graphic travelogues

I spent last weekend vicariously traveling to faraway places, via graphic novels by 3 of my favorite cartoonists.

French Milk: Lucy Knisley’s angsty account of six weeks in Paris. Full of delicious drawings and descriptions of French food, accounts of visits to Hemingway’s old haunts, an homage to Oscar Wilde’s grave, countless museums & galleries, and random details of her weird Parisian apartment…

Burma Chronicles: Guy Delisle’s stories throughout the year he spent in Rangoon. I’d read (and re-read) Pyongyang before, and this one is also highly eligible for another read-through before I return it to the library.  I love the way he describes cultural eccentricities and awkward situations. And his drawings of his large-headed son Louis: adorable.

Carnet de Voyage: Craig Thompson’s journal through his travels in Morocco and Western Europe. He draws beautiful, lyrical stories that are punctuated by still portraits and landscapes of the people and places he encounters. He also bares his emotions honestly, and ultimately tells a story that is less about faraway lands and spicy food than it is about being human.