Cartoonshow: An exclusive look into Derek M. Ballard's debut graphic novel
"Call Security" will make you giggle, and then maybe cry a bit.
Derek M. Ballard's diary comic chronicles the daily trials and tribulations of being a single father in contemporary America. With his lively line, organic layouts, and frankly hilarious (but equally depressing) takes on both the terrible and wonderful parts of day-to-day life, Ballard has set himself apart as a cartoonist of note.
Coming out next week, Cartoonshow is Ballard's very first print collection, though he's been creating comics for decades. This collection is published by Oni Press, and would make a pretty perfect gift for that parent with wry humor in your life.
An official blurb from Oni on the forthcoming collection reads:
"Derek is a solo parent raising three kids in the American South while trying to make art. Told in a series of free-flowing and often hilarious comic essays, Cartoonshow gets to the heart of the struggle to be a creative person in a society that doesn't value anything other than how much it can grind out of you. Covid, poverty, the failing social safety net, predatory lenders, and literal acts of God can't stop our hero!"
Check out some exclusive preview pages of Derek M. Ballard's Cartoonshow in the gallery below:
Cartoonshow is available from Oni Press on August 2, 2023. Pre-order your copy now from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or Bookshop.org.
Investors look past ComiXology to fund an alternate future for digital comics