Nicola Streeten's little boy, Billy, was two years old when he died following heart surgery for problems diagnosed only 10 days earlier. 13 years later, able to finally revisit a diary written at the time, Streeten began translating her notes into a graphic novel. The result, a gut-wrenchingly sad retrospective reflection from a 'healed' perspective, is an unforgettable portrayal of human responses to trauma.

What does freedom look like from inside an Israeli prison? A bird perches on the cell window and offers a deal: “You bring the pencil, and I will bring the stories,” stories of family, of community, of Gaza, of the West Bank, of Jerusalem, of Palestine. The two collect threads of memory and intergenerational trauma from ongoing settler-colonialism. Helping us to see that the prison is much larger than a building, far wider than a cell; it stretches through towns and villages, past military checkpoints and borders. But hope and solidarity can stretch farther, deeper, once strength is drawn of stories and power is born of dreams. Translating headlines into authentic lived experiences, these stories come to life in the striking linocut artwork of Mohammad Sabaaneh, helping us to see Palestinians not as political symbols, but as people.

In the French port town of Calais, the historic home of the lace industry, a city within a city has arisen. This new town, known as the Jungle, is the home of thousands of refugees, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, all hoping, somehow, to get to the UK. Into this squalid shantytown of shipping containers and tents, full of rats and trash and devoid of toilets and safety, the artist Kate Evans brought a sketchbook and an open mind. Combining the techniques of eyewitness reportage with the medium of comic-book storytelling, Evans has produced this unforgettable book, filled with poignant images--by turns shocking, angering, wry, and heartbreaking.

Weaving into the story hostile comments about the migrants from nativist politicians and Internet trolls, Threads addresses one of the most pressing issues of modern times--making a compelling case, through intimate evidence, for compassionate treatment of refugees and the free movement of peoples. Evans's creativity and