Processing: 100 Comics That Got Me Through It

With sparse text and an abundance of color, Booth (Things to Do Instead of Killing Yourself) paints her psychological landscape in an idiosyncratic collection full of humor and catharsis. A self-proclaimed loner who doesn’t like to feel “trapped,” Booth struggles in relationships, weighing the “burdens of solitude” against the “burdens of codependence.” “I think my sexual preference is ‘attracted to anything capable of giving me attention,’ ” she declares, depicting herself swooning before not just humans of varying genders, but also an alien, a cat, and a plastic bag blown by the wind into her face. She grapples with depression, anxiety, and anger, and copes by drinking and binge-eating. Five years after getting sober, she laments, “Healing is a slow thing and I feel impatient,” over images of her collecting trash from her yard. The vignettes depict the process of self-discovery as painstaking, nonlinear, and open-ended—but also funny and oddly beautiful. Those qualities are keenly evident in Booth’s depictions of herself—wide-bodied, messy-haired, and clothed in whimsical prints—in a series of fantastical naturescapes. Brisk and satisfying, this marks Booth as an ideal tour guide through rough times. (Sept.)