He found master Li Kao, a scholar with a slight flaw in his character. Together, they set out to find the Great Root of Power, the only possible cure.The quest led them to a host of truly memorable characters, multiple wonders, incredible adventures—and strange coincidences, which were really not coincidences at all. And it involved them in an ancient crime that still perturbed the serenity of Heaven. Simply and charmingly told, this is a wry tale, a sly tale, and a story of wisdom delightfully askew. Once read, its marvels and beauty will not easily fade from the mind.The author claims that this is a novel of an ancient China that never was. But, oh…it should have been!

    It is a saga, as well. A saga must have a hero, and the hero of this one is a janitor with a missing bottle. The bottle is blue, very, very old, and embossed with the image of a goat-horned god. If the liquid in the bottle is actually is the secret essence of the universe, as some folks seem to think, it had better be discovered soon because it is leaking and there is only a drop or two left.

    Now the best of these questions and answers--from the profound to the ridiculous--are collected in book form so that you can know a little about a lot. Exploding myths, revealing shocking truths, and explaining all major mysteries of the cosmos, The Straight Dope contains more than four hundred fully-indexed entries on topics ranging from sex to consumer products, science to history, and rock 'n' roll to much, much more!

    The difference, though, between young Master Mole and his peers is that this British lad keeps a diary - an earnest chronicle of longing and disaster that has charmed more than five million readers since its two-volume initial publication. From teen-aged Adrian's anguished adoration of a lovely, mercurial schoolmate to his view of his parents' constantly creaking relationship to his heartfelt but hilarious attempts at cathartic verse, here is an outrageous triumph of deadpan - and deadly accurate - satire. ABBA, Princess Di's wedding, street punks, Monty Python, the Falklands campaign . . . all the cultural pageantry of a keenly observed era marches past the unique perspective of Sue Townsend's brilliant comic creation: A . Mole, the unforgettable lad whose self-absorption only gets funnier as his life becomes more desperate.

    Add one glib-tongued, money-hungry demon who's lost his powers. Combine with assorted Deveels, an adolescent dragon, a mad wizard and a gung-ho demon hunter. Toss in a couple of imps and one war unicorn.Put it all together and it don't spell M-O-T-H-E-R!It's Myth Adventures One, the illustrated adaptation of Robert Asprin's humorous fantasy, Another Fine Myth, the first book of the adventures of Skeeve and Aahz. Phil Foglio, the artist for the Donning Myth Adventures novels, has captured the warmth, whimsy and adventure of the prose work in a way that is sure to be enjoyed by young and old alike.

    “The illustrations bring the frivolity to a fever pitch.”—School Library Journal.Open this book to any page to begin your exploration. Here are poems about things that you may never have thought about before. You'll be introduced to jellyfish stew, a bouncing mouse, a ridiculous dog, and a boneless chicken.You'll learn why you shouldn't argue with a shark, eat a dinosaur, or have an alligator for a pet. You'll meet the world's worst singer and the greatest video game player in history. You'll even find an invitation to a dragon's birthday party....This playful collection is a wonderful introduction to the pleasures of poetry and word play from a master of the genre, Jack Prelutsky.“It’s the author’s joyous sense of the absurd that propels the reader from page to page.”—Horn Book (starred review)

    Five additional stories about the friendship between two hippos: "The Box," "The High Board," "The Trick," "The Job," "The Book."

    An anthology containing over 500 daily Doonesbury cartoons and 80 Sunday strips on the subject of life under the Reagan administration.

    If at first the messages are unclear, there’s a clever picture accompanying each to give you hints. Originally published in 1984 with black-and-white drawings, this title is given new life in this full-color edition painted by Mr. Steig. Also included for the first time is an answer key at the end.

    And write Lee did, while creating a collection of narratives and epic tales about the rural Southwest. Using the direct and uncompromising impact of common talk, Porcine Canticlesa lyrical tribute to the indomitability of the human heart, a rare book of poems that “reads like a good novel.”—Western American Literature

    From Simon & Schuster, Miss Manners' Guide to Rearing Perfect Children is a primer for everyone worried about the future of civilization.In her inimitable, arch, no-nonsense style, Miss Manners provides etiquette guidance for every social situation from school dances to conversations at the family dinner table, explains how to impress a college admissions officer, and offers rules for divorced parents and weekend parents

    This book contains the rules and regimen, hijinks and longing of that time.

    St Frumble’s Day, 1892.A peepshow of eight die-cut sections, view from a peephole in the front pictorial board through to the rear pictorial board.

    . . 9 times!Cave Cat—the first cat crawled out of the sea 10 million years ago. He was happy to be out of the water—until he met Big Bob!The Vikings—he was big, he was mean, he was a Viking. Garfield the Orange had looted a lot of cities, but none like St. Paul, Minnesota.Babes and Bullets—Sam Spayed wasn’t the best private investigator in the world, but he did have one terrific thing going for him—a secretary who made a great cup of coffee.The Exterminators—no mouse was safe from the exterminators. Catching mice was their life. It wasn’t a pretty job—especially the way they did it.Lab Animal—Specimen 19-GB was not happy at the prospect of being dissected, so he did something about it. What happened set the federal government on its ear.The Garden—life was a carefree romp among hovering harmonicas for Cloey and the orange kitten . . . until they confronted the crystal box.Primal Self—he was an ordinary house cat leading an ordinary existence. A shadowy memory from another time changed all that.Garfield—the marvelous cat we all know and love. This is his life in a nutshell.Space Cat—he was lost in space with a computer built by the lowest bidder. And, he was not about to let his life slip away that easily.

    Munro (his pseudonym is from FitzGerald's Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam) satirized the social conventions, cruelty and foolishness of the Edwardian era with a highly readable blend of flippant humor and outrageous inventiveness, often overlaid with a mood of horror.

    BACHELOR BOYS: The Young Ones Book by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer

    Rogers- Sixteenth century Japan.

    For Lewis Grizzard, gallivanting meant hanging out at the store eating Zagnut bars -- the worst thing a kid ever did was slick back his hair in a ducktail and try gyrating like Elvis. But the '60s exploded with assassinations, terrorism, free love, Vietnam and drugs. In place of Elvis, the Pied Piper of his generation, scuzzy Liverpudlians performed half-naked or in costumes straight from Zasu Pitts. ELVIS IS DEAD AND I DON'T FEEL SO GOOD MYSELF is Grizzard's account of coping with a changing world. We may not feel so good ourselves, but Grizzard's commentary and humor help make us feel better." (Publishers Source)

    Herman is Everyman--he's a doctor, a waiter, a loan applicant, a duck, a Hun, even a she! He's that invariably hapless goof who wears a bow tie on his head and removable feet on his legs.Join the millions who already read Herman and become a new fan with Herman: The Fourth Treasury.

    of many of our listings, and apologize for any lack of information on these items. However, please be assured that you may shop with Total Confidence with current information presented...-Thanks Always

    

    

    

    Missouri, where Booth grew up on a vegetable farm. Booth attended, but did not graduate from, the Corcoran College of Art and Design, the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, the School of Visual Arts, and Adelphi College.Over time, his cartoons have become an iconic feature of the magazine. In a doodler's style, they feature every man beset by modern complexity, goofballs perplexing their spouses, cats, and very often a fat dog. One signature element is a ceiling light bulb on a cord pulled out of vertical by another cord attached to an electrical appliance such as a toaster. Most of the household features in his cartoons are taken from his own home, such as the rugs, chairs, ferns, and cats. One of his own cats, adopted later in his career, was described as being "more like my drawing than the drawings...when he lies down, his back feet go out in back-straight out."[1]The National Cartoonists Society recognized his work with the Gag Cartoon Award in 1993 and the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

    Carefully selected from his published and unpublished writing, his performances, critical commentaries, and interviews, this collection is the essence of Crisp: a must have for the initiated and the perfect introduction for the unCrisped.

    

    

    He examines the new federal law requiring prospective fathers to free themselves from their self-made macho prisons--to laugh, cry, love and just generally behave like certified wimps.Dave also reveals, for the first time in print, the secret chant for painless childbirth.Then learn why no secret chant could possibly take a woman's mind off the fact that she is in such pain that she wants a gigantic comet to crash into the earth and kill her and her husband and the dotor and the nurses and everyone else in the world.

    Miss Piggy takes the reader on a tour of her art museum which houses several muppet masterworks including Gainsborough's "Green Boy."

    The entire Carl Barks Library is thirty volumes in ten slipcases. This is the first set. All comics are in black and white, with the occasional color cover or painting or two-color comic. This collection covers all of Carl Barks's Donald Duck comics from Four Color #9 (1942) - Four Color #223 (1949). There are also numerous essays about the work of Barks, and a few of his oil paintings, as well as early drafts and character sketches of the stories within this volume.

    Few strips have the popularity of staying power of "Beetle Bailey," able to entertain readers for over five decades. As creator or co-creator of eight other popular comic strips, including "Hi & Lois" and "Boner's Ark," Mort Walker is the most widely published cartoonist in comics history. It's a testament to Walker's genius and Beetles' Universal appeal. Walker created Beetle Bailey just before the Korean War, and the strip has evolved into a comics page staple where the fun, but ineffectual, denizens of Camp Swampy exist in a place long forgotten by the Pentagon. At the bottom of the heap is Beetle Bailey, the eternal private who sees his duty as sleeping whenever possible, needling Sarge, and avoiding work at all costs. But Sergeant Orville P. Snorkel has different ideas--he may beat up on "his boys," but he then takes them out for a beer. General Halftrack is more concerned with ogling Miss Buxley than running the camp. And with inept officers like Major Greenbrass, Lieutenant Fuzz, and Lieutenant Flap, nothing ever gets done. But that doesn't keep the troops from complaining, or getting into one hilarious mess after another.Beetle Bailey, the character, may never get a promotion, but "Beetle Bailey," the comic strip, has made it to the top.

    

    

    

    It has since been constantly reprinted to meet demand and has become a classic of its kind. For all those mystified by the strange pontifications of wine-buffs, Ronald Searle's The Illustrated Winespeak is the perfect guide to the meaning behind "distinctive nose", "full bodied" and "elegant but lacks backbone".

    Originally published in 1984 and long out of print, One Man’s Christmas highlights the warmth and humor for which this legendary writer is so beloved. Whether Hale is scrambling to put together a new toy for his children on Christmas Eve, racing around to buy last minute, often misguided gifts, or reliving his family’s fraught holiday on a hardscrabble sheep farm during the Great Depression, the unique sensibility that has endeared him to generations of readers shines through every word. These are stories to savor by oneself or to read out loud to loved ones of all ages during the holiday season, when we discover again in our own memories the reasons why this time of year is so special.

    This best-seller is an outrageous, irreverent collection of cartoons, epic adventures, unusual new outdoor products, and unsolicited advice.

    Weaver's hilarious text and R. Crumb's instantly recognizable art shine light on words like "weeble-stick," "wickerbill," and "snakenavel." Included is a section on the nomenclature of Dubya, and readers learn how to pick a fight in a Texas bar: just tell a guy he's "uglier than a cancer-eyed cow."

    Complaining to Grandpa that their new baby brother is no fun, Mary Ann and Louie are surprised to hear that Grandpa's baby brother was the same way.

    To Tally, he was just a pain. Though he was sophisticated, charming and witty, he was definitely not her type.But call it Fate, Chance or Kismet, before the summer was out, the two fell insatiably in love. And then the real fireworks began....

    When you wake up in the middle of the night, how can you tell King Kong is hiding under your bed?2. How can you spot Frankenstein in a crowd?3. What's a sweet way to monster-proof your room?If you can't pass this quiz, watch out! You're in grave danger of a monster-attack! But don't panic--just read this book now. Before it's too late!

    The life of the famous humorist whose numerous occupations included printer's apprentice, steamboat pilot, gold miner, frontiersman, and reporter.

    

    Nice Guy" and getting back at those who push you around, ie, breeding rats, screaming in the dentist's chair, giving inaccurate directions to motorists, et."

    What the higher-ups wanted from Howard was a collection of drawings depicting the obvious advantages of Heaven over Hell, for public relations back on earth. Howard took the job.

    

    First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical. Sheckley was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001. Included in this collection are nine of some of his best stories written in the 1950s. Includes the following stories: MEETING OF THE MINDS, THE LEECH, UNTOUCHED BY HUMAN HANDS, WARRIOR RACE, SHAPE, WRITING CLASS, SEVENTH VICTIM, COST OF LIVING, and THE LAST WEAPON

    

    There are also instructions on how to create your own flamboyant hats, hairstyles and, in the last part of the book, illustrated expert tips on make-up.

    In this comic novel of the Cold War, Dimitri, a young hero of the Russian Revolution and Kremlin spy is secretly smitten by the sirens of capitalism. His posting to the Soviet consulate in New York is a dream come true. The dream quickly becomes a nightmare. Dimitri’s Soviet boss despises him, his wife is obsessed with the unsocialist pursuit of a Bergdorf’s charge account, and his boyhood friend is now a CIA agent who stalks him. On Wall Street, he is plagued by his wild talent for making money in the stock market. His bosses in Red Square would find this difficult to overlook if they knew. And, as Dimitri fears, the old men of the Kremlin have a deadly habit of knowing everything sooner… or later.

    Welcome to St Cloud’s, an exclusive public school where young Basil Leaf is sent to continue his education. Through a series of postcards written by Basil to his long-suffering father, the eponymous Popsy, we learn of the bizarre goings-on at this select place of learning - and we meet some of Basil's decidedly decadent chums: Gemini Tarqquogan, who paints his nails scarlet and wears frocks and feathers; Courtney Durham, who runs up curtains on his sewing machine; Rory O'Brien, St Cloud's rugger coach and Courtney Durham's close companion (too close a companion, some might think); Hugo Bletchworth, who is keen on leatherwear and flogging; Father Absolute, Basil’s gin-swilling Father Confessor ("such a wheeze and as common as muck"). Then there are Basil’s camp followers, so to speak, one of whom is Sir Geoffrey Grassington, a local magistrate and the proprietor of a palace of pleasure, wherein Basil and his chums bring comfort to wealthy gentlemen of unusual tastes, until the men from MI5 move in...

    A humorous biography of the twenty-sixth president, emphasizing his love of animals and wildlife and his activities as a conservationist.

    In a unique blend of satire and cartoon art, William Nealy (author of best selling Whitewater Home Companion) opens up with both barrels on the sport and people which turns picturesque streams into jungle gyms.

    

    

    

    

    One of the most successful and strongest running comic strips in history, Beetle Bailey consistently ranks in the top 10 category for most read of all groups.

    

    While unconscious after a bump on the head, Garfield the cat dreams of fantastic zoo animals with names beginning with each letter of the alphabet.

    

    

    In 1940, Rudy had arrived at the pinnacle for vaudeville performers, sharing the spotlight with Betty Hutton and the Vincent Lopez Band.

    

    

    

    Written in dialect, his second collection of tales revolves around the lives of quick-witted farmers, determined deer hunters, and diehard football fans-people who could be your neighbors and friends, especially if you live in Louisiana, and especially if you're the exceptionally neighborly and friendly Justin Wilson-a man who never lets a good story go by. Have you heard the one about the high-jumping bear hunter? It's a good one, I ga-ron-tee Boisterous, charming, and down-to-earth, Wilson has delighted audiences throughout the country for more than forty-five years. He is author of Justin Wilson's Cajun Humor as well as many cookbooks, including The Justin Wilson Cookbook, The Justin Wilson Cookbook #2: Cookin' Cajun, The Justin Wilson Gourmet and Gourmand Cookbook, Justin Wilson's Outdoor Cooking with Inside Help, and Justin Wilson's Cajun Fables . Howard Jacobs is an authority on Cajun Dialect, co-author of Justin Wilson's Cajun Humor, and author of Cajun Laugh-in.

    America's foremost political cartoonist on the Reagan years in words and pictures--fourteen chapters illustrated with 490 cartoons by the tree-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

    

    A homely witch is delighted to find a secret recipe for beauty but it is written in a code that the reader must help her decipher by learning the letters of the alphabet.