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Top 38 Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga:
May 2020
The return to our bookshelves of comics journalist extraordinaire Joe Sacco with a searing reportage about the indigenous Dene Nation in North America is one highlight of the latest range of new release coming up from May 2020. There’s also the vital re-issue of the late and much lamented Howard Cruse’s landmark magnum opus, more pertinent than ever.
Also recommended are this powerful American war story by Sente & Cuzor, the latest instalment in Schuiten & Peeters’ world-building series The Obscure Cities and Germany’s Barbara Yellin, back with a fresh collaboration with writer Thomas Von Steinaecker. English readers can rejoice at the chance at last to read these compelling works.
It’s also exciting to find two highly talented British creators make their substantial graphic novel debuts from American publishers…
A discovery from Spain is Borja Gonzalez’s first outing…
And from Asia, a massive career compilation of nearly 400 pages by Kuniko Tsurita, the leading woman contributor to Garo magazine, and in a similar spirit of experimentation and rebellion, the first ever anthology by today’s new wave of Chinese comics innovators. In this unlimited world of comics, the only borders are those enclosing the panels!
ACT
by Kayla Miller
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
$24.99 / $12.99
The publisher says:
Act is the funny and honest follow-up to the middle school graphic novel sensations Click and Camp. Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier, Shannon Hale, and Victoria Jamieson. How do you know when the person who can make the difference . . . is you? Olive is excited to start sixth grade: new teachers, new experiences, and a field trip to the big city with her best buds. But when Olive finds out that a school policy is keeping some kids from going on the trip, she decides to act. She’s prepared to do whatever it takes to be heard-even if it means running against Trent and Sawyer, two of her closest friends, in the student council election. Can Olive make a big change and keep her friends? Author-illustrator Kayla Miller crafts a genuine and inspiring story about evolving friendships, supportive family, and finding out that you-yes, you-have the power to make a difference. Available in softcover and hardcover editions. Kayla Miller is a New York Times-bestselling author-illustrator living and working in New York. They have a BFA in Illustration from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Kayla enjoys watching bad movies, trying to cook new recipes, playing board and video games, and reading other people’s graphic novels. 224pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
All Together Now
by Hope Larson
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
$21.99 / $12.99
The publisher says:
From the award-winning and New York Times-bestselling graphic novelist Hope Larson comes a standalone sequel to All Summer Long about friends, first crushes, and being your bravest rockstar self. Middle-schooler Bina is having the best time playing in her new band with her friends, Darcy and Enzo. But both the band and her friendships begin to crumble when Darcy and Enzo start dating, effectively relegating Bina to third-wheel status. To make matters worse, Bina’s best friend, Austin, starts developing a crush on her . . . one she is not sure she reciprocates. Now Bina must follow her heart. Can she navigate its twists and turns before the lights come up and the music starts playing? Hope Larson is the author of All Summer Long, which was a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018 and an Eisner Award Nominee. She also adapted and illustrated A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel, which spent forty-four weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and for which she won an Eisner Award. She is additionally the author and illustrator of Salamander Dream, Gray Horses, Chiggers and Mercury, and the author of Compass South and Knife’s Edge, both illustrated by Rebecca Mock. She lives in North Carolina. 192pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Battle Born: Lapus Lazuli
by Maximilian Uriarte
Little Brown
$28.00
The publisher says:
From the New York Times bestselling author, a heartbreaking and visceral graphic novel set against the stark beauty of Afghanistan’s mountain villages that examines prejudice and the military remnants of colonialism. Lapis Lazuli is a rich blue semi-precious gemstone found deep within the Saresang Mountains of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province. War has found its way into these remote villages, as the Taliban have sought the riches buried within the mountains of Badakhshan, taking control of the lucrative gemstone market, focusing their energy on the sale of Lapis Lazuli. The United States Marines are sent to this treacherous and remote region to combat the Taliban and restore the gemstone trade to the people of the mountains. Battle Born is about violence in all its forms, civilised and detached; close, brutal and extreme. But, most of all, it is also the story of human connection and human kindness. Battle Born was written and illustrated by infantry Marine and Iraq veteran Maximilian Uriarte, creator of the hit comic strip Terminal Lance. Uriarte enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2006 at the age of nineteen and served for four years. During his first deployment to Iraq in 2007 he served as an MRAP turret gunner and dismount of India Company’s “Jump” platoon in the Zaidon region southeast of Fallujah. He deployed to Iraq again in 2009 as a billeted Combat Photographer and Combat Artist, then enrolling in California College of the Arts. He is the author of the Terminal Lance Ultimate Omnibus and The White Donkey. 352pgs B&W hardcover.
Black Cotton Star
by Yves Sente & Cuzor
Pegasus Books
$25.95
The publisher says:
A Revolutionary War-era secret sends three soldiers on an epic quest across 1940s Europe to Philadelphia, 1776: George Washington asks Betsy Ross to design the first flag of the future United States of America. Her housemaid, Angela Brown, adds to it a secret tribute to the black community: a black cotton star that she slips under one of the white ones. Dover, 1944: A soldier named Lincoln receives a letter from his sister back home that reveals Angela Brown’s memoirs, and wonders if the star that she mentions truly exists. His superiors seem to think so. In light of this revelation, Lincoln and two other African-American soldiers set out on a dangerous mission, ranging from liberated Paris to the snow-covered Ardennes, seeking answers - and the ultimate prize. Black Cotton Star is a magnificent war drama, unfolding a fictional tale of struggle, resilience, and sacrifice with themes that resonate deeply in a divided modern-day America. 160pgs B&W hardcover.
Bluebeard
by Metaphrog
Papercutz
$19.99
The publisher says:
Award-winning duo Metaphrog transform the classic folktale into a feminist fairy tale, about the blossoming of a young child to womanhood striving for independence. Eve spends an idyllic childhood of long summer days with her sweetheart Tom, and together they dream of exploring the world. But that dream is soon shattered as she comes of age. The mysterious Bluebeard is looking for a new bride and has his sights set on Eve, and rumour has it that his former wives have all disappeared. What will Eve find in the castle beyond the enchanted forest? A forbidden chamber, a golden key and the most terrifying secret, take on a new life in this gothic graphic novel. Metaphrog are John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs, award-winning graphic novelists.They have received multiple Eisner Award nominations and critical acclaim for their Louis series, and Louis – Night Salad was Highly Commended for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards 2011. As well as working on their own graphic novels, they have produced an array of illustrations and commissions, and travel extensively to talk about their work and the creative process at festivals, schools, libraries and museums. They are Patrons of Reading at Northfield Academy in Aberdeen and were writers in Residence at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2015. 176pgs colour hardcover.
Daughters of Ys
by M.T. Anderson & Jo Rioux
First Second
$24.99
The publisher says:
Ys, an Atlantis-like city from Celtic legend, is the setting of this mythical graphic novel fantasy from National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson. Ys, city of wealth and wonder, has a history of dark secrets. Queen Malgven used magic to raise the great walls that keep Ys safe from the tumultuous sea. But after the queen’s inexplicable death, her daughters drift apart. Rozenn, the heir to the throne, spends her time on the moors communing with wild animals, while Dahut, the youngest, enjoys the splendours of royal life and is eager to take part in palace intrigue. When Rozenn and Dahut’s bond is irrevocably changed, the fate of Ys is sealed, exposing the monsters that lurk in plain view. M. T. Anderson and Jo Rioux reimagine this classic Breton folktale of love, loss, and rebirth, revealing the secrets that lie beneath the surface. M. T. Anderson is the New York Times–bestselling author of Feed (a National Book Award Finalist and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize), The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation (winner of the 2006 National Book Award), and Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad (a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book). He is the author of the previous graphic novels: Yvain: The Knight of the Lion, with Andrea Offermann, and The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge (a National Book Award Finalist), with Eugene Yelchin. He lives in New England. Jo Rioux is an author and illustrator of children’s books. Since graduating from Sheridan College with a degree in illustration, she has illustrated young adult books, chapter books and picture books, but her biggest passion is comic books. Her debut graphic novel Cat’s Cradle went on to win the 2013 Joe Shuster Award for Comic for Kids. She lives in the lush suburbs of Ottawa where she spends her time drawing, reading, teasing her dog and spinning tales of magic and monsters.
Eight-Lane Runaways
by Henry McCausland
Fantagraphics
$24.99
The publisher says:
Eight-Lane Runaways is unlike any graphic novel you’ve ever read. It is a fantastical world of endless tracks where one runner relies on her poncho to give her direction, another deals with a suddenly missing appendage. There’s also algebra dogs, a juice institute, and a helping network that consists of miles of string that proves that no matter how far apart, the friends you can rely on are the ones you met while pacing life’s twisty-turny trails. London-based cartoonist Henry McCausland’s flowing page layouts showcase his elaborate landscapes and thrilling kinetic energy, matching them with a laugh-out-loud, idiosyncratic sense of humour.
Fire on the Water
by Scott MacGregor & Gary Dumm
Abrams Comic Arts
$24.99
The publisher says:
With immigration and workers’ rights dominating the news cycle, this story is an important reminder of the essential role of immigrants in the history of the United States. This original graphic novel imagines the lives of blue-collar workers involved in the real-life Lake Erie tunnel disaster of 1916 in Cleveland. As historical fiction, Fire on the Water sheds light not only on one of America’s earliest man-made ecological disasters but also on racism and the economic disparity between classes in the Midwest at the turn of the century. This original graphic novel features an introduction by Paul Buhle (The Art of Harvey Kurtzman), author, biographer, and former senior lecturer at Brown University, has received acclaim from New York Times-bestselling author Derf Backderf, and earned a place on the Boston Globe‘s Best Books of 2017 list. Scott MacGregor has been writing comic book stories for over 30 years. This is his first full-length graphic novel. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Gary Dumm is a lifelong resident of Cleveland and an artist who worked extensively with Harvey Pekar on American Splendor. Dumm’s cartoons have also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, the New York Times, the Village Voice and Le Monde. Paul Buhle is a senior lecturer in the American Civilization and History departments at Brown University. He has written and edited thirty-five books, including Jews and American Comics, and lives in Rhode Island.
Fishtown: Brotherly Love Edition
by Kevin Colden
IDW
$17.99
The publisher says:
Inspired by a horrific crime in Philadelphia, Kevin Colden’s Xeric Award-winning tale of teenage confusion and rage speaks to the primal depths of the human condition, and asks the question: Can we ever understand the motives of another? How far would you go to get what you want? In Fishtown, life isn’t easy. Philadelphia is a big city, but all its problems come alive here. That’s where Justin, Keith, Adrian, and Angelica hang out, and it’s where they realise that all they need to be happier is to get some money. So that’s what they’re gonna do. Though getting money in Fishtown isn’t easy either. But Angelica knows a guy with a job. He’s nice, and he likes her, so maybe he can help. And if he doesn’t, well, maybe they have a plan for that too… Kevin Colden is a multi-disciplinary artist focusing on bold visual design and clear communication. He has nearly twenty years of experience across the entertainment arts, including narrative illustration, film, television, music and interactive design. He was awarded MTV’s 2010 Webcomic of the Year for I Rule The Night and was nominated in 2009 for an Eisner Award for Fishtown. 120pgs colour paperback.
A Gift for a Ghost
by Borja Gonzalez
Abrams ComicArts
$24.99 / £17.99
The publisher says:
An untalented punk band and a parallel dimension-what could go wrong? Clever, haunting, and told with exceptionally original and expressive art, A Gift for a Ghost is a treat for readers and art lovers alike. In Borja González’s stunning debut graphic novel, one that won him critical acclaim in Europe and Spain, we have two parallel stories reflect and intertwine in a tale of youthful dreams and desires. In 1856, Teresa, a young aristocrat, is more interested in writing avant garde horror poetry than making a suitable marriage. In 2016, three teenage girls, Gloria, Laura, and Cristina, want to start a punk band called the Black Holes. They have everything they need: attitude, looks, instinct . . . and an alarming lack of musical talent. They’ve barely started rehearsing when strange things begin to happen. As their world and Teresa’s intersect, they’re haunted by the echo of something that happened 160 years ago. Borja González is a self-taught illustrator and comic strip artist. His first published title was La Reina Orquídea, a precious and haunting short piece that placed the author at the centre of national attention in Spain. A Gift for a Ghost is his first long-form work. He lives in Badajoz, Spain.
Langosh & Peppi: Vol. 1 Fugitive Days
by Veronica Post
Conundrum Press
$20.00
The publisher says:
This debut graphic novel tells the story of the 2015 European “migrant crisis” in Budapest, Hungary through the perspective of Langosh and Peppi, a vagabond and his faithful dog. The pair brings to mind an older, down-on-their-luck Tintin and Snowy with adventures to match. A semi-autobiographical work based on Post’s own experiences, Langosh and Peppi escape the pressures of conformity by exploring out-of-the-way places, where they stumble on the vestiges of the war torn region’s hidden past. We follow them through streets, alleys, tunnels, train stations, cheap rooms, abandoned buildings and the countryside and witness the effects of various social, political and interpersonal situations through their eyes. The story illustrates a sort of “Huckleberry Finn” existence, of travelling freely with no responsibilities except finding food and shelter, and meeting fascinating people along the way. However, Langosh and Peppi soon discover the stark difference between choosing a transient lifestyle, and being forced from one’s home and country. We meet people whose tragic personal struggles are enmeshed with the national struggles that continue to divide and destroy so many lives, see families torn apart due to ignorance and fear, and witness the disturbing global rise of nationalism. Influenced by Hideo Azuma, Joe Sacco, and Julie Doucet, Post examines the modern dilemma of what it means to be human and to call a place home. 240pgs B&W paperback.
Love on the Other Side:A Nagabe Short Story Collection
by Nagabe
Seven Seas Entertainment
$12.99
The publisher says:
A poignant manga anthology of short stories from Nagabe, the bestselling creator of The Girl From the Other Side: Si il, a R n and The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms. Love comes in many forms. A magnificent bird comforts a struggling girl; a vampire waltzes with a young lady at night; a blind girl lives with a “monster” when there is more than meets the eye. This six-story manga collection by masterful manga creator Nagabe explores fascinating relationships that refuse to be confined. 180pgs B&W paperback.
Melville
by Romain Renard
Pegasus Books
$25.95
The publisher says:
Haunted by the memory of his successful father and desperate to escape his personal demons, a novelist seeks solace in a rural town—but, of course, no one can outrun their troubles for long, especially not in Melvile. Samuel Beauclair’s life has hit the skids. He’s late with his second novel, he’s going through a rough patch with his pregnant wife, and the bank is foreclosing on his apartment. Desperate, he flees to Melvile, an idyllic small town in the middle of nowhere where he once spent vacations with his novelist father.After spending most of his days drinking, smoking, and staring at a blank page, Sam eventually takes a job as a handyman for a pair of siblings in town, David and Rachel. Sam paints their house each day and, slowly, the trio become friends, with Sam beginning to shed some of his troubles and come out of his shell over the course of their conversations. But is it a true fresh start, or just a wilful denial of reality? And will Sam ever be able to escape his father’s long shadow, or will his past mistakes finally catch up with him?Melvile, winner of the Belgian Prix Diagonale for best graphic novel of the year and the Prix Espoir for best story at the Versailles Festival and at the International Comic Festival in Algeria, is a dramatic and gorgeously illustrated look at the life and times of a lost man struggling to find his way back. Romain Renard is an illustrator, designer, comics creator (American Seasons) and musician based in Brussels, Belgium. 128pgs colour hardcover.
Motel Universe Vol.2 Faschion Empire
by Joakim Drescher
Secret Acres
$23.95
The publisher says:
Return to Motel Universe! After the Skins’ slave rebellion and assassination of tycoon dictator, Barton Flump, a lone bounty hunter, Clara Constellation, searches for Captain Littlehead and the ghost of Caligula. From Planet Pear, where screentime is all the time, to the Adonis Nebula, an empire where the Fashion Police rule with an actual iron fist, the adventure never ends! 160pgs colour hardcover.
Naked Body
by Yan Cong & various other Chinese artists
Beehive Books
$21.95
The publisher says:
Naked Body was organised by Beijing-based cartoonist and publisher Yan Cong. Responding to a prohibition on printed nudity, Yan Cong put out an open call for five page comics in which all the main characters were nude. The resulting mix of authors included veteran cartoonists such as Zuo Ma, author of several graphic novels, and WangXX, author of the ongoing Seal Life series, but also talented up-and-coming artists like Inkee Wang. Though the anthology’s small print run was well received in China, it was never distributed overseas. Naked Body will be the first major anthology of independent Chinese comics published in the US, in close collaboration with the original editor, Yan Cong, and the cartoonists who took part in the book. 115pgs colour paperback.
NMIK : Collected Works (2014-2019)
by Jeremy Baum
AdHouse Books
$22.00
The publisher says:
A collection of surreal short comics and drawings. Jeremy Baum is a cartoonist and illustrator. He has self-published his own comics Postland, Extravagant Traveler and Heathen and Dörfler was his debut graphic novel from Fantagraphics. He lives in Pittsburgh, PA. See a sample of preview pages here. 102pgs colour paperback.
Paying the Land
by Joe Sacco
Metropolitan / Jonathan Cape
$29.99 / £20.00
The publisher says:
From the “heir to R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman” (Economist), a masterful work of comics journalism about indigenous North America, resource extraction, and our debt to the natural world. The Dene have lived in the vast Mackenzie River Valley since time immemorial, by their account. To the Dene, the land owns them, not the other way around, and it is central to their livelihood and very way of being. But the subarctic Canadian Northwest Territories are home to valuable resources, including oil, gas, and diamonds. With mining came jobs and investment, but also road-building, pipelines, and toxic waste, which scarred the landscape, and alcohol, drugs, and debt, which deformed a way of life. In Paying the Land, Joe Sacco travels the frozen North to reveal a people in conflict over the costs and benefits of development. The mining boom is only the latest assault on indigenous culture: Sacco recounts the shattering impact of a residential school system that aimed to “remove the Indian from the child”; the destructive process that drove the Dene from the bush into settlements and turned them into wage labourers; the government land claims stacked against the Dene Nation; and their uphill efforts to revive a wounded culture. Against a vast and gorgeous landscape that dwarfs all human scale, Paying the Land lends an ear to trappers and chiefs, activists and priests, to tell a sweeping story about money, dependency, loss and culture―recounted in stunning visual detail by one of the greatest cartoonists alive. 272pgs B&W hardcover / paperback.
Ping Pong Vol.1
by Taiyo MatsumotoM, translated by Michael Arias, director of Tekkonkinkreet
Viz Media
$29.99
The publisher says:
Makoto “Smile” Tsukimoto and his friend Yutaka “Peco” Hoshino have been playing table tennis since they were kids, but as they enter high school, they find that the game has changed. Seeing potential in them that they themselves don’t fully realise, the coach recruits them for the school team. Bringing out their best will mean challenging the top players from rival schools in the summer tournament, including an ace Chinese exchange student who almost made the Olympic team. With the pressure on, can Smile and Peco take the heat and make it into the finals? For teen audiences. 520pgs B&W paperback.
Shame Pudding: A Graphic Memoir
by Danny Noble
Street Noise Books
$16.99
The publisher says:
This memoir, told in graphic novel format, is a personal celebration of the author’s charming and eccentric family and how they saved her from the machinations of her own brain. The book centres around the author’s Jewish grandmothers, and the unique role they play in her life as she struggled with anxiety and insecurity. It explores resonant adolescent topics of body image, self-determination, insecurity, fear, religious identity, politics, friendship, romantic love and family relationships. Danny Noble grew up in Brighton, a seaside town on the south coast of England. She later moved to London, and even lived through several winters in a trailer in a public park. She recently illustrated two children’s books written by the famous British comedian, Adrian Edmondson. And her narrative art has appeared in many anthologies and exhibitions including The Strumpet, Dirty Rotten Comix and The Inking Woman. When not drawing, the author sings with the ska band The Meow Meows. 192pgs B&W paperback.
Stepping Stones
by Lucy Knisley
Random House Graphic
$20.99 / $12.99
The publisher says:
Jen did not want to leave the city. She did not want to move to a farm with her mom and her mom’s new boyfriend, Walter. She did not want to leave her friends and her dad. Most of all, Jen did not want to get new “sisters,” Andy and Reese. As if learning new chores on Peapod Farm wasn’t hard enough, having to deal with perfect-at-everything Andy might be the last straw for Jen. Besides cleaning the chicken coop, trying to keep up with the customers at the local farmers’ market, and missing her old life, Jen has to deal with her own insecurities about this new family… and where she fits in. This contemporary middle-grade graphic novel about family and belonging from New York Times-bestselling author Lucy Knisley is a perfect read for fans of Awkward and Be Prepared. Available in softcover and hardcover editions. Lucy Knisley is the critically acclaimed, award-winning, New York Times-bestselling comics creator of Relish and Kid Gloves. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son. She specialises in personal, confessional graphic novels and travelogues. Stepping Stones is Lucy’s first graphic novel for kids. 224pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Stuck Rubber Baby: 25th Anniversary Edition
by Howard Cruse
First Second
$24.99
The publisher says:
Painstakingly researched and exquisitely illustrated, Stuck Rubber Baby is a groundbreaking graphic novel that draws on Howard Cruse’s experience coming of age and coming out in 1960s Birmingham, Alabama. This 25th anniversary edition brings this rich and moving tale of identity and resistance is back in print―complete with an updated introduction from Alison Bechdel, rare photographs, and unpublished archival material that give a thorough, behind-the-scenes look at this graphic novel masterpiece. As a young gay man leading a closeted life in the 1960s American South, Toland Polk tries his best to keep a low profile. He’s aware of the racial injustice all around him―the segregationist politicians, the corrupt cops, the violent Klan members―but he feels powerless to make a difference. That all changes when he crosses paths with an impassioned coed named Ginger Raines. Ginger introduces him to a lively and diverse group of civil rights activists, folk singers, and night club performers―men and women who live authentically despite the conformist values of their hometown. Emboldened by this new community, Toland joins the local protests and even finds the courage to venture into a gay bar. No longer content to stay on the sidelines, Toland joins his friends as they fight against bigotry. But in Clayfield, Alabama, that can be dangerous―even deadly. Both deeply personal and epic in scope, Stuck Rubber Baby is a rich and moving tale of identity and resistance. 240pgs B&W hardcover.
Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home says:
The everyday activism of principled people is an ongoing force for good in this country. And Howard Cruse’s visceral, visual account of America’s recent past is a testament to it. Stuck Rubber Baby contributes with grace and force to the vision of a just world.
Suncatcher
by Jose Pimienta
Random House Graphic
$24.99 / $16.99
The publisher says:
Beatriz must create the perfect song in order to free her grandfather’s soul . . . but what will be the cost? A fantastical YA graphic novel about creative passion and obsession, great for fans of The Prince and the Dressmaker and Level Up. If life wasn’t already hard enough for Beatriz—being a teenager, trying to start a band, and going to school—then she discovers that her grandfather’s soul has been trapped in an old guitar, and that the only way to free him is to play the perfect song . . . his perfect song, a song that he never actually wrote down. She’s determined to save her grandfather, but as music slowly takes over her life, she soon finds herself growing obsessed with his song, and making it absolutely flawless, at the expense of her friendships, her band, and her health. Beatriz won’t let anything stop her, not even her own limitations. Creating a magical song is already a lot of pressure, but Beatriz will have to make some hard choices before it’s too late for her grandfather . . . and for herself. A story filled with music, passion, supernatural secrets, and family, Jose Pimienta’s Suncatcher brings to life a contemporary story of life in Mexicali with a supernatural twist and a lot of music. Jose Pimienta was raised in Mexicali, Baja California, and now resides in Los Angeles, CA where he works on comics and storyboards for animation and film. Suncatcher is his debut author/illustrator graphic novel. 224pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Sweet Time
by Weng Pixin
Drawn & Quarterly
$24.95
The publisher says:
Vibrant swatches of paint build resonant portraits of heartache, childhood memories, and loneliness. Sweet Time is an intimate rumination on love, empathy, and confidence. Singaporean cartoonist Weng Pixin delicately explores strained relationships with a kind of hopefulness while acknowledging their inevitable collapse. Her stories are like a series of snapshots in a photo album or the brightest highlights from an Instagram profile. Gorgeous image follows gorgeous image in a delicate quest to find connection. A night out turns into a chance encounter that is at first ecstatic and then quickly descends into awkwardness. A round of “he loves me, he loves me not” becomes a way of reading every action taken by a distant love interest. A couple find themselves in an artificially beautiful landscape, but the relationship can’t survive their difference of opinion on the illusion of its beauty. In Sweet Time, thick and bold strokes of coluor mingle with delicate lines. Weng combines colourful realism with a gentle wit and introspection, crafting infinitely relatable stories of everyday life and love now. Weng Pixin was born and raised in sunny Singapore. She loves to draw, sew, make comics, tells stories, paint, create and construct using found objects. Weng grew up listening to stories from her father, who was curious about the way the world works. In turn, when it comes to her art, Weng loves to create semi-autobiographical comics that also reflect her curious nature. 160pgs colour hardcover.
Syrup
by various artists
Seven Seas Entertainment
$13.99
The publisher says:
A beautiful new yuri manga anthology about adult women in love by some of the hottest names in the industry. Beyond the tales of high school girls in the first bloom of love, stories of grown women yearn to be told. The Syrup collection focuses on women navigating love for other women amidst the ups and downs of a working life. Featuring short manga stories by a star-studded line-up, including Milk Morinaga (Girl Friends), Kodama Naoko (I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up), and Yoshimurakana (Murciélago), this fascinating collection is the perfect addition to any yuri library. 180pgs B&W paperback.
Tears of a Goddess
by Manuro & Jurdic
Van Ryder Games
$22.99
The publisher says:
In this Graphic Novel Adventure, you must find the thieves who robbed the sacred temple! How you dispatch justice is up to you as you’ll encounter foes, puzzles, traps, riddles, and more as your choices guide you through to victory or defeat. A new way, in graphic novel form, to experience the kind of game books popularised years ago. It’s your choices, your adventure, and your story. 96pgs colour hardcover.
The Art of Drag
by Jake Hall, Sofie Birkin, Helen Li & Jasjyot Singh Hans
Nobrow Press
$22.95
The publisher says:
Before RuPaul’s Drag Race propelled the cultural phenomenon into the global spotlight, drag had been around for thousands of years. Immerse yourself in the rich history of drag in this lusciously illustrated guide. The history of drag has been formed by many intersections: fashion, theatre, sexuality and politics—all coming together to create the show stopping entertainment millions witness today. In this extensive work, Jake Hall delves deep into the ancient beginnings of drag, to present day and beyond. Vibrant illustrations enhance the rich history from Kabuki theatre to Shakespearean, the revolutionary Stonewall riots to the still thriving New York ballroom scene. Nothing will go undocumented in this must-have documentation of all things drag. 136pgs colour hardcover.
The Blessed Machine: The Complete Collection
by Mark Rodgers & Jesse Hamm
Cave Pictures Publishing
$14.95
The publisher says:
In the future, humanity lives underground. When Jacob is plagued by dreams that indicate the world above may be safe again, he and other insurgents search to uncover the truth, putting them in direct conflict with Djinn, the trusted machine meant to ensure their survival. Is the future of humanity in the cold, mechanical world underground? Or is there a lush natural world waiting on the surface? Collects issues The Blessed Machine #1-6. 160pgs colour paperback.
The Brontës: Infernal Angria
by Craig Hurd-McKenny & Rick Geary
Northwest Press
$15.99
The publisher says:
Living in the isolation of the Parsonage house in Haworth Village, the four Brontë children make a startling discovery: a doorway to another world. What seems like paradise soon reveals itself to be just as dark as the real world. Can the siblings resist the allure of Angria, or will they be seduced-and destroyed-by it? Either way, their spirits, their beliefs and their family bond will be tested to the limit. 96pgs B&W paperback.
The Garden
by Sean Michael Wilson & Fumio Obata
Liminal 11
£12.99
The publisher says:
The Garden is a beautiful story of healing and growth through mindfulness and gardening. Joanna is a high-powered finance consultant who s been signed off work after having a nervous breakdown. Seeking more than just something to pass the time, she travels to Kyoto, Japan, to immerse herself in the arts of zen gardening and meditation.Returning home and to the challenges of daily life Joanna finds peace and a new sense of calm through nurturing her own garden and her soul: “I have happily forgotten what used to concern me before all this. I am the strongest thing in the world. I have an infinity of precious details to smile upon.” Sean Michael Wilson is a graphic-novel writer living in Scotland and Japan. He has published more than 20 books, including The Many Not the Few and Parecomic (with an introduction by Noam Chomsky). His book The Faceless Ghost was nominated for the prestigious Eisner Book Awards, and Secrets of the Ninja won an International Manga Award from the Japanese government; he was the first British person to receive this award. He has written articles for The Japan Times, The London Economic, The Herald Scotland, and others. Fumio Obata is an illustrator and animator whose style is influenced by both Japanese and European aesthetics. His latest graphic novel Just So Happens was critically acclaimed and has been published in eight languages. 64pgs colour hardcover.
The Shadow of a Man
by Benoit Peeters & François Schuiten
IDW
$19.99
The publisher says:
The fourth release in Alaxis Press’ The Obscure Cities series to be published by IDW brings the award winning graphic novels to readers in English for the first time.
Albert Chamisso, a newlywed of just a few weeks to Sarah, begins to have nightmares. Dr. Polydore Vincent helps him to get rid of the nightmares, but a strange side effect of the treatment is that his shadow is in colour afterwards. He struggles with this, losing his wife and his job in the process. He moves to the outskirts of Blossfeldtstad where he meets the lovely Minna. Together, they create a light show that becomes very popular in this bittersweet romantic noir tale. 104pgs colour paperback.
The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud
by Kuniko Tsurita
Drawn & Quarterly
$24.95
The publisher says:
The work of a visionary and iconoclastic feminist cartoonist―available in English for the first time. The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud collects the best short stories from Kuniko Tsurita’s remarkable career. While the works of her male peers in literary manga are widely reprinted, this formally ambitious and poetic female voice is like none other currently available to an English readership. A master of the comics form, expert pacing and compositions combined with bold characters are signature qualities of Tsurita’s work. Tsurita’s early stories “Nonsense” and “Anti” provide a unique, intimate perspective on the bohemian culture and political heat of late 1960s and early ‘70s Tokyo. Her work gradually became darker and more surreal under the influence of modern French literature and her own prematurely failing health. As in works like “The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud” and “Max,” the gender of many of Tsurita’s strong and sensual protagonists is ambiguous, marking an early exploration of gender fluidity. Late stories like “Arctic Cold” and “Flight” show the artist experimenting with more conventional narrative modes, though with dystopian themes that extend the philosophical interests of her early work. An exciting and essential gekiga collection, The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud is translated by comics scholar Ryan Holmberg and includes an afterword cowritten by Holmberg and the manga editor Mitsuhiro Asakawa delineating Tsurita’s importance and historical relevance. Kuniko Tsurita was born in 1947 in Japan. In 1965, at age eighteen, while still in high school, she debuted in the legendary alt-manga monthly Garo, where she was the magazine’s first and only regular female contributor until the late 1970s. Tsurita’s early work reflects her interest in bohemian youth culture, while her later work became more surreal and dystopian, with influences ranging from modern French literature to the manga of her peers in Garo, including Yoshiharu Tsuge, Seiichi Hayashi and Shigeru Mizuki, for whom she worked as an assistant for a short time in the late ‘60s. In 1973, Tsurita was diagnosed with lupus, at which point spectres of death began to heavily shadow her work. She died in 1985 at age thirty-seven. 384pgs B&W paperback.
The Summer of Her Life
by Thomas Von Steinaecker & Barbara Yelin
SelfMadeHero
$24.99
The publisher says:
A contemplative and compelling tale about growing old and what it means to be happy. Gerda stands at the window of her nursing home, looking up at the stars. A question has been haunting her for years, but until now she’s managed to avoid it: Has her life been a happy one? As she negotiates the degradations of old age and the indignity of being cared for by strangers, the past begins to seep into the present. Gerda remembers her life as a bespectacled schoolgirl, bullied for being smart. She remembers the time she spent as an aspiring astrophysicist. And she remembers, most powerfully, that one summer, the summer of her life, when she was forced to make the most difficult decision of all: between her career and her relationship. The Summer of Her Life is a poetic, touching and profound graphic novel that grapples with life’s big questions. How do you know whether you’ve made the right choices? And what does it mean, in the end, to be happy? Thomas von Steinaecker is an award-winning German novelist and journalist. Barbara Yelin is a German comic book artist. Her graphic novel, Irmina, was nominated for an Eisner Award. 80pgs colour hardcover.
Tom of Finland: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero
by F. Valentine Hooven III
Cernunnos
$33.97
The publisher says:
Touko Laaksonen, also known as Tom of Finland (1920–1991), was an iconic and provocative artist who rose to cult status in the international gay community and beyond for his work celebrating gay archetypes and masculinity during a time when being gay was taboo. Created in partnership with the Tom of Finland Estate, Tom of Finland: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero is a beautifully detailed visual biography full of never or rarely seen documents from his archive. The text was completed just a few months before the death of the artist and was fully approved by him—making this book the only 100% approved biography of this gay legend responsible for creating the muscled, mustachioed gay archetype of the 1960s and ‘70s. With an extensive biography, and suggestive photos and illustrations, Tom of Finland: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero brings to life the icon whose erotic illustrations of men influenced many artists, including Robert Mapplethorpe and Bruce Weber. 256pgs colour hardcover.
Topp: Promoter Gary Topp Brought Us the World
by David Collier
Conundrum Press
$20.00
The publisher says:
As with all of Collier’s work, his latest graphic novel is a combination of memoir and biography. This time, he explores his involvement in the cultural landscape of Toronto in the 1970s and 80s, specifically focusing on the life of Gary Topp, a concert promoter and founder of the pioneering Canadian repertory cinema. Topp emerged from an immigrant background, abandoned the family textile business, and became an influential figure in the lives of an entire community. He was also Collier’s first boss and mentor. Though outspoken and opinionated, Gary Topp inspired love and devotion, not only in those who worked for him, but also in the acts he booked―including the Ramones, The Police, and the Dixie Chicks. This graphic novel looks at a rapidly disappearing past and uses Topp’s ability to see beyond the mainstream for a look at where our culture is heading. David Collier is considered a national treasure in Canada and has had books published by Conundrum Press, Fantagraphics (Colliers) and Drawn & Quarterly (including Portraits from Life, Just the Facts, Hamilton Sketchbook and Surviving Saskatoon) as well as strips in various newspapers and anthologies including Kramers Ergot, American Splendor and Weirdo. 140pgs B&W paperback.
Voting is Your Super Power! Comics Books of the Past Rally Us to the Polls Today!
by Al Avison, Tom Feelings & various artists, edited by Craig Yoe
Clover Press
$12.99
The publisher says:
In the 1950s there was the Cold War and Red Scare. These fears motivated civic organisations and major comic book companies to team up and create beautifully drawn comic books with clever stories to be passed out in the streets, in union halls, in factories, at state fairs, in schools, in churches—wherever people gathered. There were titles like “The Man Who Stole Your Vote” (with an evil masked super villain), “If Your Children Could Vote” (with a brave, brash Greta Thurnberg-of-the-time berating the adults), and “Your Vote is Vital” (powerfully illustrated by Lee Elias). The 1960s Civil Rights-era had the NAACP behind a historically important, engaging comic book “The Street Where You Live” to motivated blacks to get to the polls (drawn by pioneering black artist Tom Feelings). There is historical evidence that this is an unknown Marvel comic. These comic books warned citizens to be on the alert for political corruption and get out and vote to stop it. These lost and priceless comic books are beautifully restored and reprinted in full in this fascinating edition. Multiple-Eisner Award winner Craig Yoe provides a revealing introduction profusely illustrated with photos and rare cartoons. Vote to put sane, progressive people and policies in our government. This astonishingly relevant book will entertainingly show you why and how. As the caped crusader might say, “Order now, citizen!” Page-count tbc colour paperback.
Wendy, Master of Art
by Walter Scott
Drawn & Quarterly
$24.95
The publisher says:
The existential dread of making (or not making) art takes centre stage in this trenchant satire of MFA culture. Wendy is an aspiring contemporary artist whose adventures have taken her to galleries, art openings and parties in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Toronto. In Wendy, Master of Art, Walter Scott’s sly wit and social commentary zero in on MFA culture as our hero hunkers down to complete a master of fine arts at the University of Hell in small-town Ontario. Finally Wendy has space to refine her artistic practice, but in this calm, all of her unresolved insecurities and fears explode at full volume―usually while hungover. What is the post-Jungian object as symbol? Will she ever understand her course reading―or herself? What if she’s just not smart enough? As she develops as an artist and a person, Wendy also finds herself in a teaching position, mentoring a perpetually sobbing grade-grubbing undergrad. Scott’s incisively funny take on art school pretensions isn’t the only focus. Wendy, Master of Art explores the politics of open relationships and polyamory, performative activism, the precariousness of a life in the arts, as well as the complexities of gender identity, sex work, drug use and more. At its heart, this is a book about the give and take of community―about learning to navigate empathy and boundaries, and to respect herself. It is deeply funny and endlessly relatable as it shows Wendy growing from millennial art party girl to successful artist, friend, teacher―and Master of Art. Walter Scott is an interdisciplinary artist working in comics, drawing, video, performance, and sculpture. His comic series Wendy chronicles the continuing misadventures of a young artist in a satirical imagining of the contemporary art world. Wendy has been published in two volumes by Koyama Press and was featured in Canadian Art, and Art in America, and on the New Yorker website, and was selected for the 2016 edition of Best American Comics. Scott completed an MFA at the University of Guelph in 2018. Wendy, Master of Art is, as far as you know, very loosely based on this experience. 256pgs B&W hardcover.
Wine: A Graphic History
by Benoist Simmat & Daniel Casanave
SelfMadeHero
$24.99
The publisher says:
The history of wine is the history of civilisation. It is the religious drink par excellence. In Greek mythology, references to wine abound. In the Bible, after the Flood, Noah plants a vineyard. In the Middle Ages, it was in the monasteries and churches that the syrupy drink of antiquity, unpalatable if not diluted, was transformed into the wine we know today. Spanning the innovations that have punctuated wine’s long history, from oak-barrel ageing to the invention of the bottle, wine expert Benoist Simmat and artist Daniel Casanave trace the story of wine from its origins in the Mediterranean to the globalised industry of the 21st century. Benoist Simmat is a journalist, essayist, and scriptwriter. A wine specialist, he is a longtime contributor to La Revue du Vin de France. Daniel Casanave is a French comic book artist and writer. 232pgs colour paperback.
Wonder 3
by Osamu Tezuka
Digital Manga Distribution
$29.95
The publisher says:
A classic Osamu Tezuka work. Wonder 3 takes place in an alternate Earth in the year 196X and the world is overrun with war and violence. Three extraterrestrials are on a mission to see if Earth qualifies to be part of the Galactic Federation, a select order of planets with strict admissions requirements. If Earth doesn’t qualify, then the planet will be destroyed. To make progress in their mission, the three aliens abduct three earth animals as disguises for themselves. With their extraordinary powers, these aliens in animal skins are best known as the Wonder 3, Bokko, Nokko,and Pukko. With a time limit of one year, what can Wonder 3 learn from the Hoshi brothers about life on Earth? All three volumes in one omnibus. 688pgs B&W paperback.
