By Kay Medaglia (SelfMadeHero)
ISBN: 978-1-914224-39-3 (pocket HB)
Author and graphic artist Kay Medaglia moved from Ontario, Canada to wild & woolly Reading in Britain nearly twenty years ago and ever since has sought ways to share their ideas of better living through enhanced wellbeing. In a prodigious outpouring of gently stated, multimedia-delivered suggestions, they have advocated calmer ways to get along and stay stable through such varied avenues as the UK small press scene; self-published sensation Wu Wei, and global arenas like The Huffington Post and Elephant Journal. As well as editing issues-based publications dealing with autism, dementia, mental health and sexual assault, their hugely successful One Year Wiser series has brought those notions to ever-wider audiences. They have even explored modern metaphysics with their bestselling Luna Sol Tarot.
Here drawing together genteel humour, funny animals (and bugs, actually) and traditional philosophical observations lensed through practicality and common sense, Medaglia offers self-contained, image-led emotional pep-talks as Comic Therapy: spiritually enriching reminders of who and where you are – or could be. These graphic epigrams compile and project easily assimilable visual life-coaching and pictorial pick-me-ups, broaching topics from the minute and mundane to the cosmically crushing, or life-changing. As well as encouraging loving others and yourself, the image interludes especially confront themes of rejection, dejection, hopelessness, self-worth, self-compassion, resilience and mindfulness and lack of direction with breezy light humour and whimsy.
Resembling still-running romance homily panel Love Is… (created by New Zealand cartoonist Kim Grove/latterly Kim Casali) and delivered in Japan’s popular Yonkoma manga format, these four panel public service announcements for the soul are personal common sense messages from a global traveller seasoned with flavours of Hindu imagery and basic Buddhist tenets wedded to primal western gag delivery systems.
Employing and urging the deployment of wit, patience, whatever faith or spirituality you can accept, and subtle but constant reminders that you don’t have to wallow alone, this is a book that should perk up most moody buggers and provide a judgement free first nudge to fix whatever ails you from within and because You want to…
If you can’t actually hug a kitten or juggle ducklings in moments of crisis or despondency, dipping unto this handy pocket-sized package might just restore equilibrium and restart your jammed perspective generators…
© Kay Medaglia, 2026. All rights reserved.
Today in 1915 Mort Weisinger was born, with Johnny Craig arriving in 1926 and Asterix co-creator Albert Uderzo coming one year later. In 1952 historian researcher and uberfan Peter Sanderson was born.
In 1940 today Batman #1 went on sale. Four years later the utterly unique George (Krazy Kat) Herriman passed away.