In his first graphic novel, It?s a Good Life, if You Don?t Weaken, Seth pays homage to the wit and sophistication of the old-fashioned magazine cartoon. While trying to understand his dissatisfaction with the present, Seth discovers the life and work of Kalo, a forgotten New Yorker cartoonist from the 1940s. But his obsession blinds him to the needs of his lover and the quiet desperation of his family. Wry self-reflection and moody colours characterize Seth?s style in this tale about learning lessons from nostalgia. His playful and sophisticated experiment with memoir provoked a furious debate among cartoon historians and archivists about the existence of Kalo, and prompted a Details feature about Seth's "hoax". "[Seth] invites the reader to linger cozily in his ruminative, patient stories, each of which grows from Seth's obsession with the past." (The Village Voice) "Rich, evocative...characterized by small moments revealing the author's sharp eye for detail" (The Globe and Mail)

PALOOKAVILLE #20 is the first volume of the seminal comic book series to be published in book form. The expansion into hardcover from pamphlet is a parallel that illustrates Seth's growth into an award-winning cartoonist, book designer, hobbyist, editor, essayist, and installation artist. The annual visual compendium will showcase Seth's varied creative passions. #20 is part comic book with the ongoing serialization of CLYDE FANS, part sketchbook, and part documentation of Seth's fictional town of Dominion City. Seth's first autobiographical comics since Palookaville #2 and #3 will be featured in #20. Drawn in his loose sketchbook style similar to his book Wimbledon Green, Seth details his trip to a book festival and his awkward struggle to overcome isolation and communicate with the people around him. Seth continues the serialization of his acclaimed Clyde Fans storyline that the New York Times Book review aptly noted, "Seth truly believes in his wares -- the little meanings of regular lives." This is, perhaps, nowhere more apparent than in the cartoonist's ongoing three-dimensional rendering of his fictional Dominion City, most recently featured in his book George Sprott. Complete with sketches, photographs and an essay, the cartoonist explains why the need to conceptualize the fictional city in sculptures was a natural extension from comics storytelling, and how if he had his way, it would have stayed in his basement forever.

A lavish volume with all-new autobio comics, from the author of It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken Continuing the new semiannual hardcover format for Palookaville in volume 21, Seth presents two very different autobiographical pieces, and the continuation of Part Four of the ongoing Clyde Fans serial.&nbspIn the latest dispatch from the beautifully crafted Clyde Fans, Abraham muses further on the ruins of his life. Then, in the first sustained sequence of the two Matchcard brothers, Abraham and Simon finally sit down together and begin to talk. &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp "Nothing Lasts" is the first half of a sketchbook memoir about Seth's childhood and adolescence in small-town Ontario.&nbspIt is a wryly self-conscious, often moving visit to the attic of Seth's memories: from his first attempts at cartooning to the last time he kissed his mother good night, "Nothing Lasts" is a masterpiece of the graphic short story. &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Finally, the third section of Palookaville #21 consists of entries from the comic-strip diary Seth has been keeping for almost a decade. He employs a mixture of hand-drawn panels and rubber stamps of his own work to tell anecdotes about moments from his life. Nothing from this diary has ever been made public before. This lushly designed collection of stories comprises an anthology of the different types of cartooning work Seth has done over his two-decade-long career.

A collection of wry, meditative comics from the cartoonist and Lemony Snicket illustrator In what has become his calling card, the cartoonist Seth lovingly and exquisitely designs Palookaville #22, adorning the cover with green foil, and the interior with gatefolds and ornate endpapers. On sumptuous display is Seth's continual exploration of the past and the search for resonance in the dusty corners of his consciousness. In three separate sections, this bittersweet reconciliation with the past and bygone eras manifests both in his comics and his non-comics art. Readers will return to the world of Dominion, where Abe and Simon Matchcard of Clyde Fans are engaged in a war of the words over the slow, painful disintegration of their family business. Their disagreement leads Abe to visit an old flame and further ensue in a battle of memories, in the conclusion of part four of Seth's long running and acclaimed narrative. In chapter two of his autobiographical serial "Nothing Lasts", Seth revisits his small town Ontario childhood. He explores his town's library, drug store, and post office, places whose daily presence in his young life provided comfort and stability amid the school taunts, the many moves Seth's family endured, and his parents' unhappy marriage. Each volume of Palookaville treats readers to a new facet of Seth's creative output. Volume 22 features a photo essay of the fictional history he created for the actual Crown Barber Shop in Guelph, Ontario, owned and operated by his wife Tania, complete with a comic on the art of barbering. The Palookaville digest is the grand endeavour of one of Canada's greatest artists.