The best Canadian comics of 2020

Here are CBC Books's picks for top Canadian comics of the year.

Constantlyby GG

Constantlyexplores the debilitating impact of anxiety on the every day, examining how it stretches and paralyzes daily tasks and decisions.The graphic novel is a follow-up to GG's Doug Wright Award-nominated debutI'm Not Here.

• What makes Doug Wright Award-nominated cartoonist GG cry?

GG is a cartoonist based in Alberta. CBC Books named GG a writer to watch in 2018.

Talking to Strangers by Marianne Boucher

Marianne Boucher's graphic memoirTalking to Strangersdescribeshow, in the summer of 1980, she moved to California to follow her figure skating dreams and ended up joining a cult. Boucher details how the group'ssophisticated brainwashing techniques overpowered her free will until she managed to escape.

• Marianne Boucher was a cult member back in the 1980s. Now she's telling her story in a comic book

Boucher lives in Toronto and has covered major criminal trials as a court reporter and illustrator.

The Next Chapter16:17Marianne Boucher on Talking to Strangers

The artist and illustrator Marianne Boucher on her graphic memoir Talking to Strangers, about being lured into a cult as a teenager.

Dancing After TENby Vivian Chong & Georgia Webber

InDancing After TEN,Vivian Chong recounts howher lifechanged after a rare skin condition, Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis or TEN, resulted in her becoming blind. Chongexplored a range of artistic practices from drumming to stand-up to dance in an effort of expression, healing and self-discovery.

• Suddenly going blind didn't stop this artist from creating it only pushed her further

Chong is an artist based in Toronto. She's releasingDancing After TENin conjunction with a dance-theatre production called Dancing with the Universe.

Chong's co-writer Georgia Webber is the graphic novelist behindDumb, a memoirabout the creator's experience losing her speech for months after a throat injury.

Suddenly going blind didn't stop this artist it only pushed her work further

8 years ago

Duration 4:08

Artist Vivian Chong opens up about life on the stage and The Sunglasses Monologue, her one-woman show about going blind

Familiar Face by Michael deForge

A constant flow of radical updates from the government throw citizens into turmoil. At the government's department of complaints, the narrator ofFamiliar Facesorts through an endless pile of citizen-reported issues that range from trivial to heartbreaking.

• Michael DeForge loves dystopian fiction so much he wrote a graphic novel about one

Michael DeForge is a Toronto-based creator who has won awards for comics likeLeaving Richard's Valley, DressingandLose #1.Other acclaimed books includeStunt,Big Kids, Ant Colony,Sticks Angelica Folk Heroand more.

The Next Chapter15:04Michael DeForge on Familiar Face

Toronto comic creator Michael DeForge talks about his latest graphic novel, Familiar Face.

To Know You're Aliveby Dakota McFadzean

To Know You're Aliveis a collection of comics byDakota McFadzean that explores the ways adulthood is disappointing when compared to how one imagines it would be when you're a kid. It takes mundane daily life and renders it absurd to explore loneliness, connection and finding one's purpose.

McFadzeanisa cartoonist from Toronto. He is the author of two other books,Other Stories and the Horse You Rode in OnandDon't Get Eaten by Anything.

Meet the Toronto lawyer who made a graphic memoir about her unexpected breast cancer journey

4 years ago

Duration 2:57

Kimiko Tobimatsu was diagnosed with breast cancer at 25. As a queer, mixed-raced woman, Tobimatsu quickly noticed blind spots in the medical communitys handling of reproductive cancers. She spoke to Kelda Yuen about her journey detailed in her new graphic memoir "Kimiko Does Cancer.

Kimiko Does Cancerby Kimiko Tobimatsu, illustrated by Keet Geniza

Kimiko Tobimatsu was 25 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her life instantly changedand became filled with doctors' appointments, medical treatments and difficult conversations. She shares her story in the comicKimiko Does Cancer.The comic is a frank and moving look at what it means to have cancer, and how your life can change once you become a cancer survivor.

• Meet the Toronto lawyer who made a graphic memoir about her unexpected breast cancer journey

Tobimatsu is a lawyer from Toronto.Kimiko Does Canceris her first book.

Keet Genizais a comic artist who was born in Manila and now lives in Toronto.Kimiko Does Canceris her first book.

Unreserved43:38'I have so much to say': Cree author David A. Robertson on writing everything from graphic novels to a memoir

To say Cree author David A. Robertson is prolific is a bit of an understatement. He started his writing career in 2009, and has already published more than 20 titles. This fall he has three books being released. This week on Unreserved, an extended conversation with the author.

Paul at Homeby Michel Rabagliati

Paul at Homeis the latest memoir from famed Quebecoiscomics creatorMichel Rabagliati. InPaul at Home,Paul is now in his mid 50s and is a successful cartoonist. But he's divorced, his mother is dying and his daughter has moved out. Paul must figure out how to find meaning and purpose in his life as he gets older and the relationships that defined his adult life are drastically changing.

Rabagliatiis a cartoonist from Montreal. He has written several semi-autobiographical comics includingPaul Up North, Paul Goes FishingandPaul Joins the Scouts.

Breakdownby David A. Robertson, illustrated by Scott B. Henderson

The Reckoner Risesis a graphic novel series that will continue David A. Robertson's popular YAThe Reckoner trilogy about Indigenous teen Cole who recently learned he has powers. In the first instalment of this series,Breakdown,Cole and Eva have arrived in Winnipeg, intent on destroyingMihko Laboratories. But when Cole starts getting terrifying visions, Eva must continue their mission alone. Are Cole's visions just dreams? Or are they telling Cole and Evasomething they need to know?

• How David A. Robertson manages to write as much as he does

Robertson is an author andgraphic novelist based in Winnipeg.The multi-talented writer of Swampy Cree heritage has published 25 books across a variety of genres, including the graphic novelsWill I See?andSugar Falls, aGovernor General's Literary Award-winning picture book calledWhen We Were Alone,illustrated by Julie Flett, and the YA bookStrangers.He hosts the CBC Edmonton podcastKiwew.

The Next Chapter11:38Leslie Stein on I Know You Rider

Leslie Stein talks about creating her new graphic memoir I Know You Rider.

Wendy, Master of Art by Walter Scott

InWendy, Master of Art,Wendy is a serious art student at the University of Hell in a small Ontario town. As she works towardher Master Fine Arts, Wendy confronts her ever-ballooninginsecurities, fears and doubts with therapy, excessive drinking and partying.

• Walter Scott's Wendy comics depict the hilarious and tender misadventures of an aspiring artist

Walter Scott is aKahnaw:ke-born artist who lives in Toronto. He's published two other Wendy books,includingWendy's Revenge,and has appeared in The New Yorker and the Best American Comics anthology.

The Next Chapter5:27Katherena Vermette on her A Girl Called Echo graphic novel series

Award-winning poet and filmmaker Katherena Vermette talks about her graphic novel series A Girl Called Echo.

I Know You Rider by Leslie Stein

Leslie Stein's memoir,I Know You Rider,begins at an abortion clinic and takes readers through a year in her life, as shequestionsthe decision to reproduce. Stein speaks to a childhood friend about raisingtwins in an environmentally-conscious household, to a man undergoing a vasectomy so his wife can stop using birth control and to her mother, who longs to be a grandmother.

• Leslie Stein's I Know You Rider asks questions about abortion that society is reluctant to answer

Stein is a Canadian creator based in New York. Her previous books includePresentandBright-Eyed at Midnight.She's been featured in The New Yorker and the Best American Comics anthology.

Northwest Resistanceby Katherena Vermette, illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, colour by Donovan Yaciuk

The nextchapter in Katherena Vermette's graphic novel series follows time-travelling teen Echo Desjardinsas she witnesses the return of Louis Riel. The first two books in the A Girl Called Echo series werePemmican WarsandRed River Resistance.

• Katherena Vermette on why quiet stories speak the loudest

Vermette is a Governor General's Literary Award-winning poet and bestselling novelist based in Winnipeg. Her books includeNorth End Love Songs,The Breakandriver woman.

Artists Scott B.Henderson and Donovan Yaciuk were contributors to the first two books in the graphic novel series.