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ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: Reel Life
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
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WEBSITE: https://www.kanetoons.com/
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COUNTRY: United States
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PERSONAL EDUCATION:
Studied at University of California, Santa Cruz; Center for Cartoon Studies, M.F.A., 2017.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Cartoonist and educator. Banana Slug News, journalist; illustration workshop instructor. Has also worked for the “Standard Deviants” educational video series.
WRITINGS
Contributor of illustrations and cartoons to the Nib, Slate, and Psychology Today; also creator of the Delicate Lies serialized graphic novel for Beacon.
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2025, review of Reel Life.
School Library Journal, May 1, 2025, Emilia Packard, review of Reel Life, p. 129.
ONLINE
Kane Lynch website, https://www.kanelynch.com (November 10, 2025).
Santa Maria Sun, https://www.santamariasun.com/ (May 15, 2025), Glen Starkey, “Graphic Novelist Kane Lynch Publishes Reel Life, a Tween Book about Divorce.”
Kane Lynch
is a cartoonist and educator whose non-fiction comics and illustrations have appeared on The Nib, Slate, and Psychology Today, and in the graphic novel Guantanamo Voices (Abrams Books, 2020).
Kane is currently working on the kids' graphic novel Reel Life for Scholastic Graphix and is represented by Alex Weiss at the Azantian Literary Agency.
A graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies MFA program, Kane teaches workshops for young artists, and artists of all ages, at schools, libraries, and comic cons throughout the country.
The full story...
Cats and comics for life!
I grew up in San Luis Obispo, CA and I've been making comics nonstop since I was 9 years old!
In middle school, I was hand-selling comics and zines with my best friend Roscoe, and managed to talk a local video store into carrying a VHS of a movie adaptation of my comic.
By high school, I was published in books by Plan 9 Publishing and Keenspot, had strips in CRACKED Magazine, and made a memorably mortifying appearance on public access TV. One of my comics was even, bizarrely, written about in an Argentine newspaper. Things were looking up!
But by my mid-teens, I became convinced that I "couldn't draw." It didn't stop me, exactly—I started another graphic novel my freshman year of college—but that inferiority complex pushed me away from my dream of becoming a comic artist.
Today, I'm passionate about teaching comics because I want to help other artists, young and old, avoid that same roadblock.
Instead, I studied Film & Digital Media at UC Santa Cruz. I made movies that combined my love of comics, experimental animation, and early cinema.
I also cut my journalism teeth as a reporter for Banana Slug News, balancing journalism and satire in a way that would later inform my comics for The Nib.
After graduating, I moved to the Bay Area and started my first "grown up" graphic novel, The Relics.
I also started working for Standard Deviants, an educational video series where me and my co-workers got to be seriously weird.
I was hired to be a video editor, ended up doing triple duty as a cartoonist and actor!
I also became a regular at live comic readings and zinefests in the Bay Area.
Tabling at the Alternative Press Expo with Tessa Brunton and Mari Naomi in 2011.
In 2014, I was approached by the crowdfunding journalism website Beacon to run a serialized graphic novel.
The resulting project, Delicate Lies, set a funding record for Beacon. I had an enthusiastic audience and I was making money with my art! I felt like I was finally a "real" cartoonist!
...almost.
While I was becoming more successful, I felt like my work still wasn't where I wanted it to be. As I developed more ambitious and narratively focused projects, I felt like I needed better cartooning fundamentals.
I decided to enroll in the MFA program at the Center for Cartoon Studies, and hoofed it across the country to Vermont.
At CCS, I continued to develop Delicate Lies, and I also started thinking seriously about working with young artists.
I started helping out with the school's Cartoon Club kids' classes, and by the end of my time there I was leading the program and designing its curriculum. My students were about the age I was when I became a cartoonist, and we learned a lot from one another.
My CCS graduating class in 2016.
Cartoon Club kids' graduation in Summer 2017 (I'm last on the right, and co-teacher Daryl Seitchik is kneeling in front)
I also started tutoring students of all ages and teaching adults, and teaching become an integral part of my artistic practice.
A rare moment at CCS when the sun was out and everyone took a break from drawing. From left to right, Sandi Getbamrungrat, Kazimir Lee, Jarad Greene, Robyn Smith, Shashwat Mishra, Emily Parrish, Hannah Cummins, Kristen Rosa, and me!
Filming a cartooning instructional video with P-nut the cat! Made for the Brookwood Library in Hillsboro, OR.
In 2017, I moved from Vermont to Portland, OR, where I found delightful folks to collaborate with, from co-creating graphic novels with Jim Kettner to crafting kids' curriculum with Ary Giantrat, Winnie Craw, Julie Kagawa, and teaching teens to toon with Shay Mirk.
Scripting a graphic novel on top of Mt. Tabor in Portland in 2020
Sarah Mirk and I, teaching at Alder Commons in PDX!
Shay Mirk and I, teaching at Alder Commons in PDX in 2022!
Sample art from First Steps.
In '23, I returned to California's Central Coast, where I'm hard at work on my middle grade graphic novel Reel Life for Scholastic Graphix, as well as continuing to teach and mentor artists of all ages, both in person and online.
See you in the funny papers!*
Working with kid cartoonists in Nipomo, CA!
Working with kid cartoonists at the library in Nipomo, CA.
Graphic novelist Kane Lynch publishes Reel Life, a tween book about divorce
By Glen Starkey
Meet the artist
Graphic novelist and cartoonist Kane Lynch releases his debut Scholastic graphic novel, Reel Life, at a launch party at the SLO Library (995 Palm St.) on Saturday, May 24, starting at 1 p.m. He’ll read from Reel Life, engage in a Q-and-A, and sign copies. Preorder at kanelynch.com. Lynch will also offer a series of cartooning workshops at the county’s libraries in July. Visit cartooningwithkane.com for a complete schedule.
Sixth grader Galen Murphy’s life is about to get upended. One of his friends, Kyle, has suddenly turned mean, and worse still, his parents announce they’re separating. Galen and his other friend, Luna, decide to make a documentary film about his parents’ divorce. Will Galen’s “reel” life help him process his “real” life? So goes the premise of Kane Lynch’s debut Scholastic publication, Reel Life, coming out on May 20.
Graphic novelist Kane Lynch publishes Reel Life, a tween book about divorce
Image courtesy of Scholastic and Kane Lynch
JUDGE IT: Children’s book publisher Scholastic releases Reel Life on May 20, with story and drawings by Kane Lynch and color by Maddie Sackett.
Lynch grew up in San Luis Obispo and experienced his own parents’ divorce, and his semi-autobiographical book explores the myriad emotions and complications divorced families go through.
Galen’s dad, Paul, has an affair and strikes up a relationship with the much younger Jasmine. Galen’s mom, Roberta, is devastated, but she eventually finds a new relationship with Mike, whose daughter Autumn brings new difficulties into Galen’s family dynamics.
“The ‘family’ story is more autobiographical than the ‘kid’ story,” Lynch explained. “I wanted to capture my family’s specific quirky dynamic, how my experience wasn’t really like any divorce story I’d seen in movies or TV. The storyline with the kids is more of a classic ‘composite characters’ situation. Me and my friends were always doing creative projects together, and our personal drama often dovetailed with our artistic output.
“But there’s no one real ‘Kyle’ or ‘Luna,’ even if every one of my childhood friends will probably think one or the other is based on them. In both cases, I felt like a fictional framework was the best way to reflect the authentic emotional experience of what really happened—I wanted to make my characters talk to each other, and to do that, I had to have license to imagine scenes and conversations.”
Graphic novelist Kane Lynch publishes Reel Life, a tween book about divorce
Courtesy photo by Emily Parish
KANE IS ABLE: Graphic novelist and cartoonist Kane Lynch, here with his cat P-Nut, will engage in a Q-and-A and sign copies of his new book Reel Life on May 24 in the SLO Library.
Lynch’s book promises to help young readers experiencing their parents’ divorce understand that they’re not alone and maybe help them process their feelings.
Lynch, 38, has had a lifelong love affair with comics and cartooning, beginning in the fourth grade. He created comics for the SLO High School newspaper, graduated in 2004, then attended UC Santa Cruz, where his interests “vacillated between comics and film.” He took a job as a video editor in the Bay Area, but comics were always his passion.
When he got laid off, he decided to go all-in on his dream, moving to a “2,000-person town in Vermont” to earn his Master of Fine Arts from The Center for Cartoon Studies in 2016. He eventually found his way back to SLO in 2023. Along the way, he became a professional cartoonist and educator whose nonfiction comics and illustrations have appeared on The Nib, Slate, and Psychology Today, and in the graphic novel Guantanamo Voices (Abrams Books, 2020). Reel Life is his first graphic novel designed for kids.
In the book, Galen’s dad, a yoga instructor, meets Jasmine at a yoga retreat. Lynch describes Galen’s dad as a “positive person who wants everyone to have a good time and is sort of unaware of the repercussions of his actions. He’s a little bit of a jock, but a hippie jock.”
Lynch felt it was important to explore the topic of divorce from a kid’s perspective and explore a kid’s emotional response and ways of processing their situation.
“I wanted to do some version of this for years, and I didn’t originally think of it as a book for kids,” he explained. “Most of my other professional work so far has not been for kids. But this story, it’s something that happened to me when I was a kid, and for whatever reason, my memories of that time are very vivid. I felt I could tap into that.”
Scholastic is gearing the book for 8- to 12-year-olds, which Lynch calls “a huge age for graphic novels.”
Graphic novelist Kane Lynch publishes Reel Life, a tween book about divorce
Image courtesy of Scholastic and Kane Lynch
LOCAL SCENES: In Reel Life, graphic novelist Kane Lynch brings SLO Town to cartoon life, in a story about divorce.
“The majority of graphic novels sold are for kids that age, and Scholastic is the biggest publisher,” he said. “Someone asked me, ‘Would you kill to work for DC or Marvel?’ I would be happy to, sure, but Scholastic is as big as those guys. It’s just a different demographic.”
Lynch’s novel does a spectacular job at character development—of both kids and adults—who act and feel like real people. Galen’s friend Kyle is angry his parents are divorcing, and he handles it much differently than Galen. Luna’s parents would never divorce, but that doesn’t stop them from fighting, which pains her. Slightly older Autumn, the daughter of Galen’s mom’s new boyfriend, has her own divorce-related issues to deal with and lashes out in a hurtful way.
“When you’re a kid and your parents are fighting, you don’t process it like an adult, ‘Well, mom had some good points but also dad had some good points.’ No, you just think, ‘Oh God, they’re yelling,’” Lynch said. “As a kid is navigating this, I wanted there to be some inner kid conflict too. Fundamentally the way humans treat each other and build relationships and have problems with those relationships—that’s something that can happen when you’re 11 or when you’re 45.
“There are some things that are funny about how kids deal with things, including not being aware that the family issues are why they’re acting the way they are, which is especially true with Autumn and Kyle but probably true of all of these. They don’t have the tools to resolve their conflicts.
“The adult characters are all versions of me to some degree now that I’ve been these ages,” Lynch continued. “Hey, what’s it like to be 26 and move to a new place? What’s it like to be in your late 30s and question your life choices? I feel connected to all of them, and I feel like the adult characters are as big a part of it as the kid characters. I hope that people of all ages will read it.”
Contact New Times Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
Lynch, Kane REEL LIFE Graphix/Scholastic (Children's None) $24.99 5, 20 ISBN: 9781338853926
Filmmaking and friendship collide as three tweens navigate complex relationship dynamics.
In this stand-alone work, 11-year-old friends Kyle, Luna, and Galen bond over their love of all things film. But as they work on their latest cinematic feat, Kyle pulls away from the trio, acting standoffish and angry. Luna explains that he's upset over his parents' divorce and custody battle, stressors that feel alien to Galen--until his father drops a bombshell that rips their family apart. Galen's dad tells him that he's leaving his mother for Jasmine, a brown-skinned 26-year-old in Oakland with green hair. Now that he's split between two homes, Galen begins to understand where Kyle's feelings came from. Luna suggests that they film a documentary about their parents, but as big emotions about the shifting landscapes of friend and family relationships loom, the group must figure out how to change with them. Drawing on childhood experiences, Lynch's evocative graphic novel debut sagely captures the angst and unease of early adolescence. Galen's journey is fraught but accessibly portrayed, acknowledging the difficulties that parental separation and recoupling can bring. Cinematic full-color illustrations center the action throughout the tidy panels, keeping the pages turning with Lynch's stylized art. Fans of Raina Telgemeier, Victoria Jamieson, and Shannon Hale will find much to love. Kyle and Galen present white; Luna is cued Latine.
Reel-y relatable and compelling.(Graphic fiction. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Lynch, Kane: REEL LIFE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A830532452/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=375e3a46. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
LYNCH, Kane. Reel Life. illus. by Kane Lynch. 240p. Scholastic/Graphix. May 2025. Tr $24.99. ISBN 9781338853926.
Gr 4-8--Galen, 11, and his friends are working diligently on a stop-motion film when Kyle storms out in tears, feeling raw from his parents' divorce. Galen reflects briefly and returns to his happy home with his supercool parents. To his surprise, he's met with a harsh reality--his own parents are on the verge of separation, and Galen must navigate the uncertainties of his changing family dynamic. His parents, separately, overshare with Galen, and his father soon introduces his significantly younger girlfriend who, though cool, is also impulsive and reckless. Galen's mom also starts dating a man with a teen daughter, who is reacting to her own family divorce with acrimony and anger. Woven throughout this maturing, multilayered understanding of family dynamics are Galen's crew's attempts to create a film capturing the experience. The process is fraught and fractured at times, but ultimately a chance for catharsis and closure. The cartooning is affable, colorful, and wavy, leaning on central California's calm visual atmosphere of beaches, low-profile houses, and gentle rolling hills to provide a comforting backdrop for a deeply felt story. VERDICT A thoughtful drama with richly drawn characters, and a meaningful exercise in empathy for young readers.--Emilia Packard
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Packard, Emilia. "LYNCH, Kane. Reel Life." School Library Journal, vol. 71, no. 5, May 2025, p. 129. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A846210261/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=04d86ef6. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.