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Graphic Novels
Abandoned Cars is Tim Lane's first collection of graphic short stories, noirish narratives that are united by their exploration of the great American mythological drama by way of the desperate and haunted characters that populate its pages. Lane's characters exist on the margins of society--alienated, floating in the void between hope and despair, confused but introspective.
The writing is straightforward, the stories mainstream but told in a pulpy idiom with an existential edge, often in the first person, reminiscent of David Goodis's or Jim Thompson's prose, or of films like Pick-Up on South Street or Out of the Past. Visually, Lane's drawing is in a realistic mode, reminiscent of Charles Burns, that heightens the tension in stories that veer between naturalism on the one hand and the comical, nightmarish, and hallucinatory on the other. Here, American culture is a thrift store and the characters are thrift store junkies living among the clutter. It's an America depicted as a subdued and haunted Coney Island, made up of lost characters--boozing, brawling, haplessly shooting themselves in the face, and hopping freight trains in search of Elvis. Abandoned Cars is an impressive debut of a major young American cartoonist.
In this second outing in The Adventure Zone saga, we rejoin hero-adjacent sort-of-comrades-in-arms Taako, Magnus, and Merle on a wild careen through a D&D railroad murder mystery.
Before Critical Role and Dimension 20 took the nerd world by storm, the McElroys won us over with their tabletop antics, and this installment has a little of everything: a genius child detective, an axe-wielding professional wrestler, a surly wizard, cursed magical artifacts, and a pair of meat monsters. You know, the usual things you find on a train. With art and co-adaptation from Carey Pietsch, the McElroys are once again turning their raucous freewheeling D&D campaign into some damn fine comics.
from HBO Films and Fine Line Features AMERICAN SPLENDOR
The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar Two classic comic anthologies in one volume Stories by Harvey Pekar Introduction by R. Crumb Art by Kevin Brown, Gregory Budgett, Sean Carroll, Sue Cavey, R. Crumb, Gary Dumm, Val Mayerik, and Gerry Shamray The classic collection of the comics that inspired the movie American Splendor, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival American Splendor is the world's first literary comic book. Cleveland native Harvey Pekar is a true American original. A V.A. hospital file clerk and comic book writer, Harvey chronicles the ordinary and mundane in stories both funny and touching. His dead-on eye for the frustrations and minutiae of the workaday world mix in a delicate balance with his insight into personal relationships. Pekar has been compared to Dreiser, Dostoevsky, and Lenny Bruce. But he is truly more than all of them--he is himself. "Mr. Pekar has . . . proven that comics can address the ambiguities of daily living, that like the finest fiction, they can hold a mirror up to life."
--The New York Times "[Pekar] has a vision that makes daily city life--a ride on the bus, a run-in with a boss, or simply buying bread--dramatic."
--Chicago Sun-Times "Simply stated, American Splendor is the most superb literary endeavor to come off the streets of Cleveland in decades."
--The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) "Mr. Pekar lets all of life flood into his panels: the humdrum and the heroic, the gritty and the grand."
--The New York Times Book Review
A graphic history featuring the true story of three friends from Brooklyn who join in the global fight against fascism
In this exhilarating graphic novel about the Spanish Civil War, three American friends set off from Brooklyn to join in the fight--determined to make Spain "the tomb of fascism" for the sake of us all. Together they defy the U.S. government and join the legendary Abraham Lincoln Brigade, throw themselves into battle, and conduct sabotage missions behind enemy lines. As Spain is shattered by the savagery of combat during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), readers see the darkening clouds of the World War to come. Artist Anne Timmons has created a thrilling graphic novel in the spirit of the "war comic" genre that appeared after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into World War II. Drawing upon the real-life experiences of Lincoln Brigade veteran Abe Osheroff, writer Miguel Ferguson offers a lively, accessible resource based on actual events during the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War. ¡Brigadistas! will stir the memories of older audiences who remember the Spanish Civil War as a time of unparalleled international solidarity and heartbreak, and it will expose young audiences to the passions, politics, and conflicts of a bygone era with striking contemporary relevance.
A wild seascape, a distant island, a full moon. Gradually the island grows nearer until we land on a primeval wilderness, rich in vegetation and huge, strange beasts. Time passes and man appears, with clubs, with spears, with crueler weapons still--and things do not go well for the wilderness. Civilization rises as towers of stone and metal and smoke choke the undergrowth and the creatures that once moved through it. This is not a happy story, and it will not have a happy ending.
Working in his distinctive, monochromatic linocut style, Stanley Donwood achieves with his art what words cannot convey, carving out a mesmerizing, stark parable of environmental disaster and the end of civilization.
A "low-brow" counterpoint to Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly's rather high-falootin' RAW, Weirdo influenced an entire generation of cartoonists, and served as a creative refuge for underground comix veterans and training ground for new creators, and this book features the comprehensive story of the fondly-recalled magazine, along with testimonials from over 130 of the mag's contributors, plus interviews with Weirdo's three editors ― R. "Keep on Truckin'" Crumb, Peter "Hate" Bagge, and Aline "The Bunch" Kominsky-Crumb ― as well as publisher "Baba Ron" Turner.
This 288-page hardcover book is as much a comprehensive history of the alternative comics scene of the 1980s and early '90s ― from New York City punk to Seattle grunge ― as it is the story of a single magazine, an exhaustive retrospective that includes rare and unseen artwork from that era, as well as new comics from modern-day artists paying homage to the great oddball mag. In its time, the periodical featured the finest work of many artists, particularly the best material by R. Crumb himself, Weirdo's founder and best known for ZAP Comix, Fritz the Cat, and Mr. Natural, and a man widely heralded as the greatest cartoonist of all time.
In 1981, amidst a seismic shift to the right in the country, Crumb responded by unleashing the savagely irreverent and satirical Weirdo onto the great multitude, and he generously welcomed to its pages not just his ZAP Comix underground cohorts, but also an entirely new generation of iconoclastic cartoonists. It was an irreverent, outrageous, often politically-incorrect, and taboo-challenging anthology that showcased Crumb's finest ― and most controversial ― material. It was gut-busting, hysterical, and frequently offensive. But, most of all, it was FUNNY! Though it finally gave up the ghost by 1993, in its time, Weirdo was one of the very best of its kind... a showcase for outsiders, freaks, and (naturally) weirdos. In fact, truth to tell, it's the ONLY one of its kind!
The history of feminism? The right to vote, Susan B. Anthony, Gloria Steinem, white pantsuits? Oh, but there's so much more. And we need to know about it, especially now. In pithy text and pithier comics, A Brief History of Feminism engages us, educates us, makes us laugh, and makes us angry. It begins with antiquity and the early days of Judeo-Christianity. (Mary Magdalene questions the maleness of Jesus's inner circle: "People will end up getting the notion you don't want women to be priests." Jesus: "Really, Mary, do you always have to be so negative?") It continues through the Middle Ages, the Early Modern period, and the Enlightenment ("Liberty, equality, fraternity!" "But fraternity means brotherhood!"). It covers the beginnings of an organized women's movement in the nineteenth century, second-wave Feminism, queer feminism, and third-wave Feminism.
Along the way, we learn about important figures: Olympe de Gouges, author of the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen" (guillotined by Robespierre); Flora Tristan, who linked the oppression of women and the oppression of the proletariat before Marx and Engels set pen to paper; and the poet Audre Lorde, who pointed to the racial obliviousness of mainstream feminism in the 1970s and 1980s. We learn about bourgeois and working-class issues, and the angry racism of some American feminists when black men got the vote before women did. We see God as a long-bearded old man emerging from a cloud (and once, as a woman with her hair in curlers). And we learn the story so far of a history that is still being written.
A beautifully illustrated, magical fairy tale sure to appeal to young teens and up, created by the award-winning team behind the world-renowned LOVE series of wordless wildlife graphic novels.
With expressive artwork and storytelling that balances chaos with insight, Bill Watterson transformed the antics of one mischievous boy and his tiger into something timeless. Both laugh-out-loud funny and quietly profound, this debut collection captures the spark that made Calvin and Hobbes a fan favorite from the very beginning. For longtime devotees and brand-new readers alike, this first volume is more than just a comic strip--it's the beginning of one of the most beloved and imaginative worlds ever created.
Physicist Clifford Johnson thinks that we should have more conversations about science. Science should be on our daily conversation menu, along with topics like politics, books, sports, or the latest prestige cable drama. Conversations about science, he tells us, shouldn't be left to the experts. In The Dialogues, Johnson invites us to eavesdrop on a series of nine conversations, in graphic-novel form--written and drawn by Johnson--about "the nature of the universe." The conversations take place all over the world, in museums, on trains, in restaurants, in what may or may not be Freud's favorite coffeehouse. The conversationalists are men, women, children, experts, and amateur science buffs. The topics of their conversations range from the science of cooking to the multiverse and string theory. The graphic form is especially suited for physics; one drawing can show what it would take many words to explain.
In the first conversation, a couple meets at a costume party; they speculate about a scientist with superhero powers who doesn't use them to fight crime but to do more science, and they discuss what it means to have a "beautiful equation" in science. Their conversation spills into another chapter ("Hold on, you haven't told me about light yet"), and in a third chapter they exchange phone numbers. Another couple meets on a train and discusses immortality, time, black holes, and religion. A brother and sister experiment with a grain of rice. Two women sit in a sunny courtyard and discuss the multiverse, quantum gravity, and the anthropic principle. After reading these conversations, we are ready to start our own.
With humor, depth, and philosophical and historical insight, DNA reaches out to a wide range of readers with its graphic portrayal of a complicated science. Suitable for use in and out of the classroom, this volume covers DNA's many marvels, from its original discovery in 1869 to early-twentieth-century debates on the mechanisms of inheritance and the deeper nature of life's evolution and variety.
Even readers who lack a background in science and philosophy will learn a tremendous amount from this engaging narrative. The book elucidates DNA's relationship to health and the cause and cure of disease. It also covers the creation of new life forms, nanomachines, and perspectives on crime detection, and considers the philosophical sources of classical Darwinian theory and recent, radical changes in the understanding of evolution itself. Already these developments have profoundly affected our notions about living things. Borin Van Loon's humorous illustrations recount the contributions of Gregor Mendel, Frederick Griffith, James Watson, and Francis Crick, among other biologists, scientists, and researchers, and vividly depict the modern controversies surrounding the Human Genome Project and cloning.
The third in Corinne Maier and Anne Simon's collection of graphic novels exploring the lives of some of the most influential figures in modern history lands its spotlight upon Albert Einstein, the German-born physicist who developed the theory of relativity. He is considered the most influential physicist of the twentieth century.
You've probably heard of him, but you've never seen him like this!
Anne Simon was born in 1980 in France. She studied in the Beaux-Arts in Angoulême, and then in the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, one of the most prestigious art schools in France. In 2004, she received the New Talent prize at the Angoulême festival, and she released her first comic book Persephone in the Underworld in 2006.
Corinne Maier was born in 1963 in Geneva. As a writer, economist, historian, and psychoanalyst, she has produced around fifteen non-fiction books on subjects like psychoanalysis, society, history, and humor. Her books are bestsellers in her native France and some (such as Hello Laziness) have been translated into several languages.
The brilliance of Calvin and Hobbes lies not only in its comedy but also in its depth. Watterson uses everyday moments--battles over bathtime, awkward school photos, epic snowball fights--to explore bigger ideas about friendship, family, creativity, and the wonderful weirdness of growing up. Whether Calvin is zipping through time in a cardboard box-turned-time machine, creating mutant snowmen in the yard, or musing about life's meaning under the stars, the strip strikes a rare balance between laugh-out-loud funny and unexpectedly profound. Hobbes, with his dry wit and tiger-like instincts, is the perfect foil to Calvin's chaos, grounding their friendship in warmth and wonder. A must-have for longtime fans and new readers of all ages, The Essential Calvin and Hobbes is not just a comic collection--it's a celebration of imagination, wit, and the endurance of a boy and his tiger navigating the world, trying to make sense of it, one outrageous adventure at a time.
A gathering of neighbors in suburban Buenos Aires is interrupted by an eerie, phosphorescent snowfall. When those outside exposed to the "snow" start dropping dead, it becomes clear that the harmless-looking "snow" reflects the vanguard of an alien invasion, and a story of survival, cunning, and armed struggle against them unfurls. Written by the Argentine author Héctor Germán Oesterheld -- who opposed the military junta in the late '70s, and was disappeared, along with his daughters, in 1977 -- and drawn by Francisco Solano López in an appropriately pulpy, representational style. The story, originally serialized from 1957 to 1959, holds a mirror to Argentine politics, reflecting an era of paranoia, military juntas, and Cold War geopolitics. Encounter the gripping tale that remains a symbol of resistance in Latin America to this day.
The Far Side(R), FarWorks, Inc.(R), and the Larson(R) signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc. in certain countries.
"World War 3 Illustrated is the real thing."--New York Times
"The best and longest running alternative comics anthology around."--Comics Journal
Since its founding by Seth Tobocman and Peter Kuper in 1979, World War 3 Illustrated has been publishing cutting-edge, political comics that have inspired the developing popularity and recognition of comics as a respected art form. Now rebranded as a book series, the first, and timely, theme of this new imprint is fascism.
Contributors include: Erik Drooker, Sue Coe, Kate Evans, Peter Kuper, Steve Brodner, Isabella Bannerman, Kevin Pyle, Seth Tobocman, photographs from Unite the Right in Charlottesville by John Penley, and more.
