Books like Royal City by Jeff Lemire

Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel "Royal City" centers on the Pike family in a small Canadian factory town. The story follows Patrick Pike, a once‑prominent writer who returns home after years away, only to be pulled back into his siblings’ lives, his overbearing mother, and his beaten‑down father—all of whom are haunted by memories of the youngest brother, Tommy, who drowned decades earlier. As each family member struggles to navigate guilt, loss, and the secrets that keep the town’s spirit alive, the narrative explores themes of homecoming, secrecy, dysfunctional family dynamics, and the psychological weight of grief. Across three decades, the series charts the lives, loves, and losses of a family and a town that slowly disappears, intertwining the tangible and the spectral. "Royal City" promises a serialized, literary‑oriented graphic tale that blends elements of horror and domestic drama while retaining a distinctly Canadian setting.

First publish date: 2017