Howard Cruse
Howard Cruse is best known as the creator of the 1995 graphic novel Stuck Rubber Baby. Here he chooses six favorite books that also employ the comics format.
Hear the Sound of My Feet Walking Drown the Sound of My Voice Talking by Dan O’Neill (out of print). An adventurous 1969 inquiry into the nature of life, God, and magic cookies, this delirious offshoot of O’Neill’s newspaper strip Odd Bodkins expanded both my mind and my view of comics at an impressionable age.
Gertrude’s Follies by Tom Hachtman (out of print). Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and their art-world pals were transformed into wacky downtown cartoon characters in this brilliant 1970s slapstick-cubist riff.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Seven Miles a Second by David Wojnarowicz, art by James Romberger (Reed Press, $17). An almost unbearably intense mixture of fever dreams and rage, scripted by an incendiary artist besieged by HIV. After Wojnarowicz’s 1992 death, it was completed by his illustrator friend.
Our Cancer Year by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner, art by Frank Stack (Four Walls Eight Windows, $18). Pekar, the keenly observant comic book chronicler of mundane life in Cleveland who was recently portrayed in the celebrated indie film American Splendor, here joins forces with his accomplished wife to co-chronicle the family’s far-from-mundane battle with disease. Illustrated with spare visual power by underground comix artist Frank Stack.
Bread & Wine: An Erotic Tale of New York by Samuel R. Delany, art by Mia Wolff (Juno, $14.99). The story of a love affair between Delany, an esteemed author, and a New Yorker who was homeless at the time they met. The book’s moving trajectory, lustily visualized by Wolff, soars across class barriers to alight in uncharted romantic territory.
Narcissa
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AI
Feature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
By The Week US Published
-
John McWhorter’s 6 favorite books that are rooted in history
Feature The Columbia University professor recommends works by Lyla Sage, Sally Thorne, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Abdulrazak Gurnah's 6 favorite books about war and colonialism
Feature The Nobel Prize winner recommends works by Michael Ondaatje, Toni Morrison, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Elliot Ackerman’s 6 favorite books on war and duty
Feature The Marine veteran recommends works by Robert A. Heinlein, John le Carré, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Xochitl Gonzalez’s 6 favorite books that shaped her storytelling
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Julian Barnes, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Jason Isaacs's 6 favorite books that changed his perception on life
Feature The British actor recommends works by George Orwell, C.S. Lewis, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Tessa Bailey's 6 favorite books for hopeless romantics
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Lyla Sage, Sally Thorne, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Pagan Kennedy's 6 favorite books that inspire resistance
Feature The author recommends works by Patrick Radden Keefe, Margaret Atwood, and more
By The Week US Published
-
John Sayles' 6 favorite works that left a lasting impression
Feature The Oscar-nominated screenwriter recommends works by William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, and more
By The Week US Published