About the Book
Tired of your country letting you down with bad politics? Wondering if it's time to leave for the nearest border with universal healthcare? Don't take the easy way out-start your own utopia instead! This Land is My Land is a graphic history which collects the stories of thirty self-made places around the world built with a dream of utopia: whether an ideal community, a safe haven, an inspiring structure, or even a better-run country. From the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands to the Indian rock garden of Nek Chand, the micronation of Sealand to the pirate-founded, antislavery community on the coast of Madagascar, these creators struck out against the laws of their homelands, the approval of their peers, or even the laws of nature itself to shape the world around them.
Written by New York Times bestselling author Andy Warner and illustrated by The Nib contributor Sofie Louise Dam, these fascinating anecdotes are told with a strong dash of humour and a highly readable visual style, in a compelling and prescient look at stories of rebellion, vision, and luck, as eccentric as they are empowering reflections of the universal desire to build something better. Utopia may not last forever, but for those who seek it, perfection is worth the risk. The original premise of the book was published as a short segment of comics on The Nib in October 2016 and the story was picked up by BoingBoing, gaining thousands of page views in the days before the 2016 election. The book refreshes and expands on the initial webcomic, while still capturing the strong sense of humour and fascination of the original.
About the Author :
Andy Warner is the New York Times bestselling author of Brief Histories of Everyday Objects (Picador, 2016). His comics have been published by Slate, Fusion, American Public Media, The Nib, Medium, KQED, popsci.com, The Showtime Network's Years of Living Dangerously, IDEO.org, The Center for Constitutional Rights, UNHCR, and Buzzfeed. He has taught comics at Stanford University, The California College of the Arts and The Animation Workshop. He has spoken on panels at San Diego ComicCon, the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists' Satire Fest and USC's Media, Activism, and Participatory Politics Project. He draws comics in a garden shed in San Francisco and comes from the sea.
Sofie Louise Dam is a Danish cartoonist and illustrator based in Viborg, Denmark. She is a contributing artist to Knivsæg, an anthology of comics about the German occupation of Denmark, published by Fahrenheit Forlag, and has had several pieces published at The Nib. In the fall of 2016 she helped kick off Picture Politics, a project hosted by The Goethe Institute, which connects comic artists and illustrators, with a goal of putting focus on the Syrian refugee crisis. She is graduating with a BA in Sequential Art from The Animation Workshop in 2017.
Review :
Named a 2020 Great Graphic Novels for Teens by The Young Adult Services Association (YALSA).
"Bubbling with madcap energy, This Land slaps the eye with sunshine colors and seduces with doodly lines. The authors seem positively high on the wackiness of the various communities they chronicle - or, more precisely, on the oddball aspects of human nature such places highlight...Warner and Dam have infused these often-absurd stories with joy and a measure of dignity."
-NPR
"Colorful fauvist drawings and maps from artist Dam (contributor, The Nib) bring these would-be 'better tomorrows' to life with grace and verve. . . . Warner's choices challenge readers in productive and entertaining ways, prompting questions such as: What are the commonalities among the 30? How would you design your own 'self-made state'? How might modern cohousing situations relate to these marginal efforts? . . . Less a complete chronicle and more a tantalizing Rorschach test for speculation and research, this thoughtful collection about visionary living makes fine fodder for adults and teens via book clubs, classrooms, and late-night debates among friends." -- Martha Cornog, Library Journal Xpress
"In 2015, a young Czech man read on Wikipedia about a disputed bit of land between Serbia and Croatia that neither country wanted. His decision to claim it and call it Liberland, a home for libertarians the world over, didn't go over well with the Croatian government, which has since arrested him. That is only one of 30 fascinating tales of intentional communities, radical ideas, and utopian visions, all gathered in one place and shared in a funny, enlightening graphic format. Organized by category, each short encapsulation highlights a different community's founders and their visions, the ideals upon which it was based, and how it all fell apart or changed over time. Each story is humorous, sobering, and thought provoking, as the advantages and pitfalls of these kinds of communities are laid bare. The colorful format, with speech bubbles and concise, descriptive paragraphs, will keep students engaged, and there's just enough information to encourage further independent research. VERDICT A fun, intriguing book that is sure to please a variety of readers."
- School Library Journal
"What Warner and Dam layout in This Land Is My Land is a rich, amusing, and pretty thorough survey of people who take the idea of carving out a niche for themselves much further than the majority of us ever go. In some cases motivational, in others preventative, it's a good example of what history comics can do..."
-The Beat
