Best of
Graphic-Novels-Comics

1998

Squee's Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors.


Jhonen Vásquez - 1998
    It also contains reprints from the popular Jhonny the Homicidal Maniac series that didn't appear in the JTHM: Director's Cut book.

Absolute Transmetropolitan Vol. 1


Warren Ellis - 1998
    Working as an investigative reporter for the newspaper The Word, Spider attacks the injustices of his surreal 21st Century surroundings. Combining black humor, life-threatening situations, and moral ambiguity, this book is the first look into the mind of an outlaw journalist and the world he seeks to destroy.Collects Transmetropolitan #1-18, Transmetropolitan: I Hate it Here, VERTIGO Winter's Edge #2 in a slipcased Absolute Edition format.

The Indelible Alison Bechdel: Confessions, Comix, and Miscellaneous Dykes to Watch Out For


Alison Bechdel - 1998
    Go behind the pen and into the psyche of dyke to watch out for Alison Bechdel--cartoon chronicler extraordinaire--as the inner workings of lesbiania's most quick-witted, longest-running social commentator are revealed.

Ethel and Ernest


Raymond Briggs - 1998
    They meet during the Depression -- she working as a chambermaid, he as a milkman -- and we follow them as they encounter, and cope with, World War II, the advent of radio and t.v., telephones and cars, the atomic bomb, the moon landing. Briggs's portrayal of his parents as they succeed, or fail, in coming to terms with their rapidly shifting world is irresistably engaging -- full of sympathy and affection, yet clear-eyed and unsentimental.The book's strip-cartoon format is deceptively simple; it possesses a wealth of detail and an emotional depth that are remarkable in such a short volume. Briggs's marvelous illustrations and succinct, true-to-life dialogue create a real sense of time and place, of what it was like to experience such enormous changes. Almost as much a social history as it is a personal account, Ethel & Ernest is a moving tribute to ordinary people living in an extraordinary time.

A Child's Life: Other Stories


Phoebe Gloeckner - 1998
    This edition includes eight pages of new material.Long respected as one of the finest and most original of today's underground comics artists, Gloeckner shows both technical artistry and tremendous range—from her sly, lurid, and brilliantly colored posters for rock groups to her textbook-quality medical illustrations; from her sharp naturalistic juxtapositions for The Atrocity Exhibition (J.G. Ballard) to the signature comics for which she is best known.Pages include both black and white and color comics, some that were published before in obscure comic books, and some of her classics in addition to new stories. In detailed, nuanced panels, these strips depict the isolation, horror, and disappointment—but also the revolutionary, transformative power—of young women trapped in circumstances ringed with drugs and sexual abuse. Gloeckner continues as a major literary and visual artist.

Our Mutts: Five


Patrick McDonnell - 1998
    In Patrick McDonnell's animal-centric world, Earl, the dog, and Mooch, the cat, provide both postulations and punch lines, enlightenment and entertainment. They seem innocent, yet speak volumes. "Kids will immediately take to the funny-animals look of the strip," wrote Mark J. Estren in Virginia Parent, "but there's plenty here for adults, too." Indeed there is. From musings about friendship to the benefits of adopting shelter animals, these two and their furry pals hammer out the mammalian issues of the day.The late Charles Schulz described MUTTS: "I think the best new comic strip to come along has been MUTTS. . . . The little dog and cat are just innocent creatures, and all the characters are funny and fun to look at." MUTTS is a true classic.

Yesh! - Mutts IV


Patrick McDonnell - 1998
    But if there's one thing the two sides do agree on, it's that they love Patrick McDonnell's charming strip, Mutts.Mutts has won the devotion of animal lovers and comics readers across the land. Fans love the charming humor the talented McDonnell provides, as well as his one-of-a-kind artistic style that stands apart on the funny pages. Yesh! features Earl the dog, his pal Mooch the cat, and the plethora of other lovable animal regulars who pop in and out of their lives.Few people could conceive what animals are truly thinking until McDonnell gave us the antics and adventures of Earl and Mooch. In one series of strips, Earl reveals what pets think when their owners are late arriving home: ""I must ration my dinner...who knows how long it will need to last?...The day?...The week?...The next two minutes?"" His buddy Mooch declares after becoming stranded on top of a tree: ""I need to reassess my goals.""The delightful personalities of McDonnell's animal stars have won the hearts and acclaim of readers the world over. Veteran cartoonist Charles Schulz called Mutts one of the best strips ever. The strip earned the National Cartoonists Society's Comic Strip of the Year Award in 1996. In 1998, McDonnell captured the Swedish Academy of Comic Art's Award for Best International Comic Strip Artist. Yesh! celebrates the subtle humor and unparalleled style of a strip that hearkens back to the classic strips of yesteryear.

More Red Meat: The Second Collection of Red Meat Cartoons


Max Cannon - 1998
    Featured in sixty alternative weeklies and college newspapers, representing a combined readership of more than six million, Red Meat has a fervent and loyal fan base. Max Cannon also has an official Red Meat web site, which averages 30,000 page views per week. It was honored with a Cyber Star award from Virtual City magazine.

Batman: Gotham Adventures #1


Ty Templeton - 1998
    The only place Batman can keep his nemesis safe is the Batcave, but even that haven may not be safe enough when the Riddler comes calling.

Dreamtime


Wendy Pini - 1998
    After the story told in "Kings of the Broken Wheel", (Elfquest Graphic Novel #8) the Wolfriders went into a deep sleep that lasted for ten thousand years. While they slept, the World of Two Moons grew and changed around them; human civilization spread further than the elves could ever have imagined. There are great battles ahead for the Wolfriders and their friends (to be portrayed in other Elfquest Graphic Novels) but as the forest elves sleep, they also dream -- and their dreams hold the clue to their destiny. Will they survive in the world of the future? Or are they doomed?

Flaming Carrot's Greatest Hits (Flaming Carrot Collected Album No. 3)


Bob Burden - 1998
    Collects Flaming Carrot comics #12-18.It's the twisted genius of Bob Burden unleashed! See Flaming Carrot answer domestic disturbance calls, feed ducks at the park, go shopping for knickers at the convenience store, play checkers at the barber shop, save an injured bumble-bee, and much, much more! Thrill as Flaming Carrot leads the Mystery Men in an epic struggle to the death against ruthless Nazi boots! You truly haven't lived until you've experienced the adventures of the vegetable inferno for yourself!

Flaming Carrot Comics: Fortune Favors the Bold! (Flaming Carrot Collected Album No. 4)


Bob Burden - 1998
    Flaming Carrot leads a rebellion of the Trekkies and Dr. Whovians that were duped into helping the spacemen build their beachhead here on Earth. Plus, an all-new Flaming Carrot text story!

Elfquest: the first 20 years


Wendy Pini - 1998
    

Something at the Window Is Scratching: Children's Tales for Disturbed Children


Roman Dirge - 1998
    The Monsters in my Tummy comes straight from the heart and is Mr. Dirge's best work to date.

Garfield: 20th Anniversary Collection


Jim Davis - 1998
    20 YEARS OF FABULOUS FELINE FUN!Laugh along with Garfield and the gang in this timely tribute to the world's feistiest--and funniest--feline!Inside you'll find: ¸  Jim Davis' Top Twenty All-Time Favorite Strips! ¸  Foreword by Mike Peters! ¸  Exclusive 20th Anniversary Interview with Garfield! ¸  A Rare Glimpse Inside Jim Davis' Original Sketchbook! ¸  A Heaping Helping of Classic Garfield Strips! ¸  Doodles, Trivia, Anecdotes! ¸  Embarrassing Photos!It's nothing less than a milestone for Garfield and a must-have collection for every fat cat fanatic!

Lenore #1


Roman Dirge - 1998
    The story takes place in a small town called Nevermore (taking its name from the same poem as Lenore's namesake "The Raven") and the surrounding wilderness where Lenore's mansion and a nearby graveyard is situated.The primary focus of the graphic novel is dark humor, with many of the stories having twist endings. Common themes are the reinvention of children's songs, games, and nursery rhymes to something more macabre, and subverting all sorts of pop culture icons and cultural figures in to topics of dark comedy. In one story, for instance, Lenore accidentally kills the Easter Bunny. Lenore's actions often result in the death or injury to those around her and in various forms of chaos. Lenore is a character who's a mystery. She often thinks she is doing good and occasionally shows good intentions. Although in recent issues it should be noted that the character has shown a change in personality. When she is asked of what her dream is, she replies that it's to rule the world. To further question this, it should also be mentioned that whenever Lenore gets really upset or angry, she can be very violent and often takes her anger out on whoever made her angry even if it's one of her friends. This results in most of her friends (all for except Mr. Gosh) being very fearful of her. She can also be spiteful. All of this results in Lenore being an enigma due to her at times thinking that she's doing good with meaning to do good and at other times wanting to do something that's more along the lines of being evil.The comic also featured various onetime side stories (One of these stories, Samurai Sloth, is set to star in his own series) and occasionally guest strips from other artists (with Jhonen Vasquez being the most frequent). A recurring comic strip called "Things Involving Me" tells about the author's life and experience in an exaggerated, semi-autobiographical manner.

It's a Jungle Out There, A New Madam & Eve Collection


S. Francis - 1998
    

Curbside


Robert Kirby - 1998
    This book was made possible by a grant from the Xeric Foundation. The sequel, Curbside Boys, was published in 2002 by the award-winning Cleis Press, of San Francisco.

The Hound of The Baskervilles – A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel


Petr Kopl - 1998
    Watson encounter the most terrifying and deceitful of their opponents. Get ready to look directly into the dark soul of crime and let the Gothic atmosphere of one of the best works of the Victorian era carry you away. Can you feel the night fall? Over the countryside? How slowly and quietly the freezing fog opens its cold arms? The birds stop singing. The suffocating silence envelops the neighbourhood. Once again something unnatural and evil walks the house, lurking for unwary souls. Turn on the lights, lock the doors, close the shutters, hide under the bed covers… I’m not saying it will help, but what if?

Comic Strips and Consumer Culture, 1890-1945


Ian Gordon - 1998
    Drawing on comic strip characters such as Buster Brown, Winnie Winkle, and Superman, Ian Gordon shows how, in addition to embellishing a wide array of goods with personalities, comic strips themselves increasingly promoted consumerist values and upward mobility.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch #11 (2nd Series)


Dan Parent - 1998
    

Danger Girl: The Dangerous Collection, Vol 2


J. Scott Campbell - 1998
    A journey skillfully led by Adventuress Abbey Chase and the Secret Agent Team knows as Danger Girl!In our second installment of the Dangerous Collection, the seductive and quick-witted Danger Girls join forces with the dynamic CIA agent Johnny Barracuda! Will the Barracuda's robust presence help or hinder the team? Find out in the continuation of their first teeth-clenching, white-knuckled adventure.Offbeat, Action-packed, and Bursting with Beautiful Women, Danger Girl's Unique Rendition of the Spy Genre has won the Acclaim of Readers around the Globe!