The Sixth Gun, Vol. 1: Cold Dead Fingers


Cullen Bunn - 2011
    In the passing shadow of the Civil War, defiant Confederate General Oleander Hume waits to be let loose, too evil and warped to die, too mad with bloodlust to let go of his black magic. He hungers for his lost and most precious possession, an ancient weapon of foreboding doom. Having fallen into the hands of an innocent girl, this last and most powerful of six revolvers is the key to unlocking unstoppable power. But before General Hume, with his wicked bride and four twisted horsemen, can summon an army of undead to claim what is his, in his path stands Drake Sinclair--a gunslinger playing with cards close to his chest. However, Sinclair is no white knight and is himself on the hunt for the six guns...

The Book of Genesis


Robert Crumb - 2009
    Crumb, the legendary illustrator, reveals here the story of Genesis in a profoundly honest and deeply moving way. Originally thinking that he would do a take off of Adam and Eve, Crumb became so fascinated by the Bible’s language, “a text so great and so strange that it lends itself readily to graphic depictions,” that he decided instead to do a literal interpretation using the text word for word in a version primarily assembled from the translations of Robert Alter and the King James bible.As Crumb writes in his introduction, “the stories of these people, the Hebrews, were something more than just stories. They were the foundation, the source, in writing of religious and political power, handed down by God himself.” Crumb’s Book of Genesis, the culmination of 5 years of painstaking work, is a tapestry of detail and storytelling.

Goliath


Tom Gauld - 2012
    Given half a choice, he would pick admin work over patrolling in a heartbeat, to say nothing of his distaste for engaging in combat. Nonetheless, at the behest of the king, he finds himself issuing a twice-daily challenge to the Israelites: “Choose a man. Let him come to me that we may fight. If he be able to kill me then we shall be your servants. But if I kill him, then you shall be our servants.” Day after day he reluctantly repeats his speech, and the isolation of this duty gives him the chance to banter with his shield-bearer and reflect on the beauty of his surroundings. This is the story of David and Goliath as seen from Goliath’s side of the Valley of Elah. Quiet moments in Goliath’s life as a soldier are accentuated by Tom Gauld’s drawing style, which contrasts minimalist scenery and near-geometric humans with densely crosshatched detail reminiscent of Edward Gorey. Goliath’s battle is simultaneously tragic and bleakly funny, as bureaucracy pervades even this most mythic of figures. Goliath displays a sensitive wit, a bold line, and a traditional narrative reworked, remade, and revolutionized.

The Flintstones, Vol. 1


Mark Russell - 2017
    Shining a light on humanity's ancient customs and institutions in a funny origin story of human civilization, Mark Russell (PREZ) blends modern interpretations with Hanna-Barbera's classic character's, bringing a breath of fresh stone-age air. Hanna-Barbera has created some of the most recognizable animated characters of all time. As part of DC Comics' re-imagination of cartoons like Scooby-Doo, The Flintsones, Johnny Quest, Space Ghost, and Wacky Racers, these new series will be infused with modern and contemporary concepts while keeping the heart and soul of the classic animation. Collects THE FLINTSTONES #1-6.

Beowulf


Santiago García - 2013
    Tolkien and Seamus Heaney to a multitude of Hollywood screenwriters. Beaowulf tells of the tale of a Scandinavian hero in lands that would become what is now Denmark and Sweden. A monster, Grendel, has arrived in the kingdom of the Danes, devouring its men and women for over a decade until Beowulf arrives to save them.Garcia and Rubin faithfully follow the original story for a graphic-novel version that is neither revisionist nor postmodern. It captures the tone and important details of the poem, translating its potent, epic resonance and melancholy into a contemporary comic that isn't standard swords and sorcery or heroic fantasy fare. This is an ancient story with a modern perspective that respects the source material.

By Chance or Providence


Becky Cloonan - 2014
    WolvesAs a lone hunter tracks an elusive beast through the forest, he reflects on his life and past love through a series of flashbacks, bringing the story to a climax that is as romantic as it is savage. This powerful short story begs for multiple read-throughs, never giving concrete answers, but (like the best enigmatic endings) leaves your own conclusions satisfying.2. The MireOn the eve of a great battle, a humble squire is tasked with delivering a letter to a seemingly abandoned castle at the heart of an ill-famed swamp. Met with mysterious apparitions on the way, he slowly unveils the truth behind his journey as his past is re-written over the course of the story.3. DemeterA fisherman's wife tends the garden and animals while her husband is at sea, but secrets buried under the waves begin to bubble to the surface revealing a secret treachery and forgotten truth. The third and final book in a trilogy of critically acclaimed stand-alone stories by award winning creator Becky Cloonan.

Aria Volume 1: The Magic Of Aria


Brian Holguin - 2000
    Where ladies of Faerie dance lonely nights away, bathed in soft neon glare. Where every shadow holds a secret, and every secret has a price. Where danger and wonder can be found at any turn, if you only know where to look. Welcome to the World of...Aria.

Hellblazer: Original Sins


Jamie Delano - 1988
    He's a hero, of sorts, who manages to come out on top through a combination of luck, trickery, and genuine magical skill. The Original Sins collection is a loosely connected series of tales of John's early years where Constantine was at his best and at his worst, all at the same time.Collects Hellblazer #1-9.

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites


Evan Dorkin - 2010
    With the human residents unaware of the danger, it's up to a determined crew of dogs (and one cat) to keep their community safe.Horror, adventure, mystery, and humor thrive on every page of Beasts of Burden, which promises to capture readers' hearts and haunt their dreams.Award-winning comics creators Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese) and Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother) come together to share the lives of some unlucky heroes, first introduced in The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings, for which Dorkin and Thompson won coveted Eisner awards for Best Short Story and Best Painter. Animal Rites collects those earliest tales, along with the four-issue comic series Beats of Burden.

Loki: The God Who Fell to Earth


Daniel Kibblesmith - 2020
    But now Loki has a whole new set of responsibilities - and his brother Thor isn't about to let him walk away from them. Restless with his new duties, Loki seeks out the advice of the closest thing Midgard has to a king - Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man! Close enough, right? But it turns out that Shell-head isn't too happy to see Loki, on account of all that stuff he did in the past. Now the God of Mischief/Stories/Evil/Chaos has to outsmart the cleverest man on Earth - or die (again) trying. Meanwhile, could Thor be hatching a mischievous plot of his own? COLLECTING: LOKI (2019) 1-5, MATERIAL FROM WAR OF THE REALMS: OMEGA (2019) 1

Isle of 100,000 Graves


Fabien Vehlmann - 2011
    Now Gwenny, having stumbled across another bottle-shipped map, enlists the dubious help of a shipful of pirates, sets out to find the island, and her long-lost dad.Little does she realize that the Isle comes by its ominous name honestly, as the location of a secret school for executioners and torturers, where apple-cheeked youngsters are taught the finer points of extracting information from prisoners… and then putting an end to their lives in a wide variety of gruesome ways. And they’ve reached the point in their studies where theory should ideally give way to practice, so an influx of uninvited visitors comes as a blessing to the faculty.And yes, this story is a comedy. Albeit a dark one.For the first time in his career, Jason has enlisted a writer: Fabien Vehlmann. (Vehlmann has written a number of graphic novels for the French and American markets, including an installment of the legendary Spirou series and the three-volume Green Manor continuity, of which two volumes have been released in English.) Vehlmann has managed to interiorize Jason’s deadpan style and wit perfectly, creating a uniquely smooth and successful collaboration.

Punk Rock Jesus


Sean Murphy - 2013
    of the near future in PUNK ROCK JESUS, a new graphic novel written and drawn by Sean Murphy, the acclaimed illustrator of JOE THE BARBARIAN and AMERICAN VAMPIRE.J2 causes both outrage and adulation. Religious zealots either love or hate the show, angry politicians worry about its influence on the nation, and members of the scientific community fear the implications of cloning a human being at all, let alone the Son of God.Thomas McKael is the clones's bodyguard and former IRA operative, who despite his turbulent past is hired to protect the new Jesus—a baby who captivates the world, but grows up to become an angry teenager.When falling ratings force the network to cut Jesus's mother from the series the young star runs away, renounces his religious heritage and forms a punk rock band. And what starts off as babysitting for Thomas becomes an epic battle, as Jesus goes to war against the corporate media complex that created him.Along with his artistic credits on JOE THE BARBARIAN and AMERICAN VAMPIRE: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, Murphy also wrote and illustrated the graphic novel OFF ROAD (Oni Press), and cowrote OUTER ORBIT (Dark Horse Comics).

Chrononauts


Mark Millar - 2015
    With the whole world watching, they embark on the world's first time-travel experiment. But when their planned routine goes off-course, they're left to fend for themselves - leading to an era-hopping adventure! From ancient Rome to the roaring twenties to the 1980s music scene, Corbin and Danny wreak havoc with the time stream, score front-row seats to the world's wildest events, and get into hijinks with history's scariest villains. But is it worth the price, when they have unresolved problems to address back home in the present day - and a team of angry bosses ready to do whatever it takes to rein them in? This story unites the talents of writer Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service) and artist Sean Gordon Murphy (Punk Rock Jesus) - two powerhouse figures in the comics world, whose combined forces must be seen to be believed.Collects CHRONONAUTS #1-4.

Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 1: The Ronin


Stan Sakai - 1987
    He's a rabbit bodyguard, a samurai who wanders the mountains, plains, and villages of a 17th-century Japan populated almost exclusively by anthropomorphic animals. Cats, snakes, rhinos, and ninja moles plot and fight their way across a land ravaged by civil war. The 10 stories in this first collection introduce Usagi, the evil Lord Hikiji, and a host of other characters. The stories themselves can stand alone, but taken together they begin to form an ongoing saga of treachery and revenge. Sometimes violent, sometimes funny, Usagi's adventures are filled with fascinating historical detail. The costumes, landscapes, and buildings are beautifully drawn, creating such a sense of realism it's easy to forget the hero is a rabbit. If you buy the first book in this series, you'll want the rest.

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**