Friday, November 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Skylight Books, Los Angeles
 _A tech-free event! At the request of the author, we are asking attendees to silence their phones and not take pictures, videos or recordings at this event._ Told through powerful allegory, _Shadows of the Sea_ is a story about grief and the winding path to healing, with help from friends, loved ones, and a little magic. On the lonely road meet two outcasts — Doris, a small but spitfire woman and Stanwick, a shy and sensitive dog. Each of this unlikely pair harbors grief, and must decide whether to stay with the pain or run from it. On their journey, the two travel through lush forests, to the eerily abandoned town of echoes, clear to the “mudder” sea, where they finally confront the unbearable trauma of their pasts. Cartoonist Cathy Malkasian’s graphic novels are known to be crafted with layered, affecting allegory and metaphor, and _Shadows of the Sea_ is no exception. In this story, shadows become characters themselves, weighed down with painful truth. They cannot be released until their owners acknowledge, reflect, and heal. Charged by the magic of the “mudder” sea, the shadows reveal the loss Doris and Stanwick have been carrying — a husband and a child — and sets them free at last. **Cathy Malkasian** is an animation director and cartoonist. Her credits include _Rugrats_, _The Wild Thornberrys_ film (for which she received a British Academy Award nomination), and most recently, over 20 episodes of _Curious George_ for PBS since 2008. Fantagraphics has released several of her graphic novels including _Percy Gloom_ (2007), _Temperance_ (2010), _Eartha_ (2017), and _NoBody Likes You, Greta Grump_ (2021). By day, **Robert Goodin** works in the animation industry (American Dad, Rugrats). By night—and on lunch breaks—he’s a comics artist/illustrator whose work has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Mome, and Project: Romantic. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Georgene.