From picture books read as children to the comfort of Saturday morning cartoons, illustrations have always had a way of connecting with our inner child. These recent graphic novels meld images with thoughtful—and often hilarious!—commentary on the human condition. The way these books combine the specific with the universal, while using cute illustrations, helps make each of these books feel like as good as a good therapy session, reminding you none of us are alone.
In a Daze Work: A Pick-Your-Path Journey Through the Daily Grind by Siobhan Gallagher
This whimsical book is a playful new spin on the minute and mundane decisions that make up your daily life. Each flip of the page puts you in control of the story: Will you stay in or go out? Do you wake up or sleep in? More importantly, where will your decisions take you? Bringing humor and sly self-reflection to the humdrum details of adulthood with hand-drawn illustrations and sharp wit, this relatable visual journey will help you find the extraordinary (or at least hilarious) moments in any day of the week.
Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book by Jomny Sun
The illustrated story of a lonely alien sent to observe Earth, where he meets all sorts of creatures with all sorts of perspectives on life, love, and happiness, while learning to feel a little better about himself. Through this story of a lost, lonely and confused Alien finding friendship, acceptance, and love among the animals and plants of Earth, we will all learn how to be a little more human. And for all the earth-bound creatures here on this planet, we will all learn how sometimes, it takes an outsider to help us see ourselves for who we truly are.
The Worrier’s Guide To Life by Gemma Correll
If you’re floundering in life, striking out in love, struggling to pay the rent, and worried about it all—you’re in luck! World Champion Worrier and Expert Insomniac Gemma Correll is here to assure you that it could be much, much worse.dispenses dubious advice and unreliable information on life as she sees it, including The Dystopian Zodiac, Reward Stickers for Grown-Ups, Palm Reading for Millennials, and a Map of the Introvert’s Heart.
Adulthood Is A Myth by Sarah Andersen
These comics document the wasting of entire beautiful weekends on the internet, the unbearable agony of holding hands on the street with a gorgeous guy, dreaming all day of getting home and back into pajamas, and wondering when, exactly, this adulthood thing begins. In other words, the horrors and awkwardnesses of young modern life. A sequel, Big Mushy Happy Lump, is also available.
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from Brosh’s popular website like, “The God of Cake,” “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving,” and her astonishing, “Adventures in Depression,” and “Depression Part Two,” which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written. A sequel, Solutions and Other Problems, is also available.
