Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee


Stan Lee - 2002
     Stan Lee is the most legendary name in the history of comicbooks. The leading creative force behind the rise of Marvel Comics, he brought to life some of the world's best-known heroes and most infamous villains. His stories, featuring super- heroes who struggled against personal hang-ups and bad guys who possessed previously unseen psychological complexity, added wit and subtlety to a field previously locked into flat portrayals of good vs. evil. Lee put the human in the super-human. In the process, he created a new mythology for the twentieth century. In this treasure trove of marvelous memories, Stan tells the story of his life with the same inimitable wit, energy, and offbeat spirit that he brought to the world of comicbooks. He moves from his impoverished childhood in Manhattan to his early days writing comicbooks, followed by military training films during World War II, through the rise of the Marvel empire in the 1960s to his recent adventures in Hollywood. The story of a man who earned respect by blazing new creative trails in a storytelling form once dismissed as just for kids, Excelsior! is an inspirational story about following one's vision, no matter the odds. Yet it's also the story of how some of the most exciting and memorable characters in the pop-culture universe came to thrill a generation.

You Might Be an Artist If...


Lauren Purje - 2017
    You Might Be An Artist If... collects several years of her comic strips about the ups and downs of life in the arts. Her wry and relatable sense of humor animates every page, tying together flights of fancy, bitter grumblings, motivational pep-talks, self-doubt, procrastination, and inspiration. Capturing the moments that remind us why we take art seriously — but not TOO seriously — Purje's comics are a perfect handbook for anyone living the creative life.

Wacky Packages


The Topps Company Inc. - 2008
    In fact, for the first two years they were published, Wacky Packages were the only Topps product to achieve higher sales than their flagship line of baseball cards. The series has been relaunched several times over the years, most recently to great success in 2007.Known affectionately among collectors as “Wacky Packs,” as a creative force with artist Art Spiegelman, the stickers were illustrated by such notable comics artists as Kim Deitch, , Bill Griffith, Jay Lynch, and Norm Saunders.This first-ever collection of Series One through Series Seven (from 1973 and 1974) celebrates the 35th anniversary of Wacky Packages and is sure to amuse collectors and fans young and old.

Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons


Gahan Wilson - 2009
    His work has been seen by millions—no, hundreds of millions—in the pages of Playboy, The New Yorker, Punch, The National Lampoon, and many other magazines; there is no telling, really, how many readers he has corrupted or comforted. He is revered for his playfully sinister take on childhood, adulthood, men, women, and monsters. His brand of humor makes you laugh until you cry. And it’s about time that a collection of his cartoons was published that did justice to his vast body of work.When Gahan Wilson walked into Hugh Hefner’s office in 1957, he sat down as Hefner was on the phone, gently rejecting a submission to his new gentlemen’s magazine: “I think it’s very well-written and I liked it very much,” Hefner reportedly said, “but it’s anti-sin. And I’m afraid we’re pro-sin.” Wilson knew, at that moment, that he had found a kindred spirit and a potential home for his cartoons. And indeed he had; Wilson appeared in every issue of Playboy from the December 1957 issue to today. It has been one of the most fruitful, successful, and long-lived relationships between a contributor and a magazine, ever.Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons features not only every cartoon Wilson drew for Playboy, but all his prose fiction that has appeared in that magazine as well, from his first story in the June 1962 issue, “Horror Trio,” to such classics as “Dracula Country” (September 1978). It also includes the text-and-art features he drew for Playboy, such as his look at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, his take on our country’s “pathology of violence,” and his appreciation of “transplant surgery.”Wilson’s notoriously black sense of comedy is on display throughout the book, leaving no sacred cow unturned (an image curiously absent in the book), ridiculing everything from state sponsored executions to the sober precincts of the nouveau rich, from teenage dating to police line-ups, with scalding and hilarious satirical jabs. Although Wilson is known as an artist who relishes the creepy side of modern life, this three-volume set truly demonstrates the depth and breadth of his range—from illustrating private angst we never knew we had (when you eat a steak, just whom are you eating?) to the ironic and deadpan take on horrifying public issues (ecological disaster, nuclear destruction anyone?).Gahan Wilson has been peeling back the troubling layers of modern life with his incongruously playful and unnerving cartoons, assailing our deepest fears and our most inane follies. This three-volume set is a testament to one of the funniest—and wickedly disturbing—cartoonists alive.Nominated for two 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (Best Archival Collection/Project: Strips; Best Publication Design).

Post-It Note Diaries: 20 Stories of Youthful Abandon, Embarrassing Mishaps, and Everyday Adventure


Arthur Jones - 2011
    When Arthur Jones cocreated a reading series centered around ubiquitous Post-Its(r), the series struck a chord. It grew in popularity and was ultimately featured on a This American Life live simulcast broadcast across the nation.Inspired by the series and spanning a wide and weird range of topics from an A-list roster of contributors, Post-It(r) Note Diaries captures everyday occurrences from a job interview gone hilariously awry and a nude run-in with a neighbor to hair-raising events like an overnight encounter at Nicholas Cage's house (it's not what you think!), and nearly drowning while trying to paddle across the East River in a homemade canoe. Post-It(r) Note Diaries is perfect for NPR addicts and fans of unique graphic favorites like Postsecret and Blankets.Diarists include: John Hodgman, David Rakoff, Hanna Tinti, Arthur Bradford, Chuck Klosterman, Andrew Solomon, Starlee Kine, Kristen Schaal, Mary Roach and Andrew Bird.

The Brass Ring


Bill Mauldin - 1971
    A semi-memoir covering a decade of the acclaimed cartoonists formative years (1935-1945), and including many reproductions of famous drawings and photos from the authors personal collection.

Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson


Tricia Tunstall - 2008
    Even as everything else about the world of music changes, the piano lesson retains its appeal. Drawing on her own lifelong experience as a student and teacher, Tunstall writes about the mysteries and delights of piano teaching and learning. What is it that happens in a piano lesson to make it such a durable ritual? In a world where music is heard more often on the telephone and in the elevator than in the concert hall, why does the piano lesson still have meaning in the lives of children? What does it matter whether one more child learns to play Bach's Minuet in G? "Note by Note" is in part a memoir in which Tunstall recalls her own childhood piano teachers and their influence. As she observes, the piano lesson is unlike the experience of being coached on an athletic team or taught in a classroom, in that it is a one-on-one, personal communication. Physically proximate, mutually concentrating on the transfer of a skill that is often arduous, complicated and frustrating, teacher and student occasionally experience breakthroughs-moments of joy when the student has learned something, mastered a musical passage or expressed a feeling through music. The relationship is not only one-way: teaching the piano is a lifelong endeavor of particular intensity and power.Anyone who has ever studied the piano-or wanted to-will cherish this gem of a book.

Alan Moore: Storyteller


Gary Spencer Millidge - 2011
    Alan Moore is one of the most important creative forces in the history of comics. His innovative works, which include V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, have become enduring features of the modern cultural landscape, inspiring countless artists, from writers and illustrators to graphic novelists and filmmakers. Moore has won more awards and prizes than can be named—including nine Eisners, seven Harveys, multiple Jack Kirby awards, and the only Hugo ever awarded for work on a comic. Drawing on new and unpublished interviews, as well as rarely seen art and photos, this is the first book on his work to have Moore’s cooperation and support, making it a must-have for his many fans and for anyone interested in the art of visual storytelling. Alan Moore: Storyteller is a survey of his expansive work, from his high-profile best sellers to rarely seen experimental projects, such as spoken word and performance art. Individual works are richly illustrated from Moore’s personal archives and paired with critical context. An audio CD will feature excerpts from some of Moore’s multimedia performances and songs, making this the Alan Moore handbook: a must-have for his many comic-book fans and anyone interested in the art of visual storytelling.

99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style


Matt Madden - 2005
    99 Ways to Tell a Story is a series of engrossing one page comics that tell the same story ninety nine different ways Inspired by Raymond Queneau s 1947 Exercises in Style a mainstay of creative writing courses Madden s project demonstrates the expansive range of possibilities available to all storytellers Readers are taken on an enlightening tour sometimes amusing always surprising through the world of the story Writers and artists in every media will find Madden s collection especially useful even revelatory Here is a chance to see the full scope of opportunities available to the storyteller each applied to a single scenario varying points of view visual and verbal parodies formal reimaginings and radical shuffling of the basic components of the story Madden s amazing series of approaches will inspire storytellers to think through and around obstacles that might otherwise prevent them from getting good ideas onto the page 99 Ways to Tell a Story provides a model that will spark productive conversations among all types of creative people novelists screenwriters graphic designers and cartoonists

Chris Ware


Daniel Raeburn - 2004
    Combining innovative comic book art, hand lettering, and graphic design, Ware’s uniquely appealing work is characterized by ceaseless experimentation with narrative and graphic forms. The publication of his novel Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth in2000 inspired a near avalanche of praise from critics and general readers alike. This book is the first to explore the life and work of Chris Ware. Daniel Raeburn looks closely at Ware’s career, work methods, and artistic innovations. Born in Omaha in 1967, Ware introduced the character Jimmy Corrigan in a full-page strip he began writing for the Chicago tabloid New City. Combining six years’ worth of the strips, Ware created the best-selling novel named after Jimmy that spans an Irish-American family’s life in Chicago from the Civil War to the present. For its experiments in graphic form—including pull-out, three-dimensional inserts—and its non-chronological narrative, the novel earned numerous honors, among them the Guardian First Book Award, presented for the first time to a comic book. For this volume Raeburn interviewed Chris Ware for many hours to make fascinating connections between Jimmy Corrigan’s fictional life and the life of his creator. Raeburn discusses the scope of Ware’s career, including his drawings for New City, the New Yorker, and his own comic book, The Acme Novelty Library. AsRaeburn shows, Ware’s unique art form extends beyond the world of graphic novels into the broader worlds of literature, graphic art, and popular culture, and challenges traditional definitions of all three.

Anywhere but Bordeaux!: Adventures of an American Teacher in France


Jacqueline Donnelly - 2019
    Hoping to escape her predictable American life in the States, she runs away in search of adventure and self-discovery.The story reveals daily life in France, and the encounters with wonderful and not so wonderful characters along the way.It is perfect reading for anyone tempted to run away and ideal for a book club.

Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge McDuck: His Life & Times


Carl Barks - 1981
    Completely recolored in the style of the 1930s and 1940s Disney animated cartoons. Illustrated.

28 Books to $100K: A Guide for Ambitious Authors Who Want to Skyrocket Their Passive Income By Writing a Book a Month


Michelle Kulp - 2020
    They also found that 80% of authors make less than $6,000 per year, which is not a livable income.Michelle Kulp, 10x bestselling author, has been writing a book a month since 2019 and has generated thousands of dollars in passive income now using this system.If you are any type of expert - coach, speaker, consultant, trainer, healer, CEO, business owner - this is the perfect way to share your knowledge, attract new clients, and increase your following and author-ity!Here's some of what you'll discover in 28 Books to $100K: Why volume boosts visibility?How to write books that people want.Why shorter is better?6 types of short books to write.50 templates to help you create your Killer Titles.How to launch like a Pro and become a #1 bestselling author.16 Rapid Writing Secrets to help you get your book written fast.The Bestseller Checklist.7 Questions You Must Ask Before You Write Your Book.Your 12-Month Book template.The Self-Publishing Checklist.The extra rocket fuel your books need to keep selling.Your Income Tracking Chart.The 30-Day Roadmap to Writing a Book a MonthAnd More!If you're ready to turn your dreams into a reality, make passive income by self-publishing and become a 6-Figure Author, click the BUY NOW button and let's get started on this new brand new path!

The Extreme Self


Shumon Basar - 2021
    It’s about the re-making of your interior world as the exterior world becomes more unfamiliar and uncertain.The sudden arrival of the pandemic pushed the world faster and further into the 21st century. Now, life is dictated by two forces you can’t see: data and the virus. Are you really built for so much change so quickly?Basar/Coupland/Obrist’s prequel, The Age of Earthquakes: A Guide to the Extreme Present, became an instant cult classic. It’s been described as, “a mediation on the madness of our media,” and, “an abstract representation of how we feel about our digital world.”Like that book, The Extreme Self collapses comedy and calamity at the speed of swipe. Dazzling images are sourced from over 70 of the world’s foremost artists, photographers, technologists and musicians, while Daly & Lyon’s kinetic design elevates the language of memes into a manifesto. Over fourteen timely chapters, The Extreme Self tours through fame and intimacy, post-work and new crowds, identity crisis and eternity. This is an eye-opening, provocative portrait of what’s really happening to YOU.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art


Scott McCloud - 1993
    Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a seminal examination of comics art: its rich history, surprising technical components, and major cultural significance. Explore the secret world between the panels, through the lines, and within the hidden symbols of a powerful but misunderstood art form.