12 Canadian comics to get drawn into this summer
From high-flying superhero stories to introspective graphic memoirs these are some great comics to pick up this summer.
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.
Ducks won Canada Reads 2023, when it was championed by Jeopardy! star Mattea Roach. It also won Eisner awards for best writer/artist and best graphic memoir in 2023.
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.
Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annable
School is tough for Davis and Emily, but not for the reasons you might think. They're not scared of herd tests or merciless vice-principals — they're afraid because their teacher wants them to present the spookiest stories they know.
Graham Annable is an author, cartoonist and animator originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., now based in Portland, Ore. Annable is the creator of Grickle, published by Alternative Comics. His kids book Peter & Ernesto was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2019.
Palookaville 24 by Seth
Palookaville 24 signals the return of Seth's well-loved comic book series. The book begins with a memoir of Seth's adolescence, titled Nothing Lasts. Over the course of several summers in Seth's late teens, he takes us from summer job to summer job and presents the people he meets along the way.
Seth is a cartoonist who hails from Guelph, Ont. He has contributed to publications like The New Yorker and New York Times Magazine and twice won the Doug Wright Award for best book. Seth has a large cult following for his 1990s comic book series Palookaville and his retro drawing style. His other work includes Clyde Fans, which was longlisted for the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
Swim Team follows middle schooler Bree as she navigates swim class. Bree is excited for her first day at her new middle school until she's stuck with the only elective class that fits her schedule, Swim 101. Swimming makes Bree sick to her stomach, but she's forced to dive headfirst into her fear. With the help of Etta, her elderly neighbour and former swim team captain, Bree becomes good at swimming. Her swimming obsessed community is counting on her to guide her school's failing swim team to a state championship, but first, they have to defy all odds and beat their rival, Holyoke Prep.
Johnnie Christmas lives in Vancouver and is a #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novelist. He's the author of the sci-fi series Tartarus and Crema, the book Firebug and is working on three middle-grade graphic novels. He's best known for creating the Angel Catbird series with Margaret Atwood and adapting the lost Alien 3 screenplay into a graphic novel of the same name.
Fishflies #1 by Jeff Lemire
Set in Belle River, Ont. Fishflies #1 is a surrealist horror adventure that brings small town evils to life. After a violent crime threatens the life of a teenage boy, the lives of several residents are permanently changed. As the manhunt for the perpetrstor heats up, a lonely girl named Franny Fox forms an unlikely friendship with a with a fugitive that sends them on a journey of discovery and redemption.
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times Bestselling graphic novelist whose work includes Roughneck, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Royal City and Gord Downie's Secret Path. The Toronto comic creator has also worked on Justice League and Green Arrow for DC Comics and Hawkeye for Marvel. In 2017, he won the Eisner Award, the Oscars of comics, for Black Hammer in the best new series category.
Fire Monster by Anita Lahey & Pauline Conley
Fire Monster is a graphic novel about an oil sands worker who returns to his childhood town in Cape Breton, N.S., where a wildfire previously devastated the fishing village. Going back comes with its challenges because the entire community believes he was the one to start the fire.
Anita Lahey is an Ottawa writer. Her books include Spinning Side Kick, Out to Dry in Cape Breton, The Mystery Shopping Cart and The Last Goldfish, which was a finalist for the Ottawa Book Award. Her latest poetry collection, While Supplies Last, is also being published in 2023. She has been the series editor of the Best Canadian Poetry anthologies since 2018. Lahey was on the CBC Poetry Prize longlists in 2009 for Men and in 2010 for The Foe.
Pauline Conley recently transitioned from painting to comics. Fire Monster is her first graphic novel.
As I Enfold You in Petals by Richard Van Camp & Scott B. Henderson
As I Enfold You in Petals centres on Curtis, a newly sober man who returns to Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories to help his community and hopefully, by extension, himself. Looking to continue healing himself and those around him, Curtis seeks to connect with the Little People, powerful beings that apparently gave Curtis's father the ability to heal. The only problem is, Curtis has no way of contacting them. He thinks the answer lies in his grandfather's cabin but there's a problem: Benny the Bank, a greedy bootlegger, owns the cabin and has no intention of giving it back.
Richard Van Camp is a Tlicho Dene writer from Fort Smith, N.W.T. who has written over 20 books across multiple genres. His graphic novel A Blanket of Butterflies, which was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2016 and recently re-released in full colour, marked his first collaboration with Henderson. His other books include Angel Wing Splash Pattern, Night Moves, We Sang You Home and Little You, a children's book illustrated by Julie Flett that was translated into Bush Cree, Plains Cree, South Slavey and Chipewyan.
Scott B. Henderson is an author and illustrator based in Winnipeg. His other books include Breakdown, Pemmican Wars and A Blanket of Butterflies. He was also a contributor to the graphic anthology This Place: 150 Years Retold, which is also a CBC Books podcast.
Dreamer by Akim Aliu, Greg Anderson Elysee, illustrated by Karen De La Vega
Former NHL player Akim Aliu's graphic memoir Dreamer, which gets its title from his nickname as a child, illustrates his relationship with hockey — from the highs of scoring to the lows of intolerance. The book explores his journey from Nigeria to Ukraine to Canada — and the trials and tribulations he faced playing the game he loves.
Akim Aliu is a Nigerian Canadian former professional hockey player.
Karen De la Vega is a Mexican freelance illustrator. Her work has appeared in books by Scholastic, HarperCollins, Capstone, Albert Whitman & Company and more.
Greg Anderson Elysée is a Brooklyn born, Haitian American writer, educator, filmmaker and model.
Adherent by Chris W. Kim
Adherent follows a young woman in a remote community that survives by scavenging for food and supplies in the forest where objects from civilizations past are scattered throughout. When the community finds several notebooks, the woman becomes obsessed with the idea of venturing out to find the author.
Chris W. Kim is a cartoonist and illustrator from Toronto. His graphic novels include Herman by Trade and Strays.
Batman Detective Comics #4 by Mariko Tamaki
When The Riddler returns to Gotham City and gains a following as a media personality, he uses his newfound influence to make a mess of the city. As Batman tries to piece together the mystery and put a stop to The Riddler's evil machinations, time is slipping away for the residents of Gotham whose lives hang in the balance.
Mariko Tamaki has written comics, YA novels and graphic novels. Her other books include the YA novels (You) Set Me on Fire, Saving Montgomery Sole and the graphic novels Skim, This One Summer and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, which was illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell.
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.
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.
The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Joanna Cacao
As one of the only Asian American kids in her small Texas town, Christina wants desperately to fit in. Along with her best friend Megan, Christina often gets lost in their own elaborate fantasy worlds. When tryouts for cheerleading are announced the two are excited to test their skills and have a chance at finally fitting in. The girls worry if their skills will be enough to survive the terrifying tryouts — and if their friendship can withstand the pressures of competition and rivarly.
Christina Soontornvat is an award-winning author of over a dozen books for kids of all ages.
Joanna Cacao is a Canadian-Filipino author and illustrator based in Winnipeg.
