Why am I passionate about this?

I believe comics are one of the very best storytelling mediums for stories with big imagination. Prose and film are amazing, but comics have artwork for every single moment of the story, artwork not bound by space, time, or budget. I’ve written and drawn 5 graphic novels published in 11 different languages. I’ve dedicated my entire life to the pursuit of imagination. The books I’ve recommended have given me endless enjoyment and inspiration, I hope they can do the same for you too.


I wrote

ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times

By Andrew MacLean,

Book cover of ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times

What is my book about?

Alone at the end of the world, Aria is on a mission! This post-apocalyptic science fiction tale is the story…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Incal

Andrew MacLean Why did I love this book?

The Incal follows John DiFool, an everyday goofball, as he is swept away on the most metaphysical, surrealistic, galactic adventure possible. Written and drawn by two of the wildest, most ingenious imaginations to ever grace the page, Jodorowsky and Moebius guide the reader gracefully to the edge of existence and back – without confusing or pandering to its audience. 

This book works so well because, first, Moebuis’ art is an absolute delight to look at, and second, because using the common-man-character of DiFool as the protagonist, the reader can learn alongside the story in a way that feels smooth and natural – in a world that would otherwise be beyond the understanding of mere mortals.

By Alexandro Jodorowsky,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Incal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Moebius' and Alejandro Jodorowsky's Sci-Fi masterpiece collected in one epic volume. Lose yourself in the in the story that inspired many legendary filmakers including George Lucas and Ridley Scott.

John Difool, a low-class detective in a degenerate dystopian world, finds his life turned upside down when he discovers an ancient, mystical artifact called "The Incal." Difool's adventures will bring him into conflict with the galaxy's greatest warrior, the Metabaron, and will pit him against the awesome powers of the Technopope. These encounters and many more make up a tale of comic and cosmic proportions that has Difool fighting for not…


Book cover of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 1

Andrew MacLean Why did I love this book?

I absolutely adore Miyazaki’s art in Nausicaa. Although dealing in themes of plague and pollution, the artwork really feels like it comes from a place of love. His creature and vehicle designs exude his adoration of nature and science. And everything is rendered in a soft, effortless chiaroscuro that makes reading an endless pleasure. 

But maybe the single most endearing attribute is the character, Nausicaa, herself. It seems to me, that more often than not, a hero story asks its protagonist to go through some sort of reluctant change to become a hero. But not Nausicaa. She comes to us fully formed, full of virtue and ambition. And so the story is centered on her choices. The story doesn’t happen to her, she drives it herself.

By Hayao Miyazaki,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 1 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Nausicaa, a young princess who has an empathic bond with the giant Ohmu insects and animals of every creed. She fights to create tolerance, understanding and patience among empires that are fighting over the world's remaining precious natural resources.


Book cover of Little Bird: The Fight for Elder's Hope

Andrew MacLean Why did I love this book?

In a post-apocalyptic world run by an oppressive American empire, we find Little Bird hiding in a hole. Though her mother was a great leader of the rebellion, Little Bird has found herself very lost, in a very cruel world - and she just might be the last chance that the freethinking people of the Western world have. 

I love that this story takes familiar forces and fears of our modern life and cranks them up to eleven. With that in mind, the star of the show must be Ian Bertram’s artwork. All the huge ideas and themes created by Darcy are elevated to a startling degree by the way Ian is able to build this world visually. The iconography, the violence, the characterizations, it slaps you in the face page after page.

By Darcy Van Poelgeest,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Little Bird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

With the limitless scope of Star Wars and EAST OF WEST paired with the sociopolitical explorations of A Handmaid's Tale and MONSTRESS, LITTLE BIRD tells the story of a young resistance fighter battling against an oppressive American Empire while searching for her own identity in a world on fire. A gorgeously illustrated epic from Award-winning filmmaker DARCY VAN POELGEEST and Angouleme-nominated artist IAN BERTRAM in which one girl risks everything to save her people, their land, and the freedom they so desperately deserve.

Collects LITTLE BIRD #1-5


Book cover of Akira, Volume 1

Andrew MacLean Why did I love this book?

The ultimate classic! If you haven’t read Akira, stop reading this and order these books… I’ll wait…

Another dose of a grim post-apocalyptic future, Akira is a delight to behold. Things get weird in Neo Tokyo when a group of rough-and-tumble teens encounter a boy with what seems to be… contagious telekinesis? 

I love how this series centers on a “friendly” rivalry that just grows and grows as this mysterious power grows and grows until it threatens to swallow the entire city. Left unchecked, surely it would swallow the world. 

I’ve never read a story that felt so big! And I don’t mean it's long. Two street-rats butt heads until eventually, it threatens to destroy existence, as we know it. It’s huge! And the art! Aaargh! I can’t take it!

By Katsuhiro Otomo,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Akira, Volume 1 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Akira 1 introduces readers to a gritty Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like the one that levelled Tokyo. At the core of the agency's motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as Akira.


Book cover of Beautiful Darkness

Andrew MacLean Why did I love this book?

This book is an exaggeratedly bizarre and macabre twist on fairy tales.

A child has died in the forest and the gnomes (if gnomes are what they are) who live inside the child’s body are abruptly evicted from their home as the body starts to enter a state of goopy decay. I told you it was bizarre. The gnomes don’t know the outside world and so survival in the forest proves most difficult.

The premise of this book is right up my alley. It’s too strange to resist. But it’s also adorable at times.  With artwork seamlessly ranging from realism to simple cartoons expressed with just a few strokes of the pencil and a dab of watercolor, Beautiful Darkness is cute, dark, funny, and from time to time, downright sinister.

By Fabien Vehlmann, Kerascoët,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Beautiful Darkness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Newly homeless, a group of fairies find themselves trying to adapt to their new life in the forest. As they dodge dangers from both without and within, optimistic Aurora steps forward to organize and help build a new community. Slowly, the world around them becomes more treacherous as petty rivalries and factions form. Beautiful Darkness became a bestseller and an instant classic when it was released in 2014. This paperback edition of the modern horror classic contains added material, preparatory sketches, and unused art. While Kerascoet mix gorgeous watercolors and spritely cartoon characters, Fabien Vehlmann takes the story into bleaker…


Explore my book 😀

ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times

By Andrew MacLean,

Book cover of ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times

What is my book about?

Alone at the end of the world, Aria is on a mission! This post-apocalyptic science fiction tale is the story of a woman in search of an ancient relic with immeasurable power. Traipsing through an overgrown city with a cat named Jelly Beans, Aria’s search seems hopeless, until a violent run-in with a young hunter sets her on a path to complete her quest. She’ll face death in the hopes of claiming her prize. 

The premiere graphic novel from the indie comics sensation, Andrew MacLean (Head Lopper), ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times is an action-packed exploration of the extremes of humanity and our desire for a home in a world beyond repair.

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Girl of Light

By Elana Gomel,

Book cover of Girl of Light

Elana Gomel Author Of Nine Levels

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I always want to be where I am not. This was why I read sci-fi and fantasy as a child. This was why I left the country of my birth and became a professional nomad. This is why I am spellbound by mountains I will never climb and oceans I will never dive into. Imagination can take you everywhere. It took me to the academy, where speculative literature became my scholarly field, and to the publishing world, where I am now getting ready for the launch of my eighth novel. When you are at home nowhere, you are at home everywhere–including on the summits of impossible mountains.

Elana's book list on mountain climbing for non-climbers

What is my book about?

A girl of Light in a world of darkness.

In Svetlana's country, it’s a felony to break a mirror. Mirrors are conduits of the Voice, the deity worshiped by all who follow Light. The Voice protects humans of MotherLand from the dangers that beset them on all sides: an invading army of wolf-headed men on their borders and the infectious, ever-evolving, zombie-like Enemy that plagues them at home. When Svetlana meets Andrei, a traumatized and amnesiac soldier from another war, she embarks on a harrowing journey of adventure and self-discovery that leads her to question everything she was taught to…

Girl of Light

By Elana Gomel,

What is this book about?

A voice through Svetlana's mirror guides her beloved MotherLand from behind its' electric tower. The war with Wulfstan is not going as well as Sveta and her parents hope, but Sveta trusts the Voice. When her best friend Tattie goes missing, and Sveta saves Andrei, a soldier in summer uniform in the dead of winter, it takes Sveta through a crucible of Light, doubt, and back to the altar of true belief. Girl of Light unravels Sveta's beloved MotherLand in a war-torn adventure through monsters, missing eyes and broken mirrors.

Girl of Light is a dark fantasy with a Slavic…


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Interested in dystopian, comics, and insurgency?

Dystopian 593 books
Comics 122 books
Insurgency 19 books