Book picks similar to
Brooklyn Dreams by J.M. DeMatteis


graphic-novels
comics
graphic-novel
fiction

It's a Bird...


Steven T. Seagle - 2004
    is a Superman story that doesn't feature Superman at all. Rather, this unique graphic novel explores what the icon of Superman means to the world. Told from the perspective of an author who has written tales about Superman, this book explores the overwhelming effect that the Man of Steel has had on society. A compelling narrative told in a variety of experimental styles, It's a Bird... weaves two interlocking stories: one that ultimately explores our own mortality and another that dissects the symbolic and cultural elements which make up Superman's mythicimportance.

Silent Hill: Dying Inside


Scott Ciencin - 2004
    The glory-seeking doctor's world is shattered when he brings patient Lynn DeAngelis to Silent Hill. There they confront the source of her seeming delusions...and find themselves trapped in a realm of unspeakable terrors!

Identity Crisis


Brad Meltzer - 2004
    The most talked-about and successful miniseries of 2004 the story that has created ripple effects throughout the DC Universe for many years to come is now available in a stunning hardcover volume! New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer (GREEN ARROW) teams with artists Rags Morales & Michael Bair (WONDER WOMAN) and cover artist Michael Turner (SUPERMAN/BATMAN) to deliver an all-too-human look into the lives of super-heroes, and the terrible price they pay for doing good.When the spouse of a JLA member is brutally murdered, the entire super-hero community searches for the killer, fearing their own loved ones may be the next targets! But before the mystery is fully solved, a number of long-buried secrets rise to the surface, threatening to tear apart and divide the heroes before they can bring the mysterious killer to justice.Bonus features include extended commentary by Meltzer and Morales, the rest of the creative team talking about their favorite moments, a look at Morales's sketchbook and more!

Steampunk, Volume One: Manimatron


Joe Kelly - 2001
    to save the love of your life? England, 1738: Cole Blaquesmith, a simple fisherman, falls in love with Fiona, a beautiful, gentle teacher. However, their blossoming romance is cut short when Fiona falls ill with a terminal disease.Would you sell your soul to a madman? Dr Absinthe, town pariah, a sinister ghoul in his castle on the hill holds the secret to saving Fiona's life... but this 'cure' comes with a terrible, terrible price.Would you trade humanity for strength? The 'experiment' requires a test subject... a Pilot. A young, strong body to endure the arcane rigors of science.Would you undo the course of human history? As Cole loses himself behind a whirling tangle of steel and light and science, he closes his eyes and prays that he has not made a grave mistake. When his eyes open again...He knows with all his heart that his world will NEVER be the same again...Steampunk: Manimatron. Love is eternal. History is not.Enter a world of madness, action, dark science, fiction, and shattered history where one man battles to set right a world torn apart for love. Collecting the first arc of the groundbreaking Cliffhanger series by Chris Bachalo (Death, Generation X) and Joe Kelly (Superman, X-Men) featuring Steampunk: Idiosyncratica, Steampunk: Cathecism and issues 1-5 in one haunting and beautiful volume.

Swallow Me Whole


Nate Powell - 2008
    Swallow Me Whole is a love story carried by rolling fog, terminal illness, hallucination, apophenia, insect armies, secrets held, unshakeable faith, and the search for a master pattern to make sense of one's unraveling.In his most ambitious book to date, Nate Powell quietly explores the dark corners of adolescence -- not the clich�d melodramatic outbursts of rebellion, but the countless tiny moments of madness, the vague relief of medication, and mixed blessing of family ties. As the story unfolds, two stepsiblings hold together amidst schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, family breakdown, animal telepathy, misguided love, and the tiniest hope that everything will someday make sense.Deliberately paced, delicately drawn, and drenched in shadows, Swallow Me Whole is a landmark achievement for Nate Powell and a suburban ghost story that will haunt readers long after its final pages.

Strange Attractors


Charles Soule - 2012
    Heller Wilson has found the key. From acclaimed writer Charles Soule (27, Strongman, Swamp Thing) comes a mathematical thriller about Chaos, Probability, and the race to stop a citywide disaster. In 1978, Dr. Spencer Brownfield saved New York City from itself, bringing the city back from the verge of collapse and ruin. And for thirty years, his small, unnoticed adjustments to the city's systems have kept the city afloat. Or so he claims to Heller Wilson, a young graduate student that Dr. Brownfield has chosen as his successor. But are Dr. Brownfield's claims about The Butterfly Effect and how his "complexity math" apply to the city's patterns of life real, or are they the ravings of a man broken by the death of his wife and daughter, desperate to find some kind of control over the world around him? Part sci-fi, part philosophical exploration, part thriller, STRANGE ATTRACTORS examines what you can control in your life and what you can't, and how important it is to recognize the difference.

Asterios Polyp


David Mazzucchelli - 2009
    An epic story long awaited, and well worth the wait. Meet Asterios Polyp: middle-aged, meagerly successful architect and teacher, aesthete and womanizer, whose life is wholly upended when his New York City apartment goes up in flames. In a tenacious daze, he leaves the city and relocates to a small town in the American heartland. But what is this “escape” really about? As the story unfolds, moving between the present and the past, we begin to understand this confounding yet fascinating character, and how he’s gotten to where he is. And isn’t. And we meet Hana: a sweet, smart, first-generation Japanese American artist with whom he had made a blissful life. But now she’s gone. Did Asterios do something to drive her away? What has happened to her? Is she even alive? All the questions will be answered, eventually.In the meantime, we are enthralled by Mazzucchelli’s extraordinarily imagined world of brilliantly conceived eccentrics, sharply observed social mores, and deftly depicted asides on everything from design theory to the nature of human perception.Asterios Polyp is David Mazzucchelli’s masterpiece: a great American graphic novel.

Big Questions


Anders Nilsen - 2011
    This beautiful minimalist story, collected here for the first time, is the culmination of ten years and more than six hundred pages of work that details the metaphysical quandaries of the occupants of an endless plain, existing somewhere between a dream and a Russian steppe. A downed plane is thought to be a bird and the unexploded bomb that came from it is mistaken for a giant egg by the group of birds whose lives the story follows. The indifferent, stranded pilot is of great interest to the birds—some doggedly seek his approval, while others do quite the opposite, leading to tensions in the group. Nilsen seamlessly moves from humor to heartbreak. His distinctive, detailed line work is paired with plentiful white space and large, often frameless panels, conveying an ineffable sense of vulnerability and openness.Big Questions has roots in classic fables—the birds and snakes have more to say than their human counterparts, and there are hints of the hero’s journey, but here the easy moral that closes most fables is left open and ambiguous. Rather than lending its world meaning, Nilsen’s parable lets the questions wander where they will.

Preacher VOL 01: Gone to Texas


Garth Ennis - 1995
    But he's about to come face-to-face with proof that God does indeed exist. Merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Jesse now possesses the power of "the Word," an ability to make people do whatever he utters. He begins a violent and riotous journey across the country in search of answers from the elusive deity.

Morning Glories, Vol. 1: For a Better Future


Nick Spencer - 2011
    When six brilliant but troubled new students arrive, they find themselves trapped and desperately seeking answers...and escape from a place where nothing is what it seems to be!

Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories


Alan MooreJoe Orlando - 2003
    In this fantastic tome, the creator of the major motion pictures, From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, uses masterful storytelling to present thought provoking and profound adventures of the world's greatest heroes. Featuring Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, Black Canary, the Phantom Stranger, and Vigilante this book acts as an extraordinary anthology of Alan Moore's groundbreaking work.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs


Ed Brubaker - 2005
    Written by Ed Brubaker Art by Doug Mahnke, Patrick Zircher, Aaron Sowd and Steve Bird Cover by Mahnke Witness Batman's first encounter with The Joker in this hardcover volume collecting the graphic novel BATMAN: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS, by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke! This collection also includes DETECTIVE COMICS #784-786, a murder-mystery tale guest-starring Green Lantern Alan Scott!

X-Men: The End


Chris Claremont - 2009
    The epic finale to the story of the Children of the Atom! Renowned X-Men scribe Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men) joins with star artist Sean Chen (Wolverine) for a trilogy in the style of the Lord of the Rings movies, one that spans the length and breadth of the X-Men canon and brings the saga of Marvel's mutants to a climax! Collects X-Men: The End -- Dreamers and Demons #1 to 6, Heroes and Martyrs #1 to 6, and Men and X-Men #1 to 6.

Batman: Knight and Squire


Paul Cornell - 2011
    In a secret bar within the city where magic is used to keep the peace, heroes and villains gather to enjoy a pint and talk about their days. But what happens when the magical barriers that prevent fighting are dropped and a building full of heroes and villains confront each other all at once? Knight and Squire have to save both friend and foe in this tale from hot writer Paul Cornell (ACTION COMICS) and up-and-coming artist Jimmy Broxton (THE UNWRITTEN).

Hack/Slash Vol. 1: First Cut


Tim Seeley - 2005
    She's the survivor... the last girl. Meet Cassie Hack, the lone survivor of an attack by a vicious slasher called The Lunch Lady. Now, Cassie — along with her monstrous partner, Vlad — travels the country, hunting down other slashers before they can leave a trail of blood and terror.Featuring an Introduction by award winning author Craig Thompson (Blankets), this collection includes the critically acclaimed one-shots "Euthanized," "Girls Gone Dead," and "Comic Book Carnage," plus never-before-seen production art, sketches, pin-ups, and a new short story, "Slashing through the Snow."