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Asterios Polyp


David Mazzucchelli - 2009
    An epic story long awaited, and well worth the wait. Meet Asterios Polyp: middle-aged, meagerly successful architect and teacher, aesthete and womanizer, whose life is wholly upended when his New York City apartment goes up in flames. In a tenacious daze, he leaves the city and relocates to a small town in the American heartland. But what is this “escape” really about? As the story unfolds, moving between the present and the past, we begin to understand this confounding yet fascinating character, and how he’s gotten to where he is. And isn’t. And we meet Hana: a sweet, smart, first-generation Japanese American artist with whom he had made a blissful life. But now she’s gone. Did Asterios do something to drive her away? What has happened to her? Is she even alive? All the questions will be answered, eventually.In the meantime, we are enthralled by Mazzucchelli’s extraordinarily imagined world of brilliantly conceived eccentrics, sharply observed social mores, and deftly depicted asides on everything from design theory to the nature of human perception.Asterios Polyp is David Mazzucchelli’s masterpiece: a great American graphic novel.

A History of Violence


John Wagner - 1997
    When Tom gives them more than they bargained for, he and his family are thrust into the kind of white-hot media spotlight that attracts a lot of attention - and questions about Tom's past. ls he really an easygoing small town guy, or is there something more?

100 Bullets: Brother Lono


Brian Azzarello - 2013
    When last we saw Lono in 100 BULLETS, Dizzy Cordova had shot him through the chest ... but Lono always was too tough to die. Now, after the final events of 100 BULLETS, Lono finds himself in Mexico working on the side of the angels.Collects the entire eight-issue run of this limited series.

Box Office Poison


Alex Robinson - 2001
    Flavor is not to be missed. Alex Robinson's completely natural and inspiring knack for dialogue has made his story of dreary jobs, comic books, love, sex, messy apartments, girlfriends (and the lack thereof), undisclosed pasts, and crusty old professionals one of the most delightful and whimsical graphic novels to hit the stands in years.

Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire


Neil Gaiman - 2017
    Somewhere in the night, a raven caws, an author's pen scratches, and thunder claps. The author wants to write fiction: stories about frail women in white nightgowns, mysterious bumps in the night, and the undead rising to collect old debts. But he keeps getting interrupted by the everyday annoyances of talking ravens, duels to the death, and his sinister butler.Shane Oakley beautifully illustrates New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman's satirical tale.

Batman: The Black Mirror


Scott Snyder - 2011
    Helpless and trapped in the deadly Mirror House, Batman must fight for his life against one of Gotham City's oldest and most powerful evils!Then, in a second story called "Hungry City," the corpse of a killer whale shows up on the floor of one of Gotham City's foremost banks. The event begins a strange and deadly mystery that will bring Batman face-to-face with the new, terrifying faces of organized crime in Gotham.Collects: Detective Comics #871-881.

Fante Bukowski


Noah Van Sciver - 2015
    Living in a cheap hotel, consorting with the debased and downtrodden, searching for that golden idea that will rocket him to the success he yearns for as the great American novelist, and to get respect from his father once and for all. But, there’s just one problem: Fante Bukowski has no talent for writing.

The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 1: 1950-1952


Charles M. Schulz - 2004
    (Among other things, three major cast members—Schroeder, Lucy, and Linus—initially show up as infants and only "grow" into their final "mature" selves as the months go by. Even Snoopy debuts as a puppy!) Thus The Complete Peanuts offers a unique chance to see a master of the art form refine his skills and solidify his universe, day by day, week by week, month by month.This volume is rounded out with Garrison Keillor's introduction, a biographical essay by David Michaelis (Schulz and Peanuts) and an in-depth interview with Schulz conducted in 1987 by Gary Groth and Rick Marschall, all wrapped in a gorgeous design by award-winning cartoonist Seth.

V for Vendetta #1


Alan Moore - 1982
    When young Evey Hammond is saved by a mysterious masked stranger, she is pulled into his quest to fight back and overthrow the government.

We Are Robin, Volume 1: The Vigilante Business


Lee Bermejo - 2016
    Now, teenagers who want to make a difference are coming together in droves and adopting the “R.” They’re not a gang. They’re not sidekicks. They are Robin. When Duke Thomas is recruited by the mysterious Nest to join teens from all different backgrounds and walks of life in the Robins, he hopes that they can help him find his missing parents. Instead, they find something much more nefarious—an underground conspiracy that threatens to bring down Gotham. Now it’s up to these untrained teen vigilantes to save the city from a mysterious evil force. But being Robin is dangerous. Robins die. Will these new heroes face the same fate?Collecting: We Are Robin #1-6, DC Comics Sneak Peek: We Are Robin #1.

The Fix, Vol. 1: Where Beagles Dare


Nick Spencer - 2016
    Oh, and the hero is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels. Collects THE FIX #1-4.

Daytripper


Fábio Moon - 2011
    The miracle child of a world-famous Brazilian writer, Brás spends his days penning other people's obituaries and his nights dreaming of becoming a successful author himself—writing the end of other people's stories, while his own has barely begun.But on the day that life begins, would he even notice? Does it start at 21 when he meets the girl of his dreams? Or at 11, when he has his first kiss? Is it later in his life when his first son is born? Or earlier when he might have found his voice as a writer?Each day in Brás's life is like a page from a book. Each one reveals the people and things who have made him who he is: his mother and father, his child and his best friend, his first love and the love of his life. And like all great stories, each day has a twist he'll never see coming...In Daytripper, the Eisner Award-winning twin brothers Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá tell a magical, mysterious and moving story about life itself—a hauntingly lyrical journey that uses the quiet moments to ask the big questions.

Stray Bullets, Vol. 1


David Lapham - 1998
    Follow the lost lives of people who are savagely torn apart by events beyond their control. The innocent world of an imaginative little girl is shattered when she witnesses a brutal double murder. An introverted young boy on the verge of manhood gets a lesson in just how far is too far when he falls for a needy woman who lives life in the fast line. Party with a pair of low-rent hoods who learn about what is really important in life just when they shouldn't. Learn the story of the most infamous gangster who ever lived, Amy Racecar, who talks to God, lunches with the President, and just may be responsible for the end of the world. These are some of the tales that will grip you and break your heart.This volume collects the original seven issues of David Lapham's best-selling, critically acclaimed crime-drama comic book series, Stray Bullets.

Daredevil: Born Again


Frank Miller - 1986
    At stake - one man's immortal, indestructible soul.

Harvey Kurtzman's Jungle Book


Harvey Kurtzman - 1959
    Written and illustrated by Kurtzman, Jungle Book inspired and influenced comics creators such as Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Gilbert Shelton, and Terry Gilliam. Back in print for the first time in over twenty-five years, this deluxe hardcover features an essay by comics archivist Denis Kitchen; a new introduction by Gilbert Shelton; a conversational afterword between Pete Poplaski and Robert Crumb; and and a selection of Kurtzman's photographs, correspondence, and artwork. The definitive edition of this graphic novel masterpiece is not to be missed!