Mom's Cancer: Anniversary Edition

Timed for the 20th anniversary of the critically acclaimed, Eisner Award-winning webcomic-turned-graphic novel, Mom's Cancer is a revised and expanded edition featuring 32 pages of all-new material.

With 22 additional comics pages and new essays from Brian Fies; nurse MK Czerwiec, cofounder of graphicmedicine.org; and editor Charles Kochman, this edition is a must-have.

Winner of the first-ever Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic, Mom's Cancer was the reason the category was created, and has been hailed as one of the 10 most important Eisner Award winners of all time by Comic Book Resources (CBR).

An honest, unflinching, and sometimes humorous look at the practical and emotional effect that serious illness can have on patients and their families, Mom's Cancer is a story of hope--one that has changed the lives of readers worldwide, created new fields in the comics industry, and was the inspiration for Graphic Medicine, a field that explores and supports the interaction between the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare.

Mom's Cancer first gained notice online as a webcomic. It was posted anonymously by Brian Fies, with the intention of sharing information and insights gained from his family's experience. Just prior to publication, Mom's Cancer became the recipient of the first-ever Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic, and went on to win the German Youth Literature Prize, the Harvey Award for Best New Talent, and the Lulu Blooker Prize, and received multiple nominations, including Best Book for Young Adults from the American Library Association.

It has also been translated into seven languages and counting (Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Slovenian, and Spanish). Twenty years later, Mom's Cancer continues to resonate with readers all over the world.

This revised and expanded anniversary edition features 32 pages of of all-new material, including 22 additional comics pages and essays from Fies and nurse MK Czerwiec, cofounder of graphicmedicine.org, that will provide readers and teachers and practitioners with context and resources for how to use this book, and an introduction by editor Charles Kochman.

Author: Brian Fies
Publisher: Abrams Comicarts
Published: 03/03/2026
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 5.40h x 7.40w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781419788802

About the Author
Brian Fies is a writer and cartoonist. His widely acclaimed first graphic novel, Mom's Cancer, won the Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic in 2005 (the first webcomic to win this award and the inspiration for the category), the 2007 Lulu Blooker Prize for Best Comic, the 2007 Harvey Award for Best New Talent, and the 2007 German Children's Literature Award. He is also the author of the acclaimed, award-winning graphic novels A Fire Story, which received four starred reviews and a regional Emmy Award for an animated adaptation; Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, winner of the American Astronautical Society's 2009 Eugene M. Emme Award for Best Young Adult Literature; and The Last Mechanical Monster, which received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly and was an Eisner nominee for Best Digital Comic. He lives in Santa Rosa, California.