It's Never Easy
Daily comics from a pandemic
A chronicle of small moments during an unprecedented time.
[Pre-Order Now] — Each copy of this limited edition run is signed by the author.
Available April 2026
Limited Edition Risograph Print Run
90 pages | 3-color risograph (pink, blue, green) | Silver foil cover
10.5" × 5.5" | $24.95
About the Book
Between 2020 and 2021, as the world locked down and routines dissolved, artist Joe Alterio documented what it meant to keep living. It's Never Easy collects these intimate daily comics—walks with his dad, parenting kids, fixing faucets, doomscrolling, and the exhaustion of caring when everything felt fragile.
Printed in lush three-color risograph , each copy is signed by the artist and is a tactile artifact of a time we're still processing. These aren't pandemic explainers or hot takes—they're the texture of ordinary days when nothing was ordinary.
For readers of: Roz Chast, Adrian Tomine, Lynda Barry, John Porcellino's King-Cat Comics
Praise for It's Never Easy
"Joe Alterio's It's Never Easy is a panoramic pandemic memoir, a perfect gem of solace which unfolds in precise filmic frames of insight to mimic how time dripped during lockdown."
—Annie Nocenti , writer and editor
"Everyone’s pandemic experiences were unique and universal simultaneously. It’s Never Easy is Joe Alterio’s tender, funny, observant graphic novel, set during the fugue-state, pear-shaped days of the pandemic when the world stood still, but our minds did not. Alterio meditates on the quintessential question: “Why am I me, and not someone else?”
His illustrations are whimsical and emo, full of love and yearning. It’s Never Easy is playful, but not flippant. It catalogs the small absurdities of isolation — the old lady with the broom, a memory of footie pjs, a secreted weed stash. Somewhere between diary and daydream, It’s Never Easy reminds us that even in captivity, our imagination roams freely, and the difficult days are threaded with grace. "
—Alix Lambert, filmmaker, author, artist
""Not only smart, and funny, but also sweet, unflinchingly honest, and — as the title suggests — anxious. Ours are “interesting times,” in the grimmest sense of that phrase, and it’s a privilege to watch them unfold through Joe Alterio’s eyes."
—Joshua Glenn, author, editor, journalist
Look Inside
About the Author
Joe Alterio is a Seattle-based designer, creative technologist, and Head of Design at Wick. His work has been recognized with multiple Webby Awards and has appeared in projects for Microsoft, Starbucks, Disney, and Adobe. He co-hosts the Designer&Designer podcast and writes cultural criticism connecting design theory to broader societal themes. It's Never Easy is his second published graphic work.
Follow: [Instagram]
Book Details
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 90, three-color
- Trim Size: 5.5" × 10"
- Printing: 3-color risograph (pink, blue, green)
- Cover: 4C with Silver Foil finish
- Edition: Limited first A/P printing
- Pub Date: April 2026
- Price: $24.95 USD
Pre-Order Now
[Pre-Order Now] — Each copy of this limited edition run is signed by the author.
For bulk orders (10+ copies), email hey@joealterio.com