Library Acquires Original Artwork from Acclaimed Graphic Novels by Eric Drooker and Josh Neufeld

 

NEWS from the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS   June 17, 2026   Media Contact: María Peña, mpena@loc.gov Public Contact: Sara Duke, sduk@loc.gov Media Assets...

NEWS from the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS   June 17, 2026   Media Contact: María Peña, mpena@loc.gov Public Contact: Sara Duke, sduk@loc.gov Media Assets and Images: newsroom.loc.gov   Library Acquires Original Artwork from Acclaimed Graphic Novels by Eric Drooker and Josh Neufeld Acquisitions Strengthen the Library’s Holdings in Graphic Narrative Art and Contemporary Storytelling The Library of Congress has acquired the original artwork and related creative materials for two acclaimed graphic novels: “Naked City,” by award-winning artist Eric Drooker and “A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge,” by journalist and cartoonist Josh Neufeld. Together, the acquisitions enhance the Library’s significant collections documenting the evolution of graphic storytelling, visual journalism and contemporary American life. Acquiring “Naked City” is especially noteworthy because it completes the Library’s holdings of the original artwork for Drooker’s celebrated “City Trilogy.” The Library already preserves the artwork for the trilogy’s first two volumes, “Flood” and “Blood Song,” offering researchers and visitors an opportunity to study Drooker’s creative development and changes in graphic novel production across four decades.  “By acquiring the original art, scripts and drafts for Eric Drooker’s graphic novel Naked City, the Library has obtained works of art created over a 35-year-period,” said Sara Duke, curator of popular and applied graphic art in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division. “This offers researchers insights into not only the way an artist’s work changes over time, but how book production has altered in the digital age. Drooker is a visual storyteller, and although this third work in the trilogy has speech balloons, the art continues to drive the narrative.”   Published in 2024, “Naked City” follows a young female musician navigating life in New York City while pursuing artistic ambitions amid personal hardship and uncertainty. Like the earlier books in the trilogy, the city itself becomes a central character, offering a vivid portrait of urban life and creative communities.   “I’m thrilled that the Library of Congress is embracing graphic novels as part of its vast literary collection,” Drooker said. “The acquisition of my City Trilogy archive ensures that future scholars, art lovers and enthusiasts will have access to my original drawings – including preliminary art and notes for ‘Flood,’ ‘Blood Song,’ and ‘Naked City.’” Drooker is an award-winning artist and illustrator whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and is also held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum. Josh Neufeld Documents Impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans The Library also acquired original artwork and related materials for “A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge,” Neufeld’s groundbreaking graphic account of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and its aftermath. First published as a webcomic in 2007, the work combines journalism and graphic storytelling to document the experiences of New Orleans residents before, during and after one of the most consequential natural disasters in modern American history. “Although not an eyewitness to Hurricane Katrina, Josh Neufeld volunteered in Louisiana and saw the havoc it wreaked and the lives it upended,” Duke said. “He created a nonfiction graphic novel that evokes the fear and creates sympathy for five very different survivors. Katrina not only reshaped coastal Louisiana and Mississippi, but it also affected the entire United States.” Neufeld’s interest in documenting the disaster grew out of volunteer work he and his wife performed with the American Red Cross in New York, assisting evacuees who had fled New Orleans after the storm. He later trained as a disaster response worker and was deployed to Biloxi, Mississippi, where he fed residents whose homes had been destroyed or flooded. “A.D.” draws on extensive interviews and first-hand observations to tell what Neufeld described as a “people’s history of Katrina,” offering a perspective that captured ground-level experiences of resilience, displacement and recovery, often absent from official accounts. The acquisition provides researchers valuable insight into how visual narratives can document contemporary events and preserve community memory. “Having my work archived at the Library of Congress and preserved for future generations is profoundly meaningful because, for me, it’s a validation of my career choice and artistic legacy,” Neufeld said. “People who are curious about my work and the creative process can see not only the pages, but also the thumbnail drawings, scripts, and other supporting material. It’s really mind-boggling. It’s such an affirmation that what I chose to do in life was a good choice.” Neufeld is an acclaimed cartoonist and graphic journalist whose work has explored topics ranging from natural disasters and public health to immigration and social change. The original work artwork, sketches, notes, and production materials for both acquisitions will be available to researchers through the Library’s collections. The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, providing access to the creative record of the United States and extensive materials from around the world, both onsite and online. It serves as the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and is home to the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, services, and visit information at loc.gov; legislative resources at congress.gov; and copyright registration at copyright.gov. ### PR 26-043 06/17//26 ISSN 0731-3527

Politics and Prose comics activities June 22-24

Wednesday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.
Graphic Novel Book Group
Duncan the Wonder Dog by Adam Hine

Brooke Gladstone - The Influencing Machine (in conversation with James Fallows)
Jun 23 2011 7:00 pm
The host of NPR’s On the Media here harnesses the power of text and graphics to guide readers through the history of mass communications. Understanding today’s myriad technological resources entails looking back as far as ancient Rome, and Gladstone is a witty and instructive guide, showing us how to be shapers, not just consumers, of the media. Gladstone will be in conversation with James Fallows of The Atlantic Monthly.

Steven Weinberg and Casey Scieszka - To Timbuktu
Jun 24 2011 7:00 pm
After graduating from college, the authors embark on a two-year adventure, teaching English in China, then traveling through Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Mali. Their travelogue is fresh and humorous; the story of the people they meet and of their own relationship is told in both prose and witty cartoon sketches. Ages 14-18

Comic Riffs on Davies lawsuit and Neufeld diplomatic trip

Political cartoonist MATT DAVIES named in candidate's multimillion-dollar lawsuit
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 8, 2010.

Davies won the Herblock award a few years ago.

State Dept. sends Katrina cartoonist JOSH NEUFELD to Mideast to 'showcase cultural freedoms'
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 8, 2010

PR: Small Press Expo Announces Carol Tyler and Josh Neufield as Guests for SPX 2009

Small Press Expo Announces Carol Tyler and Josh Neufeld as Guests for SPX 2009

 

For Immediate Release    
Contact: Warren Bernard

  Phone: 301-537-4615

                                                                          E-Mail: warren@spxpo.com

 

Bethesda, Maryland; August 27, 2009 - The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons, is pleased to announce Carol Tyler and Josh Neufeld as guests for SPX 2009.

Carol Tyler, one of the original "Wimmen" cartoonists, has contributed to Weirdo, Drawn & Quarterly, Zero Zero, along with the anthologies Wimmens Comix and Twisted Sisters. She will be at SPX to talk about her latest graphic novel, You'll Never Know Book One "A Good and Decent Man", released by Fantagraphics. You'll Never Know has received acclaim from critics and librarians alike for its portrayal of not only her fathers story of his experiences in World War 2, but how those experiences shaped Carol and her family.  See more of Carol's work at her web site http://www.bloomerland.com.

Josh Neufeld, author of the Xeric Grant winner A Few Perfect Hours, spent time as a volunteer for the Red Cross in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This resulted on the online graphic novel A.D. New Orleans After The Deluge, which is now a full color book published by Pantheon that has garnered rave reviews. Josh also created the series The Vagabonds and as well as collaborating with Dean Haspiel on Keyhole. Visit Josh at his website at http://joshcomix.home.mindspring.com/.

Both Josh and Carol will be on discussion panels to talk about their works, in addition to being available for book signings while at SPX.

SPX will be held Saturday, September 26 from 11AM to 7PM and Sunday, September 27, noon-6PM at The North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Admission is $10 for a single day and $15 for both days. 

For further information on the Ignatz Awards, the nominees or to request an interview, please contact Warren Bernard at warren@spxpo.com.

For more information on the Small Press Expo and the Ignatz Awards, please visit http://www.spxpo.com.

Nov 2 - Cartoonists in City Paper

The cover story in the City Paper is illustrated by my friend Rob Ullman - Rob regularly illustrates the Savage Love column in the paper, although he's based in Richmond. He was up here recently for SPX and the City Paper's festival so I bought some more art from him. Most of the illos can be seen on the website, but look much better in the paper.

Also, Josh Neufeld, another nice guy who does some good travel comics called Vagabond, has an illo in the paper too.

Mike