Best of
Surreal

2008

Capacity


Theo Ellsworth - 2008
    Ellsworth's careful line gives shape to profound and profoundly silly thoughts alike, bringing a visionary, startling new life to the doubts and hopes that are so familiar to everyone. This is the 2010 reprint of Theo Ellsworth's debut graphic novel. Capacity.

The Portable Frank


Jim Woodring - 2008
    The stories, almost entirely wordless, unravel like a good puzzle, rewarding re-reading, providing an experience as immersive as that first love affair, that first samadhi, or that first breath. Simply put, the world of Frank must be experienced to be understood.Frank is an 11-year-old generic anthropomorph who lives in a force-laden landscape called the Unifactor. He is curious but not smart, naive but not noble, and his most outstanding character trait is his ineducability. Along with Pupshaw, Frank’s semi-subservient housedog-like godling, the two traipse across their surreal landscape, occasionally encountering Manhog, the bloated bladder of sin with a heart of radiance who exists to thwart their prosperity. And then there’s the platonic Jerry Chickens, and the lachrymose Lucky, as well as Frank’s Real Pa and Faux Pa, each a part of one of the great cartoon achievements of the 20th century.For all its mystery, the world of Frank is a simple, delightful, mesmerizing example of world-building at its most fanciful, surely to delight parents and children alike.

The Egg Man


Carlton Mellick III - 2008
    Lincoln has just been released into the world by the Georges Organization, a corporation that raises creative types. A Smell, he has little prospect of succeeding as a visual artist. But after he moves into the Henry Building, he meets Luci, the weird and grimy girl who lives across the hall. She is a Sight. She is also the most disgusting woman Lincoln has ever met. Little does he know, she will soon become his muse. Now Luci's boyfriend is threatening to kill Lincoln, two rival corporations are preparing for war, and Luci is dragging him along to discover the truth about the mysterious egg man who lives next door. Only the strongest will survive in this tale of individuality, love, and mutilation. The Egg Man is like an Orwellian version of Eraserhead and The Tenant filtered through Richard Linklater's rotoscope animation. You will not find a weirder or grittier dystopian novel anywhere.

Krazy and Ignatz, 1943-1944: He Nods in Quiescent Siesta


George Herriman - 2008
    With this volume, Fantagraphics and its precursor Eclipse will have reprinted the entire 29-year run of the Krazy Kat Sundays! Like Charles Schulz, George Herriman was a cartoonist to the very end. Aside from collecting the last masterful year and a half of "Krazy Kat," this new volume will offer a retrospective look at Herriman's life at the drawing table, offering many never before seen samples of his original art (which the cartoonist often lovingly hand-colored for friends). Gathered from many scattered collections, these pages testify to Herriman's inveterate passion for drawing. Rounding out the volume are scores of Krazy Kat daily strips also from Herriman's last years, further testament to the cartoonists vitality. Series editor and veteran comics historian, Bill Blackbeard, also provides a concluding, wide-ranging essay on the life and art of Herriman. More than a simple reprint collection, Krazy and Ignatz, 1943-1944 portrays the full range of a cartoonist who remained an artist all his life.

As I See: The Fantastic World of Boris Artzybasheff


Boris Artzybasheff - 2008
    Boris Artzybasheff’s striking graphic style, which includes everything from grotesque experiments in anthropomorphism, to the depiction of vivid and extreme ranges of human psychology and emotion, is displayed to full effect in this seminal collection of his work. A stunning collection from an artist with a strong sense of design and humour!

Murderland Part 1:h8


Garrett Cook - 2008
    His job as a pharmacist is unrewarding. He argues with his girlfriend. He lives in America, where killing has been made legal and serial killers are hot celebrity athletes and have spawned Reap, a demented subculture with millions of fans. Beings from another dimension that only he can see are turning people into terrifying automatons and breeding machines and all he can do to stop them is kill. America has become a scary place for Jeremy Jenkins and it might just get scarier. Can Jeremy reconcile his visions of a dark future with the reality of a twisted present? Jeremy’s earth shattering two-fisted pulp destiny begins.

Seduced in Shadow


Stephanie Julian - 2008
    Unknown to her, Ellie is the daughter of the Etruscan God of the Woods, Selvans, and her father fears for her safety.When Ellie is almost kidnapped, Antonin has the perfect place to keep her safe: in his bed. He’s fallen hard for the beauty, but will his secrets drive her away? Or put her in more danger?