Top 32 Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga (original) (raw)

April 2024

Take a look through these titles coming out in a couple of months. Surely one of the year’s most anticipated graphic novels is the epic conclusion of Emis Ferris’s acclaimed two-parter.

Another audacious auteur is Aminder Dhaliwal and her new 400-page fantastical allegory in which she combines illustrated prose with comics.

Leela Corman and the duo of Wilfred Lupano and Léonard Chemineau draw on historical research, from the 20th and 10th centuries, for their revelatory reflections.

American noir and Greek mythology blend in Peter and Maria Hoey’s latest collaboration of both style and substance.

And as we seem to rush ever faster into the future, Luke Healy wittily exposes his doubts and turmoil. At least in the next few months, at time of writing, the future for great comics-reading looks very hopeful. I hope you enjoy checking out these latest PG Tips!

Advocate: A Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice
by Eddie Ahn
Ten Speed Press
$24.99

The publisher says:
A moving graphic memoir following Eddie Ahn, an environmental justice lawyer and activist striving to serve diverse communities in San Francisco amidst environmental catastrophes, an accelerating tide of racial and economic inequality, burnout, and his family’s expectations. Born in Texas to Korean immigrants, Eddie grew up working at his family’s store with the weighty expectations that their sacrifices would be paid off when he achieved the “American Dream.” Years later after moving to San Francisco and earning a coveted law degree, he then does the unthinkable: he rejects a lucrative legal career to enter the nonprofit world. In carving his own path, Eddie defies his family’s notions of economic success, igniting a struggle between family expectations, professional goals, and dreams of community. As an environmental justice attorney, he confronts the most immediate issues the country is facing today, from the devastating effects of Californian wildfires to economic inequality, all while combatting burnout and racial prejudice. In coming fully into his own, Eddie also reaches a hand back to his parents, showing them the value of a life of service rather than one spent only seeking monetary wealth. Weaving together humorous anecdotes with moments of victory and hope, this powerful, deeply contemplative full-colour graphic novel explores the relationship between immigration and activism, opportunity and obligation, and familial duty and community service. 208pgs colour hardcover.

The Anxiety Club: How To Survive Modern Life
by Catherine Meyer, Dr. Frederic Fanget & Pauline Aubry, translated by Edward Gauvin
SelfMadeHero
$19.99

The publisher says:
An illustrated guide to help identify, understand, and manage anxiety. In The Anxiety Club we are introduced to three characters, each with a different form of anxiety. After hearing their stories, we follow them into the therapy room, where they discover the behavioural, cognitive, and emotional tools to help free themselves from anxious thinking. Many people believe that there is no treatment for anxiety: they try to soothe their inner suffering with medication, alcohol, drugs, or binge eating. However, there are healthy ways to manage such negative thoughts and feelings. This self-help handbook, written by leading anxiety expert and psychiatrist Dr. Frédéric Fanget and editor Catherine Meyer and drawn by Pauline Aubry, helps the reader to identify, understand, and find freedom from anxiety. 128pgs colour paperback.

The Art of Crying: The Healing Power of Tears
by Pepita Sandwich
Voracious
$28.00

The publisher says:
Explore the healing, transformative power of shedding tears in this vibrant illustrated study of crying, one of the most uniquely human things we do. What if crying wasn’t just an involuntary reaction to feeling sad, vulnerable, or overwhelmed—but a hidden wellspring of power we could harness to live a fuller life? In The Art of Crying, Pepita Sandwich makes the case that crying is humanity’s most misunderstood and magical special effect. We are the only animals who shed tears as a result of the emotions we feel. But crying is not our weakness: it’s our superpower. Our tears are a path to growth and healing that leads to deeper and more fulfilling experiences. In this beautifully illustrated book, Sandwich dives deep into an ocean of research into tears to understand the science and history of this uniquely human phenomenon. And she has emerged with a case for “letting it all out” a little more often, because tears have a powerful magic all their own. Pepita Sandwich is an Argentine illustrator and visual artist born in Buenos Aires, and trained in Vermont at the Center for Cartoon Studies, who currently resides in New York City. In 2013, she began publishing her webcomics and drawings of relatable life observations with a focus on feelings, friendship, and self-discovery. Since then, her work as won over a fast-growing international audience. Pepita creates visual essays for media outlets like The Washington Post, Vogue, Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker. Her first two books were published by PRH in Spain and Argentina; Diario de Supervivencia (Survival Diaries 2016) and Las Mujeres Mueven Montanas (Women Move Mountains 2019). In 2021, she launched her online course with the global learning platform Domestika, where she teaches diary comics and storytelling. 208pgs colour hardcover.

Atelier Picasso
by Luca Masia & Giulia Masia
Skira
$25.00 / £22.00

The publisher says:
A great painter and his atelier, in which the lives of leading postwar artists intertwine. A remarkable graphic novel devoted to Pablo Picasso on the 50th anniversary of his death. The graphic novel Atelier Picasso tells a true, timeless story. It takes place in the postwar period illuminated by the light of the Côte d’Azur. In Picasso’s atelier, the lives of great artists and an Italian tailor, Michele Sapone, intertwine. Picasso’s tailor was born in a small village near Caserta and had always been immersed in art, without realising it. After the War, he moved with his family to Nice and discovered a bright world, populated by art and artists. He became close friends with Picasso, Giacometti, Hartung, and many other artists. With them he shared a love of painting and life, exchanging tailor-made clothes with artworks. Michele would sew fabrics as painters paint canvases. His daughter Aika inherited his keen interests. She grew up surrounded by artists and posed for Picasso and Giacometti. She would argue with Hartung and keep company with Campigli, Magnelli, and Severini. We see her smiling in shots taken by photographers the likes of David Duncan and Edward Quinn. In 1973 Aika opened a gallery with her husband Antonio that became a home for the family’s artists. The first exhibition was devoted expressly to Picasso, but he died only a few days before the inauguration, on 8 March 1973. Fifty years on, Picasso continues to teach us how to reinvent life and gaze at it with new eyes. 176pgs colour paperback.

Chernobyl: The Fall of Atomgrad
by Matyáš Namai
Palazzo Editions
$18.95

The publisher says:
This graphic and harrowing account of nuclear catastrophe at Chernobyl in April 1986 follows the dozens of human stories cruelly affected by disaster. From the engineers and firefighters to doctors and soldiers, the children and families in the surrounding towns and villages to the animals in the forests—they all make up the story of Chernobyl, a mosaic of victims who paid the price for distant politicians’ ambitions and arrogance. Matyáš Namai studied graphic design at the Škola Michael in Prague. He has contributed to the magazines ABC (The Master of Shaolin, The Millennium Thief ) and Playboy (Ironic Applause). His comics and graphic novels aim to sensitively reveal the psychology of their characters, using a filmic sense of dramatic editing and a feel for detail. Matyáš’ favourite hobby is roasting bacon over a fire. 112pgs black, blue & yellow paperback.

The Complete Web of Horror
by Bernie Wrightson, Michael William Kaluta, Ralph Reese & others, edited by Dana Marie Andra
Fantagraphics
$49.99

The publisher says:
The legendary, creator-controlled horror magazine from 1969 collected at last. In 1969, a feisty new comics magazine emerged to rival the popular horror magazines Creepy and Eerie: Web of Horror. Conceived by a plucky, independent publisher, Web of Horror showcased instant classics of horror and science fiction by such rising stars of comic art as Bernie Wrightson, Michael Kaluta, Bruce Jones, Ralph Reese, Frank Brunner, Roger Brand, and Wayne Howard, as well as seasoned veterans such as Syd Shores and Norman Nodel, illustrating stories written by Otto Binder, Nicola Cuti, and others. Now, over 50 years later, Fantagraphics presents the complete Web of Horror in one expertly edited and designed volume. In addition to all three published issues, this collection includes over a dozen stories intended for subsequent issues that have been rarely or never-before published, several long thought to be lost and recently unearthed. Among these “lost” stories is Wrightson’s “The Monster Jar,” lovingly restored by Frederic Manzano. The Complete Web of Horror also features a wealth of historical and contextual essays, including the Foreword by original Web of Horror editor and science fiction novelist Terry Bisson; an account of the magazine’s origin by the late Clark Dimond; the history of the magazine’s rise and baffling demise by collection editor Dana Marie Andra; reminiscences by fanzine publishers Robert Lewis and Robert Gerson; and an Afterword by Richard J. Arndt. 296pgs B&W & colour hardcover.

Crazy like a Fox: Adventures in Schizophrenia
by Christi Furnas
Street Noise Books
$21.99

The publisher says:
This autobiographically-inspired graphic novel explores mental health and schizophrenia in a surprising and emotionally honest story with a fantastical cast of animal characters. Fox Foxerson’s got a new roommate. Fox Foxerson’s got a new job. Fox Foxerson’s got a date. The roommate is only a little strange, sometimes. The job seems to involve . . . filing? It’s not very clear. The date seems to be more interested in someone else. Fox would rather be making art. As the oppressive weight of the everyday routine beats down on Fox, nothing is going right. And it doesn’t seem like anyone can help—not Fox’s roommate, not Fox’s friends, and definitely not the nurses and doctors at the hospital, who don’t seem to take notice of anything Fox tries to tell them. Fox needs some time and space to figure things out. This quirky, humorous graphic novel tinged with pathos, immerses readers in the constant question: are you okay? Fox is not okay, but Fox is working on it. Christi Furnas is a queer cartoonist, illustrator, oil painter, and disability rights advocate. 160pgs colour paperback.

Degrees of Separation: A Decade North of 60
by Alison McCreesh
Conundrum Press
$30.00

The publisher says:
At age 21, Alison hitchhiked to the Yukon and spent the summer living in a tent. 10 years later, in the deep of winter and seven months pregnant, she returns. Degrees of Separation is about what happened in between. Over the course of a decade, artist Alison McCreesh lived, worked, and travelled north of the 60th parallel. Through a combination of autobiographical stories, drawings and sketches, Degrees of Separation offers an intimate and understated glimpse of the North as Alison experienced it. From frigid days spent killing time while stranded in the High Arctic, to the challenges of raising a baby in a small shack with no running water, it is one young woman’s personal experience of both passing through and of setting down roots. Tinged with McCreesh’s characteristic blend of humour and humanity, Degrees of Separation is about the north and its vastness and its diversity. While the backdrop may seem foreign to many, this collection is also a universal exploration of those transformative years from young-adulthood to motherhood. It’s a graphic novel navigating themes of connection and disconnect, between the north and the south, but also between different norths and between our different selves. 390pgs B&W paperback.

Joe Sacco, author of Paying the Land, says:
“The tension between free-spirited off-grid living and prosaic adult responsibility runs through Alison McCreesh’s tender and loving ode to the people and landscapes of the Far North.”

Den Volume 4: Dreams and Alarums
by Richard Corben
Dark Horse
$34.99

The publisher says:
The fourth volume presenting the long-out-of-print masterpiece Den, by fantasy legend Richard Corben. This special edition collects the fourth volume of the long out-of-print Den, and 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 Cullen Bunn, all presented in a gorgeous hardcover with a dust jacket. Several years after our last adventure, Den is battered and broken after Kath abandons him. Determined to get her back he transforms to muscular glory and fights his way back to Neverwhere on another bizarre journey. 88pgs colour hardcover.

Dwellings
by Jay Stephens
Oni Press
$34.99

The publisher says:
Welcome to Elwich—an oasis of small-town perfection, where the schools overflow with cheery-eyed children, lovingly adorned homes line the historic boulevards . . . and only the crows can see the deep, festering rot that lurks beneath the pristine surface. Murder. Demonology. Possession. Obsession. Elwich has them all on offer—and behind every dwelling awaits a horrifying new story to be told. Shock, terror, and wry humour pepper every page of Emmy Award-winning, Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist and animator Jay Stephens’s Dwellings. 272pgs colour hardcover.

Fake Chinese Sounds
by Jing Jing Tsong
Kokila
$13.99

The publisher says:
A middle-grade graphic novel about a Taiwanese American girl navigating identity, bullying, and the messy process of learning to be comfortable in her skin. Between homework, studying, and Chinese school, Měi Yīng’s summer is shaping up to be a boring one. Her only bright spots are practice with her soccer team, the Divas, and the time spent with her năi nai, who is visiting from Taiwan. Although Měi Yīng’s Mandarin isn’t the best and Năi Nai doesn’t speak English, they find other ways to connect, like cooking guōtiē together and doing tai chi in the mornings. By the end of the summer, Měi Yīng is sad to see Năi Nai go—she’s the com­plete opposite of Měi Yīng serious professor mother—but excited to start fifth grade. Until new kid Sid starts making her the butt of racist jokes. Her best friend, Kirra, says to ignore him, but does everyone else’s silence about the harassment mean they’re also ignoring Sid . . . or her? As Sid’s bullying fuels Měi Yīng’s feelings of invisibility, she must learn to reclaim her identity and her voice. 208pgs colour paperback.

FilthyRatBag: A Journey through Growing Up, Grieving & Turning Pain into Diamonds
by Celeste Mountjoy
TarcherPerigee
$20.00

The publisher says:
The artist known as Filthyratbag aims for the heart in this illustrated memoir on grief and Gen Z girlhood, shot through with equal parts incredulity and longing. Celeste Mountjoy makes art that explores anxiety, feminism, addiction, body image, relationships, and power. With uncanny precision, it articulates the dark stuff we feel but dare not show. Mountjoy has become a voice for a generation of women who are ambivalent about the absurd, sometimes harrowing, path to adulthood. In her debut book, she tells razor-sharp stories and shares never-before-seen illustrations that walk us through the twistiest parts of growing up, from encountering creepy old men and dealing with grief to getting really drunk and existential. Filthyratbag is at once a primal scream, a shrug, and a PSA declaring that even though growing up is brutal, there are always more beautiful things to come. 240pgs colour paperback.

Fish Society
by panpanya
Denpa Books
$15.95

The publisher says:
Protrag returns to their old job in the fish market (as seen in Invitation from a Crab) to try to help improve the labour standards of this old industry. But they soon realise that the seafood world is full of so much bureaucracy, middlemen, and waste. What if they could cut most of that out by letting the fish handle so much of that grunt work. And what if the beings of the sea took back control over how their products were caught, packaged and even sold?! Imagine how liberating that would be for fish… 186pgs B&W paperback.

Food School
by Jade Armstrong
Conundrum Press
$15.00

The publisher says:
A twenty-something college dropout enrols in a full-time outpatient program for eating disorder recovery. As they change their relationship with food, their relationships with people change, too. Olive’s post-secondary education isn’t what they’d planned. Instead of college, they spend five days a week, eight hours a day at what Olive calls “Food School”: a full-time outpatient program for eating disorder recovery where they learn, talk, and cry about eating disorders as part of a survivor support group. Intensely committed to recovery, Olive confronts the secretive, self-destructive, and sometimes tragically comedic nature of their illness, while struggling with the complexities of modern mental health care. With support and perspective from their roommate, a fellow patient, and their partner, Olive learns to open up about their abusive relationship with food and exercise—and finds ways to cope with the reality of living in a society that actively encourages disordered eating. 80pgs B&W paperback.

A Fox in my Brain
by Lou Lubie
Fairsquare
$19.99

The publisher says:
After troubled years, Lou finally discovers what’s causing chaos in her brain: it’s her cyclothymia… a bipolar disorder that appears to her in the form of a fox! Lou will have to deal with it, tame the Fox and learn to overcome her condition…With humour. Lots of it! A Fox In My Brain is a positive take on Mental Health. A breathe of fresh air that will give everyone an extra boost of self-love! Actually, the Doctor should prescribe you a copy! Lou Lubie is originally from Reunion Island, where she published her first five books: two novels for younger readers, and three comic books. In 2008, she founded the Forum Dessiné, a community website that allows artists of all origins and skill levels to create digital comics together. In 2016, she published Goupil ou face, a popular science comic book that humorously explains cyclothymia, a mood disorder.

Full of Myself: A Graphic Memoir About Body Image
by Siobhán Gallagher
Andrews McMeel Publishing
$19.99

The publisher says:
Author and illustrator Siobhán Gallagher’s humorous and heartfelt graphic memoir details her journey from being anxious and unhappy to learning to love herself as she is. “I’m proud of the person I’ve become because I fought to become her.” At the age of 30, Siobhán Gallagher looks back on her teenage years struggling with anxiety and diet culture, desperate to become a beautiful, savvy, and slim adult. As an actual adult, she realizes she hasn’t turned out the way she’d imagined, but through the hard work of self-reflection—cut with plenty of humor—Gallagher brings readers along on her journey to self-acceptance and self-love. Through witty comics and striking illustrations, Full of Myself is a highly relatable story of the awkward, imperfect, and hilariously honest teenage best friend readers will wish they had had—and the awkward, imperfect, and hilariously honest woman she becomes. 336pgs colour paperback.

Harlem
by Mikaël
NBM
$27.99

The publisher says:
Harlem, 1931. In the heart of the Great Depression, invention is the mother of necessity to make ends meet. Stéphanie St. Clair, known as ‘Queenie’ , had already understood this when she landed in New York almost twenty years before. Inventiveness when you are a woman and you are black is much more than a necessity. It’s a question of survival. In a few years, this young immigrant West Indian servant freed herself from the weight of ancestral servitude. Even better, she created her own American dream: the underground Harlem numbers game. Hers is an ascent that makes people cringe, both with the local authorities and the white mafia. Dutch Schultz, aka. the Dutchman, an unscrupulous mafioso, intends to take control of the kingdom of the “Frenchy.” But that’s without taking into account the determination and impetuosity of Queenie, whose heavy past continues to guide her steps… After the critically acclaimed Giant and Bootblack, Mikaël takes us to the Harlem of the prohibition for the final chapter of his New York triptych in sumptuous chiaroscuro, to meet a woman as strong as she is enigmatic. 128pgs black & orange hardcover.

Here I Am, I Am Me: An Illustrated Guide to Mental Health
by Cara Bean
Workman Publishing 24.99/24.99 / 24.99/17.99

The publisher says:
This colourful graphic novel adventure through the brain demystifies and destigmatises emotional and mental health for children through accessible language and lessons. Join author-illustrator Cara Bean in Here I Am, I Am Me, as she takes readers on an illustrated journey to the centre of the brain. Each of the 9 chapters explores a different aspect of mental health, from the brain and the mind, to feelings and emotions. By portraying complex neuroscience concepts with a cast of illustrated characters (that represent parts of the brain), the book explains what is really going on in the reader’s head in an accessible, approachable way that ultimately serves to empower the reader. Each chapter includes a “question map” that gives context to and helps frame the pages that follow as well as a “Bean Memory,” which shares a first-person true story that illustrates the chapter’s subject matter as it has played out in the author’s life. The book doesn’t talk down to its readers, and it doesn’t pretend that teens are immune to mental health struggles: Cara Bean masterfully discusses crucial topics like depression, substance use and addiction, and suicide, all while equipping readers with mindfulness tips, specific resources, and empathetic affirmations. Readers will learn to destigmatise the conversation around mental health by reframing their thinking, learning how to use conscious language, and helping themselves and others through mental health dilemmas. 288pgs colour hardcover / paperback.

Her Frankenstein
by Norikazu Kawashima, translated by Ryan Holmberg
Living the Line
$19.95

The publisher says:
Dare to read the psycho-horror classic that horror manga master Ito Junji called a “frightening but moving story about an unfortunate individual who, lost in search of his true self, finds his own annihilation instead.” Little Tetsuo is a wimpy mess. His parents don’t love him. He meets the beautiful Kimiko, an ailing teenage girl obsessed with movies and mayhem in equal amounts. She doesn’t love Tetsuo either, or anyone other than herself. But she needs him. So Tetsuo becomes the man she wants―the monster she wants. He becomes Her Frankenstein. Originally published in 1986, Kawashima Norikazu’s Her Frankenstein marks the bizarre and sadomasochistic finale to a cult era in Japanese horror comics. A few years after it was published, the author burned all of his artwork and abandoned Tokyo, never to be heard from again. Her Frankenstein is the inaugural volume of Smudge, a line of pulp, horror, and dark mystery manga, curated and translated into English by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg. 208pgs B&W paperback.

Homebody
by Theo Parish
Harper Alley 26.99/26.99 / 26.99/18.99

The publisher says:
“Have you ever had one of those moments when all of a sudden things become clear…like someone just turned on a light?” In their comics debut, Theo Parish masterfully weaves an intimate and defiantly hopeful memoir about the journey one nonbinary person takes to find a home within themself. Combining traditional comics with organic journal-like interludes, Theo takes us through their experiences with the hundred arbitrary and unspoken gender binary rules of high school, from harrowing haircuts and finally the right haircut to the intersection of gender identity and sexuality—and through tiny everyday moments that all led up to Theo finding the term “nonbinary,” which finally struck a chord. A whole spectrum of people will be drawn to Theo’s storytelling, from trans or questioning teens and adults, to folks who devoured Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe or The Fire Never Goes Out by ND Stevenson, to any person looking to dive a little deeper into the way gender can shape identity. Throughout the book, Theo’s crystal-clear voice reminds the reader that it’s okay not to know, it’s okay to change your mind, and it’s okay to take your time finding your way home.“We are all just trying to find a place to call our own. We are all deserving of comfort and safety, a place to call home.” 224pgs colour hardcover / paperback.

How Do I Draw These Memories?: An Illustrated Memoir
by Jonell Joshua
Levine Querido
$24.99

The publisher says:
Jonell Joshua spent her childhood shuttling back and forth between Savannah and New Jersey – living in grandparents’ homes during the times her mother, struggling with mental illness, needed support to raise her and her brothers. Together the family found a way to keep going even in the darkest of times. How Do I Draw These Memories? is an illustrated memoir about nostalgia, faith, the preciousness of life, and unconditional love. From Jonell’s devastatingly brilliant pen as a writer and an artist, it plumbs the depths of what family can be – and how joy and hope can be found in the most ordinary and extraordinary moments. Jonell is an award-winning illustrator based in Brooklyn, New York. Her professional work has explored a range of topics in editorial illustration and publication, including illustrating for Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real Life Tales of Black Girl Magic, The Queens of the Resistance series, and work featured in the film Selah and the Spades. She has worked with clients including The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, and NPR. 424pgs colour hardcover.

Indigenous Comics and Graphic Novels: Studies in Genre
by James J. Donahue
University Press of Mississippi 99.00/99.00 / 99.00/25.00

The publisher says:
In recent years, studios like Marvel and DC have seen enormous success transforming comics into major motion pictures. At the same time, bookstores such as Barnes & Noble in the US and Indigo in Canada have made more room for comic books and graphic novels on their shelves. Yet despite the sustained popular appeal and the heightened availability of these media, Indigenous artists continue to find their work given little attention by mainstream publishers, booksellers, production houses, and academics. Nevertheless, Indigenous artists are increasingly turning to graphic narratives, with publishers like Native Realities LLC and Highwater Press carving out ever more space for Indigenous creators. In Indigenous Comics and Graphic Novels: Studies in Genre, James J. Donahue aims to interrogate and unravel the disparities of representation in the fields of comics studies and comics publishing. Donahue documents and analyses the works of several Indigenous artists, including Theo Tso, Todd Houseman, and Arigon Starr. Through topically arranged chapters, the author explores a wide array of content produced by Indigenous creators, from superhero and science fiction comics to graphic novels and experimental narratives. While noting the importance of examining how Indigenous works are analysed, Donahue emphasises that the creation of artistic and critical spaces for Indigenous comics and graphic novels should be an essential concern for the comics studies field. 176pgs B&W hardcover / paperback.

In Perpetuity
by Peter and Maria Hoey
IDW / Top Shelf Productions
$19.99

The publisher says:
It’s a surreal smuggling operation across the boundaries of life and death in the latest moody mystery from award-winning graphic novelists Peter & Maria Hoey. The Afterlife is just as the ancient Greeks imagined: an endless twilight where time stands still in perpetuity and shades have nowhere to go. For Jim, that means long shifts at a gas station, with only crossword puzzles and cigarettes to break the tedium. One day, two criminal shades from Jim’s past come to collect a debt. They’ve tracked him down for something he didn’t know he had: the ability to cross back into the living world. It’s a rare gift, and they intend to exploit it. During Jim’s first crossing back into sunny California, he meets Olivia, who is dying on an Echo Park sidewalk. Pulling her back from the edge of death, he strikes a connection that will run deeper than either can imagine. Jim weaves back and forth between the Afterlife and Los Angeles, desperately trying to evade the criminals’ plot. But he and Olivia are pulled into a web of deceit and murder that reaches across both L.A. and the A.L., and ultimately to Hades himself. With a heady blend of film noir and Greek mythology, In Perpetuity reveals both the human capacity for self-deception and the endurance of love. 208pgs colour paperback.

Japan’s Longest Day: Intrigue, Treason and Emperor Hirohito’s Fateful Decison to Surrender
by Kazutoshi Hando & Yukinobu Hoshino
Tuttle Publishing
$19.99

The publisher says:
The true story of Japan’s surrender in World War II and how it nearly didn’t happen! In the final days of World War II, Japan lay in ruins and the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been obliterated. A tense drama unfolds in Tokyo as Japan teeters on the edge of Armageddon. Japan’s Longest Day tells the true story of the day immediately before the surrender, as a group of fanatical army officers attempt to prevent the Emperor from surrendering—an act of high treason which will inevitably result in Japan’s total annihilation. This dramatic story recounts events that most people outside Japan are completely unaware of: the fierce disagreement between the army and the Japanese government as Emperor Hirohito prepares to announce the nation’s unconditional surrender to the Allies; attempts by War Minister Korechika Anami to change the Emperor’s mind; treasonous actions by a fanatical group of officers who vow to fight on, even if it means the death of every single Japanese citizen; and the shocking plot to overthrow the government as Anami faces a fateful choice between loyalty to the cause and loyalty to the Emperor. Japan’s Longest Day is beautifully told by award-winning manga artist Yukinobu Hoshino, who brings to life the story of Japan’s most fateful day in elegant graphic novel form. 480pgs B&W paperback.

Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze
by Mellow Brown, DJ BenHa Meen & Tom Mandrake
Titan Comics
$29.99

The publisher says:
This is a pure rock and roll space opera featuring the legendary Jimi Hendrix as you’ve never seen him before. Fully sanctioned by Experience Hendrix L.L.C.; Authentic Hendrix, LLC - this is the first ever full-length graphic novel inspired by the music of the legendary Jimi Hendrix – arguably the world’s greatest guitarist. This 21st Century psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll odyssey sees Jimi Hendrix embark on a quest to the very centre of the universe in search of a magical talisman powerful enough to unlock the incredible latent power of his music so that he can share it with a universe starved of the rock ‘n’ roll by a tyrannical intergalactic force hellbent on silencing all music from the universe and enslaving all life. 128pgs colour hardcover.

Just Another Story: A Graphic Migration Account
by Ernesto Saade
Graphic Universe
$17.99

The publisher says:
When Carlos was nineteen years old, his mother decided to leave her life in El Salvador for a new start in the United States. Reluctant to follow, but unwilling to let his mother go without him, Carlos joined her on the journey north. During their trip through Mexico and into the US, they experienced the risks and fears countless people from Central American countries have faced while migrating to different lands. Ten years later, Carlos shared these memories with his cousin, cartoonist Ernesto Saade. The result of their conversation is Just Another Story: A Graphic Migration Account. This stirring and thoughtful graphic work goes beyond headlines and statistics to provide a powerful individual account of migration. “Until now, the story of Carlos was diluted between thousands and thousands of similar stories (or infinitely worse ones). However, this doesn’t detract from his story or anyone else’s. They’re not numbers or statistics but individuals whose lives are a reflection of serious problems in the region. This is the story of Carlos and Elena, the story of thousands, the story of my country . . . This is just another story.” 216pgs colour paperback.

The Library Mule of Cordoba
by Wilfrid Lupano & Léonard Chemineau
Ablaze
$24.99

The publisher says:
Here’s the story of what happens when saving the world’s knowledge from destruction depends on the worst mule in history. The Caliphate of Al-Andalus, Spain, 976. The Caliphate has been blessed with a period of peace, culture, and science for nearly sixty years. The Caliph Abd al-Rahman III and his son al-Hakam II made Cordoba the Western capital of learning. But al-Hakam II dies young, and his son is only ten years old. One of his viziers, Amir, seizes the opportunity to take power. Radical clergymen, in exchange for their support of the illegitimate pretender, want to see the 400,000 books in Cordoba’s library burn! The night before the biggest bonfire ever, the head librarian, a chubby eunuch named Tarid, gathers up all the books he can and loads them onto the back of a passing mule. He takes off in the hopes of saving what he can of universal knowledge. 272pgs colour hardcover.

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Text Books Got Wrong
by James W. Loewen, adapted & Illustrated by Nate Powell
The New Press
$27.99

The publisher says:
At last! The long-awaited graphic version of the multi-million copy bestselling corrective to American history myths—adapted by the famed National Book Award–winning artist behind John Lewis’s March trilogy Since its first publication in the 1990s, Lies My Teacher Told Me has become one of the most important and successful—and beloved—history books of our time. As the late Howard Zinn said, “Every teacher, every student of history, every citizen should read this book.” Having sold well over 2 million copies, the book also won an American Book Award and numerous other commendations and prizes and was even heralded on the front page of the New York Times long after its first publication. Now, the brilliant and award-winning artist Nate Powell—the first cartoonist ever to win a National Book Award—has adapted Loewen’s classic work into a graphic edition that perfectly captures both Loewen’s text and the irreverent spirit of his work. Eye-popping illustrations bring to life the true history chronicled in Lies My Teacher Told Me, and ample text boxes and callouts ensure nothing is lost in translation. The book is perfect for those making their first foray past the shroud of history textbooks, and it will also be beloved by those who had their worldviews changed by the original. 272pgs B&W hardcover.

Light It, Shoot It
by Graham Chaffee
Fantagraphics
$24.99

The publisher says:
Graham Chaffee’s first graphic novel in seven years, Light It, Shoot is a classic tale of noir below the spotlight. Fresh out of prison for an arson conviction, clueless 20-year old Billy Bonney finds himself drifting through the seedy and unsavoury world of cut-rate moviemaking, even more out of place amongst his peers than he felt as a teen six years earlier when he got busted. Following his brother to the sets of grade B and exploitation 1970s Hollywood seems like a path of least resistance, until he accidentally lands a job as a handler to a has-been actor. But the bright lights burn harsher and show more than he anticipated as he steps lucklessly into a gangster-driven plot to burn down a studio for the insurance money, and finds himself in over his head. Drunken, washed-up stars. Scrambling, past-their-own-prime producers. Teenage girls on the make, slick hustlers, and violent fixers. Drawn in bold brushstrokes, and hand-painted in subtle washes, Chaffee brings vintage LA to the page in a propulsive adventure. 208pgs B&W paperback.

Mark Twain’s War Prayer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Seymour Chwast
Fantagraphics
$22.99

The publisher says:
Mark Twain’s lambasting of phoney, war-mongering patriotism reinterpreted by one of our finest contemporary illustrators. Written in 1910 in his 70th year, Mark Twain, having lived through 14 wars waged just by his own country on others, declined to publish this poetic despairing reproof against patriotism. His regular illustrator Daniel Beard even urged Twain to issue the piece, to which the author replied, “No, I have told the whole truth in that, and only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead.” It took 13 years after his passing for that prophecy to be fulfilled ― and now, another 102 years later, the legendary illustrator and graphic designer Seymour Chwast (himself 92 years young) has fulfilled Beard’s dream of enriching the fable with illustration. Chwast brings every aspect of his skills to this interpretation: drawing, design, typography, type design, pastel painting and computer color all sit alongside each other with Twain’s text in pages that expand and pace the original. With another century and a quarter of warfare passed since its writing, Chwast’s artwork echoes advances in technology but Twain’s message about the pointlessness of patriotism as a marketing hook for death is only more pointed today. 104pgs B&W & colour hardcover.

My Fairy Godfather
by Robert Mailer Anderson & Jon Sack
Fantagraphics
$25.00

The publisher says:
A story about how music and film connects us to who we’ve loved, who we’ve been, and who we are becoming ― and that lying beneath the façade of teenage cynicism is the profound desire to be understood and loved. Reeling from the death of her parents in a car crash, teenage Billie travels over the rainbow and under tangled concrete overpasses, from her native Austin, Texas to the improbably named Liberal, Kansas. Her plan is to live with her godfather, Adam, “a lonely, gay, film geek stuck inside a jock’s body – a jock’s world.” His partner Steven runs the Starlite, a movie theatre and safe haven for their eccentricities and artistic yearnings. Together, they face new challenges as they help a grieving teen find the path to her true self, while the couple themselves live with the compromises they’ve made for the sake of comfort. Liberal, the adopted home of Oz’s Dorothy, is also home to small-town intolerance, immature adults with unsettled scores, and their children, some who resist and others who succumb to their parents’ prejudices. Along the way Billie meets Clara ― a goth, lesbian Dorothy impersonator who’s used to being an outsider ― and Dylan ― who finds himself caught between his old allegiance to rigid cliques and his magnetic attraction to this new girl who rocks Frida Kahlo tees and cowboy boots. 144pgs colour paperback.

My Favorite Thing is Monsters Vol. 2
by Emil Ferris
Fantagraphics
$44.99

The publisher says:
The most anticipated graphic novel of 2024, concluding the story of young Karen Reyes, the most inspiring “monster” in contemporary fiction. Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of late ’60s Chicago, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two is the eagerly awaited conclusion to one of the most acclaimed graphic novels of the past decade. Presented as the fictional graphic diary of 10-year-old Karen Reyes as she tries to solve the murder of her beloved and enigmatic upstairs neighbour, Anka Silverberg, a holocaust survivor, while the interconnected stories of those around her unfold. In Book Two, dark mysteries past and present continue to abound in the tumultuous and violent Chicago summer of 1968. Young Karen attends a protest in Grant Park and finds herself swept up in a police stomping. Privately, she continues to investigate Anka’s recent death and discovers one last cassette tape that sheds light upon Anka’s heroic activities in Nazi Germany. She wrestles with her own sexual identity, the death of her mother, and the secrets she suspects her brother Deez of hiding. Ferris’s exhilarating cast of characters experience revelations and epiphanies that both resolve and deepen the mysteries visited upon them earlier. Visually, the story is told in Ferris’s inimitable style that breathtakingly and seamlessly combines panel-to-panel storytelling and cartoon montages filled with B-movie horror and pulp monster mag iconography. 412pgs colour paperback.

Self-Esteem and The End of the World
by Luke Healy
Faber & Faber / Drawn & Quarterly
£20.00 / $29.95

The publisher says:
“Who is Luke Healy?” An absurdist dramedy about self-esteem in the wake of a climate destruction. Life is not a race. There are no winners and losers. Immeasurable people are doing better than you…immeasurably worse. You are statistically average. For over ten years, cartoonist Luke Healy has invested all of his self-esteem into his career. But two years post publication of his last book, and suffering the blow of his twin-brother not finding him fit to act as best man, both Luke’s career and self-esteem seem to have disintegrated. Set against the backdrop of a dangerously changing global climate, with melting ice-caps and flooding cities, Self-Esteem and the End of the World spans two decades of tragicomic self-discovery. From self-help books to summiting Greek mountaintops, and workplace murder mysteries to a Hollywood revival of Luke’s early work, we see our protagonist grappling with his identity as the world crumbles. Quietly funny, smartly introspective, and grounded in deeply-felt familial highs and lows, Self-Esteem and the End of the World ponders what happens when the person you are isn’t who you need to be, who you are when nobody’s watching, and ultimately, Who can you possibly be at the end of the world? 324pgs ? hardcover

Single Mothering
by Anna Härmälä
Nobrow
£14.99

The publisher says:
After being dumped, Mia is officially a single mother. Just when she thinks the dust has settled from her breakup, she’s thrust into a confusing whirlwind of slightly useless friendships, exhaustion, therapy, cathartic playgroup daydreaming sessions, and eventually, the terrifying world of online dating. Anna Härmälä’s semi-autobiographical comic vignettes offer a candid (and often hilarious) portrayal of the ups and downs of single parenthood as she discovers how to piece herself back together while raising a tiny human alone on very little sleep. Anna Härmälä is a Finnish teacher, illustrator and comics artist. 168pgs colour paperback.

Sketchy Vol. 1
by MAKIHIROCHI
Kodansha
$13.99

The publisher says:
As her twenties slip by, Ako feels like she’s falling behind. But a group of skateboarding girls will bring a newfound passion into her life in this reflective, relatable josei manga from the creator of Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? Ako finds herself coasting along, watching her twenties pass her by. Work at the video rental store, see her boyfriend, repeat… Her days are becoming an indistinguishable, listless blur. Until she encounters a skateboarder practicing a trick–and she’s a girl! For some reason, Ako feels a pull toward the sport. Slowly, all the dreams and ambitions she gave up on and the futures she imagined for herself come flooding back, and Ako resolves to change herself now, before it’s too late. But is it ever really too late to discover something new? From the creator of the digital fan favourite Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? comes a portrait of young adulthood that will attract fans of Inio Asano, Akiko Higashimura, and Taiyo Matsumoto. Born in 1992, MAKIHIROCHI made her debut in 2010 in Big Comic Spirits, where she went on to publish titles such as Look Look Kyoukaisen, Tabisuru Kan Kohi, and Itsuka Tiffany de Choushoku o. Known for her comedic talent throughout her works, her first title to be published in English was the digital-first slice-of-life series Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? Sketchy is her first series to be released in print in English. 208pgs B&W paperback.

A Smart and Courageous Child
by Miki Yamamoto
TokyoPop
$16.99

The publisher says:
Winner of the 24th Manga Division Excellence Award at the 2020 Japan Media Arts Festival. Every young couple has high hopes for their unborn child, and Sara and Kouta Takano are no different. But only days away from giving birth, Sara learns about the tragedy of Malala Yousafzai’s attempted assassination at the hands of the Taliban, and her pure and innocent belief in the future is shaken. If such a smart and courageous child can be hurt so badly by the world, how can she keep her own baby safe? With Sara now in a state of shock, will the young couple be able to bridge the widening gap between them, or will it tear their family apart? The reality of this world, as seen through the eyes of an author that has spent years illustrating the women and their lives. 176pgs colour paperback.

Kazuko Kawahara, Japan Media Arts Festival, says:
“This book brilliantly captures the anxieties held by people of today. Sara embodies the joyful anticipation of a mother-to-be, until an international story breaks and expands her list of hopes and fears in the information-flooded world. A modern audience can relate to her distrust in the times, and Sara’s anguish is universal in its resonance. The work devotes numerous techniques to express its intentions but remains accessible. Coloured pencils bring the story to life, at different times injecting turbulence and warmth. Through a small but striking backlist, the artist has secured a singular presence in the industry. What does it mean to be wise and brave? How do we resist and reverse the cruelties of the world? The artist plumbs this fathomless question and offers a powerful response.”

Unhappy Camper
by Lilly LaMotte, Ann Xu and Sunmi
Harper Alley 24.99/24.99 / 24.99/15.99

The publisher says:
From the acclaimed creators of Measuring Up, author Lily LaMotte and illustrators Ann Xu and Sunmi, comes a graphic novel about two sisters—one who embraces her Taiwanese culture and one eager to do away with it—who rebuild their bond at a Taiwanese American summer camp. Perfect for fans of Be Prepared and Sisters, this is a heartwarming story about the importance of being true to yourself. Would you rather blend in or stand out? Claire and Michelle used to be best friends, but now the two sisters couldn’t be more different. Michelle will do anything to fit in, even if it means denying her Taiwanese culture, whereas Claire is proud of who she is. So much so that she decides to become a junior counsellor at a Taiwanese American summer camp. Sensing a rift between the two, their parents decide to send them both off to camp, much to Michelle’s dismay. As summer continues, both sisters learn more about their culture and each other. But Michelle must eventually decide to either embrace her culture and family or assimilate into the popular group at school. Which will she choose? 208pgs colour hardcover / paperback.

Victory Parade
by Leela Corman
Schocken Books
$29.00

The publisher says:
The author of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Unterzakhn now gives us a heart-wrenching, phantasmagorical tale of love, loss, and trauma both personal and global, set during World War II in Brooklyn, New York, and in the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp. One of a group of women working as welders in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Rose Arensberg has fallen in love with a disabled veteran while awaiting the return of her husband, Sam, a soldier in the American army serving in Europe. As we follow the bittersweet, heartbreaking stories of Rose and her fellow Rosie-the-Riveters, we’re immersed in the day-to-day challenges of life on the home front as seen through the eyes of these resilient women, as well as through the eyes of Eleanor, Rose’s impressionable young daughter, and Ruth, the German Jewish refugee Rose has taken into their home. Ruth’s desperate attempt to exorcise the nightmare of growing up in pre-war Nazi Germany takes her into the world of professional women wrestlers—with devastating consequences. And Sam’s encounters with the horrors of a liberated concentration camp follow him home to Brooklyn in the form of terrifying flashbacks that will leave him scarred forever. Victory Parade paints a deeply affecting portrait of how individuals and civilisations process mass trauma. Magnificently drawn by Leela Corman, it’s an Expressionist journey through the battlefields of the human heart and the mass graves of genocide. 176pgs colour hardcover.

A Witch’s Guide to Burning
by Aminder Dhaliwal
Drawn & Quarterly
$34.95

The publisher says:
Dhaliwal creates a land ruled by magic and fire, where the sky is thick with witches. A witch’s work is never done when she works for the people. With the success of her town relying on her magic, demands are high. But what happens when a witch can’t keep up with the magical requests? She is burnt, of course―in a cruel ritual that extinguishes her magic and erases all her memories, making her just like everybody else. But when a burning ceremony is interrupted by rain in Chamomile Valley, a witch is left writhing at the stake. It’s up to a witch doctor and her toad friend to save the singed witch and nurse her back to health. Can they help her before her magic is lost forever? Aminder Dhaliwal’s A Witch’s Guide to Burning is a whimsical and humorous allegory for burnout in a society in desperate need of self-care. With a lavish blend of prose, illustration, and comics, Dhaliwal crafts an enthralling hybrid adventure story like you’ve never seen before. Follow Singe and her companions Yew-Veda and Bufo Wonder as they journey across dangerous landscapes, battling demons along the way in an extraordinary tale about sacrifice and healing. 400pgs B&W hardcover.

Young Hang
by Isabel Greenberg
Jonathan Cape
£20.00

The publisher says:
Once there was magic in Britain. There were dragons and wizards and green knights and kings who pulled swords out of stones. But now, the doors to the Otherworld have closed. Young Hag has grown up believing her mother and grandmother are the last witches in the land. But when tragedy strikes, she turns her back on these tales. Where is their magic when they really need it? Then one day they find a changeling in the woods. Confronted with real magic at last, Young Hag has no choice but to believe. She sets off on the greatest quest of her life; but can Young Hag bring the magic back? Or will she become a footnote in the tale of famous kings and wizards? From the acclaimed creator of Glass Town and The One Hundred Nights of Hero comes a dazzlingly imaginative escape into the world of myth. Young Hag ingeniously reinvents the women in Arthurian legend, transforming the tales of old into a heart-warming coming-of-age story. 288pgs colour paperback.

Posted: February 2, 2024