Boundless

By Jillian Tamaki

The opening and closing spreads in Jillian Tamaki’s new collection of graphic short stories feature characters spilling off the edges of the page. The opener, “World-Class City,” is bookended by figures placed in directional opposition ... Read More »

May 8, 2017 | Filed under: Graphica, Reviews

Roughneck

By Jeff Lemire

In 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André was kidnapped while working in the town of Nazran, located in Ingushetia, a small Russian republic west of Chechnya. André was held captive for 111 days before ... Read More »

May 8, 2017 | Filed under: Graphica, Reviews

★ Hostage

By Guy Delisle; Helge Dascher (trans.)

    In 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André was kidnapped while working in the town of Nazran, located in Ingushetia, a small Russian republic west of Chechnya. André was held captive for 111 ... Read More »

May 8, 2017 | Filed under: Graphica, Reviews

Such a Lovely Little War

By Marcelino Truong; David Homel (trans.)

History may be written by the winners, but it’s often drawn by whomever is able to wield a pen. Cartooning and graphic memoirs like Maus and Persepolis have been able to deliver particularly subversive takes ... Read More »

December 15, 2016 | Filed under: Graphica

The Case of Alan Turing: The Extraordinary and Tragic Story of the Legendary Codebreaker

By Arnaud DeLalande; Éric Liberge (ill.); David Homel (trans.)

History may be written by the winners, but it’s often drawn by whomever is able to wield a pen. Cartooning and graphic memoirs like Maus and Persepolis have been able to deliver particularly subversive takes ... Read More »

November 29, 2016 | Filed under: Graphica

★ Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

By Troy Little

It’s been 45 years since Raoul Duke travelled across America with his attorney to cover a Las Vegas motorcycle race, only to lose himself in a drug-crazed miasma of trashed hotel rooms and a savage ... Read More »

December 16, 2015 | Filed under: Graphica

Twelve Cent Archie

By Bart Beaty

Archie comics have never been considered high art. They are most commonly found not in galleries, but on the backseats of station wagons, in bathrooms, or where Calgary-based scholar Bart Beaty first encountered them – ... Read More »

May 21, 2015 | Filed under: Graphica

Maddy Kettle (Book 1): The Adventure of the Thimblewitch

By Eric Orchard

Creators of fantasy comics are a hard-working bunch, taking on the challenge of making their worlds believable in both words and pictures. In his first outing as a graphic novelist, Toronto cartoonist and illustrator Eric ... Read More »

January 7, 2015 | Filed under: Graphica, Picture Books

Skandalon

By Julie Maroh

French graphic novelist Julie Maroh’s first book, Blue is the Warmest Color, was a poignant take on young lesbian love that inspired the Palme d’Or–winning film. Maroh breaks out the full palette in her follow-up, ... Read More »

November 19, 2014 | Filed under: Graphica

★ Fatherland

By Nina Bunjevac

An accomplished graphic memoir entwining family secrets with the history of a region wracked by violence, Fatherland is bleak, yet undeniably fascinating. The book begins in the 1970s, in the small Ontario town of Welland. ... Read More »

October 17, 2014 | Filed under: Graphica

★ In Real Life

By Cory Doctorow; Jen Wang (illus.)

Near the beginning of author and copyright-reform activist Cory Doctorow’s new graphic novel, Anda and her friends are listening to a speaker at their Arizona high school. Liza, a “kick arse” Australian gamer in a ... Read More »

October 13, 2014 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Graphica, Kids’ Books

Photobooth: A Biography

By Meags Fitzgerald

Photobooth pictures can be among the most priceless, personal artifacts of our fading past. Illustrator and comics artist Meags Fitzgerald explores the fascination with these ephemera through an obsessive, autobiographical account of her relationship with ... Read More »

August 27, 2014 | Filed under: Graphica

On Loving Women

By Diane Obomsawin

What separates Diane Obomsawin from other contemporary comics creators is her ability to relay complex, often emotionally charged subjects in a clear and accessible manner. Her first book, Kaspar, explored the legend of Kaspar Hauser, ... Read More »

June 26, 2014 | Filed under: Graphica

★ This One Summer

By Mariko Tamaki; Jillian Tamaki (illus.)

Other than when they are written by actual children (which happens, sometimes), novels about childhood are essentially works of historical fiction. Once you grow up, youth becomes the territory of the distant past. Some authors ... Read More »

May 28, 2014 | Filed under: Graphica, Kids’ Books

Other Stories and the Horse You Rode In On

By Dakota McFadzean

Montreal resident Dakota McFadzean was raised in Regina; his experience of growing up on the Prairies informs this superbly enjoyable collection of surreal short stories. McFadzean weaves the uncanny into his narratives, mixing familiar storytelling ... Read More »

February 20, 2014 | Filed under: Graphica

The Spectral Engine

By Ray Fawkes

Two of the most respected houses in Canadian publishing have graphic novels out this season, and the titles share aspects in common. Each has strong elements of horror, and experiments in form and design. The ... Read More »

October 22, 2013 | Filed under: Graphica

★ The Cage

By Martin Vaughn-James

Two of the most respected houses in Canadian publishing have graphic novels out this season, and the titles share aspects in common. Each has strong elements of horror, and experiments in form and design. The ... Read More »

October 22, 2013 | Filed under: Graphica

Science Fiction

By Joe Ollmann

Joe Ollmann’s graphic novels delineate the absurdities and agonies of modern life. His latest presents us with the slow-motion disintegration of a relationship. Mark is a pragmatic high-school science teacher with an Eeyore-like temperament. His ... Read More »

August 16, 2013 | Filed under: Graphica

Heartless

By Nina Bunjevac

Along with Montreal’s Drawn & Quarterly, Conundrum Press, based in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, is responsible for publishing most of the cutting-edge graphica this country has seen in the past several years. Both presses delight ... Read More »

December 10, 2012 | Filed under: Graphica

The Underwater Welder

By Jeff Lemire

Acclaimed graphic novelist Jeff Lemire  leaves behind the flatlands of Essex County for a tale of what lies in the depths of a troubled mind. Confronted with the anxieties of impending fatherhood, Jack, a diver ... Read More »

October 16, 2012 | Filed under: Graphica

The Blue Dragon

By Robert Lepage and Marie Michaud; Fred Jourdain, illus.

It may seem odd that Robert Lepage – arguably one of Canada’s greatest theatrical talents – has decided, relatively late in his career, to publish a graphic novel. But Lepage’s company, Ex Machina, is a ... Read More »

February 7, 2012 | Filed under: Graphica

★ Hark! A Vagrant

By Kate Beaton

Canadian comic books have come into their own. Cartoonists such as Chester Brown and Seth are now celebrated at awards ceremonies, funded by grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, and encouraged by a ... Read More »

October 24, 2011 | Filed under: Graphica

The Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists

By Seth

Canadian comic books have come into their own. Cartoonists such as Chester Brown and Seth are now celebrated at awards ceremonies, funded by grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, and encouraged by a ... Read More »

October 24, 2011 | Filed under: Graphica

The Next Day

By Paul Peterson and Jason Gilmore; John Porcellino, illus.

Suicide and the mental illnesses that lead to it are not often discussed publicly, save for the occasional sober current affairs piece in the media. This is problematic because the conditions that lead people to ... Read More »

June 27, 2011 | Filed under: Graphica

Chimo

By David Collier

For over 20 years, David Collier has made comics about Canada’s freaks, weirdos, and underdogs. In Chimo, he changes course, dramatizing his own struggle to re-enlist in the Canadian military after hitting 40. His goal ... Read More »

May 27, 2011 | Filed under: Graphica