“This four-color atomic bomb of a comic signals the arrival of a formidable talent.”
— ★ Publishers Weekly Starred Review
“[A] hauntingly shocking debut graphic memoir.”
— ★ Booklist Starred Review
“If an exorcism can ever be slow and quiet, then every panel I’ve finished has felt something like an exorcism. The gutters give me space to make sense of things: to connect dots and close gaps. To remember.” Kayla E.’s Precious Rubbish is an experimental graphic memoir drawn in a style that references the aesthetics of mid-century children’s comics and tells the story of a childhood shaped by maternal emotional dysregulation, rural poverty, and incest. The author’s childhood is portrayed as a collection of short-form comics and gag panels punctuated by interactive elements like paper dolls, satirical advertisements, games, and puzzles.
While the work is concerned with violence and a particularly Texan brand of Pentecostal fanaticism, it is presented in a playful visual language with a deadpan humor that elevates the material beyond mere graphic memoir. Precious Rubbish is a landmark work of comics storytelling and graphic medicine.
The debut graphic novel from artist Kayla E., Precious Rubbish asks the reader to do the extratextual work of filling out narrative gaps, which mirrors the challenge of trauma recollection. The reader is invited to co-labor in the meaning-making process, an exercise that facilitates an intimacy (between the author, the subject, and the reader) that is at once horrifying and hilarious.
precious rubbish
BOOK TOUR
Greensboro,
North Carolina
Date: April 5, 2025
Time: 6:00-7:00 PM
Host: Scuppernong Books
Location: 304 S. Elm St Greensboro, NC
In convo with Jennifer Whitaker +Q&A & signing
FREE + No RSVP
Richmond,
Virginia
Date: April 7, 2025
Time: 6:00-7:00 PM
Host: The Graphic Narratives Lab at VCU + Rae Whitlock
Location: VCU STEM Building Rm 217
817 W Franklin St Richmond, VA
In convo with Dr. Francesca Lyn +Q&A & signing
FREE + No RSVP

New York,
New York
Date: April 8, 2025
Time: 7:00-8:00 PM
Host: P&T Knitwear Bookstore
Location: 108 Orchard St New York, NY
In convo with Heidi MacDonald +Q&A & signing
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
Date: April 9, 2025
Time: 7:00-8:00 PM
Host: Partners & Son
Location: 618 S 6th St Philadelphia, PA
In convo with Kelsey McKinney +Q&A & signing
FREE + No RSVP

Chicago,
Illinois
Date: April 10, 2025
Time: 7:00-8:00 PM
Host: Pilsen Community Books
Location: 1102 W 18th St Chicago, IL
In convo with Ivan Brunetti + Q&A & signing
Free + No RSVP
Asheville,
North Carolina
Date: April 16, 2025
Time: 6:00-7:00 PM
Host: Malaprop's Books
Location: 55 Haywood St Asheville, NC
In convo with Tessa Fontaine +Q&A & signing
FREE + RSVP Required