Bree Paulsen is not only an exceptionally talented artist but a wonderful teller of whimsical stories that feel like a warm blanket on stormy days.

If you’re ever feeling like the world is ever so bleak, if you’ve had a rough day, or if general negative feelings and/or melancholy is getting to you, I highly advise you take an hour or so out of your hard day to relax with a cup of tea and a graphic novel by Bree Paulsen.

I have recently read Bree’s two graphic novels about a little anthropomorphic head of garlic named, well, Garlic, and her adventures with her fellow human-like vegetables and a witch named Agnes, the first titled Garlic & the Vampire and the second Garlic & the Witch. They are both such gorgeously drawn novels with equally wonderful stories featuring low threat, high reward and a ton of whimsy and fantasy that I was hooked after reading Garlic & the Vampire. After having a bit of a rough time in life myself, these stories and characters truly felt like a much-needed hug. Bree’s illustrations come to life like an animation in the imagination, her ability to suggest movement and emotion some of the best I’ve ever seen in a graphic novel, and she puts so much heart and soul into the characters and stories that their voices, particularly Garlic’s, resonate in your head almost as though they come with a clear sound.

I have also just finished reading Bree’s darker and more thematic graphic novel The Firelight Apprentice. This one delves a little more into tough themes but retains the heart and soul that she so expertly put forth in the Garlic duology, with a brand new steampunk-esque world and characters that I personally could very much relate to. Bree also has a webcomic, Patrik the Vampire, which I am yet to read but am very much looking forward to doing so.

I truly cannot recommend Bree’s work enough, and my only complaint is that there is not more of it! You can check out her website, aptly named vampiresnwhimsy.com, and her Instagram for updates and more artwork, and I for one am very much hoping to see more adventures from Garlic in the future!