Top 18 Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga (original) (raw)

March 2019

What’s coming out in March? Torn from today’s headlines, documentary-style comics like Guantánamo Kid and A Fire Story can get us closer to the individuals affected by the turbulent present we are living through today, to bring a deeper understanding and empathy.

Originally from Mexico and South Korea respectively, Inés Estrada and Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom create graphic novels which can help us connect with their distinctive worldviews and experiences, while Zidrou and Aimée de Jongh explore love and passion in a couple’s so-called twilight years, proving there are no rules about age.

And this month also brings the culmination of Seth’s rich and meditative Clyde Fans and the latest book by Jaime Hernandez, two North American geniuses at the top of their game. Explore and enjoy!

3D Sweeties
by Julian Glander
Fantagraphics Books
$24.99

The publisher says:
Hilariously absurd stories set in a digital, pastel-hued universe, crafted by one of the most original artists working in animation, video games and gifs. Julian Glander’s debut collection of comics assembles the best of his thoroughly original short stories, which originally appeared online on sites such as VICE. Set on a three-dimensional plane, Glander’s stories feature cute, emoji-like characters who deal with twenty-first-century (and beyond!) problems like interior decorating woes, amorous microbiology, and where to find the absolute most aspirational succulents. Fall in love with “America’s favourite mug,” Cuppy. Hear the familial bickering of sentient purple slime moulds. Encounter Susan Something and her unusual attitudes about gaming culture and conceptual art. But most of all, marvel at the playful, absurd look into our online lives that is 3D Sweeties, a book that looks and reads like no comic ever created before. 176pgs colour hardcover.

A Fire Story
by Brian Fies
Abrams ComicArts
$24.99

The publisher says:
Early morning on Monday, October 9, 2017, wildfires burned through Northern California, resulting in 44 fatalities. In addition, 6,200 homes and 8,900 structures and were destroyed. Author Brian Fies’s firsthand account of this tragic event is an honest, unflinching depiction of his personal experiences, including losing his house and every possession he and his wife had that didn’t fit into the back of their car. In the days that followed, as the fires continued to burn through the area, Brian hastily pulled together A Fire Story and posted it online. A Fire Story is an honest account of the wildfires that left homes destroyed, families broken, and a community determined to rebuild. 160pgs colour hardcover.

Alienation
by Inés Estrada
Fantagraphics Books
$19.99

The publisher says:
The global climate and wildlife as we know it has been completely wiped out, fossil fuels have run dry, and we live in a total corporate monopoly. But worst of all, Elizabeth and Carlos are bored! Alienation, Inés Estrada’s new graphic novel, introduces us to a powerfully exquisite and chilling near future that doesn’t seem too far-fetched, where virtual reality affects our diets, sex lives, and nightly dreams. Drawn in hazy grey pencil and printed in blue ink, Alienation focuses on Elizabeth, an erotic dancer in cyberspace, and Carlos, just fired from the last human-staffed oil rig, as they attempt to keep their romance alive. The couple is anxious about dangerous cyber stalkers and malfunctioning brain implants (“Googleglands”), but they also can’t forget to go grocery shopping and fix their spotty internet service. When the realisation hits them that their bodies are full of artificial organs and they live almost entirely online, they begin to question what being human actually means. Do our ancestral, or even animal, instincts eventually kick in, or are we transcending the limits of our bodies? 250pgs two-colour paperback.

Angel Claws
by Alejandro Jodorowsky & Moebius
Humanoids Inc.
$24.95

The publisher says:
The duo of Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius lead us on a sensual and poetic journey, creating before us an erotic masterpiece. In Angel Claws, frequent collaborators Jodorowsky and Moebius indulge their naughtier sides as they describe a young woman’s quest for sexual awakening. Suggestive eroticism quickly evolves to metaphysical delirium. With a forward by Diana Picasso, grand-daughter of Pablo Picasso. 72pgs colour hardcover.

Blossoms in Autumn
by Zidrou & Aimee De Jongh
SelfMadeHero
$24.99 / £14.99

The publisher says:
Ulysses is a 59-year-old widower who, since retiring, has been in the grip of loneliness. The former moving man is without direction or purpose. He can’t even find solace in the company of his children: his daughter is dead, his son consumed by work. Mrs. Solenza is a 62-year-old former model. Once a magazine cover star, she now runs the family business: a cheese shop owned by her late mother. She, too, is alone. Two lives drift sadly by, inching ever closer to old age. Until, one day, they collide, and an emotional earthquake happens. 144pgs colour hardcover.

Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women
by Dr Sarah Bargiela & Sophie Standing
Jessica Kingsley
£12.99

The publisher says:
Autism in women and girls is still not widely understood, and is often misrepresented or even overlooked. This graphic novel offers an engaging and accessible insight into the lives and minds of women with autism, using real-life case studies. The charming illustrations lead readers on a visual journey of how women on the spectrum experience everyday life, from metaphors and masking behaviours to communication online, dealing with social pressures and managing relationships. Fun, sensitive and informative, this is a fantastic resource for anyone who wishes to understand how gender affects autism, and how to create safer, more accommodating environments for women on the spectrum. 48pgs colour hardcover.

Clyde Fans
by Seth
Drawn & Quarterly
$59.95

The publisher says:
Twenty years in the making, legendary Canadian cartoonist Seth’s landmark series Clyde Fans shows the rituals, hopes, and delusions of a middle-class that has long ceased to exist in North America. Abe and Simon Matchcard are brothers, the second generation struggling to save their archaic family business. Much like the myth of an ever-growing economy, their family unit is a fraud-the patriarch has abandoned the business to mismatched sons, one who strives to keep the business afloat and the other who retreats into the arms of the remaining parent. Clyde Fans is an epic time capsule of a storyline that begs rereading. 488pgs two-colour hardcover deluxe slipcase edition.

Cult of the Ibis
by Daria Tessler
Fantagraphics Books
$29.99

The publisher says:
An atmospheric bank robbing fantasy. This exquisite and mostly-silent graphic novel takes place in a fantasy cityscape loosely inspired by German expressionist film. Cult of the Ibis tells the story of an occultist getaway driver who, after escaping with the loot from a bank robbery gone wrong, orders a build-your-own homunculus kit and goes on the lam. Steeped in architecture and atmosphere, Tessler’s gorgeous cartooning fuels this strangely gripping yarn, which is packaged in a gorgeous hardcover design. Daria Tessler is a cartoonist and printmaker based in Portland, OR. Her books include Cult of the Ibis, Accursed and Music of Changes. She also creates silkscreen prints, stationary and more via her website. 212pgs B&W hardcover.

Fran of the Floods
by Alan Davidson & Phil Gascoine
Rebellion / 2000 AD
$17.99 / £12.99

The publisher says:
Due to increased climate change, the sun starts to melt the ice caps and evaporates the world’s oceans, causing an onslaught of never ending rain. At first young Hazelford resident, Fran Scott, finds the whole thing amusing, but as the town begins to disappear underwater, the desperation of her predicament becomes all too clear. After losing her parents in the chaos, Fran decides to seek out her sister June, who recently moved to Scotland. But as the situation gets worse and society begins to crumble around her, Fran must overcome a vast array of dangers, including disease, wild animals, marauding gangs of vicious thugs and most bizarre of all, the self-proclaimed king of Glasgow! From the pages of Jinty and Mindy. 112pgs B&W paperback.

Goya: The Terrible Sublime
by El Torres & Fran Galán
Pegasus
$25.95

The publisher says:
Francisco de Goya is considered one of the most important Spanish painters of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, last of the Greats and first of the modernists. But his sumptuous images stemmed from a mind in torment, especially later in his life. Goya: The Terrible Sublime focuses on his final years, as he struggles with assorted physical ailments that threaten to take his mind, as well. Recovering from a serious illness in Cadiz, Spain, which has left him deaf, Goya suffers from terrible headaches, high fevers, and hallucinations, beset by visions of death that will become all too real with the advent of the Spanish War of Independence. Still, the monsters in his delusions are not real, but his friend Asensio Julia is, and he belongs to another world. 120pgs colour hardcover.

Guantánamo Kid
by Jerome Tubiana & Alexandre Franc
SelfMadeHero
$24.99 / £14.99

The publisher says:
Saudi Arabia offers few prospects for the bright young Mohammed El-Gharani. His access to healthcare and education are restricted; nor can he make the most of his entrepreneurial spirit. At the age of 14, Mohammed seizes an opportunity to study in Pakistan. One Friday in Karachi, Mohammed is detained during a raid on his local mosque. After being beaten and interrogated, he is sold to the American government by the Pakistani forces as a member of Al-Qaida with links to Osama Bin Laden, but Mohammed has heard of neither. The Americans fly him first to Kandahar and then to Guantánamo Bay. Guantanamo Kid tells the story of one of Guantanamo Bay’s youngest detainees. 168pgs B&W paperback.

Highwayman
by Koren Shadmi
IDW / Top Shelf Productions
$19.99

The publisher says:
Forever on the move, Highwayman travels through the vastness of North America searching for the source of his condition. He suffers from a strange, seemingly incurable disease: immortality. Bound to the road and at the mercy of whomever will give him a ride, he encounters people who reflect the rapidly changing world around him. Moving through centuries of change, he watches humanity’s precarious trajectory towards an unknown future. Israeli cartoonist Koren Shadmi (Love Addict, The Abaddon) turns to science fiction in a sprawling, ambitious journey across time and space. 160pgs colour paperback.

Is This How You See Me?
by Jaime Hernandez
Fantagraphics Books
$19.99

The publisher says:
In Is This How You See Me?, Maggie and Hopey get the band back together - literally. Now middle-aged, they leave their significant others at home and take a weekend road trip to reluctantly attend a punk rock reunion in their old neighbourhood. The present is masterfully threaded with a flashback set in 1979, during the very formative stages in Maggie and Hopey’s lifelong friendship, as the perceived invincibility of youth is expertly juxtaposed against all of the love, heartbreak and self-awareness that comes with lives actually lived. The result is no sentimental victory lap, however - this is one of the great writers of literary fiction at the peak of his powers, continuing to scale new heights as an artist. Hernandez’s acclaimed ongoing comics series Love and Rockets has entertained readers for over 35 years, and his beloved characters - Maggie, Hopey, Ray, Doyle, Daffy, Mike Tran, and so many others - have become fully realised literary creations. Is This How You See Me? collects Hernandez’s latest interconnected vignettes, serialised over the past four years in Love and Rockets, into a long-form masterpiece for the first time. 96pgs B&W hardcover.

Joe’s Poltergeist
by David Almond & Dave McKean
Walker Books
£10.99

The publisher says:
A dark, powerful and moving short story from the internationally acclaimed author of Skellig. Joe Quinn tells everyone about the poltergeist in his house, but no one believes him. No one that is, except for Davey. He’s felt the inexplicable presence in the rooms, he’s seen random objects fly through the air. And there’s something else … a memory of his beloved sister, and a feeling deep down that somehow it might be possible for ghosts to exist. David Almond is the author of Skellig, winner of the Whitbread Children’s Award and the Carnegie Medal; Kit’s Wilderness, winner of the Smarties Award Silver Medal, Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Guardian Award; and The Fire-Eaters, winner of the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Gold Award and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Dave McKean is a world-renowned artist, designer and film director who has illustrated several books for children, including The Savage and Slog’s Dad, both by David Almond. He has also collaborated with Neil Gaiman on Coraline, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish and The Wolves in the Wall, as well as the Newbery Medal-winning The Graveyard Book. Dave McKean has more recently illustrated Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck Cookbook and directed two feature films, MirrorMask and Luna. 80pgs colour hardcover.

Just Like Rube Goldberg
by Sarah Aronson & Robert Neubecker
Beach Lane Books
$17.99

The publisher says:
Discover how Rube Goldberg followed his dreams to become an award-winning cartoonist, inventor, and even an adjective in the dictionary in this inspiring and funny biographical picture book. From a young age, Rube Goldberg had a talent for art. But his father, a German immigrant, wanted Rube to have a secure job. So, Rube went to college and became an engineer. But Rube didn’t want to spend his life mapping sewer pipes. He wanted to follow his passion, so Rube got a low-level job at a newspaper, and from there, he worked his way up, creating cartoons that made people laugh and tickled the imagination. He became known for his fantastic Rube Goldberg machines: complicated contraptions with many parts that performed a simple task in an elaborate and farfetched way. For young readers, age range 3-8 years. 48pgs colour hardcover.

Louis Undercover
by Fanny Britt & Isabelle Arsenault
Walker Studio
£17.99

A visually stunning, thoughtful and thought-provoking graphic novel about family separation, love and bravery from the award-winning creators of the internationally admired Jane, the Fox and Me. In this powerful new graphic novel from Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault, we meet Louis, a young boy who shuttles between his mum’s home in the city and his dad’s house in the country, with his little brother, Truffle who loves to sing James Brown songs. While coming to terms with the sadness and complexities of his divorced parents’ relationship, Louis - with the help of his best friend, Boris - is also trying to summon up the courage to speak to his true love, Billie. Seen through the eyes of Louis, this is a beautifully illustrated, true-to-life and hopeful portrayal of a complicated but loving family, and how a wise and sensitive and brave boy still manages to find his own way forward in spite of everything.

Nobody’s Fool
by Bill Griffith
Abrams ComicArts
$24.99

The publisher says:
From Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead, comes the first-ever biography of Schlitzie, a major sideshow attraction from the early 1920s to the late 1960s. Nobody’s Fool follows the story of Schlitzie’s long career. Today, Schlitzie is most well-known for his appearance in the cult classic Freaks. In researching Schlitzie’s life (1901-1971), Griffith has tracked down primary sources and archives throughout the country, including conducting interviews with those who worked with him and had intimate knowledge of his life. This graphic novel biography provides never-before-revealed details of his life, offering a unique look into his world and restoring dignity to his life by recognising his contributions to popular culture. 256pgs B&W hardcover.

Palimpsest
by Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom
Drawn & Quarterly
$21.95

The publisher says:
Thousands of South Korean children were adopted around the world in the 1970s and 1980s. More than nine thousand found their new home in Sweden, including the cartoonist Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom. Throughout her childhood she struggled to fit into the homogenous Swedish culture and was continually told to suppress the innate desire to know her origins. In this emotionally charged memoir, Sjöblom’s unaddressed feelings about her adoption come to a head when she is pregnant with her first child. As she digs deeper into her own backstory, she realises her own history may not match up with the story she’s been told her whole life: that she was an orphan without a background. 160pgs colour paperback.

Story Without A Hero
by Jean Van Hamme & Dany
Cinebook
$13.95 / £7.99

The publisher says:
A comic book without a hero. No inevitable, strong, handsome, righteous main character, just ordinary people. That’s Dany and Van Hamme’s self-imposed challenge in this story of a band of survivors marooned in the jungle. A plane from a South American company crashes in the jungle. Only half of the passengers and crew survive. Some businessmen, a university professor, a steward, an ageing movie star, a banana republic general, a young boy and his nanny. All these varied personalities will have to find a way to unite and work together to survive. But who should they listen to? Who should they follow? Who can they trust? And is relief even on its way? 56pgs colour paperback.

The Freak
by Matt Lesniewski
AdHouse Books
$14.95

The publisher says:
Often referred to as “The Freak”, most people thought of him as the world’s ugliest man. He’s hated by all based strictly on how repulsive he is. Whether they like it or not, his aura and appearance leaves people in a state of disgust. Not only is he hated, but he’s pummelled in the streets. And often. 80pgs B&W paperback.

The Grand Abyss Hotel
by Marcos Prior & David Rubin
Boom! Studios
$24.99

The publisher says:
Marcos Prior and Eisner-nominated artist David Rubin (The Hero, Rumble, Battling Boy: The Rise of Aurora West) weave a politically satirical look at democracy today through the lens of hyper-violence and explosive action. Imagine a world overrun by big business and “fake news” via the social media machine… In The Grand Abyss Hotel neoliberalism has become a state religion, while the citizens quietly and then not-so-quietly rebel, giving way to violence on the streets and sowing chaos. A masked vigilante takes on the role of hero to battle politicians, the erosion of democracy, and social media. After the fires burn low and the dust settles, social order returns. Or does it? 112-pages colour hardcover.

The Handmaid’s Tale
by Margaret Atwood & Renée Nault
Nan A. Talese / Jonathan Cape
$22.95 / £20.00

The publisher says:
An instant classic when it was published in 1985, Atwood’s genre-bending, dystopian story comes to life in this new, beautifully illustrated graphic novel. The story is iconic: In the Republic of Gilead, a Handmaid named Offred lives in the home of the Commander, to the purpose that she become pregnant with his child. Stripped of her most basic freedoms, (work, property, her own name), Offred remembers a different time, not so long ago, when she was valuable for more than her viable ovaries, when she was mother to a daughter she could keep, and when she and her husband lived and loved as equals. Darkly prescient, scathingly sarcastic and eminently frightening, The Handmaid’s Tale has only gained relevance since it was originally published, and remains one of the most powerful, widely read stories of our times. 240pgs colour hardcover.

The Many Not The Few: An Illustrated History of Britain Shaped By the People
by Sean Michael Wilson & Robert Brown
New Internationalist
£9.99

The publisher says:
A union rep and his granddaughter discuss the history of the labour movement, from the 14th century right up to today. An old union rep, Joe, and his granddaughter, Arushi, spend a few pleasant days together going over the history of the labour movement. Over tea and sandwiches in his studio they consider the whole wide sweep and points of connection throughout history. Starting way back with the 14th-century Peasants’ Revolt, taking in the Levellers and the Luddites, the expansion of the unions in the 19th century, the height of their power in the ‘70s, and the great conflicts and decline of the ‘80s. With a mix of serious research and family jokes Joe and Arushi go into the complicated history, the ideological battles, the class conflict, a consideration of what unions are for, and what the future of unions may be. 128pgs B&W paperback.

Posted: January 6, 2019