DRAWN & QUARTERLY
BOUNDLESS GN
(W) Jillian Tamaki (A) Jillian Tamaki (CA) Jillian Tamaki
Jenny becomes obsessed with a strange "mirror Facebook," which presents an alternate, possibly better, version of herself. Helen finds her clothes growing baggy, her shoes looser, and as she shrinks away to nothingness, the world around her recedes as well. The animals of the city briefly open their minds to us, and we see the world as they do. A mysterious music file surfaces on the internet and forms the basis of a utopian society - or is it a cult? Boundless is at once fantastical and realist, playfully hinting at possible transcendence: from one's culture, one's relationship, oneself. This collection of short stories is a showcase for the masterful blend of emotion and humour of award-winning cartoonist Jillian Tamaki.
GOLEMS MIGHTY SWING GN
(W) James Sturm (A) James Sturm (CA) James Sturm
Reuniting America's greatest pastime with its hidden history, the graphic novel tells the story of the Stars of David, a barnstorming Jewish baseball team of the depression era. Led by its manager and third baseman, the nomadic team travels from small town to small town providing the thrill of the sport while playing up their religious exoticism as a curio for people to gawk at, heckle, and taunt. When the team's fortunes fall, the players are presented a plan to get people in the stands. But by placing their fortunes in the hands of a promoter, the Stars of David find themselves fanning the flames of ethnic tensions. Baseball, small towns, racial tensions, and the desperate grasp for the American Dream: The Golem's Mighty Swing is a classic American novel.
HOSTAGE HC
(W) Guy Delisle (A) Guy Delisle (CA) Guy Delisle
In the middle of the night in 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination in the Caucasus region. For three months, André was kept handcuffed in solitary confinement, with little to survive on and almost no contact with the outside world. Award-winning cartoonist Guy Delisle recounts André's harrowing experience in Hostage, a book that attests to the power of one man's determination in the face of a hopeless situation. Delisle tells the story through the perspective of the titular captive, who strives to keep his mind alert as desperation starts to set in. Delisle conveys the psychological effects of solitary confinement, compelling us to ask ourselves some difficult questions regarding the repercussions of negotiating with kidnappers and what it really means to be free.
ONE HUNDRED DEMONS HC
(W) Lynda Barry (A) Lynda Barry (CA) Lynda Barry
Inspired by a 16th-century Zen monk's painting of a hundred demons chasing each other across a long scroll, acclaimed cartoonist Lynda Barry confronts various demons from her life in seventeen full-color vignettes. In Barry's hand, demons are the life moments that haunt you, form you and stay with you: your worst boyfriend; kickball games on a warm summer night; watching your baby brother dance; the smell of various houses in the neighborhood you grew up in; or the day you realize your childhood is long behind you and you are officially a teenager. As readers get to know Barry's demons, they realize that the actual truth no longer matters because the universality of Barry's comics, true or untrue, reigns supreme.
UNCOMFORTABLY HAPPILY GN
(W) Yeon-Sik Hong (A) Yeon-Sik Hong (CA) Yeon-Sik Hong
With gorgeously detailed yet minimal art, cartoonist Yeon-Sik Hong explores his move with his wife to a small house atop a rural mountain, replacing the high-rent hubbub of Seoul with the quiet murmur of the country. With their dog, cats, and chickens by their side, the simple life and isolation they so desperately craved proves to present new anxieties. Hong paints a beautiful portrait of the Korean countryside, changing seasons, and the universal relationships humans have with each other as well as nature, both of which are sometimes frustrating but always rewarding. Uncomfortably Happily is translated by American cartoonist Hellen Jo from the acclaimed Manhwa Today award-winning Korean edition.