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Top 15 Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga:
January 2020
Time to look ahead with ‘2020 vision’ to the Brave New Year fast approaching us and pick out next January’s most intriguing and promising new releases. We kick off with a suitably multi-coloured, multi-faceted graphic biography of the legendary David Bowie, illustrated with Pop Art panache by Michael and Laura Allred…
Frank and engaging first-person perspectives fill the latest books from Andy Warner and Gabrielle Bell…
And among the English-language graphic novel debuts are strong solo works by Joris Vermassen and Moa Romanova. So many more great comics lie ahead over the coming twelve months - will you have room enough on your bookshelves?!
Baby: A Soppy Story
by Philippa Rice
Andrews McMeel
$14.99
The publisher says:
Baby: A Soppy Story focuses on the small, everyday moments of parenthood, from dreaming about the future baby and making plans, to actually being there with a real baby and bumbling through each precious day. From a #1 New York Times best-selling graphic novelist comes BABY, a collection of all new comics and illustrations about the small, intimate moments of a couple expecting their first baby. In this sequel to Soppy: A Love Story, the couple experience many heartwarming moments, as well as challenges, while planning to have a baby, going through pregnancy, childbirth and caring for a newborn. 108pgs black-and-red hardcover.
BOWIE: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams
by Steve Horton, Michael Allred & Laura Allred
Insight Comics
$39.99
The publisher says:
Inspired by the one and only superhero, extraterrestrial and rock and roll deity in history, BOWIE: Stardust, Rayguns, & Moonage Daydreams is the original graphic memoir of the great Ziggy Stardust. In life, David Bowie was one of the most magnetic icons of modern pop culture, seducing generations of fans with both his music and his counterculture persona. In death, the cult of Bowie has only intensified. As a musician alone, Bowie’s legacy is remarkable, but his place in the popular imagination is due to so much more than his music. As a visual performer, he defied classification with his psychedelic aesthetics, his larger-than-life image and his way of hovering on the border of the surreal. BOWIE: Stardust, Rayguns, & Moonage Daydreams chronicles the rise of Bowie’s career from obscurity to fame; and paralleled by the rise and fall of his alter ego as well as the rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust. As the Spiders from Mars slowly implode, Bowie wrestles with his Ziggy persona. The outcome of this internal conflict will change not only David Bowie, but also the world. 160pgs colour hardcover.
Catherine’s War
by Julia Billet & Claire Fauvel
Harper Alley
$21.99 / $12.99
The publisher says:
A magnificent narrative inspired by a true survival story that asks universal questions about a young girl’s coming of age story, her identity, her passions, and her first loves. At the Sèvres Children’s Home outside Paris, Rachel Cohen has discovered her passion: photography. Though she’s not heard from her parents in months, she loves the people at her school, adores capturing what she sees in pictures and tries not to worry too much about Hitler’s war. But as France buckles under the Nazi regime, danger closes in, and Rachel must change her name and go into hiding. As Catherine Colin, Rachel is faced with leaving the Sèvres Home and the friends she made there behind. But with her beautiful camera, Catherine possesses an object with the power to remember. For the rest of the war, Catherine bears witness to her own journey, and to the countless heroes whose courage and generosity saved the lives of many, including her own. Includes a map and photographs of the real Catherine and her wartime experiences, as well as an interview with author Julia Billet. Available in softcover and hardcover editions. Winner of the Youth Prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival (voted by readers), Winner of the Artémisia Prize for Historical Fiction, and Winner of the Andersen Premio Prize. 176pgs hardcover.
Condition of Paradise
by Akiko Morishima
Seven Seas Entertainment LLC
$13.99
The publisher says:
Two women in their twenties fall in love and learn to navigate work, a relationship and adulthood. Sarina is a sensible, level-headed office worker who likes to plan everything down to the smallest detail. But one thing she didn’t plan was falling for her best friend, flighty freelance writer Sumi. Can the two women make a relationship work despite their very different lifestyles? Akiko Morishima is a superstar yuri manga artist who has penned a long list of titles over the last twenty years. Some of her best-known series are Yuri Bear Storm and Hanjuku Joshi.180pgs B&W paperback.
Dreaming the Graphic Novel: The Novelization of Comics
by Paul Williams
Rutgers University Press
$120.00 / $29.95
The publisher says:
The term “graphic novel” was first coined in 1964, but it wouldn’t be broadly used until the 1980s, when graphic novels such as Watchmen and Maus achieved commercial success and critical acclaim. Dreaming the Graphic Novel examines how notions of the graphic novel began to coalesce in the 1970s, a time of great change for American comics, with declining sales of mainstream periodicals, the arrival of specialty comics stores and (at least initially) a thriving underground comix scene. Paul Williams investigates many texts that have fallen out of graphic novel history and demonstrates that what makes a text a ‘graphic novel’ was the subject of fierce debate among fans, creators and publishers, inspiring arguments that are still taking place today. 222pgs B&W hardcover / paperback.
Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence
by Joel Christian Gill
Oni Press
$19.99
The publisher says:
Fights is the visceral and deeply affecting memoir of artist/author Joel Christian Gill, chronicling his youth and coming of age as a Black child in a chaotic landscape of rough city streets and foreboding backwoods. Propelled into a world filled with uncertainty and desperation, young Joel is pushed toward using violence to solve his problems by everything and everyone around him. But fighting doesn’t always yield the best results for a confused and sensitive kid who yearns for a better, more fulfilling life than the one he was born into, as Joel learns in a series of brutal conflicts that eventually lead him to question everything he has learned about what it truly means to fight for one’s life. Joel Christian Gill is the chairman, CEO, president, director of development, majority and minority stockholder, manager, co-manager, regional manager, assistant to the regional manager, receptionist, senior black correspondent and janitor of his Strange Fruit Comics. He is the author of Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride from Lion Forge and the award winning graphic novels Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History and Tales of The Talented Tenth from Fulcrum Publishing. In his free time he is Chair of Comic Arts at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, where he inspires students to unleash the transformational potential of their stories. Founder of #28daysarenotenough, it is his belief that segregating the history of minority peoples lessens the impact these people have made on American society, and culture. Gill has dedicated his life to using stories to rebuild, empathy, compassion and ultimately humanity. As his friends and family say, “He won’t shut up about equality, justice and the importance of telling stories, so listen to him so we can binge watch Stranger Things in peace.” He received his MFA from Boston University and BA from Roanoke College. 256pgs colour paperback.
Goblin Girl
by Moa Romanova
Fantagraphics Books
$24.99
The publisher says:
A dating site match goes really wrong in this troubling, funny graphic memoir. Things seem to be looking up when Moa Romanova ― broke, depressed and living in a squat above an old store ― matches with a very famous celebrity on a popular hook-up site. Not only does the 53-year-old man like Moa, he also immediately validates and motivates her in a way that not even her therapist does, even offering to help financially support her artistic ambitions. However, Moa soon discovers that there are strings attached. Drawn in a style that’s de Chirico by way of the ‘80s, Romanova’s relatable graphic memoir is a thought-provoking debut. 184pgs colour hardcover.
Inappropriate
by Gabrielle Bell
Uncivilized Books
$19.95
The publisher says:
Gabrielle Bell returns with a brilliant new collection of hilarious short stories. From a revisionist Red Riding Hood, to uncomfortable role reversals, Gabrielle Bell revels in skewering modern mores with razor-sharp humour and wry observations. Culled from The New Yorker, Paris Review and Medium, including several brand new, previously unpublished short comic gems, Inappropriate collects Bell’s best short comics from the last couple of years. 120pgs B&W hardcover.
In Pieces: Someplace Which I Call Home
by Kurt Ankeny
AdHouse Books
$25.00
The publisher says:
In Pieces: Someplace Which I Call Home is Kurt Ankeny’s debut graphic novel. A series of short meditative vignettes which are by turns comedic, poetic or absurd reveals the personality of the small New England town where he lived for five years with his family. Excerpted in Best American Comics 2017, on PEN America, on Comics Workbook and winner of a Boston Bookbuilders New England Book Award. 120pgs colour paperback.
In Vitro
by RoyWilliam Roy
Humanoids Inc. / Life Drawn
$17.95
The publisher says:
A newly wedded couple is full of life, love and inspiration. They have everything they’ve always wanted except a child. From unsuccessful attempts to repeated failures, the two newlyweds face a menacing foe: sterility. Together, they embark on the confusing journey that is in vitro fertilisation. Haunted by the hyperbole of WebMD and the guilt of infertility, Guillaume experiences the daily embarrassment of sperm donations, tests with dreaded results and endless consultations, not to mention the spectre of his own estranged father who reappears suddenly in his life. With realistic, self-effacing charm, William Roy humbly and accurately shares a deeply human experience that is propelled by unshakable hope. 160pgs colour paperback.
Lincoln Highway 750
by Bernard Chambaz & Barroux
NBM
$12.99
The publisher says:
“I hate marathons. Hate running. An hour before leaving, I received a text. Instead of ‘Good luck,’ it was ‘We’re finished.’ So, I went to a bar next to the subway on 95th. Had a few bourbons with some other mope. Then I got on a bike. I took off down the old Highway 750, the Lincoln Highway.” Forget Route 66. This is the original cross-country highway that takes you through real America, the first to cross all of the US from the Big Apple to the City on the Bay. This is the road trip. On a bike. Barroux studied photography, art, sculpture and architecture in France at the famous École Estienne and École Boule. He went on to work as an art director in Paris and Montreal. While in Montreal, Barroux began illustrating by creating linocut images, and he is now well known for his children’s book illustrations. Bernard Chambaz is a French novelist, historian and poet, winner of several French literary prizes including the prestigious Goncourt for best first novel. 88pgs colour paperback.
Lola: A Ghost Story
by J. Torres and Elbert Or
Oni Press
$14.99
The publisher says:
J. Torres and Elbert Or celebrate 10 years of Lola: A Ghost Story, the critically-acclaimed graphic novel that explores family, grief and Filipino folklore, in an all-new edition that includes a revised ending and updated illustrations. Jesse didn’t really know his Lola (the Tagalog word for grandmother), but he remembers that she tried to drown him as a baby. Strange stories surround Lola: she had visions, she fought off monsters straight out of Filipino folklore and, according to some, she may have even seen ghosts. Now Jesse is struggling with the same visions Lola had, but Lola’s not around anymore, and the rest of his family are too tied up in their own personal demons to help. Personal demons that Lola might have helped with, if she were still alive. As Jesse explores his new abilities, he realises that he might be the one who needs to step into that role, and that helping others might just help him, too. 120pgs colour paperback.
Mad with Joy
by Joris Vermassen
Fanfare Ponent/Mon
$25.00
The publisher says:
Tom is a stand-up comic with a checkered career. At one point everyone thought that his older sister would join him to make up a comedy duo, but Ellen was always more minded towards drawing and art in general. But she remained the driving force behind Tom’s work and helped obtain and support his live gigs. Then one day she came to Tom with some cruel news: she had pancreatic cancer. Surgery was followed by hospitalisation. Nothing to laugh at you’d imagine, but Tom and Ellen continue to bounce humour off each other, with Tom running the gauntlet of the doctors’ ire to take Ellen out to see the trees and her favourite statue in the park, The Mad Maiden by Rik Wouters, inspired by dancer Isadora Duncan. To her dying day, Ellen thought the statue looked mad with joy! 128pgs two-colour hardcover.
Nils: The Tree of Life
by Jérome Hamon & Antoine Carrion
Magnetic Press
$29.99
The publisher says:
A dystopic Nordic fantasy world, where spirits of light are the key to life, but seemingly have abandoned the world. Young Nils and his father set out to discover why the ground has grown infertile, heading north where the drought seems worse to find the cause. Far along the way, they find signs of fresh and vibrant life, caretaken by these little light spirits. But before they know it, a large metal creature arrives and attacks the creatures, apparently hunting and gathering them. From out of the woods, a woman attacks the creature, bringing it to its knees… apparently the plant was bait for the spirits, which in turn were bait for the metal creature, which serves the high-tech Cyan Nation. This huntress, named Alba, takes Nils and his father into their tribe, where the battle between the shamanistic people and the Cyan Nation is paramount, a battle over the protection vs exploitation of the light spirits power… Meanwhile, three goddesses watch these events, lamenting the fact that man had abandoned all belief in their power long ago. They watch but do not intervene, despite the fact that the spirits are being harvested en masse by the Cyan Nation, wreaking ruin on the world outside their city. Realizing that this conflict will in one way or another change the very fabric of this world, they slowly begin to intervene… As they continue their travels, Nils has a dream (seeded by one of the goddesses) about the World Tree, Yggdrasil, which is being consumed by a metal plague. He knows he must now find and save the tree, and in the process, save the world. But the high council of the Cyan Nation would have otherwise… Having been separated in their quest, Nils’s father finds himself a guest of the Cyan Prince, where he learns that they do indeed understand the power of the spirits, which they call Ethernum, serving as the power source for their technological advancement. More sinister than that, however, is the fact that they’ve used the Ethernum as a means of near-eternal longevity, having wiped out all competitors to their power and resource long ago. And now, they believe they have unlocked the secrets for using the Ethernum to revive the dead… And for the goddesses, that is a step too far. They intervene, but in the process find one of themselves surprisingly captured by the Cyan royalty… and then killed. The remaining two goddesses are torn by this affront. One vows to wipe mankind off the planet for good, while the other goes to help Nils save the Life Tree. High fantasy adventure combining science-fiction with pseudo-spiritual magic, posing dramatic examinations of man vs nature, life vs death, fact vs faith, and man’s desire to play god. 184pgs colour hardcover.
Parable of the Sower
by Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy & John Jennings
Abrams ComicArts
$24.99
The publisher says:
In this graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the award-winning team behind the #1 bestseller Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, the author portrays a searing vision of America’s future. In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny and the birth of a new faith. 272pgs colour hardcover.
Spring Rain
by Andy Warner
St. Martin’s Griffin Books
$19.99
The publisher says:
An intimate graphic memoir. In 2005 Andy Warner traveled to Lebanon to study literature. In Beirut he grows close to a crowd of mostly LGBTQ students and suffers a mental breakdown while the city erupts into revolution. Illustrated in beautiful and intricate detail, Spring Rain is an absorbing and poignant graphic memoir of a young man’s attempt to gain control over his life as well as a portrait of a city and a nation’s violent struggle to define its future in the predawn of the Arab Spring. Andy Warner is the New York Times best-selling author of Brief Histories of Everyday Objects (Picador, 2016). His comics have been published by Slate, Fusion, American Public Media, The Nib, Symbolia, Medium, KQED, popsci.com, Showtime Network’s Years of Living Dangerously, IDEO.org, The Center for Constitutional Rights, UNHCR, UNRWA, UNICEF, and Buzzfeed. He is a contributing editor at The Nib and has taught cartooning at Stanford University, California College of the Arts, and the Animation Workshop in Denmark. He makes comics in a garden shed in San Francisco and comes from the sea. 208pgs
The Strange Ones: Volume 1
by Jeremy Jusay
Gallery 13
$19.99
The publisher says:
Filled with visceral and engaging prose, this graphic novella offers a nostalgic look at two young misfits who manage to find belonging and heartbreak in each other’s friendship. Anjeline walks with an open heart, but alone, through a world that consistently rejects her; Franck, another loner, never smiles. After the hand of fate literally shoves them together in the roiling mosh pit at a Midtown rock concert, they bond over the long commute back to Staten Island, and begin a friendship that makes the world a little better for them both. Together, this strange pair turns the sharp-edged, gloomy New York City into their playground… even as pain and heartbreak await around the corner. 192pgs B&W paperback.
