Book picks similar to
Afterlift by Chip Zdarsky


comics
graphic-novels
graphic-novel
fantasy

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec 1: Pterror Over Paris/The Eiffel Tower Demon


Jacques Tardi - 1976
    With various American attempts to publish Adele having dribbled into nothing decades ago, Fantagraphics Books, fresh from its triumphs with Tardi's West Coast Blues and You Are There, launches a spectacular, newly retranslated, hardcover series ¬- The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec - that intends to collect every one of its nine (soon ten) volumes. In this premiere installment which features two tales, "Pterror Over Paris" and "The Eiffel Tower Demon," Adele becomes involved in a series of mysteries that involve a revived pterodactyl, a frightful on-stage murder, a looming execution by guillotine, and a demon from the depths of hell - plus of course moronic gendarmes, loyal (or perhaps traitorous?) henchmen, and a climax atop the Eiffel Tower.

In.


Will McPhail - 2021
    He haunts lookalike fussy, silly, coffee shops, listens to old Joni Mitchell albums too loudly, and stares at his navel in the hope that he will find it in there. But it isn’t until he learns to speak from the heart that he begins to find authentic human connections and is let in—to the worlds of the people he meets. Nick’s journey occurs alongside the beginnings of a relationship with Wren, a wry, spirited oncologist at a nearby hospital, whose work and life becomes painfully tangled with Nick’s. Illustrated in both color and black-and-white in McPhail’s instantly recognizable style, In elevates the graphic novel genre; it captures his trademark humor and compassion with a semi-autobiographical tale that is equal parts hilarious and heart-wrenching—uncannily appropriate for our isolated times.

Anthony Bourdain's Hungry Ghosts


Anthony Bourdain - 2018
     Featuring all-new original recipes prepared by Bourdain, plus a guide to the ghostly legendary spirits behind these horrifying tales. This horror anthology is sure to please--and scare! On a dark, haunted night, a Russian Oligarch dares a circle of international chefs to play the samurai game of 100 Candles--where each storyteller tells a terrifying tale of ghosts, demons and unspeakable beings--and prays to survive the challenge.Inspired by the Japanese Edo period game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, Hungry Ghosts reimagines the classic stories of yokai, yorei, and obake, all tainted with the common thread of food.Including stellar artists Sebastian Cabrol, Vanesa Del Rey, Francesco Francavilla, Irene Koh, Leo Manco, Alberto Ponticelli, Paul Pope, and Mateus Santolouco as well as amazing color by Jose Villarrubia, a drop-dead cover by Paul Pope.

Abbott


Saladin Ahmed - 2018
    Crimes she knows to be the work of dark occult forces. Forces that took her husband from her. Forces she has sworn to destroy. Hugo Award-nominated novelist Saladin Ahmed (Star Wars: Canto Bight, Black Bolt) and artist Sami Kivelä (Beautiful Canvas) present one woman's search for the truth that destroyed her family amidst an exploration of the systemic societal constructs that haunt our country to this day.

Aliens: Life and Death


Dan Abnett - 2017
    in the aftermath of the battle with the Engineers, the surviving humans on LV-223 are wounded and scattered- and easy prey for a gathering horde of Aliens!The Colonial Marines get a taste of what it's like to be at the bottom of the food chain! In 2017 look for a re-emergence of the "Alien"/"Aliens" franchise as no fewer than two films are slated to be released- original director Ridley Scott's "Alien: Covenant" (formerly titled "Prometheus 2") and Neil Blomkamp's currently untitled "Alien" project starring Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn.Collecting: Aliens: Life and Death Issue #1-4

Paper Girls: Book One


Brian K. Vaughan - 2017
    VAUGHAN, New York Times bestselling writer of SAGA, and CLIFF CHIANG, legendary artist of Wonder Woman, this gorgeous oversized deluxe hardcover is the perfect way to experience the first two storylines of the smash-hit series that The Chicago Tribune named one of the "Best Books of the Year."In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this critically acclaimed story about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.Collects PAPER GIRLS #1-10, along with exclusive extras and a brand-new cover from CLIFF CHIANG!

Reborn: Book One


Mark Millar - 2017
    Somewhere you have to fight to survive. Somewhere the people from the past are waiting for you--the good and the bad. Bonnie Black has no faith in an afterlife. Spending her last days in the stroke ward of a county hospital, she fears falling asleep in case she doesn't wake up. When a final stroke ends her life, Bonnie is reborn in Adystria--a sci-fi fantasy world that's locked in a raging battle between good and evil. She's twenty-five again, there's a sword in her hand and she's ready to fight. She meets her dad, Tom, and her childhood dog in Adystria, but there is no sign of Harry--her husband who was murdered over ten years before. With the help of her dad and loyal pet, Bonnie sets off on an epic quest to be reunited with the lost love of her life. But it's not just her family that have been waiting for Bonnie. Her arrival has been prophesied, and there's a tremendous evil lying in wait. An evil that will stop at nothing to destroy her. An evil that can only be sated with blood. Superstar creators MARK MILLAR and GREG CAPULLO join forces to create the sci-fi story of the year, collecting issues 1-6.

Mind the Gap, Volume 1: Intimate Strangers


Jim McCann - 2012
    Only, Elle doesn't remember any of this.Mind the Gap, the new series by the Eisner Award-winning writer JIM McCANN (Return of the Dapper Men), is a mystery with a paranormal twist.Elle, in a spirit form detached from her comatose body, must not only unravel the mystery of her attacker's identity and motive but her entire life as well.Who can she trust, in both this word and in the gap she exists in that lies between life and death? Filled with twists and turns, Elle's life isn't the only one turned upside down by the attack on her life.Deceit, secrets, and hidden agendas are everywhere in a story where everyone is a suspect, and no one is innocent.Collects Mind the Gap #1-5.

Deadpool, Volume 1: Dead Presidents


Brian Posehn - 2013
    The Marvel heroes can't be the ones to stop them...someone is needed with the reputation, skills and plausible deniability to take out these com-monsters in chiefs. Deadpool time is NOW! Be here as Deadpool de-un-deadifies ex-Presidents left and right...matching wits with Tricky Dick Nixon, fighting a grudge match against Honest Abe Lincoln, and battling Ronald Reagan--in space! Do you need more than that?! Fine, then: monkeys! And maybe Dr. Strange if you're good! This is the Deadpool series you will marry someday! In Wade We Trust! Collecting: Deadpool 1-6

Scarlet Witch, Vol. 1: Witches' Road


James RobinsonMarc Laming - 2016
    From the back alleys of Manhattan, to the serene Greek Isles, to the bustling streets of Hong Kong, Wanda will have to face down her foes and find out who her true friends are. But as Wanda solves magical crimes and pieces witchcraft back together, the most important question remains: Who is the mastermind that broke it in the first place?COLLECTING: SCARLET WITCH 1-5

Bayou, Vol. 1


Jeremy Love - 2009
    When Lily Westmoreland, her white playmate, is snatched by agents of an evil creature known as Bog, Lee's father is accused of kidnapping. Lee's only hope is to follow Lily's trail into this fantastic and frightening alternate world. Along the way she enlists the help of a benevolent, blues singing, swamp monster called Bayou. Together, Lee and Bayou trek across a hauntingly familiar Southern Neverland, confronting creatures both benign and malevolent, in an effort to rescue Lily and save Lee's father from being lynched.BAYOU VOL. 1 collects the first four chapters of the critically acclaimed webcomic series by Glyph Award nominee Jeremy Love.

Shades of Magic Vol. 3: The Rebel Army


V.E. Schwab - 2020
    Schwab and torn from the universe of the Shades of Magic sequence, this third volume in the all-original comic book adventure series sees the saga of the the story begun in The Steel Prince - perfect for fans of bloody, swashbuckling adventure and gritty fantasy!Once just a single ship, now the pirate fleet of the Rebel Army numbers in its thousands. Made up of traitors from each of the three empires, the fleet, who once made the open waters of the Blood Coast their home, have set their sights on establishing their own land based empire with London as their capital.The Rebel Army is a battalion made up of traitors to each of the three empires, who've claimed the open waters of the Blood Coast as their territory. Led by a Faroan, a Veskan, and an Arnesian (Rowan, the Antari from the Night of Knives), the RA started as a rag-tag gang, a single ship, but in the last few months, they've gained momentum. Once content to claim the open water as their empire, they've grown in ambition, and scope, and now they're claiming ports, creeping toward a full-on land assault. Their goal? London. But first, they'll have to cross Verose, where Maxim, Isra, and the royal guard are waiting.

Empowered, Volume 1


Adam Warren - 2007
    Worse yet, the suit's unreliable powers are prone to failure, repeatedly leaving her in appallingly distressing situations... and giving her a shameful reputation as the lamest "cape" in the masks-and-tights business. Nonetheless, she pluckily braves the ordeals of her bottom-rung superheroic life with the help of her "thugalicious" boyfriend (and former Witless Minion) and her hard-drinking ninja girlfriend, not to mention the supervillainous advice from the caged alien demonlord watching DVDs from atop her coffee table . . .From Adam Warren-writer/artist of the English-language Dirty Pair comics (the original "Original English-Language Manga" before OEL was cool), and writer of Livewires, Gen13, and Iron Man: Hypervelocity-comes Empowered, a butt-kicking, bootylicious superhero lampoon that raises the bar for long-john lust and low-brow laughs. Remove all previous notions of superhero entertainment from your puny mind... and prepare to be Empowered! * Adam Warren's work on The Dirty Pair is well-known to U.S. comics readers.* Warren's skill as a writer has brought him a variety of high-profile assignments in recent years from Wildstorm, DC, and Marvel.For Mature Readers.

Suicide Squad, Volume 1: Kicked in the Teeth


Adam Glass - 2012
    Harley Quinn, King Shark, Deadshot and company must make it out alive without revealing who's pulling the strings behind their illegal operations. Who will be the first to crack under the pressure? More importantly will they make it all out alive?Collect: Suicide Squad 1-7

Fangs


Sarah Andersen - 2020
    This all changes one night in a bar when she meets Jimmy, a charming werewolf with a wry sense of humor and a fondness for running wild during the full moon. Together they enjoy horror films and scary novels, shady strolls, fine dining (though never with garlic), and a genuine fondness for each other’s unusual habits, macabre lifestyles, and monstrous appetites. First featured as a webcomic series on Tapas, Fangs chronicles the humor, sweetness, and awkwardness of meeting someone perfectly suited to you but also vastly different. Filled with Sarah Andersen’s beautiful gothic illustrations and relatable relationship humor, Fangs has all the makings of a cult classic.