Book · 2010
Daytripper
by Fábio Moon
An obituary writer in São Paulo dies at the end of every chapter, at a different age each time, and each death changes what the rest of his life meant.
What does Reddit think of Daytripper?
1511 of Daytripper's 1514 recognized mentions live in r/graphicnovels; the other two subreddits barely register. That concentration says something on its own. Inside that one community, the title keeps surfacing as a rebuttal, not a suggestion. A ↑74 thread answering someone who called graphic novels beneath serious attention lists it first among five worth 'the effort of persuading,' next to From Hell and Essex County. A ↑51 comment groups it with My Favorite Thing Is Monsters and Blankets as one of the few books that actually got to the poster personally. Nobody in the sample argues against it. The closest thing to analysis, at ↑45, isn't really an argument at all: a commenter trying to describe the specific feeling of reading it, comparing it to remembering an old film at an odd moment, years later, for no clear reason. Almost nobody here is arguing against the book outright — they're mostly trying to explain what it does to them.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Death as a repeating structural device rather than a single ending
- · Memory and how small moments become meaningful in hindsight
- · Fatherhood, family, and inherited expectation
- · Everyday life and place in Brazil
- · Magical realism layered over domestic detail
Common praise
- + Gets named first, unprompted, when someone in r/graphicnovels asks for proof the medium can do more than superheroes (↑74).
- + A ↑51 commenter puts it in the same breath as My Favorite Thing Is Monsters and Blankets, among the few books that actually got to them personally.
- + The ↑45 comment skips the plot entirely and just tries to nail the specific déjà-vu feeling the book produces — a harder thing to sell convincingly than 'good art.'
- + Recurs across multiple years of 'defend graphic novels as literature' threads without anyone needing to re-argue the case from scratch.
Common criticism
- − Every visible excerpt is a name-drop or a one-line reaction; none of the sampled comments walks through why a specific chapter works or doesn't.
- − 1511 of 1514 mentions come from one subreddit, so outside r/graphicnovels this book has essentially no visibility.
- − The other two tracked subreddits mention it once each across six years combined — booksuggestions and Fantasy readers clearly aren't finding it on their own.
- − None of the sampled excerpts engages with the book's repeated-death structure directly, so the case here rests on list placement and mood, not argued detail.
Who it's for
Ask on r/graphicnovels for something that proves the format isn't just capes and gimmicks, and this is one of the first five names that comes back, right next to From Hell and Essex County. If Blankets or My Favorite Thing Is Monsters actually got to you, the ↑51 thread files this alongside them, not below them. Come in expecting mood over plot mechanics — the strongest reaction on record, at ↑45, isn't about story at all, it's about the specific feeling of remembering something small, years later, for no clear reason. Don't expect anyone outside comics circles to have heard of it; the other tracked subreddits combined mention it twice in six years.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Daytripper?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I literally do this for a living. I teach comics as Lit. I’ll assert that many many works are worthy of study in some way, but if we’re looking for some sort of artistic merit. I could probably list 100, but I’ll start with some basics. Fun Home Watchmen The Best We Could Do Maus American Bor…
“I think anyone who is pretentiously dismissive of graphic novels probably isn't worth the effort of persuading. That said, excluding the ones you've mentioned, here are 5 off the top of my head: Daytripper From Hell Rusty Brown Safe Area Gorazde Essex County
“Hey 👋! I’ve been thinking about this for a while and here are my favorites: 1. “Monsters” by BWS - A profound portrayal of the horrors of war, human experimentation, deeply impactful and emotionally scarring. 2. “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei - Real-life experiences of internment and rac…
“I've personally really been affected by \- Daytripper \- My Favorite Thing is Monsters \- Blankets I think MFTM is especially notable for being so creative with the imagery and art style. The fact that Blankets was also banned somewhere in the US also makes me smile a bit, a bit too acc…
“Daytripper is like… you know that book or movie you saw a long time ago, and sometimes you remember when something happens in your life? I am not talking about something huge, but something particularly meaningful to you. Just to you. And then you start to remember, and daydream. It can be sweet, or…
“Daytripper is such a good comic! One of my personal favorites.
“Some of my personal absolute favourites, in rough order of preference (favourites higher up): - _Black Hole_ by Charles Burns - _Asterios Polyp_ by David Mazzucchelli - _Daytripper_ by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon - _Building Stories_ by Chris Ware - _Big Questions_ by Anders Nilsen - _Maus_ by Art …
“Daytripper. I was a mess with emotion and awe reading that book. Saga, Maus, and It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth all get honorable mentions tho.
“I'm ok with this list. It has Corto Maltese, The Incal, Daytripper, and Tintin 👍
“Daytripper. Art and writing each floor me every time.
“Damn. From Hell placement alone is controversial. Books of Magic and Sandman Mystery Theatre I thought were quite good as well. Books of Magic, Daytripper, Swamp Thing and Y: The Last Man all in mid tier is also a pretty hot take.
“Daytripper. I’d also throw Pride of Baghdad in there as desert.
“Non-superhero is such a broad scope, but what you've listed here mostly lies in a more narrow field of view. Daytripper certainly deserves a spot as a modern classic. Jeff Lemire's Essex County is well loved too. Maybe check out the sub's all time top 100 books list that can be found in the sidebar…
“Daytripper. Just thinking about the person I want to be. How I want to be remembered.
“Gonna throw out a selection of good ones. Not sure what you've read, so hopefully some of these will be ones to check out if not. Maus. Road to perdition. V for vendetta. Middlewest. Daytripper. The best we could do. Pride of Baghdad. Stray dogs. The Crow. Monsters.
Convinced? Pick up Daytripper
What else does r/graphicnovels read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
Guides featuring Daytripper
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
Daytripper — frequently asked
Is Daytripper actually worth reading if I don't normally read graphic novels?+
Yes, according to the one exchange in the data that argues the point directly. A ↑74 r/graphicnovels commenter names Daytripper first among five books worth handing to someone dismissive of the medium, alongside From Hell and Essex County. It's framed there as proof, not a gentle gateway pick, which is a stronger claim than most recommendation lists make.
What does reading Daytripper actually feel like, according to Reddit?+
Less like following a plot and more like a memory ambush. A ↑45 r/graphicnovels comment describes it as the specific feeling of suddenly recalling an old, small moment that turned out to matter later. That's the closest thing to a review in the sample — most other mentions are bare title-drops.
Is Daytripper only popular in one corner of Reddit?+
Essentially, yes. 1511 of its 1514 recognized mentions across seven years come from r/graphicnovels alone; r/booksuggestions and r/Fantasy each register it once or twice with no visible discussion attached. If your feed doesn't include the comics subreddits, this title likely hasn't crossed it.
Does Daytripper get compared to other graphic novels on Reddit?+
Consistently, and to the same small set. A ↑74 list puts it next to From Hell, Rusty Brown, Safe Area Goražde, and Essex County; a ↑51 list groups it with My Favorite Thing Is Monsters and Blankets instead. Both comparisons treat it as emotionally serious rather than as a genre entry.