How is it December already? I am still working on the art for a book pitch for a new project, so once again, I did not have time to draw a new comic this week.

But in the meantime, ‘tis the season for holiday gift guides. You can always buy books and shirts from me, but: if you like my work, you might like some of these cool things. (None of these are affiliate links or anything, because I have no idea how such deals work. These are just books that I own and like a lot!)

Korean American Cooking Comics by Sungyoon Choi and Eric Watkins

Someone at TCAF last year told me about this book, but they couldn’t remember the title or authors’ names. It took me a while to track it down (mostly because my googling kept turning up Cook Korean by Robin Ha, which is also a great book that I own!). Eventually I found it! It’s a delightful mix of recipe comics and slice of life stories. The recipes are very simply illustrated, but still easy to replicate at home.

My Lovely Cookbook vols 1 & 2, by Penelopeloveprints

I found these at C2E2 earlier this year! Artists Jackie and Johnny create these gorgeously illustrated recipe cards, and they’ve collected them into a few spiral bound volumes. The recipes are well-written, and the food illustrations are adorable and Miyazaki-level delicious!

The Comic Book Guide to Growing Food by Joseph Tychonievich and Liz Anna Kozik

Full disclosure, Liz is a good friend and a wonderful person. ^_^ This book is more about growing food than cooking it! Perfect for someone who’s thinking about getting into gardening. It’s gorgeously drawn and also has lots of helpful tips for what to do with your harvests.

Buy at Bookshop.org

The Kitchen Concoctions of a College Student by Aayesha Ejaz

I found this gem of a minicomic while I was in St. Louis for SLICE Expo this year! It’s short but super charming, with great little recipes in it. I’d love to see more of the same from this artist! It looks like the only way to get this one currently is at Betty’s Books, which is where I picked it up.

Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice by Christina de Witte and Mallika Kauppinen

This one is from my same publisher, Ten Speed Graphic! Chock full of authentic Thai home cooking recipes and super cute illustrations, this book was an instant favorite for me. The Khao Soi recipe is especially good!

Buy at Bookshop.org

Say it With Noodles by Shing Yin Khor

Shing is a remarkable artist in any medium, but I especially adore their comics. This sweet little minicomic is a story about food and ancestry and language, and includes some very nice recipes and food illustrations.

Anyway. Get your shopping done, or pick up a little treat for your own self. I promise I’ll have a new comic for you next week. ^_^

The Last Upcoming Thing for 2025:

THIS SATURDAY December 6 is the FREE Comic & Arts Festival at Sulzer Regional Library in Chicago! I will be giving a talk called Tell by Showing: Instructional Comics, and also sitting on a panel discussion about Visual Storytelling. I’ll also have a table with books, prints and holiday cards for sale. I’m not really doing any other holiday markets this year, so this is your last chance to buy any art from me in person before Chrismukkah.

What I’m into lately:

This week I finished Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, by Kylie Lee Baker. It’s equal parts horror, thriller/mystery, and meditation on the fear, chaos, and brutal racism of the pandemic. It’s got some truly spooky ghosts, but also some genuinely moving themes of connection and family and friendship, and some really incisively funny moments too. I couldn’t put it down!

What Toki’s into lately:

Being up on the table when he knows he really shouldn’t be up on the table. >:-(