Given half a choice, he would pick admin work over patrolling in a heartbeat, to say nothing of his distaste for engaging in combat. Nonetheless, at the behest of the king, he finds himself issuing a twice-daily challenge to the Israelites: “Choose a man. Let him come to me that we may fight. If he be able to kill me then we shall be your servants. But if I kill him, then you shall be our servants.” Day after day he reluctantly repeats his speech, and the isolation of this duty gives him the chance to banter with his shield-bearer and reflect on the beauty of his surroundings. This is the story of David and Goliath as seen from Goliath’s side of the Valley of Elah. Quiet moments in Goliath’s life as a soldier are accentuated by Tom Gauld’s drawing style, which contrasts minimalist scenery and near-geometric humans with densely crosshatched detail reminiscent of Edward Gorey. Goliath’s battle is simultaneously tragic and bleakly funny, as bureaucracy pervades even this most mythic of figures. Goliath displays a sensitive wit, a bold line, and a traditional narrative reworked, remade, and revolutionized.

    In this enticing collection, spanking enthusiast Rachel Kramer Bussel has assembled 22 tales of red-cheeked arousal. Whether being disciplined for naughtiness or simply because they crave the sting of a hand against flesh, the men and women in these stories revel in being bent over, paddled, punished, and possessed by their spankers. Those delivering the blows find extreme pleasure in pushing their bottoms' buttons, making them -- and the reader -- tremble and quiver in anticipation as they await the next smack. Featuring stories by Alison Tyler, Sage Vivant, Stan Kent, Elizabeth Coldwell, Thomas Roche, and others, this sizzling collection offers tales so breathtakingly vivid that readers might find their own cheeks sore just from reading it.

    From having sex to having a very different sexual experience such as going beyond the couple, or the woman strapping it on for her man, or... all from the point of view of women and all written by a French woman with some decidedly spicy ideas about sex! All rendered by leading European artists, including Cyril Pedrosa (Three Shadows), Olivier Vatine (Aquablue) and most of all, the great Dave McKean! A beautifully stylish yet unabashedly hardcore collection of true erotica presented in a handsome jacketed edition by artists who are doing this for the... first time.

    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.

    Accepting their demented challenge, Batman is forced to live and endure the personal hells of the Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and many other sworn enemies in order to save the innocents and retake the prison. During his run through this absurd gauntlet, the Dark Knight's own sanity is placed in jeopardy. This special anniversary edition trade paperback also reproduces the original script with annotations by Morrison and editor Karen Berger.

    Simon breaks free and partners with a raccoon and a deer who take him into the woods. But Simon realizes he is not quite ready to live in the wild. And in the abandoned areas of the town strange things begin to happen. . . .Vacancy explores the ways that animals think; how they internalize their changing environment and express their thoughts, fears, or excitement.Jen Lee currently freelances in a farmhouse in Idaho. Her clients include Drop Dead Clothing, Burton, Boom! Studios, and Nickelodeon.

    Discovered in the Archives of the The Jim Henson Company, A Tale of Sand is an original graphic novel adaptation of an unproduced, feature-length screenplay written by Jim Henson and his frequent writing partner, Jerry Juhl. A Tale of Sand follows scruffy everyman, Mac, who wakes up in an unfamiliar town, and is chased across the desert of the American Southwest by all manners of man and beast of unimaginable proportions. Produced with the complete blessing of Lisa Henson, A Tale of Sand will allow Henson fans to recognize some of the inspirations and set pieces that appeared in later Henson Company productions.

    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.

    until Kali, goddess of death, rips through the Star of the East restaurant and ruins everything. Propelled into a futuristic India, Dean and Raju encounter exotic Hindu deities, sex magic, weird reincarnation, opium dens, Rudyard Kipling, and the mysterious House of Smoke... In short, the world of Rogan Gosh. A psychedelic journey to find enlightenment, truth, and the finest Indian cuisine. US Edition.

    Now, the Master of Horror takes us into his Bestiary for an anthology series—free of continuity, but full of shocking consequences. WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: HELLRAISER: BESTIARY will pick up where classic horror comics anthologies like Tales From The Crypt, Vault of Horror, and the more recent Flinch left off. And not only will some of comics’ rising stars, such as Ed Brisson (Sheltered), and Michael Moreci (CURSE), get a chance to open the puzzle box in this series, but the first issue features the comics debut of award-winning novelist Victor LaValle (The Devil in Silver, Big Machine). WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Step into the Bestiary for all-new tales of the LeMarchand Device and its guardians! This first issue contains the start of a six-part serial written by Mark Miller (CLIVE BARKER’S NEXT TESTAMENT) and Ben Meares (HELLRAISER ANNUAL 2013), and drawn by Carlos Magno (DEATHMATCH), where a group of mercenaries are hired to steal Pinhead’s pins. Also, superstar author Victor LaValle teams with artist Colin Lorimer (CURSE) to tell a story set on the outskirts of New York City, as a close-knit community is torn apart by the presence of the puzzle box.

    The beloved onlychild of the Minister of Meridian, she grows up with an entire floating cityas her playground. Then her father dies, and she inherits a sigil imbuedwith the power to create. So does her wicked Uncle Ilahn, except that hispowers are bent on destruction and domination. Suddenly Sephie finds herselfat the center of a power struggle, and quickly she learns that there is morethan love in the world. Kidnapped to the world of Calador, Sephie's journeyhome to Meridian puts her in the path of many people good and bad that helpher grow up and counter Ilahn's plans to take over her world.A former drama major, Barbara Kesel has been in the comic book industrysince 1981, when she wrote a Batgirl backup story for DetectiveComics. Since then she has written for every major comic company as wellas served as an editor at DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics. Now she iswriting Meridian, The First, and CrossGenChronicles.Steve McNiven is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Heholds a BA in Art Education and a BFA in Sculpture and spent four yearsteaching art to high school kids before coming to CrossGen.Mike Atiyeh's has colored comics for almost every major publisher, includingMarvel, DC, Image, Acclaim, and Wizard Entertainment.

    Spanning a time period from thousands of years ago to right up to the start of the original film, this graphic novel epic will tell the definitive origin of The Dark Crystal, under the supervision of The Jim Henson Company and The Dark Crystal concept designer Brian Froud.

    where master chefs rule the town like crime lords and people literally kill for a seat at the best restaurants, a bloody culinary war is raging.On one side, the Internationalists, who blend foods from all over the world into exotic delights. On the other, the "Vertical Farm," who prepare nothing but organic, vegetarian, macrobiotic dishes. Into this maelstrom steps Jiro, a renegade and ruthless sushi chef, known to decapitate patrons who dare request a California Roll, or who stir wasabi into their soy sauce. Both sides want Jiro to join their factions. Jiro, however has bigger ideas, and in the end, no chef may be left alive!Anthony Bourdain, top chef, acclaimed writer (Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw) and star of the hit travel show, No Reservations, co-writes with Joel Rose (Kill Kill Faster Faster, The Blackest Bird) this stylized send-up of food culture and society, with detailed and dynamic art by Langdon Foss.

    And yet, here they both are at Camp Fielding, settling in with all the other losers and misfits who've been shipped off by their parents in a last-ditch effort to produce a child worth bragging about. But strange disappearances, spooky lights in the woods, and a chilling alteration that turns the dimmest, rowdiest campers into docile zombie Einsteins have Jenna and Lucas feeling more than a little suspicious...and a lot afraid.

    She felt especially pretty in her new cloak, but the temptation to feel all that luxurious velvet pressed to her naked flesh was just too great. Now, something has awakened inside Red. A persistent ache that she doesn't know quite how to relieve. Red decides to use her Tuesday walks to dear old Grandmother's as an opportunity to sample all of the delights the local men have to offer, in a journey to find the one man that can satisfy her.But Red is not aware that two magical creatures have taken a special interest in her naughty escapades or that true pleasure just might be found at the hand of a master in wolf's clothing!