Drawn and Quarterly has released their Fall 2023 catalog, which includes Roaming, the first new collaboration by cousins Jillian and Mariko Tamaki since their award-winning This One Summer came out in 2014 (see “Drawn & Quarterly to Publish ‘Roaming’ by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki”). Here’s a look at the other titles coming up in the fall.
Are You Willing to Die for the Cause?, by Drawn & Quarterly founder Chris Oliveros, is an oral history, in comics form, of the FLQ, the militant Quebec group whose goal was to free the French-speaking workers from the oppression of their English-speaking bosses. They did so with guerilla tactics, including bombing factories, which often did not go as planned. Oliveros records the memories of numerous activists, politicians, and ordinary people to tell the story of this turbulent period. The 160-page, four-color hardcover will go on sale in October 2023 with an MSRP of $24.95.
Blackward, by Lawrence Lindell, follows four nerdy Black friends who decide to create a safe space and invite other awkward Black people to join their new club. Together they face down the hassles that come with building a community, from lack of interest to taunting by trolls, while trying to build something new, a Black zine fest called Blackward. Lindell, a musician, artist, and teacher from Compton, California, is the founder of the small press Laneha House, and his self-published memoir, From Truth with Truth, was nominated for the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics. He also has a middle-grade graphic novel, Buckle Up, due out from Random House Graphic in 2024. Blackward will be published in September 2023 as a 216-page, four-color paperback with an MSRP of $22.95.
The Great Beyond, by Lea Murawiec, skewers contemporary manners and mores in a sharp satire about urban living and the endless quest for self-promotion. Manel Naher is having a hard time making it in the big city, and the fact that she shares a name with an up-and-coming pop star just makes it worse. After being fired for reading on the job (and talking back to the boss), she little just wants to get out of the city, but when unexpected events put her plans in jeopardy, she ends up changing the way she lives instead. Murawiec’s art contrasts stretchy figures with sharp-edged backgrounds, and her limited palette of blue and purple, with occasional pops of bright red, reinforces the feel of city living. The 208-page, four-color paperback is due out in October 2023 with an MSRP of $29.95.
The Cliff, by Manon Debaye, tells the story of two 12-year-old misfits who make a pact to jump off a cliff together five days hence, just before they turn 13. Too old to be constantly under the watchful eyes of adults, too young to handle all the ramifications of that freedom, the pair strains to keep their private bond intact while navigating the treacherous shoals of school life, with its cruelty, violence, and flashes of joy. The book, Debaye’s first graphic novel, was originally published in French and won the 2023 Philippe Druillet Prize at Angoulême. Drawn and Quarterly will publish it in November 2023 as a 160-page, four-color hardcover with an MSRP of $24.95.
Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki complements the late manga-ka’s cartooning with a selection of his fine art. Mizuki was fascinated by rural life in Japan, and while his manga collected folk tales of the spirits known as yokai, his full-color artwork celebrates not only the folklore but also the flora and fauna of the Japanese countryside. Mizuki, who died in 2015, won numerous awards in Japan, France, and the U.S. for his manga, which included yokai stories such as NonNonBa and historical manga including Onward Toward Our Noble Deaths and the four-volume Showa.Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki includes editorial material by Zack Davisson, the translator of many of Mizuki’s works and the author of books on yokai, yurei, and other aspects of Japanese folklore. The landscape-format, 200-page, four-color hardcover has an October 2023 publication date and an MSRP of $44.95.
Blankets: 20th Anniversary Edition, by Craig Thompson, is a new edition of the classic graphic novel first published by Top Shelf in 2003. The book was praised by critics and won the 2004 Harvey, Ignatz, and Eisner Awards. Drawn and Quarterly acquired the rights in 2015 (see “D&Q Acquires Rights for ‘Blankets’”) and published a new edition later that year. The new edition will be a 640-page, black and white paperback with an MSRP of $39.95.
Also in the catalog are paperback editions of two earlier D&Q publications, The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes and Melvin Monster by John Stanley.
Source: ICv2
