Book picks similar to
Captain Easy, Soldier of Fortune, Vol. 1: The Complete Sunday Newspaper Strips, 1933-1935 by Roy Crane
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graphic-novels
comic-strips
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Blazing Combat
Archie GoodwinGene Colan - 2009
Written and edited by Archie Goodwin, with artwork by such industry notables as Gene Colan, Frank Frazetta, John Severin, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Russ Heath, Reed Crandall, and Wally Wood, it featured war stories in both contemporary and period settings, unified by a humanistic theme of the personal costs of war, rather than by traditional men's adventure motifs. As one letter-writer in the third issue put it, “Do you seriously expect to make money with a war magazine that publishes nothing but anti-war stories?”While most stories took place during World War II, they ranged in settings from the 18th century to the present-day. Some dealt with historical figures, such as Revolutionary War general Benedict Arnold and his pre-traitorous victory at the battle of Saratoga, while “Foragers” focused on a fictional soldier in General William T. Sherman’s devastating March to the Sea during the American Civil War. “Holding Action,” set on the last day of the Korean War, ended with a gung-ho young soldier, unwilling to quit, being escorted over his protests into a medical vehicle.What proved to be the most controversial were stories set during the then-contemporary Vietnam War, particularly the classic short “Landscape,” which follows the thoughts of a Vietnamese peasant rice-farmer devoid of ideology, who nonetheless pays the ultimate price simply for living where he does. While writer Goodwin evenhandedly portrays the North Vietnamese Army’s brutal summary executions of village officials, and a well-meaning U.S. Army fatally bludgeoning its way through the village in a counterattack, the story caused key distributors to stop selling the title.Fantagraphics is proud to present a deluxe, hardcover edition, magnificently printed and bound, of these stories, superbly reproduced from the original printer's film negatives.Nominated for a 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award: (Best Archival Collection/Project: Comic Books).
Dungeon: The Early Years - Vol. 2: Innocence Lost
Joann Sfar - 2009
In the second story which happens quite a few years later, he’s married and a poor husband, worse even, a poor lover, until Alexandra plots to gain him back. Cloak and dagger with romantic bravura! And you thought he didn’t have it in him. Art by Eisner nominated Blain (Isaac The Pirate, Gus) and story by legendary Trondheim and Eisner nominated Sfar (Rabbi’s Cat).
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.
Hellboy: Weird Tales, Vol. 1
Scott Allie - 2003
Over the years, many of the best artists in the industry have asked if they could do a backup story, just to get a chance to play with the characters and worlds Mignola has created. As Dark Horse gears up for the release of the 2004 Hellboy motion picture, we present this lavish colection of these stories. One of the most popular features in recent Hellboy books has been the sketchbook section, so we've asked these stellar artists to let us present some of their behind the scenes work in this collection. Some of the best writers and artists in comics team up to present stories of giant bats, demon children, jet packs, haunted circuses, and rusted-out spaceships. Old-fashioned pulp fun featuring one of the greatest heroes of modern comics.
Blacklung
Chris Wright - 2012
Blacklung is a story that lives up to the term graphic novel, that could only exist in sequential pictures densely textured, highly stylized, delicately and boldly rendered drawings that is, taken together, wholly original. In a night of piratical treachery when an arrogant school teacher is accidentally shanghaied aboard the frigate Hand, his fate becomes inextricably fettered to that of a sardonic gangster. Dependent on one another for survival in their strange and dangerous new home, the two form an unlikely alliance as they alternately elude or confront the thieves and cutthroats that bad luck has made their companions and captors. After an act of terrible violence, the teacher is brought before the ship 's captain and instructed to use his literary skills to aid him in writing his memoirs. He is to serve as scribe for a man who, in his remaining years, has made it his mission to commit as many acts of evil as possible in order to ensure that he meet his dead wife in hell. As the captain 's protected confidant, finding his only comfort in the few books afforded him, the teacher bears witness to monstrous brutality, relentless cruelty, strange wisdom, and a journey of redemption through loss of faith.
Suicide Squad, Volume 1: Kicked in the Teeth
Adam Glass - 2012
Harley Quinn, King Shark, Deadshot and company must make it out alive without revealing who's pulling the strings behind their illegal operations. Who will be the first to crack under the pressure? More importantly will they make it all out alive?Collect: Suicide Squad 1-7
Akira, Vol. 1
Katsuhiro Otomo - 1984
The science fiction tale set in 2019 in Tokyo after the city was destroyed by World War III, follows the lives of two teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, who have a consuming fear of a monstrous power known as Akira.
Prophet, Volume 1: Remission
Brandon Graham - 2012
His mission: to climb the the towers of Thauili Van and restart the Earth empire. News of the Empire's return brings old foes and allies out of the recesses of the vast cosmos. Collects PROPHET #21-26
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.
The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury
Bill Watterson - 1990
The author won the 1986 Reuben Award as Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year and has also illustrated Something Under the Bed is Drooling, Calvin and Hobbes' Yukon Ho! and Weirdos From Another Planet.
You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack
Tom Gauld - 2013
Sikoryak, Michael Kupperman, and Kate Beaton.”—NPR, Best Books of 2013A new collection from the Guardian and New York Times Magazine cartoonistThe New York Times Magazine cartoonist Tom Gauld follows up his widely praised graphic novel Goliath with You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack, a collection of cartoons made for The Guardian. Over the past eight years, Gauld has produced a weekly cartoon for the Saturday Review section of Britain’s best-regarded newspaper. Only a handful of comics from this huge and hilarious body of work have ever been printed in North America—and these have been available exclusively within the pages of the prestigious Believer magazine. You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack distills perfectly Gauld’s dark humor, impeccable timing, and distinctive style. Arrests by the fiction police and imaginary towns designed by Tom Waits intermingle hilariously with piercing observations about human behavior and whimsical imaginings of the future. Again and again, Gauld reaffirms his position as a first-rank cartoonist, creating work infused with a deep understanding of both literary and cartoon history.
47 Ronin
Mike Richardson - 2014
Opening with the tragic incident that sealed the fate of Lord Asano, 47 Ronin follows a dedicated group of Asano’s vassals on their years-long path of vengeance!
Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 1: The Assassin's Road
Kazuo Koike - 2000
Creating unforgettable imagery of stark beauty, kinetic fury, and visceral thematic power, the epic samurai adventure has influenced a generation of visual storytellers both in Japan and in the West.
The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book
Joe Daly - 2009
Set in sun-drenched Cape Town, South Africa, The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book — featuring two full-length stories, “The Leaking Cello Case” and “John Wesley Harding” — is stuffed to the gills with mystery, suspense, action, adventure, conspiracy theories, cool cars, and excellent weed as Dave and his freeloading pal Paul, well-meaning stoners in the tradition of Cheech & Chong and Harold & Kumar, thwart criminal malfeasance even as they ponder the larger questions, such as, “What steps can I personally take to help protect the Earth and the species that inhabit it?” (though most people’s answers to these questions don’t involve sword fights and hovercrafts).Joe Daly brings a refreshingly original—and utterly hilarious—voice to the comics medium, a dry, deadpan wit anchored in everyday reality combined with unnervingly deranged plots, rendered with a hyper-detailed, half-realistic and half-cartoony Tintin-style crispness.
Cannon
Wallace Wood - 2001
Military bases around the world. Uncensored by commercial editorial restrictions, Wood pulled out all the stops — producing a thrilling and salacious Cold War spy serial run amok with brutal violence and titillating sex, all in an effort to boost morale and support our troops! Initially brainwashed by the terrifying, voluptuous, and always half-naked Madame Toy to be “the perfect assassin” for the Red forces, Cannon was eventually rescued and brainwashed (again) by the CIA until he had no emotions whatsoever. Under the employ of our government’s Central Intelligence Agency, Cannon experiences action like no other agent!