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Top 10 Comics, Graphic Novels & Manga:
July 2026
This July 4th the USA celebrates its semiquincentennial anniversary of its founding in 1776. To mark this landmark, maverick aesthete and superb mimic of classic comics styles, R. Sikoryak, adapts the Declarations of Independence and of Emancipation into comics form. This title features among my discoveries about forthcoming fresh publications, listed and link by A to Z below. Enjoy your explorations!
Boat Life Volume 2
by Tsuge Tadao, translated by Iyasu Adair Nagata, edited by Ryan Holmberg
Floating World Comics
$29.95
The publisher says:
Boat Life returns in Volume 2, with novelist Tsuda Kenta continuing to meander between home life, the family jeans shop, and days of solitude on the river. Among this graphic novel’s colorful cast of friends, we meet a former manga artist who dives for curiously-shaped stones and sells them from a riverside hut, and an eager producer intent on a film adaptation of one of Tsuda’s novels. Unfortunately, Tsuda’s health is deteriorating. He learns from the doctor that his liver was damaged by working at a blood bank when he was young. But Kenta continues his dream boat life, while obsessed by an enormous fish. Don’t miss the raucous night of Tsuda and his buddies boozing at a local temple. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more honest account in comics of how Japanese felt about life during and after World War II. While fans of Trash Market and Slum Wolf will enjoy this late-career elaboration of après-guerre themes Tsuge has been exploring since his debut in the legendary alt-manga magazine Garo in the late 1960s, fans of his brother Tsuge Yoshiharu’s The Man Without Talent will appreciate the more relaxed and optimistic take on middle-aged reclusion and the grind of work and family. 304pgs B&W paperback.
The Credits Roll into the Sea Vol.1 (of 9)
by John Tatchine
Dark Horse
$14.99
The publisher says:
It’s not the movies you like… you like watching the people watching the movies.’ Just what are you going to do with the rest of your life? It’s the question you’ll always have to answer, no matter your age. Umiko Chino is a 65 year-old retired woman in mourning for her late husband. Remembering how they used to watch films together, Umiko goes to the movie theatre for the first time in years, where she meets Kai, an attractive, ambiguous young man who studies filmmaking at a nearby art school. They would seem to have nothing in common, except for this - both of them sometimes like to look more at the way the audience reacts to a movie than the movie itself. Kai believes Umiko has the same deep desire he possesses to experience how people respond to something they made… and challenges her to stake the rest of her life discovering that thrill. Soon Umiko surprises herself by enrolling in the same film school as Kai. But sailing into this new sea, she’s suddenly inside the currents of her fellow students’ lives, a much younger generation that she struggles to understand, driven by their own passions and their own relationships. Who’s really experienced at life, and is it old age or observation that brings wisdom? And does what you re looking for change when you look with your eyes instead of through a camera lens…? 168pgs B&W paperback.
The Cursed Body
by Kawakatsu Tokushige, translated by zhuchka
Glacier Bay
$25.00
The publisher says:
The Cursed Body is a snapshot into the mind of one of the most important emerging young manga artists and editors working today. Collecting a duology of longform works from Kawakatsu’s Kagyu (The Snail) gekiga doujinshi magazine, the stories found in this volume playfully draw upon both the classic ghost story form and essential kashihon-era rental-manga artists, illustrating the author’s deep reading of both Japanese and English literary traditions. In ‘Cat Skull Isle’, a group of friends boat out to a small crag off the coast of Shonan. The sole presence on the island is a lone cat shrine, but as the friends explore, they begin to exhibit increasingly erratic behaviour… In ‘Willow Weep for Me’, a moneylender spurns a beggar while on a stroll with her son. After the beggar’s body is dredged up from the river that evening, the strange, even gruesome events begin to mount… This book is a must-read for lovers of alternative manga and weird fiction / vintage horror manga. With an afterword and interview by Ryan Holmberg. tbc pgs B&W paperback.
Declaration/Emancipation Illustrated
by R. Sikoryak
Drawn & Quarterly
$15.00
The publisher says:
R. Sikoryak revisits the Declaration of Independence on the 250th anniversary of its signing. The cartoonist who cemented his reputation as the king of the visual mash-up with Masterpiece Comics and The Unquotable Trump, sets his sights on the document that explained to the world why America’s thirteen colonies were to be sovereign states. A prequel of sorts to his Constitution Illustrated, Sikoryak presents the unabridged text of the Declaration of Independence alongside the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address in a double sided book, rendered in the bright, bold, and iconic styles of over 100 different American comics, cartoons, and graphic novels from over a century. The severing of colonial ties to Great Britain has never been more vividly manifested than in the skilful hands of Sikoryak, who doesn’t hesitate to dream up Jeffy from Family Circus as Thomas Jefferson and Mr. Magoo as a British loyalist. King George III is deliciously portrayed as pop culture’s most famous villains, such as Thanos, The Joker, Scar from The Lion King, and many more. Sikoryak also skillfully adopts the styles of such comic artists as Will Eisner of The Spirit, Allie Brosh of Solutions and Other Problems, Morrie Turner of Wee Pals, Mark Beyer of Amy and Jordan, and Floyd Gottfredson of Mickey Mouse. The Civil War era pays homage to Black Panther, Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, Steenz’s Heart of the City, Justice League, and many more. Declaration/Emancipation Illustrated is an entertaining multilayered history lesson for buffs of the American Revolution and American comics. Looking for the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Additional Amendments? Check out R. Sikoryak’s Constitution Illustrated. 128pgs colour paperback.
Effie is Offline
by Karen Harte
Gill Childrens
€12,99 EUR
The publisher says:
Fifteen-year-old Effie has spent her entire life in the spotlight as the daughter of @thebrightfamily, a famous Irish influencer family known for their picture-perfect posts. But after her dad’s very public cheating scandal implodes their online empire, Effie’s mam relocates the family to a small rural town for a fresh start. Desperate to escape her embarrassing past, Effie hides her influencer origins at her new school, where she finally starts to make friends and meets Jack – a grounded, gentle boy with a total lack of online presence or knowledge of that world. But as her mam starts reinventing herself, Effie’s secrets and her chance at a new beginning are at risk of being exposed ... in a very public, very messy way. When your parents are online influencers, perhaps the most rebellious thing you can do is to unsubscribe from your life… Karen Harte is the bestselling illustrator of the Milly McCarthy series by Leona Forde. An illustrator, comic creator and visual designer from Dublin, this is her first author/illustrator project. She has worked with a variety of clients such as Positive Period Ireland, Girls Rock Dublin, Fighting Words, the Dublin Feminist Film Festival and more. 240pgs B&W paperback.
Fault Lines
by Robert Cullen
Ablaze
$19.99
The publisher says:
A struggling singer-songwriter in Blackpool becomes the Lovely Assistant in an ominous magical act. A mother in Vancouver recounts her life and death. A widow in Edinburgh is summoned to confront the guilt that’s haunted him since childhood. Fault Lines presents three stories set in the three cities with their catalysts spanning three decades, all brought to you by Emmy-nominated animation veteran Robert Cullen (Danger Mouse, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends). Robert Cullen is an Emmy nominated director, writer and artist based in Dublin, Ireland. He has worked in the animation industry for the last 25 years and has directed and developed movies and TV shows for the likes of Netflix, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney. 144pgs colour paperback.
Heaven
by Katie Skelly
Fantagraphics
$19.99
The publisher says:
Out past the edge of town, there exists a strip club called Heaven that only some can find. Some say it’s a mirage. Others say you can’t miss the giant neon heels lighting up the desert night skies. Dolly can’t find a place to belong. After losing her identity as a gymnast and navigating family turbulence, she’s adrift from school and friends. When a mysterious presence beckons her to Heaven, she wonders if she may just have found her place - but just what does it want in return? Katie Skelly’s first graphic novel since her acclaimed Maids in 2020, Heaven finds out what happens when the artist’s quintessential cool girl characters let their guards down and let the world in. With a supernatural strip club backdrop and an eye-popping sense of colour that would make Dario Argento proud, Heaven reinforces Skelly’s place as one of the most distinctive voices working in contemporary comics today. 100pgs colour hardcover.
Lunatic Lover’s
by Maruo Suehiro, translated by Ryan Holmberg
Bubbles Zine
$24.99
The publisher says:
Woe betide anyone who opens these pages, slathered as they are in blood and love. Beware the wicked seductions of their author, who differentiates not between ecstasy and pain. Welcome to a world where history is flesh and mystery memory, where voyeurs shriek, ghosts swoon, and imps reign. Welcome to Lunatic Lover’s, a collection of six manga originally published between 1988 and 1992, by the unrivalled master of the erotic grotesque in Japanese art and comics. Maruo Suehiro (b. 1956) is globally recognised as the master of the erotic grotesque in Japanese art and comics. Since his debut in 1980, his exquisite and often shocking imagery has titillated readers of alternative, pornographic, and young adult manga. His other books in English include Mr. Arashi’s Amazing Freak Show (1993), Ultra-Gash Inferno (2001), The Strange Tale of Panorama Island (2013), and Beautiful Monster (2025). Adult readers only. 212pgs B&W paperback.
Memories of Giselle
by Katia Vecchio, translated by Edward Caio
Image
$14.99
The publisher says:
A tender, coming-of-age, slice-of-life graphic novel that explores the psychological journey of a young woman carrying the weight of childhood trauma. Giselle grows up haunted by the constant memories of her grandmother and a single, haunting image of a boat—a symbol of a trauma she has long buried. As adolescence brings struggles with intimacy and vulnerability, fragments of the past begin to surface, leading her to a devastating truth she had long repressed. Memories of Giselle is a harrowing and deeply human coming-of-age tale about memory, trauma, and the long, difficult road towards reclaiming one’s life. Despite her warm smile and gentle spirit, Giselle is burdened. Her grandmother is unwell, her father’s business is struggling, her brother is distant, and lately, she feels that something is deeply wrong with her. As adolescence brings struggles with intimacy and vulnerability, fragments of the past begin to surface, leading Giselle to a truth she may not be ready to face. Katia Vecchio is an Italian comic book artist and creator. Over the years, she has illustrated titles such as Painted (Humanoids), Silver Vessels (Mad Cave Studios), and Dragon Guardian Elodea (Space Between Ent.). Memories of Giselle is her first graphic novel as both writer and artist. 136pgs colour paperback.
Quacky
by Jim Woodring
Fantagraphics
$19.99
The publisher says:
Jim Woodring has been drawing the otherworldly, allegorical adventures of his cartoon Everycreature, Frank, for three and a half decades. These stories are a singular rarity in the comics form - both bone-chillingly physical in their depictions of Frank’s travails and profoundly metaphysical at the same time. Not since George Herriman’s Krazy Kat has the comics language been so exquisitely distilled into pure, revelatory aesthetic expression. With Quacky, Woodring adopts the format of 1930s Big Little Books to deliver a text story with illustrations, in which the typically nonplussed Frank’s reactions are told to us explicitly, through narration and his own thoughts. Frank is buffeted by generosity, anguished to see how loving friends perceive him, distraught by the process of ageing and physical transformation in a beloved pet, delighted by nature and physical experiences shared with others, and ultimately sees a path toward radical acceptance in the face of trauma. Frank cast regulars Pupshaw, Pushpaw and Manhog are here, along with new entries to Frank’s world of the Unifactor. And, in a backup feature, we meet a cast of toontown pigs in a story that undercuts the kiddie book format: ‘Hoggy Goes Hogwild.’ Cunningham, the clever pig who helps all his friends, and his confirmed fiancee, Porceline, are called on to assist local pal Hoggy - who turns out to have gone on a violent crime spree, presaging a possible psychotic break. Jim Woodring is back, and no two worlds wouldn’t be the same without him. 296pgs B&W flexibound paperback.
Salvage
by Renée Neault
Random House
$25.99 / $19.99
The publisher says:
In this heartwarming graphic novel romance from the adaptor and illustrator of The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel, two young artists’ paths intertwine as they navigate the complexities of love in a world where sea levels have risen and society is sharply divided. Paolo lives in the Flats, a dangerous, water-logged community where families survive by salvaging materials from skyscrapers hidden just beneath the ocean’s surface—remnants of a world before sea levels rose. Scavenging the depths comes with its risks, but when Paolo discovers a suitcase of designer clothes, he decides to fulfil his dream: To spend one night in the Uplands, a place of privilege, excess, and freedom. There he meets Jules and her friends, and what begins as a single night of reckless adventure turns into a secret double life—and a seemingly impossible romance that forces Paolo to reckon with who he is, where he belongs, and the importance of being true to himself. Rendered in vibrant watercolour illustrations that bring every scene to vivid life, Salvage is as much a visual masterpiece as it is a moving tale of love and self-discovery. Renée Nault’s atmospheric and luminous hand-painted art draws readers into Paolo and Jules’ world, promising an unforgettable coming of age story. 296pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
