Gabrielle Bell

Biography

Gabrielle Bell was born in England and raised in California. In 1998 She began to collect her “Book of” miniseries (Book of Sleep, Book of Insomnia, Book of Black, etc), which resulted in When I’m Old and Other Stories, published by Alternative Comics. In 2001 she moved to New York and released her autobiographical series Lucky, published by Drawn and Quarterly. Her work has been selected for the 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Best American Comics and the Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction, and she has contributed to McSweeneys, Bookforum, The Believer, and Vice Magazine. The title story of Bell’s book, “Cecil and Jordan in New York” has been adapted for the film anthology Tokyo! by Michel Gondry. The film triptych was directed by Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon Ho. Bell’s graphic novel, The Voyeurs, was named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and the Atlantic. Her first full-length graphic memoir, Everything is Flammable, was published in hardcover by Uncivilized Books in June 2017. Her follow up, Inappropriate, was published in January 2020 by Uncivilized Books. The collection of short comics was nominated for two Ignatz Awards (Outstanding Collection and Outstanding Story), a Forward Indies finalist, and named one of the best graphic novels of the year by Library Journal. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

 

Inappropriate (Uncivilized, 2020) “Gabrielle Bell is able to create, with simple art and storytelling, the complexities of what are supposed to be life’s ‘simple’ moments with hilarious honesty and — fair warning — delicious cringe.” — Patton Oswalt

 

Everything is Flammable (Uncivilized, 2017) “No one but Gabrielle Bell can so quietly traverse a single raw nerves for 160 pages. Just brilliant.” —Tom Hart, Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir

 

Truth is Fragmentary (Uncivilized, 2014) “Bell’s work is bursting with heart. Her keen eye for detail and empathetic, introspective voice results in comics that are joyful, unexpected and often refreshingly hilarious.”—Huffington Post

 

The Voyeurs (Uncivilized, 2012) “The Voyeurs is the work of a mature writer, if not one of the most sincere voices of her literary generation. It’s a fun, honest read that spans continents, relationships and life decisions. I loved it.”—Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library

 

Cecil and Jordan in New York (Drawn & Quarterly, 2009) “With a selective eye for detail and a knack for capturing tart dialogue, Bell squeezes joy from an underemployed and under-realized 20-something existence.”—The Washington Post

 

Lucky (Drawn & Quarterly, 2006) “[Gabrielle Bell’s stories are] palpably real and eloquently understated, with neither a wasted word nor an extra line.” —Booklist