40 Comic Book Confidential

Who would have thought that the comic book – usually the preserve ofsuper-heroes and evil villains – could be used to explore family life and the deepest secret thoughts of teenagers? Lynda Barry is one of the great contemporary cartoon masters and her young comic book characters run the gamut from Marlys (gifted and exuberant) to Maybonne (concerned with social justice and music) to Freddie (fascinated with bugs and monsters). Sarah Leavitt's new graphic memoir, Tangles, reveals how Alzheimer's disease transformed her mother Midge - and her family - forever. These talented writers and artists use words and pictures not to escape reality, but to bring it into focus and offer insight into how to deal with what life throws at us.