Skating Wilder - by Brandon Dumais & Aj Dungo (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A poignant non-fiction comic that sheds light on the inclusive and life-changing world of skateboarding featuring brand new art from award-winning creator of In Waves, AJ Dungo.

Skateboarding is hard and it hurts.

No one can tell you exactly who invented it, but it has inspired generations of brave warriors to hit the curbs. This book flies through skateboarding's weird history, and grinds through AJ and Brandon's best (and worst) skateboarding memories. They're not experts, but they know how much this sport means to the communities that have embraced it and made it their own.

From the first boards to the handmade zines of the punk movement, weaving through the VHS heydays and landing hard in the glitzy video game era, we're going to take you on a ride through the ages. Special shout-out to the pages where we attempt to tell you how to do tricks through the medium of comics. It's wild.

Review Quotes

"Some of the coolest comics ever drawn. Skateboarding has long needed a definitive comic book bible. This is it. And comics has long needed the edgy agility of skateboarding, which AJ Dungo's dazzling and kinetic layouts dish out in spades. [...] I love this book."
-- Craig Thompson, Author of Blankets & Habibi

"A beautifully crafted collaboration that celebrates skateboarding across both historical and modern fisheye lenses. Dumais and Dungo have outdone themselves with subtle details that skate rats will recognize as a knowing nod, while newcomers will find plenty to discover and admire. Their love of sidewalk surfing spills over every page, managing to both inform and inspire--to get you outside, seeing the world differently."
-- Medar de la Cruz, Pulitzer Prize-winning Cartoonist of Diary of a Rikers Island Library Worker

"Skating Wilder -- a gorgeously drawn, totally engrossing skateboarding history lesson that's also heartwarming and funny. It perfectly captures the strange love every skater feels for the culture."
--Akvile Magicdusté, Skateboarder + Author

"Punky, gorgeous, and profound. Dungo and Dumais team up to explore the skateboard's history and in so doing unearth its soul."
--Lulu Miller, Co-Host of Radiolab and Author of Why Fish Don't Exist

"Aesthetically delicious, oozing heart and soul--AJ Dungo and Brandon Dumais weave the historical and personal into a lip-cracking, 50-50-grinding story that reminds us, yet again, that the kids will always be alright."
--Jamie Brisick, Author of Have Board, Will Travel: The Definitive History of Surf, Skate, and Snow

"Skating Wilder is an ode to the free and creative spirit of skateboarding. While retracing the history of skateboarding and the arts that have emerged around it, the authors also revisit their childhood and share how skate culture brought them together and shaped them. This beautifully illustrated book is a must-have for skaters of all levels!"
-- Phuong Mai Nguyen, Director of In Waves

"A book about more than just skating as a sport. It's a dedication to the community itself-- from the misfits to the outcasts, to the ones who never quite belonged. It's a love letter to it all."
-- Sally Deng, Illustrator + Author of SKYWARD: The Story of Female Pilots in WWII

"You didn't have to love surfing to love In Waves. You don't have to love skateboarding to fall for AJ and Brandon's book. But maybe, you'll pick up a board after reading it."
-- Max de Radiguès, Sunday Skateboarder + Creator of Stig and Tilde

"Skating Wilder not only displays a deep knowledge of skateboarding's history and culture, it gets the physics right."
-- Steven Weissman, cartoonist and co-founder of Stinckers

About the Author

Brandon Dumais grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs and began writing by making up punk lyrics in high school. He studied at CSU Long Beach, receiving a degree in Creative Writing and English Literature. Dumais has had work published by Bank-Heavy Press, Sadie Girl Press, and The Men's Heartbreak Anthology, and is the periodic editor of independent art magazine Remedial Art Class along with friend and illustrator AJ Dungo.

AJ Dungo was born in Fort Myers, Florida. He then moved to Toronto, then settled in Los Angeles where he attended Art Center in Pasadena. When he's not making comics, he works as an illustrator and designer. And when he's not working on anything, he's working on his cutbacks on his surfboard and slappies on his skateboard.