Front and center, America! Here comes action! Here comes adventure! Here comes The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot—a roller-coaster ride through the minds of Geof Darrow and Frank Miller, the tag team that set you reeling with their hard-hitting series Hard Boiled! Everything you remember about being eight years old and watching monster movies is right here, but with all the magnified detail that you always wanted to see.

    As with Chris Ware’s selections for his best-selling McSweeney’s anthology, Brunetti’s choices make for a highly personal book (“my criteria were simple: these are comics that I savor and often revisit”) that serves as a broad historical overview of the medium and a round-up of some of today’s best and most interesting North American comic artists. Included here are works from such well-known artists as Robert Crumb, Kim Deitch, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Ben Katchor, Charles Burns, Gary Panter, Seth, Phoebe Gloeckner, Daniel Clowes, Lynda Barry, Joe Sacco, and Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, as well as many other pioneers whose names may be less familiar.Brunetti offers selections from the works of more than seventy-five avant-garde comic artists.  His selections are arranged by genre and grouped thematically. Luxuriously produced and printed in four-color throughout, the book is a must-have for collectors, aficionados, readers of comics, and those generally interested in cutting-edge art and literature.

    One of the influential and popular illustrators of the Dark Knight is Tim Sale, who, in addition to providing artwork for the hit TV series Heroes, illustrated the Eisner Award-winning graphic novels BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, BATMAN: DARK VICTORY and SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS. Sale's distinctive vision of the Dark Knight put the iconic hero back in the shadows and updated his image for a new generation of fans. Now, for the first time ever, these Batman tales drawn by Tim Sale early in his career are collected in one sensational volume.

    While stationed on Earth, Mar-Vell's sympathy for the planet's people caused him to disobey a direct order. His punishment: death! Escaping execution, Mar-Veil found himself stranded in the Negative Zone, an anti-matter universe existing alongside Earth. There, he telepathically contacted Rick Jones -- previously a companion of the Incredible Hulk, the most powerful man-like creature ever to walk the Earth, and Captain America, star-spangled Sentinel of Liberty. Mar-Vell instructed the teenager to don a pair of extraterrestrial bracelets -- and when Rick slammed the golden Nega-Bands together with all his might, his atoms traded places with those of the exiled Kree. The hero materialized on Earth, while Rick was surrounded by a protective aura that allowed him to survive in the Negative Zone. Captain Marvel wielded his cosmic powers in defense of the galaxy ... and Earth, his adopted homeworld. But after many an awesome adventure and countless victories, Mar-Vell's exposure to a carcinogenic nerve gas took its toll. Ultimately, he succumbed to the one enemy he proved unable to defeat: an incurable systemic cancer. Mar-Vell died not on the field of battle, but on a sickbed -- surrounded by an awesome assemblage of adventurers, gathered to pay tribute to the legacy of their fallen friend!

    Taking Turns pulls back the curtain on life in the ward.A shining example of excellence in the treatment and care of patients, Unit 371 was a community for thousands of patients and families affected by HIV and AIDS and the people who cared for them. This graphic novel combines Czerwiec’s memories with the oral histories of patients, family members, and staff. It depicts life and death in the ward, the ways the unit affected and informed those who passed through it, and how many look back on their time there today. Czerwiec joined Unit 371 at a pivotal time in the history of AIDS: deaths from the syndrome in the Midwest peaked in 1995 and then dropped drastically in the following years, with the release of antiretroviral protease inhibitors. This positive turn of events led to a decline in patient populations and, ultimately, to the closure of Unit 371. Czerwiec’s restrained, inviting drawing style and carefully considered narrative examine individual, institutional, and community responses to the AIDS epidemic—as well as the role that art can play in the grieving process.Deeply personal yet made up of many voices, this history of daily life in a unique AIDS care unit is an open, honest look at suffering, grief, and hope among a community of medical professionals and patients at the heart of the epidemic.

    The comics in Chainmail Bikini explore the real-life impact of entering a fantasy world, how games can connect us with each other and teach us about ourselves.

    Codename: Deadpool. He's the CIA's deadliest agent. He's also certifiably insane, suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder and haunted by the ghosts of his past. In other words, he's the perfect soldier in a Cold War where it's impossible to tell friend from foe and reality from a lie. Collecting: Deadpool Pulp #1-4

    When Epicurus travels to Athens to open his own school of philosophy, he is quickly chastised because of his liberal beliefs. Engaging Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates in public debates, Epicurus effortlessly exposes the absurdity of their arguments but still walks away humiliated. However when a goddess appears and taxes Epicurus and his companion, a young Alexander the Great, to save her daughter from the Underworld, the revolutionary sage uses his powers of logic and meditation to fulfill his impossible task.

    Mine! is a comics anthology with the proceeds going to Planned Parenthood. Join Eisner, Harvey, Oscar, and Emmy award winning creators for stories about trailblazing women, civil rights leaders, a person's first time going to a PP clinic, debunking myths about sex, STI screenings, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, fantastical stories with superheroes, Greek mythology, and a future both with and without Planned Parenthood.

    Contains the official biograpy of the Crypt Keeper, a history of EC Horror Comics, 105 covers, and other stories, facts, and features relating to Tale from the Crypt.

    In his 1992 book, The Playboy, he explored his personal history with pornography. His bestselling 2003 graphic novel, Louis Riel, was a biographical examination of an extreme political figure. The book won wide acclaim and cemented Brown's reputation as a true innovator.Paying for It is a natural progression for Brown as it combines the personal and sexual aspects of his autobiographical work with the polemical drive of Louis Riel. Brown calmly lays out the facts of how he became not only a willing participant in but a vocal proponent of one of the world's most hot-button topics—prostitution. While this may appear overly sensational and just plain implausible to some, Brown's story stands for itself. Paying for It offers an entirely contemporary exploration of sex work—from the timid john who rides his bike to his escorts, wonders how to tip so as not to offend, and reads Dan Savage for advice, to the modern-day transactions complete with online reviews, seemingly willing participants, and clean apartments devoid of clichéd street corners, drugs, or pimps.Complete with a surprise ending, Paying for It provides endless debate and conversation about sex work and will be the most talkedabout graphic novel of 2011.

    Octopus! The Vulture! Stegron! Swarm! Hydro-Man! The Rhino! The Kingpin! The Answer! And more! And guest-starring Spidey, natch!

    . . and the mythology behind the man.“Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot. So my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible. . . . I shall become a bat!” So declared millionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne, orphaned as a boy by a murderous thug and driven as a man to battle the scourge of crime by becoming Batman. Batman swooped into popular culture in 1939–and for nearly seventy years has thrilled audiences in countless comics, live-action and animated television programs, and seven feature films. Prowling the darkened rooftops of Gotham City, roaring through the teeming streets in the sleek, high-powered Batmobile, and leaping into action when the iconic Bat-Signal pierces the night sky, the Caped Crusader is a larger-than-life legend. And now, for the first time in more than thirty years, everything there is to know about Batman–from the beginning to the present, and from A to Z–is collected in one comprehensive new sourcebook. More than 500 pages of entries and illustrations include:• fascinating details and the complete background on Batman’s origins • biographies of every major character in the Batman universe–including his closest allies, from Robin the Boy Wonder and faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth to Commissioner Gordon; and his countless enemies, from the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler to Scarecrow, Two-Face, Ra’s al Ghul and Poison Ivy• classic black-and-white comic book artwork throughout• two sixteen-page full-color artwork insertsEven an all-access pass to the Batcave couldn’t rival former DC Comics editor and Batman scholar extraordinaire Robert Greenberger’s exhaustive ultimate archive. The Essential Batman Encyclopedia is a must for every Batman fan’s bookshelf.BATMAN, the DC Logo, and all related names, characters and elements are trademarks of DC Comics © 2008. All rights reserved.

    In 1962, at a United Auto Workers' camp in Michigan, Students for a Democratic Society held its historic convention and prepared the famous Port Huron Statement, drafted by Tom Hayden. This statement, criticizing the U.S. government's failure to pursue international peace or address domestic inequality, became the organization's manifesto. Its last convention was held in 1969 in Chicago, where, collapsing under the weight of its notoriety and popularity, it shattered into myriad factions. Through brilliant art and they-were-there dialogue, famed graphic novelist Harvey Pekar, gifted artist Gary Dumm, and renowned historian Paul Buhle (as well as several former members of SDS) narrate and illustrate the tumultuous decade that first defined and then was defined by the men and women who gathered under the SDS banner.Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History captures the idealism and activism that drove a generation of young Americans to believe that even one person's actions can help transform the world.

    But before he became the scourge of the underworld, the Punisher set his sights on a certain world-famous wall-crawler. This volume collects the vengeance-seeking vigilante's earliest appearances in the pages of the Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Daredevil and more.Collects AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129, #134-135, #161-162, #174-175, #201-202 and ANNUAL #15; GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN #4; MARVEL PREVIEW PRESENTS #2; MARVEL SUPER ACTION #1; CAPTAIN AMERICA #241; DAREDEVIL #182-184; SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #81-83; and PUNISHER #1-5.