Drinking at the Movies


Julia Wertz - 2010
    Don’t worry—this isn’t the typical redemptive coming-of-age tale of a young woman and her glorious triumph over tragedy or any such nonsense. It’s simply a hilarious—occasionally poignant—book filled with interesting art, absurd humor and plenty of amusing self-deprecation. Box by box, Wertz chronicles four sketchy apartments, seven terrible jobs, family drama, traveling fiascos, and too many whiskey bottles to count.

The Big Book of Bad: The Best of the Worst of Everything


Jonathan Vankin - 1998
    Telling the true stories of humanity at its worst, this collection is a veritable rogues gallery of history's villains from the degenerate Roman Emperors, through Count Dracula to Mike Tyson and Liberace. Covering the truly despicable to the merely nauseating, this book lifts the lid on the dastardly deeds that humans inflict on one another. From the most reviled murderers of all time, to the worst singers, artists, poets, sports stars and scientific theories of the modern era.

The Flash, Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice


Joshua Williamson - 2017
    the Flash, learns more about the source that fuels his incredible powers, this same Speed Force that flows through him is unleashed all over Central City, striking cops, criminals and ordinary civilians alike, it’s up to the Flash to train this new wave of speedsters to use their amazing abilities wisely!But while some may become his partners in crime-fighting—forming a true “Speed Force”—others will use their godlike powers for a more sinister purpose. And the Flash is about to learn that there’s some evil even he can’t outrun… Meanwhile, the Scarlet Speedster is also discovering secrets about his past beyond anything he’d ever dreamed—how he created a Flashpoint that changed history and helped create a new world, watched over by forces unknown.The race is on as writer Joshua Williamson (Justice League vs. Suicide Squad) and artist Carmine di Giandomenico (All New X-Factor) present The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice—the starting line of a bold new era for the Scarlet Speedster, bursting from the blockbuster DC Universe Rebirth event! Collects: The Flash: Rebirth #1 and The Flash #1-8. A great new jumping-on point is here in The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice, a part of the critically acclaimed, best-selling, all-new line of volume one graphic novels, DC Universe Rebirth!

Heads or Tails


Lilli Carré - 2012
    Carré’s elegant short stories read like the gothic, family narratives of Flannery O’Connor or Carson McCullers, but told visually. Poetic rhythms — a coin flip, a circling ferris wheel — are punctuated by elements of melancholy fantasy pushed forward by character-driven, naturalistic dialogue. The stories in Heads Or Tails display a virtuosic breadth of visual styles and color palettes, each in perfect service of the story, and range from experimental one-pagers to short masterpieces like The Thing About Madeline (featured in The Best American Comics 2008), to graphic novellas like The Carnival (featured in David Sedaris and Dave Eggers’ 2010 Best American Nonrequired Reading, originally published in MOME).

Maniac Killer Strikes Again!


Richard Sala - 2004
    Maniac Killer is full of deformed monsters and secret societies, of a mirderous clan of cat-masked villians and simple mad scientists. In the multi-chapter "Thirteen O'Clock" a serial killer bearing a corkscrew strikes repeatedly while a glowing, disembodied skull talks to the victims. But the enigmatic detective Mr. Murmur solves the crime and shares the motive, too ridiculous to be explained here. It combines noir mystery with absurd humor. The native artwork is reminiscent of Lynda Berry and its simplicity helps to convey the tone of spooky delight.

Harbinger: Deluxe Edition, Book 2


Joshua DysartRiley Rossmo - 2015
    Club calls “one of the most binge-worthy superhero comics currently available”!Peter Stanchek. Toyo Harada. The two most destructive superpowers in the world— literally — have come to a reckoning of will. In the fallout of their cataclysmic conflict, their former families – the Renegades and the Harbinger Foundation – will lie in shards around them. What will stop these men — either of them — from reducing the world to ashes? The Renegades thought they could get their old lives back. They thought they could bring down Toyo Harada and the Harbinger Foundation. They were wrong. And now their loved ones will pay the price…and their once secret conflict will change the world as we know it.Featuring artwork by Clayton Henry (Incredible Hercules), Barry Kitson (Amazing Spider-Man), Rafa Sandoval (Ultimate Hawkeye), and more – alongside 20+ pages of rarely seen bonus materials and special features.Collecting: Harbinger 15-25, Harbinger: Omegas 1-3, & Harbinger: Bleeding Monk 0

Alias the Cat!


Kim Deitch - 2005
    But when she buys a mysterious old cat costume, she and Kim find themselves in wholly new territory: the lost world of Alias the Cat who, in 1915, appeared not only in a comic strip and film serial, but in real life as a freedom-fighting superhero.When Kim begins to research this forgotten figure, he uncovers one almost unbelievable story after another: about the Furries, a tiny subculture of people who dress up as cartoon animals in order to have sex; about Keller and Frankie, two seamen stranded on a Pacific island, forced to make cat toys to appease the natives; about the secret lover of Alias’s alter ego, Malek Janochek; and, of course, about Deitch’s own Waldo the Cat, the common thread weaving the stories together as Kim and Pam move toward a fateful showdown in Midgetville...New Jersey, of course.Alias the Cat is Kim Deitch at his eye-catching, mind-bending best.

Bottomless Belly Button


Dash Shaw - 2008
    When the parents announce their divorce, the family comes together at their beach house for a week. Dennis, the eldest son, is having marriage troubles of his own, and searches for clues, trap doors, and secret tunnels. Claire, the middle child, is a single mother with a troubled 16-year-old daughter, Jill. The youngest child, Peter, is a hack filmmaker suffering from paralyzing insecurities who establishes an unorthodox romance with a mysterious day care counselor at the beach.

Nachiketa


Adurthi Subba Rao
    The song of birds, the thunder of rain clouds, and the glow of the morning sun revealed life's secrets to Satyakama. Coming face to face with the lord of death, Nachiketa found the key to immortality. The lessons the two seekers learned were priceless, for they opened to others the door to eternal bliss.

Octopus Pie, Volume 5


Meredith Gran - 2017
    The award-winning webcomic series comes to a close in this final laugh-filled, heart-rending installment.

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America


Jeph Loeb - 2007
    The death of Captain America hits the Marvel Universe - hard! Be there as superstar Jeph Loeb teams with the industry's top artists on a story that will have everyone talking.Collects Captain America #25, Fallen Son: Death of Captain America - Wolverine, Avengers, Captain America, Spider-Man and Iron Man.

Black Is the Color


Julia Gfrörer - 2013
    The narrative also explores the experiences of the loved ones he leaves behind, on his ship and at home on land, as well as of the mermaids who jadedly witness his destruction. At the heart of the story lie the dubious value of maintaining dignity to the detriment of intimacy, and the erotic potential of the worst-case scenario. Julie Gfrörer’s delicate drawing style perfectly complements the period era of Black Is the Color, bringing the lyricism and romanticism of Gfrörer’s prose to the fore. Black Is the Color is a book as seductive as the sirens it depicts.

Way of X by Simon Spurrier, Vol. 1


Simon Spurrier - 2022
    Some mutants struggle to fit in. Some mutants turn to violence and death. And the children whisper of the Patchwork Man, singing in their hearts. Only one mutant senses the looming shadows. Snared by questions of death, law and love, only Nightcrawler can fight for the soul of Krakoa. Only he — and the curious crew he assembles — can help mutants defeat their inner darkness…and find a new way to live! But the malevolent force hiding within Krakoa has begun to show its true form, and answers are hidden…within the Mindscape! One of the world’s most dangerous mutants is reborn as Si Spurrier and Bob Quinn push the frontiers of Krakoa in an unmissable entry in the unfolding Reign of X!Collecting: Way Of X (2021) #1-5, X-Men: The Onslaught Revelation

Transformers


Bob Budiansky - 1985
    The Autobots are reformatted by the Ark to resemble cars and trucks; the Decepticons take the form of jets, weapons or in the case of Soundwave, a cassette deck with tapes.The Decepticons wreak havoc, steal energy and build a fortress. The Autobots, seen here as very weak underdogs, unsuited for war, fight valiantly to stop their foes.Ultimately, it's the humans that the Autobots befriend that save the day. Buster Witwicky's dad, captured by the Decepticons to formulate a fuel for them, secretly poisons his captors.In the final battle, five Autobots take on the entire Decepticon army. On the cusp of defeat, the tainted fuel concocted by Mr. Witwicky kicks in and the Decepticons fall.The Autobots don't even have time to celebrate, however, as the 4-part mini-series ends with Shockwave making an appearance, blowing the remaining Autobots to pieces. This cliffhanger led directly into the monthly Marvel run, which began 3 months after the miniseries ended. (Issue #4 had a cover date of Mar. 1985; issue #5 had a date of June.)Starting with issue 5, The Transformers had more drastic changes. Before reaching its 30th issue, both Optimus Prime and Megatron had been killed off to make way for newer characters.Starting in issue 35 (cover-dated December, 1987), the events became less Earth-centric, as the Transformers repaired their spacecraft and were able to revisit their homeworld Cybertron and other planets. This aspect was particularly prominent in the Matrix Quest sub-plot.In issue 75 (cover-dated February, 1991), the Autobots and Decepticons had united under one banner after Autobot commander Optimus Prime surrendered to Scorponok, in order to end their civil war. United, they finally faced their ancient nemesis: Unicron. The Transformers won, but with heavy losses, including the deaths of Scorponok and Optimus Prime (again). Peace between the two Transformers factions was shortlived after Unicron's death. Bludgeon, the new Decepticon leader, tried to strand the Autobots on Cybertron, which was apparently destroying itself. His plan failed and the final confrontation between the two factions played out, with the Autobots lead again by Grimlock. Optimus Prime is united with Hi-Q (his Powermaster) and given life by The Last Autobot. He returns to battle to save the Autobots and then exiles the Decepticons forever (until Transformers: Generation 2). After the battle with Unicron, the comic ran for only five issues before being cancelled. The final issue had the mini series banner above the title; "#80 IN A FOUR ISSUE LIMITED SERIES".Most of the issues of Transformers Marvel US were written by two writers. Although the first four issues were written by Jim Salicrup, editor Bob Budiansky was the one who contributed the most to the story, writing the character bios and backgrounds for the Transformers, even giving names to some of them. After the mini-series became an ongoing comic, Budiansky was promoted to constant writer. Except for issue #16 (Plight of the Bumblebee, written by Len Kaminski), issue #43 (The big broadcast of 2006, a Transformers cartoon episode adaptation by Ralph Macchio) and the two-part story Man of Iron (imported from Transformers Marvel UK), Bob wrote all the Transformers comics until issue #55.Most famous story arcs and issues are Warrior's school featuring the introduction of the Dinobots and the first clash between Autobot medic Ratchet and Megatron; Prime Time! when Optimus Prime is finally freed from captivity and battles current Decepticon commander Shockwave; Smelting Pool and The Bridge to Nowhere brought the story back to Cybertron where only a handful of Autobots fight an underground war against Straxus's Decepticons, also introducing Blaster, Budiansky's most-used character who was radically different from his cartoon and Marvel UK version. Afterdeath and Gone but not forgotten saw the deaths (for a while, anyway) of Optimus Prime and Megatron, after which Grimlock took control of the Autobot forces in King of the Hill. Starting at issue #28, Blaster and Goldbug (a rebuilt Bumblebee) defected from the Autobots due to Grimlock tyrannical leadership, which ended with Grimlock and Blaster having a duel in Totaled. The next issue, People Power saw the return of Optimus Prime, as a Powermaster. The "Underbase saga" began in issue #47 and ended in issue #50, Dark Star, where Starscream, absorbing the power of the Underbase, kills most of the active Transformers of the time. (Budiansky admitted in an interview that Hasbro was forcing him to introduce new characters so quickly, he had to do an epic to "make room" for them.) Budiansky's last 5 stories were very mediocre, he himself said that he lost the interest in Transformers, and asked Hasbro to hand over the comics to a new writer.From issue #56, the by then well-known writer of Transformers Marvel UK, Simon Furman took over the reins, having been asked by Marvel US. Furman used the characterisation he used at Marvel UK for the Transformers, and introduced many characters to the US comic who have already appeared in the UK comic. He wrote all the issues until the comic's cancellation at issue #80.Furmnan's most famous story arcs include Back from the Dead, the return of Megatron who kidnaps Ratchet to help him in his revenge against both Autobots and Decepticons; Primal Scream! which introduced Primus and re-told the origin of the Transformer race to the US readers too; the "Matrix Quest" which features the Autobots sending numerous teams to locate the Matrix that was lost when Optimus "died" and his body was shot into space; and the Unicron story arc from #67 to #75, featuring the Transformers' ultimate battle against the Chaos Bringer.Sadly the comic was cancelled shortly after issue #75, so Furman had to "wrap up" the ending. According to some interviews with him, he planned to feature the Neo-Knights and the "demons" inhabiting Cybertron's underground more in the never-written issues

Pug Davis


Rebecca Sugar - 2010
    The hero of the comic is the titular Pug Davis: a defender of Earth with an American flag emblazoned on his chest. A bare-knuckles brawler. A man of action with a puppy for a head. He’s basically Buck Rogers if Buck was a surly old marine. He makes no attempt to hide that he’s a grizzled sourpuss, tossing about politically incorrect epithets that he may or may not mean. Pug’s past is a mystery, and he burdens a hidden pain that becomes apparent when you look at him directly in those big puppy-dog eyes. He’s also got a sort of Jesse James or Billy the Kid reputation: killers seem to be popping out of the woodwork just to see if they can take a crack at the infamous Pug Davis.