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Invincible Summer #1-8
Invincible Summer: An Anthology
Nicole J. Georges captures her adventures and thoughts in unique, heartfelt illustrations & stories. Five years of dog mothering, chicken raising, coffee-shop crushes, drama, low paying jobs, heartbreaking romance, inspiring friendships, vegan snacks, & more! This exhaustive collection will take the reader on a whirlwind tour through Nicole's personality, wit, and charm! This second edition collects issues #1-8 of her zine and features 38 new, additional pages!
192 pages, Paperback
First published September 11, 2007
4 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Nicole J. Georges
16 books217 followersNicole J. Georges is an award-winning writer, and illustrator from Portland, Oregon. Nicole has been publishing the autobiographical comic Invincible Summer since 2000, and has toured the country extensively, including two month-long appearances on Michelle Tea’s Sister Spit: Next Generation. Her work has been featured in many publications, including Tin House, Vanity Fair, and Slate.com.
Her graphic memoir, Calling Dr. Laura, was called “engrossing, lovable, smart and ultimately poignant” by Rachel Maddow, and “disarming and haunting, hip and sweet, all at once” by Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home. In her spare time, Nicole volunteers with senior citizens in North Portland, chronicling their experiences through comics and writing in a zine called Tell It Like It Tiz’.
She is currently the 2013/14 Fellow at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont.
Her graphic memoir, Calling Dr. Laura, was called “engrossing, lovable, smart and ultimately poignant” by Rachel Maddow, and “disarming and haunting, hip and sweet, all at once” by Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home. In her spare time, Nicole volunteers with senior citizens in North Portland, chronicling their experiences through comics and writing in a zine called Tell It Like It Tiz’.
She is currently the 2013/14 Fellow at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 5, 2007
Nicole Georges' world of messy sumi-e ink and line drawings is so easy to get lost in. It seems so exciting and romantic. She deals with landlords, roommates, jobs, bike rides, going home for the holidays, a summer on a farm for abused animals. Dogs are always around with hand drawn love hearts floating around their heads. In fact, everything in her world seems to have sloppy hearts floating around it.
Her drawings make it seem like even cooking dinner alone is an overwhelming emotional experience for her. I've tried to have that much excitement just cooking dinner by myself - it never seems to quite work out. I don't know how she sees the world that way, but I'm so glad she drew it.
Her drawings make it seem like even cooking dinner alone is an overwhelming emotional experience for her. I've tried to have that much excitement just cooking dinner by myself - it never seems to quite work out. I don't know how she sees the world that way, but I'm so glad she drew it.
March 10, 2020
A light romp; sometimes relatable; sometimes cute; sometimes cringy; sometimes nostalgic.
May 31, 2011
My all time favorite book about Portland and Portland aesthetic. Love love love.
November 17, 2016
Beautiful, and oddly satisfying. Also oddly caused me all sorts of sentimentality and nostalgia for nothing in particular.
July 4, 2007
I think she's bi?
January 28, 2018
Anthology of Nicole Georges's zines from the early 2000s. I enjoyed the fun recipes, the stories of the PDX DIY scene (hey not everyone who plays music loud is trying to show off!), and the stories of the animal sanctuary. As with other Nicole Georges stuff I've read, Invincible Summer makes me nostalgic for a time when the real estate feeding frenzy wasn't chasing poor folks and artists out of cities like Portland.
January 1, 2018
I like Nicole Georges's writing/art (that's why I read this one) and will read more by her. But this book is a collection of her zines from 2000-2001. They captured a time that is long gone (and did it well), but I didn't find them very interesting this many years later. Except the Farm Sanctuary parts, which is the only time/place where my experience relates. Those were great :).
October 7, 2017
I am on a real Nicole J. Georges deep dive right now and I have to say I love and treasure her every lil eyeball and tooth.
May 4, 2018
Solid early nJG
January 8, 2014
Like peeking inside a stranger's diary...
I first became acquainted with Nicole Georges's charming and whimsical artwork through Bitch magazine, to which Georges is (was?) a "friend and contributor." Her annual Invincible Summer calendars (available on etsy) are simply adorable, brimming as they are with nonhuman animals both familiar (dogs, pigs, chickens) and unusual (sloths, whales, and - yes! - unicorns!). Her two Invincible Summer zine anthologies have been on my wishlist for years, and Christmas 2013 was the year that Volume 1 finally found its way under my tree. It had the distinction (however dubious) of being my first read of the new year!
Invincible Summer: An Anthology is like peeking inside a stranger's diary. (Indeed, Georges refers to her zines as "Diaryland.") Georges explores her life in Portland from the spring of 2001 through the summer of 2004-ish, with some sketches from the 2006 calendar thrown in for good measure. (Though it's missing April and May! *frowny face*) Entries range from the mundane (daily chores, to-do lists, recipes; chickpea meatballs, must try!) to the less so (apparent PTSD in the wake of a car crash; "on car accidents" is especially haunting).
In particular, I was able to relate to the loneliness and alienation Georges felt after moving to a strange new city, as well as her outlandish dreams (most of them dental in nature), and vestigial tail obsession. Plus you have to love a zine that's heavy on the animals: Georges's dogs Beija (whom she describes as her "life partner") and Penny make frequent appearances, and she also spends a month interning at Farm Sanctuary in California and later takes a summer-long job there. Through this, Georges addresses the horrors of animal agriculture, including egg production and animal auctions.
Since Georges is a self-described vegan, I was surprised to see honey included in one of her recipes. I don't know, maybe this wasn't as a contentious an issue among vegans 13 years ago? Was agave even widely available back then? Either way, nothing changes the fact that it's always been derived from bees. You know, animals! (Ditto wool, which takes us down a whole 'nother avenue of concerns.) Also, I felt horrible for backyard chicken Henrietta, who was attacked by her pen-mate Shirley no fewer than three times and eventually mauled to death by a raccoon. I'm not even sure I want to know what was going on there.
I suspect that Portland natives will likely get more out of the entries dealing with the city's social scene; the more day-to-day stuff didn't interest me quite as much. Also, some of the text was so small that it proved nearly impossible to read. Add to this the fact that some of the recollections seemed out of order, and it was sometimes hard to follow along.
I'm still on the fence about the second volume. While the artwork is adorable, the stories are somewhat hit and miss for me. Maybe I'll skip right to Calling Dr. Laura: A Graphic Memoir, which seems like it has a more cohesive narrative. Until then, there are always the Invincible Summer calendars.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/01/13/...
I first became acquainted with Nicole Georges's charming and whimsical artwork through Bitch magazine, to which Georges is (was?) a "friend and contributor." Her annual Invincible Summer calendars (available on etsy) are simply adorable, brimming as they are with nonhuman animals both familiar (dogs, pigs, chickens) and unusual (sloths, whales, and - yes! - unicorns!). Her two Invincible Summer zine anthologies have been on my wishlist for years, and Christmas 2013 was the year that Volume 1 finally found its way under my tree. It had the distinction (however dubious) of being my first read of the new year!
Invincible Summer: An Anthology is like peeking inside a stranger's diary. (Indeed, Georges refers to her zines as "Diaryland.") Georges explores her life in Portland from the spring of 2001 through the summer of 2004-ish, with some sketches from the 2006 calendar thrown in for good measure. (Though it's missing April and May! *frowny face*) Entries range from the mundane (daily chores, to-do lists, recipes; chickpea meatballs, must try!) to the less so (apparent PTSD in the wake of a car crash; "on car accidents" is especially haunting).
In particular, I was able to relate to the loneliness and alienation Georges felt after moving to a strange new city, as well as her outlandish dreams (most of them dental in nature), and vestigial tail obsession. Plus you have to love a zine that's heavy on the animals: Georges's dogs Beija (whom she describes as her "life partner") and Penny make frequent appearances, and she also spends a month interning at Farm Sanctuary in California and later takes a summer-long job there. Through this, Georges addresses the horrors of animal agriculture, including egg production and animal auctions.
Since Georges is a self-described vegan, I was surprised to see honey included in one of her recipes. I don't know, maybe this wasn't as a contentious an issue among vegans 13 years ago? Was agave even widely available back then? Either way, nothing changes the fact that it's always been derived from bees. You know, animals! (Ditto wool, which takes us down a whole 'nother avenue of concerns.) Also, I felt horrible for backyard chicken Henrietta, who was attacked by her pen-mate Shirley no fewer than three times and eventually mauled to death by a raccoon. I'm not even sure I want to know what was going on there.
I suspect that Portland natives will likely get more out of the entries dealing with the city's social scene; the more day-to-day stuff didn't interest me quite as much. Also, some of the text was so small that it proved nearly impossible to read. Add to this the fact that some of the recollections seemed out of order, and it was sometimes hard to follow along.
I'm still on the fence about the second volume. While the artwork is adorable, the stories are somewhat hit and miss for me. Maybe I'll skip right to Calling Dr. Laura: A Graphic Memoir, which seems like it has a more cohesive narrative. Until then, there are always the Invincible Summer calendars.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/01/13/...
September 26, 2011
I paged through this book with some trepidation, thinking I may not like it. Invincible Summer is a biographical graphic novel done in the hipster DIY style, complete with typo-ridden text and intentionally half-finished illustrations. I’m not a hipster, I don’t care for coffee, I don’t crash on strangers’ couches and I don’t live anywhere trendy. And I used to care about all of those indie bands that the artist name-drops with alarming frequency, but I outgrew them. (It’ll happen to you too—just wait—someday you’ll wake up and have absolutely no idea when you last bought or downloaded a CD.)
Something told me I wasn’t really the intended audience for this book.
However, I will say that Invincible Summer grew on me as I read, primarily because the artist is a vegan who interns at Farm Sanctuary and isn’t afraid to share her views about the industry that put most of those animals in such dire straits. This comic is certainly a vast improvement over another twentysomething-girl biographical comic, French Milk, in which the author practically climaxed over her appetite for the cruel delicacy foie gras.
Something told me I wasn’t really the intended audience for this book.
However, I will say that Invincible Summer grew on me as I read, primarily because the artist is a vegan who interns at Farm Sanctuary and isn’t afraid to share her views about the industry that put most of those animals in such dire straits. This comic is certainly a vast improvement over another twentysomething-girl biographical comic, French Milk, in which the author practically climaxed over her appetite for the cruel delicacy foie gras.
October 1, 2010
As far as zine anthologies go, this is pretty much top notch. This follows Nicole Georges through years and years of life as lived through zines. She makes vegan food, bikes around Portland, interns at Farm Sanctuary, dates people, has break ups, and takes roadtrips with her dog. I really love Nicole Georges artwork. Her line drawings are at the intersection of charming and earnest without being too precious. Nicole's early stuff is like anyone's early work. Her more mature work later in the anthology is still very personal and "zine-y" but her voice & style are more clear. One of the best things about zine anthologies is seeing the author grow and change as a person and artist, and Invincible Summer is one of the better chronicles of this process. And I seriously do not understand why almost everyone who reads this and writes about it has to mention Nicole's sexuality. It's practically a non-issue in the book, she's not political about it. She's nothing but sincere and awesome.
June 2, 2009
i've had this and volume two out for-ever by interlibrary loan from the university of michigan and the due date was approaching without me really cracking the cover(s), so i decided to sit down and seriously read this. what is there not to like about the adventures of a baby gay?
my brain is always telling me that I Do Not Like Zines Or Graphic Novels, but i am learning that my brain is a big dummy, because, for instance, i love nicole georges and lynda barry and everything good about what they do. the first few issues of "invincible summer" were kind of forgettable and maybe over-angsty in the way that confessional-type things tend to be, but then they got really great -- not by forsaking any of the funny/powerful/sad moments, either, but just by having more... clarity. i'm assuming that vol. 2 is only going to get better and i am really looking forward to reading it.
my brain is always telling me that I Do Not Like Zines Or Graphic Novels, but i am learning that my brain is a big dummy, because, for instance, i love nicole georges and lynda barry and everything good about what they do. the first few issues of "invincible summer" were kind of forgettable and maybe over-angsty in the way that confessional-type things tend to be, but then they got really great -- not by forsaking any of the funny/powerful/sad moments, either, but just by having more... clarity. i'm assuming that vol. 2 is only going to get better and i am really looking forward to reading it.
June 19, 2008
Wow! Wow! Wow!
I was sent this book so I could review it for Zine World #26. As soon as I write that review, I will post it here.
But in the meantime, I just want to say that I adore this book. It is so so so so so good, especially for summer reading (even though it's not all about summer). I meant to just read a little bit, but I read the whole thing in one night! I know I will read it again and again.
I need to write Nicole J. Georges a fan letter...
I was sent this book so I could review it for Zine World #26. As soon as I write that review, I will post it here.
But in the meantime, I just want to say that I adore this book. It is so so so so so good, especially for summer reading (even though it's not all about summer). I meant to just read a little bit, but I read the whole thing in one night! I know I will read it again and again.
I need to write Nicole J. Georges a fan letter...
March 20, 2009
This is the first collection of Nicole Georges's personal journal comic zine, Invincible Summer. She talks about a lot of things in this first book: working at Farm Sanctuary, caffeine-addled Portland, why giving up caffeine isn't worth it, relationships, break-ups, parents acting differently once you start dating someone of the same gender, having fun with friends, being sad, etc. This book is what I think of when I think of Portland. But then again, I've never been to Portland :)
October 19, 2009
is nicole georges' life a stereotype (has glasses, makes her own clothes, loves dogs, animal rights, coffee, vegan, bicyclist, punk-ish)? or is she effusively living (and sharing) a life that is the quintessential product of its time? i found her inspiring. because i am a person who needs to make my own clothes.
January 31, 2014
This was enjoyable but it really needed the neatening up of both images and print that Calling Dr. Laura benefited from. It was kind of illegible in many places. She was in her early 20s the same time I was, and while our young adult years were spent very differently, I liked this book because it did in several ways remind me of being in my early 20's in the early 2000's.
December 11, 2007
Nicole has always sort of been one of my Zine heroes. I picked up the first issue of this zine then moved to corvallis where I lost track of it. I was so excited to find this comp. It is about crushes, coffee shops and her dogs. Really good so far!
December 19, 2007
Writing and drawings from Georges's zine. She's been getting more and more exposure the past year or so with various illustration work in magazines and other books. She's also in a cool new anthology called It's So You.
April 13, 2009
Kind of angst-y. but she was in her early twenties when she wrote it. I like the mixed up drawing, handwritten, typewriter-written, scrawly style of it. Some of the drawings are really lovely. I would quite happily go back to Drawn & Quarterly for part two.
August 21, 2010
I suck at reading other people's writing, but I'm too stubborn to give up zines. I wish Nicole went more into her life. I loved the Harry Potter references. I'm not sure whether I'll get the second colection from my library.
March 17, 2013
a collection of zines by the author of "calling dr. laura." they're a bit unpolished and vague, but fun to read. some of the questions that might come up while reading could be answered by "calling dr. laura."
June 1, 2007
One of the three best zines around.
November 28, 2007
old, old friend of mine. love her stories.
January 29, 2008
I liked the visual style. I was kind of turned off by the young-adult self-absorption.
August 10, 2011
Cute, clever, and uplifting collection of zines. Nicole writes about veganism, animal rights, dogs, relationships and love.
August 24, 2013
Minus one star for use of "retarded". A vegan feminist activist should know better.
Also, just say no to Microcosm Publishing.
Also, just say no to Microcosm Publishing.
December 28, 2008
yayayayayay. i love the way she draws her pups.
May 12, 2017
"invincible summer, i thought. "sounds like my shit!" alas, it was some incredibly boring white vegan punk's perzine. 😥
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews