Book picks similar to
Toronto by Leanne Shapton


canadian
graphic-novels
looked-at

We Stand On Guard


Brian K. Vaughan - 2016
    VAUGHAN teams with artistic legend and Hollywood storyboard artist STEVE SKROCE for a subversive, action-packed military thriller. Set 100 years in our future, WE STAND ON GUARD follows a heroic band of Canadian civilians turned freedom fighters who must defend their homeland from invasion by a technologically superior opponent...the United States of America. Collecting all six issues of the controversial hit miniseries.

Motorcycle Therapy: A Canadian Adventure in Central America


Jeremy Kroeker - 2006
    Join the horn-honking, signal-flashing, wheelie-popping pair as they endure painful bee stings, painful snakebites and (when they talk to girls) painful humiliation.

The Spectral Engine


Ray Fawkes - 2013
    To glimpse the Spectral Engine is to face the moment of your own death. In Ray Fawkes’s stunning and brilliantly conceived new graphic novel, the Spectral Engine is the unearthly entity that brings together thirteen historically documented ghost stories – from across the country and throughout the centuries – to tell a timeless narrative of life, death, and redemption.  A ghostly white horse is a heartbreaking reminder of the clash between two warring First Nations tribes. Decades after the luxury ocean liner Empress of Ireland vanishes into the St. Lawrence River along with 1,012 souls, its wreckage continues to claim lives. A hunter’s encounter with the Wendigo of the North leaves him with a terrible hunger. A young escaped slave attempts to make the treacherous journey to freedom via the Underground Railroad. The triumphant completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway brings only tragedy to a Chinese railway worker. And in a poignant story of urban isolation, a young woman discovers that loneliness transcends death. By turns chilling and moving, this breathtaking book is a powerful reminder of the deeply human desire to be remembered.

Distance Mover


Patrick Kyle - 2014
    Earth can move incredible distances in his improbable Distance Mover, a wondrous vehicle that reflects the fantastic world it traverses. He, and his young art-star protégée Mendel, explore culture-rich crystalline cities, challenge the mighty Council of the Misters, try to overcome the all-conquering Ooze, and much more!Patrick Kyle lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. He is the co-founder and editor of Wowee Zonk, a contemporary comic book anthology featuring up-and-coming international artists. He has been previously nominated for Doug Wright and Ignatz awards for his comic book series Black Mass and Distance Mover.

Photobooth: A Biography


Meags Fitzgerald - 2014
    In the last decade these machines have started to rapidly disappear, causing an eclectic group of individuals from around the world to come together and respond. Illustrator, writer and long-time photobooth lover, Meags Fitzgerald has chronicled this movement and the photobooth's fortuitous history in a graphic novel. Having traveled in North America, Europe and Australia, she's constructed a biography of the booth through the eyes of technicians, owners, collectors, artists and fanatics. Fitzgerald explores her own struggle with her relationship to these fleeting machines, while looking to the future.

Through the Woods


Emily Carroll - 2014
    Most strange things do.'Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...

L'Arabe du futur, Tomes 1 à 3 :


Riad Sattouf - 2017
    The most enjoyable graphic novel I've read in a while' Zadie Smith'I joyously recommend this book to you' Mark Haddon'Riad Sattouf is one of the great creators of our time' Alain De Botton'Beautifully-written and drawn, witty, sad, fascinating... Brilliant' Simon Sebag MontefioreThe Arab of the Future tells the unforgettable story of Riad Sattouf's childhood, spent in the shadows of three dictators - Muammar Gaddafi, Hafez al-Assad, and his father.In striking, virtuoso graphic style that captures both the immediacy of childhood and the fervor of political idealism, Riad Sattouf recounts his nomadic childhood growing up in rural France, Gaddafi's Libya, and Assad's Syria - but always under the roof of his father, a Syrian Pan-Arabist who drags his family along in his pursuit of grandiose dreams for the Arab nation.Riad, delicate and wide-eyed, follows in the trail of his mismatched parents: his mother, a bookish French student, is as modest as his father is flamboyant. Venturing first to the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab State and then joining the family tribe in Homs, Syria, they hold fast to the vision of the paradise that always lies just around the corner. And hold they do, though food is scarce, children kill dogs for sport, and with locks banned, the Sattoufs come home one day to discover another family occupying their apartment. The ultimate outsider, Riad, with his flowing blond hair, is called the ultimate insult... Jewish. And in no time at all, his father has come up with yet another grand plan, moving from building a new people to building his own great palace.Brimming with life and dark humour, The Arab of the Future reveals the truth and texture of one eccentric family in an absurd Middle East, and also introduces a master cartoonist in a work destined to stand alongside Maus and Persepolis. Translated by Sam Taylor. WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR GRAPHIC NOVELSNOMINATED FOR 'BEST REALITY-BASED WORK' AT THE EISNER AWARDS'ENGROSSING' New York Times'A PAGE TURNER' Guardian'MARVELLOUS... BEGS TO BE READ IN ONE LONG SITTING' Herald'AN OBJECT OF CONSENSUAL RAPTURE' New Yorker'ONE OF THE GREATEST CARTOONISTS OF HIS GENERATION' Le Monde

The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel


Renée Nault - 2019
    She serves in the household of the Commander and his wife, and under the new social order she has only one purpose: once a month, she must lie on her back and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if they are fertile. But Offred remembers the years before Gilead, when she was an independent woman who had a job, a family, and a name of her own. Now, her memories and her will to survive are acts of rebellion.Provocative, startling, prophetic, The Handmaid's Tale has long been a global phenomenon. With this stunning graphic novel adaptation of Margaret Atwood's modern classic, beautifully realized by artist Renee Nault, the terrifying reality of Gilead has been brought to vivid life like never before.

Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge


Bob Probert - 2010
    As Probert played as hard off the ice as on, he went through rehab 10 times, was suspended twice, was jailed for carrying cocaine across the border, and survived a near fatal motorcycle crash all during his professional career, and he wanted to tell his story in his own words to set the record straight. When he died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 45 on July 5, 2010, he was hard at work on his memoir—a gripping journey through the life of Bob Probert, with jaw-dropping stories of his on-ice battles and his reckless encounters with drugs, alcohol, police, customs officials, courts, and the NHL, told in his own voice and with his rich sense of humor.

Wendy, Master of Art


Walter K. Scott - 2020
    His mastery of his characters’ faces and gestures is also wonderful, his line quick and sure and expressive." —The New YorkerThe existential dread of making (or not making) art takes center stage in this trenchant satire of MFA cultureWendy is an aspiring contemporary artist whose adventures have taken her to galleries, art openings, and parties in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Toronto. In Wendy, Master of Art, Walter Scott’s sly wit and social commentary zero in on MFA culture as our hero hunkers down to complete a master of fine arts at the University of Hell in small-town Ontario.Finally Wendy has space to refine her artistic practice, but in this calm, all of her unresolved insecurities and fears explode at full volume—usually while hungover. What is the post-Jungian object as symbol? Will she ever understand her course reading—or herself? What if she’s just not smart enough? As she develops as an artist and a person, Wendy also finds herself in a teaching position, mentoring a perpetually sobbing grade-grubbing undergrad.Scott’s incisively funny take on art school pretensions isn’t the only focus. Wendy, Master of Art explores the politics of open relationships and polyamory, performative activism, the precariousness of a life in the arts, as well as the complexities of gender identity, sex work, drug use, and more. At its heart, this is a book about the give and take of community—about learning to navigate empathy and boundaries, and to respect herself. It is deeply funny and endlessly relatable as it shows Wendy growing from millennial art party girl to successful artist, friend, teacher—and Master of Art.

Raised By Raptors (Raised By Raptors, #1)


Oliver Sykes - 2013
    Consumed by loneliness, guilt and spiraling sense of complete abandonment, K'abel is disconnected, and truly lost in the darkness. But when forced to choose between life and death, she realises that even in our darkest moments, a fire still burns within. And the darker it's gets, the brighter the flame. Raised by Raptors is the epic journey of a girl who has lost everything she knew and loved. But what if everything she thought she knew, she never knew at all? The first installment of a brand new graphic novel written by Oliver Sykes & illustrated by Ben-Ashton Bell.

Tales of the Red Panda: The Crime Cabal


Gregg Taylor - 2009
    But when they join with the murderous might of some of the masked man's deadliest foes, can even the Red Panda match the strength of... The Crime Cabal? Written in the breathless style of the classic "Hero Pulps" of the 1930s and 40s, Tales of the Red Panda: The Crime Cabal presents the masked protectors of Depression-Era Toronto in a pulse pounding conflict with gangsters, racketeers, corrupt officials and power-mad supervillains. The heroes from "The Red Panda Adventures"; a popular full-cast audio drama podcast in the style of the adventure programs of radio's golden age here make the leap into pulp prose in spectacular style. This story is a self-contained adventure; you needn't have heard a single episode of Decoder Ring Theatre's long-running audio drama series to enjoy the thrills, mystery and adventure... but fans of the series will take special delight, as the story fits neatly within the series continuity. If you love classic adventure stories, mystery men, pulp fiction and golden age superheroics, you won't want to miss Tales of the Red Panda: The Crime Cabal!

Battle Master: The Blood Crown Book 1 (A LitRPG Adventure)


Damian Boyle - 2020
    Hunted by moonlight. Hardened by battle. Paul is an Aberrant, one of few able to enter a fantasy game world called Valheim. Kidnapped to a secret lab, he is forced into a government program that sends Aberrants to Valheim against their will. Most die within a day, but some have survived for months.  Mira, a famous gamer who recently went missing, is one such survivor. Finding her is Paul's best shot at staying alive. But all his plans are dashed when he finds himself washed up on a tropical beach in the middle of the Wild. With E-rank beasts roaming the jungle and an orc tribe on the hunt, Paul must recruit a party, level up, unlock abilities, and build defenses to hold off the savage raids against his camp. But each raid is stronger than the last, leaving only one option: attack the orc dungeon and kill the Blood Shaman who rules them. Join Paul in the battle of a lifetime in Book 1 of the Blood Crown Series, A LitRPG Saga featuring party management, base building, army building, kingdom building, class development, and tactical combat. Grab your copy today! It's perfect for fans of Dean Henegar, Shemer Kuznits, and Dave Willmarth.

Time Capsule


Svetlana Chmakova - 2020
    What will Jaime do when he finds another boy’s name in a heart that Peppi drew? Take a stroll through the halls of Berrybrook Middle School after Awkward!

Mama's Boyz: In Living Color!


Jerry Craft - 2017
    But that's the easy part. The hard part is trying to raise her two teenage sons, Tyrell and Yusuf. She loves to read-- they'd rather play video games. She likes to eat healthy -- they'd rather eat junk food. She loves ol' school music -- they listen to hip hop. But it would all be worth it if they ever came to realize that all she wants to do is to keep them happy and safe. Based on the popular Mama's Boyz syndicated comic strip.