Precious Rubbish

Precious Rubbish is a scream as precisely pitched as a middle C from a tuning fork. … Her work is such an unexpected mixture of control and frankness that it is impossible to ignore.– “The New York Times”Several times before I could finish it, I had to put Kayla E.’s Precious Rubbish aside – [it’s] just that intense and powerful. Before you think I’m being too coy or flippant about something so heavy and real, let me tell you that the book is also funny – albeit in the driest, darkest, laughing-so-as-not-to-cry way.– “Style Weekly”Precious Rubbish is a triumph of pure resilience–a psychic thick, dark syrup of personal pain, humiliation, and suffering. And it will make you laugh inappropriately (and guiltily), which is the highest praise I can give.–Ivan BrunettiFIVE STARS STUNNING! Precious Rubbish has the biblical-level artistry and poetry of William Blake combined with the playful commercialism of Mad Magazine.–Maria Bamford, comedian and NYT bestselling author of Sure, I’ll Join Your CultPrecious Rubbish may help you come to terms with some things you’ve been privately avoiding or even things about yourself you didn’t know.–Chris WareKayla E.’s comics remind me of the orphan-in-jeopardy genre. She is cast as a plucky heroine you root for and yet wonder, ‘How can she possibly escape?’ The answer is through the author’s courage, wit, and originality. If one person’s trash is another’s treasure, Precious Rubbish is transmutation at its most therapeutic.–Tim Hensley

Kayla E. is a Texas-born artist of Mexican-American descent. She earned her B.A. from Harvard University and is a recipient of a 2023-2024 Princeton Hodder Fellowship. She works as creative director at Fantagraphics and lives in a small town in North Carolina with her wife and two dogs.