Original Graphic Novels
These are OGNs that are not part of any series.
DC
Image
Marvel
MINX
Oni Press
Vertigo
The Architect (Big Head Press; w Mike Baron; a Andie Tong). 
Ascend (Image; w Keith Arem and Scott Cuthbertson; a Christopher Shy). [From Image Comics: Set in a near-future metropolis, Ascend tells the dark, intriguing and seductive story of three banished angels waging an epic war on Earth. Sebastian, Gideon and Seraphine are exiled from Heaven and forced to live among mortals. The three angels soon separate and seek a new path to return them home. Still bound by their angelic instincts, the three find they are still drawn to humans about to ascend. Longing to become human, Sebastian rejects his former existence, and falls in love with a mortal, Rebeka. Fascinated by his newfound power over mortals, Gideon soon shows an aptitude for taking human souls and finds himself ruler of a new army, poised to storm the gates of their former empire. Seraphine struggles to live amongst humans and foresees that her fate is linked to her fallen siblings. As Gideon¹s powers grow, Sebastian and Seraphine realize they must deny their new life and confront their brother, fuelling an epic struggle that threatens to destroy the universe.] 
Ascend: Special Edition (IDW; w Keith Arem and Scott Cuthbertson; a Christopher Shy). [From IDW: Welcome to the post-apocalyptic Purgatory Wars, where the battle over "harvested" human souls has destroyed Heaven and Hell. Sebastian, a young human, who is tragically killed and unwillingly drafted into the war. He is reunited with his deceased brother, Gideon, the most powerful angel in the Legions of Heaven, who plans to lead a coup to regain power and restore order. Realizing he holds the key to ending the war, Sebastian must face his brother, before Gideon destroys the cycle of life on Earth. Ascend: Special Edition features 70 added pages, and a completely re-written story taking the reader further into the post-apocalyptic Purgatory Wars.] 
Birth
of a Nation (Crown Books; w Aaron McGruder & Reginald Hudlin;
a Kyle Baker). [From Crown Books: This scathingly
hilarious political satire—produced from a collaboration of three of
our funniest humorists—answers the burning question: Would anyone care
if East St. Louis seceded from the Union? East St. Louis, Illinois (“the
inner city without an outer city”), is an impoverished town, so poor
that Fred Fredericks, its idealistic mayor, starts off Election Day by collecting
the city’s trash in his own minivan. But the mayor believes in the
power of democracy and rallies his fellow citizens to the polls for the
presidential election, only to find hundreds of them turned away for trumped-up
reasons. Even sweet old Miss Jackson—not to mention the mayor himself—is
denied the vote because her name turns up on a bogus list of felons. The
national election hinges on Illinois’s electoral votes and, as a result
of the mass disenfranchisement of East St. Louis, a radical right-wing junta
led by a dim-witted Texas governor seizes the Oval Office. Prodded by shady
black billionaire and old friend John Roberts, Fredericks devises a radical
plan of protest: East St. Louis will secede from the Union. Roberts opens
an “offshore” bank (albeit in the heart of the U.S.) to finance
the newly liberated country, and suddenly East St. Louis becomes the Switzerland
of the American heartland, flush with money. It also begins to attract a
motley circus of idealistic young militants, OPEC-funded hitmen, CIA operatives,
tabloid reporters, and AWOL black servicemen eager to protect and serve
the new nation. Problems set in almost immediately: Controversies rage over
the name and national anthem of the new country (they decide on the Republic
of Blackland with an anthem sung to the tune of the theme from Good Times),
and local thug Roscoe becomes a warlord and turns his gang into a paramilitary
force. When the U.S. military begins to move in, Fredericks is forced to
decide whether his protest is worth taking all the way. Birth of a Nation
starts with a scenario drawn from the botched election of 2000 and spins
it into a brilliantly absurd work of sharply pointed satire. Along the way
the authors lay into a host of hot social and cultural issues—skewering
white supremacists, black nationalists, and everyone in between—drawing
real blood and real laughs in equal measure in this riotous send-up of American
politics.] GNR
review.
Blankets
(Top Shelf; w & a Craig Thompson). [From Top Shelf:
From the author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling graphic novel,
GOOD-BYE, CHUNKY RICE comes Craig Thompson's all-new masterpiece. BLANKETS
-- the most anticipated graphic novel of the year -- is already being regarded
as THE defining moment of this comix generation. … Wrapped in the landscape
of a blustery Wisconsin winter, BLANKETS explores the sibling rivalry of
two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the budding romance
of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness
and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith. A profound and
utterly beautiful work.] Old Book of the Week 9/1/04
Breaking Up (Graphix/Scholastic; w Aimee Friedman; a Christine Norrie). [From Top Shelf: There's a fine line between a friend and an enemy. One minute there's all this trust, and laughter, and love. And the next… there's hurt. And cruelty. And betrayal. Meet Chloe Sacks: Thoughtful, artistic, and a junior at Georgia O'Keeffe School for the Arts, nicknamed "Fashion High" for its trendy student body. Along with her best friends, Erika, Isabel, and MacKenzie, she's looking forward to a year of romance, parties, and adventure.
And it is an eventful year... but not in the way she expected. Falling in love turns out to be a complete disaster. And friendship - well, friendship is the hardest thing of all to keep.
Breaking up. Messing up. Growing up. Welcome to junior year.] 
Carnet de Voyage (Top Shelf; w & a Craig Thompson). [From Top Shelf: Craig Thompson - the award-winning creator of Blankets and Good-bye, Chunky Rice - traveled for three months through France, Barcelona, and the Alps, as well as Morocco, where he spent time researching his next graphic novel, Habibi. Spontaneous sketches and a travelogue diary document his adventures and quiet moments, creating a raw and intimate portrait of countries, culture and the wandering artist.] 
Charley's War Vol. 1: 2 June-1 August 1916 (Titan Books; w Pat Mills; a Joe Colquhoun). [From Titan: 1 July 1916: 20,000 British soldiers are killed and 38,000 wounded on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Private Charley Bourne, 16 years old and fresh off the boat from England, survives; now all he has to do is make it through the rest of the war. From writer Pat Mills (Marshal Law; Slaine) and artist Joe Colquhoun comes a World War I epic graphic novel, justly celebrated for its unparalleled realism and authenticity, telling the story of a raw recruit caught up in the bloody reality of life in the trenches of the Western Front. Collected for the first time in a handsome hardcover, this eagerly awaited new edition will include an introduction and 'director's commentary' from creator Pat Mills; a cultural history of Charley's War; and a brief history of the Battle of the Somme.] 
Charley's War Vol. 2: 1 August-17 October 1916 (Titan Books; w Pat Mills;
a Joe Colquhoun). [From Titan: The second volume of the universally popular First World War comic strip arrives! It is now the late summer of 1916. Though Charley has survived the early days of the Somme, treachery on both sides of the wire means tragedy lies in store for him as he desperately tries to survive... Rich in the terror-punctuated existence of a 'Tommy', this new volume of Charley's War features a brand new introduction and 'director's commentary' by Pat Mills, plus exclusive extra content!] 
Charley's War Vol. 3: October 1916-February 1917 (Titan Books; w Pat Mills; a Joe Colquhoun). [From Titan: From renowned UK comics writer Pat Mills (Marshal Law, Slaine) and legendary artist Joe Colquhuon (Johnny Red) comes a truly classic piece of British comics history, by turns thrilling, humorous and horrifying. In 1916, Charley Bourne lies about his age to enlist and fight on the battlefields of France. He has survived four months on the lines so far, but is facing the most dedicated German counter-offensive yet: the attack of the "Judgement Troopers." Both textually and artistically detailed, mixing weary insight and breathless action, this third volume of Charley's War also includes a feature on the Zeppelin-launched air raids of World War One, a rare interview with artist Joe Colquhoun, and a commentary on the strips from co-creator Pat Mills.] 
Charley's War Vol. 4: Blue's Story (Titan Books; w Pat Mills; a Joe Colquhoun). [From Titan: Renowned UK comics writer Pat Mills (Marshal Law, Sláine) and legendary artist Joe Colquhoun (Johnny Red) continue the thrilling, humorous and horrifying story of World War One soldier Charley Bourne.
Home from the war thanks to an injury, Charley escapes from a terrifying air-raid, only to run into a deserter from the Foreign Legion — who tells him of the awful siege of Fort Vaux, even as both men run for their lives from the Military Police!
Rich in the detailed minutiae of the terror-punctuated existence of a “Tommy”, this fourth volume of Charley’s War features an introduction and director’s commentary by Pat Mills, plus bonus content on the historical background to the story.] 
Chiaroscuro: Patchwork, Book 1 (IDW; w & a Troy Little). [From Pantheon: Chiaroscuro is the story of Steven Patch, an unemployed artist with a single blank canvas. Steven's busy living the introspective, angst-ridden life of your average twenty-something; drinking too much and complaining about his situation while doing little to improve it. A case of mistaken identity pushes Steven into a flow of events that bring him places he'd never imagined and forces him to make a choice between art and mere existence.] 
Chocolate
Thunder (Speakeasy Comics; w & a Jeremy, Maurice and Robert
Love). [From Speakeasy Comics: KEVIN KING, a government
agent presumed dead, returns to his city of origin and finds a barren wasteland
of drugs, poverty and crime. Using the skills he learned as a government
operative, he takes on the persona of a soulful street avenger. The local
graffiti artists pay tribute to him in their murals. They call him CHOCOLATE
THUNDER. Old school '70s action collides with hip-hop attitude in this brutal,
funny and action packed Blaxploitation Epic. Employing their encyclopedic
knowledge of '70s Blaxploitation films, the Love Brothers have crafted the
ultimate tribute to the genre.] Lost in the demise of Speakeasy... 
City of Glass (Picador; story Paul Auster; adaptation Paul Karasik
& David Mazzucchelli). [From Picador: New York
was a labyrinth of endless steps, and no matter how far he walked, it always
left hiim with the feeling of being lost. Each time he took a walk, he felt
he was leaving himself behind. All places became equal, and on his best
walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. This was all he ever asked
of things: to be nowhere.] 
Chicken With Plums (Pantheon; w & a Marjane Satrapi). [From Pantheon: From the acclaimed author of the best-selling Persepolis books, here is Marjane Satrapi's most accomplished and emotionally powerful work yet — the story of her great-uncle, a celebrated Iranian musician who gave up his life for music and love. We are in Tehran in 1958, and Nasser Ali Khan, one of Iran's most revered tar players, discovers his beloved instrument to be irreparably damaged. Though he tries, he cannot find one good enough to replace it. Brokenhearted, he takes to bed, renouncing the world and its pleasures. Over the course of the week that follows, as his loved ones gather at his bedside, we are treated to flashbacks and flashforwards that reveal Nasser Ali's entire life and beyond—from his own childhood through his children's futures. And as the pieces of his story slowly fall into place, we begin to understand the breadth of his decision to give up life.] 
The Claws Come Out (IDW; w & a Pat Lewis). [From IDW: An apathetic scientist works late defrosting the Abominable Snowman; a naive blood donor dates a rageaholic vampire; a two-bit fortuneteller inadvertently sparks a zombie epidemic... and it's all played for laughs. Martians, werewolves, serial killers, and B-movie monsters square off against a variety of tough women in this slam-bang hardcover collection of comedy/adventure stories by acclaimed indie cartoonist Pat Lewis who has been nominated for multiple awards, including an Ignatz and the Howard E. Day Prize.] 
Club
Zero-G (Mad Yak Press; w Douglas Rushkoff; a Steph Dumais).
[From Mad Yak Press: What if you discovered your dreams were actually
portals to another world? What if all your friends were there in this other
world, too? What if no one could remember the nights spent together in this
alternate dimension – except you? What if the possibilities for our
reality were limited only by your ability to ask “what if?” From
the literary imagination of Douglas Rushkoff and the drawing table of indie
comic book artist Steph Dumais comes a strange new tale that takes place
on the front lines of the thought wars. This mind-expanding graphic novel
offers an allegory for today’s highly managed collective psyche, and
a hint at the power available to anyone willing to step out of the story
in which we are living.]
Colère
Noire (Humanoids Publishing; a Philippe Marcelé; w Thierry
Smolderen). [Translated omnibus collection of three French
BDs: 1, Un après-midi de plomb; 2, Le Duc De Fer; 3, La Main D'acier.
From Humanoid Publishing: A visit to the supermarket goes horrifically
wrong when masked robbers open fire and murder unsuspecting customers. After
witnessing the deaths of their respective loved ones, Marielle and Stella
join together. As the two victims find support in their shred experiences,
a new quest is set in front of them: revenge against those who have taken
their loved ones from them. What follows is a tale of murder, grief, and
violence as the two women extract their brutal revenge.] 
Containment (IDW; w Eric Red; a Nick Stakal).
[From IDW: Screenwriter Eric Red (The Hitcher, Near Dark) offers
up a zombie story set in space. On a manned NASA space ship millions of
miles from Earth, a terrifying malfunction occurs in the cryogenic hypersleep
pods containing the hibernating astronauts, turning most of the crew into
the violently brain-dead. In this debut issue by Red and artist Nick Stakal
(Hyde), a handful of outnumbered astronauts awaken intact from their artificial
slumber to find themselves pitted against murderous zombies running amok
on the ship.] 
Continuity (AiT/PlanetLar; w Jason McNamara; a Tony Talbert). [From AiT/PlanetLar: Alicia’s life as a typical suburban misfit takes a horrific turn as her dreams begin to alter reality. She quickly finds herself orphaned, pregnant and on the run from a pharmaceutical police state. Now she’s fighting to stay awake and restore the world she once knew. But when a lonely doctor offers Alicia redemption, will she take it? Or will her dreams tear reality apart?] Book of the Week 6/21/06: This is an odd, but oddly rewarding, story about a girl whose dreams and desires reshape the world—not always in a positive way—when she sleeps. Pregnant and alienated, she falls in with a group of punker street people, and her desire to preserve their strange world conflicts with her need for sleep. Both story and art are rough, but in a way that suits it well. (The art also seems extremely uneven, but that may just be the quality of the pdf preview copy I read.) I'm not entirely sure to make of everything that happens, but again, that fits in with the dreamlike quality of a world that is subject to the subconscious whims of a frightened and angry girl. In the end, I enjoyed the book somewhat, admired it greatly, and thought about it a lot. And while the ending disgusted me, upon reflection I realized that it was perfect. So I highly recommend this book in a very ambivalent way. 
Creature Tech (Top Shelf; w & a Doug TenNapel). [From Top Shelf: Good battles Evil, and the world hangs in the balance! Resurrected by
the Shroud of Turin, the zombified Dr. Jameson intends to finish what
he started 150 years ago - destroying the earth with a giant space eel.
Standing in his way is Dr. Ong, a would-be pastor turned scientist who
now works in a government research facility infamously known as
"Creature Tech." Aided by an unlikely cast of rednecks, symbiotic aliens, and a CIA-trained mantid, Dr. Ong embarks on a journey of faith, love, and self-discovery. All in a day's work at Creature Tech!] Old Book of the Week 3/15/06: 
Dead Samurai (iBooks; a & a Aron Lusen). [From IDW: Who - or what - is killing the local samurai? Kyuzomo is a man without a memory. Long presumed dead, and wanted for murder, Kyuzomo wanders home after a mysterious eleven year absence, only to find his former life in shambles and his village in the grip of fear. The bodies of local samurai are found mutilated in the fields, and no one knows who is responsible. Reluctant to become involved, Kyuzomo is conflicted by his duty to defend and his deep desire to re-forge a life and love that he once had. With the specter of his dark history looming, Kyuzomo must fight to destroy an evil menace that is ravaging a village he once called home and piece together the mystery of his missing years.] 
Dead West (Gigantic Graphic Novels; w Rick Spears; a Rob G). [From Gigantic: During the westward expansion, a small Indian village is wiped out. Years later, the single surviving Indian returns to get his revenge. He places an ancient curse on the town in which the dead rise from their graves to prey upon the living. Into this inferno wanders a bounty killer on the hunt for a fugitive. He’s no hero - he couldn’t care less about this dusty town or its rotting problems. He has men to kill, even if he has to raze the town to do it.] 
Delicate Creatures (Top Cow; prose story by J. Michael Straczynski;
a Michael Zulli). [From Top Cow: Prepare to enter
a fairy tale world like none other as acclaimed Rising Stars and Midnight
Nation creator and writer J. Michael Straczynski introduces you to the wonders
of Delicate Creatures. A modern day fable complete with a beautiful castle
and eclectic cast filled with extraordinary characters, Delicate Creatures
will once again show why J. Michael Straczynski continues to shine as one
of today's top writers. With illustrations provided by the amazing Michael
Zulli and Steve Firchow, this special edition hardcover is sure to leave
you craving for more and wondering just how much of a fairy tale it actually
is!] 
Doot
Doot Garden (Top Shelf; w & a Craig Thompson).
[From Top Shelf: DOOT DOOT collects the early mini-comics work of
Craig Thompson, including the first ever appearance of Chunky Rice. DOOT
DOOT also includes tales of crack-smoking cockroaches and fuzzy animal slaughter,
and a never before printed "24-Hour Comic." Weed your way through
this lush tangle of moss and ferns and twinkling little flowers. ]
Embroideries
(Pantheon; w & a Marjane Satrapi). [From Pantheon:
From the best-selling author of Persepolis comes this gloriously entertaining
and enlightening look into the sex lives of Iranian women. Embroideries
gathers together Marjane’s tough-talking grandmother, stoic mother,
glamorous and eccentric aunt and their friends and neighbors for an afternoon
of tea drinking and talking. Naturally, the subject turns to love, sex and
the vagaries of men. As the afternoon progresses, these vibrant women share
their secrets, their regrets and their often outrageous stories about, among
other things, how to fake one’s virginity, how to escape an arranged
marriage, how to enjoy the miracles of plastic surgery and how to delight
in being a mistress. By turns revealing and hilarious, these are stories
about the lengths to which some women will go to find a man, keep a man
or, most importantly, keep up appearances. Full of surprises, this introduction
to the private lives of some fascinating women, whose life stories and lovers
and will strike us as at once deeply familiar and profoundly different from
our own, is sure to bring smiles of recognition to the faces of women everywhere–and
to teach us all a thing or two.] 
First
Lady (Mad Yak Press; w Patrick Neighly; a Stephen Buell).
[From Mad Yak Press: Sixteen-year-old Julia Platt wakes up to discover
she is president of the United States. Something has gone terribly wrong
with the computerized WOTAN electoral system following the previous president’s
shock suicide. Newly appointed leader of the free world, Julia finds herself
next in line to die…] Mad Yak seems to have gone under... 
Flight Volume 1 (Image Comics; w & a Bengal, Bill Mudron, Catia Chien, Clio Chiang, Chris Appelhans, Derek Kirk Kim, Dylan Meconis, Enrico Casarosa, Erika Moen, Hope Larson, Jacob Magraw, Jake Parker, Jen Wang, Joel Carroll, Kazu Kibuishi, Kean Soo, Khang Le, Neil Babra, Phil Craven, Rad Sechrist, Vera Brosgol). [From Image Comics: FLIGHT is a collection of comic short stories created by some of the finest talents in the comics and animation industries. Inspired by storytellers such as Hayao Miyazaki and Moebius, these artists have come together to celebrate the graphic narrative medium. Volume one of FLIGHT features stories by professionals and non-professionals alike, all playing on the theme of flight in its many incarnations. From the maiden voyage of a home-built plane to the adventures of a young courier and his flying whale to a handful of stories about coming of age and letting things go, this first volume of FLIGHT is full of memorable tales that will both amaze and inspire.] Book of the Week 8/11/04
Flight Volume 2 (Image Comics; w & a Becky Cloonan, Chris Appelhans, Christian Schellawald, Clio Chiang, Don Hertzfeldt, Doug Tennapel, Enrico Casarosa, Hope Larson, Jake Parker, Jeff Smith, Jen Wang, Johane Matte, Kean Soo, Khang Le, Matt Rhodes, Michel Gagne, Neil Babra, Phil Craven, Rad Sechrist, Rodolphe Guenoden, Sonny Liew, Vera Brosgol). [From Image Comics: The second volume of the widely acclaimed Flight anthology. Featuring new stories by up-and-coming creators, established comics professionals and the original crew, Flight Volume Two continues the tradition of celebrating the graphic narrative medium. From the fantasy of a fading childhood romance in a small seaside town to the tale of a pair of monster hunters looking to make a quick buck to the allegory of a young robot finding meaning in his disposal, this new volume once again features stories for readers of all ages and tastes.] 
Flight Volume 3 (Ballantine Books; w & a Michel Gagné, Tony Cliff, Ben Hatke, Rad Sechrist, Johane Matte, Kean Soo, Phil Craven, Joey Weiser, Israel Sanchez, Bill Plympton, Yoko Tanaka, Azad, Neil Babra, Kazu Kibuishi, Rodolphe Guenoden, Bannister, Chuck BB, Matthew Forsythe, Becky Cloonan, Reagan Lodge, Alex Fuentes, Paul Harmon, Steve Hamaker, Dave Roman, Matthew Armstrong, Khang Le). 
Flight Volume 4 (Ballantine Books; w & a unknown). 
Full Moon Fever (AiT/PlanetLar; w Joe Casey; a Caleb Gerard, Damian Couceiro). [From AiT/PlanetLar: Zeke Kirby knew being a lunar waste disposal technician wasn't a perfect job, but it paid his bills. The downside was it took him away from his little girl, but the upside was he got to go into space. The positive was he got to play real-life astronaut, but the negative was that sewer pipes clog up faster in one-sixth gravity. So when he and his crew make a routine maintenace call to the Intercorp lunar sci-station and find it disturbingly empty, Zeke finds out fast that crap flows downhill... even on the moon. Where'd everybody go? And why are there werewolves everywhere?] 
Fun Home (Houghton Mifflin; w & a Alison Bechdel). [From Houghton Mifflin: A fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books
This breakout book by Alison Bechdel is a darkly funny family tale, pitch-perfectly illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings. Like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, it's a story exhilirating suited to graphic memoir form.
Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian home, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with his male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets as the family-owned "fun home," as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescence, the denouement is swift, graphic - and redemptive.] 
Gemma
Bovery (Pantheon; w & a Posy Simmonds). [From
Pantheon: Is it a coincidence that Gemma Bovery has a name rather like
Flaubert's notorious heroine? Is it by chance that, like Madame Bovary,
Gemma is bored, adulterous, and a bad credit risk? Is she inevitably doomed?
Gemma is the pretty second wife of Charlie Bovery, the reluctant stepmother
of his children, and the bête noire of his ex-wife. A sudden windfall
and Gemma's distaste for London take them across the Channel to Normandy,
where the charms of French country living soon wear off. Gemma's neighbor,
the intellectual baker Joubert, is consumed by fascination for her. Denying
voyeurism but nonetheless noting every change in the fit of Gemma’s
jeans, every addition to her wardrobe, all of her love bites and lovers,
Joubert—with the help of the heroine’s diaries—follows her
path toward ruin. Adultery and its consequences. Disappointment and deception.
Fat and slim. Then and now. Familiar ingredients of the novel are given
new life in Gemma Bovery's unique graphic form.] Book of
the Week 2/9/05: [While decidedly literary in its subject
matter and tone (leavened by perhaps just a hint of trashiness), Gemma
Bovery, the latest Pantheon import, is a very entertaining read. The
story is fairly simple: Gemma, a young artist who wants without quite knowing
what, in the aftermath of a bad relationship ends up settling for Charlie
Bovery, a very nice if rather dull fellow. She abandons her own career in
a fit of senseless optimism about her marriage, and faced with the pressures
of dealing with Charlie’s ex-wife and children, she forces a move to
Normandy. There, she falls victim to inevitable boredom and disappointment,
which push her into some bad decisions with tragic consequences. Gemma is
not the most likable character, yet somehow we sympathize with her anyway,
a tribute to Simmonds’ skill. The story is told in flashback after
her death, narrated by her Norman neighbor who seems to have played some
role in her downfall. The format of the book is interesting; traditional
comic book panels are interspersed with blocks of text (typeset when the
narrator is speaking; hand-written when he is reading from her diaries).
The art style is pleasant, rather as if one of the better New Yorker cartoonists
had a good sense of comic book storytelling, and the blocks of text, while
considerably more extensive than traditional comics, are not so large as
to be intrusive. So if you’re looking for something a little different
than the usual comic book fare, or if your interest in literary comics has
been piqued by recent Pantheon offerings such as Persepolis or Epileptic,
give Gemma a try. I think you’ll find her good company.]
Gene
Pool (IDW; w Marv Wolfman & Len Wein; a Steven Cummings). [From
IDW: Two masters of superhero comics, together again for their first
new superhero creation in years. Marv Wolfman and Len Wein have created
Wolverine, Blade, Swamp Thing, and many others. Now there's Gene Pool -
genetically altered teens who don't know each other, but are all in danger
from sinister forces!]
Goodbye,
Chunky Rice (Top Shelf; w & a Craig Thompson).
[From Top Shelf: One of the most acclaimed and emotionally charged
graphic novels of all time! Alan Moore says "Both funny and genuinely
touching ..." Jeff Smith says "I loved it! ..." Eddie Campbell
says "An eloquent journey! ..." and SPIN Magazine calls it "The
comic debut of the year." With these kinds of endorsements, how can
you go wrong!? GOOD-BYE, CHUNKY RICE, the stunning graphic novel debut from
Craig Thompson, is quite simply, an absolutely essential tome for every
graphic novel reader. This book will dazzle your senses with its Seuss-ian
cast of characters and lush cartoon-y brushwork.... A quiet picture novella
of a small turtle, Chunky Rice, leaving his home and his mouse friend, Dandel.
His is the classic journey to find one's self, and the deeper meaning of
life. A quirky, fervent tale of human loss and connection.] 
Gunpowder Girl and the Outlaw Squaw (Active Images; w & a Don Hudson). [From Active Images: Three women in the wild west forsake men and seek their fortune as
outlaws. When their leader is shot by a vengeful marshal, the other
girls become fugitives and must overcome their mistrust, prejudice and
fears to survive!] 
Half Dead (Dabel Brothers/Marvel; w Barb Lien-Cooper & Park Cooper; a Jimmy Bott). [From Marvel: London. Now. Terrorism is rife, but after today, your life may never be the same again. A ballerina, Romany, gets on a train in the London Underground, a strange gas attack turns her into a half-dead vampire. During the contaiment and cleanup of this attack, she's captured by a government agency formed to battle the vampire threat, PASA (the Bureau of ParaHuman and Supernatural Affairs). Romany's a remarkable subject, and after some training she is paired with her handler, Ian, also one of a very few survivors of a vampire attack. Ian turns her into a force to be reckoned with... The cogs of an evil machine are turning within the winding streets of London; disaster looms on the horizon; they can strike anywhere at any time. What is PASA willing to do to stop them?] 
Hellcity (Gigantic Graphic Novels; w Macon Blair; a Joe Flood). [From Gigantic: Hellcity, Hell. Population infinity. A nightmare metropolis where cursed human souls go about their dreary "lives" as second-class citizens endlessly tormented by the cruel, demonic upper crust. Tension simmers as social unrest verges on civil war: human revolutionaries vs. the demon fascists. The Devil himself is losing control of the government . . . and perhaps his sanity. Whispers of a coup are in the works. Enter Bill Tankerslee: former private eye, now a kitchen slave and damned by suicide. He's approached by the mysterious she-demon Mary, who blackmails him into undertaking a top-secret mission: to spy on the Devil to determine the cause of his meltdown and to stop it. The future of Hell may depend on it, but Bill's not so sure when he sees Lucifer sneaking a visit to Bill's dead wife! Set in a garish noir netherworld, this over-the-topic graphic novel showcases two new stars in the field.] 
Hench
(AiT/PlanetLar; w Adam Beechen; a Manny Bello). [From
AiT/PlanetLar: The fine line between hero and villain is just another
of longtime super-villain henchman Mike Fulton's many scars. Now, faced
with a terrible choice that could mean life and death for heroes, villains,
his family, and himself, Mike ponders just how his normal life went so crazy.
Gripping adventure, powerful biography and loving homage to superhero comics,
HENCH is a new graphic novel from writer Adam Beechen, artist Manny Bello,
and publisher AiT/PlaNet Lar.] 
Hero
(Boom Studios; w & a Yoshitaka Amano). [From
Boom: Now, at last, HERO is ready to be released! One of the most acclaimed and award-winning artists of his time, Yoshitaka Amano debuts his first American comics project since Sandman: The Dream Hunters and Elektra-Wolverine: The Redeemer. One of the original concept artists for the Final Fantasy series of video games, along with creation and design of characters such as Vampire Hunter D and Gatachman (known as G-Force, or Battle of the Planets in the United States), Amano now focuses his creative vision on his own creation Hero! In Hero Chapter One: From New York to Paris, he searches for the woman whose love he has never doubted, Hero crosses history and continents. Hero needs to know the reasons why his beloved Lady begs his forgiveness, and only by following her from Parisian cemeteries, to the Las Vegas strip and to Kyoto, can he hope to discover the truth - not only of his own love story but also of his Lady's betrayal. Accompanied by Victor Noir, an assassinated Napoleonic truth-teller, and tormented at every turn by Rudra, a shape-shifting mischievous demon, Hero seeks out his forgotten past. Featuring lavish, full-page illustrations, accompanied by text by writer Jessie Horstig, Hero is at last complete and ready to debut, appealing to comic fans, fiction readers, and manga enthusiasts alike.] 
A History of Violence (DC/Paradox; w John Wagner; a Vince Locke). [From DC: In the suspenseful noir crime story A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, Tom McKenna is a simple family man who instantly becomes a media celebrity when he takes down a couple of wanted murderers who attempt to rob his diner. But his newfound fame draws the attention of a group of merciless mobsters who have been looking to settle a score with McKenna for over twenty years. Now as the killers descend upon his small town in Middle America, the Brooklyn native must face the actions of his youth and relive his past history of violence as he attempts to salvage the life he has built. ] Old Book of the Week 1/25/06: The crime comic is almost dead in America; it is ironic that this famous exception to the rule, a very American story, is told by Brits. Tom McKenna is a small-town shopkeeper, whose violent past suddenly and violently catches up with him. And although violence is a major part of the book, for the most part the story is told in a quiet, restrained style, aided immensely by the refined, illustrative art of Vince Locke. This is a fascinating glance at what comics could have become if something other than super-heroes had come to dominate the industry. 
Houdini: The Handcuff King (Hyperion; w Jason Lutes; a Nick Bertozzi). [From Hyperion: Important. Notice. "I have escaped out of more handcuffs, manacles, and leg shackles than any other human being living." See Houdini prepare for his most death-defying jump! Hear him speak the words he spoke 100 years ago! Meet his wife, Bess, and witness her deception! Learn the stunning secret of his escape! In the most pictorial and elucidating form, this book will reveal to readers the story behind the great Houdini, the Handcuff King. In bold graphics, and drawing on the most respected sources, author and artist formulate a living picture of this greatest of Americans and show how time and morals shaped him and his art!] 
How to Make Money Like a Porn Star (HarperCollins; w Neil Strauss; a Bernard Chang). [From HarperCollins: Sin City meets How to Make Love Like a Porn Star, in this graphic novel by the bestselling co-author of Jenna Jameson's autobiography. Claudia Corvette. From her tousled bedroom hair to her name-all the
porn stars in this world take their names from supermodels and sports
cars-she is adult entertainment's prototypical femme fatale. Her life
is the collision of countless troubled-childhood clichés and grown-up wet dreams, projected onto her as surely as her videos project their blue light onto lonely men around the world.
From its first panel, How to Make Money Like a Porn Star draws the reader into the dark world of girls like Claudia, the men who fantasize about them, and the monsters who control them. In the hands of Rolling Stone writer Neil Strauss and illustrator Bernard Chang, this adult graphic novel weaves together black humor and blacker reality. Like all great American stories, it features humble beginnings, life-changing tragedy, stripping, abuse, implants, fame, addiction, bigger implants, abduction, gunplay, downfall, and even bigger implants. Not to mention a thousand shades of latex and L'Oreal.
Part parody, part morality tale, here is the truth about the porn life, its outsized visual splendor captured in a comic parade of doe-eyed centerfolds, its essence distilled in a story that will haunt every reader who has ever wondered where his next fantasy is coming from.] 
I
Am Legend (IDW [originally 4 graphic novels by Eclipse]; w Steve
Niles; a Elman Brown). [From IDW: Robert Neville
is the last of his kind, seemingly the only human survivor in a world overrun
by vampires. Neville rules the days, when he can hunt with impugnity. But
the vampires rule the night, when Neville must remain barricaded in his
house, protected by garlic and mirrors. How long can one man hold out, though,
when everyone else on Earth wants his blood? And what is the price he must
pay for his survival? I Am Legend, Richard Matheson's classic tale of terror
and vampirism, lives again in graphic novel form, through this faithful
and chilling adaptation by Steve Niles and Elman Brown.] Old Book
of the Week 4/7/04
In
the Shadow of No Towers (Pantheon; w & a Art Spiegelman).
[From Pantheon: For Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author
of Maus, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were both highly personal
and intensely political. In the Shadow of No Towers, his first new book
of comics since the groundbreaking Maus, is a masterful and moving account
of the events and aftermath of that tragic day. Spiegelman and his family
bore witness to the attacks in their lower Manhattan neighborhood: his teenage
daughter had started school directly below the towers days earlier, and
they had lived in the area for years. But the horrors they survived that
morning were only the beginning for Spiegelman, as his anguish was quickly
displaced by fury at the U.S. government, which shamelessly co-opted the
events for its own preconceived agenda. He responded in the way he knows
best. In an oversized, two-page-spread format that echoes the scale of the
earliest newspaper comics (which Spiegelman says brought him solace after
the attacks), he relates his experience of the national tragedy in drawings
and text that convey—with his singular artistry and his characteristic
provocation, outrage, and wit—the unfathomable enormity
of the event itself, the obvious and insidious effects it had on his life,
and the extraordinary, often hidden changes that have been enacted in the
name of post-9/11 national security and that have begun to undermine the
very foundation of American democracy.]
ArtBomb review 
The Interman
(Octopus; w & a Jeff Parker). [From Octopus:
What if you could adapt to any environment? Like the Arctic Sea? What if
you were secluded deep within a volcanic cave so that you could learn any
language in hours? Chances are, you would be the type of person that could
take on dangerous jobs that pay very well. But the international alliance
that created you might eventually decide that you're a threat to world security.
This happens to Van Meach. As hitmen pursue him around the globe, he must
learn the secrets of his origin. The origin of Interman!]
ArtBomb review
Invasion
'55 (Series Apple, trade IDW; 3-issue mini; w Chuck Dixon; a Lito
Fernández). [From IDW: It's Halloween 1955
and the town of Hidalgo Falls, New Mexico is about to receive a real scare
- an invasion by aliens. The fate of the world rests in the hands of a down-and-out
Air Force lieutenant, a tough biker, a nervy reporter, and a six-year old
boy! Take a step back into the days when sci-fi adventures had low-tech
solutions and high-octane adventure.]
James Sturm's America (Drawn & Quarterly; w & a James Sturm). [From D&Q: Focusing on less sensational times in U.S. history (non-war and pre-Depression) James Sturm’s America draws a portrait of the people and their dreams that make up this country. Comprised of three chapters—“The Revival,” “Hundreds of Feet Below Daylight,” and “The Golem’s Mighty Swing”—the stories grow as the country grows: from pioneers searching for a place to call home to ghost towns gutted by greed and racism to the distractions and fantasies of popular entertainment.]
Jew Gangster: A Father's Admonition (iBooks; w & a Joe Kubert). [From iBooks: With his father’s words, "Don’t be a jew gangster," still ringing in his head, a young man finds himself doing just that, as no other path in life opens for him. Easy money and easier women lure him into doing the dirty work of the local gang; it’s not a pretty life, but he can eat well, and his mother’s apartment continues to get heat all through the cold winter. But what he has to pay—in flesh, in pride, in honor—may not be worth all he earns. With the same intensity and eye for detail that he put into Yossel, Joe Kubert recreates a time when even the most innocent person was caught up in the dark underbelly of society.] 
Johnny Caronte: Zombie Detective/The Revolver (Alias; w Jaime Roman Collado, Tony Sandoval; a Tony Sandoval). [From Alias: Johnny Caronte: Zombie Detective: This is the story of Johnny Caronte… a story of mobsters, hitmen, and femme fatales. However, the characters in this dark tale have a peculiar trait - they are all zombies! It's like a Bogart flick meets Night of the Living Dead! Johnny Caronte, zombie police dectective, investigates the mysterious assassination of the mayor's daughter. The more he uncovers in the case, the more he finds himself enshrouded in deeper mystery. The Revolver: The revolver of one of the most ancient and powerful creatures of Hell has been stolen, and the thief is using it to kill demons in order to collect and sell their souls. This new weapon yields great power, but Hell has sent a renegade demon to recover the stolen gun and bring it back. The fight is on!] 
Johnny Repeat 1.0: The End of the Way that Was (Citizen Press; w Jason James; a Paul Azaceta, Fabio Cobiaco, Bruno D'Angelo, Mark Dos Santos, Geof Isherwood, Noel Tuazon). [From Citizen Press: A sexaholic with a grudge. An immortal femme fatale. And a cowardly bum who may have played a game of Dungeons & Dragons too many. They have been handpicked, blackmailed and cajoled by a could-be prophet known only as Johnny Repeat to kill the future. And the clock is ticking.] 
Killing
Demons (Engine Press; w Peter Siegel; a Brent White). [From
Engine Press: Homicide Detective Sarah Bentley is trying to stop a serial
killer with a penchant for mutilation. When her superiors try to sweep the
killings under the rug, she turns to a walking anachronism who calls himself
a "Demon Hunter." Sarah doesn't believe in demons, but as he's
the only one willing to help her, it's a point she doesn't have time to
argue. The killer has chosen his next victim, and Sarah will take whatever
works. Debuting this summer from Engine Press, KILLING DEMONS is an experiment
in urban horror written by Peter Siegel and illustrated by Brent White,
based on a collaboration that began in 2000. "I always thought my first
comics project would be something more serious than the bastard son of Se7en
and Resident Evil," commented Siegel. "But advocating genre writing
in comics has been the focus of my work at the graphic novel commentary
site ARTBOMB.NET, and diversity is something I strongly believe is necessary
to attract new readers. So I took a stab at it, and out came KILLING DEMONS.
It's a hard-R splattercore book for people that love to hate demons."
KILLING DEMONS will be made available this summer for both readers and retailers
as an 84-page graphic novel affordably priced at $8.95 from the Engine Press
website found at either enginepress.com or killingdemons.com. Generous terms
will be offered to retailers who wish to support the book, including a complimentary
free copy program, giving retailers the ability to sample before they buy.
A complete thirteen page prelude story, set twenty-five years before the
main events of KILLING DEMONS, is currently available on the website, free
of charge. "This was the first piece that Brent and I collaborated
on, which was based on a television pitch I was working on at the time.
Brent was the lead conceptual artist on an unrelated animated series and
we hit it off. Eighteen months later, we had a complete graphic novel."
Siegel added that more pages will undoubtedly make their way to the web.
"We finished the book earlier this year and are working on the print
production as we speak. I was never very good at keeping surprises and love
to share, so I'll be leaking more pages as we approach the book release
in August. We've also got a number of other projects in the fire that we'll
be announcing between now and then." KILLING DEMONS is an experiment
in urban horror written by Peter Siegel, illustrated by Brent White, designed
for print by Matt Fraction and edited by Kelly Sue DeConnick. You don't
need to believe, just don't turn your back to the door.] 
El
Largo Tren Oscuro — The Long Dark Train (La Luz Comics; w &
a Sam Hiti). [From Sam Hiti: About a Hell bent Train
and the passengers it carries. This book is a newly expanded version of
the original mini. Reformatted with 95% new art!]
Last
of the Independents (AiT/PlanetLar; w Matt Fraction; a Kieron Dwyer).
[From AiT/PlanetLar: "Dude… We're robbing
the bank." A good man, a bad move, and then all hell breaks loose:
Cole Caudle was just one big score away from his happily-ever-after when
everything went off the rails, and fast. Now, one man's last shot at the
American Dream becomes the first shotgun blast in a mob war halfway between
Vegas and nowhere.] ArtBomb
review
Less Than Heroes (Top Shelf; collects 2-shots Threshhold: 18th & Market Streets, Threshhold: The Stamp Collector, and a story from Son of Rampage; w & a David Yurkovich). [From Top Shelf: In the city of Philadelphia there is a tall building at 18th and Market Street, atop of which lives four individuals. They are the official protectors of the city. Their job is to be around when traditional law enforcement fails. But are they really heroes? Meet Philadelphia's contracted super-hero team, Threshold. A quartet more interested in milk and cookies than crime and punishment. A team more concerned with battling indigestion than their arch enemies. Sure, they have super-powers. They can leap tall buildings, fly, and do all the stuff other heroes do. More than human? Probably. Less than heroes? Without a doubt.] 
Death by Chocolate: Redux (A Less
Than HeroesAdventure Story) (Top Shelf; apparently collects revised editions of three one-shots + new material; w & a David Yurkovich). [From Top Shelf:
Agent Swete -- an unlikely hero comprised of organic chocolate and a member of the FBI's Food Crimes Division -- and his sharp-tongued partner, Anderson, investigate a series of bizarre, food-inspired crimes. Along they way they encounter a variety of characters including an extraterrestrial canine named Geoffrey, writer Ernest Hemingway, an organized crime lord intent upon finding the life-enabling 'eternity pasta,' and an eerie, all-devouring trio known as The Metabolators. This collection includes the Xeric-grant awarded origin tale of Agent Swete, a never-before published Death By Chocolate tale, and an essay by Yurkovich on the creation of the series. Every page has been reworked by Yurkovich, making Redux the definitive edition of these stories.] 
Lifelike (IDW; w Dara Naraghi; a Irapuan Luiz, Shom Bhuiya, Marvin Mann. Neil Errar, Jason Scott Jones, Jerry Lange. Tom Williams, Steven Spenser Ledford, Adrian Barbu, Steve Black, Andy Bennett, & Tim McClurg). [From Speakeasy: Lifelike is a diverse collection of slice-of-life stories... and beyond. Each vignette, illustrated by a different artist, presents a glimpse into a different corner of the world outside our window. From the sentimental to the shocking, the familiar to the unknown, it's all here. Lifelike’s stories are not limited to the clichéd autobiographic tales so often associated with the genre. Instead, the stories range in content from noir crime to love stories to war memoirs to humorous conversation pieces. A multicultural, multiethnic cast of characters infuses the book with a realism often missing from today’s comics. All the stories are written by Dara Naraghi (Cory Doctorow’s Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now) with the art provided by a variety of award-winning artists, including Marvin Mann, 2006 Day Prize winner, 3-time Harvey Award nominee, Forward Magazine Honorary Mention, Glyph Award nominee, and YALSA nominee; Tom Williams, 2002 Day Prize winner; Adrian Barbu, 2003 L. Ron Hubbard “Illustrators of the Future” Achievement Award winner.]
Living and the Dead (Speakeasy; w
Todd Livingston & Robert Tinnell; a Micah Farritor).
[From Speakeasy: You are a simple, country doctor in a small village. You have a
beautiful wife and a wonderful son -- the perfect life. Only they don't
know that in your past -that you did a very bad thing! People died
because of it, and you were forced to flee and live incognito. Now, in
an opportunity to redeem yourself, you unwittingly unleash a brutal and
perverse murderer, a deviant sociopath hell-bent on using innocent
people in a Grand Guignol of flesh and blood – a veritable nineteenth-century snuff theater. You alone can end his reign of sick terror -- but at the risk of revealing your secret past and losing everything you love. Only you don't know what's worse - what you've created -- or what you have to do to stop him!]
Mail
Order Bride (Fantagraphics; w & a Mark Kalesniko).
[From Fantagraphics: Mark Kalesniko's third graphic novel is his
most ambitious work yet. Kyung Seo, the mail order bride, is more fully
human than her Canadian suitor, Monty Wheeler, ever anticipated. Neither
party to the arrangement is satisfied by their new life together, and what
appears initially to be a matter of unrealized expectations colliding with
reality evolves into a complex struggle to reconcile conflicting moral values
and emotional needs that culminates in an incendiary self-scrutiny and a
humbling reconciliation. Rarely has a cartoon narrative so deftly juggled
such polarizing moral and emotional issues with such bewildering ambiguities.]
ArtBomb review Old Book of the Week 2/9/05: [Another
rather literary graphic novel, although somewhat more challenging than Gemma,
is Mark Kalesniko’s Mail Order Bride, from Fantagraphics a few
years back. Monty, a middle-aged loser, arranges a mail-order marriage to
Kyung, an ambitious but unfocused Korean woman. Their relationship quickly
becomes a battle of wills, and neither of them fights fair. This is a difficult
read, because both main characters are ultimately unsympathetic, and the
book is laced with fairly graphic scenes of sex and sexuality (it is published
by Fantagraphics’ erotic label, Eros). But neither character is a caricature;
they are both fully realized, and disturbing as their interactions are,
they also ring true. This is a very nasty book, in the best sense of the
word.]
Monster Attack Network (AiT/PlanetLar; w Marc Bernadin & Adam Freeman; a Nima Sorat). [From AiT/Planet Lar: MARVEL! At the Pacific island of Lapuatu, perfect in every way…except for the giant monsters. THRILL! As Nate Klinger and his daring team of first-responders at the Monster Attack Network expertly deal with the frequent rampaging-beast-related crises. WONDER! If the shady American industrialist who comes to the island bearing "gifts" and the mysterious, gorgeous Lapuatuan ex-patriate are up to no good. ENJOY! The hair-raising adventures of the noble men and the drop-dead sexy women of the MONSTER ATTACK NETWORK!] 
Night Fisher (Fantagraphics; w & a Kikuo Johnson). [From Fantagraphics:In what we predict will be the most impressive comics debut of 2005,
Kikuo Johnson has created an intimate and compelling graphic
novel-length drama of young men on the cusp of adulthood. First-rate prep school, S.U.V., and a dream house in the heights: This was the island paradise handed to Loren Foster when he moved to Hawaii with his father six years ago. Now, with the end of high school just around the corner, his best friend, Shane, has grown distant. The rumors say it's hard drugs, and Loren suspects that Shane has left him behind for a new group of friends. At home, an unprecedented "B" on Loren's typically straight "A" report card has his father concerned. Dad's interrogation, however, is stemmed by an unexpected telephone invitation that Loren can't resist. Loren accompanies Shane to a weathered house in the harbor shadows. With the friends he meets there, he endures a night of drug deals, petty theft, crystal meth, porn and a stray punch in the face. The pressures of high school seem suddenly inconsequential in the morning. No longer seeking approval from anyone, Loren's strong work ethic becomes self-imposed, further veiling his escalating drug use. Loren is strung along late one night as the boys break into a construction site and drag some valuable equipment into the trunk of his S.U.V. A police chase ends with Loren in handcuffs as his baffled father struggles to understand what the hell is going on. At school, Shane's acceptance to MIT makes the front page of the campus paper. When Loren offers his congratulations, Shane coldly suggests that they should keep their distance from each other until a court date is decided. Loren is once again left behind. What sets Kikuo's drama apart is the naturalistic ease with which he explores the relationships of his characters. It is at once an unsentimental portrait of that most awkward period between adolescence and young adulthood and that rarest of things- a mature depiction of immature lives. Visually, Johnson captures the languid tropical climate and strip mall tackiness of Hawaii in a rich chiaroscuro style reminiscent of Milton Caniff combined with the sensual ink work of Paul Pope or Jessica Abel.] 
Nightmarist (Active Images; w & a Duncan Rouleau). [From Active Images: They know why you pull the covers around your shoulders. Why you make sure the closet door stays closed. Why you don't let your feet dangle over the edge of the bed when you sleep... and they know none of it matters. They know who you are. They've already crawled inside of you. They're already hollowing out your soul... When an entity calling himself the Nightmarist appears in Beth Sorrenson's dreams, claiming to protect her from forces plotting to twist her will, Beth's reality begins to crack. With horrors closing in around her in both the waking and dreaming worlds, Beth must decide -- has she gone mad? Or have her dreams become ground zero in a battle for the future of mankind?] 
1000
Steps to World Domination (AiT/PlanetLar; w & a Rob Osborne).
[From AiT/Planet Lar: Award-winning writer/artist Rob Osborne wants
to conquer the world, and he wants to do it through comics. Seriously. Delusions
of grandeur or tyrannical genius? His wife just rolls her eyes. God provides
divine insight. A monkey chimes in with unwanted feedback. Resistance is
futile!] 
Parting
Ways (Speakeasy Comics; w Andrew Foley; a Scott Mooney, Nick Craine).
[From Speakeasy Comics: Peter Orbach wants to live. It's unfortunate
he didn't realize this earlier; it isn't going to do him much good now that
he's in Hell. Peter isn't the first person to believe he shouldn't be damned,
but he may be the first that's objectively correct in the assessment. Somehow,
his soulless body still lives...and from all appearances, it's doing great
without him...] 
Palestine (Fantagraphics; w & a Joe Sacco). [From Fantagraphics: Joe Sacco's breakthrough novel of graphic journalism is widely hailed
as one of the great graphic novels of all-time. Since its original
publication in the mid-1990s, it has won an American Book Award (1996),
sold over 50,000 copies, been added to university curriculums
worldwide, led to a Guggenheim Fellowship for Sacco, and firmly
ensconced Sacco in the pantheon of great cartoonists. Despite this, the
book has never been published in hardcover. Until now.
Fantagraphics Books is pleased to present, for the first time, the definitive, expanded, hardcover collection of Sacco's landmark of comics journalism. Palestine: The Special Edition is more than a new edition: consider it the "Criterion" Palestine. In addition to the original, 288-page graphic novel and introduction by the late Edward Said, The Special Edition includes a host of unique supplemental material never-before-published, including many of Sacco's original background notes, sketches, photographic reference, and much more. The book also includes a new, introductory interview with Sacco about the making of the book as well as a new cover and design. Palestine: The Special Edition will be a cornerstone of any serious comic collection.
With the Middle East's role in contemporary world politics, Sacco's Palestine has never been more relevant or more valuable to a country desperate to understand this long-running conflict. Based on several months of research and an extended visit to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the early 1990s (where he conducted over 100 interviews with Palestinians andJews), Palestine was the first major comics work of political and historical nonfiction by Sacco, whose name has since become synonymous with this graphic form of New Journalism.
Sacco's insightful reportage takes place at the front lines, where busy marketplaces are spoiled by shootings and tear gas, soldiers beat civilians with reckless abandon, and roadblocks go up before reporters can leave. Sacco interviewed and encountered prisoners, refugees, protesters, wounded children, farmers who had lost their land, and families who had been torn apart by the Palestinian conflict.] 
Passenger
(Cyberosia; w Marc Bryant; a Malcolm Jones). [From Cyberosia:
The Passenger is the story of superstar director Finch Jenkins, a man who
has it all: fame, fortune, women…and the ghost of a convicted murderer
named Gary Divine using him in a redemption scam.] 
Past Lies (Oni Comics; w Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir; a Christopher Mitten). [From Oni Comics: A taut suspense thriller! Trevor Schalk was an eccentric millionaire
obssessed with reincarnation right up to his murder in 1980. Now Tim
Gilbraight is having weird dreams in which he's a bitter, rich
man--despised by everyone around him. It's up to PI Amy Devlin to
determine if Schalk is a past life or a past lie.] 
Persepolis:
The Story of a Childhood (Pantheon; w & a Marjane Satrapi).
[From Pantheon: Originally published to wide critical acclaim in
France, where it elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Persepolis
is Marjane Satrapi's wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up
in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic
strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six
to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph
of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq.
The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter
of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely
entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable
portrait of daily life in Iran: of the bewildering contradictions between
home life and public life and of the enormous toll repressive regimes exact
on the individual spirit. Marjane's child's-eye-view of dethroned emperors,
state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn
as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary
family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis
is at once a story of growing up and a stunning reminder of the human cost
of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, through laughter
and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an
irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.]
ArtBomb review 
Persepolis
2: The Story of a Return (Pantheon; w & a Marjane Satrapi).
[From Pantheon: In Persepolis, heralded by the Los Angeles Times
as "one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day,"
Marjane Satrapi dazzled us with her heartrending memoir-in-comic-strips
about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Here is the continuation
of her fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the
war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials
of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves
out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues
to struggle for a sense of belonging. Finding that she misses her home more
than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult
homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have
undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure
in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds
some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university.
However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead
her to question whether she can have a future in Iran. As funny and poignant
as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation
of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of
growing up—here compounded by Marjane's status as an outsider both
abroad and at home—it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.]
Book of the Week 9/1/04
Pistolwhip
(Top Shelf; w Jason Hall; a Matt Kindt). [From Top Shelf:
Tune-in your dial to the smashing Top Shelf debut of two young upstarts
and witness with wonder as the lives of morally ambiguous characters collide
in a train wreck of a graphic novel called PISTOLWHIP! A naïve bellhop's
struggle towards a life's ambition?an expatriate musician on the run?a young
woman's battle with her paranoia and her past?and the mysterious figure
who wants to control their lives. Set in an exotic atmosphere of a by-gone
era, PISTOLWHIP is a marvelous tale crafted with a crime noir feel and an
artistic style reminiscent of the best European graphic novelists. We promise
you will be rewarded with each re-reading of this elaborate narrative.]
Pistolwhip:
The Yellow Menace (Top Shelf; w Jason Hall; a Matt Kindt).
[From Top Shelf: The Pistolwhip boys are back with the highly anticipated
and thrilling new narrative that's really going to make your Pistolwhip
machine hum! Jack Peril is the beloved hero of radio, comics, and the silver-screen,
but is his existence merely fictional? What does a series of grisly murders
and a new lecture series condemning the pulse-pounding parables of said
Mr. Peril have to do with it all? And just who is The Yellow Menace? Mitch
and Charlie, along with Ray (the luckless cop) and Isla (the inquisitive
maid), plan to find out in this clever (and probably first ever) parody
of "Seduction of the Innocent"!] 
Planet of the Capes (AiT/PlanetLar; w Larry Young; a Brandon McKinney). [From AiT/PlanetLar: A strange visitor from another planet, a dark and brooding super-patriot, a rampaging monster of destruction, and an interdimensional princess cross over from their world to ours. It's what happens when they find themselves in need of the sort of help that only superheroes can provide; it’s a stab at the presently-ingrained superhero archetypes without any of the intrigue of corporate intercession. Each one of the main characters represents one of the familiar superhero archetypes, but they also represent certain factions of the comic book industry, too. It's allegory and adventure from the writer of ASTRONAUTS IN TROUBLE and the artist of SWITCHBLADE HONEY.] 
Prey: Origin of the Species (Dabel Brothers/Marvel; w Michael Lent & Mike Raicht; a Alex Sanchez, Bong Dazo).
[From Marvel: The Prometheus Corporation has unearthed something ancient and dangerous in its underwater excavations, and now it’s come to the surface to make humanity its prey. Their solution? To lure the thing back in the sea and kill everything within a five mile radius, effectively covering the corporation’s tracks. And so a disgraced marine biologist must race against the clock and find a way to keep the ocean from being destroyed by the corporation before something even more dangerous is unleashed on mankind…
Written by screen-writing guru Michael Lent (SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS), Prey is a roller-coaster ride in the style of a summer popcorn movie that fans of SURFACE are sure to love!] 
Proof of Concept (w Larry Young; a Damian Couceiro, John Flynn, Steven Sanders, Jeff Johns, Paul Tucker, John Heebink, Kieron Dwyer). [From AiT/Planet Lar: A collection of short adventure stories by the writer of ASTRONAUTS IN TROUBLE and PLANET OF THE CAPES! A young clone of Abraham Lincoln discovers the secrets of his past in EMANCIPATING LINCOLN! A reluctant vampire flees mobilized vanhelsing units in a future he never thought he’d see. This time, they’re out for his blood, in HEMOGOBLIN! A rag-tag group of time-travellers chase their insane captain through every moment of eternity in FOR THE TIME BEING! Soldiers versus undead monsters in ZOMBIE DINOSAUR! A Hollywood starlet gets even more famous once she turns invisible, in THE BOD!] 
Ravenous
(Speakeasy Comics; w & a Dawn Brown). [From Speakeasy
Comics: Classic Tales of Mystery, Horror and Suspense by Edgar Allan
Poe inspire Ravenous! "Something bad is happening in Good Fortune.
A serial killer is ravaging this sleepy little town, leaving his victims
sliced in two. A young detective races to piece together this puzzle before
the killer can strike again." Inspired by the classic works of Edgar
Allan Poe, writer, artist and creator Dawn Brown presents "Ravenous"
-- a new work that draws from the master while offering a startling new
mystery of its own. The title story, "Ravenous" is a fully illustrated
100-pages of suspense and mystery. Also presented in this 152-page collection
are select offerings by Poe (The Pit & The Pendulum, William Wilson,
The Mask of the Red Death, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven), reprinted in
their entirety and featuring accompanying illustrations by Brown. These
pieces inspired Brown's story and complete Ravenous as an introduction to
Brown's work, as well as Poe's classic tales.] 
Rock Bottom (AiT/PlanetLar; w Joe Casey; a Charlie Adlard). [From AiT/Planet Lar: What would you do if you discovered you were turning to stone? What would that extraordinary circumstance do to your life? Writer Joe Casey (Wildcats Version 3.0) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Charlie Adlard (Walking Dead) answer these questions and more in this long-awaited, gut-wrenching original graphic novel drama. Thomas Dare was an ordinary man with ordinary problems, until fate stepped in to turn his life upside-down. Make no mistake, this is no superhero origin story. Rock Bottom is an epic of human proportions!]
Safe Area Gorazde (Fantagraphics; w & a Joe Sacco). [From Fantagraphics: A landmark work of New Journalism is now available in softcover.Safe Area Gorazde is Joe Sacco's 240-page opus about the war in the former Yugoslavia. Sacco spent four months in Bosnia in 1995-1996, immersing himself in the human side of life during wartime, researching stories rarely found in conventional news coverage. The book focuses on the Muslim enclave of Gorazde, which was besieged by Bosnian Serbs during the war. Sacco spent four weeks in Gorazde, entering before the Muslims trapped inside had access to the outside world, electricity or running water. The hardcover edition of Safe Area Gorazde put Sacco on the map as one of the pre-eminent journalists of his time, and the softcover edition will present his work to a wider audience. The book has been prominently featured in The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, Time, Utne Reader, Spin, The London Times, The Washington Post, Brill's Content, several NPR programs, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Economist, The Atlantic Monthly, and other media. The book also led to Sacco being named a recipient of a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship. Safe Area Gorazde features an introduction by Christopher Hitchens, political columnist for The Nation and Vanity Fair.] 
Sallyanders (IDW; w & a Ashley Wood. [From IDW:Award-winning writer/artist/designer Ashley Wood presents his latest tour de force, in the form of Sallyanders. What is Sallyanders, you ask? Well, it’s a nice town, one in which everything and everyone finds its place. But sometimes that place isn’t always a proper one… This off-beat, self-contained tale is presented in landscape format 11” x 8.5” with four-inch cover flaps. Sure to be a comic book classic courtesy of Popbot’s Wood.]
Seven Sons (AiT/PlanetLar; w Alex Grecian; a Riley Rossmo). [From AiT/PlanetLar: The fine line between hero and villain is just another of longtime super-villain henchman Mike Fulton's many scars. Now, faced with a terrible choice that could mean life and death for heroes, villains, his family, and himself, Mike ponders just how his normal life went so crazy. Gripping adventure, powerful biography and loving homage to superhero comics, HENCH is a new graphic novel from writer Adam Beechen, artist Manny Bello, and publisher AiT/PlaNet Lar.] 
Smoke and Guns (AiT/PlanetLar; w Kirsten Baldock; a Fabio Moon). [From AiT/Planet Lar: When Scarlett, an overly ambitious cigarette girl — quick to break the rules and even quicker to pull the trigger — starts selling cigarettes outside of her district, tensions rise and the seeds of an all-out cigarette girl gang war are sown. When you're out on the street in the middle of the night wearing your little French Maid outfit, with the short skirt and the off-the-shoulder top, Jack Daniels isn't just your friend, it's your coat. And the 9mm in your tray isn't just your protection — it's the compass that points you the way home.]
The Spider: Scavengers of the Slaughtered Sacrifices (Vanguard; w Don McGregor; a Gene Colan). [From Vanguard: The Spider, star of 118 pulp novels and numerous adaptations, is back! Writer Don McGregor (Zorro) and artist Gene Colan (Daredevil) have collaborated previously on a number of sterling projects including Detectives, Inc., Nathaniel Dusk, Private Investigator, and Ragamuffins, so it's not as if the smashing success of this team-up should come as any surprise. With McGregor's flair for capturing the flavor of any scene he's working on and Colan's dynamic work reproduced straight from the pencils, the energy these creators put into this volume is readily present in this new story that brings the venerable hero into a present day setting. It's available in both hardcover and soft cover versions.] 
Sub-Atomic
(Mad Yak Press; w Patrick Neighly; a Jorge Heufemann). [From
Mad Yak: What happens when agents of the US government decide that the
greatest threat to America is its own population? As the war on terror escalates,
super-secret spy agency ATOM finds itself at a crossroads! But after one
of their own unexpectedly resigns, ATOM becomes trapped at the center of
a generational crisis that threatens to undo everything America's spy agencies
have fought to accomplish. The new paradigm starts here.] Old Book
of the Week 4/6/05: [Patrick Neighly has self-published a series of astonishing
OGNs through his Mad Yak imprint, which have little in common except intelligence
and a thorough-going disregard for comic book conventions. Sub-Atomic
(like Invincible) is the story of a young man with a genetic destiny
that seems cool at first, but has a darker side. Mark was virtually born
into a SHIELD-like organization of super-spies, and Sub-Atomic tells
the story of his increasing disillusionment and rebellion. I've never been
let down by one of Neighly's books, and if you like Sub-Atomic (his
first), you're in for a treat—because he just keeps getting better.]
Sunset City (AiT/PlanetLar; w & a Rob Osborne). [From AiT/Planet Lar: Sunset City is a typical retirement community. Its residents enjoy golf
and gossip and they all seem content to fritter away their golden
years. Except Frank McDonald. A retired widower, he wrestles witht he
question: why am I here? Reading the newspaper, Frank keeps up on the
minutia of the day; it provides a buzz to an otherwise humdrum life.
One morning, Frank is overcome by a startling story, and he does
something extraordinary: he takes life by the balls.] 
The
Supernaturalists (Mad Yak Press; w Patrick Nighly; a Jorge Heufemann).
[From Mad Yak Press: Flappers, speakeasies and … the living
dead? A killer stalks the streets of 1926 Manhattan. But as detective Edgar
Drake races against time to solve an impossible crime, he finds himself
on the wrong side of the law. Unusual suspects, unforeseen allies and a
mysterious socialite eventually point to a truth more horrifying than anything
he could have imagined.] 
Super Spy (Top Shelf; w & a Matt Kindt). [From Top Shelf: Super Spy is 52 interwoven short stories about cyanide, pen-guns, heartbreak and betrayal. Each story follows the life of a spy during World War II. Spanning the globe from Spain to France and Germany, this book takes the reader on a tour of the everyday life of the spy. From the small lies and deceptions to the larger secrets that everyone hides, Super Spy reveals the nature of espionage and how an individual can be lost and also find redemption. A children's book is something more than it seems... a woman swims the English Channel to deliver a deadly secret... a German spy desperately seeks escape for herself and her daughter... and a spy continues to serve his country even beyond death.] 
Tex (Strip Art Features; w Claudio Nizzi; a Joe Kubert). [From Dark Horse Comics: Tex Willer, known as Night Eagle amongst the Navajo, is a Texas Ranger and a forthright defender of the downtrodden and oppressed. His job is as hard as the Texas plains: to uphold the law where there is no law, in the vast, violent territories of the Old West. In The Four Killers, Tex takes the trail of a quartet of ruthless outlaws who have taken the lives of a family close to Tex, a family to whom the Ranger can now provide only retribution. Created in 1948 by Gian Luigi Bonelli and designed by Aurelio Galleppini, more than half a billion Tex graphic albums have been sold worldwide, illustrated by a who's who of top artists. And now, American comics icon Joe Kubert takes up the reins as illustrator, providing his signature grace, grit, and power to this legendary graphic-fiction series. The Four Killers, written by Claudio Nizzi, is another essential Venture graphic album, featuring the finest comics the world has to offer, available in limited quantities and for the first time in an English-language edition.]
Texarkana (Mad Yak Press; w Patrick Neighly; a Donny Hadiwidjaja). [From Mad Yak Press: In a North America scarred by civil war, Texarkana shines as a beacon of civilized order. But deep within its seedy underbelly, Adjudicators patrol the streets, elite police squads meting out instant justice. Fresh from the bright lights of the Dallas Adjudication Academy, rookie Simon Hills soon finds himself thrust into the dark corners of the city, struggling with the gulf between the law he studied and the law of the streets.]
Therefore, Repent
(IDW; w Jim Munroe; a Salgood Sam). [From Mad Yak Press: Therefore Repent! is a graphic novel set in a Chicago neighborhood after the Rapture. Once the Christians have floated bodily into the sky, life goes on pretty much as usual for the immoral majority... except that magic works, if you're willing to risk demonic mutations. CNN reports that Mr. Christ and Mr. Bush are on a speaking tour of the red states. And an angelic army appears to have been deployed to mop up the sinners. But through it all, outsiders Raven and Mummy face the possibility of a bigger problem than the end of the world: the end of their relationship.
In the tradition of The Book of Revelations, Therefore Repent! is a lurid, dark fantasy tale. By taking the apocryphal scripture as literal truth -- as the American powers-that-be claim to do -- the story also explores the political and spiritual ramifications of God abandoning humanity.]
Tiempos
Finales — End Times Vol. 1: Tripas Sangrientas de los Demonios
(La Luz Comics; w & a Sam Hiti). [From Sam Hiti:
For the price of a townsperson's prayers, Mario Roman {the Chilean} hunts
down Demons in the five towns of San Pablo. But It will take the whole town
supporting Him, that he may rid this Hispanic village of them all.]
2
Sisters (Top Shelf; w & a Matt Kindt). [From
Top Shelf: From the artist and co-creator of Pistolwhip and Mephisto,
comes an all-new World War II spy thriller that spans both continents and
centuries. From England to Spain, from ancient Rome through the era of Pirates
and Buccaneers, this is the backdrop for the unique tale of two sisters,
their relationship, and the secrets they share. Welcome to a world of shady
gypsies, mysterious rockets, buried treasure, pen-guns, cyanide teeth, and
romance.] 
The
Vanishers (IDW; w Chuck Dixon; a Andrés Klacik). [From
IDW: Andy's friends begin to disappear and only he remembers that they
ever existed. When Andy discovers another student, Arvis Voltoz, has noticed
that disappearances, he follows Arvis home and begins an adventure that
takes him and Arvis through time. From the turn of the 20th century, to
medival England, and into the far-flung furture, Andy and Arvis must escape
their pursuers, rescue their friends, and return to their own time.]
Wargod
(Speakeasy Comics; w George T. Singley; a Freddie E. Williams III).
[From Speakeasy Comics: As Curt Corey accepts his obligation to protect
an ancient Egyptian artifact, he inadvertently begins an epic adventure
that will decide his destiny and the fate of the planet. Wargod, the avenging
son of Osiris, is resurrected and sent to Earth to continue his age old
conflict with the nefarious god Sutekh and protect all of mankind from his
impending evil. Wargod is our last hope...can he stop Sutekh and his army
of soulless minions? Will the great beast Apep devour all of humanity? One
thing is for sure - the Gods are coming!] Lost in the demise of Speakeasy... 
Werewolf (Catalan; new edition Del Rey; collects various short stories; color and B&W; w & a Richard Corben). [From Del Rey: The legend of the lycanthrope - a human turned feral by a blood curse and transformed into the most savage of predatory beasts - is as old as recorded history… and as tantalizing as it is terrifying. Internationally acclaimed artist and illustrator Richard Corben has been bringing his dark and viscerally brilliant vision to comics, graphic novels, and other art forms for more than four decades. And now legend meets legend as Corben turns his masterly hand and gut-wrenching signature style to this bloodcurdling collection of tales devoted to the monster that walks like a man, howls like a hellhound, and hungers for the hunt.] 
Yossel:
April 19, 1943 (iBooks; w & a Joe Kubert). [From
iBooks: His name is Yossel. In another time, in another place, this
fifteen-year-old boy could have grown to be a great artist. But in Nazi-occupied
Poland during World War II, Yossel, a Jew, is an untermensch and thus has
no rights‹and no future. When the Nazis confiscate his family¹s
home and force them to live in the overcrowded tenements of the Warsaw ghetto,
it appears that Yossel¹s artistic gift will be shattered. Instead,
the awful suffering of his family, the terrible conditions of the ghetto,
and the increasingly barbaric treatment inspire him. Yossel: April 19, 1943
is his story, told through his sketches. It is a compelling account of increasing
horror depicted by an artist whose soul drives him to bear witness through
his art. And it is a tale of inspiring triumph; of how people deprived of
everything rise above the horror and degradation that is their existence
and, in a final act of defiance and humanity, turn on their oppressors and
launch the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943.]
ArtBomb review
Zoe
(Mad Yak Press; w Patrick Neighly; a Donny Hadiwidjaja).
[From Mad Yak Press: With the discovery of a long-lost uncle, young
Zoe moves out of an orphanage and into a fantastic lighthouse. But pirate
neighbors, supernatural schoolchildren and a miniature dragon pale in comparison
to the seemingly criminal machinations of her newfound family. Can Zoe and
her friends get to the bottom of a mystery that threatens to end in robot
domination of the world?] Mad Yak seems to have gone under... 
Alice in Sunderland (w & a Bryan Talbot). [From Dark Horse Comics: Sunderland! Thirteen hundred years ago it was the greatest center of learning in the whole of Christendom and the very cradle of English consciousness. In the time of Lewis Carroll it was the greatest shipbuilding port in the world. To this city that gave the world the electric light bulb, the stars and stripes, the millennium, the Liberty Ships and the greatest British dragon legend came Carroll in the years preceding his most famous book, Alice in Wonderland, and here are buried the roots of his surreal masterpiece. Enter the famous Edwardian palace of varieties, The Sunderland Empire, for a unique experience: an entertaining and epic meditation on myth, history and storytelling then decide for yourself -- does Sunderland really exist? From Bryan Talbot, the acclaimed creator of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and The Tale of One Bad Rat, comes Alice in Sunderland, a graphic novel unlike any before. Funny and poignant, thought-provoking and entertaining, traditional and experimental, whimsical and polemical, Alice in Sunderland is a heady cocktail of fact and fiction, a sumptuous and multi-layered journey that will leave you wondering about the magic that's waiting to be unlocked in the place where you live.] 
Autobiographix
(w & a Frank Miller, Matt Wagner, Will Eisner, Sergio Aragonés,
Stan Sakai, Paul Chadwick, et al.) [From Dark Horse
Comics: Dedicated readers have long known that the medium of comics
and graphic novels isn't all about caped superheroes. In fact, the combination
of words and pictures can be the perfect vehicle for telling all kinds of
stories. This collection of short stories illustrates, quite literally,
the effectiveness of the medium for telling the most personal of stories
-- the autobiography -- and does so by showcasing some of the first published
autobiographical stories from living-legend artists, mainstream greats,
and young "indie" up-and-comers.] Book of the Week 12/3/03: One of the best anthologies I've ever read, the stories range from silly to sublime. Some are hilarious, some are deeply touching, and (astonishingly for an anthology) all are worthwhile. Contributors include Frank Miller, Paul Chadwick, Will Eisner, Eddie Campbell, and a host of indy stars. 
Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities (4-issue mini; w Eric Powell; a Kyle Hotz). [From Dark Horse Comics: Billy The Kid's Old Timey Oddities starts with Billy the Kid free to roam America, having faked his own death. Free, that is, until Fineas Spoule, AKA. The Human Spider, discovers his secret. Now, afraid of being exposed, Billy finds himself in the service of a caravan of carnival sideshow performers who have unfinished business with a mad scientist none other than Victor Frankenstein himself! This twisted love child of spaghetti westerns and Hammer horror flicks combines Powell's humorous fast-paced storytelling and Hotz's quirky macabre visuals for a story that the whole family will love...if they're the kind of family that love alligator men and miniature boys fighting monstrous mistakes of science with the help of the fastest gunslinger in the West!] 
Cravan (w Mike Richardson & Rick Geary, a Rick Geary). [From Dark Horse Comics: This is a true story about the most interesting person you've never heard of: Arthur Cravan, major figure in pre-WWI cutting-edge art circles, was among the greatest mysterious figures of the Twentieth Century. A self-confessed thief, forger, and con artist, he used a roster of assumed names and false identities. He was known, at various times, as a novelist, poet, painter, art critic, lecturer, publisher, and French Boxing Champion. Always a rebellious, restless spirit, this dedicated rule-breaker was a political radical whose friendship with Leon Trotsky earned him the surveillance of the U.S. government--even through his immigration to Mexico with his wife, the poet Mina Loy. In 1918, at the age of thirty-one, the fascinating physical giant vanished without a trace, and--despite several supposed sightings over the years--was never seen again. Is it possible that he became the mysterious, reclusive novelist B. Traven, who wrote The Treasure of the Sierra Madre?] 
Creatures of the Night (w Neil Gaiman; a Michael Zulli). [From Dark Horse Comics: From the New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman comes a brand new hardcover collection, featuring two magical and disturbing stories lushly adapted to comics by veteran painter Michael Zulli. Newly rewritten by Gaiman for this graphic novel, these two ominous stories from the author¹s award-winning prose, Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions, feature animals and people not being quite what they seem. In "The Price," a black cat like a small panther arrives at a country home and is soon beset by mysterious and vicious wounds. What is he fighting every night that could do this, and why does he persist? "The Daughter of Owls" recounts an eerie old tale of a foundling girl who was left‹with an owl pellet‹as a newborn on the steps of the Dymton Church. She was soon cloistered away in a local convent, but by her fourteenth year word of her beauty had spread‹and those who would prey upon her faced unforeseen consequences.] 
Cut (w Mike Richardson; a Todd Herman).
[From Dark Horse Comics: The latest addition to the Dark Horse horror line is this chilling original graphic novel from writer and publisher Mike Richardson (The Secret, Cravan). Twentysomething Meagan Walters regains consciousness and finds herself locked in an empty room of an old house. She's bleeding from the back of her head, and has no memory of where the wound came from -- she'd been at a club with some friends . . . left angrily . . . was she abducted? When Meagan peers through the door's keyhole, she starts to suspect that her captor isn't quite human . . .] 
Damn Nation (w Andrew Cosby; a Jason Alexander). [From Dark Horse Comics: From the creator of UPN's Haunted and the Sci-Fi network original series Eureka comes one of the most ambitious and horrifying tales ever committed to the comics page, Writer Andrew Cosby has imagined a United States shut off from the world by concrete barricades and barbed wire--not because of what might get in, but what might get out. A vampire plague has spread from sea to shining sea and when a small holdout of scientists trapped outside of Buffalo, N.Y. discover a cure, it's up to a Special Ops team from the President's current offices in London to go in and get it. Yet, not everyone in the world wants to see America back in the saddle again ...] 
Dark
Horse Book of the Dead (Mike Mignola, Pat McEown, Kelley Jones, Eric Powell, Bob Fingerman, Robert E. Howard, Evan Dorkin, Jamie S. Rich, Scott Allie, David Crouse, Paul Lee, Jill Thompson, Guy Davis, Gary Gianni, Todd Herman, Brian Horton, Roger Langridge). [From
Dark Horse Comics: Mike Mignola presents a Hellboy yarn combining Shakespeare
and graverobbing in this followup to Dark Horse's Eisner-nominated Books
of Hauntings and Witchcraft. Also returning this volume are Jill Thompson,
who won a 2004 Eisner for her painted work in Hauntings, and her collaborator
Evan Dorkin, with another occult canine adventure. New additions for this
volume include Goon creator Eric Powell, celebrated B.P.R.D. artist Guy
Davis, and the artist who spent the last twenty years making superhero comics
more scary-Kelley Jones. Cover artist Gary Gianni also returns, mixing prose
with comics, with a rare tale by the man ultimately responsible for Dark
Horse's biggest hit in years-Conan creator Robert E. Howard.] 
Dark
Horse Book of Hauntings (w Mike Richardson, Mike Mignola, Perceval
Landon, Scott Allie, Uli Oesterle, Milton Freeman Jr., Randy Stradley, Evan
Dorkin; a P. Craig Russell, Mike Mignola, Gary Gianni, Paul Lee, Brian
Horton, Lucas Marangon, Paul Chadwick, Jill Thompson). [From
Dark Horse Comics: Dark Horse's horror line launches its new prestige
format with this hardcover book filled with original short stories by some
of the most respected names in comics. The longest story in The Dark Horse
Book of Hauntings is also Mike Mignola's only new Hellboy adventure in 2003!
Come along as Hellboy investigates a haunted house and discovers his own
unexpected connection to the spirits within. P. Craig Russell (Sandman,
Murder Mysteries) adapts Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson's story about
a child who leads friends and family into an abandoned house, and Paul Chadwick
and his longtime Concrete editor Randy Stradley team up for a creepy short
about a haunted suit. In the strangest entry in the book, Jill Thompson
(Scary Godmother) and Evan Dorkin (Hectic Planet) recount the legend of
a haunted doghouse. With a Victorian ghost story illustrated by Gary Gianni,
and an interview with real-life séance medium L.L. Dreller, plus
a new Devil's Footprints story and outstanding contributions from international
artists Uli Oesterle (Germany) and Lucas Maragnon (Mexico), this is the
ultimate book for horror-comics enthusiasts and fans of fantastic artwork.
] Old Book of the Week 6/30/04
Dark Horse Book of Monsters (Mike Mignola, Kurt Busiek, Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Scott Allie, William Hope Hodgson, Keith Giffen, Timothy Green II, Jill Thompson, Paul Lee, Gary Gianni, Arvid Nelson, Juan Ferreyra, Brian Horton). [From Dark Horse Comics: Mike Mignola takes Hellboy on a monster-crunching mission and Gary Gianni provides illustrations for a classic tale of South Seas horror by William Hope Hodgson in this fourth addition to Dark Horse's Eisner-nominated books of Hauntings, Witchcraft, and The Dead. Along with Mignola and Gianni, Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson -- who won Eisners in both 2004 and 2005 for their stories in Hauntings and Witchcraft -- return to unveil a new painted story starring everyone's favorite evil-fighting strays. Also included is an homage to the great creature comics of Jack Kirby, by Kurt Busiek and Keith Giffen, and many more terrifying yarns by some of the most talented folks in comics!] 
Dark
Horse Book of Witchcraft (Scott Morse, Tony Millionaire, Mike Mignola, Jim Keegan, Ruth Keegan, Evan Dorkin, Mark Ricketts, Scott Allie, William Shakespeare, Clark Ashton Smith, Paul Lee, Sean Phillips, Jill Thompson, Gary Gianni, Brian Horton). [From
Dark Horse Comics: Following the success of The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings,
Dark Horse returns with another collection of bizarre tales by Eisner Award-winning
artists Mike Mignola, Gary Gianni, Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson, and Scott
Morse. Mignola returns with another Hellboy story, and Thompson (Scary Godmother)
and Dorkin (The Thing, Dork) return to the characters in their stunning
“Stray”story, the surprise hit of the first volume in this series.
Morse (Ancient Joe, Sam and Twitch) presents a haunting tale of old Salem,
digging into the madness of the accusations leveled there, which ended more
than thirty lives in a few short months. Filled with other stellar comics
offerings, as well as a classic witch tale by Clark Ashton Smith and illustrated
by cover artist Gianni, The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft conjures up weird
tales of horror and magic the likes of which one seldom sees in the comics
medium.] Book of the Week 6/30/04
Dead
Memory (w & a Marc-Antoine Mathieu). [From
Dark Horse Comics: A haunting and powerful look at modern society and
our reliance on structures--both physical and suggested -- Dead Memory represents
some of the best published work of one of France's most highly acclaimed
graphic novelists, Marc-Antoine Mathieu. Beautifully illustrated in high-contrast
black-and-white, and published in an oversize, hardcover format, Dead Memory
is both an allegorical study of a Kafka-esque society under the control
of real-time information and a thoughtful treatise on cities, walls, languages,
and other elements that both define and confine humanity. Dead Memory marks
the first English-language publication of the work of this multi-award-winning
French cartoonist.] 
De: Tales (w & a Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba). [From Dark Horse Comics: Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá are Brazilian twins who share an award-winning talent for comics and an abiding love of the medium. Following in the wake of brothers Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez and Tomer & Asaf Hanuka, Moon & Bá bring their considerable skills to Dark Horse in De:Tales, their first major American release! This collection of short stories features the pair working together, in tandem, or separately‹trading off on the roles of writing and illustrating, sharing those roles, or flying solo. Brimming with all the details of human life, their charming tales move from the urban reality of their home in São Paulo to the magical realism of their Latin American background, living up to the twins' critical acclaim and proving that they are a talented pair to watch out for.] 
Empowered 1 (w & a Adam Warren). [From Dark Horse Comics: Not only is costumed crimefighter "Empowered" saddled with a less-than-ideal superhero name, but she wears a skintight and cruelly revealing "supersuit" that only magnifies her body-image insecurities. Worse yet, the suit's unreliable powers are prone to failure, repeatedly leaving her in appallingly distressing situations . . . and giving her a shameful reputation as the lamest "cape" in the masks-and-tights business. Nonetheless, she pluckily braves the ordeals of her bottom-rung superheroic life with the help of her "thugalicious" boyfriend (and former Witless Minion) and her hard-drinking ninja girlfriend, not to mention the supervillainous advice from the caged alien demonlord watching DVDs from atop her coffee table . . . From Adam Warren-writer/artist of the English-language Dirty Pair comics (the original "Original English-Language Manga" before OEL was cool), and writer of Livewires, Gen13, and Iron Man: Hypervelocity-comes Empowered, a butt-kicking, bootylicious superhero lampoon that raises the bar for long-john lust and low-brow laughs. Remove all previous notions of superhero entertainment from your puny mind . . . and prepare to be Empowered!] 
Empowered 2 (w & a Adam Warren). [From Dark Horse Comics: Empowered returns for further misadventures, as a distress-prone girl wonder struggles with life on the superheroic C-list! Clad -- or unclad, as fate would too often have it -- in her embarrassingly revealing and maddeningly unreliable supersuit, she fights a neverending battle against overly sensitive supervillains, irrationally envious superheroines, and her own body-image issues! Meanwhile, her boyfriend, Thugboy, plays with fire when he foolhardily attempts to compliment his profoundly insecure sweetheart on the awe-inspiring power of her . . . well, booty. And her often-inebriated gal-pal, Ninjette, pursues a drunken and ultimately disastrous mission to acquire Empowered some respect -- by force if necessary! All this, plus crossword-obsessed goons, speech-impaired superbeasts, "Ninjas Gone Wild," and even a few self-help hints from nigh-omnipotent cosmic overlords! You know, the usual.] 
Empowered 3 (w & a Adam Warren). [From Dark Horse Comics: As if life as an often-struggling superheroine weren't already hard enough, now costumed crimefighter "Empowered" discovers that another female superhero is ripping off her distress-prone persona -- and cashing in, big-time! Even worse, her relationship with live-in boyfriend (and semi-reformed Witless Minion) Thugboy has run afoul of an extremely literal set of "power issues" ! Worse yet, a singularly bloodthirsty and ruthless ninja clan is gunning -- no, make that shurikening -- for Emp's best friend and karaoke partner, Ninjette! Can our unlucky but still plucky heroine prevail over all these obstacles as well as the further threats posed by foreign fanfiction outrages, her own supersuit's attempts to manipulate her self-esteem, and the revelation of her real name?] 
The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch (w Neil Gaiman; a Michael Zulli). [From Dark Horse Comics: Come, come and hear of the strange and terrible tale of Miss Finch, an exacting woman befallen by mystery and abduction deep under the streets of London! This is the first comics adaptation of Gaiman's story "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch," which saw print only in the U.K. edition of Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions and was recently interpreted for his Speaking in Tongues CD. The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch is a "mostly true story" that combines the author's trademark magic realism with Zulli's sumptuous paintings, and has been newly rewritten for this hardcover. Join a group of friends, with the stern Miss Finch in tow, as they enter musty caverns for a subterranean circus spectacle called "The Theatre of Night's Dreaming." Come inside, get out of the pounding rain, and witness this strange world of vampires, ringmasters, illusions, and the Cabinet of Wishes Fulfill'd.] 
Favole: Stone Tears 1 (w & a Victoria Francés). [From Dark Horse Comics: Victoria Francés creates in her first book a gothic romantic fantasy reminiscent of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, filled with tales of vampires, magic, and the undying spirit of lovers which reaches across the centuries. Lushly illustrated, Favole: Stone Tears is the first book in an ongoing series by an emerging new talent in the illustration field.] 
The Fog (w Scott Allie; a Todd Herman & Andy Owens). [From Dark Horse Comics: This October, John Carpenter brings one of his most original nightmares back to the big screen with a remake of The Fog, starring Smallville's Superboy Tom Welling. Carpenter and director Rupert Wainwright (Stigmata) team with Dark Horse Comics to flesh out the story of doomed travelers and the supernatural devastation of a small coastal town, in this original graphic novel. Scott Allie, writer of The Devil's Footprints and Star Wars: Empire worked with the director to craft a bizarre story about a Chinese curse and a town plunged into a walking-dead nightmare. A group of Shanghai traders have come to America hoping to escape a string of weird deaths at the claws of unseen monsters. The arrival of a strange yet familiar fog reveals that the curse has found them, but even they don't know what that has to do with a pyromaniac refugee from the Civil War, the disappearance of one of their sons, or the terrible change coming over the Americans in this small seaside town. With a cover by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and haunting art by Todd Herman (The Dark Horse Book of the Dead) and Dave Stewart (Conan, Hellboy), this original graphic novel is an essential intro to the new film.] 
Gear School (w Adam Gallardo; a Núria Peris). [From Dark Horse Comics: In the future, humanity is in a seemingly endless war with an alien race. The struggle is dominated by giant war machines called Gear. Only the best and the brightest are allowed to drive these behemoths. The process of elimination begins in junior high. Thirteen-year-old Teresa Gottlieb has just entered the most prestigious military academy, known to all as Gear School, to try and become one of those elite. But on top of all the usual troubles that a seventh-grader has to put up with—boys, social cliques, hellish instructors—she also has to deal with three-story-tall robots and alien invasions!
Teresa needs to learn that when the bell rings, the adventure starts.] 
Harlequin
Valentine (w Neil Gaiman; a John Bolton). [From
Dark Horse: In this modern hardcover retelling of a classic commedia
dell' arte legend of tomfoolery and hopeless, fawning love, creators Neil
Gaiman (Sandman) and John Bolton (Manbat) update the relation of Harlequin
and Columbine. A buffoon burdened with a brimming heart, Harlequin chases
his sensible, oblivious Columbine around the city streets, having given
his heart freely. Consumed with love, the impulsive clown sees his heart
dragged about town, with a charming surprise to bend the tale in a modern
direction. Gaiman's writing is poetic and as heartfelt as the subject matter.
Bolton's art, a combination of digitally enhanced photorealism and dynamic
painting provides sensational depth with bright characters over fittingly
muted backgrounds. Those who have spent Valentine's Day alone are aware
that the cold February holiday can be hard to swallow. Gaiman and Bolton
want you to know that all it takes is a steak knife, a fork, and a bottle
of quality ketchup! Contains an additional eight-page backup feature on
the commedia dell' arte, written by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by John
Bolton!]
ArtBomb review
The
Irregulars (w Steven-Elliot Altman and Michael Reaves; a Bong Dazo).
[From Dark Horse Comics: A madman stalks the streets of London's
Whitechapel slum, leaving a trail of grisly murders in his wake. The police
have only one suspect: a prominent and respected physician named John Watson!
The master detective Sherlock Holmes, in order to solve the most fantastic
mystery of his career and save his greatest friend from the gallows, employs
a band of young street urchins to infiltrate the alleys of Whitechapel.
They can go everywhere, see everything, overhear everyone. They are the
Baker Street Irregulars. Join the Irregulars in the most fantastic and terrifying
adventure of their lives, as they uncover an evil unlike anything Sherlock
Holmes has ever faced.] 
Isolation & Illusion: Collected Short Stories, 1977-1997 (w & a P. Craig Russell; stories reprinted from a variety of sources).
[From Dark Horse: Since the 1970s, P. Craig Russell
(Murder Mysteries, The Ring of the Nibelung) has created some of the most
sophisticated and lavishly drawn stories ever to hit comics shops. Dark
Horse is proud to present a rare sampling of the work spread over his long
career, including early masterpieces like "Dance on the Razor's Edge"
and "The Starship Remembrance," along with more recent adaptations
of H.P. Lovecraft's "From Beyond" and O. Henry's "Gift of
the Magi." If you're a lover of fine illustration and