Escape Into These Diverse Graphic Novels

We follow Kim, Tanisha, Davene, and Cookie as they navigate their own friendship, as well as their everyday lives, in the Bronx. As the title suggests, the importance of wash day — when many Black women set aside time for self-care through hair maintenance — centers the friends’ story. Differing color palettes help set the mood — which is often cozy! — as the women revel in their sisterhood.

I love slice-of-life graphic novels/manga, and it’s dope to see Black women’s everyday lives brought to life on the page. I could see myself spilling tea with them in the hair salon as we sang along to someone’s playlist.

Main character, Tatsu, provides a good portion of this manga’s comic relief as a former member of the yakuza who now spends his days as a loving househusband to his wife, Miku. Turns out you can take the husband out of the yakuza, but you can’t take the yakuza out of the husband. Tatsu’s natural aesthetic and demeanor are just a little too gangster-adjacent and still reflect his time as the much-feared “Immortal Dragon,” and his facial expressions still make people sweat. They’re also just a little out of place in the clearance section of the grocery store. Tatsu brings a hilarious intensity to the most mundane and everyday househusband chores, and it’s fun to watch him interact with his neighbors.

“Get you a man who can do both! “— Miku, probably

Hit this one up for an instant decompressor. Teen girls Rin and Nadeshiko are near Mount Fuji with very different situations — one is going camping by herself, while the other winds up lost and without a phone. They meet each other at the campsite, and Rin, seeing Nadeshiko’s desperate situation, offers the younger-looking girl hot ramen and a fire to stay nearby. Eventually, the two girls realize they go to the same school, and Nadeshiko joins the wilderness club with hopes of going camping properly, while Rin is reluctant to sacrifice her alone time by camping with others.

I’m low-key impressed with how appealing this manga made camping seem — I like the outdoors and nature and everything, but the way this essentially teaches you the basics of camping while showing you the tranquility of it made me feel like maybe I should go myself.

Y’all. This is so darn cute. I can’t. I couldn’t. But actually, I did. It’s about Riko, a 29-year-old who is all work when in the office, but a hardcore gamer at home. She surprises even herself when she agrees to take home a kitten found in the office’s parking lot, and obviously adorable kitten hijinks ensue.

After this one, five more volumes of cute kitty goodness await you.

The young woman here — who is modeled somewhat after the author — grapples with all her feelings through the seasons. While it handles some potentially heavy topics like mental health, it also has a quietly contemplative quality to it. Also, the artwork and color palette are so pretty.