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Birds of Maine
Take flight to this post-apocalyptic utopia filled with birds.
Birds roam freely around the Moon complete with fruitful trees, sophisticated fungal networks, and an enviable socialist order. The universal worm feeds all, there are no weekends, and economics is as fantastical a study as unicorn psychology. No concept of money or wealth plagues the thoughts of these free-minded birds. Instead, there are angsty teens who form bands to show off their best bird song and other youngsters who yearn to become clothing designers even though clothes are only necessary during war. (The truly honourable professions for most birds are historian and/or librarian.) These birds are free to crush on hot pelicans and live their best lives until a crash-landed human from Earth threatens to change everything.
Michael DeForge’s post-apocalyptic reality brings together the author’s quintessential deadpan humour, surrealist imagination, and undeniable socio-political insight. Appearing originally as a webcomic, Birds of Maine follows DeForge’s prolific trajectory of astounding graphic novels that reimagine and question the world as we know it. His latest comic captures the optimistic glow of utopian imagination with a late-capitalism sting of irony.
Birds roam freely around the Moon complete with fruitful trees, sophisticated fungal networks, and an enviable socialist order. The universal worm feeds all, there are no weekends, and economics is as fantastical a study as unicorn psychology. No concept of money or wealth plagues the thoughts of these free-minded birds. Instead, there are angsty teens who form bands to show off their best bird song and other youngsters who yearn to become clothing designers even though clothes are only necessary during war. (The truly honourable professions for most birds are historian and/or librarian.) These birds are free to crush on hot pelicans and live their best lives until a crash-landed human from Earth threatens to change everything.
Michael DeForge’s post-apocalyptic reality brings together the author’s quintessential deadpan humour, surrealist imagination, and undeniable socio-political insight. Appearing originally as a webcomic, Birds of Maine follows DeForge’s prolific trajectory of astounding graphic novels that reimagine and question the world as we know it. His latest comic captures the optimistic glow of utopian imagination with a late-capitalism sting of irony.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published August 2, 2022
74 people are currently reading
1362 people want to read
About the author
Michael DeForge
69 books420 followersMichael DeForge lives in Toronto, Ontario. His comics and illustrations have been featured in Jacobin, The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Believer, The Walrus and Maisonneuve Magazine. He worked as a designer on Adventure Time for six seasons. His published books include Very Casual, A Body Beneath, Ant Colony, First Year Healthy, Dressing, Big Kids, Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero and A Western World.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
September 8, 2022
The time is 9:45.
November 2, 2022
I think what I like most about reading DeForge is that you feel like you've been invited inside someone else's mind. It's not even an invitation, it's more like you've stumbled into Seussian landscapes where oddly-shaped animals with anthropomorphized-intellects try to make sense of humanity. In this case, former birds of the Earth now live on the moon with their own complicated culture and "technology." There's not so much a story arc as there are developments of character, philosophical dialogues, and periodic "radio updates" as if this were some sort of avian Lake Wobegon.
Whereas, young humans might experiment with drugs or sex, developing birds flirt with danger by experimenting with junk science like economics or dream of a career in fashion design. It's hard to capture the dry wit and quirky humor of DeForge's writing, but it pairs incredibly well with his trippy fungal networks and colorful settings. Here's an exchange between two birds infatuated with how attractive another is:
Quirkily mundane... or maybe insightfully banal, DeForge has a voice and visual style that work incredibly well together.
Whereas, young humans might experiment with drugs or sex, developing birds flirt with danger by experimenting with junk science like economics or dream of a career in fashion design. It's hard to capture the dry wit and quirky humor of DeForge's writing, but it pairs incredibly well with his trippy fungal networks and colorful settings. Here's an exchange between two birds infatuated with how attractive another is:
Ginni: James is so hot, I'd let him nest in my ribcage.
Ramil: James is so hot, I'd like to have sex with him.
Ginni: No, Ramil---you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to say he's hot and then follow it up with something awful you'd let him do to you.
Ramil: James is so hot that I'd move in with him so we could start a life together. As the years go on, he'd gradually grow distant as he found himself drifting away from me. It wouldn't be for any specific reason. He'd never say a word to me about it. After all, He still loved me... But he'd never respect me, which is why he'd never do me the courtesy of leaving me. Instead, we'd simply suffer in silence. We'd die that way, too... Loving each other, in utter agony...
Ginni: James is so hot, I'd scramble and eat an egg if he asked me to.
Quirkily mundane... or maybe insightfully banal, DeForge has a voice and visual style that work incredibly well together.
February 12, 2023
You'd think, statistically, if you stacked 450+ cartoons up in a stack of paper over an inch high, I'd have to laugh or chuckle at least once, even accidentally, but Birds of Maine easily beat the odds. Hell, even Garfield Complete Works: Volume 1: 1978 & 1979 managed that simple task. Of course, "I hate Mondays," is a much more accessible catchphrase than, "The time is 9:45."
This is a dreary, surreal, satirical look at the day-to-day lives of talking, intelligent birds in a sort of bird utopia under a dome on the Moon following a gentle falling out with a crumbling humanity. They drone on and on making sideways criticisms of humanity between piles of absolute gibberish.
I've been avoiding Michael DeForge's books for years, because one look at his covers -- including this one -- tells me that these are not books I will like. It's all wiggles and scribbles. The main character here is a red splat on the page. (Yeah, see her there on the cover? It never gets better than that.) But somehow this made the cut for NPR's Books We Love 2022: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels, and one of my goals for 2023 is to compulsively read all the books listed there, so I finally gave in and read one of DeForge's books, and it turns out you can judge them by their cover.
So far this and Time Zone J have been the biggest stinkers on the list. I hope there are no toppers still lurking.
This is a dreary, surreal, satirical look at the day-to-day lives of talking, intelligent birds in a sort of bird utopia under a dome on the Moon following a gentle falling out with a crumbling humanity. They drone on and on making sideways criticisms of humanity between piles of absolute gibberish.
I've been avoiding Michael DeForge's books for years, because one look at his covers -- including this one -- tells me that these are not books I will like. It's all wiggles and scribbles. The main character here is a red splat on the page. (Yeah, see her there on the cover? It never gets better than that.) But somehow this made the cut for NPR's Books We Love 2022: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels, and one of my goals for 2023 is to compulsively read all the books listed there, so I finally gave in and read one of DeForge's books, and it turns out you can judge them by their cover.
So far this and Time Zone J have been the biggest stinkers on the list. I hope there are no toppers still lurking.
July 26, 2023
Mostly plotless and like you’re just hanging out in the usually mundane/occasionally ridiculous lives of a bunch of talking birds who live in a utopian socialist society with all-you-can-eat worms and a fungal-based internet. Nothing will ever top Leaving Richard’s Valley for me but spending any amount of time in a Michael DeForge world is so fun, I love how angsty and weird all these little guys are.
December 11, 2025
I LOVE YOU MICHEAL DEFORGE I LOVE YOU GINI OF MAINE I LOVE YOU LIBRARY ORGIES I LOVE YOU JAIMES THE ALBATROSS I LOVE YOU FUNGAL INTERNET I LOVE YOU LOSER ASTRONAUT I LOVE YOU 9:45 RADIO I LOVE YOU SIX PANEL FORMAT I LOVE THIS BOOK
February 14, 2023
This is bonkers & hilarious. I loved it.
October 14, 2022
Gulligt, politiskt, knäppt och fantastiskt precis som vanligt.
November 6, 2022
mmmm ja, jag behövde 460 sidor deforge.
alla som gillar fåglar, krumelurer, tankar, filosofi, fantasi och månen borde läsa den här.
alla som gillar fåglar, krumelurer, tankar, filosofi, fantasi och månen borde läsa den här.
October 3, 2022
I imagine DeForge's work is something you either love or hate. For those who are fans, this is another journey into surreal landscapes populated by creatures whose lives and motivations are like a funhouse-mirror version of our own. BIRDS OF MAINE imagines a moon populated entirely by birds, who have fled the human-dominated Earth to create their own society.
October 19, 2022
Enjoyable, funny, gorgeous, and odd. Felt a bit repetitive and empty at times.
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February 26, 2025Funniest book I read all year… Buy it for your birder friends.
December 29, 2022
Kinda overstays it’s welcome at 450+ pages.
November 10, 2025
truly truly funny and heartwarming. tried to study today and it didn’t work because i just read this book. i loved the charmingness of this!!!!! i would give my life for ginni and ramil and ivy. i love them i love them!!!! the art style is, of course, awesome and amazing and so cute. i love these stupid birds and the weird funky details of the world that they live in. my favourite panel is one where they talk about how studying economics is an occult practice in this bird-lunar-verse. which is so awesome.
not so much a gripe but something to note is that the way that deforge’s graphic novels go is that they don’t really have plot as much as they are essentially an extended world-build. which in cases of graphic novels i actually quite enjoy, particularly when the art style is as charming as deforge’s. or at least, this is true for the two books of his that i’ve read at the time of writing this. nonetheless, this book is a very fun, low-stakes, low barrier to entry read that is joyous, not too brainful, and very visually captivating!!!
not so much a gripe but something to note is that the way that deforge’s graphic novels go is that they don’t really have plot as much as they are essentially an extended world-build. which in cases of graphic novels i actually quite enjoy, particularly when the art style is as charming as deforge’s. or at least, this is true for the two books of his that i’ve read at the time of writing this. nonetheless, this book is a very fun, low-stakes, low barrier to entry read that is joyous, not too brainful, and very visually captivating!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2022
Originally a webcomic (another one), 'Birds of Maine' (though 'Birds of Moon' would be more accurate) is a quirky graphic novel that certainly grows into you.
Ginni, Ivy and Ramil are fun and relatable companions on this trip, even if half of the time you might not be sure of what's actually going on. But there's a lot of lessons to learn in a world (well, the moon, actually) where the internet is everywhere and economics are considered as useful as unicorn science.
The time is 9.45...
Ginni, Ivy and Ramil are fun and relatable companions on this trip, even if half of the time you might not be sure of what's actually going on. But there's a lot of lessons to learn in a world (well, the moon, actually) where the internet is everywhere and economics are considered as useful as unicorn science.
The time is 9.45...
April 17, 2023
Po katastrofie ekologicznej z ziemi ewakuowały się ptaki, by rozpocząć życie na księżycu. Jest to życie specyficzne, bo nie obciążone tak nieistotnymi sprawami jak polityka, ekonomia, własność czy odpowiedzialność. Utopijna anarchia zmienia optykę, kolejne pokolenia ptaków zasady organizujące życie na ziemi znają jedynie z książek i internetu, który ma na księżycu różne formy, a w wersji dla ptaków funkcjonuje w postaci danych przekazywanych przez grzyby. W ogóle ten świat cechują bardzo intuicyjne i wpisane w każdy jego aspekt formy komunikacji. Nośnikiem danych jest tu praktycznie wszystko, a skąd czerpiesz wiedzę zależy od tego, jaką formą życia jesteś.
DeForge po raz kolejny stara się stworzyć większą całość z jednostronicowych fragmentów często zakończonych puentą. To konsekwencja publikacji całości w necie w formie regularnych pasków. Tak samo powstawały „Stick Angelica, Folk Hero” czy „Leaving Richard’s Valley”, choć na tle poprzedniczek „Birds of Maine” wyróżnia objętość. To póki co najobszerniejszy jego twór, co niekoniecznie jest zaletą. Ciągła lektura nie sprzyja odbiorowi. Generalnie jest to przemyślany koncept, ale ze względu na anegdotyczność lepiej go dawkować, bo tylko wtedy da się podtrzymać wrażenie jako takiej świeżości.
Sporo tu humoru, ale najczęściej nieoczywistego. Czasem DeForge zostawia czytelnika z wyrazem zakłopotania lub stawia go w roli obserwatora zakłopotania bohaterów. Graficznie jak zwykle – feeria psychodelicznych kolorów, sporo abstrakcji i naginania kształtów do granicy czytelności. Właśnie wizualne odloty są tym razem najmocniejszym argumentem za tą pozycją, bo jako całość niestety dosyć konkretnie mnie wymęczyła. Myślę, że zachowanie większego umiaru i skrócenie o połowę byłoby świetną opcją. Nie polecałbym jako komiksu pierwszego wyboru w przypadku tego autora, ale jeśli ktoś lubi nietypowe publikacje z mocno socjologicznym zacięciem to „Birds of Maine” jest oczywiście wart swojej ceny
DeForge po raz kolejny stara się stworzyć większą całość z jednostronicowych fragmentów często zakończonych puentą. To konsekwencja publikacji całości w necie w formie regularnych pasków. Tak samo powstawały „Stick Angelica, Folk Hero” czy „Leaving Richard’s Valley”, choć na tle poprzedniczek „Birds of Maine” wyróżnia objętość. To póki co najobszerniejszy jego twór, co niekoniecznie jest zaletą. Ciągła lektura nie sprzyja odbiorowi. Generalnie jest to przemyślany koncept, ale ze względu na anegdotyczność lepiej go dawkować, bo tylko wtedy da się podtrzymać wrażenie jako takiej świeżości.
Sporo tu humoru, ale najczęściej nieoczywistego. Czasem DeForge zostawia czytelnika z wyrazem zakłopotania lub stawia go w roli obserwatora zakłopotania bohaterów. Graficznie jak zwykle – feeria psychodelicznych kolorów, sporo abstrakcji i naginania kształtów do granicy czytelności. Właśnie wizualne odloty są tym razem najmocniejszym argumentem za tą pozycją, bo jako całość niestety dosyć konkretnie mnie wymęczyła. Myślę, że zachowanie większego umiaru i skrócenie o połowę byłoby świetną opcją. Nie polecałbym jako komiksu pierwszego wyboru w przypadku tego autora, ale jeśli ktoś lubi nietypowe publikacje z mocno socjologicznym zacięciem to „Birds of Maine” jest oczywiście wart swojej ceny
October 2, 2022
Brilliant and trippy.
October 20, 2024
gosh this was great. loved the illustration, the style, the pacing. super quirky naturally but loved it all the same. more adulation of assisted suicide than I expected ? but also good to know birds have vaporwave.
September 18, 2022
one of the best comic books i've read and my personal favourite from michael by a large margin, though i haven't read "leaving richard's valley" yet. philosophically dense and expansive, always knowing when not to give too much specificity in a book that really contains a lot of lore. tows the line of abstraction, humour and legitimate speculation so elegantly and enjoyably. a sprawling holistic and inquisitive thesis about the possibilities for a post-scarcity, post-capital technology and sociality. the humour here felt the least aloof of michaels work that i've read, the writing the most immediate and affectionate. moved me. loved it
March 27, 2025
I couldn't get into this. The big page count makes it daunting to continue as I'm not finding it very amusing. I'll maybe flip through it more in the future if I get a good daily-comic set up going like I did last year.
Cool artwork, but feels like a fans only release to me.
Cool artwork, but feels like a fans only release to me.
June 18, 2023
Hi I’d like to be a bird on the moon in a utopia please and thank you.
August 5, 2023
Finally, a sequel to The Dispossessed
September 23, 2022
Michael DeForge is incredibly prolific, having done thousands of pages of comics online and in books. Call It surrealism, with a wink? Early on it was collections of stories, all short form, and then he began stretching it out. I guess I would put him in the experimental camp, which means a lot of folks might be put off by him, but there is no doubt in my mind he is a great cartoonist, with insight into contemporary life, and a great--albeit weird--sense of humor.
For a few years he worked on Adventure Time comics, and my theory is that this helped him establish a wider audience, as he became more accessible. In Birds of Maine--all shared online in the process--he tells the stories of birds and invented supposedly bird-like creatures, focusing on Ginni, a cardinal, Ivy and Ramil. The story is hugely long, probably too long, more than 400 pages of six panels, but I think it is his best work.
The framework is post-apocalyptic, environmental. Humans have destroyed the planet, so--without the help of billionaires--they live in a glass bubble around the moon. Her father is a fungal computing expert and her mom is an historian of human Earth culture. There’s lof of inside ornithological jokes, and lots of light-hearted reflections about communism, technology and community/relationships. And, you know, what post-industrial, post-capitalist existence might be like.
I actually have a serious birdwatching book on my shelf, The Birds of Maine! And a framed watercolor print of the birds of New England. If you are looking for a birding book, though, this will disappoint, though the background is indeed about birds and other creatures who have had their habitats destroyed by humans. I was reminded of a sadly discontinued series, Duncan The Wonder Dog, by Adam Hines, a book that posits the rage and grief of many animals at the destruction of the planet, where some animals turn to ecoterrorism.
DeForge’s colorful book is more playful, with punchlines at the conclusion of every page consistent with the comics tradition of Nancy and Peanuts. Only way more surreal, by far, you can tell even from the cover art. But his heart feels like it is in the same humane place, ultimately. DeForge helps us see the natural world through a bird’s eye view, truly fresh and original and imaginative. His best work so far and one of my best books of the 2022.
Here you can see a bit of it:
https://drawnandquarterly.com/news/dq...
For a few years he worked on Adventure Time comics, and my theory is that this helped him establish a wider audience, as he became more accessible. In Birds of Maine--all shared online in the process--he tells the stories of birds and invented supposedly bird-like creatures, focusing on Ginni, a cardinal, Ivy and Ramil. The story is hugely long, probably too long, more than 400 pages of six panels, but I think it is his best work.
The framework is post-apocalyptic, environmental. Humans have destroyed the planet, so--without the help of billionaires--they live in a glass bubble around the moon. Her father is a fungal computing expert and her mom is an historian of human Earth culture. There’s lof of inside ornithological jokes, and lots of light-hearted reflections about communism, technology and community/relationships. And, you know, what post-industrial, post-capitalist existence might be like.
I actually have a serious birdwatching book on my shelf, The Birds of Maine! And a framed watercolor print of the birds of New England. If you are looking for a birding book, though, this will disappoint, though the background is indeed about birds and other creatures who have had their habitats destroyed by humans. I was reminded of a sadly discontinued series, Duncan The Wonder Dog, by Adam Hines, a book that posits the rage and grief of many animals at the destruction of the planet, where some animals turn to ecoterrorism.
DeForge’s colorful book is more playful, with punchlines at the conclusion of every page consistent with the comics tradition of Nancy and Peanuts. Only way more surreal, by far, you can tell even from the cover art. But his heart feels like it is in the same humane place, ultimately. DeForge helps us see the natural world through a bird’s eye view, truly fresh and original and imaginative. His best work so far and one of my best books of the 2022.
Here you can see a bit of it:
https://drawnandquarterly.com/news/dq...
December 14, 2022
Whip-smart and hilarious - that's how I feel about most of DeForge's books.
The gags are all great. It's never slapstick or heavy-handed - DeForge is interested in teeing up more subtle jokes. I read a bunch of these pages originally on his Instagram, but reading it collected together gave me a better persepctive of the throughline narrative. We mostly follow Ginni, who aspires to have design clothes for her fellow birds and to have sex with James. Ginni's mother is a historian who explores how this disparate bird culture on the Moon has evolved from their previous lives on Earth, while Ginni's father works in the upkeep of their oddball form of the Internet. The world-building is surprisingly nuanced and never done with exposition - we simply learn more with each page via natural discourse.
My only gripe is that the book can be a bit of a tedious read if you're attempting to read this book cover to cover. I would definitely recommend spreading out the reading to prevent that feeling of staleness from setting in. There is also no real catharsis in this book - but I would assume that DeForge never really saw this as that kind of a storytelling exercise.
Overall, this book is fantastic. The artwork is decievingly simple - there is some fairly intricate stuff going on with the bird designs and backgrounds. The coloring choices are all remarkable as well, giving off a punchy pop art look to it all that works incredibly well in contrast with the more subdued and mundane storytelling. I don't think this is a book everyone will enjoy, but I had a great time with it.
The gags are all great. It's never slapstick or heavy-handed - DeForge is interested in teeing up more subtle jokes. I read a bunch of these pages originally on his Instagram, but reading it collected together gave me a better persepctive of the throughline narrative. We mostly follow Ginni, who aspires to have design clothes for her fellow birds and to have sex with James. Ginni's mother is a historian who explores how this disparate bird culture on the Moon has evolved from their previous lives on Earth, while Ginni's father works in the upkeep of their oddball form of the Internet. The world-building is surprisingly nuanced and never done with exposition - we simply learn more with each page via natural discourse.
My only gripe is that the book can be a bit of a tedious read if you're attempting to read this book cover to cover. I would definitely recommend spreading out the reading to prevent that feeling of staleness from setting in. There is also no real catharsis in this book - but I would assume that DeForge never really saw this as that kind of a storytelling exercise.
Overall, this book is fantastic. The artwork is decievingly simple - there is some fairly intricate stuff going on with the bird designs and backgrounds. The coloring choices are all remarkable as well, giving off a punchy pop art look to it all that works incredibly well in contrast with the more subdued and mundane storytelling. I don't think this is a book everyone will enjoy, but I had a great time with it.
April 25, 2024
Birds of Maine was given to me as a recommendation and I feel so loved having been told to read this. Michael DeForge creates a delightfully thoughtful and captivating world through hundreds of six panel comic strips. How he manages to deliver plot lines that are raunchy and goofy and political and artistic and wrought with meaning is beyond me. At first I felt charmed by the art style, but towards the end of the book I think we see DeForge delve deeper into his creation and present pages of artwork that I want to look at everyday. My god I love these little bastard birds.
January 27, 2024
“Commuters. Disease carriers. Wanderers. Librarians. Perverts. Weather Scientists. Performance artists. Computer programmers. Parents. Hypochondriacs. Harpists. Every bird of paradise.”
I don’t think there has ever been a better time in my life for me to read this book than now. The socialist themes were great. I find myself relating to Ginny a maybe embarrassing amount. DeForge’s art is so incredibly inspirational. Just pure shape and color and love of birds it’s beautiful.
I don’t think there has ever been a better time in my life for me to read this book than now. The socialist themes were great. I find myself relating to Ginny a maybe embarrassing amount. DeForge’s art is so incredibly inspirational. Just pure shape and color and love of birds it’s beautiful.
February 17, 2024
Whimsical, funny, and endearing utopian world of birds on the moon. If you appreciate this style of art and have a lively imagination, you're sure to really appreciate this work. I loved every minute I was lost in the daily lives of these birds.
September 5, 2025
hilarious, beautiful, daria in a classless society and they’re birds. tremendous absurd vision of a completed simultaneous primitivist and futurist society .
what an apex creative joy
makes me want to slap on my own wings and just make something
what an apex creative joy
makes me want to slap on my own wings and just make something
October 1, 2025
the artwork of this book is so beautiful. this world/landscapes are so unique, half the fun was just figuring out how this world works. the comics were dry humored and enjoyable. some of the plot points with humans/aliens peter out without a real conclusion though.
August 18, 2022
Follow Ginni the cardinal through her life as a bird living inside a glass bubble around the moon. Her dad is a fungal computing expert and her mom is a historian of human culture on earth. Told in six-panel full-color pages, this is a surreal masterpiece reflecting on life, society, the nature of communication, communism, economics, and relationships. For fans of Adventure Time and trippy graphics.
December 17, 2022
All DeForge is great, but this is one of his best.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews