Recent films such as Lost in Translation and Memoirs of a Geisha seem to have made everyone an expert on Japan, even if they've never been there. But the only way for a Westerner to get to know the real Japan is to become a part of it. Kate T. Williamson did just that, spending a year experiencing, studying, and reflecting on her adopted home. She brings her keen observations to us in A Year in Japan, a dramatically different look at a delightfully different way of life. Avoiding the usual clichés--Japan's polite society, its unusual fashion trends, its crowded subways--Williamson focuses on some lesser-known aspects of the country and culture. In stunning watercolors and piquant texts, she explains the terms used to order various amounts of tofu, the electric rugs found in many Japanese homes, and how to distinguish a maiko from a geisha. She observes sumo wrestlers in traditional garb as they use ATMs, the wonders of "Santaful World" at a Kyoto department store, and the temple carpenters who spend each Sunday dancing to rockabilly. A Year in Japan is a colorful journey to the beauty, poetry, and quirkiness of modern Japana book not just to look at but to experience.

    A great starting point for anyone curious about queer and trans life, and helpful for those already on their own journeys!

    Their relationship is put to the test as they forge ahead, working together to rebuild themselves amidst the churning tumult of devastating loss, and ultimately facing the soul-crushing reality that they may never conceive a child of their own.Based on author Ingrid Chabbert’s own experience, coupled with soft, sometimes dreamlike illustrations by Carole Maurel, Waves is a deeply moving story that poignantly captures a woman’s exploration of her pain in order to rediscover hope.

    In this all-new story set before Star Wars: A New Hope, feared bounty hunters Zuckuss and 4-LOM finally have two of the biggest scoundrels in the galaxy in their sights!

    Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family's daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves. At the heart of Bui's story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent — the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through.With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home. The Best We Could Do brings to life her journey of understanding and provides inspiration to all who search for a better future while longing for a simpler past.

    Dynamite proudly presents "Frank Cho's Jungle Girl"!In this issue, Dynamite introduces readers to an original 8-page story, overseen by co-writer and artist Frank Cho and infuses the issue with everything Cho fans want to see - beautiful women, thrilling adventures, and, of course, dinosaurs! Co-writer Doug (Red Sonja: QUEEN OF THE FROZEN, The 'Nam) Murray is along for the ride as is series artist Adriano (NBSG: ZAREK, Red Sonja) Batista as they bring the Jungle Girl to life!Featuring a cover by Cho, this issue #0 is a must-have!

    Told using expressive artwork that invokes both laughter and tears, this moving and highly entertaining single volume depicts not only the artist’s burgeoning sexuality, but many other personal aspects of her life that will resonate with readers.

    This tongue-in-cheek guide is full of advice designed to help you manage Aunty meddling and encourages you to pursue your passions—from someone who has been through it all. Qamar confesses to throwing sweatshirts over crop-tops to get out of the house without being questioned, hiding her boyfriend in a closet, and enduring overbearing parents endless pressuring her to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Holding onto your cultural identity is tough. Always interfering Aunties make it even harder. But ultimately, Aunties keep our lives interesting. As an Aunty-survivor and a woman who has lived the cross-cultural experience, Qamar defied the advice of her aunties almost every step of the way, and she is here to remind you: Trust No Aunty.

    Her daily life is filled with all the upheavals and self-questioning of adolescence. Self-conscious, she tries to assert herself within a group in which she is "the shy one". She spends most of her time with her girlfriends, at school or at parties on the weekend. She also tries desperately to get the attention of Felix, the boy she's in love with – and who has no idea she exists. To make things worse, he's in the "rival" class to her own... Little by little, this young woman learns to express herself and find her place in the cruel and treacherous world of adolescence, from MP3 players and Japanese mangas, to her first parties and her first whiskey and Coke.

    Paracuellos is a work of great courage, created at a time when telling the truth about Spain's political past could get one killed. It is arguably the most important graphic memoir ever created in comics. Carlos Gimenez s autobiographical account of the plight of children in post-World War II Fascist Spain has won virtually every comics award in Europe, including Best Album at the 1981 Angouleme Festival, and the Heritage Award atAngouleme in 2010. In the late 1930s when Spanish fascists led by Franco, and aided by Hitler and Mussolini, overthrew the elected government, almost 200,000 men and women fell in battle, were executed, or died in prison. Their orphaned children and others ripped from the homes of the defeated were shuttled from Church-run home to home and fed a steady diet of torture and disinformation by a totalitarian state bent on making them productive citizens. Carlos Gimenez was one of those children. In 1975, after Franco s death, Carlos began to tell his story. Breaking the code of silence proved to be a milestone, both for the comics medium and for a country coming to terms with its past. An illustrated essay by Carmen Moreno-Nuno, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Kentucky, places the comics in historical perspective. The stories transcend just being about a historical moment in Spain. Their humanity will speak to everyone. The stories are heartbreakers, but Carlos never loses his sense of humor. William Stout"

    With a bright, positive outlook and a sense of humor, Super Chill tells a story that is both highly relatable and intensely personal.

    And misplaced optimism. And perverted talking fruit. Sort of like Gary Larson’s “The Far Side,” if Gary were way less accomplished and suffered from depression.

    With art from the brilliant Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole) bringing the tale to heart-wrenching life, The Silence of Our Friends is a new and important entry in the body of civil rights literature.

    Munro was serving a life sentence for a war crime he was forced to commit. When a prison break runs amok, however, he seizes the opportunity to escape with a ragtag team of cons to form a small crew of pirates with one goal in mind: vengeful justice. And the first step in their plan is to steal the battle cruiser he once commanded, a state-of-the-art warship they call The Jolly Roger . A visually stunning sci-fi adventure, written by Sylvain Runberg (Millennium), with breathtaking artwork by Miquel Montllo, this epic tale of space pirates and political intrigue combines the emotional depth and excitement of sci-fi favorites such as Battlestar Galactica and Starship Troopers, with a visual style that leaps off the page like an animated feature film."

    2: EVERY ME, EVERY YOU.Cave Carson has a cybernetic eye--or more accurately, he had a cybernetic eye. After Team Carson's run-in with the Whisperer and his fanatical cult deep below the Earth's surface, the eye has gone AWOL. But why? What could a cognizant ocular computer be chasing? And perhaps most important, how can Cave and company put it back where it belongs?Whatever the answers are, the subterranauts better find them soon--because the Whisperer's (very quiet) reign of terror is far from over. Soon his tentacles will cover the entire globe, conquering humanity and paving the way for an extradimensional invasion beyond imagining.Can Cave and his allies--including Doc Magnus and the Metal Men--uncover the truth about his roving eye and stop the Whisperer for good? Or is this really a job for...Superman?!From the creative team of Jon Rivera, Michael Avon Oeming and Nick Filardi, under the watchful (but admittedly non-cybernetic) eye of DC's Young Animal founder (and My Chemical Romance frontman) Gerard Way! Collects issues #7-12.