Montreal-based publisher Pau Pau Press renews Eisner’s victory at Boum’s The Jellyfish, and publishes Mongoose by Portuguese cartoonist Joana Mosi this fall. The Portuguese edition of O Mangusto, published by Seita in 2023, was the recipient of outstanding storytelling, which won the famous Jorge Magalges Award.
Mongoose tells the story of former track and field star Julia, who finds herself living with unemployed Joel in her grandmother’s beach house. In the aftermath of a devastating loss, Julia tries to convince her family and friends that she’s doing well, but one night, when the plot in her early garden is destroyed, Julia becomes obsessed with finding the culprit.
Drawn in a minimalist and experimental style reminiscent of the work of creators like Nick Drenaso and Richard McGuire, mongoose is an emotionally resonating story about how we avoid grief and find us anyway.
“I wanted to create a story that doesn’t live directly in grief, but that’s a fundamental theme,” explains Moshi. “I was more interested in dismantling that side effect and exploring the common denial and avoidance responses among those who suffered deeply painful losses.”
Mongoose is a fictional story, but Moshi drew his own life experiences to create it.
Moshi realized that many portrayals of sadness do not capture the surprising way trauma can reveal herself. “More than painful experiences, I experienced sadness as a nonlinear, abstract, independent position, sequestered me from feeling something,” she says. “Where is the long, loud scream? Broken food? A sad piano soundtrack? I always felt a deep sadness quiet and cold, and still coming.”
Joana Mosi (Photo © Prune Paycha)
Moshi originally attracted the attention of Luc Bossé, founder and editor of Pow Pow Press during the course of his portfolio review at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF). Traveling in a preliminary story draft from Portugal to Canada, Mosi showed it to Bossa, who found the graphic novel “Incredibly impressive”.
“She left a copy (of the mongoose) with me. I put it back to the prisoner’s table. I couldn’t stop reading it,” Bossa recalls. “I was very impressed with the quality of her work. I rarely meet creators who have clarified their artistic vision. Before the weekend was over, I made the offer to Joana to publish the book in both French and English.”
After the release of Ramangste in 2023, Pow Pow Press is now bringing mongoose to English-speaking readers around the world. Moshi said, “This is the longest comic I’ve ever worked on and I can’t wait to share it with you.”
“The idea first came as a short story in 2018. It was a strange time, and storytelling came as an attempt to handle things that could not stand. Ultimately, the story of a woman who went crazy due to her obsession with mongooses told Moshi to the point she thought it would make sense as a graphic novel. “When I was living in a Viborg open workshop in 2021, I was surrounded by friends, laughter, cheap beer and YouTube Karaoke Nights after the final page.”
Mosi and Pow Pow will quickly follow up Mongoose in their April 2026 Athletics Publications.
“I think it’s great that readers can get Joanna’s unique voice right away,” Vigneault said. “I am sure she is a major new voice in international comics.”
When asked who her ideal reader is, Moshi has a refreshingly open answer: “Hopefully anyone who stumbles randomly on this book.”
Beat is pleased to have her see an exclusive excerpt from the mongoose.
Pow Pow Press will release Mongoose on October 15th. Mongoose is currently available for pre-order via monthly delivery and will be available in bookstores and manga stores around the world.
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