Description

A New Yorker Best Book of 2022

The long awaited first collection by Will McPhail, with over 150 cartoons, including his New Yorker classics and new gems.

With his shrewd eye for mundane absurdities and hysterically astute drawings of animals, Will McPhail is the New Yorker’s most distinctive cartoonist. His cartoons delight in the everyday anxieties of modern life, skewer contemporary politics, and cut to the core of the most bizarre human behaviors.

Now, in McPhail’s first collection, new cartoons mix with old favorites: mischievous mice and opportunistic pigeons offer portals into McPhail’s crackling curiosity, while Lady No-Kids’ adventures continue with high-flying glee. With chapters ranging from the contemporary to the universal, and a classic black and white interior that evokes the timelessness of the craft, Love & Vermin proves why Will McPhail is one of the most cherished cartoonists of his generation. 

About the Author

Will McPhail has been contributing cartoons, sketchbooks, and humor pieces to The New Yorker since 2014. He is a two-time winner of the Reuben Award for cartooning, and his debut, In, was the first graphic novel to win the Betty Trask Prize. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Praise For…

“Mr. McPhail’s witty and moving work shows the high stakes of small, everyday connections by affording a glimpse of a time when it’s too late to make them.” — Wall Street Journal on In: A Graphic Novel

"A sharply observed, funny, and achingly poignant examination of a subject widely understood yet rarely described, rendered subtle and playful, and made wonderfully new." — Paris Review on In: A Graphic Novel

"A graceful and painfully human narrative...Sharp and often quite moving." — The AV Club on In: A Graphic Novel

"Wonderfully fresh. At times, In fizzes with zeitgeist-skewering wit; at others, it probes the quiet places where doubt lurks and love can flourish. It’s a very fine debut, from a serious talent." — The Guardian

"McPhail's delicately lined graphite drawings, neatly squared into comics-y frames, are playful yet full of depth. ...Impressive art, a relatable hero's struggle, and a healthy dose of humor (Nick haunts establishments with names like 'Your Friends Have Kids Bar' and 'Gentrificchiato') will make McPhail's graphic novel debut appealing to many."
— Booklist

"The visuals are scrumptious and the yearning for personal connection is deeply relatable...McPhail presents [beats] with style and grace, deftly moving the story along with subtle, impactful visual cues...Gorgeous." — Kirkus Reviews

"[A] breakout graphic novel...The characters in In are absolutely delightful." — BookPage (starred review)