Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction


Mike Mignola - 1994
    Hellboy is one of the most celebrated comics series in recent years. The ultimate artists' artist and a great storyteller whose work is in turns haunting, hilarious, and spellbinding. Mike Mignola has won numerous awards in the comics industry and beyond. When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Sent to investigate a mystery with supernatural overtones, Hellboy discovers the secrets of his own origins, and his link to the Nazi occultists who promised Hitler a final solution in the form of a demonic avatar." ... Hellboy is a brilliant example of how to elevate the comic of the future to a higher literary level while achieving a higher pitch of excitement." --Robert Bloch, from his introduction

Unmanned


Brian K. Vaughan - 2003
    But why are he and his faithful companion, the often testy male monkey Ampersand, still alive? He sets out to find the answer (and his girlfriend), while running from angry female Republicans (now running the government), Amazon wannabes that include his own sister (seemingly brainwashed), and other threats.

Batman: The Killing Joke


Alan Moore - 1988
    Looking to prove that any man can be pushed past his breaking point and go mad, the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon insane. After shooting and permanently paralyzing his daughter Barbara (a.k.a. Batgirl), the Joker kidnaps the commissioner and attacks his mind in hopes of breaking the man. But refusing to give up, Gordon maintains his sanity with the help of Batman in an effort to beset the madman.

Casanova, Vol. 1: Luxuria


Matt Fraction - 2006
    Luxuria collects the first volume of Casanova as its titular star transforms from devil-may-care thrill-seeker into the most dangerous man in the world. What happens when the ultimate player gets played? Find out in this genre-bending sci-spy epic.

Astonishing X-Men, Volume 1: Gifted


Joss Whedon - 2004
    But when breaking news regarding the mutant gene unexpectedly hits the airwaves, will it derail their new plans before they even get started?Collecting: Astonishing X-Men 1-6

Alias, Vol. 1


Brian Michael Bendis - 2002
    But not a very good one. Now a chain-smoking, self destructive alcoholic who is the owner and sole employee of a private investigations firm specialising in superhuman cases. When she exposes one hero's identity her life becomes expendable.

Wolverine: Origin


Paul Jenkins - 2001
    Collects Wolverine: Origin #1-6

Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron


Daniel Clowes - 1993
    collects all 10 chapters of the serialized story Eightball. As Clay Loudermilk attempts to unravel the mysteries behind a snuff film, he finds himself involved with an increasingly bizarre cast of characters, including a pair of sadistic cops who carve a strange symbol into the heel of Clay's foot; a horny over-the-hill suburban woman whose sexual encounter with a mysterious water creature produced a grotesquely misshapen, but no less horny, mutant daughter; a dog with no orifices whatsoever (it has to be fed by injection); two ominous victims of extremely bad hair implants; a charismatic Manson-like cult leader who plans to kidnap a famous advice columnist and many more! This edition has a brand new cover, new title and end pages — plus: Clowes being the perfectionist that he is, there are tweaked and re-drawn panels that really make this a transcendent piece of storytelling art!

Batman: White Knight


Sean Murphy - 2018
    Until now…Set in a world where the Joker is cured of his insanity and homicidal tendencies, The Joker, now known as “Jack,” sets about trying to right his wrongs. First, he plans to reconcile with Harley Quinn, and then he’ll try to save the city from the one person who he thinks is truly Gotham City’s greatest villain: Batman!Superstar writer and artist Sean Murphy (PUNK ROCK JESUS, THE WAKE) presents a eight-issue miniseries of a twisted Gotham City with a massive cast of heroes and villains that, at its heart, is a tragic story of a hero and a villain: Batman and The Joker. But which is the hero—and which the villain?COLLECTING: Batman: White Knight 1-8

Infinity Gauntlet


Jim Starlin - 1991
    Now, on the edge of Armageddon and led by the mysterious Adam Warlock, Earth's super heroes join in a desperate attempt to thwart this nihilistic god's insane plunge into galactic self-destruction.

Black Hole


Charles Burns - 2005
    We learn from the out-set that a strange plague has descended upon the area's teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The disease is manifested in any number of ways—from the hideously grotesque to the subtle (and concealable)—but once you've got it, that's it. There's no turning back. As we inhabit the heads of several key characters—some kids who have it, some who don't, some who are about to get it—what unfolds isn't the expected battle to fight the plague, or bring heightened awareness to it, or even to treat it. What we become witness to instead is a fascinating and eerie portrait of the nature of high school alienation itself—the savagery, the cruelty, the relentless anxiety and ennui, the longing for escape. And then the murders start. As hypnotically beautiful as it is horrifying, Black Hole transcends its genre by deftly exploring a specific American cultural moment in flux and the kids who are caught in it—back when it wasn't exactly cool to be a hippie anymore, but Bowie was still just a little too weird. To say nothing of sprouting horns and molting your skin…

Superman: Secret Identity


Kurt Busiek - 2004
    Set in the real world, SECRET IDENTITY examines the life of a young Kansas man with the unfortunate name of Clark Kent. All Clark wants is to be a writer, but his daily life is filled with the taunts and jibes of his peers, comparing him to that other Clark Kent — the one with super-powers. Until one day when Clark awakens to discover that he can fly...that he does in fact have super-strength! But where did these powers come from? And what's he going to do about it?

Violent Cases


Neil Gaiman - 1987
    After dislocating his arm, a young boy is taken to see a doctor - an aged osteopath who was once the doctor of legendary gangster Al Capone.

Batman: Year 100


Paul Pope - 2006
    The Batman, a forgotten icon from the past, is wanted for the murder. Amid the chaos Gotham City Police Detective Gordon, grandson of the former commissioner, discovers that the man they are chasing shouldn't exist at all.

Global Frequency, Vol. 1: Planet Ablaze


Warren EllisLiam Sharp - 2004
    Unknown to the world at large, this secret society of 1,001 specialty sleeper agents is called upon to prevent the impending threats of Armageddon that were created by careless governments and immoral scientists over the last century. In this hard-hitting first volume, various expert operatives are sent on desperate individual missions to thwart an alien virus invasion, destroy a nuclear-powered cyborg, and deactive a hidden Ebola bomb.Collecting: Global Frequency 1-6