Book picks similar to
Come Home, Indio by Jim Terry


graphic-novels
memoir
graphic-novel
nonfiction

It's a Bird...


Steven T. Seagle - 2004
    is a Superman story that doesn't feature Superman at all. Rather, this unique graphic novel explores what the icon of Superman means to the world. Told from the perspective of an author who has written tales about Superman, this book explores the overwhelming effect that the Man of Steel has had on society. A compelling narrative told in a variety of experimental styles, It's a Bird... weaves two interlocking stories: one that ultimately explores our own mortality and another that dissects the symbolic and cultural elements which make up Superman's mythicimportance.

Nat Turner


Kyle Baker - 2006
    To some he is a hero, a symbol of Black resistance and a precursor to the civil rights movement; to others he is monster—a murderer whose name is never uttered.In Nat Turner, acclaimed author and illustrator Kyle Baker depicts the evils of slavery in this moving and historically accurate story of Nat Turner’s slave rebellion. Told nearly wordlessly, every image resonates with the reader as the brutal story unfolds.This graphic novel collects all four issues of Kyle Baker’s critically acclaimed miniseries together for the first time in hardcover and paperback. The book also includes a new afterword by Baker. “A hauntingly beautiful historical spotlight. A-” —Entertainment Weekly “Baker’s storytelling is magnificent.” —Variety “Intricately expressive faces and trenchant dramatic pacing evoke the diabolic slave trade’s real horrors.” —The Washington Post “Baker’s drawings are worthy of a critic’s attention.”—Los Angeles Times “Baker’s suspenseful and violent work documents the slave trade’s atrocities as no textbook can, with an emotional power approaching that of Maus.”—Library Journal, starred review

Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm


Percy Carey - 2007
    M.F. Grimm, tells the true story of his life in the game, from dizzying heights to heartbreaking losses, in this raw, brutally honest graphic novel memoir. In SENTENCES, Carey chronicles his life in the sometimes glamorous, often violent world of hip-hop, from the first time he picked up a microphone a ta block party to the day he lost the use of his legs to gang violence, from his incarceration to his rise to the top of his game as a hip-hop grandmaster. No questions are left unanswered and no apologies are made, resulting in a truly groundbreaking graphic novel.

Baby's in Black: Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe, and The Beatles


Arne Bellstorf - 2010
    . . right at the beginning of their careers. This gorgeous, high-energy graphic novel is an intimate peek into the early years of the world's greatest rock band.The heart of Baby's In Black is a love story. The "fifth Beatle," Stuart Sutcliffe, falls in love with the beautiful Astrid Kirchherr when she recruits the Beatles for a sensational (and famous) photography session during their time in Hamburg. When the band returns to the UK, Sutcliffe quits, becomes engaged to Kirchherr, and stays in Hamburg. A year later, his meteoric career as a modern artist is cut short when he dies unexpectedly.The book ends as it begins, with Astrid, alone and adrift; but with a note of hope: her life is incomparably richer and more directed thanks to her friendship with the Beatles and her love affair with Sutcliffe. This tender story is rendered in lush, romantic black-and-white artwork.Baby's In Black is based on a true story.

The Hunting Accident


David L. Carlson - 2015
    "The Hunting Accident" is the true life story of a Chicago gangster who is blinded during a shootout and is sent to Stateville Prison where he learns to navigate life under the tutelage of real life thrill killer Nathan Leopold.

Hot Dog Taste Test


Lisa Hanawalt - 2016
    Her designs define the look of the wildly popular Netflix animated series Bojack Horseman. Her culinary-focused comics and illustrated essays in Lucky Peach magazine won her a James Beard Award.Now, Hot Dog Taste Test collects Hanawalt's devastatingly funny comics, gorgeous art, and screwball lists as she tucks into the pomposities of the foodie subculture. Hanawalt dismantles the notion of breakfast; says goodbye to New York through a street food smorgasbord; shadows chef Wylie Dufresne, samples all-you-can-eat buffets in Vegas; and crafts an eerie comic about being a horse lover yet an avid carnivore.Hot Dog Taste Test explodes with color, hilarity, charm, and, occasionally, reproductive organs. Lush full-spread paintings of birds getting their silly feet all over a kitchen, a fully imagined hot dog show (think Best in Show but with hot dogs), and a holiday feast gone awry are the creamy icing on this imaginative rainbow-colored cake. But Hanawalt's wit and heart extend far beyond gags--her insightful musings on popular culture, relationships, and the animal in all of us are as keen and funny as her watercolors are exquisite.

Follow Me In


Katriona Chapman - 2018
    But she had graduated university with no plans. She was an artist who hadn't drawn in five years. She was lost. What's more, she'd been avoiding admitting to herself something that all of those around her knew; that her boyfriend, Richard, had some serious problems with alcohol. Looking for a fresh start, the two of them quit their jobs and embarked on a journey to Mexico for what what they expected to be an adventure of a lifetime. It led to experiences that changed both of their lives and to Kat rediscovering a love of art, a lifelong attachment to Mexico and the strength to move on. The debut graphic novel from Katriona Chapman is a beautifully illustrated recounting of a trip she made around Mexico back in 2003, interspersed with pages of her sketchbook from that time, as well as explorations of the cultural and bio-diversity of Mexico and its fascinating history. Follow Me In is part memoir, part coming of age story, part love letter to Mexico, and is undoubtedly a major work from one of the best illustrators and comics makers in the UK.

Algeria Is Beautiful Like America


Olivia Burton - 2015
    After her grandmother’s death, Olivia found some of her grandmother’s journals and letters describing her homeland. Now, ten years later, she resolves to travel to Algeria and experience the country for herself; she arrives alone, with her grandmother’s postcards and letters in tow, and with but a single phone number in her pocket, of an Algerian Djaffar, who will act as her guide. Olivia’s quest to understand her origins will bring her to face questions about heritage, history, shame, friendship, memory, nostalgia, fantasy, the nature of exile, and our unending quest to understand who we are and where we come from.

Real Friends


Shannon Hale - 2017
    . . Shannon and Adrienne have been best friends ever since they were little. But one day, Adrienne starts hanging out with Jen, the most popular girl in class and the leader of a circle of friends called The Group. Everyone in The Group wants to be Jen's #1, and some girls would do anything to stay on top . . . even if it means bullying others.Now every day is like a roller coaster for Shannon. Will she and Adrienne stay friends? Can she stand up for herself? And is she in The Group—or out?Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale and New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham join forces in this graphic memoir about how hard it is to find your real friends—and why it's worth the journey.

Happiness Will Follow


Mike Hawthorne - 2020
    But when Mike falls victim to an old world Santeria death curse, a haunting sign from the old country of something his mother could never truly escape —she begins a series of events that drive him away both physically and emotionally.  For the first time ever, Eisner Award-nominated artist Mike Hawthorne (Superior Spider-Man) tells the true and tragic story of enduring abuse, discovering a love of art, and a passion that helped him to build the home he never had in this graphic novel memoir about family, survival, and what it means to be Puerto Rican in America.