One year since finishing DIANA.

Today marks a year since I completed the story and art in Diana— probably the most Nate Powelly book I’ve ever made, and a serendipitous closing of the last decade’s work on this interconnected triptych of stories. Every day I appreciate the rare fortune of having written and drawn this entire graphic novel on my own terms, without publisher or editorial feedback or attempts to shape it until after the entire first draft of the book was completed. (This, of course, does not include crucial editorial feedback by my wife Rachel, who is an excellent editor in her own right, and who’s the first person to read all of my books in their pencils-only form.)

This book means a lot to me, and a year later it feels even more like a crystallized form of my spirit in ink and paper. Diana will be released on October 6th from Abrams ComicArts (along with new editions of its triptych companions, Come Again and Fall Through, which will be rereleased on September 15th), and all will debut at SPX on September 12th-13th. Please preorder copies if you can— preorders are incredibly important to a book’s healthy start, especially in the eyes of their publishers.

I’m currently booking and organizing events and travels throughout the fall— some are up on my events page, and I’m updating as events are confirmed. Thank you!

Price update for new prints + DIANA preorders

I just mailed off the first batch of orders for my new signed print series— thank you so much!

This is a note that I’ve slightly adjusted the prices to account for shipping costs which were a bit higher than expected— the prints are now $15 each, or all 6 for $60. Thank you for your understanding and support— there are only about a half-dozen left of each print from this limited run, so definitely don’t sleep on em.

If you’d like to preorder copies of Diana, or the reissued editions of Come Again and Fall Through, you’ll find links to order via Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, Amazon, and more. You are also invited to order directly from your local comics shop or bookstore— thank you!

Come Again and Fall Through will be rereleased on September 15th, and Diana will be released on October 6th, with a debut for all at SPX in Rockville, MD on September 12-13!

Soophie Nun Squad's 1st show cameo in DIANA.

On this day in 1993, my band Soophie Nun Squad played our very first show— and for the sheer joy of it, I fictionalized the moment in a scene from my forthcoming book, Diana, on an “all-new band” bill with Jody and Diana’s bands Old Spice and Diamond Mine, each playing their first shows as well. Our ages ranged between 12 and 16, and yes, our drummer (now of the metal band Pallbearer) was still in elementary school.

In Diana, the show takes place in the kitchen of a punk house modeled after our legendary Rice Street house there in Little Rock (which is where Soophie recorded our demo tape a year later). But in reality, our first show took place in the back yard of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion! The new governor’s daughter went to shows, and asked to have one— so we played alongside Nuisance, Thumbnail, Five O, Drain, Otherwise (later morphing in to William Martyr 17), Jet Jangua, Fuse of Ire, Absorption, and Lime Pit over the course of a mere 4 hours. The police were called multiple times over noise complaints, and so our first show made the front page of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette the next morning: “Noisy Punks ‘Nuisance’ at Mansion.”

Diana will debut at SPX this September, and will be released everywhere on October 6th from Abrams ComicArts. For more info and preordering options, check here!

Cover proofs for DIANA.

Cover proofs just arrived for Diana, as well as new editions of Come Again and Fall Through— and they look fantastic!

The entire triptych of books will debut at SPX on September 12-13— it’s the most significant indie comics show in the country, so I hope to see you there!

Diana will be released everywhere on October 6th by Abrams ComicArts. I’ll be doing cons, signings, and author talks throughout the fall to discuss my work on these three books— check for updates here.

Expanded reissue of COME AGAIN this fall!

Weaving my literary universe together, I’m happy to reveal the new cover of my Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel Come Again— to be reissued as an expanded paperback from Abrams ComicArts on September 15th, available for preorders now anywhere books are sold!

Come Again is a horror-tinged 1970s Ozark fairy tale, originally released by Top Shelf in 2018 and nominated for Eisner Awards for both Best Graphic Novel and Best Writer/Artist. Along the way, there’s a scene in the book debuting the punk band Diamond Mine, producing an on-page time paradox which exploded onto the pages of Fall Through and Diana.

"Rendered in fluid, magical brushwork tinted in the colors of a sunrise and filled with mysterious shadows and crannies... this enchanting solo effort reveals even greater depths to Powell’s gift for visual storytelling and creating appealing, human characters." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Spooky and off-kilter, Come Again shows Nate Powell's virtuosity... it's a delight to accompany such a fertile imagination." — NPR (Best of 2018)

"Rich with mystery, magic, and a depth of understanding about human relationships—and the color and line work is just gorgeous." — Publishers Weekly Critics Poll (Best of 2018)

"Even the word balloons can give you chills in Come Again. In fact, they do so with startling regularity, looping and crashing across negative space, bearing letters that slip in and out of consciousness as the story unfurls. Nate Powell... presents his first solo masterwork." — Vulture (Best of the Month)

Through a combination of corporate apathy and global pandemic, the original publisher’s parent company effectively killed Come Again a year after its publication, backing out of any efforts to keep the book in print (thankfully, my contract for all my solo work has expired with IDW) or pursue potential tv/movie interest— and at last, this one returns to print alongside Fall Through and Diana to make an interconnected triptych.

Come Again will be an expanded paperback reissue, with a new 18-page section covering my creative process and shedding light on the long path toward this idea’s final form as a published work. Fall Through will also be reissued as a paperback alongside Come Again, hitting bookshelves just a few weeks ahead of Diana.

My utmost thanks to everyone at Abrams ComicArts for helping this ambitious, time-hopping, feelings-heavy saga make its way into the world— please spread the word and preorder!

I’ll be touring and doing plenty of events during the fall for these books— stay tuned.

Announcing DIANA-- the triptych is complete!

At long last, I’m proud to reveal the cover of my forthcoming lovely monster of a graphic novel, Diana— out October 6th from Abrams ComicArts! It’s available for preorders now, anywhere books are sold (ISBN 9781419790867).

Diana is both a self-contained graphic novel and a prequel to Fall Through, weaving these stories together with Come Again to make an interconnected triptych. This book idea took me by complete surprise, transforming my understanding of these characters I’ve grown to love so deeply— and making Diana was the most fulfilling creative experience of my life.

Diana largely takes place in the year before Fall Through, delivering us on that book’s doorstep— but not unscathed. Yes, there’s music, bootleg magic, relationship drama, curses, demons, queerness, and punk. But if Fall Through is fundamentally about connection, then Diana is about isolation. It’s about the dangers of rigid thinking and mythologizing. It’s about the slow-motion tragedy of a loved one rejecting opportunities to choose differently, instead digging deeper into the destructive allure of self-alienation. Above all, it’s about love as an ever-expanding openness in direct opposition to control.

This story was built around embracing the sense of mystery I pursue— not a set of unknowns to be solved and revealed, but a deepening sense of journeying into the unknown. People are hungry for strange things in a monochrome world, for the radical uniqueness of being alive, for the thrill of not knowing and not being told how to think about a story.

In that sense, my writing was guided by the perspectives of both Ursula K. Le Guin and David Lynch when pressed about the content and meaning of their own stories. But Diana is also about young adults trying to live their ideals while also being short-sighted, self-serving, horny idiots. It’s about the fog generated by attraction.

Diana also performs a bit of quantum-magic for us as readers, retroactively transforming our understanding of events in both Come Again and Fall Through— making them different books before and after reading Diana. I look forward to everyone being able to have this flexible reading experience.

There’s more to announce this week regarding Come Again and Fall Through— stay tuned, and thank you for your continued faith and support!


Things to come in 2026.

Most important of all, let’s continue to work individually and collectively to halt the spread of fascism— and to preserve the remains of democracy in our society. Let’s look out for our neighbors— especially the ones we don’t know. Let’s continue fighting back against the immense multifaceted harms of artificial intelligence. Let’s recognize that social media does not provide freedom, real communication, or opportunity— it is not the future — and chart a new course.

I’ve been continuously at work nearly every day for over a year, so here’s a roundup of many things on the horizon in 2026:

I wrote and drew The Twilight Zone #4, which will be out Feb. 4th from IDW. If you live in Indiana, I’ll be doing a signing for its release at Bloomington’s own Vintage Phoenix Comics (114 E. 6th) on Saturday, Feb. 7th from 2-4pm. See you there!

The biggest news is the release of my next graphic novel, Diana, in early fall 2026! Expect an official announcement in a month or so— along with a long-awaited reissue of one of my previous Eisner-nominated books. I’ll be traveling a lot during the fall for the release of Diana, so please write me (seemybrotherdance@yahoo.com) if you’d like me to be a special guest at your comic/book expo— I’m already making plans. Thank you!

In February, I’ll be opening up another ten slots for commissioned artwork via Athenaeum Comic Art— I had a blast doing these last year and really enjoyed drawing the requested subjects! The previous slots were all filled within a day, so don’t sleep on this.

Sometime in 2026 will see the release of Islands In the Sky from the Appalachia Comics Project— I collaborated with Nobel Prize-winning climate scientist Dr. David Easterling on an 8-page story about his experiences and knowledge surrounding Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic hit on his community. You can still preorder one (and get more info) here!

I’ll have an exhibit of my artwork going up in January at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, with an event/talk/signing in April.

Five March pieces of mine currently in the “Imprinted: Illustrating Race” exhibit will be moving to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN this spring— stay tuned for the details.

I’ll be doing a volley of events in Cleveland, OH this March 20-21, including a live drawing session as artist-in-residence at the Cleveland Museum of Art, as well as an author event & signing. Stay tuned!

I’m quietly working on a comic with friend and lyrical torchbearer Jonathan Vance from the singularly influential band Moss Icon, and hope to self-publish the first issue in 2026.

That’s all I’ve got— see you out there!

Death to fascism. Light and love to humanity.

This is it. Get moving.

Coming back out of the cave into the harsh light. Regrouping and recalibrating.

I sincerely hope that people are rightly alarmed, and that you’re already taking steps to find your people and interconnected networks to help look out for each other— as well as ways in which you, as an individual, will directly participate to protect each other and what remains of democracy.

Over these past few days, I’ve regularly had conversations with people who have become parents in the past five years or so, asking advice about how to explain this election, fascism, democracy, protest, consumer culture, iconography, and more to a new generation of young people. As I’ve been gathering my notes, it’s apparent that my 2021 book Save It For Later is evergreen in the worst of ways.

I strongly encourage you to read Save It For Later (sure, buy one, or just check it out from the library for free) and reflect upon how these observations of intergenerational reckoning throughout the 2010s increasingly apply today. The time has arrived for this book too late, but that’s why it’s crucial to put it at the top of my pile of work.

Save It For Later received starred reviews at both Publishers Weekly and Booklist, was nominated for Eisner, Ringo, and Harvey Awards (as well as an Ignatz Award nomination for its central chapter, “About Face”), and appeared on “Best of 2021” lists through the American Library Association, Publishers Weekly, NPR, CBR, and Geekcast Radio.

You can get signed/sketched copies directly from me, or through Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Powells, Amazon, Abrams, or go find your local comics shop and buy/order one.

My other books, including the March trilogy and Lies My Teacher Told Me, will also be crucial reads as we fight to preserve each other and the hope of a free society.

Death to fascism. Do not give up. Do not comply in advance.

'FALL THROUGH' original art now for sale

I’ve got a bunch of original pages and extra illlustrations from my new graphic novel Fall Through up for sale via Athenaeum Comic Art here. Thanks for your support!

You can order signed & sketched copies of Fall Through directly from me here— and if you’re going to San Diego Comic Con, buy copies at Abrams booth 1216. I’ll be signing on Sunday, July 28th from 11:00am-1:00pm at Autograph Area table 10. See you there!

San Diego Comic Con schedule.

I don’t have a ton of stuff going on at SDCC this year, and I feel this marks a turning point in how I approach larger conventions. Maybe next year I’ll try the expensive risk of exhibiting in my own booth. I’m not sure.

Anyway, here’s my schedule:

Saturday, July 27:

  • “Nonfiction Comics: The Future of History-Based Storytelling” panel w/ Joel Christian Gill, Amy Chu, Sarah Myer, and David F. Walker, moderated by Andrew Aydin— 2:30 pm, Room 10.

  • Lies My Teacher Told Me signing immediately after the panel (TBC) at Silver Sprocket booth 1718.

Sunday, July 28:

  • Fall Through signing (& whatever else)— 11:00 am-1:00 pm, Autograph Pavillion Table 10.

  • Please buy Fall Through at Abrams booth 1216— thank you so much!

NYC-- MoCCA festival, March 16-17!

I’ll be in New York City for the debut of Fall Through at MoCCA Festival (my first time since 2018!)— here’s my schedule:

Saturday, March 16th:

  • signing at Top Shelf, 12:00-2:00 pm (booth 24)

  • signing at Abrams, 3:00-3:30pm (booth 147)

Sunday, March 17th:

  • signing at Top Shelf, 11:00am-12:00pm (booth 24)

  • signing at Abrams, 2:20-2:50pm (booth 147)

  • “Taking Sides, Drawing Lines” panel, 3:00pm (Room 1)

'FALL THROUGH' is out today!

Fall Through is out today, in bookstores and online— and in comics shops tomorrow!

This is by far my favorite book I’ve done, and I’ve never had people connect so emotionally to one of my stories. My whole heart belongs to these characters.

Thanks to everyone for your faith and support— please spread the word, and leave reviews online which immensely help the visibility of independent books which need all the help they can get!

'LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME' & 'FALL THROUGH' direct signed preorders up now.

Hi there! I now have both Lies My Teacher Told Me (out April 16th) and Fall Through (out February 6th) available for signed/sketched preorders directly from me here.

I’ll begin sending out Fall Through orders in early/mid January, as soon as my shipment arrives, and will send out copies of Lies in March once those books arrive.

Thanks for your patience— the wait is almost over, and yesterday I shipped out about ten early copies of Fall Through!

Excerpt of 'FALL THROUGH' up at The Beat + Multiversity's 'Best of February'

I’m happy to reveal the first exclusive excerpt from Fall Through, published today by The Beat— read here! Fall Through will be released everywhere on February 6th.

It’s also ranked at #3 on Multiversity’s Best 10 Non-Superdude Comics of February.

You have until Dec. 15th to preorder signed & sketched copies of Fall Through, which will be shipped out by my local shop Vintage Phoenix a couple of weeks ahead of publication date.

Aaaand it looks like Abrams is having a direct preorder deal on Fall Through right now— it’s 50% off with the code SKIPTHELINE, and free shipping on orders $49.95 and above.

Thanks so much for your support, everyone— please spread the word! I’m about 160 pages into pencils for Fall Through’s follow-up prequel.

FALL THROUGH-- announcement & pre-orders up now!

At last, announcing my next original graphic novel, Fall Through— out February 6, 2024 from Abrams ComicArts!

You may recognize the band Diamond Mine from my 2018 book, Come Again, or the cover of my 2017 Omnibox— now it’s their time, every time, all the time. Fall Through is an interdimensional 1990s punk soap opera centered around the ideals and interpersonal struggles between Jody and Diana, dual creative engines of Diamond Mine, lost indefinitely on their band’s do-it-yourself tour— seeking out connection and an elusive Free Space for themselves and their community each night.

It’s emotional, it’s critical, it’s kinda sexy and funny and queer and idealistic and creepy— and it was the most fun I’ve ever had making a book. And there’s bootleg magic involved!

I also think it’s important to note that Fall Through was drawn from 2020-2022, and served a very important role as pandemic therapy for me: people are already so insistent on memory-holing the fact that all of our social and physical bonds were severed in March 2020 (some irrevocably), and one of the great joys in my life was drawing scenes of a beloved underground community built on trust, depicting throngs of people— friends and strangers both— touching, sweating, yelling, breathing, singing together in confined spaces. Fall Through is my love letter to these spaces, to the ways in which it’s shaped my life, and to the power of that interconnectedness.

You can get more info here from Abrams, and pre-order the book through all the usual routes including Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. (I’ll be posting comics shop ordering info when the time comes!)

Please spread the word if you can— the life or death of a book largely depends on individual people like you hyping books you love, or are excited about. Thank you so much! I’ll be doing lots of book events throughout 2024 for this book (and my next, also out next year)— stay tuned.

Another book finished-- and starting the next.

Last week I finished drawing my next original graphic novel, Fall Through— it’s a sweaty, interdimensional 1990’s underground punk soap opera (starring the band Diamond Mine from their appearance in my 2018 book Come Again) that’ll be out next August or so from Abrams ComicArts. More details and an official announcement in a few months!

Next up on the drawing table: my adaptation of the late, great James Loewen’s influential book Lies My Teacher Told Me, which will be released in 2024 by The New Press.

'SAVE IT FOR LATER'-- new expanded paperback edition out today!

Today marks the release of a new, expanded paperback edition of Eisner Award-nominated Save It for Later, with 16 new pages of post-2020 conversation between Derf Backderf and myself (including citations), a recommended reading list of work which informed or influenced my book, some creative process images of formative thumbnail and script, and more.

You can learn more and order through many outlets here, or you can order via Bookshop, IndieBound, Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon here.

If you’re in Indiana tomorrow (August 10th), I’ll be having a book-launch discussion with Erin Tobey moderating, followed by a signing— Morgenstern Books (849 S. Auto Mall Rd.) at 6:30 pm. See you there!