You might know Al from his zines Burn Collector and Natural Disasters or from the band Milemarker or his so-true-it-kicks-your-face-off column in Punk Planet. This, however, is Al's collection of comics published in the late '90s by designer and fellow zinester Ian Lyman. From Portland to Providence, Al patrols his world with a dark, stoic humor. He's a Saul Bellow-ian everyman, up against the wall, suffering the blows, looking for love and loving the metal. Like Al's latest issue of Burn Collector, the comic-heavy #14, the drawing here is simple but it's the kind of simple that doesn't come with beginner's luck. The stuff here is the result of years of fighting and trouble-making, of mistakes made and a life scratched out among the sticks and stones. As says Al, "These are things drawn on napkins in airports, xeroxed illicitly during work." So goes the work and world of Al Burian.

    What was meant to be a romantic trip soon spirals into paranoia and violence as a bizarre string of murders follows them on their journey.

    Now trapped in hell, with the Spirit of Vengeance bonded to his immortal soul and weighing him down, Johnny may have finally found a way out. But at what cost? From the depths of Hell to the glittering spires of Heaven, the Ghost Rider rides again, blazing new trails and dispensing fiery vengeance in his wake. The demonic team of Daniel Way, Mark Texeira and Javier Saltares reunite to put ol' Flamehead back in the saddle where he belongs. Ready or not, here he comes!COLLECTING: GHOST RIDER 1-19

    Burns clones a plant full of Smitherses, and Homer contracts amnesia and thinks he is Radioactive Man. This is the eighth book in our comic book compilation series by Matt Groening. Here' s a look at the Simpsons' latest antics:#28: Come to the land ruled by the funniest man ever to secede from the United States for tax purposes: Krusty the Clown! See a page torn from our nation' s history and a new chapter taped in neatly so the pages don' t stick together!#29: Let' s get ready to Ruuuuuuuuuumble! Prepare yourself for a battle royale with cheese as Homer J. throws his fat into the ring in a quest to become the wrasslin' champeen of all Springfield!#30: Montgomery Burns has fired every one of his employees and has replaced them with clones of Waylon Smithers! Yet, it isn' t long before these Smitherses are at each others throats, throwing the plant into chaos as each vies to be the object of Burns' affections! Can the one, true Smithers save the plant before it' s torn apart by his neatly dressed, gene-spliced brethren?#31: Homer Simpson IS Radioactive Man! At least, that' s what he thinks after contracting a nasty case of amnesia en route to a costume party. This fusion delusion leads to confusion and forced seclusion in Springfield' s foremost mental institution!

    Call him the Maestro! After deposing Dystopia’s ancient ruler, the Maestro sets his sights even bigger. It’s time everyone left on the ravaged planet Earth recognized their one true god! But the Maestro isn’t the only would-be immortal left…and if he wants to truly dominate the globe, he’ll have to face the most powerful beings left in creation. The Pantheon sees all — including a Hulk too powerful to leave alive! Peter David continues the tale that he began decades ago in the legendary HULK: FUTURE IMPERFECT!COLLECTING: Maestro: War And Pax (2021) 1-5

    

    THE THREAT FROM ABOVE! As a Master of the Mystic Arts, DOCTOR STEPHEN STRANGE has witnessed many unusual things…but none so powerful and potentially Universe-threatening as the existence of the INFINITY STONES! Don't miss a detail of the galaxy-spanning story featuring IRON MAN, THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA, VISION, SCARLET WITCH and more, and make yourself an Infinity Stone expert before this summer's blockbuster film!

    but if they knew the truth, her dinner companions would faint! The white-haired Contessa is in fact the notorious criminal "BABOUSHKA" -- a former Moscow gang leader, now living in exile! But Baboushka's retirement is about to be shattered, as the US government has somehow discovered her true identity, and blackmails her into working for them! Now she must infiltrate a secret conclave of global crime lords, on a cruise liner, to retrieve information for the Americans. But nobody reckoned on the boat being hijacked by pirates... Suitable for teens and up, CODENAME BABOUSHKA is an action-packed modern pulp spy thriller from writer ANTONY JOHNSTON (THE FUSE, THE COLDEST CITY, ALEX RIDER) and artist SHARI CHANKHAMMA (THE FUSE, SHELTERED, KILL SHAKESPEARE), filled with glamour, guns, exotic locations, guns, explosions, high-kicks, and did we mention guns? "An ass-kicking spy heroine who will appeal to fans of Marvel's Black Widow."- The AV Club "There are literally six different amazing comics all within this one series"- Comics Alliance "Codename Baboushka takes a more female-positive look at the James Bond-esque role. Fun, fast-paced action. Female assassin done right!"- Dark Side Comics "Johnston's exiled Russian heiress, former organized crime lord and deadly agent bursts out of the page and grabs the reader with both hands in a deadly grip of hot action and cold-hearted kills."- Jersey Journal THE CONCLAVE OF DEATH collects Baboushka's first 5-issue mission -- watch out for her next assignment, GHOST STATION ZERO, in 2016! "Antony Johnston is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of graphic novels, video games, and books. His graphic novel THE COLDEST CITY is being adapted into a film starring Charlize Theron. His epic series WASTELAND is one of only a handful of such longform comic stories in the medium. His first video game, DEAD SPACE, redefined the survival horror genre.

    That was the year the war broke out in Sarajevo, Bosnia, the year that genocide revisited the planet. It was the year that Ervin Rustemagic - an international businessman whose clients included author Joe Kubert - found himself and his family trapped in a city under siege. Ervin's only means of communication to the outside world was via his fax machine. As Joe began to receive these messages from Ervin, he did what he had done for years - he put the story to paper. Renowned comics creator Joe Kubert has been writing and illustrating comic books since the 1940s, including Batman, Superman, Tarzan, Enemy Ace, and Sgt. Rock. Fax from Sarajevo is by far one of the highest achievements of one of comics' greatest living masters.

    Travel back to the wacky Fifties in this comic compilation of the best of MAD's early years! From the Cold War and Richard Nixon (the first time around) to Howdy Doody and Mickey Mouse, this one's got it all...and then some!

    Known for her art journals, Fiphie conjures up a beautiful concept of combining art and poetry, gifting the reader a unique compilation of her works. In her debut, Fiphie touches on subjects such as love, heartbreak, loss, death, trauma, femininity, longing and wanderlust. She creates powerful images which let the reader immerse deeply into her world of thought.Please note that The Dust Has Grown Flowers is exclusively available on fiphie.com/shop/

    Two paths headed in opposite directions. But could a blind date give them the love they both secretly want?Dr. Zoey Brown had a bucket list for when she finished her Emergency Medicine fellowship:• Review multiple offers to work at a leading city hospital. Check.• Go on a long overdue vacation. Double check.• Well, a blind date was nowhere on her list after being burned one too many times.At her friend's urging, she ends up in western Dexin Valley to check out a new ER center. Two weeks of relaxing vacation with no strings attached wasn't supposed to be hard, right?Yet she hadn't counted on being roped into a blind date with Dex Dexin, the one man who’d witnessed her most embarrassing moment on arrival in town.Dex Dexin was hoping to find a wife soon who would share his love of the ranch but planned to do so on his own terms, as a man who valued his privacy.But a chance encounter with Zoey sets off a chain reaction that has him tripping all over himself in situations that make him want to retreat into his shell.Yet he can’t seem to forget her.As they rediscover more of themselves, will the afraid-to-commit Zoey and the semi-recluse Dex give love a chance even if it means finding it through a blind date?

    It also includes a sample syllabus and answer key.

    This book tells the true story of Cathy’s adopted daughter Lucy.Lucy was born to a single mother who had been abused and neglected for most of her own childhood. Right from the beginning Lucy’s mother couldn’t cope, but it wasn’t until Lucy reached eight years old that she was finally taken into permanent foster care.By the time Lucy is brought to live with Cathy she is eleven years old and severely distressed after being moved from one foster home to another. Withdrawn, refusing to eat and three years behind in her schooling, it is thought that the damage Lucy has suffered is irreversible.But Cathy and her two children bond with Lucy quickly, and break through to Lucy in a way no-one else has been able to, finally showing her the loving home she never believed existed. Cathy and Lucy believe they were always destined to be mother and daughter – it just took them a little while to find each other.

     Memories of her first love resurface occasionally, disturbing her present life. Unable to fully love Sreenivas with the insane intensity she had felt for Suresh, she is conflicted and living in a parallel world, always tormented by the probability of a what-if! It is at this time that her school friends plan a high school reunion, which Suresh would also be attending. Nirmala sees this as an opportunity to bring a closure to that chapter of her life. But she is torn by the uncertainty and the upheaval this might cause. She fears that her meeting with her ex-boyfriend might ruthlessly tear apart the delicate fabric of her marriage. And at the reunion, her world turns on its head. Suresh is found dead. Was it suicide? If not, who was the murderer? Nirmala is crippled by the shock. But blame quickly falls on her as the ex with a motive and before she realizes she is in the police net. How does she manage to escape? And what effect does this have on her marriage?