Button Pusher

Button Pusher is a phenomenal graphic novel that manages to explore issues of ADHD in multiple ways, all the time still telling an emotionally engaging narrative. It is fictional though memoir-based, and the main character is Tyler, a young boy who is experiencing difficulties in school and gets diagnosed with ADHD. 

Uh, oh.

The reader gets a lot from his point of view about how he experiences the world and also how he does and does not fit in. What is more, we also learn a lot about his father and his own experiences with "hyperactivity" (what it was called in his day), and there is a bunch about how heredity affects things as well as how much this condition affects other family members as well.

The events of the book run a gamut of emotions, from confusion to humor to concern to anger and beyond. Also, what makes this book so strong is its inclusion of several passages that share information about ADHD from clinical and practical viewpoints, sometimes almost as infographics. 

Button Pusher features a comprehensive and human look at this sort of neurodiversity. As a parent who is dealing with at least one children who is diagnosed with ADHD, I appreciated so much about this book. It taught me about what I can expect, what I should do to deal with frustration, and also how to manage all our lives in better ways. If I gave out stars to rate books, this one would get them all.

This book was created by Tyler Page. His prior comics work includes the graphic novels Raised on Ritalin, which is more autobiographical, The Chicagoland Detective Agency series, and the direct sequel to Button Pusher, Extra Large, which was published very recently.

This book won the 2023 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award, and all of the reviews I have read of it have been positive. Kirkus Reviews summed up, "An engaging memoir of one boy’s experience of growing up with ADHD with a risky message around medication cessation." Jason Kelley wrote, "This book will destigmatize and foster understanding for both those navigating life with ADHD and their families."

Button Pusher was published by First Second, and they provide a preview and more information here.

The He-Man Effect: How American Toymakers Sold You Your Childhood

I am a big fan of Brian "Box" Brown, a comics artist who uses a clean, minimalist art style to tell many a nonfiction tale. Here, I expected to get a story about toys and toy companies, but I got so much more. This book touches on many aspects of the social studies, including history, government, and psychology in explaining the arcane and calculated strategies that have shaped modern generations. This book begins with a look at propaganda from World War I and then traces how the strategies used to sell war to a population were turned to selling goods to people, notably toys, comics, and cartoons to children. 

Box Brown goes way-back to the roots of the propaganda.

Along the path of this explanation, Brown touches on many issues, including the work of psychologist (and Sigmund Freud's Nephew) Edward Bernays, a pioneer in the field of public relations; the evolution of public domain; the importance of children engaging in imaginative play; the great toy boom set off by the popularity of Star Wars, and Ronald Reagan-era policies that deregulated the connections between advertising and children's programming. As you can see, if you are interested in tracing a great many social issues about nostalgia, marketing, and public consciousness, this is the book for you. It critiques our modern culture, delving deeply into what shaped it and what we might do differently in terms of being a literate person in the 21st century. What could have been a trifling book about playthings turned out to have much more gravity.

This book's author Box Brown has drawn a number of nonfiction graphic novels. including ones about Andre the Giant, Andy Kaufman, Tetris, and Cannabis. He also published the fictional biography Child Star. Of late he is publishing a web-comic about the state of Cannabis in the USA, Legalization Nation, and is the midst of Kickstarter campaign to fund a print compilation of those strips. He speaks about his work on The He-Man Effect as well as a number of his other works in this article.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews summed it up as "a boffo cartoon history of the deliberate manipulation of children's minds." April Spisak called it "another clever, sharp, and well-researched graphic novel that explores a pop culture non-fiction topic in close detail." Timothy ONeil wrote, "It can sound hyperbolic to call this book important, but it really is... The way nostalgia and brands have been entrenched in our culture is only growing bigger, and it’s important to understand how we got here."

The He-Man Effect was published by First Second, and they have a preview and much more information here.

Lighter Than My Shadow

Have you ever started reading a long book late at night, knowing you should probably go to bed but are so compelled that you read the whole thing? That's what happened to me when I picked up Lighter Than My Shadow. This reissue of a 2013 book just kept me entranced with beautiful, haunting, and often horrific images. I could not stop reading as I saw the multiple cycles of struggle the author went through over the years in relation to eating.

The story unfolds over a long period of time, starting with Katie's early years as a picky eater. She starts hiding food in her room, pretending to have eaten it. By the time she gets to high school, she is anorexic, obsessively counting calories, starving herself at times, exercising compulsively, and pushing herself into academics. Ignoring her own health, she spirals into an unhealthy state that requires withdrawing from school and getting medical and psychological help. Over time, she gets older, starts rebelling against her parents, falls in with a shady alternative healer, and eventually goes to art school. All the while though she is haunted by the specter of her own thoughts and anorexia, which inhibit and trouble her life.

The ways that she depicts her various mental states, the gnawing of hunger in her belly, her disassociation from her body and herself, and the way that she saw herself in the mirror are all marvels of innovative comics storytelling. Her art chops are impressive, and they go very far in expressing the depths of her feelings and misery. And although the book ends on a positive, sweet note, Green does not pretend that the struggle is ever really over and provides no pat ending. She treats her condition with the seriousness and gravity it requires, and this work seems uniquely geared to shed light on a hidden, often shameful situation that affects many people's lives. The world is better for having this book in it.

This book's creator, Katie Green, is a British artist and illustrator. This book began as an art school project but grew into something much larger and took five years to complete.She speaks extensively about her work on this book in this interview.

All the reviews I have read of this book have been glowing. In a starred review from the School Library Journal, Mahnaz Dar wrote that the "straightforward text and vivid imagery combine for a powerful, achingly honest memoir." Dustin Cabeal stated that it was "incredibly impressive both with the writing and visual storytelling." James Smart described it as "gripping, thanks to its honesty and its disjunction between traumatic subject matter and sometimes childlike artwork."

Lighter Than My Shadow was published by Roar in the US. There is much more information and a preview available at the book's official website. Some of the imagery is disturbing, and there is  nudity and sexual abuse, so it is suggested for readers mature enough to deal with such features.

Blank Slate

A few months ago, Comixology had a sale on some French digital comics, and I bought this book, simply because the art was by Pénélope Bagieu. And I have grown to love her work. I finally got around to reading it, and it was a treat. The narrative is about a young woman named Eloise. One day she wakes up on a park bench. She has obviously been crying and has a weird spot on her neck, but she can remember nothing about herself from before that moment. Not her name, address, family, or anything. She does know where she is and how to travel via the subway system, which she does once she puzzles out where she lives from what she could find in her purse.

 

Once she arrives home, she feels like a stranger looking into another person's life. She knows nothing about this apartment, does not feel associations from any of the books or movies there, and she does not even remember the name of her cat (let alone any computer passwords). And every time she encounters a situation where a revelation is about to happen, she takes these flights of fancy into alternate versions of what could happen. These are pretty jarring, but in a funny way.

Over time, she figures out some details, and enlists the aid of a co-worker to help her try to fit in despite her dilemma. I found the whole things pretty entrancing. The mystery unfolded in a deliberate, intriguing pace that kept me hooked for the whole book. There were no pat conclusions or easy answers. And in the end, the resolution seemed perhaps a little bit too pop-psychological, but it also felt apt for this book. If you are looking for a jaunty book that touches on everyday issues of identity, then I feel like this one might work for you.

This book was written by Boulet and features art and colors by Renaissance woman Pénélope Bagieu. Boulet is a very accomplished comics creator in France with a history of success using social media. Bagieu is fast becoming one of my favorite artists. She was awarded the high honor Chevalier des Arts et Lettres for her contribution to the world of art and literature, and she has drawn many different comics works, the most famous being Joséphine and the graphic novels Exquisite Corpse and California Dreamin'. Her artwork and coloring in this book are outstanding.

I had a difficult time finding reviews of this book, but it averages 5 stars (out of 5) on Comixology. Augie De Blieck Jr. found much to praise about the book, and added that "Boulet and Bagieu nail the ending in an unexpected, yet totally satisfying way."

Blank Slate was published by Delcourt (this page is in French), and they have more info about it here.

Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama

Are You My Mother? is many things, a graphic novel collage of visual and textual narratives. Its story incorporates disparate materials and subject matters in painting the picture of a mother-daughter relationship as well as the intricate mental process of planning, researching, and executing a book. It is a complex work that uses sequential art in novel ways, recording personal interactions,

therapy sessions,

and excerpts and quotations from diaries, letters, and authoritative texts as well as physical objects like photographs

to circle around and delineate the protagonist's family relations, emotions, and thought processes, as well as how this book came about. The art is polished and expert, often filled with emotion, tension, and personality. The narrative ranges from the familiar to the academic to the deeply personal and is extremely thought provoking. I do not know if I can say I enjoyed reading this book, but I can say that it was a challenging and rewarding experience. This book is certainly a masterful and complex work well worth reading and contemplating.

This book's author, Alison Bechdel, has been cartooning for decades. Her alt-comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, which ran from 1987 until 2008, broke ground with its frank and human characters and sexual situations. Her first graphic novel, the memoir Fun Home, won the Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work as well as a host of other accolades listed here. She speaks more about her work on Are You My Mother? in this interview.

Reviews about this book I have read remarked on the great craft and art in this book, though some varied on the impact of its narrative delivery. Katie Roiphe in the New York Times wrote, "I haven’t encountered a book about being an artist, or about the punishing entanglements of mothers and daughters, as engaging, profound or original as this one in a long time." The Comic Journal's Ken Parille called it "a fascinating document of a mind at war with itself, yet at ease with the archival possibilities of comic books." Laura Miller offered a different view, stating that "there's a bit too much therapy in Are You My Mother?" and that "it may get at the same truths that art does, but the trip isn't nearly as much fun." The New York Times' Dwight Garner agreed, calling the book "funereal," "therapized and flat."

Are You My Mother? was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and they provide more information and links to reviews here.

And this is probably not necessary if you have been paying attention this far, but this book is full of adult themes and is not recommended for young readers.

Psychiatric Tales: Eleven Graphic Stories About Mental Illness

 

 

People who suffer mental illnesses are often stigmatized in society, their afflictions seen as character flaws rather than biological problems. Tackling this perception is a main aim of this finely crafted collection of tales based on the author's job experiences as a psychiatric nurse. Here he shows the intimate details of dealing with dementia patients, warts and all, from having to rationalize with them to having to clean up their feces and urine. Other kinds of patients, those who are depressed, the bipolar ones, the ones who cut themselves, the suicidal ones, and the schizophrenics are given similar treatment. All are described in ways that expose how mental illness affects them and the lives of those around them. This book is simultaneously informative, frank, touching, and stark.

The reason for much of the impact lies in British author Darryl Cunningham's keen eye for detail, storytelling ability, and his own experiences with depression, which he covers in the book's final tale. His deft black and white artwork conveys much emotion and information. Some of his other works include the book Science Tales, about scams and hoaxes, and various strips, such as this one about Ayn Rand, and his unique take on superheroes, Super-Sam and John-of-the-Night. He speaks more about his work on Psychiatric Tales in this interview with the Graphic Novel Reporter.

Reviews I have read praise this book;s artistic merits and also its utility as a teaching tool. NPR's Heller McAlpin wrote, "Nursing's loss is literature's gain. With Psychiatric Tales, Cunningham has crafted his own effective way to help both himself and other sufferers of mental illness." The reviewer at Big Rock Candy Mountain called it "a rare and special book...that this should be in every school – in every country." Kirkus Reviews added, "The illustrations are compelling throughout, but the narrative is more powerful when it is more personal and specific." I would agree with this last point that there are some passages more didactic and clinical than others, but on the whole this is quite a moving book.

Psychiatric Tales was published in the US by Bloomsbury. The author has a few preview pages available on his blog (if you scroll down).

Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love

Harry Harlow was a controversial figure in his day. At a time when psychology was interested in pure science and the behaviorism associated with B.F. Skinner, Harlow was interested in love and the role it played in growing up, upbringing, and social systems. He conducted experiments with rhesus monkeys to see what would happen if they were raised in different social situations, including extreme isolation in a "pit of despair." He did most of his work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1958-59.

This book chronicles his most famous experiments, in which he set up conditions where baby monkeys were left with "wire mothers" (a wire version of an adult monkey body) who had bottles and "cloth mothers" (models with soft features), and found that the babies would only go to the wire mother for food but otherwise remained with the cloth mother. This preference was especially pronounced if the baby was frightened. Harlow's experiments radically affected the growth and social abilities of his test subjects, sometimes resulting in monkeys who would become extremely depressed, psychotic, or simply socially inept. These experiments almost certainly would not be allowed today, but they did prove the large role nurturing, physical contact, and socialization had in development.

Wire Mothers was written by Jim Ottaviani, who has written a great number of scientifically themed graphic novels, including T-Minus, about the US-Soviet space race, and Dignified Science, about famous female scientists. He holds a number of masters degrees and formerly worked as a nuclear engineer. The art was provided by Dylan Meconis, an artist whose talents appear in an eclectic series of works, including Bite Me!, a story of vampires getting involved in the French Revolution, and Family Man, "a graphic novel about 18th century universities, religious doubt, and (eventually) werewolves." More information about Ottaviani and Meconis can be found in these interviews with the Comics Reporter and Comic Book Resources.

As in the past, Ottaviani's work is well reviewed. Star Hoffman called it "an absorbing work that is at once instructive, entertaining, and poignant." Colleen Mondor wrote that "It’s a great jumping off point for students" that "just might spark some actual interest in those poor souls." Johanna Draper Carlson loves Ottaviani's work and recommends the book.

A preview and study guide, among other resources, are available here from G.T. Labs.