rivalries. As Mel tries to rebalance things with her brother, she navigates how to offer help to someone who doesn’t want to need it. Renowned illustrator Ellice Weaver brings her crisp artwork to the graphic novel form in this powerful story of contemporary life. Ellice Weaver is a Bristol, UK-based illustrator who loves making bustling illustrations that brim with colour and characters. After graduating from The University of West England she moved to Berlin for 5 years where she began her career as a freelance illustrator. Her clients include The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Times and Transport for London. Her debut graphic novel Something City was named Indie Comic of the Year in 2017 by Pipedream Comics. 128pgs colour hardcover,
Boys Weekend
by Matti Lubchansky
Pantheon Books
$28.00
The publisher says:
From the award-winning cartoonist and editor at The Nib, a hilarious trans-“final girl” horror graphic novel about a bachelor party gone very, very wrong. Newly-out trans artist’s assistant Sammie is invited to an old friend’s bachelor weekend in El Campo, a hedonistic wonderland of a city floating in the Atlantic Ocean’s international waters—think Las Vegas with even fewer rules. Though they have not identified as a man for over a year, Sammie’s college buddies haven’t quite gotten the message—as evidenced by their formerly closest friend Adam asking them to be his “best man.” Arriving at the swanky hotel, Sammie immediately questions their decision to come. Bad enough that they have to suffer through a torrent of passive-aggressive comments from the groom’s pals—all met with zero pushback from supposed “nice guy” Adam. But also, they seem to be the only one who’s noticed the mysterious cult that’s also staying at the hotel, and is ritually dismembering guests and demanding fealty to their bloodthirsty god. Part satire, part horror, Boys Weekend explores what it’s like to exist as a transfemme person in a man’s world, the difficulty of maintaining friendships through transition, and the more cult-like effects of masculinity, “hustle” culture and capitalism—all through the vibrant lens of a surreal, scary and immensely imaginative romp. Mattie Lubcjansky is a cartoonist and illustrator and the Associate Editor of Ignatz award-winning magazine and website The Nib. They are also an Ignatz winner, a Herblock Prize finalist, and the author of The Antifa Super-Soldier Cookbook. They live in beautiful Queens, NY, with their spouse. 232pgs colour hardcover.
Darkly She Goes
by Hubert & Vincent Mallié
NBM Graphic Novels
$29.99
The publisher says:
Once upon a time there was a fallen knight, who believed that saving a princess would allow him to atone for his crimes. Once upon a time there was a dark princess, who believed that it was up to her to atone for the crimes of her parents… Banished for a fault that forever taints his reputation, Arzhur wanders from tavern to field of battle in search of the next contract which will fill his purse. One night, three mysterious old women offer him to regain honour and fortune if he frees the daughter of a neighbouring king, held captive in the ruins of an abandoned castle. But Islen is not the damsel in distress that he expected to save… Magnified by the virtuoso art of Vincent Mallié, under Hubert’s pen, the weight of family legacy takes the form of a stirring fairytale about facing inner demons. Darkly She Goes is an ode to redemption that pits free will against fate, brought to life by two masters of the fantasy genre. Hubert was born in 1971 in Saint Renan and studied graphic arts in Angers where he was led into the wondrous world of comics. He started at first making a reputation for himself as a colourist but soon turned to scriptwriting where he established himself as a leading voice in graphic novels for an adult audience. Hubert thus spoke of anorexia, gender adnd homosexuality in tales and stories that have become as essential as Miss Don’t Touche Me and Beauty (both from NBM), drawn by the duo Kerascoët. He passed away, too early, in 2020. Vincent Mallié was born in Paris in 1973. He graduated in graphic arts in Paris. Since 1998 he has been a comic artist collaborating with many top French authors in the field and working on a number of bestselling novels and series. Renowned for the aesthetics of his semi-realistic line, the efficiency of his layouts and his gift for fabulous natural compositions, Vincent Mallié started collaborating with the late Hubert (Beauty, Miss Don’t Touch Me) on Darkly She Goes, which gave him the opportunity to offer epic and seductive drawing in a feminist tale as powerful as it is striking. 160pgs colour hardcover.
Dear Mini: A Graphic Memoir - Book One
by Natalie Norris
Fantagraphics
$29.99
The publisher says:
A vivid debut graphic memoir of adolescent resiliency. This debut graphic memoir (the first of two books, with Book Two coming in 2025) is a bittersweet coming of age story that chronicles the author’s teenage experiences with sexual assault, PTSD and resiliency. Dear Mini is not a cautionary tale; rather, it is a vivid (at turns hilariously and uncomfortably so) depiction of adolescent agency in the face of trauma, tracing Norris’s journey from wayward wild-child to resilient adult who has harnessed her voice after almost a decade of silence. Told in the form of an illustrated letter to an old friend, Dear Mini recounts the author’s experience going abroad to attend a language immersion programme in France after her sophomore year of high school. She meets Mini, an Austrian student who shares her predilection for illicit adventure, and the two quickly form a bond that they expect to last well after they go their separate ways. But when Natalie visits Mini ten months after their last face-to-face, something has changed. Their nocturnal exploits veer head-on into disaster. Norris’s spirited and free-flowing page designs and full-colour cartooning bring her frank voice and personality to life, making Dear Mini one of the most compelling graphic memoir debuts of 2023. Natalie Norris is a graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies and currently resides in Vermont. 218pgs colour hardcover.
Den Vol. 1 (of 2): Neverwhere
by Richard Corben
Dark Horse
$34.99
The publisher says:
The first volume presenting the long-out-of-print masterpiece Den by fantasy legend Richard Corben. This special edition also features bonus material, art pages restored by long-time Corben collaborator José Villarrubia, new lettering by Nate Piekos of Blambot and an introduction by Patton Oswalt, all presented in a gorgeous hardcover with a dust jacket. Thrust into a bizarre fantasy world called Neverwhere, the muscular adventurer Den goes on an exotic adventure through ancient ruins meeting an evil queen, her sacrificial doppelganger, bizarre lizard men, giant insects and more strange and dangerous madness in this legendary saga brimming with horror, magic and violence. The inspiration for the Den segment of the cult classic film, Heavy Metal. Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine. He is the winner of the 2009 Spectrum Grand Master Award. In 2012 he was elected to the The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame. 128pgs colour hardcover.
Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think!
by Sarah Kendzior, Andrea Chalupa & Kasia Babis
First Second
$28.99
The publisher says:
Co-hosts of the popular podcast Gaslit Nation outline the authoritarian’s playbook, illuminating five steps every dictator needs to take to successfully amass and maintain power. Do you crave the power to shape the world in your image? Can you tell lies without blinking an eye? Do you see enemies all around you? If you answered yes to all of the above, then this is the job for you! And if becoming a dictator sounds intriguing, well, you’ve just stumbled upon the playbook that will guide you step by step towards making your big lie a reality. Join Gaslit Nation co-hosts Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa, with artist Kasia Babis, on a journey from riches to even more riches. They’ll show you how to consolidate your authority, silence your critics, weaponise your citizens and even prolong your inevitable downfall. Sarah Kendzior is the author of the bestselling books The View From Flyover Country, Hiding in Plain Sight and They Knew. She is the co-host of the acclaimed podcast Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and was named by Foreign Policy as one of the “100 people you should be following on Twitter to make sense of global events.” Kendzior has a PhD in anthropology from Washington University, where she researched authoritarian regimes of the former Soviet Union. She lives in St. Louis.
Andrea Chalupa is the writer and producer of the award-winning journalistic thriller Mr. Jones, directed by Agnieszka Holland and starring James Norton, Peter Sarsgaard and Vanessa Kirby, about Stalin’s genocide famine in Ukraine. She is the co-host of Gaslit Nation with Sarah Kendzior and helped launch #DigitalMaidan, a hashtag of Ukraine’s EuroMaidan Revolution and the 2017 March for Truth, demanding transparency in the Russia/Trump investigation. She graduated from UC Davis and regularly speaks about Ukraine and Russia to the press and schools. She lives in Brooklyn. Kasia Babis is a Polish cartoonist, illustrator and political activist with an online following of over 100,000 fans. Her viral comics succinctly skewer social issues ranging from racism to street harassment from a distinctly feminist perspective. 304pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Family Style
by Thien Pham
First Second
$25.99 / $17.99
The publisher says:
A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy’s search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and The Best We Could Do. Thien’s first memory isn’t a sight or a sound. It’s the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It’s the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam. After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don’t get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien’s mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that bring Thien so much joy that they become a necessity. Behind every cut of steak and inside every croissant lies a story. And for Thien Pham, that story is about a search—for belonging, for happiness, for the American dream. 240pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Flic
by Valentin Gendrot & Thierry Chavant, translated by Frank Wynne
Scribe Press
$25.00
The publisher says:
The story of a French journalist who infiltrated the country’s police force, revealing a culture of racism and violence in which officers act with impunity. What happens behind the walls of a police station? What kind of living does a cop make? And how does a culture of racism and violence become entrenched? Valentin Gendrot went undercover in Paris to find the answer—revelations that rocked France and led to a series of investigations, including an internal affairs case on Gendrot himself. Gendrot puts his life on hold for two years. He decides to undertake training and become a police officer. Several months later, Gendrot is working in a police station in one of the tough northern arrondissements of Paris, where relations between the law and locals are strained. Gendrot hides nothing. He witnesses police brutality, racism, blunders, and cover-ups. But he also sees the oppressive working conditions that officers endure, and mourns the tragic suicide of a colleague. Asking important questions about who holds institutional power and how we can hold them to account, Flic is a gripping exposé of a world never before seen by outsiders, an urgent story for our times, powerfully illustrated by the talented Thierry Chavant. Born in 1988, Valentin Gendrot worked on local newspapers and radio after graduating from journalism college, and carried out several undercover investigations—including working on a Toyota production line and in a Lidl supermarket—before joining the Paris police force. Thierry Chavant is the artistic director of the Nouvel Eldorado ad agency. He has been illustrating comics since 2005. Frank Wynne is an Irish literary translator, writer, and editor. He has translated numerous French and Hispanic authors including Michel Houellebecq, Patrick Modiano, Javier Cercas and Virginie Despentes. 144pgs colour paperback.
Freak Buck
by various creators, edited by Alexi Zeren
Fantagraphics
$35.00
The publisher says:
In editor Alexi Zeren’s words, Freak Buck is a prison for the monsters we build every day, and the book covers are the cell walls. It features new and cutting-edge work from Marti (El Vibora, The Cabbie), Igor Hofbauer, Abraham Diaz, Gunnar Lundkvist, Josh Simmons, Josh Bayer, Alexis Rose, Jasper Jubenvill, Longmont Potion Castle, Emily V Brown, Dylan Languell, Heather Bryant and many more. A beautifully designed, limited run, cutting-edge anthology that showcases both established indie artists and previously unpublished cartoonists. 256pgs colour hardcover.
Gospel Vol. 1
by Will Morris
Image Comics
$14.99
The publisher says:
When opportunity refuses to knock for restless hero Matilde, the devil comes knocking instead. Thrust into action by the hellish arrival, Matilde and storyteller Pitt will quest for renown, the soul of their community and answers to the toughest question of all: “who am I?” Inspired by the work of Hayao Miyazaki and set in the chaos of King Henry VIII’s reign, Gospel is a thrilling fantasy adventure that explores the truth behind the stories we tell. Will Morris has had his comics published by Oxford University Press, Nobrow, Spirou, 2000AD, Vertigo and Freight Books for the Edinburgh International Book Festival. His graphic novel, The Silver Darlings was started while studying for an M.A in illustration at Camberwell College of Arts and published by Blank Slate Books. 160pgs colour paperback.
I Never Found You
by Emma Jon-Michael Frank
Floating World Comics
$19.95
The publisher says:
In I Never Found You, a queer birdwatcher finds something macabre and grisly in the woods, entering him into a strange and desperate world. Part murder mystery, and part mystery of the self, I Never Found You is a story about belonging and love, in a world made increasingly hostile by dark human influence. 76pgs colour paperback.
Juliette or The Ghosts Return in the Spring
by Camille Jourdy, translated by Aleshia Jensen
Drawn & Quarterly
$29.95
The publisher says:
A vibrant tableau of small-town life as seen through the eyes of a woman returning home from Paris. Juliette boards a train from Paris and comes back to her hometown hoping for a low-key visit with family and old friends. What she finds is anything but. Her sister, a caregiver and mother of two, is carrying on an elaborate affair with a man from a costume shop. Her parents, separated, are now estranged. Father is sure he’s developing Alzheimer’s, though it’s more likely that he’s simply getting old. Mother, on the other hand, revels in the second act of her life as a free woman, an artist with a show at their local gallery to prove it. Slowly, Juliette finds herself entangled with the unlikely Georges, a dyspeptic alcoholic who is stuck in his life. These divergent paths inevitably cross against a gloriously painted backdrop of eccentric small-town living. Camille Jourdy’s beautiful watercolour pages provide an unfeigned milieu for the subtle dramedy at hand in Juliette. All too real human emotions, bittersweet and relatable in their rawness, come together to form a poetic realism. Camille Jourdy grew up in Dole, and studied at the Beaux-Arts in Epinal and the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg. Her previous works include Juliette: les fantômes reviennent au printemps and Rosalie Blum which was adapted into a film. She also works as an illustrator on albums and games for Actes Sud, Albin Michel and more. 240pgs colour paperback.
Minami’s Lover
by Shungiku Uchida, translated by H. Paige
Fantagraphics
$29.99
The publisher says:
In this raunchy, moving, funny manga for adults, high school student Minami’s girlfriend, Chiyomi, shrinks down to six inches tall ― and moves in with him. Originally appearing in the underground/alternative manga magazine Garo in the 1980s and adapted for television several times, the Japanese pop culture sensation Minami’s Lover is the story of two high schoolers’ romantic relationship when one of them shrinks down to six inches tall. Everyone thinks Chiyomi has disappeared, and suspicion naturally falls on Minami, identified as her boyfriend in her diary. But after inexplicably finding herself in such a state, Chiyomi moves in with him. As depicted in Uchida’s clean, loose line and Zip-a-Tone textures, the two soon adapt to the unusual circumstances, devising ways for Chiyomi to use the toilet, brush her teeth and hair, attend classes and more. After some silly sequences of trial and error, they even figure out a sex life. But in addition to learning how to navigate logistics, jealousy and the cat, they’re also growing up (if not taller). Uchida uses the conceit of a teen couple literally learning how to take care of one another to examine gender dynamics and intimacy. Born in Nagasaki, Japan, Shungiku Uchida (the pen name of Shigeko Uchida) is a prolific writer, mangaka, singer and actress whose work is widely adapted into film and television. She won a Japanese literary prize for two bestsellers: the prose, semi-autobiographical Fatherfucker, which details the abuse she suffered as a child, and a manga series, We Are Reproducing, about pregnancy and single motherhood. H. Paige was born and raised in London. She studied Japanese at The University of Manchester and spent a year in Fukuoka, where she studied courses on tourism, animation and pop culture. She began freelance translating in 2021 and currently works in London. 200pgs B&W hardcover.
Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story
by Sarah Myer
FirstSecond
$25.99 / $17.99
The publisher says:
A poignant young adult graphic memoir about a Korean-American girl who uses fandom and art-making to overcome racist bullying. Perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Almost American Girl. Sarah has always struggled to fit in. Born in South Korea and adopted at birth by a white couple, she grows up in a rural community with few Asian neighbours. People whisper in the supermarket. Classmates bully her. She has trouble containing her anger in these moments―but through it all, she has her art. She’s always been a compulsive drawer, and when she discovers anime, her hobby becomes an obsession. Though drawing and cosplay offer her an escape, she still struggles to connect with others. And in high school, the bullies are louder and meaner. Sarah’s bubbling rage is threatening to burst. Sarah Myer is a comic artist and illustrator hailing from a ten-acre farm in White Hall, Maryland. An old-school cosplayer and anime fan, Sarah has attended anime/comic conventions as a fan and artist alley participant since 1999 and has constructed and worn more than fifty costumes. When they aren’t drawing, writing or cosplaying, Sarah enjoys cooking, weight training and spending time with their mackerel tabby, Loki. Sarah graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with BFA and MFA degrees in sequential art and taught foundation studies classes at the college for three years. In 2019, First Second published Maker Comics: Create a Costume!, Sarah’s first graphic novel. 272pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
My Friend Toby
by Gregory Panaccione
Magnetic Press
$24.99
The publisher says:
Toby the dog is living his best life by the seaside, enjoying the joys of nature, living with an artist who loves freedom as much as he does. Except for when he’s hungry—then nothing matters more than his master, whom he consoles and exasperates, and occasionally inspires. Things change, however, when his master starts seeing a new lady friend… A beautiful, wordless graphic novel exploring the mind of man’s best friend from his own perspective. By the triple-Eisner-nominated artist of A Sea of Love, Gregory Panaccione (Best Painter/Multimedia Artist, Best Publication Design, Best US Edition of International Material, 2019). 144pgs colour hardcover.
Noir Burlesque
by Enrico Marini, translated by [tbc]
Titan Comics
$29.99
The publisher says:
“Everybody has everything to lose…” An atmospheric, violent crime caper set in 1950s New York, with everything from femme fatales to double-crosses. A heist gone wrong forces Slick to do a job for his employer, Rex, to repay the debt he owes. But Slick is in love with Caprice, Rex’s ex-call girl wife-turned-burlesque legend and Rex also has the only way for Slick to avenge his murdered father. In this hardboiled noir thriller, everybody has everything to lose… Enrico Marini is an Italian comic artist whose previous books include Batman, Gypsy, Raptors, The Star of the Desert and The Eagles of Rome. 228pgs colour hardcover.
Northranger
by Rey Terciero & Bre Indigo
Harper Alley
$26.99 / $18.99
The publisher says:
In this swoony and spooky teen summer romance graphic novel set on a Texas ranch, sixteen-year-old Cade Muñoz finds himself falling for the ranch owner’s mysterious and handsome son, only to discover that he may be harbouring a dangerous secret. Cade has always loved to escape into the world of a good horror movie. After all, horror movies are scary—but to Cade, a closeted queer Latino teen growing up in rural Texas—real life can be way scarier. When Cade is sent to spend the summer working as a ranch hand to help earn extra money for his family, he is horrified. Cade hates everything about the ranch, from the early mornings to the mountains of horse poop he has to clean up. The only silver lining is the company of the two teens who live there—in particular, the ruggedly handsome and enigmatic Henry. But as unexpected sparks begin to fly between Cade and Henry, things get…complicated. Henry is reluctant to share the details of his mother’s death, and Cade begins to wonder what else he might be hiding. Inspired by the gothic romance of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Bloom comes a modern love story so romantic it’s scary. Rey Terciero, also known as Rex Ogle, has written and edited hundreds of books and comics for children and young adults. He is a queer writer who has always been drawn to strong female protagonists, including Elizabeth Bennet, Princess Leia, Jean Grey and Hermione Granger. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy was his debut graphic novel. Bre Indigo is a lover of astronomy, salmon sashimi, and open minds. She tells stories of gentle boys, tough girls and those in between with a focus on tolerance and the many faces of love. 240pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Nuking Alaska: Notes of an Atomic Fugitive
by Peter Dunlap-Shohl
Graphic Mundi / PSU Press
$19.95
The publisher says:
As if, in midcentury Alaska, you needed more ways to die. From the creator of the critically acclaimed graphic novel My Degeneration: A Journey Through Parkinson’s comes an unnervingly funny tale of life in Alaska during the tensest times of the Cold War. Peter Dunlap-Shohl grew up on the front lines of the Cold War in the 1950s and ’60s, where Alaska residents lived in the shadow of a nuclear arsenal nine times the size of the Soviet Union’s. This graphic novel recounts the surprising and tragicomic details of the nuclear threats faced by Alaskans, including Project Chariot, championed by Edward Teller and his “firecracker boys” in the late 1950s and early ’60s; the nearly nuclear disaster caused by the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964; and the 1971 test of a nuclear warhead on the island of Amchitka. Dunlap-Shohl shares the terrible consequences that these events and others had for humans and animals alike, all in the service of “atoms for peace.” Drawn with Dunlap-Shohl’s characteristic editorial cartooning style, Nuking Alaska is a fast-paced reminder of how close we came to total annihilation just a half century ago―and how terribly relevant the nuclear threat remains to this day. Peter Dunlap-Shohl worked as a cartoonist for the Anchorage Daily News for over a quarter of a century. As a (nearly) life-long Alaskan, he has survived earthquakes, oil spills and moose charges. He is the author of My Degeneration, a graphic novel about coping with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. He and his wife Pam now divide their time between Alaska and eastern Washington State. 104pgs colour paperback.
Offshore Lightning
by Saito Nazuna, translated by Alexa Frank
Drawn & Quarterly
$29.95
The publisher says:
Anxiety and longing suffuse incisive portraits of postwar Japan. Nazuna Saito began making comics late. She was in her forties when she submitted a story to a major Japanese publishing house and won an award for newcomers. She continued to work through the 1990s, until she stopped drawing to take care of her ailing parents. In her sixties, she took a job teaching drawing at Kyoto Seika University and became inspired by her talented students. When she returned to teaching, her storytelling interests had shifted. Before suffering a stroke, she drew In Captivity (2012) and Solitary Death Building (2015)―both focused on ageing and death. Offshore Lightning collects Saito’s early work as well as these two recent graphic novellas. Stories like “Buy Dog Food and Go Home” and “Offshore Lightning” focus on middle-aged men caught in a cycle of self-pity and self-reflection. Saito gently pokes fun at their anguish and self-involvement, while capturing the pathos of these men as they revisit childhood friendships and lost loves. By contrast, In Captivity follows three siblings visiting their ailing mother, who is succumbing to dementia and resentful at her loss of agency. The siblings take a drive as they reckon with balancing the painful legacy of her caustic personality with attempting to honour this woman at the end of her life. Solitary Death Building documents an eccentric cast of elderly gossips as death descends upon the housing complex where they live. 384pgs B&W paperback.
Old Caves
by Tyler Landry
Uncivilized Books
$19.95
The publisher says:
A retiree dedicates his days to combing a dense, snow-covered forest in pursuit of the unknown, and his nights to reminiscing about his wife. Old Caves is a peek through a frost-covered window at isolation, obsession and the slow erosion of relationships. The high contrast black-and-white art enhances the sense of absolute solitude. Old Caves is one of the best looking graphic novel debuts in recent memory. Tyler Landry lives and draws in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on the east coast of Canada. Over the last 20 years, he has occupied professional roles such as Game Artist, Art Director, Illustrator, Graphic Designer, as well as Cartoonist, Club Organiser, and Comics/Drawing Instructor. These days, inching ever closer to the embrace of death, he tries to devote as much energy as possible to cartooning. Published comics include: Dungeonoids, Opal (Dagger Dagger anthology), Trabajar para Sobrevivir (AIA Editorial) and Shit and Piss (Retrofit Comics). 106pgs B&W paperback.
Parallel
by Matthias Lehmann, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger
Oni Press
$29.99
The publisher says:
In Parallel, creator Matthias Lehmann deftly explores the complexities of being gay at a time when queer relationships were forbidden. Torn between his longing for a family and his simultaneous desire for gay love, Karl Kling hides his homosexuality from his wife and child while pursuing male romances in 1950s Germany. Karl Kling’s story is one of revelations, and these he has addressed in a letter to his daughter, Hella, who had disowned Karl many years ago. Karl’s letter is a cri de coeur from a father to a daughter he never really got to know, and he comes clean to her about his failed marriages, his fractured family relations—and his love for men. Taking place between the end of World War II and the 1980s, Parallel chronicles Karl’s efforts to comply with social norms in order to keep his sexuality a secret. It also paints a picture of a life torn between conformity and rebellion, and the cruel realities of twentieth-century German society, where homosexuality was proscribed and punishable until 1994. Matthias Lehmann poignantly depicts the story of a decades-long yearning to live an open and free life, and the price Karl and those he loves must pay for it. It is also a story of finding the courage to finally tell the truth no matter the obstacles…or the cost. Matthias Lehmann, born in Leipzig in 1983, completed his studies and master’s degree at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. He drew the comic Claude Monet (Prestel Verlag), publishes zines, and is regularly featured in the German comic anthology Jazam. In 2018, he was one of the finalists for the Comic Book Prize of the Berthold Leibinger Foundation for Parallel, and in 2019, he received the Ginco Award for the Best Short Comic. He lives in Germany. 464pgs B&W paperback.
Shed
by Richard Fairgray & Lucy Campagnolo
Blue Fox Comics
$19.99
The publisher says:
It doesn’t matter if it’s happy, if all you’re looking for is an ending. Small towns and small minds versus big dreams and big lobsters. After the death of her father, Amber seeks refuge in his small town, reopening his junk shop and looking for the happy ending she’s seen in so many movies-the one where a young woman relocates and dates two men. The one where you know exactly what you’ll do for the rest of your life by the time you hit 30. The one that shouldn’t be examined too closely by anyone who’s slumped into it. Richard Fairgray is a New Zealand–born author and illustrator, working primarily in comics and children’s books. He draws and colors and animates his work, in spite of being legally blind, with 3% vision in one eye and none in the other. Richard’s works are best known in New Zealand and Australia where he has over 200 published titles. His comic series Blastosaurus (2008) became widely known in New Zealand when it was launched as the first locally produced monthly comic title. His picture books for children have been published all over the world by multiple publishers including Scholastic, Penguin/Random House and Sky Pony Press. 124pgs colour paperback.
Social Fiction
by Chantal Montellier, translated by Geoffrey Brock
New York Review Comics
$24.95
The publisher says:
Appearing together in English for the first time, three politically charged sci-fi graphic novellas by a pioneering French comics artist. An anonymous official chides a man under surveillance for stepping out of view of a security camera; visitors to an underground mall are forced to form a new society when a nuclear strike may (or may not) have left them as the sole survivors on Earth; newlyweds living in an authoritarian New York City attempt to navigate the insidious hurdles of being permitted to have a child; and a Puerto Rican boxer discovers that segregation continues in America long after death. These are the visions of Chantal Montellier, a contributor to the legendary Métal Hurlant, and the creator of some of the most striking and stirring science fiction comics of the 1970s and 1980s. In this collection of three novellas, Wonder City, Shelter and 1996, published together in English for the first time, Montellier’s blend of dark humour, gripping storytelling and consistent focus on the perils of totalitarianism, shows her to be a master of both comics and science fiction. Chantal Montellier is a French novelist, painter, and comics creator. Montellier began working as an editorial cartoonist in 1972, with work appearing in newspapers and magazines such as Politis, L’Humanité and Marianne. A contributor to the renowned comics magazine Métal Hurlant and one of the most active female comics creators in France, Montellier is known for her realist drawing style and her engagement with political and feminist themes in her work. Geoffrey Brock is the author of two books of poetry, most recently Voices Bright Flags, and the translator of a number of books, including the NYRB Classics and NYR Children’s Collection editions of Carlo Collodi’s Pinnochio and the NYRC edition of The Tenderness of Stones by Marion Fayolle. 200pgs B&W paperback.
STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D
by Chuck D
Enemy Books
$59.95
The publisher says:
Chuck D (Public Enemy, Prophets of Rage, etc.) brings his personal insights and social critiques to the page in fierce, passionate and evocative visual art and prose in this limited edition box set. Legendary hip-hop artist and social activist Chuck D has used every opportunity in his groundbreaking career to stand up for civil rights. His rap group Public Enemy is widely regarded as a revolutionary act both in terms of its impact on hip-hop and its use of music to impart a message of race and class equality. The band emerged from the late 1970s/early ‘80s coalescence of rap, punk and street art into hip-hop music culture on the East Coast. At the time, Chuck D had completed his BFA in graphic design, and while his music career exploded, his passion for visual art never left his heart. In February 2020, he turned his gaze once again to the page, and began to fill three 5 x 8 inch journals with his written and drawn reflections of a world beginning to unravel. STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D recreates the format of his original art, combining three full-colour paperback bound books into a beautiful box set. The box set is the inaugural offering from Enemy Books, the new Akashic Books imprinted curated by Chuck D. Spanning the onset of COVID-19 through the first year of the Joe “Bye-Don” administration, Chuck D lends his powerful artistic voice to one of the most tumultuous periods in American history, and puts it in a capsule. Like the neo-expressionist graffiti art of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Chuck D’s energetic “Naphic Grovels” marry text with drawings, commenting on contemporary events with the same activist instinct that propelled Public Enemy’s “music-with-a-message” reputation. His inventive, Amiri Baraka–esque language and accompanying art is also occasionally used as a tool for introspection, providing unparalleled insight into one of the most important cultural figures of our time. Each journal follows a distinct period in Chuck D’s (and America’s) life; There’s a Poison Goin On chronicles the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, from February–April 2020; 45 Daze of REaD Octobot follow the days leading up to and the aftermath of the historic 2020 election; and Datamber Mindpaper, which focuses on the early days of the Biden administration. No song may be more reflective of 1980s America than Public Enemy’s Fight the Power; no document may come to capture our COVID era like Chuck D’s STEWdio.
Chuck D is the leader and cofounder of the legendary rap group Public Enemy, a social activist, multimedia producer, visual artist, and digital music pioneer. He has been featured in more than one hundred documentaries on music, technology, politics and race, and co-curated The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap. He has also been a national spokesperson for Rock the Vote, the National Urban League, Americans for the Arts and the National Alliance of African American Athletes. As part of Public Enemy, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 720pgs colour 3 x hardcovers in slipcase.
The 2000AD Art of Kevin O’Neill: Apex Edition
by Kevin O’Neill
Rebellion / 2000AD
£100 / $155.00
The publisher says:
An incredible insight into the art of one of comics’ most unique talents, The 2000 AD Art of Kevin O’Neill: Apex Edition contains art from 1977 through to 2022. From concept sketches of 2000 AD‘s alien editor Tharg the Mighty to complete episodes of Ro-Busters and A.B.C. Warriors, and previously unseen versions of his Nemesis the Warlock: The Final Conflict pages. Also included are his never before reprinted Metalzoic covers and the entirety of his final sequential work on Bonjo From Beyond The Stars. The Apex Edition is a deluxe, over-sized facsimile edition, and this 160-page collection has been compiled by O’Neill from his own archive, reproducing his original art pages at their actual size. This is an unmissable testament to his remarkable career. 160pgs colour oversized hardcover.
The Best of Simon & Kirby’s Mainline Comics
by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
TwoMorrows
$49.95
The publisher says:
In 1954, industry legends Joe Simon and Jack Kirby founded Mainline Publications to publish their own comics during that turbulent era in comics history. The four titles―Bullseye, Foxhole, Police Trap and In Love―looked to build off their reputation as hit makers in the Western, War, Crime and Romance genres, but the 1950s backlash against comics killed any chance at success, and Mainline closed its doors just two years later. For the first time, TwoMorrows Publishing is compiling the best of Simon & Kirby’s Mainline comics work, including all of the stories with S&K art, as well as key tales with contributions by Mort Meskin and others. After the company’s dissolution, their partnership ended with Simon leaving comics for advertising, and Kirby taking unused Mainline concepts to both DC and Marvel. This collection bridges the gap between Simon & Kirby’s peak with their 1950s romance comics, and the lows that led to Kirby’s resurgence with Challengers of the Unknown and the early Marvel Universe. With loving art restoration by Chris Fama, and an historical overview by John Morrow to put it all into perspective, The Best of Simon & Kirby’s Mainline Comics presents some of the final, and finest, work Joe and Jack ever produced. 256pgs colour hardcover.
The Hidden River
by Diego Arandojo & Jorge Fantoni
Fantagraphics
$19.99
The publisher says:
Esotericism: the quest for hidden truths and spiritual secrets, through which searchers uncover the true nature of self. In 1920, Argentine author Roberto Arlt, while first developing his own quest as a writer, published an essay on his uneasy experiences with esoteric groups in Buenos Aires. Diego Arandojo and Jorge Fantoni’s graphic novel The Hidden River tells the story of Fausto Dumrauf who, many decades later continues Ault’s work, following in the footsteps if internationally renowned writers such as Leopoldo Lugones and Ernesto Sabatom, who also studied the esoteric classics and frequented secret societies. Dumrauf investigates and collects disparate anecdotes of secret societies, connecting strands of a plot hidden in the shadow of the great South American city, that extend out to entangle some of the most notable occultists of the 20th century. Dumrauf’s research forms cartography of a hidden river on the Río de la Plata, whose waters can cure or madden, depending on the drinker. Will he reveal mysteries of the cosmos, or simply the weakness of his aging mind and body? The dark swirls of Jorge Fantoni’s illustration depict the topography of Diego Arandojo’s story like a relief map. Unfold and trace your own journey into the conspiracies. Diego Arandojo is an Argentine author, scriptwriter, award-winning film and TV documentarian and filmmaker. In addition to writing short fiction, novels, graphic novels, children’s radio plays and more, he runs the digital magazine Lafarium. His earlier graphic novel Beatnik Buenos Aires was translated by Fantagraphics in 2021. Jorge Fantoni has been a mainstay of the Argentine underground comics scene since the 1980s. In addition to his work as a cartoonist, he has edited comics zines and anthologies like Chapa Chapa, Parasite, El lápiz Japonés and 50 Quadernos. 80pgs B&W paperback.
The Prophet: Graphic Novel
by Kahlil Gibran, adapted by A. David Lewis & Justin Renteria
Graphic Mundi / PSU Press
$21.95
The publisher says:
One of the best-known and most-translated works of free verse poetry ever published in the English language, The Prophet by Lebanon-born Khalil Gibran, tells the story of the prophet Almustafa, who was banished from his homeland, and lived twelve years as a refugee in the fictional city of Orphalese. One day, as Almustafa prepares to board the ship that will take him home, he addresses a gathering of townspeople who have come to see him off. His parting words of wisdom about the human condition reveal him to be a man who sees deeply into the hearts, minds and souls and his fellow humans. Illustrated by Justin Renteria in a 1920s Ottoman-inspired style and adapted by A. David Lewis, this is a vibrant, authentic and skilfully paced graphic novel that is faithful to the original text. It includes an imagined backstory about the enigmatic main character. Appearing 100 years after the original publication of Gibran’s masterpiece, and at a time when entire groups of people are being forced to seek refuge elsewhere, this fresh and visually compelling rendering of The Prophet conveys the original work’s bracing and inspirational message about what it means to live well in today’s the world. A. David Lewis is an Eisner Award-nominated writer whose graphic novels include an award-winning adaptation of Exodus, entitled The Lone and Level Sands, and his revival of the first Muslim superhero: Kismet, Man of Fate. Lewis is a Boston-based university educator, library curator and comics studies scholar. 112pgs colour paperback.
The Summer Hikaru Died Vol. 1
by Mokomokuren
Yen Press
$15.00
The publisher says:
Two boys lived in a village: Yoshiki and Hikaru. The two did everything together…until the day Hikaru was encompassed by a mysterious light. That was when everything changed―Hikaru most of all. Yoshiki still wishes from the bottom of his heart to always stay by his side…but is there even a Hikaru left to be with? Mokumokuren first conceived the series while studying for high school entrance exams. After graduating, Mokumokuren began posting drawings on Twitter in their spare time in January 2021. Mokumokuren was later approached by the Young Ace Up editorial department to serializse the manga on Kadokawa Shoten’s Young Ace Up
The Talk
by Darrin Bell
Henry Holt / Jonathan Cape
$29.99 / £25.00
The publisher says:
Darrin Bell was six years old when his mother told him he couldn’t have a realistic water gun. She said she feared for his safety, that police tend to think of little Black boys as older and less innocent than they really are. Through evocative illustrations and sharp humour, Bell examines how The Talk shaped intimate and public moments from childhood to adulthood. While coming of age in Los Angeles―and finding a voice through cartooning―Bell becomes painfully aware of being regarded as dangerous by white teachers, neighbours and police officers and thus of his mortality. Drawing attention to the brutal murders of African Americans and showcasing revealing insights and cartoons along the way, he brings us up to the moment of reckoning when people took to the streets protesting the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And now Bell must decide whether he and his own six-year-old son are ready to have The Talk. Darrin Bell, recipient of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, the 2016 Berryman Award for Editorial Cartooning, the 2015 RFK Award for Editorial Cartooning, and UC Berkeley’s 2015 Daily Californian Alumni of the Year Award, began his career in 1995 at the age of twenty. While serving as the Daily Californian’s staff cartoonist, he began freelancing for the Opinion pages of the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Oakland Tribune. In 1997, he cocreated the comic strip Rudy Park and self-syndicated it to technology magazines. United Media launched it into newspapers in 2001. In 2003, Darrin launched his other comic strip, Candorville, in newspapers via the Washington Post Writers Group (WPWG), which also began syndicating his editorial cartoons in 2013. While WPWG still syndicates Candorville and Rudy Park, Darrin moved his editorial cartoons to King Features Syndicate in late 2018. He’s also a contributing cartoonist for the New Yorker. Darrin lives with his wife and two children in California. 352pgs colour hardcover.
Turning Japanese: Expanded Edition
by MariNaomi
Oni Press
$29.99
The publisher says:
The year is 1995. Fresh out of a long-term relationship, twenty-two-year old MariNaomi finds herself in San Jose, California. Mari, a mixed-race Japanese American, has for many years felt disconnected from the culture of her mother. Immersed in the pan-asian diaspora of San Jose, Mari searches for cultural and romantic connections. It doesn’t take long for Mari to find new loves, and a new job—at a hostess bar for Japanese expats—in a bid to learn the Japanese language and culture. Turning Japanese moves as Mari does, from San Jose to Tokyo, as she tries to get by in an unfamiliar city with rudimentary language skills—all in the hopes of finally connecting with her Japanese relatives without the use of her mother as a translator. Turning Japanese: Expanded Edition includes new story pages that bring fresh insight and a new resolution to this classic comics memoir of our times. MariNaomi (she/they) is the award-winning author and illustrator of Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22 (Harper Perennial, 2011), Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories (2dcloud/Uncivilized Books, 2014), Turning Japanese (2dcloud, 2016), I Thought YOU Hated ME (Retrofit Comics, 2016), the Life on Earth trilogy (Graphic Universe, 2018-2020), and Dirty Produce (Workman Publishing, Nov. 2021). Their work has appeared in over eighty print publications and has been featured on websites such as The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts, The Rumpus, LA Review of Books, Midnight Breakfast and BuzzFeed, and has been translated into French (Devenir Japonaise, Editions IMHO, Feb. 2021) and Russian. MariNaomi’s comics and paintings have been featured in the Smithsonian, the de Young Museum, the Cartoon Art Museum, the Asian Art Museum and the Japanese American Museum. In 2011 and 2018, Mari toured with the literary roadshow Sister Spit. They are the founder and administrator of the Cartoonists of Color Database, the Queer Cartoonists Database and the Disabled Cartoonists Database. They have taught classes for the California College of the Arts Comics MFA program, and was a guest editor for PEN Illustrated. They were cohost of the Ask Bi Grlz podcast with author Myriam Gurba. MariNaomi lives in Southern California with their spouse and a menagerie of rescue cats, dogs and butterfly babies. 236pgs B&W hardcover.
Underground: The Illustrated Bible of Cursed Rockets and High Priestesses of Sound
by Arnaud Le Gouëfflec & Nicolas Moog
Titan Comics
$29.99
The publisher says:
The essential illustrated bible of independent music. Although not widely known, each of these artists has changed the history of music. So, to celebrate the incredible contributions of these unsung heroes, Arnaud Le Gouëfflec and Nicolas Moog have brought their stories to vivid life. Discover the sensitive and manic-depressive genius Daniel Johnston; the Peruvian queen of exotica, Yma Sumac; the improbable blind and homeless Moondog; the classy bargain hunters of The Cramps; the legendary Patti Smith; and many, many more. A veritable illustrated bible of the underground music scene, this anthology of 50 biographies invites you to discover little-known maestros and creators of under-heard masterpieces. This is a book for the simply curious, as well as the connoisseur. Arnaud Le Gouëfflec is 47 years old and has many stories to tell. His career as an author, as atypical as it is prolific, is characterised by a refusal to let himself be locked into a genre. Both a novelist and comic book scriptwriter, he is also a singer and songwriter. The common denominator: writing, fuelled by various sources of fascination, from noir to serial novels to Fantômas, from SF to pataphysics, from comics to rock. Nicolas Moog is a French cartoonist and author. He is also a musician (vocals, guitar, banjo, double bass, double bass, percussion) in several neo-blues formations such as The Verduns, and performs regularly on stage in Europe and the United States of America. 320pgs B&W paperback.
Vern, The Custodian of the Universe
by Tyrell Waiters
Nobrow Press
$20.99
The publisher says:
A thought-provoking and hilarious romp through time and space from debut creator, Tyrell Waiters that explores what it means to be human in a world fraught with uncertainty. On the edge of burnout, Vern decides to return to his family in the Sunshine State to start over. Starting a new dead-end job as a custodian at Quasar—a local science facility with a shady motive—he shrugs on his uniform, grabs a mop and bucket, and trudges off to clean up… Black holes? Space-time anomalies? Galactic ooze? Things aren’t entirely what they seem at Quasar, and when Vern accidentally plugs in a mysterious machine and finds himself standing on the brink of the destruction of every planet in the Multiverse, he’s presented with the greatest question of all: what is the point? Fans of Ben Passmore’s personal and political comics—as well as classic sci-fi comedies like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Rick and Morty—will enjoy this world of hyper fantasy with a touch of humour, as told by a Black creator. Tyrell Waiters is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer from Palmetto, Florida. After graduating Ringling College of Art and Design, he turned himself to working as an apparel graphic designer for children’s clothing. Now currently living in New Hampshire with his wife and their many cats, he works in a huge range of industries ranging from marketing to music and entertainment. When not working, he’s painting in his studio and exploring nature. 200pgs colour paperback.
