Skating Wilder

A Top 10 Pick – Spring 2026 Preview: Young Adult Comics — Publisher’s Weekly

“A journey through time as viewed from atop a skateboard by childhood friends from Los Angeles. […] The limited palette, which uses different colors to distinguish past and present, will hit readers in the feels when the effect is poignantly combined to convey memories. Made with care for historical detail that matches its nostalgic passion.”
— Kirkus, STARRED Review

“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.”
—Akvilė 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