Margins
You Can Never Die book cover
You Can Never Die
A Graphic Memoir
2025
First Published
4.11
Average Rating
400
Number of Pages

A poignant and witty graphic memoir from New Yorker cover artist, internationally syndicated cartoonist, and New York Times bestselling author Harry Bliss capturing his reflections on life and his relationship with Penny, his beloved dog. New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss loved his sweet dog Penny, a joyful part of his life for seventeen years. Every day that he cared for his beloved pet, Harry joked with her, talked to her, and drew the adorable creature―Penny’s presence is unmistakably, hilariously incorporated into Harry’s iconic cartoons. In one, he gazes up at the night sky, remarking on the vastness of outer space, while she digs into the ground, unbothered, fuzzy tail wagging in the air. Harry grew up in a family of artists, a rowdy and turbulent bunch, and attended art school in Philadelphia. A therapist once suggested that perhaps when he looked at Penny, he saw himself as an innocent child. As Harry grieves Penny’s loss, he reflects on his parents in their later years, his love for his wife and home, and the colorful artists, friends, and mentors who have shaped him. With humor and gut-wrenching honesty, You Can Never Die is an intimate portrayal of a man making sense of the beautiful and painful world around him. This singular memoir integrates sharply crafted, witty stories with hundreds of gorgeous cartoons and never-seen-before sketches from Bliss’s career.

Avg Rating
4.11
Number of Ratings
199
5 STARS
44%
4 STARS
33%
3 STARS
16%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
3%
goodreads

Author

Harry Bliss
Harry Bliss
Author · 8 books
Harry Bliss grew up in upstate New York in a family of successful painters and illustrators, so it wasn’t any surprise that he, too, went on to study painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and illustration at the University of the Arts and Syracuse University. He has illustrated numerous book covers and is a cartoonist and cover artist for THE NEW YORKER magazine. In the tradition of so many NEW YORKER cartoonists, Harry Bliss has illustrated several children’s books, among them A FINE, FINE SCHOOL by Sharon Creech, WHICH WOULD YOU RATHER BE? by William Steig, and COUNTDOWN TO KINDERGARTEN by Alison McGhee.
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