An intimate, unforgettable, and exquisite collection, Pallookaville 24 is an essential for your Seth library.
Palookaville 24 marks the long-awaited return of Seth’s beloved series, which offers readers an invitation into the world and varied artistic practice of the iconic cartoonist.
Beginning with Seth’s serialized adolescent autobiography, Nothing Lasts, we enter the fleeting summers of his late teen years, specifically focusing on his summer jobs—a stint as a gofer at the Ministry of Natural Resources and his experiences as a bellboy, dishwasher, and cook at a local inn. A memoir ruminating on memory and place and the people who pass through his life, this chapter of Nothing Lasts closes with a seminal event in Seth’s young life.
An intriguing visual feast, The Apology of Albert Batch is the culmination of ten years of collaboration between the director Luc Chamberland and Seth—a short film documenting Seth's venture into puppetry. An extensive photo essay detailing the making of the film accompanies a DVD.
And lastly, Seth presents, warts and all, an exercise from his sketchbook. A simple activity: Select five names from a list and produce five stories to go with them. Drawn loosely with poster paint and ink, the work is spontaneous, showing a different side of the master artist. Palookaville 24 showcases Seth’s artwork alongside his continually evolving artistic practice with unique elegance.

Seth is the cartoonist behind the comic-book series Palookaville, which started in the stone age as a pamphlet and is now a semi-annual hardcover. His comics have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Best American Comics, and McSweeney’s Quarterly. His illustrations have appeared in numerous publications including the cover of the New Yorker, The Walrus, and Canadian Notes & Queries. He is the subject of a recent documentary from the National Film Board of Canada, Seth’s Dominion. Seth lives in Guelph, Ontario, with his wife Tania and their two cats in an old house he has named “Inkwell’s End.”

Seth's profile page

Pulling out the 24th edition of Seth’s Palookaville from its mailing wrapper, it’s hard not to feel like a kid at Christmas.

The Comics Journal

Seth is one of the greatest cartoonists who’s ever lived.

Chris Ware, author of Building Stories

The drawings are a feat of wonder, their composition built on the architectural blueprint of loneliness.

Heather O’Neill, author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel

[Seth's] comics read like having a conversation with an old-souled stranger, the kind who touches your life only once but leaves a lingering fingerprint in memory for all time.

BlogCritics