How To Be Happy (2014)

How to Be Happy is Eleanor Davis's first collection of graphic/literary short stories. Happy represents the best stories she's drawn for such connoisseurial venues as Mome, Nobrow, and Lucky Peach, as well as her own self-publishing and web efforts. Davis achieves a rare, subtle poignancy in her narratives that are at once compelling and elusive, pregnant with mystery and a deeply satisfying emotional resonance. Happy shows the full range of Davis's graphic skills - sketchy drawing, polished pen-and-ink line work, and meticulously designed full-color painted panels - which are always in the service of a narrative that builds to a quietly devastating climax.