Sunburning

by Keiler Roberts

In an era where personal lives are meticulous curated and presented, Keiler Roberts’ unflinching and intimate comics reveal real life to be as absurd as it is profound. In a sequence of vignettes, Roberts delineates the complicated life of a mother and artist that can be comical, melancholic and delightful.

Keiler Roberts’ autobiographical comic series Powdered Milk has received an Ignatz Award for Outstanding Series and was included in the The Best American Comics 2016. Her work has been published in The Chicago Reader, Mutha Magazine, Nat. Brut, Darling Sleeper, Newcity, and several anthologies.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Memoir, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Mental Health, Womens

120 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2017

Reviews

[Juan Naranjo]

Leo a muchos autores que tienen una gran capacidad para narrar lo extraordinario, lo excepcional, lo que rompe la rutina de un protagonista y lo enfrasca en una situación imprevisible y novedosa. Pero me interesan mucho más los autores capaces de narrar lo cotidiano, de convertir en arte lo ordinario, porque creo que ellos tienen un ojo especial para analizar lo que les rodea, para replantear las cosas, para profundizar en la psique, las relaciones y las costumbres. Y es por ello por lo que, personalmente, Keiler Roberts supuso para mí un hallazgo maravilloso que me conquistó rotundamente desde la primera página de su cómic ‘Isolada’.

Esta autora hace viñetas sobre su propia vida: la de una dibujante de cómic que intenta vivir de su arte y de sus clases, que trata de llevar lo mejor posible su vida familiar y su maternidad, y que procura lidiar con su salud mental. Y lo hace abrazando una honestidad que se desprende de las convenciones sociales y del optimismo autoimpuesto, por lo que es tan real y tan cruda que puede resultar hasta incómoda.

‘Isolada’ es un cómic sobre la conciencia del fracaso, sobre necesitar la validación y la compañía de personas que te cansan a los cinco minutos, sobre esos pensamientos que nunca dices en voz alta pero que te dan vueltas alrededor de la cabeza como una mosca cojonera. Está escrito desde la esperanza y la aceptación, pero también desde la amargura y el desasosiego. A veces es un puñetazo en la cara y otras veces te saca una sonrisa que es más bien una mueca congelada. Es un auténtico librazo.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pre-ordered this book after having read and thoroughly loved Roberts's Miseryland, culled from her Powdered Milk ongoing work, got it today in the mail and immediately sat down and read it through and loved it. It's about parenting, art, stability, family, and is touching and insightful and funny and absurd. It's diary comics at their very best. I love this book as much as I loved Miseryland. I am such a fan!

Here's a bit of what it looks like:

http://koyamapress.com/projects/sunbu...

Here's Keiler Roberts's website, with volumes of Powdered Milk there for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.keilerroberts.com/Powdered...

[Reggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es sorprendente la capacidad de Keiler Roberts para transmitir en historias muy cortas y con un estilo gráfico personalísimo toda la ansiedad y la ternura de un hogar contemporáneo, como madre y como hija. Especialmente loable es su forma de abordar los trastornos mentales que sufre, con naturalidad y una honestidad brutal que casi siempre la deja en mal lugar por mezquina e incapaz de empatizar.
Mención especial merece la presencia constante de los perris Crooky y Loki.
Mucha ternura y mucha sinceridad. Me quedo con ganas de más.

[Julen B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grata sorpresa. Me he partido el culo. Ojalá más gente tomándose la vida así. No estoy seguro si habría menos guerras ni menos discusiones, pero nos reiríamos un poquito más, eso lo tengo claro.

[José Pascual · Rating 4 out of 5]

La potentísima ilustración de portada de Isolada define la obra mucho mejor de lo que yo pueda hacerlo. Una mujer tumbada bocabajo, dormida, exhausta o muerta, y un perro jugueteando por encima de ella. En la fuerza de esta imagen subyace el corazón de la obra de Keiler Roberts, pues es una perfecta representación del individuo maltrecho que no es capaz de lidiar con los problemas del mundo y decide parar. Mientras, la vida sigue su curso indiferente a su estaticidad.

Roberts, autora de cómics autobiográficos de gran prestigio como Powdered milk o Miseryland, incide en Isolada en aportar una colección de momentos íntimos, un compendio de instantáneas extraídas de su más absoluta cotidianidad. De esta manera, en las páginas del cómic asistimos a una demostración de honestidad en la que vemos cómo Keiler Roberts enfrenta la relación con sus padres, con su marido y con las personas que tiene que tratar a diario. Pero sobre todo, este cómic se centra en dos aspectos: la enfermedad mental —un trastorno bipolar— que sufre la autora, y la maternidad y crianza de su hija pequeña. Con ello, se entremezclan pasajes en los que vemos cómo la enfermedad adquiere un peso fundamental en su vida y obra con otros en los que se destapan esas pequeñas maravillas que con total naturalidad desprende todo niño de la edad de su hija. No es difícil entrar en esa privacidad y sentir de inmediato simpatía por la familia.

Reseña completa en "Dentro del Monolito": https://dentrodelmonolito.com/2020/06...

[Maricruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tengo la sensación de que estos cómics pueden perfectamente dejarte indiferente, o bien enamorarte. A mí me han enamorado. Son pequeñas escenas, algunas de no más de una viñeta, sobre la vida cotidiana de la autora, especialmente en relación con su hija. No toméis este cómic buscando una historia lineal, una continuidad.

Isolada tiene la autenticidad de alguien que no busca complacer, o de quien, ya por anticipado, no cuenta con complacer. Alguien que sabe que eso puede suceder o no, y que reconoce que no es lo más importante. Por eso, aunque siempre es posible buscar similitudes o influencias, creo que la obra de Keiler Roberts no se parece a la de nadie más. Es como si no te lo pusiera fácil, no por mala idea o por esnobismo, sino porque las cosas siempre son más complejas de lo que una puede aspirar a explicar. Te lo pone difícil por su manera de dibujar, tan escueta en sus sencillas líneas en blanco y negro, pero también por la inexpresividad y la economía con que presenta esas escenas tan significativas para ella, pero que dependen tanto de que tú logres o no empatizar. Ya solo el tema de la maternidad, la relación que estableces con un hijo, es algo que a algunas personas no les suscitará reconocimiento ninguno, pero en la que otras captamos de inmediato algo familiar.

Mira, yo qué sé, solo sé que ahora tengo ganas de leer todo lo que Keiler Roberts publique o haya publicado.

[Jara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Las cuatro páginas sin palabras mientras limpia toda la casa son espectaculares. Perdona, referencia a Goodreads. Una risa todo, por no llorar. Como nosotros.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

corriendo a la biblioteca a por todo lo que tengan de keiler roberts!!! ❤❤(actualización: no tienen nada :_

[Nora Eugénie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"No encajo. No me gusta el punk. No molo. Solo hablo con la gente cuando no les queda otra que estar conmigo. Mi infancia fue demasiado buena. Nunca me independicé ni mucho menos me rebelé. Nadie va a entender nunca lo que hago. Ya tengo claro que todo va a salir fatal."

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be a deep meditation on the sacredness of family. The short pieces acted as windows into a carefully crafted mother and daughter relationship with forays into husband and wife and adult child and mother relations. The art is simple but it works really well with the sparse text. At times this book was sad and funny and had a spirit of melancholy. I can relate to being a parent of a young child and having to explain to them a difficult medical condition. Roberts was thoughtful and delicate in the discussion of bi polar and it showed how much she loved her daughter and cared for an open and honest dialogue. I can't put my finger on it but this work reminded me of some of John Porcellino's stuff. I read it while listening to some new age hippie relaxation music but a good Coltrane album or Husker Du accompaniment would have been appropriate. Very impressive. Not overly arty. More autobiographical and full of keen life observations.

[Hannah Garden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keiler Roberts makes incredible, fascinating, extremely funny, touching, & relatable comics and I would like to read like one billion more of them right now.

[J.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My past reviews of Roberts' books apply to Sunburning as well. Her comics are unlike any others that I've read. The short vignettes of family life, work and introspection add up to more than the sum of their parts. Whereas past books centered more on humorous interactions between Roberts and her child, husband, dog, etc., this one has a little more at stake (although there is still plenty of humor).

[Megan Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after I read My Begging Chart, and it was interesting to read Keiler's story out of chronology. Her quiet, everyday humor really lands for me. And when it leads into a sharp, nostalgic sadness--oh, baby! That's the good stuff!

I read this book in two sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[MariNaomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good, I had my husband (who doesn't necessarily like comics) read it right after me. He laughed so hard, I felt professional jealousy. Highly recommended!

[King]

Oh the moments she captures

[Maria Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

La reseña completa en http://inthenevernever.blogspot.com/2...

“¿Qué le regalaremos nosotros a mami?
¿Qué crees que le gustaría?
Pastillas”.

Maternidad, creatividad, perdida, enfermedad… Isolada, de Keiler Roberts, es un cómic que se disfruta desde el principio hasta el final. Unas memorias gráficas de una artista que, además de enfrentarse a la maternidad con ingenio, debe lidiar con el trastorno bipolar. Yo me quedé un poco enamorada de su manera de reflejar la complejidad de su mundo y con su humor. Ojalá pronto podamos seguir disfrutando de sus historias en español. ¡Si están buscando un cómic diferente dadle una oportunidad!

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

This doesn't seem to be a graphic novel as much as a collection of one- and two-page strips. There are no transitions or story flow or even context as the memoirist skips from anecdote to anecdote. In the end she gives more weight to "cute things my daughter says/does" strips than to the ones dealing with her bipolar condition and miscarriage. That misbalance results in page after page of the most mundane slice of life scenes. Reading the book felt like getting cornered by a chatty aunt at a family reunion. She natters along thoughtlessly, dropping family tragedy bombs into her drone of cute kitten and toddler stories, giving you an unstructured and maddening giant-ass information dump that just leaves you looking for a chance to escape her clutches.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. I picked it up because the cover looked interesting, but overall I felt let down. They were short snippets of life, but most of them were completely unrelatable to me. I don't have a kid and I don't particularly love reading about a stranger's kid doing cutesy things. Maybe Jeffrey Brown can pull that off, but that's because I like the art style. This art style is just... I don't know, as unrelatable as the snippets I guess. I had a hard time reading the facial expressions from the sketchy style. Still, I enjoyed the short, honest bits about depression/bipolar/chronic fatigue, so that saves it from being two stars. Not my cup of tea.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a more-than-worthy followup to Keiler Roberts' previous collection of comics, Miseryland (2015), which I've read more than once. As ever, her comics are delightfully funny, poignantly melancholy & remarkably observant to the quirks of daily domestic life. Can't recommend Keiler's work enough.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a wonderful introduction to Keiler Roberts's work, although readers would also do well to check out her Powered Milk stories either online or (better yet) getting them in minicomics or book form through her directly: http://www.keilerroberts.com. We discussed this book on a recent episode of The Comics Alternative, and I eagerly await her next efforts!

First read may 13, 2017

[Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really nice collection of short comics about the author's everyday existence, the two main threads being her struggle with depression and her experiences of motherhood. I'm not usually big on autobiographical comics, but I enjoy the diary-like approach here, with little vignettes of mundane events that gradually build up a picture of Keiler Roberts and her life. The topic of Roberts's mental health is quite dark and heavy at times, but this is nicely counterbalanced with levity provided by cute things her daughter says and does. Or viewed the other way around, the "kids say the funniest things" aspect could have been corny, but this is averted thanks to the hard-hitting honesty with which Roberts depicts herself. Above all, this is a highly human depiction of parenthood, totally frank in showing how parents don't always have everything figured out and under control. Its ultimate message seeming to be that parenthood is difficult but doable and worthwhile, this is a revelatory and heartening read for someone like me, who's hit his 30s but still has doubts about whether he's "grown up" enough to have a child.

[Laury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al ser este el primer cómic que leía al completo me apetecía algo sencillo, fácil de comprender y que pudiera gustarme. Isolada me llamó la atención por su portada y su título, y acabó sorprendiéndome en su interior por la capacidad de Keiler para narrar fragmentos de su vida, siendo brutalmente sincera sobre su trastorno mental y su día a día junto a su hija, marido y perra. Escribe, dibuja pequeños cachos de recuerdos divertidos, duros y estresantes, muy reflejados en la vida de personas como nosotros mismos. Utiliza un humor negro muy inteligente, convirtiendo algo serio en interesante y agradable de leer. Me ha gustado mucho, sí. Es un cómic que con el paso del tiempo analizaré y tendré mejores sensaciones sobre él.

[Felipe Assis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essa autora parece ter uma facilidade em falar do cotidiano, ela conta frivolidades de forma realista e cativante. Ah e que senso de humor, hein?! Perfeito, ela cita bastante suas outras obras, então vou atrás de outras coisas dela certamente.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roberts is as honest as ever and focuses a bit more on her health in this one (mental and physical). The daughter, Xia, one of the things that I enjoy the most about this series is less prevalent but that is also addressed when Roberts tells us how she worries about the way that the way that the comics will be seen by Xia in the future and how they're already affecting her at school.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

For part of it I was a little put off by the non-linear style, but I realized that linearity was an expectation that was unfair to the work. I then thought of the style as more ‘slice of life’ and enjoyed it much more.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm taking an out-of-order journey through Keiler Roberts' serialized graphic memoir. Here, my favorite section was the 6-page, nearly-wordless chronicle of the work of cleaning a house.

Several other sections bring an interesting self-referential aspect into the work:
--The first drawing after the book dedication depicts Keiler Roberts' father talking about the cover of Sunburning.
--There are a large number of stories about Roberts' young daughter. One section considers how stories that were included in earlier volumes of the series will affect her daughter as she grows up.
--There are also references to mediocre GoodReads reviews and even a piece where Keiler Roberts has a conversation with one of her readers about a story that is compiled in this book.

I'm looking forward to reading the 2019 collection and will hopefully also find the first few collections.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunburning catapulted Roberts to one of my favorites. I laughed to tears multiple times, knowing I would have a hard time explaining why. If you get it, you get it.

[Becca Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up after being intrigued by the nondescript title and funny, legless person on the cover. I typically do not read graphic novels but something about this one just made me keep turning the page to see what else was next. What is awesome about Sunburning is the snapshots of absurd interactions Keiler Roberts draws, little things you may witness by existing but things that we as humans experience alone. After reading this, I will be looking for other titles they've penned to see what other interactions have caught Roberts's eye.

[Janelle Domek · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a longtime follower of the Powdered Milk series, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Sunburning carries on the tradition of finding humor in the mundane and sometimes in the frustrating and difficult. I laughed out loud a number of times, but I laughed hardest at a close up of Keiler’s expression after now 5 year old Xia asks her to “not put the egg thing in a comic” catapulting us into a discussion of how future Xia will be affected by publicly available documentation of her silly childhood quirks. Keiler’s imagining of teenage Xia was another LOL moment. Always a pleasure reading Keiler’s work, would highly recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a little on the weird and took some getting used to. The panels create short vignettes into Roberts's life, and they feel like they flow together at an uneven pace (kind of like how life can be). Some are one large panel, taking up the page, with a clear punchline, some are a couple of smaller panels, with no clear purpose. While Roberts spends some time discussing her mental illness, her toddler/preschooler daughter Xia plays center stage (again, as children that age are wont to do), providing enough levity in the form of hilarious non sequiturs and bizarre observations, to prevent this memoir from wallowing. JUST LIKE KIDS DO. It all makes sense!