Tales of the Unexpected


Roald Dahl - 1979
    Among the unforgettable characters lurk the homicidal wife and her deadly leg of lamb, a conniving and lecherous wine connoisseur and the one-eyed brain at the mercy of his vengeful spouse. Tales of the Unexpected is an astonishing assortment of twisted treats from the master storyteller.

Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village


Maureen Johnson - 2021
    How charming. That is, unless you have the misfortune of finding yourself in an English Murder Village, where danger lurks around each picturesque cobblestone corner and every sip of tea may be your last. If you insist on your travels, do yourself a favor and bring a copy of this little book. It may just keep you alive. Brought to life with dozens of Gorey-esque drawings by illustrator Jay Cooper and peppered with allusions to classic crime series and unmistakably British murder lore, Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village gives you the tools you need to avoid the same fate, should you find yourself in a suspiciously cozy English village (or simply dream of going). Good luck, and whatever you do, avoid the vicar.

Ayako


Osamu Tezuka - 2010
    Believed to be Tezuka’s answer to the gekiga (dramatic comics) movement of the 60’s, Ayako should be considered one of the better early examples of a seinen (young adult) narrative to be published.Initially set in the aftermath of World War II, Ayako focuses its attention on the Tenge clan, a once powerful family of landowners living in a rural community in northern Japan.  From the moment readers are introduced to the extended family, it is apparent that the war and American occupation have begun to erode the fabric that binds them all together.  The increasing influence of political, economic and social change begins to tear into the many Tenge siblings, while a strange marriage agreement creates resentment between the eldest son and his sire.  And when the family seems to have completely fallen apart, they decide to turn their collective rage on what they believe to be the source of their troubles—the newest member of the Tenge family, the youngest sister Ayako.

The Best of the Spirit


Will Eisner - 2005
    Eisner was a master of utilizing the comics format to its greatest strengths, and his Spirit stories are some of his finest examples! This volume also features an introduction by New York Times best-selling novelist Neil Gaiman (THE SANDMAN).

The Spire


Simon Spurrier - 2016
    Filled with twisting tunnels, grinding elevators, and ancient machinery, it is home to over a million human and non-human residents. Sha, the last of the species known as the Medusi, is responsible for keeping the hodgepodge of forgotten technology and new biology safe as Commander of the City Watch. But when a string of grisly murders are committed just as a new Baroness of the Spire is about to be sworn in, Sha will have to find the killer and bring that individual to justice. With the new Baroness housing a deep hatred of non-humans, Sha will have more than one enemy at her back as a mystery buried in the history of the Spire unravels around her. Written by Simon Spurrier (X-Men: Legacy) and illustrated by Jeff Stokely (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Witches), the celebrated creative team of Six-Gun Gorilla, The Spire is a sprawling fantasy noir that Vulture called one of the “Ten Best Comic Books of 2015.”

Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile


Bill WillinghamCraig Hamilton - 2002
    Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. But when Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it is up to Fabletown's sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf (Bigby Wolf), to determine if the killer is Bluebeard, Rose's ex-lover and notorious wife killer, or Jack, her current live-in boyfriend and former beanstalk-climber.Collecting: Fables 1-5

The Murders in the Rue Morgue - a C. Auguste Dupin Short Story


Edgar Allan Poe - 1841
    Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in "Graham's Magazine" in 1841. It has been recognized as the first modern detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his tales of "ratiocination," his concept of analyzing a fictional crime to find the resolution. Brand new idea in its day.Poe's amateur detective, C. Auguste Dupin, takes an interest in the murder in Paris of two women. It was terribly brutal but difficult to categorize; there appeared to be no robbery or sexual assault, no obvious reason for the crimes. The newspapers carried sensational headlines. Dupin gets involved because the man arrested for the crimes, Monsieur Le Bon, had previously done him a favour. It becomes a challenge to Dupin.Get set for a step back in the history of detective fiction that leaves the impression that it was written just a short while ago.Librarian's note: this entry is for the story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." It is the first of three in the author's Dupin series. Collections of the series, including those under this title, and other stories by the author, are located elsewhere on Goodreads. Each of the Dupin stories can be found by searching Goodreads for "a C. Auguste Dupin Short Story."

I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf


Grant Snider - 2020
    We learn to read at an early age, and as we grow older we shed our beloved books for new ones. But some of us surround ourselves with books. We collect them, decorate with them, are inspired by them, and treat our books as sacred objects. In this lighthearted collection of one- and two-page comics, writer-artist Grant Snider explores bookishness in all its forms, and the love of writing and reading, building on the beloved literary comics featured on his website, Incidental Comics. With a striking package including a die-cut cover, I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf is the perfect gift for bookworms of all ages.

Harley Quinn, Vol. 1: Die Laughing


Amanda Conner - 2017
    1 graphic novel from DC Rebirth! Her name is Dr. Harleen Quinzel, better known to her friends and enemies as playful-but-deadly Harley Quinn. Her ex-boyfriend, the Joker, may be the Clown Prince of Crime, but Harley's the Queen of Coney Island! So when a zombie apocalypse threatens her li'l seaside stretch of paradise, who else would ya call to save your butt? In these action-packed pages, the baddest bad girl in the entire DC Universe joins forces with everyone from her gal-pal Poison Ivy to the leading lights of the New York City punk scene to take down anyone who stands between her and a good time--living, dead or undead.The Harley Quinn powerhouse team of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti joins forces with artists John Timms and Chad Hardin and draft a new beginning for DC’s craziest anti-hero in HARLEY QUINN VOL. 1: DIE LAUGHING. Collects HARLEY QUINN #1-7.

The Phantom of the Opera


Varga Tomi - 2020
    But no one has ever seen the monster . . . until now. When the promise of blossoming love lures him out from his intricately constructed hideaways in the labyrinthine building’s walls and cellars, a hideously disfigured artist trains the lovely Christine to be the opera’s next star for a steep price. Does she choose her newfound success or her beloved Count Raoul? This doomed love triangle threatens to combust when a tragic death, a series of betrayals, and increasingly dangerous accidents cast the players of The Palais Garnier into a heart-wrenching horror story that will echo through the ages.

Crime


Irvine Welsh - 2008
    On vacation in Florida, his fiancée Trudi is only interested in planning their forthcoming wedding, and a bitter argument sees a deranged Lennox cast adrift in strip-mall Florida. In a seedy bar, Lennox meets two women, ending up at their apartment for a coke binge, which is interrupted by two menacing strangers. After the ensuing brawl, Lennox finds himself alone with Tianna, the terrified ten-year-old daughter of one of the women, and a sheet of instructions that make him responsible for her immediate safety.Lennox takes the girl to an exclusive marina on the Gulf coast, and quickly suspects that he has stumbled into a hornet’s nest: a gang or organized paedophiles, every bit as threatening as the monster that haunted him back in Edinburgh. His priority is to protect the abused girl, but can the edgy Lennox trust his own instincts? And can he negotiate her inappropriate sexuality as well as his own mental fragility?In Crime, Welsh has written a shocking and gripping story about the corruption and abuse of the human soul and the possibilities of redemption.

Postal, Vol. 1


Matt Hawkins - 2015
    A place where, despite its inhabitants, no crime is allowed. Local postman Mark Shiffron has Asperger's, and through his peculiar eyes we see a town struggling to keep its fragile peace, a town on the constant brink of chaos. When a murdered woman's body is found on Eden's main street, Mark's need to solve her crime leads him into darkness and truth about the town he's known his entire life and the hidden realms of his own psychology. Co-writers BRYAN HILL & MATT HAWKINS work with newcomer ISAAC GOODHART to take an unflinching look at the cost of justice and the price of redemption through a tale set in the murky soul of America's heartland. Collects POSTAL #1-4.!

Blue Monday


Nicci French - 2011
    A day of dark impulses. A day to snatch a child from the streets ...The abduction of five-year-old Matthew Farraday provokes a national outcry and a desperate police hunt. And when a picture of his face is splashed over the newspapers, psychotherapist Frieda Klein is left troubled: one of her patients has been relating dreams in which he has a hunger for a child. A child he can describe in perfect detail, a child the spitting image of Matthew.Detective Chief Inspector Karlsson doesn't take Frieda's concerns seriously until a link emerges with an unsolved child abduction twenty years ago and he summons Frieda to interview the victim's sister, hoping she can stir hidden memories. Before long, Frieda is at the center of the race to track the kidnapper.But her race isn't physical. She must chase down the darkest paths of a psychopath's mind to find the answers to Matthew Farraday's whereabouts.And sometimes the mind is the deadliest place to lose yourself.

The Complete The Killer


Matz - 2018
    A man of few scruples, nerves of steel, and a steady trigger finger, but also, a man on the verge of cracking. After misadventures in Central and South America and having earned enough money to retire comfortably, the Killer retires to Mexico, but his colleagues are still in need of his irreplaceable skills . . . and before long he’s drawn back into the great geopolitical game between Cuba, Venezuela, and the United States. Artist Luc Jacamon and writer Matz (The Black Dahlia) deliver the definitive collection of the Eisner Award-nominated crime saga, The Killer, a hardboiled, noir series that New York Times bestselling writer Brian Michael Bendis calls “one of the best graphic novel series of the last ten years.”

Snowpiercer: The Escape


Jacques Lob - 1982
    Originally published in French, this marks the first time that Snowpiercer will be available in English. In a harsh, uncompromisingly cold future where Earth has succumbed to treacherously low temperatures, the last remaining members of humanity travel on a train while the outside world remains encased in ice. The surviving community are not without a social hierarchy; those that travel at the front of the train live in relative luxury whilst those unfortunate enough to be at the rear remain clustered like cattle in claustrophobic darkness. Yet, things are about to change aboard the train as passengers become disgruntled... The movie Snowpiercer, due for release in 2014, is directed by Joon-ho Bong (The Host) and is already causing a stir with parallels to 1984 and Animal Farm.