I’m too young to appreciate the revolution in cinema of the late 60s and 70s, where realism became a virtue and independent, sometimes messy viewpoints were given almost as much reach as glossy, professional presentations. But that’s what I was reminded of with this interior graphic novel from Sweden. Anneli Furmark’s Red Winter is set during the late seventies, and it’s the story of a woman having an affair with a young activist, whose politics are called into question by […]

I’m not going to review Berlin #20 here, because who starts a 22-part series at this point? I did want to take a moment, though, to say congratulations to Jason Lutes for sticking with the series. Berlin began in spring 1996 from Black Eye Books (another Canadian publisher who also put out work by Jay Stephens, Ed Brubaker, and Dylan Horrocks). The first third of the story was collected in 2000 as Berlin: City of Stones; the second part, Berlin: […]

The simple premise of Tom Gauld’s Mooncop hides a subtle exploration of what it means to live an ordinary life, without judgment and with concern over what happens when technology overtakes it. The title character is a police officer on the moon, when everyone else is leaving. He files meaningless reports and interacts with the machines that have replaced people at the donut shop and the minimart. Everyone’s got bubble helmets, like the old visions of the future, even the […]

Drawn & Quarterly has a unique project now available for order. If Found… Please Return to Elise Gravel isn’t a comic or an art book. It’s a reproduction of a sketchbook by a children’s book illustrator, full of colorful, imaginative creatures and doodles that inspire readers to think about what they can create. Gravel’s introduction calls this “complete nonsense”, but in a way that lets the brain roam free to see what comes out. “I give myself the right to […]

Kate Beaton’s new collection of her Hark! A Vagrant comics is just as entertaining as the previous, titled simply Hark! A Vagrant. Reading Step Aside, Pops is the best kind of entertainment, the kind that makes you feel smarter. It’s always a pleasure to read such witty work with such detailed cartooning. Beaton uses so many historical and literary references (in clever and well-integrated ways) that you either know what she’s referring to — in which case, you feel pleased […]

Graphic memoir is the hot genre these days in publishing. Where fantasy stories can be hit or miss, true-life autobiographical comics have an immediate hook — this story actually happened to someone. In fact, if I’m honest, graphic memoirs are a bit of a drag on the market. Just because a story is true doesn’t always make it entertaining or well-told; structure is a huge challenge with autobiography. And one of the most common types of memoir is the coming-of-age […]

Out next month from Drawn & Quarterly is Petty Theft by Pascal Girard. I haven’t read his previous works they’ve translated and released here, although Reunion sounded interesting, if uncomfortable. That’s the comedy category this book falls into, that of recognition of human frailty. Here are some preview pages. In Petty Theft, Pascal’s on his own after a long-term relationship ended. He’s running as part of his new life healthy resolutions, but when he trips over a rock and injures […]

At first thought, the biography seems like an easy format to do as a comic. Just portray the family and background, select some key incidents, and you’re done. Except when you’re telling the story of Margaret Sanger, birth-control pioneer. Her life was so unique, fiery, and jam-packed with events that it’s hard to summarize it. Woman Rebel is a stunning read, an inspiring look back at a fight against ignorance and for women’s self-determination. Plus, author Peter Bagge made the […]