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Lucy Knisley
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An Age of License Kindle & comiXology

by Lucy Knisley (Author, Artist) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 96 ratings
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Acclaimed cartoonist Lucy Knisley (French Milk, Relish) got an opportunity that most only dream of: a travel-expenses-paid trip to Europe and Scandinavia, thanks to a book tour. An Age of License is Knisley's comics travel memoir recounting her charming (and romantic!) adventures. Knisley's experiences are colored by anxieties, introspective self-inquiries, and quotidian revelations - about traveling alone in unfamiliar countries, and about her life and career - that many young adults will relate to. An Age of License - which takes its name from a French saying - is an Eat, Pray, Love for the alternative comics fan.
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  1. Part of Series
    An Age of License
  2. Print length
    198 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    Not Enabled
  5. Publisher
    Fantagraphics
  6. Publication date
    October 15, 2014
  7. File size
    162654 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Not Enabled
  9. Word Wise
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  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Not Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lucy Knisley is one of the standout artist-writers of her generation, her storytelling assured and inviting. Her third book, An Age of License, picks up the themes of her first two books with increased sophistication. ... Further work from her pen can only enhance her fine reputation as an artist whose growth and exploits we delight to share."
― Paul DiFilippo, Barnes & Noble Review

"Like the best travelogues, An Age of License shows you what it would be like to visit a place while reminding you that you can never have the same experience. If you liked her last book, Relish: My Life in the Kitchen, you should definitely check this out… This book is more thought-provoking than her other works, demonstrating growth and a challenge to readers to think about these things in their own lives."
― Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading

"The cleverness here is how swiftly Knisley communicates everything... So much delivered so swiftly, so easily, Knisley’s chronicles always steering clear of both the sickeningly saccharin sweet and the angst-ridden. It nestles quite naturally in between, as light and as serious, as sad and as funny as real life often is."
― Richard Bruton, Forbidden Planet International

"…[T]he undertone [of An Age of License] is about learning to embrace periods of change to better understand the person you want to be. ... Knisley’s borderless pages and personal insights give the feeling of paging through someone’s drawn diary, and her delicate linework is lovely."
― Johanna Draper Carlson, Wisconsin State Journal

"Knisley... continues to own the travelogue/graphic novel genre by bringing her characteristic humor and heart to this memoir of a summer in Europe. … The title comes from the French l’age licence -- the freedom to explore, experiment, and feel joy, all feelings beautifully captured here. [Starred Review]"
― Publishers Weekly

"Knisley is a good artist and entertaining storyteller, and her rather typical tale rises well above the mundane."
― Richard Pachter, Miami Herald

"Knisley is a pleasurable picture-maker… and she engages directly with the issue of privilege as it pertains to her ability to take trips like this one."
― Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

"An Age of License… has an immediacy to it that makes it… compelling…. Knisley composes each page carefully, leading the eye through a series of little moments that add up to a real story. …[M]y guess is that she will simply continue to mature as an artist and writer. An Age of License is already evidence of that."
― Brigid Alverson, Robot 6

About the Author

Lucy Knisley is a cartoonist and occasional puppeteer, ukulele player, and food/travel writer living in Chicago, IL. She is a graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Center for Cartoon Studies.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B013XS037K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fantagraphics (October 15, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 15, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 162654 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 198 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 96 ratings

About the author

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Lucy Knisley

Lucy Knisley

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Lucy Knisley is an illustrator, comic artist and author. I'll bet you're wondering how to pronounce her name (the K is silent).

Lucy is a graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she went to study painting, and ended up making comics. She then studied at the Center for Cartoon Studies, where she received a scholarship to pursue her MFA (completed in June, 2009).

Beginning with a love for Archie comics, Tintin and Calvin and Hobbes, she has been making comics in some form or another since she could hold a pencil.

She lives in Chicago, where she makes comics, does freelance illustration, and teaches the occasional comics workshop. Check out her blog and web comic essay series on Lucyknisley.com!

Her Books:

French Milk, from Touchstone Publishing, is a drawn journal about living (and eating) in Paris with her mother. (From Touchstone Publishing from Simon and Schuster), August of 2008.

Relish, from First Second Books, is about growing up in the food industry. (First Second Books, April 2013.) It won an Alex Award from the American Librarian Association, was a NYT and Amazon bestseller, and a Goodreads top graphic novel of 2013.

An Age of License and Displacement are paired travelogues about youth and family, coming out this year (Fantagraphics Books, 2014).

She continues to work away on two more graphic novels, and is excited to bring more comics to share with readers.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
96 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

sonicsora
5.0 out of 5 stars Travel journal excellence!
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
If you're expecting a very structured story, I'd say check out 'Something New: Tales of a Makeshift Bride' by this artist for a more full 'narrative'. An Age of License is very much a travelogue at its core as stated on the cover. It feels redundant to say, but more than a few people have likely stepped into this book expecting something a bit more traditional only to be sorely disappointed.

This book is a series of loosely connected events during Lucy's trip. She doesn't jump around randomly in telling where she is, but things aren't tightly woven together in the way any other more fictionalized graphic novel would be. An Age of License is more about the journey and the emotional spectrum of figuring out new things about yourself. Lucy's feelings about what is happening around her at the time, realizations about her life as a whole, and her personal relationships are explored in a very loose but satisfying manner here. A prime example of this is the fact Lucy doesn't delve supremely deeply on the hurt of her break up, but we know more than enough to sympathize with her plight. We understand how she's feeling about it and why she's genuinely conflicted on what the future will be like. How she's attracted to Henrik but still very much hung up on her ex (now husband amusingly enough) and is working her way through those feelings whilst basking in traveling.

The only con I have over all is my book arrived with very minor damage to the top of the book and spine. Primarily colors being scrapped off the binding and the top front cover of the comic having a bit of a weird dent to it. Nothing too bad.
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Sheena Sy Gonzales
4.0 out of 5 stars Expected a full color book. Nevertheless, still wonderful!
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
I was expecting a full color comic strip similar to Lucy's book, Relish but instead, most of the pages here were black and white linearts. I'm a fan of Lucy's works though so I still enjoyed it a lot. I just wish she would publish another book as detailed (in content and artworks) as Relish. :)
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Idarah
5.0 out of 5 stars Knisley hits another homer with this personable travelogue!
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2014
Verified Purchase
"The French have a saying for the time when you're young and experimenting with your lives and careers. They call it: L' Age License...as in license to experience, mess up, license to fail, license to do...whatever, before you're settled."

I feel like Knisley and I are on personal terms, so I'll just call her "dear Lulu." At this point, I think I would buy just about any graphic novels she publishes from here on out. I have everything she's written thus far, and I guess that makes me a bonafide fan.

In An Age of License: A Travelogue, dear Lulu is at it again, and what she does best is capture her traveling adventures. In the style of French Milk, she documents a month long trip to Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, and Iceland. Along the way, she contemplates where her life is headed, is coping with a recent break-up and new love interest, and trying to figure out if she loves her career as a comic artist despite its meager compensation.

I love Lulu's illustrations, and I just love the way she thinks. She includes linear notes on footnotes, if that's even possible in comic form. Above all else, she is a true foodie, so she always allows panel space to highlight favorite dishes or must have snacks. I think I'm going to reread this tonight. I might have missed something.
2 people found this helpful
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Angela M
5.0 out of 5 stars perfection
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2015
Verified Purchase
I'm a HUGE Lucy Knisley fan so pretty much anything she puts out there will get five stars from me. I won't waste my time going in to why it's so great. It's a beautiful, quirky, tender & authentic travelogue from Lucy Knisley and that should be enough.
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Little Miss Fun
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Enough
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2018
This book, the third one that I have read by Lucy Knisley, focuses on her twenties and all the angst and worrying about one’s path that often come with it. Someone described it as a sort of “Eat, Pray, Love” for that generation. I was hoping that this would be more of a travelogue than a memoir, but it wasn’t. Her illustrations are charming and the overall style is delightful. There are a few more books in the series. I’m not sure if I will continue reading them.
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Stacey Kertsman
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2015
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Great text to get young people engaged with the opportunities travel provides for both self-knowledge and world knowledge.
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Debbie Fong
4.0 out of 5 stars Honest storytelling
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2015
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This is the first graphic novel I've read from Lucy Knisley and I can see why she's so popular. Lucy is not only a good storyteller but I find her incredibly relatable, honest, and not at all pretentious. The only downside was how quick of a read this was given the thickness of the book :)
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Alexandra S/ Oregon / @portlandlpc (Instagram)
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2014
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Loved it! A wonderful mix of sketches, travel adventure, and Lucy's everyday musings!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Diane M
5.0 out of 5 stars Positive experience
Reviewed in Canada on October 13, 2022
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Arrived as promised and timely, thanks.
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maria isabel
5.0 out of 5 stars Lucy knisley y peculiar sentido del humor
Reviewed in Spain on October 25, 2023
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Tengo todos los libros de Lucy knisley,me encantan sus novelas gráficas,todas basadas en sus experiencias
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Snigdha Singh
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful!
Reviewed in India on November 10, 2019
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Lucy Knisley books never disappoint you. This one will not just delight you but your taste buds as well.
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Sharon Lam
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in Canada on August 19, 2019
Verified Purchase
If you're familiar with Lucy's work, this book is earlier in her career. It does not have the distinctive color style of Relish, Something New or Kids Gloves. However, it beautifully captures a time in her life, and any young persons life where opportunities are endless and you have to ask yourself what you want to do. I loved this book, finished it in a couple days.
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