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Pearl, Vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis


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Doom Patrol, Volume 1: Brick by Brick


Gerard Way - 2017
    This new take on a classic embraces and reimagines the Morrison run's signature surrealism and irreverence. Incorporating bold, experimental art and a brash tone to match a new generation of readers, Gerard Way's Doom Patrol establishes radical new beginnings, breaks new ground, and honors the warped team dynamic of the world's strangest heroes.This abstract and unexpected ensemble series nods at the Doom Patrol's roots by continuing to break the barriers of the traditional superhero genre.Collecting Doom Patrol 1-6

Nightwing, Volume 1: Traps and Trapezes


Kyle HigginsRuy Jose - 2012
    To uncover more clues as to why a mysterious assassin is targetting him, Nightwing joins the circus’s tour. But as Dick becomes reacquainted with the big top he once called home, he learns there are darker secrets to be discovered.Collects NIGHTWING #1-7.

Basketful of Heads


Joe Hill - 2020
    After an escaped group of criminals breaks into the house that June and Liam are watching, Liam is taken by them. June grabs a strange Viking axe and flees from the intruders. When one of the attackers finds her, she swings the axe and takes off his head, which rolls away and begins to babble in terror. For June to uncover the truth, she'll need to hear the facts straight from the mouths of her attackers, with...or without their bodies attached. Collects issues #1-7.

Preacher, Book 1


Garth Ennis - 2009
    After merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Texan preacher Jesse Custer has become completely disillusioned with the beliefs to which he had dedicated his entire life. Now possessing the power of "the word," an ability to make people do whatever he utters, Custer begins a violent and riotous journey across the country. Joined by his gun-toting girlfriend Tulip and the hard-drinking Irish vampire Cassidy, Custer loses faith in both God and man as he witnesses dark atrocities and improbable calamities during his exploration of America. This new collected edition features an all-new introduction by series writer Garth Ennis.

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth


Chris Ware - 2000
    It won the Guardian First Book Award 2001, the first graphic novel to win a major British literary prize.It is the tragic autobiography of an office dogsbody in Chicago who one day meets the father who abandoned him as a child. With a subtle, complex and moving story and the drawings that are as simple and original as they are strikingly beautiful, Jimmy Corrigan is a book unlike any other and certainly not to be missed.**ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY**

Dark Night: A True Batman Story


Paul Dini - 2016
       The Caped Crusader has been the all-abiding icon of justice and authority for generations. But in this surprising original graphic novel, we see Batman in a new light—as the savior who helps a discouraged man recover from a brutal attack that left him unable to face the world. In the 1990s, legendary writer Paul Dini had a flourishing career writing the hugely popular Batman: The Animated Series and Tiny Toon Adventures. Walking home one evening, he was jumped and viciously beaten within an inch of his life. His recovery process was arduous, hampered by the imagined antics of the villains he was writing for television including the Joker, Harley Quinn and the Penguin. But despite how bleak his circumstances were, or perhaps because of it, Dini also always imagined the Batman at his side, chivvying him along during his darkest moments. A gripping graphic memoir of one writer’s traumatic experience and his deep connection with his creative material, DARK NIGHT: A TRUE BATMAN STORY is an original graphic novel that will resonate profoundly with fans. Art by the incredible and talented Eduardo Risso (100 BULLETS, TRANSMETROPOLITAN).

Batman: Hush, Vol. 2


Jeph Loeb - 2003
    Volume 2 is collecting Batman #613 - #619.

Joker


Brian Azzarello - 2008
    The Joker has been mysteriously released from Arkham Asylum, and he's none to happy about what's happened to his Gotham City rackets while he's been "away." What follows is a harrowing night of revenge, murder and manic crime as only The Joker can deliver it, as he brutally takes back his stolen assets from The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face, Killer Croc and others. Brian Azzarello brings to THE JOKER all the visceral intensity and criminal insight that has made his Vertigo graphic novel series 100 BULLETS one of the most critically-acclaimed and award-winning series in all of comics.

Road to Perdition


Max Allan Collins - 1998
    Michael O'Sullivan is a deeply religious family man who works as an Irish mob family's chief enforcer. But after his elder son witnesses one of his father's hits, the godfather orders the death of O'Sullivan's entire family. Barely surviving an encounter that takes his wife and younger son, O'Sullivan and his remaining child embark on a dark and violent mission of retribution against his former boss. Featuring accurate portrayals of Al Capone, Frank Nitti and Eliot Ness, this book offers a poignant look at the relationship between a morally-conflicted father and his adolescent son who both fears and worships him.

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles


Mark Russell - 2018
    While the United States is locked in a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union, the gay Southern playwright known as Snagglepuss is the toast of Broadway. But success has made him a target. As he plans for his next hit play, Snagglepuss becomes the focus of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. And when powerful forces align to purge show business of its most subversive voices, no one is safe!Written by Mark Russell, the critically acclaimed mastermind behind the award-winning PREZ VOL. 1 and THE FLINTSTONES, EXIT STAGE LEFT: THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES, enters the Hanna-Barbera reimagined universe! Collects issues #1-6

Birds of Prey, Volume 1: Trouble in Mind


Duane Swierczynski - 2012
    The other is on the run because she knows too much. They are Dinah Laurel Lance and Ev Crawford - a.k.a. Black Canary and Starling - and joining them are the villainous Poison Ivy and the heroic Batgirl and together, as Gotham City's covert ops team, they're taking down the villains other heroes can't touch. They are the Birds of Prey.Collecting: Birds of Prey 1-7

Plastic Man


Gail Simone - 2019
    And now he may also be the world's only hope against a secret society of sociopaths who have infiltrated the Justice League!Written by Eisner Award-nominated author Gail Simone (Secret Six, Domino) with art by her Birds of Prey collaborator Adriana Melo (Catwoman, Ms. Marvel), Plastic Man finds Eel trying to bounce back from a life of bad intentions and worse deeds, a struggle made all the harder when he gets recruited by an agent who's absolutely certain a sinister cabal has worked its way in with the good guys. How will Plastic Man uncover the truth? He has no idea, but you can find out here. Collecting the entire six-issue miniseries.

Thessaly: Witch for Hire


Bill Willingham - 2005
    Attaching her name to a monster slaying business behind her back is one thing, but agreeing to take on the universe's ultimate destructive force--well, that just proves that love makes you stupid. Faced with this kind of courtship, it'll be a miracle if Thessaly can survive long enough to smack some sense into Fetch's intangible head--never mind stopping the unstoppable doom he's unleashed.

Gotham Central, Book One: In the Line of Duty


Ed Brubaker - 2008
    But when one of the GCPD's own is killed by Mister Freeze, the squad is in a race against time to bring him in without the help of the Dark Knight. Plus, Police Detective Renee Montoya is "outed" as a lesbian, and finds her work environment and personal life turned upside down. Unfortunately for her, things only become more complicated when she is kidnapped by Two-Face.The multiple award-winning GOTHAM CENTRAL series is brought to you by acclaimed writers Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, with artist Michael Lark. This volume collects GOTHAM CENTRAL #1-10 and features an introduction by Lawrence Block.

Ghost World


Daniel Clowes - 1998
    Originally serialized in the pages of the seminal comic book Eightball throughout the mid-1990s, this quasi-autobiographical story (the name of one of the protagonists is famously an anagram of the author's name) follows the adventures of two teenage girls, Enid and Becky, two best friends facing the prospect of growing up, and more importantly, apart. Daniel Clowes is one of the most respected cartoonists of his generation, and Ghost World is his magnum opus. Adapted into a major motion picture directed by Terry Zwigoff (director of the acclaimed documentary Crumb), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. This graphic novel is a must for any self-respecting comics fan's library.