Brooklyn's Last Secret

Leslie Stein is the cartoonist of I Know You Rider and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner Present, as well as Bright-Eyed at Midnight and the Eye of the Majestic Creature series. Her diary comics have been featured in The New Yorker, VICE, and the Best American Comics anthology. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

“This illustrated tale of a less-than-famous rock band on a summer bus tour is full of poignant details and not-so-definitive best-of lists.” —The New Yorker“If you’re in a band, read this book. If you’re not in a band, read this book. And if, for whatever reason, you’ve decided to start or join a band, I implore you, before you go any further: PLEASE. READ THIS BOOK! It’s so beautifully done, heavy on laughs, thick with heartbreak, and honestly the best depiction of band/tour life I have ever read. I feel so seen, it’s disgusting. I’m disgusted. Because it’s SO GOOD.” —Tunde Adebimpe, TV on the Radio“Brooklyn’s Last Secret is an extremely good time. A beautiful, dreamlike, elliptical story that is also the most accurate description of what it’s like to tour that I’ve ever read. It also made me thank god that my gigging days are over.” —John Wray, Godsend and Lowboy“The most realistic and entertaining band-on-tour story that I’ve read...Sign me up for the European tour!” —Mark Ibold, Pavement“It you want, you can just read this book and skip tour. Because this is what tour is like.” —Luke Jenner, The Rapture“This comic acts as a love letter to pop culture, major U.S. cities, and—of course—band tours as the group experiences highs and lows, performing night after night in venues that start to blend together.” —Booklist“Real-life rocker Stein’s insider perspective shines through in scenes of hurried sound checks, Red Bull–fuelled debates, occasional hook-ups, and road trip humor, and in how the narrative lays bare the uncertainties and loneliness of life in a roving makeshift family unit.” —Publishers Weekly“An immersive odyssey featuring a cast of truly lovable characters.” —Library Journal“Brooklyn’s Last Secret is a warm, frequently hilarious tribute to the vagaries of the touring lifestyle, a true thing of joy.” —The Tyee“Affectionate and wistful.” —Rob Clough, High Low“Brooklyn’s Last Secret [has an] undeniable reek of authenticity on every page.” —Broken Frontier“Don’t feel you’ve got to be really into your music to check out Brooklyn’s Last Secret. While the props are undoubted, it’s about the people and it’s about the experience, and both resonate all the way to a perfect ending.” —Slings & Arrows“Get ready to laugh, smile, and cry with these lovable souls as they venture onto this unforgettable musical journey!” —White Wall Review“[Brooklyn's Last Secret] serves as a guide to life on the road for bands of modest following, an experience that is gruelling, monotonous and short on rewards[...] Most noteworthy is the author's artistic technique[...] which helps to create the unusual impression that the rocking life is as innocent a profession as a musician could hope for.” —Strong Words