A Pillbug Story

by Allison Conway

It's summer in the countryside. The wildlife, down to the tiniest creature, is thriving. It's the New York City of the insect world; a melting pot of bugs, birds, and beasts of all kinds.

Millie the pillbug feels like a bug apart. Unlike her friends, Millie needs to stay moist all the time, she doesn't pee, and she's the only vegetarian. How will she ever fit in and find meaning in her short life?

The bug world is harsh. One minute you're snacking on a scrumptious aphid, the next you're being eaten alive by your spouse! Plus you've got social drama and your family questioning your 'alternative' lifestyle to deal with. Ugh.

With humor, delight, and a touch of terror, NYC-based author Allison Conway brings us a collection of slice-of-life comics about being a young, female isopod in a modern, ever-changing world.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Animals, Humor

196 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2024

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of vignettes about the daily life of Millie the Pillbug and her other insect friends. Conway must've done a lot of research, because the stories are frequently a bizarre mix of daily human life and specific insect facts. There's a strange atmosphere hanging over the whole book, it forces you to re-evaluate "normal" human life.



Did I mention that the art is really, really cute and sometimes disgusting? It's great!

(Picked up an ARC through Edelweiss)

[RosaMaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ummm I guess I would sum it up as pleasantly traumatizing... 😅

[Meggie Ramm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet summer following Millie the pillbug as she goes on dates, attends baby showers, hangs out with friends and tries to stay wet in the countryside.

This book was totally unexpected and hilarious, I could have read eight more volumes. Conway takes the daily struggles of a twenty-something human and overlays them on the daily struggles of your average bug. You get situations like Millie's friends forgetting she's vegetarian, species faux pas, and her mantis neighbor murdering her date. The bugs are accurately drawn while having the simplest dot eye faces, which renders any situation immediately hilarious. 

Accurate to bug life, well-drawn and ridiculous. 

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think my copy might have been incomplete. Have all the stories been written yet?

Review submitted to Diamond Bookshelf for potential professional publication.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! I liked the art, and there were lots of little sweet and funny moments that I really enjoyed.

[Olivia H · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is up there with girl juice by benji nate for me 😭 why did all of this happen to her

[Nuha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the concept here but having the stories back to back sort of made it hard for me to follow a larger story-arc. But the world building here is absolutely absurd and incredible!

[Madigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first graphic novel as an adult recommended by my friend 🫡 the art was so beautiful but story fell flat for me 🤷‍♀️ lots of bug jokes 🤷‍♀️

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Downright adorable. The cute animation style is vibrant, inviting, and unlocks a sense of childlike wonder and joy. I didn't rate higher because the format threw me off guard a bit: the novel consists of lots of short stories with minimal transitions from one to another, and there is no overall story or takeaway. But I absolutely loved the integration of facts about each character throughout the stories. So clever, cute, and plentiful! This would be a great book for inspiring kids to learn more about these fascinating creatures.

[Vera Elwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I could separate this book into the art vs the story, the art would get a 5 and the story would get a 2. The art was fun and adorable with just the right amount of creepiness. The story however, was a little all over the place and did not come to any sort of conclusion or closure. I understand that slice of life comics don't need to have a strong plot line, but this book actually threw quite a few major plot points at us without resolving any of them. The main character's life honestly seems pretty miserable and it does not improve even a little bit by the end of the novel. Her friends have not taken any steps to understand her better, her family does not understand her desire to grow beyond her circumstances, her neighbor has gone from being creepy to being outright hostile, and every man she encounters ranges from vaguely to fully threatening.

[S.Matt Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gentle slice of life book which mainly serves as a self portrait of the author and her life with her New York friends. Do not come in expecting much a plot; do take delight in the little details that make up a life. A good comparison book would be Frog and Toad, but for twenty somethings.

Humor comes out in the overlay of fantasy on top of reality and of reality on top of fantasy (depends on the scene). Conway plays a little going both directions, clearly enjoying the blurring of the lines. She delves briefly into family life but does not stay long there, preferring the levity of friends and tea. Some serious subjects are tackled (death, nightmares, social anxiety), but overall, the story stays light.

The artwork is intricate, and you can enjoy the book just for that alone. It must have taken an extremely long time to put together.

In sum, if you're a stop-and-smell-the-roses kind of person, this book is for you.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

2025 Eisner Award finalist - Best Humor Publication

This book is simultaneously charming and gross. The artwork is bright and cheery, but it's about bugs (pillbug, spider, ladybug, dragonfly, ant, and more) doing bug things. Yes, they are cutely anthropomorphized, but they are still doing some rather disgusting activities in places. The book is divided into vignettes that don't necessarily flow directly from one to another, and there is often no clear indication that a new chapter is starting. Nevertheless, it's probably a good book for younger readers, especially if they already like animals of this diminutive stature. There are many wordless panels and thus the book reads quickly. There is some nice general philosophizing about life included.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Millie is a pillbug, yet not a bug at all (she's actually a crustacean). She has a great group of friends but that doesn't mean there aren't misunderstandings between the five of them. Throughout A Pillbug Story, Millie and her friends navigate their world, which is in turn, bizarre, intriguing, warm, humorous, and sinister, and their own problems while learning to live, and eventually die, together.

Although an admittedly quirky form of storytelling, author and illustrator Allison Conway paints a comforting, fantastical, and curious in the best way tale. Filled with heart, A Pillbug Story is a delightful read.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aka "A Woodlouse Diet", as a heck of a lot of this concerns what the creature of the title feels able to eat or not to – and if it's not that it's the dietary habits of the other bugs in its social circle, and if it's not that it's the mating/eating habits of the creature next door. Alright, there are a selection of the main character's nightmarish dreams, and the powers of a moisturising bottle, but there really is nothing here to take away from this, unless you somehow get the feels in alignment with the vegetarianism of the bug concerned. It looks great, for what it is, but it's empty.

[Elwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsical and colorful, A Pillbug Story is a humorous journey following Milly as she adjusts to life in the bug-- I mean big-- city. It explores disability, life, accessibilty, death, and cultural differences through the lense of a tiny crustacean living her best life with other tiny insects and arachnids. The simplistic art style and humor is deceptive, because there is surprising depth to the story and emotions within. Much like Adventure Time, A Pillbug Story is a bright and deep story with dark undertones but a hopeful and loving end.

[TheManInThePlanet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story with wonderful illustrations. Mostly simple and mundane vignettes, but I really enjoyed the way Conway recognized the inherent issues with anthropomorphizing animals, specifically addressing their short life spans and conflicts of the food chain. It shatters the illusion of peace often maintained in talking animal tales without ever being dark or brutal. There's a great melancholy as a result but it doesn't take away from the simple beauty of friendship and quiet, mindful living exemplified by these terrific characters. If only our lives could be like this.

[Madalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another reviewer calls this "pleasantly traumatizing", which I suppose is accurate. I found myself musing that this is kinda like Sex and the City for real life bugs. A group of friendly, female bugs deal with life, mates, and the constant (seriously constant) threat of being eaten.

For all that, I couldn't put it down - and felt like the little bits of humor, like trying to find something nice to say at the baby shower for the ladybug baby, were hilarious. If you think bugs are awesome, or women's friendships are fun to read about, in both cases this book is for you.

[Antoinette Van Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was super fun. not a fan of bugs at all, but this was charming. gave strong "frog and toad" vibes, or "the wind in the willows," with the mix of factual creature info and anthropomorphized scenes (happiness, rivalries, misunderstandings, and all). perfect balance of chronological story and of "calvin and hobbes"-esque vignettes that gave the characters such life. also the illustration style suited this perfectly!

[kyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75!! read this in half an hour at 10pm. this was everything to me 🥲 i learned lots about bugs, and that being a girl is a lot like being a bug. also, ellie the dragonfly and millie the pillbug belong together!!! i ship it!!! two stars off because i wanted more. and i didn’t like that sad things happened bc i rlly did empathize with this rag tag group of girl bugs

[Niffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book. From spiders having tea with their prey to lantern flies pooping honeydew to a praying mantis neighbor eating her guests, this book just took all the quirks of the insect/arachnid/crustacean/creepy crawlies world and had fun with it. A little violent, but that's nature. I laughed all the way through.

[Renee Brazeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A group of bug friends go about their daily lives, drinking tea, having potlucks, going to the beach, the doctors office, going to the theatre, all while contemplating mortality and the dangers of the world. Clever laugh-out-loud humour with highly detailed camp illustrations that have a psychedelic interior wallpaper vibes. 11/10

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weird and delightful slice-of-life kind of graphic, with snippets of bug facts and lots of feeling a little out of place. A lot of feelings in general, but in the context of bug's lives? It's just great.

[Elysa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Pillbug Story" is a cozy graphic novel following Millie, a pillbug (which is a crustacean), and her life living in a bug village. It's very cute, but the author also included undertones of problems with othering people. The book has a good message with really sweet moments. The art is adorable.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an absolutely unhinged combination of cozy, slice-of-life story and brutal biological facts about arthropods which is probably going to appeal to very few people, but which hit the nail right on the head for me. Every page was an absurd delight.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quirky and fun graphic novel about a pillbug who hangs out with other insects. The book can be sad at times, but also was funny as well. I really liked the author's art style as well as her unique take on letting us getting into the world of insects.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good! I really hope that the author makes more in this world. I love the characters and the world-building. The roach milk farm was hilarious. I would love to see more of the bug's world explored.

[Mckenzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much focus on dietary habits of the arthropods. Lots of shocking imagery for a “slice of life.” Not much to take away from this. For a cute, bug themed slice of life, I’d recommend sticking with Bug Boys.

[Mercedes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, quirky read. The illustrations were great, I only wish more of the insects were vegetarians.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthropomorphizing bugs shouldn't be as DELIGHTFUL as this. Love this one.

[Liv · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars rounded up

Kinda funny. Kinda sweet. But also kinda nothing? Maybe it just wasn't my thing.