SELFMADEHERO
HERMAN BY TRADE GN
(W) Chris W. Kim (A) Chris W. Kim (CA) Chris W. Kim
Herman is a reclusive, straight-laced street cleaner - or so it seems to those he works with on the city's waterfront. But he has an extraordinary hidden talent: the ability to transform his appearance at will. When the cinematic genius MIO calls an open audition for her new movie, Herman joins the audition line. As he waits, swept up in the frenzy of creative ambition that has overcome the city, his past life becomes increasingly remote. Dazzled by Herman's ability to adapt to any role, MIO deems the rest of the cast redundant. When the cult director's new film premieres, with Herman performing every role, it doesn't get the reaction she expects. Spectacularly drawn, Herman by Trade is a captivating graphic novel about art, identity, and making space for self-expression.
OUTBURST GN
(W) Pieter Coudyzer (A) Pieter Coudyzer (CA) Pieter Coudyzer
Tom is the bespectacled class nerd: clumsy, introverted, and relentlessly bullied. At home, Tom finds solace in recordings of nature and the wild spaces of his imagination. But when he falls prey to a particularly cruel trick, this imaginative wilderness becomes rampant. It wants out. A moment of crisis marks the beginning of a gradual and disturbing metamorphosis. As his limbs turn slowly into branches, Tom is forced to confront adult life as a man transformed. Outburst is a compelling modern fairy tale and a masterpiece of magical realism-dark, imaginative, and beautifully drawn.