What We Mean By Yesterday: Vol. 2

If you’re expecting the second volume of Benjamin Marra’s Instagram epic to pick up exactly where Vol. 1 left off, think again… Meet NINKUGEL THE SELF!

When Ninkugel, a conniving, peasant farmworker, inadvertently causes an insect plague that destroys his town’s crops, he leaves his village in a self-imposed exile to avert death. From there, he lies and cheats his way across the countryside in a quest for fortune and high-living. When he convinces the elders of another village that he is a champion demon slayer who has arrived to free them from the tyranny of Balthicus the demon’s reign of terror, he is feted as a hero savior. But much like the tale of the scorpion and the frog, will Ninkugel’s devious nature get the better of him? And what does any of this have to do with What We Mean By Yesterday Vol. 1? Although Vol. 2 reads as a distinct and satisfying graphic novel on its own, there are still mysteries to be revealed!

What We Mean By Yesterday began as a daily comic strip, one page per day, posted on Marra's Instagram (@benjamin_marra). Originally begun as an experiment in drawing faster and looser, it quickly became one of the more popular pandemic era webcomics, followed by over 20,000 readers daily, and has morphed into the most ambitious project of Marra’s career.

Black-and-white illustrations throughout

Benjamin Marra is the author of several acclaimed graphic novels from Fantagraphics, including Terror Assaulter(O.M.W.O.T.), Night Business, and American Blood. He received a B.F.A. in Illustration from Syracuse University; studied in Florence, Italy; and earned his M.F.A. degree in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts. He lives in Montreal.