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10,000 Ink Stains: A Memoir
Dark Horse Books proudly presents this hardcover memoir collection showcasing the work of the legendary Eisner Award-winning comic book creator Jeff Lemire, who has created some of the most iconic stories in modern comics.
Featuring his brilliant work from Sweet Tooth, Essex County, Black Hammer, Descender, and so much more. Lemire takes the reader book-by-book, writing essays about the making of each project, showcasing artwork from all of them, details about his personal life during the creation of each book, sharing some never-before-seen process material on each book, and unpublished stories as well. This is the ultimate book for Jeff Lemire and modern comic book fans.
Featuring his brilliant work from Sweet Tooth, Essex County, Black Hammer, Descender, and so much more. Lemire takes the reader book-by-book, writing essays about the making of each project, showcasing artwork from all of them, details about his personal life during the creation of each book, sharing some never-before-seen process material on each book, and unpublished stories as well. This is the ultimate book for Jeff Lemire and modern comic book fans.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published July 15, 2025
6 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Lemire
1,409 books3,879 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 31, 2025
10,000 Ink Stains: A Memoir (2025) takes place roughly at the 25-year point in his career, beginning with Ashtray, moving Through the iconic Essex County to today’s Minor Arcana. This is a straightforward, earnest account of a life in comics by one of the nicest and most prolific guys working in comics. As he admitted here, his work for DC and Marvel, and a lot of his work that was written by him and drawn by others, much of that was a very mixed bag, so he ignores that and focuses on his creator-owned, written and drawn work. And there is a ton of it, and most of it is very good to great.
Lemire, who says he is a private person, says he will talk about his life, but he really doesn’t do that, instead focusing on each period of work and some things that went into the production. It is already a big coffee-table sized book, but you have to believe he could have gone even further in depth if he had skipped half of the lesser works and focused on, say, Essex County (I have seen none of the tv series he was also involved in) and 3 or 4 others. But it’s still good. And in the finale, he gives us the complete Ashtray #1, his first published work, in its entirety. Oh, and it's not really a graphic memoir, but an illustrated memoir chock full of examples of his work across his career. Collector's item for the Lemire fan.
Lemire, who says he is a private person, says he will talk about his life, but he really doesn’t do that, instead focusing on each period of work and some things that went into the production. It is already a big coffee-table sized book, but you have to believe he could have gone even further in depth if he had skipped half of the lesser works and focused on, say, Essex County (I have seen none of the tv series he was also involved in) and 3 or 4 others. But it’s still good. And in the finale, he gives us the complete Ashtray #1, his first published work, in its entirety. Oh, and it's not really a graphic memoir, but an illustrated memoir chock full of examples of his work across his career. Collector's item for the Lemire fan.
July 15, 2025
Seriously this man could write a whole series on a turd and I would adore it. I have loved every single one of his comics, graphic novels, anything and everything this man has done I absolutely loved getting to know him through this novel. He is just absolutely amazing. Hands-down my favorite author of all.
October 22, 2025
Çizgi roman okumaya süper kahramanlarla başlamıştım. Çizgi roman mağazalarına gide gide ve bu dünyanın içine daldıkça, çizgi romanların sadece süper kahramanlardan ibaret olmadığını fark ettim. Sonra Image Comics’le tanıştım; oradaki hikâyeler beni çizgi romanlara daha da cezbetti. Image Comics sayesinde yazar ve çizerleri tanımaya, kimleri sevip sevmediğime karar vermeye başladım, yani bir nevi zevkim oluşmaya başladı.
Ama Image Comics de bir noktadan sonra bana yetmemeye başladı; daha farklı şeyler aradım. Böylece “bağımsız” diyebileceğim çizgi roman dünyasıyla tanıştım. Orada Jeff Lemire’in Essex County adlı kitabını aldım ve ilk sayfalarda âdeta âşık oldum. Farklı çizim tarzı ve anlattığı hikâye beni hemen içine çekti. O günden beri Jeff Lemire’in yazdığı çoğu kitabı alırım. Bazı hikâyelerini çok beğendim, bazılarını vasat, bazılarını da vasat altı buldum. Yine de Jeff Lemire benim favori çizgi roman yazar/çizerim oldu.
Bugün bir yazar olarak, bana ilham veren kişilerden biri olduğunu rahatlıkla söyleyebilirim. Bu yüzden Jeff Lemire her zaman benim için özel bir yerde duracak.
Roman yazmadan önce çizgi roman yazarı olmak istemiştim; hatta İsimsiz Dünya diye bir fanzinde yayımlanmış Uçurtma adında bir çizgi roman öyküm bile var. Çizgi roman yazarlığından romana yönelmemin en büyük nedeni çizim yeteneğimin olmamasıydı. Türkiye’de bu işe gönül vermiş çizer bulmak zor, ücretli çalışmak da bütçemi aşıyordu. Yurt dışındaki çizerlerle çalışmak ise çok daha zordu. Bu yüzden o hayalimi bir süreliğine bir kenara koymuştum.
Jeff Lemire’in kendi biyografi kitabını yazdığını duyunca, hiç düşünmeden aldım ve okumaya başladım. Kelimenin tam anlamıyla bayıldım. Sevdiğim hikâyelerin nasıl yazıldığını ve çizildiğini görmek, bir yazar olarak onun yaşadığı süreçlere tanıklık etmek bana yeniden ilham ve motivasyon verdi. Gördüğümüz her başarının arkasındaki mücadeleyi okumak benim için umut vericiydi.
Hikâyeler yazan biri olarak, “yazar” olma yolculuğum şu anda pek iç açıcı gitmiyor. Henüz yazdığım hiçbir şeyi büyük bir yayınevine kabul ettiremedim. Belki iyi yazmıyorumdur, belki de yayınevleri görmezden geliyordur... bilmiyorum. Ama kitapta Jeff Lemire’in de bir yarışmayı kazanana kadar benim şu anki duygularımı paylaştığını okumak bana “Belki de hepimiz bu süreçten geçiyoruzdur,” dedirtti.
Ama Image Comics de bir noktadan sonra bana yetmemeye başladı; daha farklı şeyler aradım. Böylece “bağımsız” diyebileceğim çizgi roman dünyasıyla tanıştım. Orada Jeff Lemire’in Essex County adlı kitabını aldım ve ilk sayfalarda âdeta âşık oldum. Farklı çizim tarzı ve anlattığı hikâye beni hemen içine çekti. O günden beri Jeff Lemire’in yazdığı çoğu kitabı alırım. Bazı hikâyelerini çok beğendim, bazılarını vasat, bazılarını da vasat altı buldum. Yine de Jeff Lemire benim favori çizgi roman yazar/çizerim oldu.
Bugün bir yazar olarak, bana ilham veren kişilerden biri olduğunu rahatlıkla söyleyebilirim. Bu yüzden Jeff Lemire her zaman benim için özel bir yerde duracak.
Roman yazmadan önce çizgi roman yazarı olmak istemiştim; hatta İsimsiz Dünya diye bir fanzinde yayımlanmış Uçurtma adında bir çizgi roman öyküm bile var. Çizgi roman yazarlığından romana yönelmemin en büyük nedeni çizim yeteneğimin olmamasıydı. Türkiye’de bu işe gönül vermiş çizer bulmak zor, ücretli çalışmak da bütçemi aşıyordu. Yurt dışındaki çizerlerle çalışmak ise çok daha zordu. Bu yüzden o hayalimi bir süreliğine bir kenara koymuştum.
Jeff Lemire’in kendi biyografi kitabını yazdığını duyunca, hiç düşünmeden aldım ve okumaya başladım. Kelimenin tam anlamıyla bayıldım. Sevdiğim hikâyelerin nasıl yazıldığını ve çizildiğini görmek, bir yazar olarak onun yaşadığı süreçlere tanıklık etmek bana yeniden ilham ve motivasyon verdi. Gördüğümüz her başarının arkasındaki mücadeleyi okumak benim için umut vericiydi.
Hikâyeler yazan biri olarak, “yazar” olma yolculuğum şu anda pek iç açıcı gitmiyor. Henüz yazdığım hiçbir şeyi büyük bir yayınevine kabul ettiremedim. Belki iyi yazmıyorumdur, belki de yayınevleri görmezden geliyordur... bilmiyorum. Ama kitapta Jeff Lemire’in de bir yarışmayı kazanana kadar benim şu anki duygularımı paylaştığını okumak bana “Belki de hepimiz bu süreçten geçiyoruzdur,” dedirtti.
July 21, 2025
Earnest and revelatory. Lemire’s been one of my favorite comics creators for a lot of years, and this look into his life, his process, and his art was just terrific. It’s also a shot in the arm for creatives to quit futzing around and get back to work dammit. Read Jeff Lemire immediately if you haven’t. He’s one of the greats.
January 7, 2026
I love these sorts of retrospectives from established authors - its so fun to barrel down memory lane with Jeff Lemire as he explores the "why" behind some of his best-known works as well as the "how." Specifically, 10,000 Ink Stains is a good primer on what it takes to be successful in the comics industry (luck, luck, luck, timing, and endless energy for nose-to-the-grindstone work).
Truly, 10,000 Ink Stains is an astonishing read simply as a reminder of how much Lemire has produced in his 20ish years as a published author. And rarely any misses! I will say that Lemire's text feels a bit unpolished, as if an interview has been directly transcribed. Sometimes that works in the book's favor, though, as it feels like Lemire is speaking directly to you, the reader.
I'd love for other author/illustrators to pull the same stunt, but it does make sense for Jeff Lemire since his stuff is so immediately recognizable, both from a writing and art standpoint.
Truly, 10,000 Ink Stains is an astonishing read simply as a reminder of how much Lemire has produced in his 20ish years as a published author. And rarely any misses! I will say that Lemire's text feels a bit unpolished, as if an interview has been directly transcribed. Sometimes that works in the book's favor, though, as it feels like Lemire is speaking directly to you, the reader.
I'd love for other author/illustrators to pull the same stunt, but it does make sense for Jeff Lemire since his stuff is so immediately recognizable, both from a writing and art standpoint.
February 12, 2026
I know this book has a limited audience, but if you love Lemire’s work as much as I do, this is a wonderful behind the scenes look at his creative process. It also is a beautiful testament to do what you are passionate about.
Read
July 20, 2025A curious but enlightening hybrid format, here: the sort of process work and early character sketches you'd expect to find in the back of a comics collection, combined with a prose memoir of Lemire's quarter-century comics career. Which, if you're a big fan of his (I'd consider myself a moderate one) is obviously invaluable – and if you're an artist too, is even more so, as he gets into his techniques and methods. Hell, I'm not, and there was still a eureka moment on learning that his distinctive scratchy look owes something to drawing with the back of pens, not the nib.
More than that, though, the remarkable thing is how the life recounted doesn't look at all like the sort you normally expect in a creative autobiography – no all-consuming celebrity romances, chaotic benders or crippling Toblerone addiction. Instead, it's life as we were always told it's meant to go – Lemire finds his talent early, self-publishes, does some acclaimed indie comics, a bit of superhero work, back to bigger indie titles, a couple of TV shows made from his work. Along the way he marries, they still seem really into each other, every few chapters they move into a bigger house... it's how I expected adulthood to go as a kid (and I'm about the same age), but for most of our cohort it doesn't seem to have worked out anything like this smoothly – which is ironic when that's the last word you'd use of his art. Yes, he's had some mental health wobbles, and his time in corporate comics offers tantalising hints of gossip – "I soon learned that other writers would jealously try to sabotage your career and your work for their own gain, and editors had agendas of their own, and would try to force those on you" – but he's politely/understandably/frustratingly reluctant to name names, and even when eg admitting Futures End was a disaster, and saying he could write ten paragraphs on why, he doesn't, because he'd rather talk about the lovely time he had with the friends he made working on it. Hell, he even ends by openly offering this book as the counterpoint to Kirby's immortal "Comics will break your heart, kid", before a reprint of his first ever self-publication shows quite how far he's stayed true to his gift and himself. When so many people look back on their own history in comics, or the field as a whole, with venom and pseudonyms, I can't but be happy about a wholesome account of a solid creator who's pretty happy with how it went. But I'd still love to have a chat with him after a couple of drinks and hear those ten paragraphs.
More than that, though, the remarkable thing is how the life recounted doesn't look at all like the sort you normally expect in a creative autobiography – no all-consuming celebrity romances, chaotic benders or crippling Toblerone addiction. Instead, it's life as we were always told it's meant to go – Lemire finds his talent early, self-publishes, does some acclaimed indie comics, a bit of superhero work, back to bigger indie titles, a couple of TV shows made from his work. Along the way he marries, they still seem really into each other, every few chapters they move into a bigger house... it's how I expected adulthood to go as a kid (and I'm about the same age), but for most of our cohort it doesn't seem to have worked out anything like this smoothly – which is ironic when that's the last word you'd use of his art. Yes, he's had some mental health wobbles, and his time in corporate comics offers tantalising hints of gossip – "I soon learned that other writers would jealously try to sabotage your career and your work for their own gain, and editors had agendas of their own, and would try to force those on you" – but he's politely/understandably/frustratingly reluctant to name names, and even when eg admitting Futures End was a disaster, and saying he could write ten paragraphs on why, he doesn't, because he'd rather talk about the lovely time he had with the friends he made working on it. Hell, he even ends by openly offering this book as the counterpoint to Kirby's immortal "Comics will break your heart, kid", before a reprint of his first ever self-publication shows quite how far he's stayed true to his gift and himself. When so many people look back on their own history in comics, or the field as a whole, with venom and pseudonyms, I can't but be happy about a wholesome account of a solid creator who's pretty happy with how it went. But I'd still love to have a chat with him after a couple of drinks and hear those ten paragraphs.
October 12, 2025
This was in interesting behind the scenes look into Jeff Lemire and his work.
He’s made some of my favorite comic stories, so it was cool to see the who’s and why’s behind their creation. This book is gloriously oversized as well.
Recommend for any Jeff Lemire fan
He’s made some of my favorite comic stories, so it was cool to see the who’s and why’s behind their creation. This book is gloriously oversized as well.
Recommend for any Jeff Lemire fan
September 5, 2025
4.1 (biblio)
August 11, 2025
Lemire is my favorite author and his work resonates a lot with me, especially as a father. So you can imagine how I savored every page of this book. Amazing collection of stories and art.
August 11, 2025
Jeff Lemire's memoir up to 2023 including lots of sketches and comic pages
Overall, I like Jeff Lemire's work though I like his writing more than his art. He did a very good job here of briefly explaining how/why he created things over the years with lots of visuals.
I've really enjoyed Descender, Sweet Tooth, Black Hammer, Sentient, Ascender, and Essex County. I liked Little Monsters, Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil, Robin and Batman, Unbelievable Unteens, and his Justice League Dark stuff. I thought Gideon Falls started off strong but didn't make it through the entire series (maybe I should give it another try). After reading this book, I'm adding Underwater Welder and Minor Arcana to my TBR (where I already have The Nobody).
Overall, I like Jeff Lemire's work though I like his writing more than his art. He did a very good job here of briefly explaining how/why he created things over the years with lots of visuals.
I've really enjoyed Descender, Sweet Tooth, Black Hammer, Sentient, Ascender, and Essex County. I liked Little Monsters, Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil, Robin and Batman, Unbelievable Unteens, and his Justice League Dark stuff. I thought Gideon Falls started off strong but didn't make it through the entire series (maybe I should give it another try). After reading this book, I'm adding Underwater Welder and Minor Arcana to my TBR (where I already have The Nobody).
July 23, 2025
Jeff Lemire after 25 years in the industry stops to reflect on his career. I always wondered how he managed to go from Essex County to being one of the biggest Marvel/DC writers. He removed the barrier between indie and mainstream comics. I'm feeling very inspired to go back and read the books I've skipped by Lemire. He's so prolific, so I'll probably focus on his creator owned works.
This could have been 5x the length if he went into more detail for all of his work.
Somehow I never heard about the Essex County TV show, that took him away from comics for a year or so.
This could have been 5x the length if he went into more detail for all of his work.
Somehow I never heard about the Essex County TV show, that took him away from comics for a year or so.
November 23, 2025
I’m a big fan of Jeff Lemire’s comic work, and getting all this behind-the-scenes commentary and process artwork in one package is wonderful. So if you go into this thinking of it as like DVD special features for his entire career, you’ll be happy with it.
But as an actual memoir—a piece of prose writing—it leaves a lot to be desired. The writing just isn’t good, unfortunately. And that’s honestly surprising for a creator whose fictional work is so unafraid to get weepy and probe real emotional depth.
But as an actual memoir—a piece of prose writing—it leaves a lot to be desired. The writing just isn’t good, unfortunately. And that’s honestly surprising for a creator whose fictional work is so unafraid to get weepy and probe real emotional depth.
August 4, 2025
I devoured this in a night, but as a huge Jeff Lemire fan, it was cool to get a peek behind the curtain and see what his creative process looks like. I was particularly interested to see how his drawing has changed throughout his career, as someone who has read the majority of his creations.
Definitely recommend if you're into seeing how comics are made and if you're already a fan of Jeff's work.
Definitely recommend if you're into seeing how comics are made and if you're already a fan of Jeff's work.
July 21, 2025
Great memoir by one of my favorite cartoonists. He gave a lot of interesting insights into his career, but I felt like he left out some interesting details. For example, he talks about how proud he is of his Old Man Logan run at Marvel, but never explains why. Overall though this is a good memoir.
August 13, 2025
I appreciated that the chapters were short and sweet but provided interesting insight into each of his major works and the circumstances behind their creation. I’ve loved everything by Lemire I’ve read and this was a reminder that there’s still so much out there to check out!
August 14, 2025
It’s no secret that I’ve loved Jeff Lemire’s work for a long time now. He’s the only author that I collect. For some reason his art just works for me.
While I didn’t find the memoir to give me much new information, it was still very nice to read. Seeing the unpublished sketches is what I loved.
While I didn’t find the memoir to give me much new information, it was still very nice to read. Seeing the unpublished sketches is what I loved.
December 15, 2025
My favorite comic book writer, I loved how vulnerable he was writing this book and deciphering each story and how it came to be! Brilliant work, I also loved his process on taking inspiration from other creators and also how he refers to his home town in Canada a lot!
September 29, 2025
85
Wish it had been slightly more personal.
Wish it had been slightly more personal.
Read
October 8, 2025I love Jeff Lemire's work, my favourite series being Descender (which isn't even his art).
Also learned that he was at Sheridan College the same time I was!
Also learned that he was at Sheridan College the same time I was!
November 6, 2025
Love Lemire's indie books and this is a cool overview of where they came from...
December 11, 2025
MPA ratings:
R for language
PG-13 for brief nudity (non-sexual)
PG for violence and tobacco depictions
R for language
PG-13 for brief nudity (non-sexual)
PG for violence and tobacco depictions
August 6, 2025
I have since then read a bunch but not necessarily his most popular / famous titles. For instance, I've still only read the first volume of Sweet Tooth, none of his DC comics, and none of his Essex County series. And yet, because he's a prolific author, I've still read a ton.
Thankfully this book covers both the big titles and the smaller ones. The memoir also has some projects that never made it to publication and some personal reminiscences. One thing that surprised me out of all of this is Lemire's age. He's four years younger than I am. I somehow had him pegged at maybe ten years older. He also shares my love of Haruki Murakami's fiction.
But there's one HUGE flaw with this book in its ebook form. As it's published by Dark Horse, a graphic novel publisher, I think it's an oversight and not intentional. The text, a typeface made to look like hand lettering, is very tiny and hard to read on screen. The pages are all solid images meaning the text can't be increased like a normal epub could be. I suspect in print form the text isn't any easier to read.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2025/com...
Thankfully this book covers both the big titles and the smaller ones. The memoir also has some projects that never made it to publication and some personal reminiscences. One thing that surprised me out of all of this is Lemire's age. He's four years younger than I am. I somehow had him pegged at maybe ten years older. He also shares my love of Haruki Murakami's fiction.
But there's one HUGE flaw with this book in its ebook form. As it's published by Dark Horse, a graphic novel publisher, I think it's an oversight and not intentional. The text, a typeface made to look like hand lettering, is very tiny and hard to read on screen. The pages are all solid images meaning the text can't be increased like a normal epub could be. I suspect in print form the text isn't any easier to read.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2025/com...
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews