Handbook: A Graphic Novel

by Kevin Budnik

Handbook is a graphic memoir drawn from writing and experience from Kevin's time in therapy for disordered eating, juxtaposed with life post-recovery. It's an account of personal guilt and stress as well as a story about relationships and moving on.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Memoir

196 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Kevin Budnik is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a BFA in Illustration.

He lives in Chicago in a modest apartment surrounded by VHS tapes and comics.


Source: Kevin Budnik - Contact.

Reviews

[Kate Atherton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at CAKE Comics expo in Chicago this weekend, from the author, and read it all in one sitting the next morning. I have read now three of Budnik's books and find him to be an exemplary young, fresh voice. He discusses MAJOR turmoil in his life with a responsible tone of humor, frankness and never dips into the pitiable self loathing of many comic memoir-ists. Just when you think he's down, he brings it back up with a chat between him and friends or a musing about life in the city while walking down the street. I feel his work really reflects the human experience in this way ; that things are bad and very hard (this book centers around his therapy for an eating disorder) but still life goes on and one can find joy in a very little thing one day at a time. Budnik's work is so hopeful, I think, and so balanced even in the face of tough subjects. He takes a lot onto his plate in this book ; online and long distance dating, relationships with family and friends, the monotony of work and, mainly, the process of therapy and recovery and what that meant to him and many of the people around him. I highly recommend his work and hope he makes many more books as he is one of my favorite new memoir-ists/daily comic makers on the scene today.

[MariNaomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read Kevin's diary comics online and I've always enjoyed them--he's got a touching way of describing human interactions, and his art is charming and sweet. But this book took me entirely by surprise with its heaviness and heart. Yes these comics are diary-like in that they feel immediate, but they have a cohesiveness and strength that are usually missing from transcribing a life's event in the moment. Highly recommended.

[Derek Royal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moving diary comic that really gets you into a year of Budnik's struggle with eating disorders. Its highly personal tone, at times, might not be for every reader.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collected diary comics. The drawing style makes these very easy to look at. The format is somewhat disorienting, because there is only a very weak linear timeline to help make sense of the artist's story. Once one realizes that the only theme is "my thoughts", the reader can relax and see what comes next. There are brief dips into treatment for an eating disorder and what appears to be OCD-like obsessions and compulsions. This includes a thought record from a therapist using CBT to treat the artist. However, there is about as much regarding dating, working in a retail environment, and visits with the family.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Handbook is one of the comics I most relate to personally. At first I thought that at some point it would trigger me but I was so wrong. I felt less alone after reading it and grateful that someone could finally make a comic that expresses how people who had/have eating disorders feel and think. Kevin's style is beautiful- reminds me a bit of Jeffrey Brown but much delicate and sweet. One of my personal favorites without a doubt. Makes your heart warm.

[Indriana Sugiharto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kevin Budnik, and his charming drawing style.

This book is about his experience about anxiety & ED, & really helps me try to understand what it feels like to deal with ED based on his perspective.

My favorite parts are the “Internet Sidebar” and “A mug for every year that you live” :)

[Ian Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this book every couple of years, and every time it still hits close to home in the most cathartically melancholy way. There is a certain sense of calm and understanding that comes with each reading, and no matter how many times I circle back to it I always leave the experience feeling present in my surroundings. I first read it back when I was first in recovery while searching online for other males who had struggled with disordered eating, which is how I became familiar with Kevin Budnik's work. So to the author, if you're out there, thanks for sharing your vulnerability - it means as much to 26 year old me and it did to 20 year old me.

[Melissa Chalhoub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. I'm a big fan of Budnik's drawing style, and the vignettes are very touching.
Recommended.