New York Review Comics – serie

Colonial history haunts this stunning, spectral-looking graphic novel, a spiritual sequel to the author’s Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures.In Misery of Love, a spiritual sequel to the acclaimed Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures, Yvan Alagbé continues his unflinching interrogation of race and family in modern France.The book focuses on the dream-like memories of a woman named Clare, who is reluctantly spending time with her relatives for a funeral. Alagbé seamlessly glides between narratives of the family’s past and present, all haunted by the legacy of France’s colonial subjugation of Africa.Alagbé works in stormy grayscale washes, using comics, as he puts it, as “a sacred dimension which celebrates, questions and perpetuates life.... I believe that life is not damnation but grace.”Told through time shifts that echo Richard McGuire’s Here, Misery of Love is another ambitious, devastating masterpiece from one of France’s best contemporary graphic novelists.

A new edition of Beetle Bailey creator Mort Walker’s riotous and immensely influential handbook for drawing and reading cartoons—a book that’s both a parody of humorless how-to guides and a genuine (and genuinely instructive) ode to the art of making comics.In a cartoon, what do you call the sweat drops shooting off a character’s head? Those are “Plewds.” What about when you see a character wagging their tongue out of their mouth? Oh, that’s a “Protusilation.” How about the lines coming off a freshly baked pie? That’s a “Waftarom.” This sort of playful comics nomenclature abounds in The Lexicon of Comicana, the revered 1980 cartooning handbook authored by Mort Walker, creator of the legendary daily comic strip Beetle Bailey.Both a send-up of lofty how-to-draw books and a sincere and hilarious love letter to the art of drawing cartoons, the Lexicon is a joyously exhaustive cheat sheet to key comics visuals that has been referenced and treasured by generations of cartoonists. This new edition includes a foreword by Chris Ware and a meticulous appendix by Mort’s son Brian Walker, who delves deep into the visual language of comics.With the help of The Lexicon of Comicana, you’ll come away a better, wiser, richer, and funnier artist. Plus, you’ll learn what a “Morf” is—Mort’s favorite part.

“Hothead is the backlash to the backlash.” —Alison BechdelHothead Paisan, a murderous icon of the ’90s lesbian comics scene, comes roaring back into print in this fresh edition (including a new interview and supplemental materials) of one of the funniest, sharpest, and most unexpectedly warm comics of the late twentieth century, still as shocking today as it was more than two decades ago.Hothead Paisan is an icon of the ’90s lesbian DIY scene, a patron saint of those who wonder if going off the deep end is the only sane response to life in modern America.Diane DiMassa’s Hothead starts out in a murderous frenzy—taking out a variety of chauvinists and creeps—but soon deepens into a reflection on oppression, self-destruction, and living it up outside the conservative norms of the ’90s. Hothead’s rage is stoked by her inner demon, Personality #2, but sometimes tempered with the help of Roz, her friend who offers Zen wisdom and tough love, and Chicken, her cat and constant companion.

The first-ever collection of comics and assorted artwork by Michael McMillan—not only a legendary underground cartoonist, but also a sculptor, painter, printmaker, filmmaker, animator, poster designer, and an avid rock climber.Michael McMillan has said he’s “not really a cartoonist,” but the evidence suggests otherwise. Born and raised in California, he was a draftsman and industrial designer by trade before he plunged into the burgeoning San Francisco underground comix scene of the early 1970s. He drew for legendary publications such as Weirdo, Young Lust, Lemme Outa Here!, Arcade, and produced his own one-issue wonder, Terminal Comics. But just as often he drew for himself, playing with the form of comics out of the sight of readers.He reimagined the kinds of stories single-panel, two-panel, and many-panel strips could tell and blended favorite genres from his childhood (horror, sword-and-sandal, science fiction) with more mature themes (autobiography, dating, sex) to create new and striking forms.Terminal Exposure brings together McMillan’s comics for the first time, alongside a selection of his electrifying sculptures, his eye-popping paintings, and stunning pages from his rock climbing journals. With an introduction by Dan Nadel, this volume offers a comprehensive portrait of an exceptional artist, sculptor, climber, and—yes—cartoonist.