22 Canadian comics we can't wait to read this fall
CBC Books | | Posted: September 14, 2022 11:56 AM | Last Updated: September 14, 2022
Here are the comics by or with Canadian creators that we're excited to read in the second half of 2022!
Godhead 2 by Ho Che Anderson
Godhead 2 is the sequel to Ho Che Anderson's 2018 graphic novel Godhead, a gritty sci-fi graphic novel about how society reacts after a powerful corporation creates a device to communicate with God. In the conclusion to the story, Racer Calhoun learns that he's on a mission to destroy the God machine. As he fights for survival, Racer is reunited with a past love, leading to a conclusion that upends typical narrative expectations.
When you can read it: Aug. 2, 2022
Ho Che Anderson is the Toronto-based author of numerous graphic novels, including the Martin Luther King biography King and the horror thriller Sand & Fury.
Ahiahia the Orphan by Levi Illuitok & Nate Wells
Ahiahia the Orphan is the retelling of the traditional Kugaaruk story by Elder Levi Illuitok. Ahiahia the Orphan follows Ahiahia, who is raised by his grandmother after the brutal murder of his parents. Ahiaha's family has enemies on all sides. Knowing that he will one day be called to defend their camp, Ahiahia's grandmother gives him special clothes, an amulet and a necklace — over which she performs a chant of protection. When he is attacked, Ahiahia, along with his companion dog, must use his agility, hunting skills and his grandmother's protection to make it out alive.
When you can read it: Aug. 2, 2022
Levi Illuitok is an Elder from Qilijauqtuaq, Kugaaruk in Nunavut. He teaches traditional knowledge to students in the community. He is also the author of the graphic novel The Amajurjuk.
Nate Wells is an American illustrator and designer based in Texas.
Shifting Earth by Cecil Castellucci, Flavia Biondi & Fabiana Mascolo
In Shifting Earth, botanist Dr. Maeve Lindholm finds herself stranded on a strange parallel Earth after a freak particle storm, with little hope of getting home. Her home world is on the brink of ecological disaster, but in this parallel universe nature overshadows science, children are rare and humans pay an unthinkable price when they have been deemed useless.
When you can read it: Aug. 30, 2022
Cecil Castellucci is an award-winning American-born Canadian YA novelist, musician and director. Her other books include Shade, Odd Duck and Star Wars Moving Target. She has also written Batgirl for DC Comics.
Flavia Biondi is an Italian artist and scriptwriter. Her other works include La generazione (Generations) and La giusta mezura (Just Enough).
Fabiana Mascolo is a comic book artist based in Rome.
Condolady by Elisabeth Belliveau
Condolady is an autobiographical graphic novel is based on Elisabeth Belliveau's experience in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. While social distancing in a 680-square-foot condo, Belliveau attends a seemingly endless number of virtual classes and meetings. With life outside the bubble still unfolding, Belliveau soon finds herself navigating real-life challenges like tenure and pregnancy.
When you can read it: Sept. 2022
Elisabeth Belliveau is an artist and author and graphic novelist originally from Antigonish, N.S., currently based in Edmonton. Her other graphic novels include One Year in America and Something to Pet the Cat About.
A Blanket of Butterflies by Richard Van Camp, Scott B. Henderson & Donovan Yaciuk
When a mysterious stranger named Shinobu appears in Fort Smith, N.W.T. to claim a samurai sword and suit of armour from the museum, a young Tlicho Dene boy named Sonny is eager to help in A Blanket of Butterflies. The only problem is that the sword now belongs to a man known as Benny the Bank, who won it in a poker game. Now Shinobu, with some help from Sonny, his grandmother and a visitor from the spirit world, must face off against Benny and his men and reclaim his family's honour in the process.
When you can read it: Sept. 6, 2022
Richard Van Camp is a Tlicho Dene writer from Fort Smith, N.W.T. who has written over 20 books across multiple genres. His other books include Angel Wing Splash Pattern, Night Moves and We Sang You Home.
Scott B. Henderson is an author and illustrator based in Winnipeg. His other books include Breakdown and Pemmican Wars. He was also a contributor to the graphic anthology This Place: 150 Years Retold, which is now a CBC Books podcast.
Donovan Yaniuck is a comic book colourist from Winnipeg. He has worked for Marvel, Dark Horse Comics and on several graphic novels.
Sasha Strong by Kim Edgar
Sasha Strong follows a peppy young woman named Sasha who is suffering from a mystery illness. Though she is outwardly muscular and strong, using her strength causes her great fatigue, pain and discomfort — even though doctors tell her that she's perfectly healthy on paper.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
Kim Edgar is a comic and visual artist from Dawson City, Yukon. Their other work includes The Purpose and The Space in Between.
Call Me Bill by Lynette Richards
Call Me Bill tells the story of a sailor named Bill who was one of 535 people who died when the SS Atlantic was shipwrecked off the coast of Nova Scotia in April 1873. It turns out Bill had swapped their dress for a pair of pants and run away from their home in New Jersey to chase a life of adventure — and a place they could be themselves. Lynette Richards researched for over four years to piece together a fictionalized account of Bill's remarkable life.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
Lynette Richards is a stained-glass artist and author from Terence Bay, N.S. She is also a Craft Nova Scotia Master Artisan and serves on the board of directors of the SS Atlantic Heritage Park and Society. Call Me Bill is her first graphic novel.
Ducks by Kate Beaton
Ducks is an autobiographical graphic novel that recounts author Kate Beaton's time spent working in the Alberta oil sands. With the goal of paying off her student loans, Kate leaves her tight-knit seaside Nova Scotia community and heads west, where she encounters harsh realities, including the everyday trauma that no one discusses.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
Kate Beaton is a cartoonist from Nova Scotia who launched her career by publishing the comic strip Hark! A Vagrant online. The sassy historical webcomic gained a following of 500,000 monthly visitors and was eventually turned into a bestselling book. Beaton's success continued with the book Step Aside, Pops!, which won the 2016 Eisner Award for best humour publication. Beaton has also published two children's books, King Baby and The Princess and the Pony.
King Warrior by Jay Bulckaert, Erika Nyyssonen & Lucas Green
In King Warrior, Awale is a Somali Canadian working as a cab driver in Yellowknife to provide for his family back home. Knowing his wife Warsan and son Afrah are missing him, he creates epic stories inspired by his strange new Arctic home. Enchanted by these tales of the King Warrior, Afrah must draw on that newfound strength when tragedy strikes and worlds collide.
When you can read it: Sept. 14, 2022
Jay Bulkeart is a writer, producer and filmmaker based in Yellowknife.
Erika Nyyssonen is a children's author and playwright from Yellowknife.
Lucas Green is a freelance animator, designer and illustrator based in Vancouver.
Alberta Comics: Home edited by Alexander Finbow, Shea Proulx & Emily Pomeroy
Alberta Comics: Home is a graphic anthology that features various stories about the theme of home, told through the eyes of Alberta authors. Alberta Comics: Home looks at the things that can make up a home, from a person or place to a family or community.
When you can read it: Sept. 14, 2022
Alexander Finbow is a writer and CEO and publisher at Renegade Arts Entertainment, based in Canmore, Alta.
Shea Proulx is an artist, editor and the author of the children's book ABC Monstrosity.
Emily Pomeroy is the assistant publisher at Renegade Arts Entertainment.
Daisy by Colin Lorimer
Daisy is a modern horror graphic novel about a desperate mother, whose search for her missing son leads to her encountering Daisy Phillips. Daisy is over eight feet tall, so she has a hard time fitting in. Daisy believes that she is descended from the cannibalistic giants who were outcast from Heaven — and she may just be the key to exposing a monstrous secret hidden within life itself.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Colin Lorimer is a storyboard artist and graphic novelist born in Northern Ireland, currently based in Vancouver.
We Were Younger Once by Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet
We Were Younger Once is a graphic memoir about Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet's life growing up with her moshom (grandfather), cousins and other relatives on the Prairies, told in a series of nonlinear mini-memories.
When you can read it: October 2022
Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet is a mixed Cree, Métis and Dutch visual artist, author and printmaker based in Edmonton.
Outbreak Diaries by Jason Turner
Outbreak Diaries is a comic that covers author and illustrator Jason Turner's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The diary-style comic chronicles the day-to-day experiences of Turner and his partner, Manien, who are both frontline workers, from March 2020 through to September 2021.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
Jason Turner is an author, illustrator and frontline worker based in Vancouver. His other work includes Fir Valley and Farm School.
Black Hammer Omnibus by Jeff Lemire & Dean Ormston
Black Hammer Omnibus collects issues #1-13 of the Eisner Award-winning comic Black Hammer as well as Black Hammer: Giant Sized Annual. In Black Hammer Omnibus, a group of superheroes that were banished to a bizarre farm following a multiversal event struggle to make it back from this strange purgatory.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Jeff Lemire is an author and illustrator whose work includes Sweet Tooth: The Return, which was adapted into a Netflix series, Roughneck, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Royal City, Gord Downie's Secret Path and more. He has also worked on Justice League and Green Arrow for DC Comics and Hawkeye for Marvel.
Dean Ormston is an award-winning British comic book artist and co-creator of Black Hammer. He has also worked on other comics including Judge Dredd, Lucifer and Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
Kings of Nowhere by Soroush Barazesh
In the world of Kings of Nowhere, humans can mutate into beastly animal forms. Bili is the quiet, loner son of an infamous gangster who's routinely targeted by neighbourhood thugs. One day, during a beating that turns ugly, Bili transforms into an ape. Kings of Nowhere follows Bili as he tries to come to terms with his new form, deal with the hatred he has for his father and carve out a life in the crime-infested slums.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
Saroush Barazesh is a Toronto-based comic writer, illustrator and concept artist also known online as Koteri Ink.
AWOL by Marla Lesage
Eleven-year-old Leah is a military child, so she moves a lot. This summer, her best friend's family is reassigned, leaving her all alone. Things get tricky when her mother is sent away for training and she is left with her father, who suffers from PTSD. When a new girl moves to the neighbourhood, Leah tries to make a new friend as she avoids her father's unpredictable mood swings. AWOL aims to give insight into the reality of PTSD from a child's perspective.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Marla Lesage is a writer, artist and illustrator from New Brunswick. Her other books include Broken Crayons and We Wear Masks.
Geneviève Castrée: Complete Works 1981-2016
Geneviève Castrée: Complete Works 1981-2016 is a posthumous collection of the works of illustrator, cartoonist and musician Geneviève Castrée. Featuring an introduction from Castrée's widower, American musician Phil Elverum, the book collects never-before-seen illustrations, comics, album covers and more.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Geneviève Castrée was a cartoonist, illustrator and musician from Quebec. Her books include the memoir Susceptible and the children's book A Bubble, which she drew as a final gift to her then two-year-old daughter. Castrée died of pancreatic cancer on July 9, 2016.
Love and War by Andrew Wheeler & Killian Ng
In Love and War, tug-of-war athlete Domo has a lot going on. Not only is he caught between his two crushes Gabriel and Emil, but he is also in competition for the captaincy of the school's tug-of-war team. Love and War is a sports rom-com about being pulled in opposite directions — literally and figuratively.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Andrew Wheeler is an Eisner Award and Schuster Award-winning comic book writer from Toronto. His work can be seen in Stillwater, Wonder Woman, Dungeons & Dragons and Shout Out.
Killian Ng is an American comic book artist and colourist. Their work can be seen in The Legend of Korra series from Dark Horse Comics.
A Train in the Night by Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny & Christian Quesnel, translated by W. Donald Wilson
A Train in the Night is the graphic novel adaptation of the Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny's nonfiction book Mégantic. The book tells the story of the 2013 summer night when a runaway train full of oil caused a massive explosion in the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic. The disaster claimed 47 lives and is one of the deadliest railway accidents in Canadian history. A Train in the Night connects the dots from the scene of the accident to the corporations, investors and politicians that may have played a role in the tragedy.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny is a writer, activist and videographer based in Quebec. Her book Mégantic was shortlisted for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction.
Christian Quesnel is an author and comic, graphic novel and children's book illustrator from Saint-Andre-Avellin, Que.
W. Donald Wilson is a translator from Waterloo, Ont.
Five Stalks of Grain by Adrian Lysenko & Ivanka Theodosia Galadza
Five Stalks of Grain tells the tragic story of the Holodomor, which claimed the lives of millions in Soviet Ukraine in 1932. As famine sweeps across Ukraine, the Soviet government implements harsh punishments for anyone "hoarding" even five stalks of grain. When their mother is accused of hoarding and killed, siblings Nadia and Taras leave their home, evading soldiers and secret police, in search of safety and an end to their relentless hunger.
When you can read it: Nov. 15, 2022
Adrian Lysenko is writer, editor and journalist based in northwestern Ontario.
Ivanka Theodosia Galadza is a Ukrainian-Canadian illustrator based in Ottawa.
Kwändǖr by Cole Pauls
Kwändǖr collects Cole Pauls's work from comic festivals, magazines and zine-making workshops. The comics covers topics like racism, family and identity, and features Yukon history and Southern Tutchone cultural practices and language lessons.
When you can read it: Nov. 15, 2022
Cole Pauls is a Tahltan comic artist. He created his first comic, Dakwäkãda Warriors, as a language-revival initiative. In 2017, it won Broken Pencil magazine's awards for best comic and best zine of the year. in 2020, it won best work in an Indigenous language from the Indigenous Voices Awards. He is also the author of the graphic novel Pizza Punks.
Men I Trust by Tommi Parrish
When Sasha, a 20-something who just moved back in with her parents and is searching for direction, meets Eliza, a struggling poet and single mother in her 30s, the two strike up an unlikely friendship in Men I Trust. Their relationship evolves into something more in this story about looking for intimacy in a world that feels increasingly disconnected.
When you can read it: Nov. 22, 2022
Tommi Parrish is a cartoonist and painter based in Montreal. Their debut graphic novel, The Lie and How We Told It, won the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for best LGBTQ graphic novel.