We’re delighted with the books we are working on for 2023. It’s an incredible roster of talent doing the best work of their careers. I can’t wait to share their stories with you. Here are all the new Uncivilized graphic novels on deck for 2023.
Damnation Diaries by Peter Rostovsky (May)
Combining Dante, Douglas Adams, and Freud, Damnation Diaries is equal parts horror comedy and character-driven drama, uniquely converging the look of bronze-age comics with sharp literary satire. The book’s imaginative and surreal landscape serves as a perfect backdrop for caustic social commentary fit for our equally surreal times. The setting may be imaginary, but the urgent issues addressed are not: growing economic inequality, student debt, political crisis, terrorism, and the attempt to find peace under the most hostile of circumstances.
Old Caves by Tyler Landry (June)
A retiree dedicates his days to combing a dense, snow-covered forest in pursuit of the unknown, and his nights to reminiscing about his wife. Old Caves is a peek through a frost-covered window at isolation, obsession, and the slow erosion of relationships. The high-contrast black-and-white art enhances the sense of absolute solitude.
Pill Hill by Nocholas Breutzman (Sep)
Reeling from recent family upheaval, Nic navigates the brave new world of single parenthood. Meanwhile, his ex-wife descends into addiction, abuse, and homelessness. Can Nic rise to the occasion and come to terms with his new reality? Or will he let the past drag him back into despair and denial? Threatening the thing he holds most dear: his relationship with Henry, his son.
Unended by Josh Bayer (Oct)
Josh Bayer finds a manuscript of an unfinished play inside his deceased father’s desk. The play tells the story of Josh’s mother’s early death (age 37) and his father’s struggle with single parenthood. When he attempts to adapt the play into comics, it triggers a series of personal crises. Bayer’s limitations and futile ambitions are brought into sharp relief as he grapples with an estranged, unknowable parent and the play’s frustrating lack of resolution.
Holy Fools and Funny Gods: The Hidden Link Between Religion and Humor
by Izar Lunacek (Nov)
Philosopher and cartoonist Izar Lunacek explores the surprising intersections between religion and comedy. Many view religion as a monument to eternal truth. Comedy, on the other hand, is the eternal iconoclast. This conflict between jokers and the faithful frequently marks our present-day culture.
What if the priest and the jester are enemies only because they are siblings? What if they are two sides of the same social taboos? When we put gods on pedestals, we also expose them to communal mockery. When we laugh at clowns, we worship their disregard for social convention.
Lunacek skillfully blends philosophy with the irreverence of the comics medium into a treatise that is both hilarious and profound.