Miseryland

Roberts shares her life as a mother living with a young child just learning to push boundaries in this collection of her Ignatz Award–nominated Powdered Milk minicomics. With this strong entry in the autobiographical comic genre, Roberts is unafraid to show herself looking bad, such as when she’s frustrated when her daughter, Xia, calls her—only to find out it’s to say “I love you.” In the comic’s best pages, Roberts and Xia struggle with toilet training (“That already happened,” Xia beams when she is warned to keep her butt out of the bowl), and Xia abuses her swearing privileges. The linework on the characters is detailed while retaining a sketchiness for backgrounds that makes the figures feel raw, rather than polished. The simple, direct art makes for an intimate, personal journey through Roberts’s life as a mother and creator. (BookLife)