Canadian publisher Drawn and Quarterly has, for the past few years, been neck and neck with Fantagraphics Books for the title "Most Vital Graphic Novel Imprint in North America." They publish some of the most progressive cartoonists on the planet, including Kevin Huizenga, Chester Brown and Adrian Tomine, and their dedication to quality presentation and top-notch production values is second to none.

5 Great Graphic Novels from Drawn and Quarterly

Shenzhen -- Canadian-born cartoonist Guy Delisle is a natural storyteller whose gift for observation of the significance of even the smallest moments makes his travelogues a joy to read. In Shenzhen, Delisle is on assignment in the animation industry, working closely with people whose language he cannot understand, but game to try new things in the culture he finds himself immersed in. Even in our own cultures, our own towns, our own homes, communication is often a shaky proposition -- give Delisle credit for being able to not only survive, but thrive, in his own way, in a place where ordering fish for dinner can result in being served an unappetizing plate of pork lips; where a young man trying to learn English is so eager and insistent to hold a conversation with Delisle that when Delisle switches to French (he is from the French-speaking part of Canada and currently lives in France), the man persists without noticing the change, finally giving up only when Delisle loses all patience. It's a surprising but human moment that demonstrates why Delisle's stories are so appealing -- there's never a sense that he is trying to mold his own depiction, only report on the events he observed and participated in, and whatever happens, happens. There's a rewarding underlying sense of structure to Shenzhen, a structure that allows the reader to feel he has experienced something of the journey with the author. Small moments along the way pay off later on, perhaps the least of which has the greatest impact in the book's very last sequence, an echo back to Delisle's arrival in Shenzhen, and a confirmation of, if not the universality of human experience, at least the universality of hotel room design in China.

Fair Weather -- Joe Matt's Fair Weather is an uncharacteristically idyllic look at his childhood. We see the innocence of his youth begin to give way to more adult concerns that haunt his art, and we see the seeds of the cheap, competitive and scheming tightwad that Matt depicts himself as having grown into as an adult. The story is a frank and unapologetic love letter from Matt to the friendship he shared with his childhood friend Dave; in his other graphic novels, Matt paints his adult self as being a pretty repulsive person -- obsessed with pornography to the point of eschewing human interaction, pissing in jars so he doesn't have to leave his room -- and in Fair Weather we can easily see how young Joe here will turn into that person. He screws his friends out of their valuable comics, because he's the only one with an Overstreet Price Guide. He encourages Dave to shoplift comics from the neighbourhood convenience store because he's too cheap to pay for them. But there's still some decency in young Joe, as we see in the story's conclusion. Essentially it's a convincing portrait of the life of a young American boy, and a lot of it rings true. Fair Weather shows you an unexpectedly nostalgic yet genuine and credible view of the past from what seems like an honest and straightforward observer. As autobiographical comics go, the focus is a bit unusual but entirely welcome.

It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken -- The cartoonist known as Seth goes on a search for an unknown cartoonist Kalo, whose one cartoon for The New Yorker so fascinates him that it sets him on a journey of discovery about this mysterious and elusive figure, forgotten by time. The search for Kalo, finally, is the search for Seth, as the somewhat drifting cartoonist finds he is unable to give up in his quest for information about this a cartoonist of a bygone, and romanticized, age. We see Seth's life as an unsatisfactory thing, tinged by his distaste for modern culture and his disinterest (bordering on contempt, if a mournful one) for lasting relationships with women. The parallel lines of Seth and Kalo's lives comes together brilliantly in a sequence where Kalo, from an ancient photograph, smiles his approval at Seth's success (finally) in searching out the information he has been obsessed with discovering. The frequent use of montages of still-life cartoons of landscapes and street scenes to indicate travel and the passage of time are brilliant, ideal for a story as thoughtful and gently paced as this one. Seth's artwork is lush, with sloping lines and rounded edges that hint strongly at Seth's ideal world; one haunted by the past and nearly empty of people. Ideal for a an out-of-his-time curmudgeon to stroll the empty streets gazing longingly into the past by way of its abandoned storefronts and disused factories. It's a Good Life succeeds totally as a personal, visionary graphic novel that features truly beautiful artwork and a fascinating look at a singular creator's thought process and creative drive.

Paul Has a Summer Job -- As with many Drawn and Quarterly releases, there's a relaxed pace established in Paul Has A Summer Job, a comforting sense that you're being told a story -- utterly fitting for a tale revolving around one young man's experiences as a counselor at a summer camp, a place where storytelling is a key element in creating a bond between strangers that can sometimes last a lifetime. Paul is a typical 18-year-old; self-involved, well-meaning but a bit closed off from the world. Through a series of fateful occurances, he finds himself overseeing groups of children one summer in the Canadian province of Quebec. As most people would, Paul tries to maintain his existing personality in his new environment, but the combination of unexpectedly austere surroundings, joyous nature-lovers and children looking to him for guidance and friendship open Paul's mind and heart over the course of the summer. By the time it's over, he sees the world in a whole new way -- one that informs and affects his life even decades later. Cartoonist Michel Rabagliati shows us Paul's world with the touch of a master. His cartooning deftly combines looseness and confidence, and subtly masks a depth and maturity that only becomes apparent when the full blossom of the story's impact is opened up toward its conclusion. Rabagliati deftly weaves in essential details, crucial little moments that Paul experiences; each moment is a snapshot in time, a tapestry that can only be fully appreciated once it is assembled and seen as a whole. Paul and the people he meets are characters you'll carry with you for the rest of your life, if you take the time to spend one fleeting summer getting to know them through the pages of Paul Has A Summer Job.

The Frank Ritza Papers -- David Collier combines sketches of the places he's lived along with homespun comics journalism in this thick graphic novel. I like the voice Collier has developed over his career as a cartoonist; his artwork is strongly influenced by Robert Crumb, but his concerns couldn't be more different. While Collier emulates Crumb's first-person reportage, he is a less aggressive, more contemplative creator. Where Crumb's work often provides a biting picture of life in America, Collier paints a singularly wistful -- perhaps even gentle -- image of his native Canada and its history. Collier's best work is quiet and revelatory, and he really is quite successful is giving the reader a sense of how he sees his world and his accumulated life experience. That's a rare gift, and he generally uses it well. In The Frank Ritza Papers, Collier explores winter in a new home, a remote wilderness that he has relocated to. He recounts felling trees and scoping out the few girls in his new town, and bemoans the loss of his youth and appeal to the few likely subjects of his interest. There's a few pages on his time in the military, and if the idea of a Canadian military seems a bit oxymoronic to non-Canadians, so much more the idea of the seemingly meek Collier being in it. Which all adds to the amusement to be found in his unexpected encounter during that time with a wild bear. Collier can be a masterful storyteller, and here the narrative proves that, always keeping our interest. Be aware that the sketchbook material interspersed between the stories can be a jarring distraction from the momentum that builds in Collier's narrative work;  buyers of The Frank Ritza Papers should definitely be aware of what they're getting, which is a combined graphic novel and art book. But the portrait it creates of the life of its author, and of the places he's seen, is one that should not be missed.