RSS Feed
Facebook
Twitter
Top 42 Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga:
April 2025
The things we can do with words and pictures! In these remarkable times for the medium, comics creators can respond with searing clarity to our immediate, turbulent present and also reveal their complex backgrounds and personal traumas. Swedish artist Joanna Rubin Dranger dives deep back into her Jewish family history in this award-winning epic…
While from Lebanon, Mazen Kerbaj distills how he follows the invasion of Palestine and the genocide of its people…
Yvan Alagbé returns to his explorations of desire, race and postcolonialism in contemporary France…
And Kayla E. in the USA is courageously honest in conveying her profoundly troubled upbringing.
Harry Bliss ranges widely over his lifetime, with special attention to his much-loved canine companion.
And Dan Nadel delivers a vital biography of the underground comix legend Robert Crumb, who paved the way for some many others who followed. He also edits a compendium of Crumb’s existential comics. Much to look forward to, so take a look through below!
3:33 AM Stories
by Yitan
Afterlight Comics
£20.00 / $22.99
The publisher says:
From its Webtoons debut with over 100,000 readers to print, the chilling anthology 3:33 AM Stories makes its physical edition premiere! Featuring four spine-tingling horror tales brought to life by Tokyo-based manga artist sensation Yitan, this first edition promises to leave you haunted! The stories are: ‘Guilty’: A strange lady appears in a girl’s apartment asking about someone that, apparently, the girl does not know. ‘Make it home’: A salaryman tired of his life meets a mysterious creature who will make him reconsider his decisions. ‘Blood Ties’: A girl wakes up confused in a strange house where a dark truth remains hidden. ‘Feast’: After disobeying his grandmother, a teenager gets involved in an accident that will drastically change the course of his life. 128pgs colour paperback..
The Bees: The Women who Rocked Lithuania
by Akvilé Magicdusté, translated by Erika Lastovskyté
Fantagraphics Underground
$29.99
The publisher says:
The extraordinary true story of Lithuania’s first all–women rock band. In 1965, inspired by The Beatles, Lithuanian musician Jurate Dineikaite founded a rock band called The Bees. This spirited ensemble of six women toured throughout the Soviet Union during the ’60s and ’70s―turning heads with their blue jeans, mop-tops, and modern rock sound. For these women, taking the stage was at once an electrifying expression of their artistry and an audacious political act. Based on interviews with Jurate herself, this graphic novel vividly captures episodes of the group’s lived experiences―from thrilling performances to chilling encounters with the KGB. An authentic portrayal of a fascinating true history little known outside of Lithuania, The Bees is adapted with vibrant colours and a charmingly handcrafted style by cartoonist Akvile Magicdusté. This edition also features a photo gallery with period snapshots of the band in action, plus a playlist of their original songs. Akvile Magicdusté graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Arts and the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels. She is the author of the graphic novels Bites (The Bees) and Tropical Wildchilds. In additional to her illustration work, she creates textiles, ceramics, and murals. Her drawing is marked by bright pastel colours and whimsical nature. In Akvile’s artistic world, bats can skateboard and tigers lurk around every corner. She’s based in Vilnius, Lithuania. 168pgs colour paperback.
The Cabbie: Definitive Edition
by Marti Riera Ferrer
Fantagraphics
$29.99
The publisher says:
The countercultural cult Spanish graphic novel The Cabbie, inspired by the social critique of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and the style of Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, is complete in English for the first time. Coupling the grand guignol morality of Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver with the squashed black-and-white perspectives and grotesque human physiognomy (and humanity) that defines Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Martí’s The Cabbie (starring the eponymous “hero” known only as the Cabbie) was first published in instalments in 1980s Spain, a product of a life lived under, and coming out of, Franco’s fascist dictatorship. In Volume One (initially published in 2011), the Cabbie’s father’s coffin is stolen in an act of vengeance for the Cabbie’s vigilantism ― right after his mother tells him his inheritance is inside! Cabbie takes to the mean streets in a quest to find it. In Volumes Two and Three (both never before available in English), Cabbie runs the gauntlet of mad science, dog races where the dogs chase humans, evil millionaires, presidents, and popes in addition to every nightmare scenario imaginable. Ultra violent, ultra profane, and ultra vicious, The Cabbie is filled with scummy noir characters exaggerated to the absolute limit―and the worst of them all might be the titular Cabbie, precisely because, not unlike Travis Bickle, he sees himself as a force for good. There have been various incomplete English editions over the last four decades, but this is the definitive Cabbie saga published in English for the first time, complete with “extras,” including a cover gallery. 196pgs B&W flexibound.
Carousel Summer
by Kathleen Gros
Quill Tree Books
$24.99 / $15.99
The publisher says:
For twelve-year-old Lucy Stulligross, a boring summer without her best friend turns into an unexpected coming-of-age journey of firsts. Perfect for fans of Kayla Miller and Jarad Greene. With her best friend away at camp, tons of chores to do, and her dad always on her case for being such a tomboy, Lucy is dreading summer. That is, until Milforth’s plan to revive an old carousel for the town’s 150th anniversary brings artist Ray and her daughter, Anaïs, to town. Anaïs is smart, funny, and easy to talk to, and Lucy—who’s used to being judged for her looks and interests—finally feels at ease in her own skin. And she thinks she may feel something for Anaïs, too. Leading up to Milforth’s big birthday, tensions begin rising with locals, thanks to a shifty development company trying to overrun the town. Things also come to a breaking point at home, when Lucy butts heads with her dad over how she wants to express herself as a girl. Can Lucy find the courage to be true to who she is? She’s got the whole summer to find out… Kathleen Gros is a cartoonist living in Vancouver, British Columbia. She graduated with a BFA in illustration from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and she published her first graphic novel, Last Night at Wyrmwood High, soon after. 304pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
The Cartoonists Club
by Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud
Scholastic Graphix
$24.99 / $14.99
The publisher says:
The #1 New York Times bestselling cartoonists Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud team up for a one-of-a-kind friendship story about creativity and self-expression that blends how-to and comics magic. Welcome to the club! Makayla is bursting with ideas but doesn’t know how to make them into a story. Howard loves to draw, but he struggles to come up with ideas and his dad thinks comics are a waste of time. Lynda constantly draws in her sketchbook but keeps focusing on what she feels are mistakes, and Art simply loves being creative and is excited to try something new. They come together to form The Cartoonists Club, where kids can learn about making comics and use their creativity and imagination for their own storytelling adventures! 288pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Checked Out
by Katie Fricas
Drawn & Quarterly
$27.95
The publisher says:
In which a queer library worker searches for love, artistic validation in New YorkCity, and the perfect book. An aspiring cartoonist and book lovin’ lesbian, Louise works a dead-end day job at a shoe store, where she spends most of her time brooding over a coworker who will never quite love her back. By night, she works diligently and obsessively on her graphic novel―the true story of a carrier pigeon who rescued a battalion of soldiers in WWI. When Louise unexpectedly lands a new job at a private library on the Upper East Side, she feels like her graphic novel will finally take off―surely the oldest library in New York has excellent holdings on pigeons and WWI. But what she finds in the stacks might be less revelatory than her discoveries between the sheets and buried in her own family history. A graphic novel set against a perfectly cartoony NYC backdrop―complete with landmark haunts, street fashion, and quintessential characters of the city―Checked Out is at once a valentine to libraries and New York, and the story of an artist working to make her dreams come true. Drawn in a delightfully vivacious style, Checked Out buzzes with Katie Fricas’s vibrant energy, quick wit, and storytelling aplomb. 356pgs colour paperback.
Chester Brown: Biographix Vol. 5
by Frederik Byrn Køhlert
University Press of Mississippi
$99.00 / $20.00
The publisher says:
Best known for his alternative comics, Chester Brown (b. 1960) is one of the most acclaimed and influential cartoonists of the last half century. This first biography provides a critical account of Brown’s life and career, highlighting his role in the evolving comics landscape and tracing his journey from self-publishing minicomics on the streets of Toronto to creating award-winning graphic novels. Characterised by often minimalist art and unconventional themes, comics such as Yummy Fur, Ed the Happy Clown, I Never Liked You, Louis Riel, and Paying for It have consistently pushed boundaries and confronted taboos. Chester Brown offers unique insight into Brown’s creative process as well the scope of his work and its larger cultural contexts. 144pgs B&W hardcover / paperback.
Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life
by Dan Nadel
Scribner
$35.00
The publisher says:
The first biography of Robert Crumb—one of the most profound and influential artists of the 20th century—whose iconic, radically frank and meticulously rendered cartoons and comics inspired generations of readers and cartoonists, from Art Spiegelman to Alison Bechdel. Robert Crumb is often credited with single-handedly transforming the comics medium into a place for adult expression, in the process pioneering the underground comic book industry, and transforming the vernacular language of 20th-century America into an instantly recognisable and popular aesthetic, as iconic as Walt Disney or Charles Schulz. Now, for the first time, Dan Nadel, a curator and writer specialising in comics and art, shares how this complicated artist survived childhood abuse, fame in his twenties, more fame, and came out the other side intact. More than just a biography of an iconic cartoonist, Crumb is the story of a richly complex life at the forefront of both the underground and popular cultures of post-war America. Including forty-five stunning black-and-white images throughout and a sixteen-page colour insert featuring images both iconic and obscure, Crumb spans the pressures of 1950s suburban America and Crumb’s highly dysfunctional early family life; the history of comics and graphic satire; 20th century popular music; the world of the counterculture; the birth of underground comic books in 1960s San Francisco with Crumb’s Zap Comix; the economic challenges and dissolution of the hippie dream; and the path Robert Crumb blazed through it all. Written with Crumb’s cooperation, this fascinating, rollicking book takes in seven decades of Crumb’s iconic works, including Fritz the Cat, Weirdo, and his final book-length comic of The Book of Genesis; capturing, in the process, the essence of an extraordinary artist and his times. Dan Nadel is a writer and curator. His previous books include It’s Life as a I See It: Black Cartoonists in Chicago, 1940–1980; Peter Saul: Professional Artist Correspondence, 1945–1976; and Art Out of Time: Unknown Comic Visionaries, 1900–1969. Nadel has curated exhibitions for galleries and museums internationally including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He is the founder of PictureBox, a publishing and packaging company that produced over one hundred books, objects, and zines from 2000 to 2014, including the Grammy Award–winning design for Wilco’s 2004 album A Ghost Is Born. Dan is the curator-at-large for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his family. 480pgs part-colour hardcover.
Cypress Hill: Black Sunday 30
written by Noah Callahan-Bever & Gabriel Alvarez, drawn by
Felix Ruix, Ken Knudtsen, Sebastian Piriz, Giorgio Pontrelli & Guillermo Sanna, cover by Jay Papke
Z2 Comics
$29.99
The publisher says:
Z2 proudly presents a graphic novel celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Cypress Hill’s seminal and groundbreaking album, Black Sunday. Writers Noah Callahan-Bever and Gabriel Alvarez take you on a narrative trip through the making of the album as the artwork of Ken Knudsten, Sebastian Piriz, Giorgio Pontrelli, Felix Ruiz and Guillermo Sanno immerses you deep in the vibe and historic cultural events that surrounded Cypress Hill as they brought Black Sunday to life. With new cover art by the original album cover designer, Jay Papke, this is a tribute that is truly Insane in the Brain! 104pgs colour hardcover.
Death Be Damned
by AJ Bernardo, Noel Pascual & Mike Alcazaren
Ablaze Publishing
$29.99
The publisher says:
Death Be Damned is a compelling graphic novel that thrusts readers into a dark where the undead rise in defiance against injustice and crooked societal norms. Crafted by the creative trio of Mike Alcazaren, Noel Pascual, and AJ Bernardo, the narrative unfolds when a television crew crashes a party of society’s elite at a remote hacienda, and a supernatural revolution of the undead suddenly boils over. A formidable legion of zombies, led by a mysterious 10-year-old girl and armed with sickles and scythes, emerges to challenge the living. The story weaves together horror, action, and a poignant critique of societal disparities, engaging readers in a high stakes struggle for survival and justice. Who will survive? Death Be Damned spans 232 pages of intense, thought-provoking narrative, brought to life through AJ Barnardo’s masterful narrative illustrations, all in striking black-white-and-red. ABLAZE is proud to present another smash-hit from the world of Filipino comics, a horror story with universal appeal. 232pgs black-white-and red paperback.
Dimwood
by Richard Corben
Dark Horse
$39.99
The publisher says:
Dimwood is the next book in a series of deluxe graphic novels from renowned creator Richard Corben’s library to be published by Dark Horse Comics. This special edition collects the never before published graphic novel Dimwood, and also features bonus material, restorations and an epilogue from long-time Corben collaborator Jose Villarrubia, letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot, and an introduction by Joe Lansdale, all presented in a gorgeous hardcover with a dust jacket. In the densely vegetated forest of Dimwood, a young woman returns to her family home after many years’ absence. Xera has gaping holes in her memories of her childhood and family, as obscured and dim as the surrounding forest. In Dimwood Mansion, with its decaying, labyrinthine levels she seeks the missing pieces of her past and makes connections with mysterious disappearances and gruesome murders in this original gothic tale, Corben’s final graphic novel. 136pgs colour hardcover.
The Dissident Club: Chronicle of a Pakistani Journalist in Exile
Taha Siddiqui & Hubert Maury, translated by David Homel
Arsenal Pulp Press
$27.95
The publisher says:
An urgent and compelling graphic memoir about a Pakistani investigative journalist at odds with his fundamentalist family and the Pakistani military that attempts to kidnap him. In Islamabad in 2018, Pakistani investigative journalist Taha Siddiqui is kidnapped at gunpoint and barely escapes being killed. He flees the country on the first plane to France with questions left unanswered: What motivated the attack? Was the tyrannical Pakistani military involved? The Dissident Club is an action-packed graphic memoir about Islamic politics, complex family dynamics, and one man’s dedication to truth and principle. With illustrator Hubert Maury, Siddiqui, winner of the prestigious journalism award Prix Albert Londres, tells the story of his intriguing life and career, beginning with his childhood in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan under the stern gaze of a fundamentalist Islamic father. Siddiqui rebels against his religion, but his personal freedom is constrained by strict Islam, especially after his father joins a jihadi mosque. Following the Gulf War and then the shock caused by 9/11, Siddiqui enters university and begins his personal emancipation. He becomes a journalist, but as he reveals the crimes of the Pakistani military, he learns the hard way that journalists are moving targets. Once in Paris, he opens the Dissident Club, a bar dedicated to helping political dissidents from around the world. An expansive Pakistani coming-of-age story, The Dissident Club documents Siddiqui’s experiences as a young man fighting for truth and justice against the harsh backdrop of Islamic fundamentalism and corruption. 270pgs colour paperback.
Don’t Cause Trouble
by Arree Chung
Henry Holt
$22.99 / $14.99
The publisher says:
Twelve-year-old Ming Lee hopes middle school will be the fresh start he needs. But stepping into school with the same bowl haircut his mom insists on giving him, and wearing the extra-discounted thrift shop clothes she buys him doesn’t quite make for the first day of his dreams. Things only get worse when he’s placed in an ESL class despite English being his first (and only) language. The journey ahead is full of awkward, painful, and downright embarrassing moments. Ming’s dad always tells him, “Get good grades! Don’t cause trouble!” But with two new friends by his side, and a few tricks up his sleeve, Ming is determined to make some changes. Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Jerry Craft, Don’t Cause Trouble is a funny, warmhearted graphic novel that will resonate with readers who are looking for a place to belong. 256pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Existential Comics: Selected Stories 1979-2004
by R. Crumb, edited by Dan Nadel
David Zwirner Books
$45.00
The publisher says:
This volume brings together twenty-five of R. Crumb’s most ambitious, acclaimed, and profound comics. One of the most influential and iconic cartoonists of our time, R. Crumb is celebrated for pushing the boundaries of representation, mass consumerism, and polite society. The comics in this volume exemplify Crumb’s creative output over twenty-five years following his early experimentation in the 1960s and 1970s. The comics collected here depict characters searching for an understanding of the world around and within themselves. Through adaptation, autobiography, biography, and short fiction, Crumb—much like his subjects—demands we pay attention to our darkest desires, compulsions, fears, and obsessions. Existential Comics also features a new, introductory comic strip by Crumb, reflecting on his practice in the context of this volume. Editor Dan Nadel’s essay further weaves together Crumb’s life, career, and influences, delving into the creative environment that informed some of the artist’s most outstanding comics. 208pgs B&W hardcover.
The Flip Side
by Jason Walz
Rocky Pond Books
$25.99 / $17.99
The publisher says:
This breathtaking, page-turning graphic novel is a supernatural survival story in which a grieving teen finds himself in a haunting alternate reality—the frightening embodiment of his depression. Theo’s best friend has died, and he can’t pull himself out of his sadness—a sadness that those around him don’t seem to respect or even notice. And then something even more disconcerting happens: His town literally flips upside down and everyone disappears, except for a threatening, shape-shifting monster and a snarky teenage girl who knows her way around this flipped world. Is Theo doomed to spend the rest of his life in this scary state? Tremendously unique and suspenseful, The Flip Side tackles grief and depression in a fascinating and affecting way. Jason Walz worked for many years as a special education teacher, and is the creator of several previous graphic novels, including the Last Pick trilogy and the Eisner Award-nominated Homesick. 304pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
Gaza in My Phone
by Mazen Kerbaj
OR Books
$17.00 / £13.00
The publisher says:
Gaza is the first genocide to be captured in real-time images on devices we hold in our hands. Two days after October 7, the Lebanese comic artist Mazen Kerbaj began drawing in reaction to what was appearing in his phone. This powerful and original book brings together that work. Mazen draws in part to bear witness and raise awareness, but also as a coping mechanism, to remain sane amid the unfolding madness. His straight-to-the-point, high-contrast black-and-white art is accompanied by striking slogans and captions. It has been shared widely around the world, helping people express their solidarity with Palestine. Produced from Berlin, a city where the repression of Palestinian support has been particularly fierce, Mazen’s drawings raise fundamental questions about seeing as an act of solidarity when those in power seek to suppress news of what is happening. Haunted by the live-streamed images, we dread seeing more when we open our phones. By representing them in simple cartoons, Mazen allows us to scrutinize and reflect on the horrors we have witnessed. The result is an extraordinary sequence of images and messages that ask us to pause for a moment, to stop, look, mourn, and summon the resolve to head out and join the fight for the living, for life, for justice. Mazen Kerbaj is a Lebanese visual artist, comics author, and musician. He is the author of fifteen books, including Beirut Won’t Cry with an introduction by Joe Sacco. His work has been shown in galleries and museums around the world. He is well known for recording trumpet solos on his balcony during the Israel’s 2006 bombing of Beirut, widely shared on the internet under the title Starry Night. 160pgs B&W paperback.
The Golem of Venice Beach Vol. 2
written by Chanan Beizer, drawn by Jae Lee, Vanessa Cardinali, David Mack, Dean Haspiel, Juan Jose Ryp, Nick Dragotta, Howard Chaykin, Stan Sakai, Das Pastoras, cover by Frank Quitely
Clover Press
$45.00
The publisher says:
The legend of The Golem of Venice Beach that began 400 years ago in Europe comes to a fateful conclusion in present day sunny California. Writer Chanan Beizer and artist Vanessa Cardinali (Slumber) deliver an action-packed 184-page sequel with a legendary cast of artists joining them: Eisner winner Jae Lee (Stephen King’s The Dark Tower) returns to complete the story of the Golem’s resurrection during World War Two. David Mack (Echo) creates a unique six-page vision quest sequence of existential exploration. Famed Spanish painter Das Pastoras (Ax-Wielder Jon) crafts a striking homage to an iconic Sal Buscema pin up from 1973’s groundbreaking Avengers/Defenders War. And a nine-page bonus story inspired by the classic What If…? comic book series with art by Dean Haspiel (Covid Cop), Juan José Ryp (Wolverine), Nick Dragotta (Absolute Batman), and Hall-of-Famers Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!) & Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo). A wrap-around cover by superstar Frank Quitely (All-Star Superman). 184pgs colour hardcover.
He Lost His Keys in Space
by Luke Milton & Lizzy Lang
Black Panel Press
$26.99
The publisher says:
Earth’s first and worst ambassador, Vega Ulysses, has freshly completed a tumultuous twelve year mission of galactic diplomacy, paid off his mortgage, and can finally return home to Earth. There’s just one problem—he lost his keys in space! Now, with his reluctant crew of outsiders in tow, Vega must retrace his steps, searching wild, diverse planets teeming with hostile aliens, silly robots and rude cosmic entities—all forcing him to confront the havoc he has wreaked while haphazardly advancing Earth’s selfish, consumerist agenda. A delirious take on sci-fi cartoons of the eighties, He Lost His Keys in Space reads like an entire animated series in a book. A darkly funny satire of the most ridiculed planet in the universe: Earth! Luke Milton is an Australian artist and writer of satirical, dark humour comics. He has been a prolific playwright and director, podcaster, and photographer. 164pgs colour hardcover.
Hidden: A True Story of the Holocaust
by Kati Preston & Dilleen Marsh
Peter E Randall Publisher
$20.00
The publisher says:
A young girl, who’s extended family perished in the Holocaust, grows up to share her story of survival and educate those on the consequences of hate and prejudice. Hidden is the compelling story told from the child’s perspective of Kati Preston, who lost her extended Jewish family in the Holocaust and was saved when she was 5 years old. It is beautifully illustrated in color as a graphic novel. Kati Preston was born in Hungary in 1939, the only child born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother. Twenty-eight members of Kati’s Jewish family perished in Auschwitz. After successful careers as a journalist, international fashion designer, EMT, and owner of an educational theatre company, Kati realised that what matters most is sharing her story of survival in order to educate others of the devastating consequences of hate and prejudice. 96pgs colour paperback.
Honoria: A Fortuitous Friendship
by Janice Shapiro
Fantagraphics
$39.99
The publisher says:
Honoria, the daughter of Sara and Gerald Murphy, who invented the literary “summer on the Riviera” in the 1920s, is used to her parents’ endless parties with such luminaries as Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, at their splendid house at Cap d’Antibes. When sheltered and unsophisticated Ida visits for a summer, Honoria becomes both her mentor and tormentor, as well as her role model and, finally, her friend. When Ida is sent away for the summer to stay with the Murphys―friends of her father, but also of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald―she travels from New York to France and, unknowingly, into the artistic epicentre of 1929. There, she meets their haughty, sullen, and precocious daughter, Honoria, and wonders if she can be friends with the prettiest girl in the whole world. In the “perfect inverted world” of adults, one of constant play and leisure―and inebriation, of course ― it’s the children who most acutely perceive the pervasive unhappiness bubbling beneath the surface gaiety. Achingly sad and effortlessly funny, full of the kind of youthful sincerity unclouded by pretenses of age, short story writer and cartoonist Janice Shapiro’s debut graphic novel, Honoria, is the complex story of the education of two young girls who have started moving slowly into womanhood. 352pgs B&W hardcover.
Huda F Wants To Know?
by Huda Fahmy
Dial Books
$24.99/ $17.99
The publisher says:
In the hilarious and poignant follow-up to National Book Award Finalist Huda F Cares?, Huda’s life and worldview is turned upside down when her parents announce they’re divorcing. Huda Fahmy is ready for junior year. She’s got a plan to join all the clubs, volunteer everywhere, ace the ACTs, write the most awe-inspiring essay for her scholarship applications. Easy. But then Mama and Baba announce the most unthinkable news: they’re getting a divorce. Huda is devastated. She worries about what this will mean for her family, their place in the Muslim community, and her future. Her grades start tanking, she has a big fight with her best friend, and everything feels out of control. Will her life ever feel normal again? Huda F wants to know. 224pgs colour hardcover / paperback.
I Hated You in School
by Kathleen Gros
Andrews McMeel
$18.99
The publisher says:
Tessa hasn’t spoken to Olive in ten years and she’s not about to start now…readers will delight in this enemies-to-lovers graphic novel with a queer twist: I Hated You in High School. Struggling 20-something Tessa has a dead-end job as a barista and the dream of a creative career that never quite seems to take off. When the coffee shop where she works goes out of business, she’s able to visit her parents for the first time in years. Arriving at her family home, she discovers that her parents have rented out the basement apartment to her high school nemesis, Olive Virtue. Old wounds resurface during Tessa’s stay, but an accident that traps them in the attic forces them to face their past and think about their future. I Hated You in High School is an enemies-to-lovers story inspired by classic romantic movies—with a queer twist. Author and illustrator Kathleen Gros has expanded her short story webcomic into a beautiful tale of love and learning. 264pgs B&W paperback.
The Inspector Coke Trilogy: Masterpiece Edition
by Dino Battaglia
Epicenter Comics
$64.99
The publisher says:
For the first time ever in English, a work by a renown, influential Italian artist Dino Battaglia! This individually numbered limited edition is a complete, 3-book collection contained in an elegant slipcase! The three stories follow Inspector Coke as he faces and tries to solve mysteries in foggy streets of post-Victorian London. The books are: The Crimes of the Phoenix, The Mummy, and The Monster of the Thames. 3 x 60pgs B&W hardcovers.
John Muir: To the Heart of Solitude
by Lomig
NBM
$24.00
The publisher says:
What pushed John Muir to become the pioneering environmentalist and founder of the Sierra Club? 1867: A sawmill is running at full speed with a terrible noise when suddenly, workers run to rescue a man on the ground. He has seriously injured his eyes. John Muir is twenty-nine years old, and it is likely that he may remain blind. But miraculously, after months of an almost mystical convalescence, he regains his sight. This episode convinces him he’s going to leave everything behind and embrace his lifelong dream: head south to meet the wilderness. Armed with only his courage, his youth, a magnifying glass and a botanical book, he treks hundreds of miles on foot from Indiana to Florida. Imagine an almost pristine wilderness, where only a few dangerous ex-soldiers from the South and former slaves thrown out of the old plantations roam… This biography also covers his other life-changing pioneering trek along the Sierra Nevada Trail which now bears his name. Here, in breathtaking vistas, is the inspiration he got to found the Sierra Club, create the first national parks, and become one of America’s first and foremost environmentalist champions. Self-taught, Lomig first honed his skills in comic drawing. His stories feature individuals stuck in the throes of modern civilisation. Lomig lives in Rennes, France. 176pgs B&W hardcover.
Latinx Comics Studies: Critical and Creative Crossings
by various, edited by Fernanda Diasz-Basteris & Maite Urcaregui
Rutgers University Press
$135.00 / $34.95
The publisher says:
Latinx Comics Studies: Critical and Creative Crossings offers an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach to analysing Latinx studies and comics studies. The book draws together groundbreaking critical essays, practical pedagogical reflections, and original and republished short comics. The works in this collection discuss the construction of national identity and memory, undocumented narratives, Indigenous and Afro-Latinx experiences, multiracial and multilingual identities, transnational and diasporic connections, natural disasters and unnatural colonial violence, feminist and queer interventions, Latinx futurities, and more. Together, the critical and creative works in this collection begin to map out the emerging and evolving field of Latinx comics studies and to envision what might be possible in and through Latinx comics. 335pgs B&W hardcover / paperback.
Love Languages
by James Albon
Top Shelf Productions
$19.99
The publisher says:
Two foreigners in France reach across language barriers and turn each other’s lives upside down in this stunningly beautiful queer romance graphic novel painted in dazzling watercolour. Sarah Huxley has moved from London to Paris, only to find a lonely life of corporate drudgery and disappointment—a far cry from her romantic expectations of the city. She collides with Ping Loh, a young woman working as an au pair to a wealthy family of Hong Kong expats, and the two bond over their shared struggle with the French tongue. In museums and markets, over text messages and translation apps, Ping and Sarah slowly begin to learn each other’s languages, communicating in a rich and ever-shifting blend of English, French, and Cantonese. As their friendship blooms, so does their private dialect—a personal linguistic patchwork, a shared secret just for them. But when their feelings for each other start to deepen, they discover that the simplest words to translate can be the hardest words to say. In these sumptuously painted pages, award-winning graphic novelist James Albon (The Delicacy) presents a dazzling love story about cross-cultural connection, the bewildering sensation of feeling one’s brain rewrite itself, and the intoxicating rush of the foreign becoming familiar. 176pgs colour paperback.
Low Orbit
by Kazimir Lee
Top Shelf Productions
$24.99
The publisher says:
An atmospheric and profound coming-of-age graphic novel about a Malaysian American teen carving out her own identity in the uneasy space between friends and family. Fifteen-year-old Azar feels stuck. Her mom’s job forced them to move to Vermont, where Azar doesn’t know anyone. Her only friends are the next-door neighbours: an ageing sci-fi writer and his non-binary teen, Tristan, fellow misfits in the small-town community. For a while, Azar can escape her troubles by disappearing into the pages of her kindly neighbour’s epic novel, The Exiles of Overworld. But when her queerness throws her life out of balance, Azar realizes some secrets can’t be escaped forever. Somewhere in the abandoned malls, lakes, and comic conventions that fill her new life, Azar fights to find herself. What else will she discover? 336pgs colour paperback.
Misery of Love
by Yvan Alagbé
New York Review Comics
$27.95
The publisher says:
Colonial history haunts this stunning, spectral-looking graphic novel, a spiritual sequel to the author’s Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures. In Misery of Love, a spiritual sequel to the acclaimed Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures, Yvan Alagbé continues his interrogation of race and family in modern France. The book focuses on the dream-like memories of a woman named Clare, who is spending time with her family for her grandfather’s funeral. Alagbé shifts between narratives of the family, all haunted by the legacy of France’s colonial subjugation of Africa. Alagbé works in stormy grayscale washes, using comics, as he puts it, as “a sacred dimension which celebrates, questions and perpetuates life…. I believe that life is not damnation but grace.” This is another ambitious, devastating masterpiece from one of France’s best contemporary cartoonists. 232pgs B&W paperback.
My Degeneration: A Journey Through Parkinson’s
by Peter Dunlop-Shohl
Graphic Mundi
$24.95
The publisher says:
They say, “It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.” Peter Dunlap-Shohl counters, “Why not do both?” At the age of forty-three, former Anchorage Daily News staff cartoonist Peter Dunlap-Shohl was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a disorder that, among other things, can rob a person of their ability to speak or write and degrades their ability to deal with complexity. In My Degeneration, Dunlap-Shohl recounts his attempt to come to grips with the “malicious whimsy” of this chronic, progressive, and disabling disorder with his characteristic humour and passion. This graphic novel tracks the author’s journey through depression, juggling medications and weathering their side effects, the impact of the diagnosis on his personal relationships, and the raft of mental and physical changes wrought by the disease. But My Degeneration is more than a memoir—Dunlap-Shohl gives the person newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease the information necessary to cope with it on a day-to-day basis. He chronicles the changes that life with the disorder can bring to the way one sees the world and the way one is seen by the wider community. Above all, Dunlap-Shohl imparts a realistic basis for hope—hope not only to carry on but to enjoy a decent quality of life. Peter Dunlap-Shohl worked as a cartoonist for the Anchorage Daily News for more than twenty-five years. His journey with Parkinson’s was recently featured in the PBS documentary Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s. He writes about living with the disease on his blogs, Frozen Grin and Off & On: The Alaska Parkinson’s Rag. He is also the author of Nuking Alaska: Notes of an Atomic Fugitive, available from Graphic Mundi. My Degeneration was originally published in 2015. 108pgs B&W paperback.
Parable of the Talents: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
by Octavia Butler, Damien Duffy, John Jennings & David Brame
Abrams ComicArts
$25.99
The publisher says:
This powerful graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s groundbreaking dystopian novel stands beside the acclaimed previous graphic novel adaptations, Kindred, a #1 New York Times bestseller, and Parable of the Sower, winner of the Hugo Award. Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Talents: A Graphic Novel Adaptation is the continuation of the travails of Lauren Olamina. Brought to life by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the creative team behind the #1 New York Times bestseller Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, Parable of the Talents is told in the voice of Lauren Olamina’s daughter, Asha Vere—from whom she has been separated for most of the girl’s life—interspersed with sections in the form of Lauren’s own journals. Against a background of a war-torn continent under the control of a Christian fundamentalist fascist state, Asha searches for answers about her own past while struggling to reconcile with her mother’s legacy—caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to lead humankind into a better future among the stars. Octavia E. Butler’s bestselling literary science-fiction masterpieces are essential works in feminist, Afrofuturist, and fantasy genres, and this compelling graphic novel adaptation of Parable of the Talents is a major event. 304pgs colour hardcover.
The Pit
by Eric Kriek
Living the Line
$28.95
The publisher says:
In the aftermath of personal tragedy, Hugh and Sara retreat to an old family home in the woods of the Veluwe in the hopes of getting their lives back on track. But can you run fast enough to escape the past? And what do those strange glyphs carved into the old beech trees really mean? Erik Kriek’s latest graphic novel is a contemporary work of magical realism, that is not set in the dark forests of North America (In the Pines, Fantagraphics, 2017), nor in the cold hills of medieval Iceland (The Exile, Living the Line, 2023), but in the rural countryside of the Netherlands. Hailing from the Netherlands, Kriek is an internationally-decorated illustrator known for his work on In the Pines (2015) and Gutsman. Lushly told with gorgeous traditionally-drawn brush work, and a limited palette illustration style reminiscent of the great limited-colour illustrators of the 1940s and 50s. 144pgs colour hardcover.
Precious Rubbish
by Kayla E.
Fantagraphics
$29.99
The publisher says:
A landmark graphic novel debut and groundbreaking work of trauma recollection told in the style of post-war children’s comics. “If an exorcism can ever be slow and quiet, then every panel I’ve finished has felt something like an exorcism. The gutters give me space to make sense of things: to connect dots and close gaps. To remember.” Kayla E.’s Precious Rubbish is an experimental graphic memoir drawn in a style that references the aesthetics of mid-century children’s comics and tells the story of a childhood shaped by maternal emotional dysregulation, rural poverty, and incest. The author’s childhood is portrayed as a collection of short-form comics and gag panels punctuated by interactive elements like paper dolls, satirical advertisements, games, and puzzles. While the work is concerned with violence and a particularly Texan brand of Pentecostal fanaticism, it is presented in a playful visual language with a deadpan humor that elevates the material beyond mere graphic memoir. Precious Rubbish is a landmark work of comics storytelling and graphic medicine. The debut graphic novel from artist Kayla E., Precious Rubbish asks the reader to do the extratextual work of filling out narrative gaps, which mirrors the challenge of trauma recollection. The reader is invited to co-labour in the meaning-making process, an exercise that facilitates an intimacy (between the author, the subject, and the reader) that is at once horrifying and hilarious. 196pgs colour hardcover.
Preparing to Bite
by Keiler Roberts
Drawn & Quarterly
$23.95
The publisher says:
Achingly human auto-bio comics that extract big laughs from the small moments. Cartoonist Keiler Roberts quit making comics. Or did she? Preparing to Bite, her latest collection of all-new, one-page comics, is a return to perfect form. Roberts skewers innocuous aspects of everyday life and dissects them for their unique absurdity: from cooking meals, to keeping doctors’ appointments, to owning pets, and even navigating now-inescapable zoom calls. These vignettes portray a woman in middle-age grappling with the realities of being a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter, and lastly (perhaps even least of all), a practicing artist―all while dealing with the long-term effects of a debilitating disease. From page to page, Roberts jumps from moment to moment, expertly using the comics form as nobody else can while showing off what it can do that no other form can. Preparing to Bite captures the transient gestures of life in the modern age, both mundane and inane. 168pgs colour paperback.
Remember Us to Life: A Graphic Memoir
by Ten Speed Press
$40.00
The publisher says:
Winner of The Nordic Council Literature Prize. Available for the first time in English: a moving and masterful graphic memoir exploring one woman’s search for identity as she slowly uncovers the truth of how her Jewish relatives “disappeared” during World War II. Told through a genre-defying blend of illustrations, photography, and found objects, Remember Us to Life chronicles Joanna Rubin Dranger’s investigation into her Jewish family’s history, spanning time, space, and three continents in search of her lost relatives. As discoloured photos are retrieved from half-forgotten moth-eaten boxes, Joanna discovers the startling modernity and vibrancy of the lives her family never spoke about—and the devastating violence that led to their senseless murders. Carefully researched and expertly told, Remember Us to Life recounts Joanna’s family’s immigration from Poland and Russia to Sweden and Israel, where her relatives found work, marriage, and community, blissfully unaware of the horrors to come. Interweaving these anecdotes and stories are historical accounts of the persecution of Jewish people in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia prior to and during World War II, as well as the antisemitic policies and actions of the supposedly neutral government of Sweden, Joanna’s home country. Joanna’s unflinchingly brave and intimate portrayal of one of history’s greatest tragedies will capture and break readers’ hearts. Following in the tradition of classics such as Art Spiegelman’s Maus and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Remember Us to Life is a thought-provoking exploration of grief, alienation, and reclamation of one’s history. 432pgs B&W hardcover.
Roderick and The City of Morhil
by Eduardo Medeiros with Brun Freire & Deyvison Manes
Ablaze Publishing
$16.99
The publisher says:
Roderick is a dedicated, young postman from the countryside making a delivery in Morhil, the biggest city on the entire continent. While his journey is initially exciting and the fantasy metro vibrant, the naive Roderick is blind to Morhil’s dark, sneaky underbelly. His precious cargo is stolen! And, what’s more, he finds himself at the centre of an even larger conspiracy surrounding the disappearance of a famous influencer. Will Roderick be able to prove himself as a postman by delivering the goods, or will this froggy bumpkin be crushed under the goings-on in the big city? Collecting issues #1-5 of Roderick and the City of Morhil, originally released by Comixology Originals and Stout Club, the creative powerhouse composed by comic creators Eduardo Medeiros, Mateus Santolouco, Rafael Albuquerque, and Rafael Scavone. Eduardo Medeiros’ colourful, fantasy tale is the perfect pick for lovers of whimsy and the fantastical, filled with memorable characters and chock-full o’ sight gags that allow the reader to linger on the page, looking for more. Presented in print for the first time by ABLAZE! 128pgs colour paperback.
Skin
by Sabien Clement & Mieke Versyp, translated by Sammy Koot
Fantagraphics
$34.99
The publisher says:
This lyrical graphic novel paints a captivating portrait of two women in search of themselves. Feeling adrift after her daughter leaves the nest, Rita makes the audacious move to model nude for a live drawing class. There, she meets Esther, an artist who sees beyond the superficial and captures people’s true essences in her drawings. The two connect as kindred spirits, each recognising in the other an oddball nature that marks them as outcasts. Through this endearing relationship, Esther and Rita defy how the world sees them and learn to feel comfortable in their own skin. Skin is the striking debut graphic novel by writer Mieke Versyp and illustrator Sabien Clement. In this seamless collaboration, poetic turns of phrase pair with impressionistic watercolours, creating a tangible intimacy between words and imagery. Keen observation and dynamic artistry combine to tell a tender story of the human condition, as playful and devastating as life itself. 288pgs colour hardcover.
Squeak Chatter Bark: An Eco-Mystery
by Ali Fitzgerald
Fantagraphics
$24.99
The publisher says:
Hazel and her parents live an idyllic life in a treehouse in the PAW (Perfect Animal Worlds) Biosphere among a series of ecologically controlled environments populated by genetically created and enhanced animals and flora. As scientists working for PAW, together with founder Dr. Henry Nimick, the McCrimlisk’s mission is to create a world that will usher in an era of “good evolution”, populated with animals and plants that can transform pollution and other environmental hazards to make the region clean and habitable. But one foggy night, Hazel’s parents are suddenly kidnapped. With the help of her animal friends Chimi (a multilingual toucan), Nina (a pet-sized elephant who exhibits super-strength), and her human friend (comics lover and mythology expert) Alex, Hazel tracks clues throughout the various biodomes and climates uncovering what happened to her parents and leading her to… a monster?!?Author Ali Fitzgerald charmingly wrote, drew, lettered, and coloured this book featuring an imaginative setting rich with detail and an expressive brush-pen style with a good sense of personality and motion. Her colourful, anthropomorphic characters are bright and funny sleuths alongside Hazel as they follow the clues together. Filled with puns and hijinks, readers will delight in this mystery with an ecological message. 248pgs colour paperback.
Terminal Exposure: Comics, Sculpture, and Risky Behaviour
by Michael McMillan, edited by Dan Nadel
New York Review Comics
$37.95
The publisher says:
Michael McMillan has said he’s “not really a cartoonist,” but the evidence suggests otherwise. Born and raised in California, he studied architecture and design before a visit in 1969 to an exhibition of Chicago’s Hairy Who and encounters with the bourgeoning San Francisco underground comix scene convinced McMillan to make his own comics. He plunged in, drawing for legendary publications like Weirdo, Young Lust, Lemme Out Here, Arcade, and eventually his own one-issue wonder, Terminal. Over the following decades, McMillan kept playing with the form of comics. He reimagined the kind of stories single-panel, two-panel, and many-panel strips could tell, blending favourite genres from his childhood (horror, swords and sandals, science fiction) with more mature themes (autobiography, dating, sex) into new and striking forms. In Terminal Exposure, McMillan’s comics are collected for the first time, alongside a selection of his electrifying sculptures, eye-popping paintings, and stunning pages from the journals he kept during his years rock climbing in California’s Sierra Nevada. With an introduction by Dan Nadel, this volume offers a first-time portrait of the great “not really a cartoonist” cartoonist. 200pgs part-colour
Thinking About Thinking: Impossible Thoughts and Complicated Feelings
by Grant Snider
Abrams Comic Arts
$19.99
The publisher says:
A playful examination of the way we think (and overthink) by cartoonist Grant Snider, creator of Incidental Comics, which appear regularly in the New York Times Book Review. Thinking About Thinking—the latest sly and charming collection of one- and two-page haiku-like comics from cartoonist Grant Snider—explores our inner life, using colourful illustrations and clever visual metaphors to depict the spectrum of our emotions. Facing self-doubt? Overcoming fears? Grappling with indecision? Snider doesn’t present solutions to these challenges, but he does inspire and encourage, offering thoughtful reassurance and a unique, humorous perspective that’s characteristic of his work—an approach that resonates with millions of readers all over the world. Emotions can be tricky to navigate. We overthink. We second-guess. And we can’t get out of our own way. The reality is, it’s impossible for any of us to understand our complicated feelings fully. But fear not, because you’ve come to the right place. 128pgs colour hardcover.
Ultra Heaven 2 (of 3)
by Keiichi Koike
Last Gasp
$24.95
The publisher says:
Cub has been drugged. He’s seeing things, disturbing things. Like his spaghetti dinner trying to grab him. He turns to a new technology—an amp—to chase the source of his hallucinations. Volume two of Keiichi Koike’s Ultra Heaven brings more psychedelic visuals to illustrate Cub’s journey and is translated by Ajani Oloye. Born in Tokyo, Keiichi Koike won the prestigious Tezuka Award in 1976, when he was 16. His style, similar to Katsuhiro Otomo and Moebius, is marked by vivid representations of psychedelic experiences. Drugs are an important part of his inspiration: “Except peyote, I have tried almost everything: hashish, heroin, cocaine, acid, magic mushrooms… From a strictly graphical point of view, however, LSD is most important by far…”. 216pgs B&W paperback.
A Witch’s Life in Mongol Vol. 1
by Tomato Soup
Yen Press
$15.00
The publisher says:
In the harem of the Khan, wisdom is beauty. The time: the thirteenth century. The place: Yeke Mongol Ulus, the greatest empire the world has ever known. The woman: Fatima, hailing from Persia, where medical technique and scientific knowledge have been perfected beyond all precedent. Fatima’s desire for a stage where she can put her knowledge to work has brought her to the palace of the Mongols, where she falls under the wing of Töregene, the sixth wife of Ögedei, the second Great Khan―a mighty woman with complicated feelings about the direction of the empire. These two women are the axel upon which the politics of the palace, and soon the very world, will turn… 192pgs B&W paperback.
You Can Never Die
by Celadon Books
$32.00
The publisher says:
A poignant and witty graphic memoir from New Yorker cover artist, internationally syndicated cartoonist, and New York Times bestselling author Harry Bliss capturing his reflections on life and his relationship with Penny, his beloved dog. New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss loved his sweet dog Penny, a joyful part of his life for seventeen years. Every day that he cared for his beloved pet, Harry joked with her, talked to her, and drew the adorable creature―Penny’s presence is unmistakably, hilariously incorporated into Harry’s iconic cartoons. In one, he gazes up at the night sky, remarking on the vastness of outer space, while she digs into the ground, unbothered, fuzzy tail wagging in the air. Harry grew up in a family of artists, a rowdy and turbulent bunch, and attended art school in Philadelphia. A therapist once suggested that perhaps when he looked at Penny, he saw himself as an innocent child. As Harry grieves Penny’s loss, he reflects on his parents in their later years, his love for his wife and home, and the colourful artists, friends, and mentors who have shaped him. With humour and gut-wrenching honesty, You Can Never Die is an intimate portrayal of a man making sense of the beautiful and painful world around him. This singular memoir integrates sharply crafted, witty stories with hundreds of gorgeous cartoons and never-seen-before sketches from Bliss’s career. 400pgs B&W hardcover.
