When I think of my favorite indie films, I think of intensely personal stories with small casts, as well as documentaries. Not to stereotype, because independent filmmakers can and do make all kinds of movies. But these graphic novels remind me of the smaller indie films that tell human-scale stories with compassion and artistry. Hope you find something here to read and enjoy.
The way my life is organized these days, it’s tough for me to write reviews. Some of the books below have them, some do not, but I love them all.
Before we jump in:
- All comics here can be bought as graphic novels/collections, not only as single issues. Your library may own many of these!
- Amazon links are affiliate links.
- Any questions, corrections, recommendations? Let me know via my contact form.
A Journal of My Father (Amazon / Goodreads) By Jirō Taniguchi.
“The book opens with some childhood thoughts of Yoichi Yamashita spurred by a phone call at work informing him of his father’s death. So, he journeys back to his hometown after an absence of well over a decade during which time he has not seen his father. But as the relatives gather for the funeral and the stories start to flow, Yoichi’s childhood starts to resurface. The Spring afternoons playing on the floor of his father’s barber shop, the fire that ravaged the city and his family home, his parents’ divorce and a new ‘mother’.
Through confidences and memories shared with those who knew him best, Yoichi rediscovers the man he had long considered an absent and rather cold father.”
On Ajayi Crowther Street (Amazon/Kindle / Goodreads) By Elnathan John, illustrated by Alaba Onajin.
“On the noisy Ajayi Crowther Street in Lagos, neighbours gather to gossip, discuss noise complaints, and faithfully head to church each Sunday. But beneath the surface lies a hidden world of clandestine love affairs, hidden pregnancy, spiritual quackery and hypocrisy, that threatens to destroy the community from within. On Ajayi Crowther Street peels back the curtains on the lives of Reverend Akpoborie and his family, to reveal a tumultuous world full of secrets and lies. His only son, Godstime, is struggling to hide his sexuality from his parents whilst his daughter Keturah must hide the truth of her pregnancy by her pastor boyfriend to preserve her and her family’s image. But it is the Reverend himself who hides the darkest secret of them all, as his wondering eye lands on Kyauta, their young live-in maid.”
This is How I Disappear (Amazon / Goodreads) By Mirion Maille, translated by Aleshia Jensen
“Clara’s at a breaking point. She’s got writer’s block, her friends ask a lot without giving much, her psychologist is useless, and her demanding publishing job leaves little time for self care. She seeks solace in the community around her, yet, while her friends provide support and comfort, she is often left feeling empty, unable to express an underlying depression that leaves her immobilized and stifles any attempts at completing her poetry collection. In This Is How I Disappear, Mirion Malle paints an empathetic portait of a young woman wrestling with psychological stress and the trauma following a sexual assault.
Malle displays frankness and a remarkable emotional intelligence as she explores depression, isolation, and self-harm in her expertly drawn novel. Her heroine battles an onslaught of painful emotions, and while Clara can provide consolation to those around her, she finds it difficult to bestow the same understanding on herself. Only when she allows her community to guide her toward self-love does she find relief.”
Russian Olive to Red King (Amazon / Goodreads) By Kathryn and Stuart Immonen.
So, so beautiful and so, so sad. This graphic novel about love and loss just about knocked me over, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind for days after I read it. The story is tightly focused on a couple. The man, a writer, is creatively blocked and probably also depressed. The woman, a research scientist, takes a plane trip for her job, but the plane goes missing. He waits for news, losing hope every day. The final part of the book is his next essay, coupled with a series of visuals that just about broke my heart when I figured out what it was. The Immonens have created a powerful story here, and I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
Onion Skin (Amazon/Comixology / Goodreads) By Edgar Camacho.
“Rolando’s job was crushing his soul… and then it crushed his hand. Now he can barely get out of the house, marathoning TV and struggling to find meaning. Nera is a restless spirit who loves to taste everything life can offer, but sleeps in a broken-down food truck and can’t see a way to make her dreams come true. When their paths cross at a raucous rock show, the magical night seems to last forever. Together they throw caution to the wind, fix up the truck, and hit the road for a wild adventure of biker gangs, secret herbs, mystical visions, and endless possibilities. But have they truly found the spice of life? Or has Rolando bitten off more than he can chew?”
Penny Nichols (Amazon/Comixology / Goodreads) By M.K. Reed and Greg Means, illustrated by Matt Wiegle.
“Somehow, sarcastic Penny’s gotten roped into helping make an amateur slasher film. With a team of flakes and weirdos, she’s probably the only one who can save this stupid movie… but maybe it can save her, too. Now can somebody please stop that dog from licking the fake blood?
‘I never wanted to be a teacher or lawyer. I never wanted to be anything, really.’ Stuck working mind-numbing temp jobs, Penny Nichols yearns to break free from the rut she’s found herself in. When, by chance, she falls in with a group of misfits making a no-budget horror movie called “Blood Wedding,” everything goes sideways. Soon her days are overrun with gory props, failed Shakespearean actors, a horny cameraman, and a disappearing director. Somehow Penny must hold it all together and keep the production from coming apart at the seams.”
My Broken Mariko (Amazon/Comixology / Goodreads) By Waka Hirako.
“Tomoyo Shiino has stood by her friend Mariko through years of abuse, abandonment, and depression. However horrific her circumstances, their friendship has been the one reassuring constant in Mariko’s life—and Tomoyo’s too. That is, until Tomoyo is utterly blindsided by news of Mariko’s death. In life, Tomoyo felt powerless to help her best friend out of the darkness that ultimately drove her over the edge. Now, Tomoyo is determined to liberate Mariko’s ashes for one final journey together… to set free her dear, broken Mariko.”
The Junction (Amazon / Goodreads) By Norm Konyu
“In the autumn of 1984, 11 year old Lucas Jones, along with his father, vanished without a trace. 12 years later, Lucas reappears on his Uncle’s doorstep. He has not aged a single day.
Lucas is silent and haunted, and it is left to a police detective and a child psychologist to puzzle out where he has been. The only tangible clue is a journal he had kept during his disappearance, a journal whose entries tell of his time in The Junction.
Where has Lucas really been?”
Young Frances (Amazon / Goodreads) By Hartley Lin.
“After insomniac law clerk Frances Scarland is recruited by her firm’s most notorious senior partner, she seems poised for serious advancement — whether she wants it or not. But when her impulsive best friend Vickie decides to move to the opposite coast for an acting role, Frances’ confusing existence starts to implode…”
Far more engrossing than I had expected. Both adults in our house were absolutely blown away by it, thinking it was a debut graphic novel. Even now that I know Lin had used a pen name previously, I am still blown away. It takes real mastery to do “slice of life” storytelling like this.
Girl Town (Amazon / Goodreads) By Carolyn Nowak.
One of the stories in this collection brought literal tears to my eyes, in a good way.
“Diana got hurt — a lot — and she’s decided to deal with this fact by purchasing a life-sized robot boyfriend. Mary and La-La host a podcast about a movie no one’s ever seen. Kelly has dragged her friend Beth out of her comfort zone — and into a day at the fantasy market that neither of them will forget. Carolyn Nowak’s Girl Town collects the Ignatz Award-winning stories “Radishes” and “Diana’s Electric Tongue” together with several other tales of young adulthood and the search for connection. Here are her most acclaimed mini-comics and anthology contributions, enhanced with new colors and joined by brand-new work. Bold, infatuated, wounded, or lost, Nowak’s girls shine with life and longing. Their stories — depicted with remarkable charm and insight — capture the spirit of our time.”
Swallow Me Whole (Amazon/Comixology / Goodreads) By Nate Powell.
Ruth and Perry are a sister and brother who both have schizophrenia. (Unlike the popular misconception, schizophrenia is not multiple personality disorder. It’s a mental illness that results in becoming cut off from reality, often experiencing hallucinations.) It seems the siblings’ illness began manifesting in late elementary or middle school, but the bulk of this story takes place when they’re teenagers. Ruth receives some medication, Perry does not. Neither of them is really okay, though Perry is better able to cope. It’s a dark, disturbing book – not because Powell uses the characters to shock the reader, but because of the reality of their lives given that neither receives appropriate treatment. However, I appreciated how Ruth and Perry are not just their disorders. They go to school, have jobs, and date. But as Ruth’s illness progresses, it takes over. Not one to read for entertainment, but definitely well-crafted and worthwhile.
Roughneck (Amazon/Kindle / Goodreads) By Jeff Lemire.
Derek Ouelette is a former hockey player whose career crashed and burned due to his violence. Now he lives in his small remote hometown, drinking and picking fights. His sister Beth, who he hasn’t seen in years, turns up to hide from an abusive boyfriend. Making matters worse, she’s an addict. Making matters even worse… well, I won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say both Derek and Beth have to start making some hard choices about what kind of people they want to be. It’s a harrowing book, not just in terms of physical violence and suspense, but also in what each sibling has to face internally. It’s dark and minimalist in many ways, but I think that’s what makes it so emotionally powerful.
The past is in full color, the present is just pale blue and grey, because in many ways the past is more real until Derek and Beth start confronting their demons. This would translate SO well to film, with the past scenes well-lit and colorful, and the present ones all looking like bleak winter scenery.
Ballad for Sophie (Amazon / Goodreads) By Filipe Melo, illustrated by Juan Cavia.
“1933. In the small French village of Cressy-la-Valoise, a local piano contest brings together two brilliant young players: Julien Dubois, the privileged heir of a wealthy family, and François Samson, the janitor’s son. One wins, one loses, and both are changed forever.
1997. In a huge mansion stained with cigarette smoke and memories, a bitter old man is shaken by the unexpected visit of an interviewer. Somewhere between reality and fantasy, Julien composes, like in a musical score, a complex and moving story about the cost of success, rivalry, redemption, and flying pianos.
When all is said and done, did anyone ever truly win? And is there any music left to play?”
The Property (Amazon/Comixology / Goodreads) By Rutu Modan, translated by Jessica Cohen.
Mica has lost her father to cancer. She travels with her paternal grandmother, Regina, to Warsaw. Regina says the goal of the trip is to reclaim family property that was lost during World War II. But when they arrive in Warsaw, Regina starts acting strangely. She seems to have her mind on something else and she’s not sharing any details with Mica. Add to the mix a domineering family friend with his own agenda, a hot Polish tour guide, and an elderly writer… things are going to get complicated. I was frustrated with Regina at first, but as her story unfolded, my heart ached for her. Modan leads the characters so delicately through their individual realizations of the larger story. This is a lovely book.
Pulp (Amazon / Goodreads) By Ed Brubaker, art by Sean Phillips and Jacob Phillips.
“Max Winters, a pulp writer in 1930s New York, finds himself drawn into a story not unlike the tales he churns out at five cents a word–tales of a Wild West outlaw dispensing justice with a six-gun. But will Max be able to do the same when pursued by bank robbers, Nazi spies, and enemies from his past?
One part thriller, one part meditation on a life of violence…”
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser, illustrated by Robyn Smith (Amazon / Goodreads)
“Wash Day Diaries tells the story of four best friends — Kim, Tanisha, Davene, and Cookie — through five connected short story comics that follow these young women through the ups and downs of their daily lives in the Bronx.
The book takes its title from the wash day experience shared by Black women everywhere of setting aside all plans and responsibilities for a full day of washing, conditioning, and nourishing their hair. Each short story uses hair routines as a window into these four characters’ everyday lives and how they care for each other.
[The] authors pay tribute to Black sisterhood through portraits of shared, yet deeply personal experiences of Black hair care. From self-care to spilling the tea at an hours-long salon appointment to healing family rifts, the stories are brought to life through beautifully drawn characters and different color palettes reflecting the mood in each story.”
That concludes this roundup of comics that I love and recommend!