Comic books provide infinite opportunities for creative expression in the interplay between text and artwork, and 2018 has been a remarkable year for titles with unique, confident perspectives. From invigorating takes on decades-old properties to new works about interspecies romance, “alt-right” conspiracy theories,…

The great joy of reading Soft X-Ray/Mindhunters (Koyama Press) is in not really knowing what’s going on. Characters appear, and you can follow them easily, but what exactly they’re doing and what its significance is cannot easily be discerned. This is in large part due to how the author, A. Degen, structures his book.…

Cemeteries are a common setting for atmospheric horror stories, but Noel Freibert’s new Koyama Press graphic novel, Old Ground, offers an off-kilter perspective of this landscape. Old Maple Grove is a cemetery in a state of severe dilapidation: the names have worn off the gravestones, statues have crumbled, and the…

After 10 years, Annie Koyama has established herself as a top curator of cartoonist talent in the comics industry, and it’s easy to discover exciting new names with every season of new Koyama Press titles. Hannah K. Lee is one of those artists, and after reading her new art book, Language Barrier, readers will want to…

Every two weeks, Big Issues focuses on newly released comic books of significance. This week, it’s the spring catalog of Koyama Press: Crawl Space by Jesse Jacobs, Condo Heartbreak Disco by Eric Kostiuk Williams, So Pretty/Very Rotten by Jane Mai and An Nguyen, Sunburning by Keiler Roberts, Volcano Trash by Ben Sears,…

What would it feel like to be invisible? Sure, you might be able to do all sorts of things that you wouldn’t do if you could be seen, but what happens when the novelty runs out and you’ve disappeared from the world? Cartoonist Daryl Seitchik explores these questions in her new Koyama Press graphic novel, Exits,…

Cartoonist Steve Wolfhard has had a fruitful career in animation, particularly with his work as a writer and storyboard artist on Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, but getting to that point wasn’t easy. He drew his first Cat Rackham comics during a period of intense depression and loneliness, channeling his emotions…

The 20th century brought about huge shifts in the world of fine art, thanks to the technological and cultural changes over those 100 years, but Jessica Campbell isn’t interested in evaluating the merits of the actual artwork in her new graphic novel Hot Or Not: 20th-Century Male Artists. The majority of the major…

Achewood was dead. With years between updates, prospective TV deals that came to naught, and the general air of exhaustion that hovered around the most recent installments of the once-venerable webcomic, it was natural—inevitable—to assume that one of the great comics achievements of the young century had breathed its…

Each week, Big Issues focuses on a newly released comic book of significance. This week, it’s What Is Obscenity? The Story Of A Good For Nothing Artist And Her Pussy. Written and drawn by Rokudenashiko, this manga memoir dives deep into the struggle of a Japanese artist that has encountered significant pushback…

The title of Patrick Kyle’s new Koyama graphic novel Don’t Come In Here is a warning, and some readers may feel alienated once they enter the abstract world Kyle creates on the page. Following a nameless tenant over the course of their lease in a new apartment, the book offers a bold perspective on the domestic…

Cathy G. Johnson’s new graphic novel Gorgeous tells the story of a college sophomore who has a life-altering experience when two anarchist punks crash into her car, an event that forces her to reevaluate what she wants for her future. Rendered with delicate, hazy pencilwork, the book’s visuals have a rawness that…

The life of Japanese artist Rokudenashiko is one in which reality has become stranger than fiction. Known for her manko (vagina) art that includes manko-shaped dioramas (dioramanko), manko iPhone cases, and the world’s first manko­-shaped kayak, Rokudenashiko was arrested by the police in July 2014 for “distribution…

Koyama Press’ spring lineup of titles features a huge variety of different genres and styles, but Ben Sears’ Night Air is the only book aimed at an all-ages audience. Starring a young boy and his robot on a mission to find the treasure hidden deep within a haunted house, the new graphic novel showcases the craft and…

With her rich, evocative artwork and compelling, poetic storytelling, Aidan Koch is one of the most fascinating cartoonists working today, and the new Koyama Press graphic novel After Nothing Comes traces her evolution by collecting six of Koch’s out-of-print zines from the last eight years. While all of the comics…

No one is as beloved by the world at large, yet so polarizing within the field of comics, as Stan Lee. At once the avuncular face of the Marvel age of comics, recognizable across the world for his cameos in every Marvel movie ever made, and the Mephistophelian company man who has hogged a disproportionate share of…

Your Illustrated Guide To Becoming One With The Universe cartoonist Yumi Sakugawa writes primarily with metaphors. There is an ambiguity and a complexity to everything she does. Ikebana (Retrofit)—a story about Cassie Hamasaki and her art school senior thesis, and the cartoonist’s most recent release—is no different.

2014 was an outstanding year for graphic novels and archival editions, with fantastic debuts from relative newcomers as well as major new works from some of the medium’s strongest voices. From brilliant autobiographical works to riveting translations of foreign comics, these books cover a huge range of material, with…

Any long relationship reduced to a few dozen panels will necessarily resemble a highlights reel: Here’s the first date, here’s the sex, here’s the heart attack. For most people, life is a long line of routine punctuated by moments of sharp melodrama. Cutting out the long and boring stretches—driving to the…