Top 28 Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga (original) (raw)

September 2023

Warm greetings to you once more. I’m especially pleased this month to discover that this poignant graphic biography from Taiwan, originally titled The Boy from Formosa, is coming out in English. In May I included the French edition in an exhibition of Taiwanese graphic novels which I curated for the BDFIL Festival in Lausanne, Switzerland, where I interviewed its artist Zhou Jian-xin. Originally in four volumes from Slowork Publishing, the English version will be appearing in two double volumes. They allow us to follow a lifetime that spanned the 20th century and Taiwan’s tangled, challenging modern history, through one individual’s experiences…

Another momentous period some 50 years ago from French Canada’s recent past jumps off the pages of Chris Oliveros’s new work of non-fiction comics.

Nicholas Breutzman produces his most mature and ambitious narrative to date, mirroring the present zeitgeist…

I’ve been mightily impressed with Léa Murawiec’s work for some time now, so don’t miss her award-winning bande dessinée predictions of a future that is uncomfortably plausible. These are just some of the personally curated previews offered here below for you!

Al Capone
by Swann Meralli & PF Radice
Black Panel Press
$29.99

The publisher says:
Al Capone. Family man, community leader, industrious smuggler, or vicious killer? You decide. Born into a poor Italian family in Brooklyn in 1899, little Alfonso didn’t have a lot of options, so he’d have to get creative in order to make a name for himself. A bit of cards, some enforcing, maybe a little protection are a great start. A man’s gotta provide for his family, capisce? But, when prohibition starts up in 1920, Al Capone will discover his golden ticket to untold fame and fortune. Now, nobody’ll ever forget the name Capone. 172pgs colour hardcover.

Are You Willing To Die For A Cause? Revolution in 1960s Quebec
by Chris Oliveros
Drawn & Quarterly
$24.95

The publisher says:
A deep dive into a contentious and dramatic period in Canadian history―the rise of a militant separatist group whose effects still reverberate today. It started in 1963, when a dozen mailboxes in a wealthy Montreal neighbourhood were blown to bits by handmade bombs. By the following year, a guerrilla army camp was set up deep in the woods, with would-be soldiers training for armed revolt. Then, in 1966, two high-school students dropped off bombs at factories, causing fatalities. What was behind these concerted, often bungled acts of terrorism, and how did they last for nearly eight years? In Are You Willing to Die for the Cause?, Quebec-born cartoonist Chris Oliveros sets out to dispel common misconceptions about the birth and early years of a movement that, while now defunct, still holds a tight grip on the hearts and minds of Quebec citizenry and Canadian politics. There are no initials more volatile in Quebec history than FLQ―the Front de libération du Québec (or, in English, the Quebec Liberation Front). The original goal of this socialist movement was to fight for workers’ rights of the French majority who found their rights trampled on by English bosses. The goal became ridding the province of its English oppression by means of violent revolution. Using dozens of obscure and long-forgotten sources, Oliveros skilfully weaves a comics oral history where the activists, employers, politicians, and secretaries piece together the sequence of events. At times humorous, other times dramatic, and always informative, Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? shines a light on just how little it takes to organise dissent and who people trust to overthrow the government. Chris Oliveros was born in 1966 in Montreal and grew up in the nearby suburb of Chomedey, Laval. He founded Drawn & Quarterly in 1989 and was the publisher for the following twenty-five years. Oliveros stepped down from D+Q in 2015 to work on Are You Willing to Die for the Cause?. 168pgs colour hardcover.

Seth (Clyde Fans) says:
“Chris Oliveros is the most under-appreciated master-cartoonist of the last 40 years. With this new graphic novel—brilliantly told and beautifully drawn—that should all be about to change.”

Cartoonshow
by Derek M. Ballard
Oni Press
$21.99

The publisher says:
For Better or For Worse meets the satirical humour of contemporary American life in Cartoonshow, where single dading, money troubles, and political turmoil take the stage. Cartoonist and animator Derek M. Ballard makes modern American family comics. It’s not his fault that being a single parent in America is kind of a nightmare. Derek is a solo parent raising three kids in the American South, while trying to make art. Told in a series of free-flowing and often hilarious comic essays, Cartoonshow gets to the heart of the struggle to be a creative person in a society that doesn’t value anything other than how much it can grind out of you. Covid, poverty, the failing social safety net, predatory lenders, and literal acts of God can’t stop our hero! 144pgs colour hardcover.

Cartoonists Against Racism: The Secret Jewish War on Bigotry
by Rafael Medoff & Craig Yoe, and various creators
Dark Horse
$19.99

The publisher says:
Horrific scenes of anti-Jewish violence in Europe filled the newsreels in American theatres in the 1930s and 1940s. What could be done to make sure it didn’t happen in America? One Jewish organisation hit upon a remarkable idea—to enlist some of America’s most beloved cartoonists to wage a war on bigotry. Cartoonists Against Racism uncovers the secret campaign to create anti-racist comics and cartoons to flood America’s newspapers, classrooms, and union halls. Meet the artists and the work that was their ammunition in the battle for America’s soul. The book showcases impactful anti-racism artwork from the era’s preeminent cartoonists, including multiple Pulitzer Prize winners Bill Mauldin and Vaughn Shoemaker; New Yorker cartoonists Carl Rose, Mischa Richter, and Frank Hanley; famed anti-war cartoonist Robert Osborn; Dave Berg of Mad magazine; renowned sports cartoonist Willard Mullin; noted labour cartoonist Bernard Seaman; comics artist Mac Raboy (Flash Gordon, Captain Marvel Jr.); and Eric Godal, who escaped from Nazi Germany and became a leading cartoonist in the American press and acclaimed artist Dick Dorgan. Rafael Medoff is a professor of Jewish history, an author or editor of over twenty books on Jewish history, and the founding director of the David Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies. Craig Yoe, called by USA Today “the comic book genre’s master archaeologist,” has written or edited nearly a hundred books in the field of comics and cartooning history. 152pgs B&W paperback.

Dauntless Dames
by various artists, edited by Trina Robbins & Peter Maresca, with an introduction by Trina Robbins
Fantagraphics / Sunday Press Books
$100.00

The publisher says:
The audacious exploits of ten great adventurous female stars from the Golden Age of comic strips. In the 1920s they were socialites and flappers. In the 1960s they were homemakers and heartthrobs. But from the late 1930s to the early 1950s, female stars of the newspaper comic strips were detectives, spies, soldiers of fortune, even superheroes. Accomplishing everything the male comics stars of the time achieved, except they did it in high-heels and flowing skirts. Follow the daring exploits of these smart, tough, independent AND sexy Dauntless Dames. Both a product of their era and ahead of their time, the women in these stories gave their audience just what they needed. Through the Sunday Comics readers could escape from the woes of the Depression, travel to exotic foreign lands, feel the glamour and gangsters of the entertainment world, and support the Allied efforts in World War II. Presented in an extra-large format, here are the colourful, pulse-pounding tales of ten incredible women, both known and unknown to comics fans ― and most are reprinted here for the first time in three-quarters of a century! The book also includes a special bonus: an insert section with a dozen paper doll cutouts starring the most popular women comic strip characters of the day. Retired underground cartoonist and current comics herstorian Trina Robbins has been writing graphic novels, comics, and books for almost half a century. Her subjects have ranged from Wonder Woman and The Powerpuff Girls to her own teenage superheroine, GoGirl!, and from women cartoonists and superheroines to women who kill. She’s won an Inkpot Award and was inducted in the Will Eisner Hall of Fame at the San Diego Comic-Con. She lives in a mouldering, 100+-year-old house in San Francisco with her cats, shoes, and dust bunnies. Peter Maresca is the founder of Sunday Press Books, a publisher of comic strip reprint collections that has won multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards since its inception in 2005. 160pgs colour oversized hardcover

Death Strikes
by Dave Maass & Patrick Lay, based on the suppressed 1943 opera by Peter Kien & Viktor Ullman
Dark Horse / Berger Books
$24.99

The publisher says:
Mixing dystopian sci-fi, mythic fantasy, and zombie horror, Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis, is a graphic novel based on a suppressed opera written in 1943 by Peter Kien and Viktor Ullmann, two prisoners at the Terezín concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. The authors did not live to see their masterpiece performed. Set in an alternative universe where Atlantis never sank but instead became a technologically advanced tyranny, the power-mad buffoonish Emperor declares all-out war—everyone against everyone. Death goes on a labour strike, creating a hellscape where everyone fights, but no one dies. Can the spirit of Life stop this terror with the power of love? Includes designs from the original opera, historical essays, photographs, and more. Dave Maass is a writer and journalist whose work has been featured in New York Times Magazine, Wired, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Slate, the LA Times, The Atlantic, Vice, and On the Media. He leads the award-winning Atlas of Surveillance project at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he is Visiting Professor of Media Technology. Patrick Lay is a cartoonist, illustrator, educator, and podcaster from Northwest Ohio. He has been self-publishing since 2014. 128pgs colour hardcover.

Den Vol. 2: Muvovum
by Richard Corben
Dark Horse
$34.99

The publisher says:
The second volume presenting the long-out-print masterpiece Den, by fantasy legend Richard Corben. Den: Muvovum 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 also features bonus material, art pages restored by long-time Corben collaborator José Villarrubia, re-lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot, and an introduction by Walt Simonson, all presented in a gorgeous hardcover with a dust jacket. Den and Kath’s bizarre journey in Neverwhere continues as they leave their floating island home for magical stones that can transport them back to Earth. Along the way, trouble arrives as the evil Queen seeks the stones for her own evil purposes, and Den’s friend is kidnapped and imprisoned in the horrific monster country known as Muvovum. Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine. He is the winner of the 2009 Spectrum Grand Master Award. In 2012 he was elected to the The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame. 128pgs colour hardcover.

Drawn To Change The World
by Emma Reynolds & various
Harper Alley 24.99/24.99 / 24.99/15.99

The publisher says:
The climate crisis is reaching a critical tipping point—and you might have heard of the countless amazing young people who are taking action and speaking up for change. Emma Reynolds shines a spotlight on sixteen incredible youth activists from around the world who are fighting to protect the planet and all life on Earth. From Autumn Peltier campaigning for clean water to Edgar Edmund Tarimo turning plastic waste into building materials—and many more—these inspiring true stories highlight the importance of taking charge and creating change. Beautifully illustrated by sixteen different artists and accompanied by facts and pictures that explain the science, Drawn to Change the World is for anyone who wants to learn more about the climate and nature crisis and what we can do about it, with extensive front matter and back matter materials. You are not too young and you are not too old to begin. We need everyone to help with the biggest challenge the human race has ever faced. We can do this if we work together. For after all, change starts with you! Emma Reynolds is an illustrator and author based in Manchester, UK. Emma started #KidLit4Climate, the first global illustrated climate campaign in early 2019, bringing together thousands of children’s illustrators and authors from more than fifty countries in solidarity with the youth climate strikes. Her author-illustrator debut picture book Amara and the Bats, about bat conservation, community action, and finding hope, is a NSTA ‘Best in STEM’ and Empathy Lab #ReadForEmpathy selection. She is passionate about storytelling and making accessible SciComm, and is inspired by nature, animals, adventure, and seeing the magic in the everyday. 208pgs colour hardcover / paperback.

#DRCL Midnight Children Vol. 1
by Shin’ichi Sakamoto
Viz Media
$24.99

The publisher says:
Dracula meets manga in this surreally beautiful and chilling retelling of Bram Stoker’s quintessential horror classic. In this evocative retelling of Dracula, a fearsome enemy arrives from the east, bringing with it horrors the likes of which have never been seen in the British Empire. Standing opposed are Wilhelmina “Mina” Murray and her stalwart companions, united in a cabal that eclipses gender, nationality, and station until the day that they can achieve victory. As Mina struggles to find her place as Whitby School’s first and only female student, a devilish horror is unleashed upon the academy and its unsuspecting students: Count Dracula. However, when this unspeakable evil lays claim to her beloved Lucy Westenra, Mina stands ready to join forces with her fellow students and fight against it with everything she has. 248pgs B&W hardcover.

Enlighten Me
by Minh Lê & Chan Chau
Little Brown Ink 24.99/24.99 / 24.99/12.99

The publisher says:
Award-winning author Minh Lê and New York Times bestselling illustrator Chan Chau team up for a fun and enlightening graphic novel about one kid’s journey to finding inner peace and belonging, perfect for fans of Measuring Up and New Kid. When Bình fights back against a bully who makes fun of his Vietnamese heritage, he expects to be cheered as the hero. He defeated the bad guy, right? Instead, it gets him a stern warning from his vice principal and worried parents. Now he’s stuck on a family trip to a silent meditation retreat. That means no talking—and no video games!—for a whole weekend. Could things possibly get any worse? However, when a nun gathers all the kids to tell them the Jataka tales—the stories of the Buddha’s many past lives—Bình takes a fantastical dive into his imagination and starts to see himself in these stories. Will he retreat further into himself, or will he emerge from the weekend open to change? With any luck, these next few days will prove more enlightening than he thought. Minh Lê is the author of The Blur, the Eisner-nominated Lift, Drawn Together (winner of the 2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature), Green Lantern: Legacy, and more. He is also on the faculty of the Hamline University MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults, serves on the board of We Need Diverse Books, and has written for a number of national publications, including NPR, HuffPost, and the New York Times. Minh does not meditate as much as he should, but he does savour every moment of life with his wonderful wife and children at their home in San Diego. Chan Chau is a graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. They are the artist of _New York Times_-bestselling Baby-Sitter’s Club graphic novel adaptations of Kristy and the Snobs and Jessi’s Secret Language. Before this, they worked in animation and were featured in multiple award-winning anthologies. In their free time, they love to play video games, read manga, and spend quality time with their found family. They currently reside in Washington state. 144pgs colour hardcover / paperback.

In Visible Archives: Queer and Feminist Visual Culture in the 1980s
by University of Minnesota Press 112.00/112.00 / 112.00/28.00

The publisher says:
In 1982, the protests of anti-porn feminists sparked the censorship of the Diary of a Conference on Sexuality, a radical and sexually evocative image-text volume, whose silencing became a symbol for the irresolvable feminist sex wars. In Visible Archives documents the community networks that produced this resonant artifact and others, analysing how visual culture provided a vital space for women artists to theorise and visualise their own bodies and sexualities. Margaret Galvan explores a number of feminist and cultural touchstones—the feminist sex wars, the HIV/AIDS crisis, the women in print movement, and countercultural grassroots periodical networks—and examines how visual culture interacts with these pivotal moments. She goes deep into the records to bring together a decade’s worth of research in grassroots and university archives that include comics, collages, photographs, drawings, and other image-text media produced by women, including Hannah Alderfer, Beth Jaker, Marybeth Nelson, Roberta Gregory, Lee Marrs, Alison Bechdel, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Nan Goldin. The art highlighted in In Visible Archives demonstrates how women represented their bodies and sexualities on their own terms and created visibility for new, diverse identities, thus serving as blueprints for future activism and advocacy—work that is urgent now more than ever as LGBTQ+ and women’s rights face challenges and restrictions across the nation. Margaret Galvan is an assistant professor of visual rhetoric in the Department of English at the University of Florida. She is a scholar of contemporary visual culture interested in how images are used for purposes of social justice. Her book will also be available open-access to read for free online through Minnesota’s Manifold Scholarship platform. 336pgs B&W hardcover / paperback.

Middle Distance: A Graphic Memoir
by Mylo Choy
SelfMadeHero
$19.99

The publisher says:
This heartfelt graphic memoir takes us through the highs, lows, twists, and turns of the author’s relationship with running, down the long road toward self-acceptance. A charming, heartwarming, and poignant story, Mylo Choy’s Middle Distance combines exertion and introspection in an exploration of the physical body’s connection to the human experience. An exciting graphic addition to a growing field, this sports memoir recounts Mylo’s history with running, and how their love for that famously solitary sport pushed them to grow over time. It explores such themes as the interrelatedness of mind and body, the Buddhism with which Mylo was raised, emotional growth through effort but also repose, and the necessity of carving out space for nuance and acceptance. Concrete narrative scenes contrast with more abstract sequences to convey Mylo’s journeys, both inner and outer, and how these inextricably intertwine. Each of the book’s chapters takes its name from a kind of runner’s training: “The Race,” “Speedwork,” “Rest,” and “The Long Run.” The approachability of comics as a medium, coupled with the relatability of Mylo’s search for self-knowledge, results in an honest, searching work of particular interest to transgender and non-binary runners. Mylo Choy finds comfort in the spaces between things. As a mixed-race and non-binary person, moving between worlds feels like home to them. Born and raised in Wisconsin, they also developed a strong connection to Hawai’i, where their mother was born and raised. For over 10 years, they were employed in outdoor education, living and working in many places, including Maine and Hawai’i, but mostly between New York City and the woods upstate. They currently live in the Hudson Valley, exploring planting roots in one place for a while. Mylo’s work—ranging from music to graphic stories and comics—uses the inherent tensions of multimedia to bring to life the space they inhabit between worlds. Inspired by nature’s ability to offer peace and perspective, their work is contemplative without being brooding and soothing without being escapist. This is their first full-length graphic novel. 160pgs B&W paperback.

Miles Davis and The Search for the Sound
by Dave Chisholm, with a Foreword by Erin Davis
Z2 Comics
$39.99

The publisher says:
Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound is a synaesthesia-inducing graphic novel that follows the many lives of music legend Miles Davis. With narration adapted from Davis’ own words and an innovative visual style that shifts to reflect Davis’ constant musical changes, this 150-page graphic novel follows Davis through four decades of musical innovation, all centred around his quest to find a mysterious sound he heard on a moonlit country road as a child. Meticulously researched and expertly crafted by writer/artist Dave Chisholm—a doctorate holder in jazz trumpet from the Eastman School of Music—Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound deftly explores the often volatile journey of Miles Davis and his world-renowned music. Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound is a graphic novel you’ll have to hear to believe—it’ll make you SEE music in a whole new light. Dave Chisholm is a trumpet player, cartoonist, composer, and educator currently residing in Rochester, NY where he received his doctorate in jazz trumpet from the Eastman School of Music in 2013. He coexists in both the music and comics worlds, resulting in a wide variety of creative projects. His credits include the acclaimed graphic novel about legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker Chasin’ the Bird (Z2, 2020), psychological sci-fi comic series Canopus (Scout Comics, 2020), graphic novel + soundtrack Instrumental (Z2, 2017), as well as a variety of short stories for award-winning anthologies. He also teaches visual art, cartooning, and music at Rochester Institute of Technology and The Hochstein School in Rochester, NY. He spends his free time hanging out with his wife Elise and their two cats Tillie and Penny. 150pgs colour hardcover.

Misty: 45 Years of Fear
by Shirley Bellwood, Pat Mills, Malcolm Shaw, Julia Round, Chloe Maveal, Clare Napier, John Armstrong, Jaume Rumeu, Mario Capaldi & Jordi Badia Romero
Rebellion
$28.99

The publisher says:
Gothic horror, startling science fiction and the occult collide in this essential collection of cult British comics classic Misty, described by The New Statesman as “the most peculiar, imaginative and challenging work in British comics”. In 1978 British comics were changed forever with the release of Misty, the classic cult horror comic for girls. Masterminded by Pat Mills, the original editor of 2000 AD, this weekly comic featured the best comics talent working on haunting, terrifying tales. From high 70s glamour to chilling stories that have haunted readers for decades, this Essential Collection curates the creepiest, campest Misty serials and short stories alongside critical essays, in a volume perfect for readers old and new. Shirley Bellwood began working on comics in the 1950s, with her first work believed to be on C Arthur Pearson’s Glamour Library. She would go on to draw story pages for titles such as Mirabelle, Romeo, Roxy and Valentine. Unusually, her name sometimes appeared on this early work, indicating the esteem in which she was held. From the 1970s onwards she drew for the new wave of girls comics such as Sally, Jinty and – of course – Misty. She created the character of Misty and drew her throughout the comic’s run. Outside of comics, Shirley was a highly respected portrait painter who took commissions from MPs, lords and celebrities. She provided illustrations for a large number of children’s books, as well as several books for the Folio Society. She trained at Leeds College of Art and held major exhibitions with the Royal Portrait Society. Shirley’s portraits contain a real sense of character and she was particularly skilled at painting children and animals, which she pursued further when she moved out of London in later life. Shirley died on 1 February 2016 in hospital in Worcester, aged 84. 272pgs part-colour hardcover.

Muslim Comics and Warscape Witnessing
by Esra Mirze Santesso
Ohio State University Press 149.95/149.95 / 149.95/34.95

The publisher says:
Recent decades have seen an unprecedented number of comics by and about Muslim people enter the global market. Now, Muslim Comics and Warscape Witnessing offers the first major study of these works. Esra Mirze Santesso assesses Muslim comics to illustrate the multifaceted nature of seeing and representing daily lives within and outside of the homeland. Focusing on contemporary graphic narratives that are primarily but not exclusively from the Middle East—from blockbusters like Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis to more local efforts such as Leila Abdelrazaq’s _Baddawi_—Santesso explores why the graphic form has become a popular and useful medium for articulating Muslim subjectivities. Further, she shows how Muslim comics “bear witness” to a range of faith-based positions that complicate discussions of global ummah or community, contest monolithic depictions of Muslims, and question the Islamist valorisation of the shaheed, the “martyr” figure regarded as the ideal religious witness. By presenting varied depictions of everyday lives of Muslims navigating violence and militarization, this book reveals the connections between religious rituals and existence in warscapes and invites us to more deeply consider the nature of witnessing itself. 220pgs B&W hardcover / paperback.

Pill Hill
by Nicholas Breutzman
Uncivilized Books
$34.95

The publisher says:
Pill Hill, Nicholas Breutzman’s darkly funny and utterly heartbreaking memoir, plunges the reader into a world of horrifying Tinder dates, flea markets, lizard people, child protective services, black holes, time travel, and stress-induced psychosis. Nic and Henry—father and son—stumble on an old forgotten park and make a bizarre discovery. Someone marked all the trees with wads of chewed gum! Who is the gum bandit? Reeling from recent family upheaval, Nic navigates the brave new world of single parenthood. Meanwhile, his ex-wife descends into addiction, abuse, and homelessness. Amid the turmoil, he becomes increasingly and desperately obsessed with exposing the gum vandal. Can Nic rise to the occasion and come to terms with his new reality? Or will he let the past drag him back into despair and denial, threatening the thing he holds most dear: his relationship with Henry, his son? 256pgs two-colour & B&W hardcover.

”Matt Madden (Ex Libris) says:
“Nic Breutzman marshals the mind-bending power of comics to share an often hilarious, occasionally harrowing, and deeply moving account of parenting against all odds.”

Prince in Comics
by Nicolas Finet & Tony Lourenco
NBM
$27.99

The publisher says:
Prince Rogers Nelson aka Prince was a complete artist, all at once author, composer, performer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. A real showman on stage, songs like 1999 or Purple Rain, made him an international star. With his tormented life, sulfurous relationships, sex and drugs, he was above all a genius artist with a very distinctive original style who sold more than 80 million records around the world. Here is his extraordinary destiny in a mix of colourfully illustrated articles and comics. Nicolas Finet, author, publisher, filmmaker, journalist, curator, speaker, translator, has worked in comics for more than three decades. He is the author of more than half a dozen reference works on it. In music, he is the writer on NBM’s recent bio of Janis Joplin, Love Me Please, and he has just made a documentary on the blues and comics, Mississippi Ramblin/, devoted to bluesman Robert Johnson. He is also the writer of the graphic novel Forever Woodstock. Born in Paris in 1976, Tony Lourenço alias Nyt has been exploring and expressing his artistic sensibility for a long time. He did this first through singing and piano at the Paris International Conservatory of Music, then, seduced by imagery, he created a photo studio in a Parisian barge. At the same time, he paints and writes short stories, scenarios, tales and travelogues. 168pgs colour hardcover.

Tales of the Orishas
by Hugo Canuto
Abrams ComicArts / Megascope
$24.99

The publisher says:
A fantasy-adventure graphic novel that explores Afro-Brazilian legends and mythology. In ancient times, when heaven and Earth were united as two halves of a gourd, deities and heroes walked among men. They fought battles with fury and taught the ways of the ashe (the energy of creation), land, iron, and fire. They reigned and loved with great intensity. Some descended from the luminous Orun, to live their lives and fulfil their destinies, while others were born in the aiye, and through their great deeds became Orishas, changing forever the history of two continents. Tales of the Orishas fuses the pantheon of the African Diasporic religion of Candomble with the Silver Age comic aesthetics of Jack Kirby into a riveting tale of high adventure. The story centres around a celestial battle between the gods of Brazil, who are worshipped by the Bahia people, and a fearsome conquering force led by a dark and malevolent overlord. Only Shango, the god of fire and thunder, can lead his people into victory while the fate of creation hangs in the balance. Masterfully executed and painstakingly researched, Hugo Canuto brings these legends to life with incredible designs and a vibrant palette. Tales of the Orishas is a bright and brilliant tale that showcases mythology as a powerful tool to remind us that there is something greater to unite the peoples who sail on the blue star called Earth. Hugo Canuto is a Brazilian visual artist, writer, and comic book author, working in both digital and traditional media. With a degree in architecture, he seeks to express the relationship between art and mythology, as exemplified in his graphic novels. He resides in Brazil. 112pgs colour hardcover.

The Art of George Wilson
by George Wilson, written by Anthony Taylor
Hermes Press
$75.00

The publisher says:
What made many of the great adventure comics of the 1960s so attractive were their fantastic painted covers by artist George Wilson. Wilson’s covers harkened back to the era of pulp magazines and were spectacularly eye-catching. He turned in efforts for literally hundreds of comics titles including Classics Illustrated, The Twilight Zone, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Dr. Solar, Magnus Robot Fighter, Turok, Son of Stone and Star Trek, to name but a few. This new art book focuses on over 300 examples of his cover art and features numerous examples of Wilson’s artwork scanned from the originals together with many of the book covers he created including his extensive run on Avon’s The Phantom as well as his work on the Gold Key comic book version. 288pgs colour hardcover.

The Boy from Clearwater Book 1 (of 2)
by Yu Pei-yun & Zhou Jian-xin, translated by Lin King
Levine Querido 25.99/25.99 / 25.99/19.99

The publisher says:
For fans of Persepolis, an incredible true story in graphic novel form, that lays bare the tortured and triumphant history of Taiwan, an island claimed and fought over by many countries, through the life story of a man who lived through its most turbulent times. Tsai Kun-lin, an ordinary boy, was born in Qingshui, Taichung in 1930s Taiwan. In part 1 Tsai, in concert with the beautiful illustrations of Chou Jian-xin, depicts a carefree childhood despite the Japanese occupation: growing up happily with the company of nursery rhymes and picture books on Qingshui Street. As war emerges, Tsai’s memories shift to military parades, air raids, and watching others face conscription into the army. It seems no one can escape. After the war, the book-loving teenager tries hard to learn Mandarin and believes he is finally stepping towards a comfortable future, but little does he know, a dark cloud awaits him ahead. Part 2 opens with Illustrations reminiscent of woodcuts showing the soul-crushing experience of Tsai’s detention and imprisonment. In his second year at Taichung First Senior High School, Tsai attends a book club hosted by his teacher and is consequently arrested on a false charge of taking part in an “illegal” assembly. After being tortured, he is sentenced to ten years in prison, deprived of civil rights for seven years, and sent to Green Island for “reformation”. Lasting until his release in September 1960, Tsai, a victim of the White Terror era, spent ten years of his youth in prison on an unjust charge. But he is ready to embrace freedom.
Writer Yu Pei-yun graduated from the Department of Foreign Language, National Taiwan University and holds a doctoral degree in Human Science from Ochanomizu University, Japan. Currently teaching at the Graduate Institute of Children’s Literature at National Taitung University, she is devoted to the studies of Children’s Literature and Culture. Yu also writes, translates, critiques, curates exhibitions about and plans the publication of children’s literature. Artist Chou Jian-xin holds a master’s degree from the Graduate Institute of Plastic Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Children’s Literature at National Taitung University. Translator Lin King is also a writer from Taipei, Taiwan. Her work has appeared in publications including Boston Review, Joyland, Asymptote, and Columbia Journal, and has won the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She translates from Mandarin Chinese and Japanese to English, and her translation of Yang Shuang-zi’s Taiwan Travelogue is forthcoming from Graywolf Press. 352pgs colour hardcover / paperback.

The Darwin Incident Vol. 1
by Shun Umezawa
Vertical
$12.95

The publisher says:
The Animal Liberation Alliance, an eco-terrorist organisation, rescues a pregnant chimpanzee from an animal testing lab—only for it to give birth to a half-human, half-chimpanzee “humanzee” named Charlie. Fifteen years later, Charlie’s human foster parents are finally ready to send him to a normal high school, where he makes his first friend: a human girl named Lucy. In the meantime, however, the ALA’s stance has become ever more extreme, and now they’re here to drag Charlie into their terrorist plot… Winner of the prestigious Manga Taisho, as well as an Excellence Award at the Japanese Media Arts Festival, The Darwin Incident is as action-packed as it is socially relevant! 154pgs B&W paperback.

The Great Beyond
by Léa Murawiec
Drawn & Quarterly, translated by Aleshia Jensen
$32.95

The publisher says:
How would you live with nothing but your name? Manel Naher wants out. In a world where your name is currency, it’s tough to make ends meet. It’s even tougher when you share a name with a rising pop star. The city is unbearable―endless high-rises, social climbers left and right, and nothing but names as far as the eye can see. But Manel is looking a little bit farther, just beyond the horizon, and she’s even convinced her buddy Ali of how much more could be lying in wait right outside city limits. When a sudden heart attack induced by diminished name recognition foils Manel’s plans, gradual change becomes a catalyst for a complete lifestyle overhaul. This stylish, absurd comedy of contemporary manners skewers the human condition in persistent self-promo. Sharp, architectural lines are accented by decisively mellow hues, building a humorously grim world unexpectedly bathed in nothing but light. An exciting debut from a fresh perspective, The Great Beyond showcases newcomer Léa Murawiec’s command of comics language and satirises a sprawling metropolis, its politics, and its extraordinary inhabitants. Léa Murawiec is an avid manga fan who began making her own comics at a very young age. She studied graphic design at the École Estienne and later shifted her focus to comics at the École européenne supérieure de l’image in Angoulême. She is the co-founder of Éditions Flutiste, an independent small press spotlighting emerging cartoonists. 208pgs colour hardcover.

The Great British Bump Off
by John Allison & Max Sarin
Dark Horse
$19.99

The publisher says:
An Agatha Christie-style murder mystery set in the world of English competitive baking from _Giant Days_’ John Allison and Max Sarin. When she enters her country’s most beloved baking competition, Shauna Wickle’s goal is to delight the judges, charm the nation, and make a few friends along the way. But when a fellow contestant is poisoned, it falls to her to apprehend the culprit while avoiding premature elimination from the UK Bakery Tent…and being the poisoner’s next victim. Collects issues #1–#4 of Dark Horse Comics series The Great British Bump-Off. John Allison is the author and artist of Steeple, Giant Days, and the webcomics Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery. Max Sarin is a Finnish cartoonist who likes to draw stuff and listen to scary podcasts while doing so. 112pgs colour paperback.

Kate Beaton (Ducks) says:
“I have an endless appetite for the next Allison and Sarin offering, the greatest comic minds in the business. The Great British Bump-Off has all of the signature wit and energy that makes them so beloved. John Allison’s writing is instantly recognisable: sharp and funny, crackling on every page. Max Sarin’s art pops with character, it is a delight. As usual, I am hooked, I need more.”

The Super Hero’s Journey
by Patrick McDonnell
Abrams Comic Arts
$29.99

The publisher says:
The second book in Abrams’ Marvel Arts line, featuring the work of beloved Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell and the greatest super heroes of the Marvel Universe. The Super Hero’s Journey is an adventure unlike any you have ever read. Imbued with the creativity, artwork, and heart of Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the comic strip Mutts, this all-new graphic novel love letter features the classic Marvel super heroes including the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Black Panther, and Spider-Man, and is the synthesis of McDonnell’s positive, inspirational sensibility and Marvel’s blockbuster brand. Using the Marvel Universe as avatars, McDonnell muses on how comics changed his life and inspired him to become a cartoonist, instilling a moral sensibility that he carries through his work and his life. Visually striking—The Super Hero’s Journey incorporates panels from classic Marvel comics as a tribute by McDonnell to his heroes, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and the other creators of the Marvel Universe—alongside inspirational quotes from Eckhart Tolle, Thoreau, and others. Patrick McDonnell is the bestselling author, illustrator, playwright, painter, and creator of the comic strip Mutts, which appears in more than 700 newspapers around the world. He has received numerous awards internationally, including a Caldecott and the Reuben, the highest honour given by the National Cartoonists Society. The Art of Nothing, a career-spanning monograph, was published by Abrams ComicArts in 2019. He lives in New Jersey. 112pgs colour hardcover.

Alex Ross (Fantastic Four: Full Circle) says:
“The Super Hero’s Journey is a genuinely moving treatise on the inspiration we can take from others, and an antidote for cynicism.”

This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America
by Navied Mahdavian
Princeton Architectural Press
$25.95

The publisher says:
A gorgeously illustrated and written debut graphic memoir about belonging, identity, and making a home in the remote American West, by New Yorker cartoonist Navied Mahdavian. Before Mahdavian moved with his wife and dog in November of 2016 from San Francisco to an off-the-grid cabin in rural Idaho, he had never fished, gardened, hiked, hunted, or lived in a snowy place. But there, he could own land, realise his dream of being an artist, and start a family—the Millennial dream. Over the next three years, Mahdavian leaned into the wonders of the natural Idaho landscape and found himself adjusting to and enjoying a slower pace of living. But beyond the boundaries of his six acres, he was confronted with the realities of America’s political shifts and forced to confront the question: Do I belong here? Mahdavian’s beautifully written and unflinchingly honest graphic memoir charts his growth and struggles as an artist, citizen, and new father. It celebrates his love of place and honours the relationships he makes in rural America, touching on dynamics like culture, environment, and identity in America, and even articulating difficult moments of racism and brutality he found there as a Middle Eastern American. With wit, compassion, and a sense of humour, Mahdavian’s insider perspective offers a unique portrait of one of the most remote and wild areas of the American West. Navied Mahdavian has been a contributing cartoonist at the New Yorker since 2018. His work has also been published in Reader’s Digest, Wired, and Alta Online and the books The Rejection Collection and Send Help! Before becoming a cartoonist, he taught the fifth grade, where he learned most of his jokes. Mahdavian was born in Miami and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. 288pgs B&W paperback.

Totem by Laura Pérez, translated by Andrea Rosenberg
Fantagraphics
$24.99

The publisher says:
Blurring the lines between the real and the spiritual, Spanish cartoonist Laura Pérez leads the reader through a dreamy journey from the Arizona desert to the land of the dead. Two young women road trip through the Arizona desert in search of a spiritual awakening. Crowds gather to see the village wise woman commune with the dead. Strange bright lights flash across the night sky, provoking all manner of interpretations. A mosaic of experiences, Totem offers tantalising glimpses of characters on their own journeys connected by some ethereal thread. The narrative slips through time and space, delicately drifting from reality to different states of consciousness. Like a vivid dream, this story is rendered through eerie settings and potent symbols, a spiritual puzzle inviting the reader to piece it together. With Totem, this self-assured graphic novel by Spanish illustrator and comics artist Laura Pérez is presented in English for the first time. Pérez presents an entrancing, contemporary vision of magic and mystery, aptly rendered through her wispy, atmospheric pencil lines. Laura Pérez is a Spanish illustrator and comics artist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, National Geographic, and Vanity Fair, among others. She has created several award-winning graphic novels, and Totem is her English debut. In 2022, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her title design for the TV series Only Murders in the Building. Andrea Rosenberg is a translator who has worked on a variety of novels and graphic narratives in Spanish and Portuguese. Her translations of the graphic novels Run For It by Marcelo D’Salete and The House by Paco Roca won Eisner Awards in 2018 and 2020, respectively. 144pgs colour hardcover.

We Are Not Strangers
by Josh Tuininga
Abrams ComicArts
$24.99

The publisher says:
Inspired by a true story, this graphic novel follows a Jewish immigrant’s efforts to help his Japanese neighbours while they are incarcerated during World War II. Marco Calvo always knew his grandfather, affectionately called Papoo, was a good man. After all, he was named for him. A first-generation Jewish immigrant, Papoo was hardworking, smart, and caring. When Papoo peacefully passes away, Marco expected the funeral to be simple. However, he is caught off guard by something unusual. Among his close family and friends are mourners he doesn’t recognise—Japanese-American families—and no one is quite sure who they are or why they are at the service. How did these strangers know his grandfather so well? Set in the multicultural Central District of Seattle during World War II and inspired by author Josh Tuininga’s family experiences, We Are Not Strangers explores a unique situation of Japanese and Jewish Americans living side by side in a country at war. Following Marco’s grandfather’s perspective, we learn of his life as a Sephardic Jewish immigrant and his struggles as he settles into an America gearing up its war efforts. Despite the conflict raging just outside US borders, Papoo befriends Sam Akiyama, a Japanese man who finds his world upended from President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. Determined to keep Sam’s business afloat while he and his family are unjustly imprisoned, Sam and Papoo create a plan that will change the Akiyama’s lives forever. An evocative and beautifully illustrated historical fiction graphic novel, We Are Not Strangers converges two perspectives into a single portrait of a community’s struggle with race, responsibility, and what it truly means to be an American. Josh Tuininga is an author, artist, and designer living in North Bend, Washington. After studying fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he founded an art and design agency, where he continues to work as its creative director. His work has been published in Communication Arts magazine and HOW design magazine, and he was awarded with the Communication Arts Award for excellence in illustration. Tuininga is the author of two children’s books: Why Blue? (Xist Publishing, 2014) and Dream On (Indiegogo campaign, 2019). We Are Not Strangers, which has been awarded a 4Culture Heritage Grant, is his first graphic novel. 208pgs colour hardcover.

What’s Fear Got To Do With It?
by Ivana Filipovich
Conundrum Press
$18.00

The publisher says:
A soapy crime drama unfolds between the stalls of North America’s largest night market. Eva and Mia couldn’t be more different. Where Mia is insecure and image-obsessed, Eva is quiet and sensible. But the two women have one thing in common: their boyfriend, Max - a highly respected member of the city’s criminal underground with a fearsome reputation. Over the course of a single dangerous evening at the night market, it quickly becomes clear that no one is in this relationship for love - instead, Mia, Eva, and Max are motivated by other complex social contracts: power, money, and fear. Inspired by the work of literary masters Anton Chekhov, Ingmar Bergman, and Tennessee Williams, and created in a style that’s reminiscent of black-and-white European artist Blutch, What’s Fear Got to Do With It peels back the layers of human relationships and reveals that everything is not as it seems. A stunning debut from a talented artist who is part of the new Balkan Renaissance in comics. 64pgs colour paperback.

Nina Bunjevac (Heartless) says:
“Ivana’s line is masterfully fluid, as are her dialogues. This book feels like a mild psychedelic trip - I loved every minute of it!”

Where is Anne Frank?
by Ari Folman & Lena Guberman
Pantheon Books / Viking
$25.00 / £18.99

The publisher says:
The same creative team that produced the international bestselling and award-winning Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, now follows up with a new story bringing to life Kitty, Anne Frank’s imaginary friend to whom she addressed her diary. It’s the middle of the night at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and a magnificent thunderbolt has just struck the building and shattered the protective glass case in which the most famous diary in history is displayed. Magically, Anne’s imaginary friend, Kitty, comes to life. At first Kitty doesn’t know that seventy-five years have passed, and she has no clue as to why Anne is not in the house or what has become of the seven other inhabitants of the Secret Annex. When Kitty learns that Anne and her beloved sister Margot have died in the war, she decides to run away from the house, and follow the path of the sisters all the way to where they met their fatal end. Kitty, who soon realises that she cannot exist without Anne, decides to steal the diary from the museum and starts her journey. Kitty recounts the complete story of Anne Frank’s life, family, and diary from her own unique perspective. In the present day, Kitty’s adventures bring her in contact with the refugee crisis in Europe, from which she discovers the true meaning of Anne Frank’s legacy. Ari Folman is a director, screenwriter, and film score composer. He has written for several successful Israeli TV series and was the director and writer of the Oscar-nominated Waltz with Bashir, as well as The Congress, and adapted Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Edition. Lena Guberman graduated in Visual Communications from Betzalel Academy in Jerusalem (2003). She has illustrated eight published books, three of which have won the Israel Museum award for picture book illustration for the years 2006, 2010 and 2012. In 2011 she worked on The Congress (2013 movie) as Background and Character Designer and Concept Artist. 160pgs colour hardcover / paperback.

Posted: July 1, 2023