Baseball Epic

Jason Novak is a cartoonist whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and the Believer, among other places. He lives in Oakland, California.

Praise for Baseball Epic“A Schadenfreude spit-take of history.” —The Los Angeles Times“The real work of the book is drawing attention to the black, Cuban, and Native American players despite horrible racism. . . . Novak’s handles their stories with care and Baseball Epic is a wonderful entrant because of it.” —The A.V. Club“While flag-waving, replays, and statistical noise ruin the joy of contemporary baseball, Jason Novak has written and illustrated a Gorey-esque history of the dead-ball era that is delightfully morbid, intriguing, and a hell of a lot of fun. And maybe best of all, Novak’s magic comes from stories rather than numbers.” —Josh Ostergaard“Jason Novak’s graphic essay bridges the mundane, the dangerous, and the divine in the era of the dead ball. We see the fingers of fate upon each of Novak’s ball players. . . . Baseball Epic offers subtle, harsh, but sweet images of the men and women who played for the love of the game.” —LeAnne Howe“Novak provides a window into the personalities and untold histories of the sport.” —Vol. 1 Brooklyn“This sometimes funny, sometimes sad book will enchant any baseball fan and also serves as a window into a period of American history that most of us know too little about. I can hardly wait to get my hands on this treasure.” —David Unowsky