Poorly Drawn Lines: Good Ideas and Amazing Stories


Reza Farazmand - 2015
    Embrace it.A bear flies through space. A hamster suffers a breakdown. Elsewhere, a garden snake is arrested by animal control and jailed for home invasion, while a child marvels at the wonder of nature as worms emerge from the ground and begin looking for vodka (as they always have). These are common occurrences in the world of Reza Farazmand’s wildly popular webcomic, Poorly Drawn Lines. Traveling from deep space to alternate realities to the bottom of the ocean, this eponymous collection brings together fan favorites with new comics and original essays to share Farazmand’s inimitable take on love, nature, social acceptance, and robots.

Cerebus


Dave Sim - 1987
    This initial volume collects the first two years of stories from Dave Sim's 300-issue magnum opus. Don't be discouraged by the initially crude artwork or the silliness of the stories. It gets better--even noticeably within this volume. This first installment is the most valuable in preparing for the larger stories ahead.When we first meet Cerebus--a small, gray, and chronically ill-tempered aardvark--he is making his living as a barbarian. In 1977, when the Cerebus comic book series began, Sim initially conceived of it as a parody of such popular series as Conan, Red Sonja, and Elric but quickly mined that material and transformed the scope of the series into much more. Even by the end of this volume, the Cerebus story begins to transform beyond "funny animal" humor into something much more complex and interesting. High points in Cerebus include the introduction of Lord Julius, the dictator of Palnu, who looks, acts, and talks just like a certain cigar-smoking, mustachioed comedian; Jaka, Cerebus's one true love; Elrod the Albino, an innept swordsman; and the Cockroach, the-mother-of-all-superhero-parodies and "inspiration" for the much-later TV and comic character--the Tick. All of these characters appear later on in the series as part of a constantly present ensemble of supporting figures.Even if Cerebus doesn't knock your socks off, give its successor, High Society a try, as this is where the plot really gets going.

Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury


Stephan Pastis - 2004
    Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic, the first Pearls Before Swine treasury-supersized for your enjoyment.But this is no ordinary cartoon treasury. Like the influential Beatles album that inspired the book's title, Sgt. Piggy is full of surprises. In addition to collecting all of the Pearls cartoons that appeared in BLTs Taste So Darn Good and This Little Piggy Stayed Home, cartoonist Stephan Pastis takes readers on a VIP backstage tour of one of the most successful comic strips in newspapers today. In Sgt. Piggy, Pastis explains the genesis of Pearls (hint: it didn't begin at an artist's easel), why he was initially reluctant to show it to newspaper syndicates (and the surprising reason he changed his mind), the unexpected responses from readers to his work, and which Pearls strips worked and which ones didn't (and how he would have corrected the ones that didn't). The result is a rare and revealing glimpse into the world of Rat, Pig, Goat and Zebra. Full of humor and insight, sardonic asides and unexpected truths, Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic is a book that comics fans everywhere can enjoy anytime-even when they're 64!

Pure Ducky Goodness


Dave Kellett - 2006
    Take it with you wherever your jet-setting life may lead you - and enjoy the adventures of a 10-year-old software billionaire, his pet duck and the grandfather that raises them both. It's a wonderful mix of everyday family humor, pop culture references and the surreal!

Garfield: His 9 Lives


Jim DavisValette Hildebrand - 1984
    . . 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.

All My Friends Are Dead


Avery Monsen - 2010
    In other words, perfect." - The Huffington PostAn amusing and captivating tale that's a delightful primer for laughing at the inevitable: If you're a dinosaur, all of your friends are dead. If you're a pirate, all of your friends have scurvy. If you're a tree, all of your friends are end tables. Each page of this laugh-out-loud, illustrated humor book showcases the downside of being everything from a clown to a cassette tape to a zombie. Cute and dark all at once, this hilarious children's book for adults teaches valuable lessons about life.From the sock whose only friends have gone missing to the houseplant whose friends are being slowly killed by irresponsible plant owners (like you), All My Friends Are Dead presents hilariously entertaining stories about life and existential predicaments.The simple yet effective imagery, the personification of inanimate objects, and short, hilarious quips come together to create an amusing adventure through each character's unique grievance and wide-eyed dilemmas.Written by Avery Monsen, an actor, artist, and writer and Jory John, a writer, editor, and journalist. They are friends, and neither is dead. Yet.All My Friends Are Dead is both the saddest funny book and the funniest sad book you'll ever read.Children's book written for adults Displayed in an accessible cartoon form

How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When He Was a Little Boy


René Goscinny - 1989
    As a consequence of this accident, he developed phenomenal physical strength. But what actually happened? How did Obelix make that life-altering plunge?Here is the full story of what took place on that incredible day.

Doonesbury Deluxe: Selected Glances Askance


G.B. Trudeau - 1987
    With over 500 daily strips and 80 full-color Sunday pages, this is satire, and Doonesbury, at its best.

Bone, Vol. 1: Out from Boneville


Jeff Smith - 1991
    Everyone who has ever left home for the first time only to find that the world outside is strange and overwhelming will love Bone.

Fruits Basket, Vol. 1


Natsuki Takaya - 1999
    Now her ordinary high school life is turned upside down as she's introduced to the Sohma's world of magical curses and family secrets.

Your Whole Family is Made Out of Meat: The Best of Dinosaur Comics, 2003-2005 A.D.


Ryan North - 2005
    The daily comic first appeared on-line at www.qwantz.com and now boasts over 300,000 unique readers each month. Fans "click in" to see the philosophical thoughts, rants and misgivings of T-rex, the neurotic main character played by, well, a house-stopming-0apparently-college-educated Tyrannasaurus Rex. He carries on regular dialog with Utahraptor and Dromiceiomimus while God and the Devil make regular off-screen cameos.

Butt-Naked Baby Blues: A Baby Blues Treasury


Rick Kirkman - 2001
    As usual, Darryl and Wanda have their hands full chasing, refereeing, and pleading with their adorable and hilariously true-to-life kids. Featuring the best of Lift and Separate, I Shouldn't Have to Scream More Than Once!, and Motherhood Is Not for Wimps, it also includes original gems and insight from the creators themselves.

My Dirty Dumb Eyes


Lisa Hanawalt - 2013
    Her world vision is intricately rendered in a full spectrum of color, unapologetically gorgeous and intensely bizarre.  With movie reviews, tips for her readers, laugh-out-loud lists and short pieces such as “Rumors I’ve Heard About Anna Wintour,” and “The Secret Lives of Chefs,”  Hanawalt’s comedy shines, making the quotidian silly and surreal, flatulent and facetious.

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life


Bryan Lee O'Malley - 2004
    He's 23 years old, he's in a rockband, he's "between jobs" and he's dating a cute high school girl. Nothing could possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott's awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle? The short answer is yes. The long answer is Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

Scud: The Disposable Assassin Vol. 1 - Heavy 3PO


Rob Schrab - 1997
    Aside from issue 1, all of these issues are permanently out of print! PLUS: 2 new pages and a new "cleaned up" look to issue 3. Foreword and scathing letters column by Dan Harmon. Idiot guide to the cast list and Jeff's samples. Scud's top ten influences. Fan mail. Fan art. Fan-tastic book.