14 cool Canadian illustrated books to read right now
May is Graphic Novel Month! From memoirs to traditional superhero comics, if you're looking for a great illustrated book, here are 14 titles you should check out.
A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll
A Guest in the House is a haunting graphic novel about Abby, a newlywed to a recently widowed dentist. But the more she learns about her new husband's first wife, the more suspicious she becomes that she may not have died of natural causes. A Guest in the House won the 2024 Doug Wright Award for best comic book.
Carroll is a Stratford, Ont.-based artist whose books include Through the Woods, a collection of horror comics, and Speak, an adaptation of Laurie Halse Anderson's YA novel, and When I Arrived at the Castle.
Denison Avenue by Daniel Innes & Christina Wong
Set in Toronto's Chinatown and Kensington Market, Denison Avenue is a moving portrait of a city undergoing mass gentrification and a Chinese Canadian elder experiencing the existential challenges of getting old and being Asian in North America. Recently widowed, Wong Cpho Sum takes long walks through the city, collecting bottles and cans and meeting people on her journeys in a bid to ease her grief.
Denison Avenue was championed by Naheed Nenshi on Canada Reads 2024.
Daniel Innes is a multidisciplinary artist from Toronto. He works in painting, installation, graphic and textile design, illustration, sign painting and tattooing.
Christina Wong is a Toronto writer, playwright and multidisciplinary artist who also works in sound installation, audio documentaries and photography.
LISTEN | Christina Wong & Naheed Nenshi on The Next Chapter
The Jellyfish by Boum, translated by Robin Lang and Helge Dascher
The Jellyfish follows a twenty-something named Odette living a normal life until one day they begin being haunted by a jellyfish floating in their eye. It's just a minor annoyance until the jellyfish starts to multiply.
Boum uses stunning and inventive artwork in a powerful story about facing the thing we fear most.
Samantha Leriche-Gionet, also known as Boum, is an illustrator, animator and comic creator from Montreal.
Helge Dascher is a frequent translator of comic books. She's also translated many of Guy Delisle's titles, Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie, White Rapids by Pascal Blanchet and Paul Goes Fishing by Michel Rabagliati.
Robin Lang has been co-translating graphic novels for Pow Pow Press with Helge Dascher since 2017. They have worked together on several titles, including Lonely Boys by Sophie Bédard, which won the 2021 Doug Wright Award for best book. Robin runs a cut-flower farm in the Eastern Townships during the growing season and translates from French to English in the winter.
Degrees of Separation by Alison McCreesh
Degrees of Separation blends stories, drawings and sketches that chronicle Alison McCreesh's decade spent living in the North. From being stranded in the High Arctic to raising a baby in a small shack with no running water, the book is a coming-of-age story that recounts the challenges and joys of life living and working north of the 60th parallel.
McCreesh is an artist who currently lives in Yellowknife. She has travelled around the Arctic and sub-Arctic and the theme of contemporary day-to-day life in the North carries through her creative work.
LISTEN | Alison McCreesh on The Trailbreaker
Cheryl by Jillian Fleck
Cheryl is about to embark on a journey of self-discovery after recently coming out as a lesbian. As she struggles to shake the internalized homophobia and recover from childhood trauma, Cheryl falls deeper and deeper down a toxic New Age wellness rabbit hole. Now she has to look inward for the answers about what's really going on with her and how to fix it.
Jillian Fleck is a multidisciplinary artist and comic creator from Calgary. Their work has been featured in various anthologies and publications. Their previous graphic novel is Lake Jehovah.
A Witch's Guide to Burning by Aminder Dhaliwal
Life as a witch can be tough. With the town relying on her magic for success, the demands keep coming in. But when a witch outlives her usefulness she is burned at the stake, taking her memories and her magic. When she is left half-burned because of a rainstorm, it's up to a witch doctor and her toad friend to help her get her magic back before it's lost forever. Viral comic creator Aminder Dhaliwal uses prose, illustrations and comics to craft a humorous allegory for burnout in A Witch's Guide to Burning.
Dhaliwal is a comic writer and television animator originally from Brampton, Ont. Now based in Los Angeles, Dhaliwal is a director at Disney TV Animation. Her comic series Woman World, originally published on Instagram to hundreds of thousands of followers, was released as a graphic novel in 2018. CBC Books named Dhaliwal a writer to watch in 2019.
LISTEN | Aminder Dhaliwal on Q with Tom Power
Indiginerds edited by Alina Pete
This graphic novel anthology celebrates modern Indigenous storytelling. Featuring an all-Indigenous creative team, Indiginerds is a collection of stories about Indigenous people balancing traditional ways of knowing with modern pop culture. It includes writing from Alina Pete, PJ Underwood, Kameron White, Rhael McGregor and more.
Alina Pete is a nehiyaw artist and writer from Little Pine First Nation in western Saskatchewan.
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.
WATCH | Ho Che Anderson tkaes CBC News comic shopping
Kings of Nowhere Vol. 2 by Soroush Barazesh
In the world of Kings of Nowhere, humans can mutate into beastly animal forms. Continuing to build the world introduced in Vol. 1, Kings of Nowhere Vol. 2 takes readers to the northern city of T'Karanto where rival gangs disputes cast a shadow on the lives of the residents. Kyoshi and his grandson Dante have to pay monthly protection money to a local gang, but when a 'beastie' customer defends the Kyoshi's during a violent shakedown the gang vows revenge.
Saroush Barazesh is a Toronto-based comic writer, illustrator and concept artist also known online as Koteri Ink.
Roaming by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki
Roaming is a YA graphic novel that follows best friends Zoe and Dani on a trip to New York City during their first year of college. As a queer romance blossoms between Zoe and Dani's classmate Fiona — who tags along — friendships get put to the test and all three girls learn more about who they are.
Jillian Tamaki is a Toronto-based cartoonist, illustrator and educator. With her cousin Mariko Tamaki, she co-created the YA graphic novel Skim, which won the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text. Another collaboration, This One Summer, won the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — illustration.
Mariko Tamaki is a writer based in California. Her other books include the YA novels (you) Set Me On Fire and Saving Montgomery Sole. She's also the author of many superhero comics for DC Comics, Darkhorse and Marvel.
LISTEN | Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki on The Next Chapter
Bad Medicine by Christopher Twin
Inspired by Cree folklore and modern Cree life, Bad Medicine follows five teens who share chilling horror stories around a campfire. Bad Medicine was on the longlist for Canada Reads 2024 and earned nominations for both the Nipper Award for emerging talent and the Egghead Award for best kids' book.
Christopher Twin is from the Swan River First Nations reservation in northern Alberta. Currently based in Edmonton, he does comic work and illustrations as a freelancer.
LISTEN | Christopher Twin on Edmonton AM
I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together by Maurice Vellekoop
I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together depicts his intense childhood and difficult young adulthood as a young gay person in a strict Christian household. Set in Toronto from the 1970s, Vellekoop begins to see his relationships with his mother and father fracture. As he ventures out on his own, he explores his passion for art and is set on finding romance and is met with violent attacks and the anxiety surrounding the AIDS era. I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together shows an artist's personal journey to self-love and acceptance.
Vellekoop is a Toronto-born writer and artist. He has been an illustrator for the past three decades, including companies like Air Canada and Bush Irish Whiskey. He is also the author of A Nut at the Opera.
LISTEN | Maurice Vellekoop on The Next Chapter
Portrait of a Body by Julie Delporte, translated by Helge Dascher and Karen Houle
In Portrait of a Body, Julie Delporte examines her life experiences and trauma in an attempt to answer the haunting questions she has about her gender and sexuality. The book focuses on the journey inward to heal oneself and live more authentically.
Julie Delporte is a comic creator and poet based in Montreal. Her other books include This Woman's Work, Everywhere Antennas and Journal.
Helge Dascher is a frequent translator of comic books. She's also translated many of Guy Delisle's titles, Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie, White Rapids by Pascal Blanchet and Paul Goes Fishing by Michel Rabagliati.
Karen Houle was formerly a professor of philosophy but now is a full-time Earth worker-activist and sometimes translator.
Shout Kill Revel by Jarret Hartnell
In this fantasy Western, a ruthless cult called the Undrowned Order rules the land as they enact their evil plans. They believe that Helmina is their messiah who will unleash unspeakable horror upon the earth. After a lifetime of wrestling with her cosmic affliction, Helmina decides to take her destiny into her own hands.
Jarret Hartnell is a comic writer and artist based in Calgary. Shout Kill Revel is his debut graphic novel.
