Bury Me Already (It's Nice Down Here): Comics on Pregnancy and Parenthood

by Julia Wertz

Achingly tender and absurdly funny, Bury Me, Already (It's Nice Down Here), by acclaimed graphic memoirist Julia Wertz (Impossible People), chronicles pregnancy and motherhood during challenging times. After being illegally evicted from her basement studio in Brooklyn, Julia returns to Northern California with plans to head to Los Angeles to pursue a different career path. But when she reunites with her family and rekindles a relationship with an ex-boyfriend, she discovers that her vision of the future might not be what she really wants. After a surprise pregnancy and a marriage proposal, Julia settles into quiet life in a small town. But as 2020 approaches, her world—and the world around her— takes sharp turn towards unexpected chaos. Julia’s story of pregnancy, miscarriage, the pandemic, wildfires, a family crisis, a traumatic birth, new motherhood, marriage, and a life-altering event is a heart-wrenching, tender, and hilarious story of resilience, adversity, and, ultimately, love. 

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Memoir, Parenting, Nonfiction, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2026

About the author

Julia Wertz is a professional cartoonist, amateur historian, and part-time urban explorer. She made the comic books The Fart Party vol 1 and vol 2 (collected in Museum of Mistakes) and the graphic novels Drinking at the Movies, The Infinite Wait, Tenements, Towers, & Trash, (for which she won the 2018 Brendan Gill Prize), and Impossible People. She does regular short story comics for the New Yorker. Her work has appeared regularly in the New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, the Believer, the Best American Comics, and other publications. Her photography of abandoned places has appeared in a handful of newspapers. She is a repeated MacDowell fellow but was rejected from Yaddo. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she spent a decade in New York City before settling in Sonoma County, CA, with her partner Oliver (yup, the Oliver from Fart Party) and their son Felix. She’s currently working on the graphic novel Bury Me Already (It’s Nice Down Here) to be released in 2025.

Reviews

[kate j · Rating 5 out of 5]

in some cosmic stars aligning kind of event, i started this book the night before mother’s day.

i have nothing else to say other than i finished it just now and cried. julia wertz is so funny, and observant, and wise. i want to be a cartoonist.

[Hannah Garden · Rating 5 out of 5]

How many years have I been reading Wertz now?? Twenty?? That can't be right but I have been on board for a loooong time, she is one of my all-time top-five favorite cartoonists. Like a lot of people, I fell in love with her work because I identified so profoundly with her--young Julia is a foulmouthed fuck-up with a tough-guy exterior and a neurotic chaotic mush-center who's addicted to isolating but deeeeeply appreciates her friends and family, plus the substance abuse stuff and family trauma, her efforts to make sense of all that while trying not to be a huge bitch and/or insane all the time. She is so good at getting it all on the page, all the depth and goofiness of being a weird intense human, trying to balance the hurdles and the gifts, trudging the road, showing up for the work.
All of which is to say, I snarfed this book down like I always snarf her books down. I read her like I eat popcorn at the movie theatre which is to say HAND OVER FIST BABYY, and it just feels so good for my poor forlorn scrambled addled brain to sink into her incredibly clear and detailed cartooning and revel in the loveliness and ordinariness and nastiness and extraordinariness of these precious idiotic lives we lucked into, those of us who've made it this far with our beloved buds and bros.
Wertz is a master memoirist, toughminded and clear-eyed, sweet and tender and no-nonsense and with her eye on the prize--the decent existence, the life worth living, all the 9th step promises--and from what I can tell it makes her as five-star a Mom as it does a cartoonist, and I just really really really love to see it, each chapter as it unfolds. Beautiful work, as always. Beautiful, beautiful, stupid, disgusting stuff.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this for myself for Mother's day (don't worry, I also got my mom a gift--she's just not into comics). Yet another addicting memoir from Julia Wertz, I couldn't put this down and mayyy have extended my work lunch by another hour just to keep reading. Wertz's writing style is just so silly yet heartfelt, and very approachable even when covering difficult topics.

[David Bruggink · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoyed Impossible People, you’ll likely love this as well. You might notice the cover and spine and graced by an electric orange, which I can only assume is the color one begins to see after going without sleep for too long due to incessant infant crying. It’s extremely funny but also much more than that - a profound self reflection.
It chronicles the transcendent joy, pain, and humor of forcing, in Cronenberg-esque fashion, a creature out of one’s body. It balances the painful (e.g. a maddeningly impersonal first pediatrician visit that filled me with rage) with the hilarious and the poignant in a way that only the best graphic memoirs can. So good!

[BethFishReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a 4.5.

A graphic memoir of Wertz's journey to motherhood.

I loved Wertz's earlier memoir *Impossible People,* which dealt with her coming to grips with alcohol and forging a life of sobriety. In her latest memoir, she is equally frank about pregnancy, birth, and the first years of being a parent.

Although Wertz relies on humor, her memoir is open about the hardships and unglamorous sides of her journey. She writes about the heartbreak of miscarriage and the fears she had during her next pregnancy. She, as other new mothers in 2020-21, had the added isolation caused by COVID and then by the California wildfire season. She writes openly about the roller coaster of feeling love and being fiercely protective one minute to wondering what happened to her old self and missing her independence and privacy the next minute.

Other topics include her reality vs. the Instagram-perfect new mothers, the many ways her son changed as he grew from neonate to toddler, the evolution of her relationship with her partner, and how her brother's struggles added to her overall sense of responsibility.

Wertz's black and white drawings range from detailed street scenes to simple, yet realistic, drawings of people and indoor settings. Interspersed, Wertz includes sections and panels that more like doodles rather than finished drawings. Many of these are taken from her sketch book, and she explains in the introduction why she left them as is.

Overall, a moving, frank, and unvarnished look at becoming a mother in an uncertain world. I highly recommend this memoir to everyone. You don't have to be a mother (I'm not) to relate to much of what Wertz writes.

Thanks to Black Dog for the review copy.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't exactly put into words why I love Julia Wertz's work so much, but there is something so special about loving a living artist and patiently waiting for the next piece of their magic to come out into the world. And then not only is it magic, because it's Julia, but it's THIS magic - as Kate Beaton put it, about "love, love most of all, in all its most complex routes that run from one person to another." Anyway I laughed a bunch and cried and got mad about crying and thank you, JW.

[Sophie McPartland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sort of dry wit that suggests it’s all perfectly manageable, really—provided you don’t think about it too much. Julia Wertz has a knack for observing life’s more chaotic edges and presenting them as if they’re mildly inconvenient rather than deeply absurd.
It’s quietly sharp, unexpectedly funny, and carries the comforting implication that everything is a bit of a mess—but at least we can be sardonic about it.
I felt seen!

[Mary Northrup · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan for a long time. Author/artist Wertz is one of the best at autobiographical comics.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read a lot of this with my ten year old, loved giving her this view of parenthood. Captures so much of the experience in a way I haven’t otherwise seen. Also I was kind of living in Petaluma at the same time.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comics about babies & motherhood are never going to be my thing but this is book is different, filled as it is with harrowing and moving and hilariously funny—and often quite profane/scatological—stories. Another excellent collection from Julia Wertz.

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wertz's latest graphic memoir charts the course from ambivalent 30-something to baby-brain-worm mama.

We last saw Wertz at the end of 10 years in New York City. Over that decade she got sober, reconnected with life, and discovered urban exploring, as documented in Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story.
She skips the part where she moves back to the Bay Area, gets back together with Oliver, and settles into a domestic routine. In Wertz fashion, we pop back in as she's lowering her self to the toilet seat - in conversation with Oliver about whether or not to marry.

This is a comic about Wertz deciding to have a child and then raising that child (we leave the family when Felix is 3 I think?) but it's also about living through the pandemic and the love Wertz has for her family.
Is it worth reading if you have no interest in child rearing?
I think so, if nothing else because you get to witness the overnight infestation of the baby-brain worm that takes over Julia. This is an autobiographical tale, so Wertz is showing us this from her own experience but even so it is a jolt. Her trinkets and collections from urban exploring are thrown out, her fluffy cat Jack is rehomed (!!!), there's no more career for her (at least in the beginning, this book came from somewhere!) - there's a baby to keep alive. I've no doubt that this is a genuine experience and as such it's a fascinating one to witness.
Wertz and I are vastly different people with different life experiences but we are of similar ages living in the Bay Area and I empathized with a lot of her struggles in the first book. In this book though, she's been replaced by a creature I don't recognize: mama-Julia. It's really fascinating. Her rehoming Jack would have been unthinkable to me when reading Impossible Creatures. The absolute erasure of her previous identity is the theme of the book - only the sardonic wit remains.
I am very much looking forward to the next memoir when we are both in our 60's and little Felix has flown the coop. Who will Wertz be then?

I imagine people who are or were or are planning to raise kids will get a lot more out of this book but maybe not? Like Wertz I am married to someone from that part of Europe so recognized a lot of the marriage/relationship comics from my own life - but I don't think that made me enjoy them more or less than the baby rearing.
I also really appreciated hearing more about Josh. I echo Julia's sentiment that I hope he shares his story one day.

As a standalone I don't like this book as much but when paired with the Impossible People it's a fascinating read. Definitely one for the young mothers in your life.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

So how long has it been, Julia, fifteen years that I have been reading all your comic/graphic memoirs? And who gives me the right to address you as if I knew you personally? More than fifteen years of my reading your work, obviously, where you create the fiction that you are talking/writing/drawing to me personally, as if I were just another friend. Good strategy. I have said this before: When I am reading a memoir, maybe especially a memoir, I google the author and see what else I can find out about the author, and then that feeds the fantasy even more. I did see her once at some alt comix gig, never talked to her at all in person (because then I would have to admit I really don't know her, and that would crush me).

Maybe Drinking at the Movies or The Fart Party was the first experience reading her sometimes cringy but always hilarious confessions. I thought Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story (2023) was terrific, a memoir about her recovery from alcoholism, and even though her brother Josh says that all recovery stories say basically the same thing, and he's right, I loved it, anyway. Maybe because she manages to be affecting, brutally honest and hilarious all at once.

Bury Me Already (It's Nice Down Here) (2026) is the story of her pregnancy and parenting (and whatever else happened along the way, like Josh's terrible accident and all of it happening in the time of Covid) of her son into childhood. Josh might also tell you (but I will) that pregnancy and parenting memoirs are a lot alike, but I'll repeat what I said above, basically: This is predictable and poignant and hilarious all the way through. It is long, but I read (almost) all of it. I mean, do we need every cute Kids Say the Darnedest Things anecdote set in a three-panel comic strip about the little Monchi!? I say nah, but okay, on the whole it is still very readable even for a guy three decades older than she.

I love Julia, her family and friends, and I especially love her Mom and all her great advice and death stories. And yes, for continuity, we have a generous amount of farting, a through line in all her books. And of course pooping and peeing and milk-leaking and C-section and other kinds of body horror. And I like that she includes rough drawings from in-the-moment, like diary comix. I like her potty mouth, always.

One obvious comparison is to Lucy Knisley's also great pregnancy memoir, Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Carful Chaos (2019). Both are brutally honest about the perils of pregnancy and motherhood, and ultimately, natch, positive.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia Wertz has always specialized in making profane (but hilarious!) I-can't-believe-she-went-there autobiographical comics about her addictions, her quirks, her mistakes, and her other shortcomings. She's always been a fearless cartoonist, arguably her greatest asset as an artist. Surely becoming a wife and mother would mellow her out a little, though, make her a bit more guarded, right? Hahahaha! Uh... no. If anything, Wertz goes even HARDER with "Bury Me Already (It's Nice Down Here): Comics On Pregnancy And Parenthood," a no-holds-barred catalog of all the indignities, anxieties, and dread that come with starting a family. If you're already a fan of Wertz, this book cements her status as one of the most unique voices in comics; if you're not a fan (I understand the criticism she gets for making some of her sketchy pieces but YOU try to make comics - a notoriously labor-intensive process - while wrangling a toddler and tell me how easy that is), "Bury Me Already" is kind of more of the same but it might surprise you with some of its depth. I'm in the former category and I couldn't put this book down. Any artist who opens herself and her life so fully to their reader deserves nothing less than my full attention.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I had my baby over 30 years ago, during a not so horrible fire season as it was in 2020, I can still fully relate to what the author went through in her latest biographical book. Have a baby during the worst fire season in California, until another one comes along, and at the height of the pandemic makes all the experiences she went through twice or thrice as bad.

And the author tells us all about it in great detail. I too remember the exhaustion of a new born, so I’m amazed that she was able to recall any of it. As well as the overwhelming need to just be there for the baby. The US just doesn’t care about women and babies. Maternity leave, what exists, is far too short, and there is no support system.

If you have been reading the author since Fart Party, or if you only know her from Impossible People,this book will blow your socks off. So much pain and humor wrapped up in one wonderful book. I won’t say I laughed until I cried, because I didn’t, but I did nod my head.

Even if you don’t have kids, and never plan to, this is well worth reading, and having.

This book is available wherever books are sold, and was published in April 2026.

[Jenny Laughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been following Julia’s comics for about 18 years now and I’ve loved everything she has created. I’m not sure if it’s the cumulative years of reading and loving her work, the fact that we’re close in age and I also had a kid 2 years ago, or the sheer force of her talent and the unique perspective with which she shares her life, but this is my absolute favorite of everything she’s published. The intersection of raw honesty and dark hilarious absurdity with just the right sprinkling of sentimentality and heart made this the exact book I had been longing for as a new-ish mom. I found myself sending panels to mom friends every night because it felt like Julia had tapped into something so universal about becoming a mother and the ensuing identity shift (not to mention all the sweet silliness and the never ending avalanche of poop). Just an absolute perfect pleasure of a book!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected, I loved this graphic novel from Julia Wertz. All the ups and downs of new parenthood, in all its ugly and hilarious glory. I especially enjoy that my kids are now 8 and 11 and I can read this sometimes painful book with my humor intact because to go through infancy to toddlerdom is quite a beast. So many beautiful, cherished moments. So many moments of terror and frustration. That's life as a parent. Her story is made all the more poignant as it occurs during the pandemic. Her brother's story is also very bittersweet and reminds me of the frailty of everything. Wonderful illustrations. Engaging, humorous, relatable storytelling. Highly recommended! :)

[Daisye Orr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read anything by Julia Wertz (and I have). I am not a parent, but that didn't impact my enjoyment of this book at all. I laughed out loud several times (especially the pages featuring her mom which I DID relate to) and deeply felt many of the tender and difficult storylines. I also appreciated the description of life and healthcare during the pandemic.

Her graphic style is very enjoyable - easy to take in and also satisfyingly detailed. The amount of effort to create this book is astonishing to think about.

[Keiler Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. Bury Me Already is poignant, surprising, relatable, revealing, insightful, honest, and extremely funny. I love her drawing style. It sets the tone for her writing perfectly. Wertz explains things when needed, including why certain information is withheld. She’s able to describe the most painful points in life with just enough emotional distance to provide the reader with a sense of relief and faith in her ability to survive anything. I would recommend this book to parents and everyone else I know.

[Feyiszayo Adesanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bury Me Already is raw, funny, heartbreaking, and deeply human all at once. Julia Wertz captures the chaos of pregnancy, motherhood, relationships, and survival during uncertain times with honesty and sharp humor. The artwork and storytelling feel incredibly personal, making even the messiest moments relatable and emotionally powerful. A beautifully candid graphic memoir about resilience, change, and finding love and meaning in the middle of life’s unpredictability.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well done graphic novel about a woman's journey through pregnancy, including the highs and many lows. I've read her previous book and enjoyed this one as well. The one and only thing I did not like were her "stick figure" drawings as she put it, which were some pages that she did not give the artistic treatment her other pages were given. These characters reminded me almost of insects and they kind of took away from the general style of the book.

[Jessica Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've followed Julia Wertz's work for many years and have especially loved her newer stuff about motherhood. Her kiddo is only 6ish months younger than mine, and reading about her experience of becoming a mother during the pandemic was incredibly relatable (and of course, hilarious). I don't know if will hit other readers quite as hard as it will other parents or people with young children in their lives, but there's plenty of bathroom-related humor for everyone to enjoy!

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up in honor of the bravery behind the exceedingly personal shares in this graphic novel memoir. Any mother will relate at some level to Wertz’s reflections on pregnancy and early motherhood. There are moments of visceral sadness and out-loud chuckles all mixed together, just like real life. I enjoyed the mix of artistry styles and the chance to reflect on how differently I might have viewed the pandemic if I’d been a new parent at the time.

[Alec Longstreth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. I could really relate to what Julia wrote/drew about raising small kids during the pandemic, moving to a new place, reconnecting with family, etc. I laughed and cried so much while reading this. Wertz remains one of my favorite autobio cartoonists. I hope she's got another ten books like this in her. I'll read and love them all.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't had a baby in the house for over 15 years and I've never been a mom, but still, I always look forward to a new Julia Wertz book. She nailed the ups and downs of having a baby and toddler and, although I couldn't directly relate to a lot of her situation, I appreciate how thoughtful - and funny - this book was. Glad to see she's still creating and evolving.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do I give more than 5 stars?? Equal parts funny and moving, this is the rare book that literally made me both laugh and cry. The perfect book for me to read as a current toddler-parent, but I would recommend to all parents and non-parents alike.

[Kricket · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another absolute winner from Julia Wertz. Sad and hard and true but also very, very funny: my favorite combo. Bonus: one of the comics mentioned a band called "Shannon & the Clams" and I liked the name so much I checked them out and have been listening all week.

[Donna Lipton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious and very real. How is she able to convey so much humanity with stick figures? I wanted more remembrances of NorCal during the pandemic because it already feels like ancient history that never truly happened.

[Libriar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic memoir about Wertz's journey through pregnancy and early parenthood. I was not familiar with her previous work, but she did a good job filling in some gaps. I would have appreciated this book more 10 years ago, but it's still a worthy read.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes sad, but very funny. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the parenting things.

[Rowan Corpus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Wertz comic memoir!