The Woodchipper

by Joe Ollmann, Tom Devlin (Editor)

Genres: Graphic Novels

216 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2026

About the author

Joe Ollmann lives in Hamilton, the Riviera of Southern Ontario. He is the winner of the Doug Wright Award for Best Book in 2007 and loser of the same award another time.

Reviews

[John Schorg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly resonant book about people often overlooked in any sort of writing. While the general themes focus on escalating shit-shows, it is likely that you will think more about the depictions of people like security guards and small business owners and how they get through their day-to-day lives.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Ollmann is such an underrated cartoonist but hopefully "The Woodchipper" changes that. This collection of short comics is maybe his best work yet, so confident and funny and beautifully drawn. I feel like a lot of cartoonists love to tell stories about losers and sad sacks because they enjoy the visceral, passing-by-a-car-crash thrill of their escapades but Ollman seems to have a really genuine affection for his put upon characters. It makes them very easy to root for, even when they're making bad decisions or setting themselves up for failure. I enjoyed the hell out of "The Woodchipper" and I could definitely see myself revisiting these wonderfully nuanced characters regularly.

FAVORITES:
"The Woodchipper" - A city worker finds himself debilitated by PTSD after a near-miss accident on the job
"Nestled All Snug" - A bookstore employee becomes trapped in the restroom at work on Christmas Eve
"The Late Check Out" - An aspiring real estate mogul's elaborate financial plan begins to unravel when a renter commits suicide in one of his properties

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique snippets of people's mundane lives and their interesting circumstances. I liked the bleak themes mixed in with humor and saturated colors.
I think the endings are plenty satisfying, despite his intro saying he worries a little that the readers might not think so. I would like to check out other comics by Joe in the future.
This isn't a 5 stars for me because that's reserved for books that I anticipate revisiting more often, but I am definitely glad I read this.