Book picks similar to
R.I.P.: Best of 1985-2004 by Thomas Ott
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graphic-novel
Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories
Harvey Kurtzman - 2012
Here were finally war comics without heroic, cigar-chomping sergeants, wisecracking privates from Brooklyn, or cartoon Nazis and Japs to be mowed down by the Yank heroes, but an unflinching look at the horror and madness of combat throughout history.Kurtzman employed some of the finest of the EC artists including Jack Davis, John Severin, and Wallace Wood, but his vision came through clearest in the dozen or so stories he both wrote and drew himself, in his uniquely bold, slashing, cartoony-but-dead-serious style ( Stonewall Jackson, Iwo Jima, Rubble, Big If, and Kurtzman s own favorite, Air Burst ) as well as his vividly colored, narratively-dense covers, all 23 of which are reproduced here in full color in a special portfolio.Corpse on the Imjin! is rounded off with a dozen or so stories written and laid out by Kurtzman and drawn by short-timers, i.e. cartoonists whose contributions to his war books only comprised a story or two including such giants as designer extraordinaire Alex Toth, Marvel comics stalwart Gene Colan, and a pre-Sgt. Rock Joe Kubert... and such unexpected guests as The Lighter Side of... MAD artist Dave Berg and DC comics veteran Ric Estrada as well as a rarity: a story by EC regular John Severin inked by Kurtzman.Like every book in the Fantagraphics EC line, Corpse on the Imjin! will feature extensive essays and notes on these classic stories by EC experts but Kurtzman s stories, as vital, powerful, affecting, and even, yes, modern today as when they were created 60 years ago, are what makes this collection a must-have for any comics reader.
Amphigorey
Edward Gorey - 1972
As always, Gorey's painstakingly cross-hatched pen and ink drawings are perfectly suited to his oddball verse and prose. The first book of 15, "The Unstrung Harp," describes the writing process of novelist Mr. Clavius Frederick Earbrass: "He must be mad to go on enduring the unexquisite agony of writing when it all turns out drivel." In "The Listing Attic," you'll find a set of quirky limericks such as "A certain young man, it was noted, / Went about in the heat thickly coated; / He said, 'You may scoff, / But I shan't take it off; / Underneath I am horribly bloated.' "Many of Gorey's tales involve untimely deaths and dreadful mishaps, but much like tragic Irish ballads with their perky rhythms and melodies, they come off as strangely lighthearted. "The Gashlycrumb Tinies," for example, begins like this: "A is for AMY who fell down the stairs, B is for BASIL assaulted by bears," and so on. An eccentric, funny book for either the uninitiated or diehard Gorey fans.Contains: The Unstrung Harp, The Listing Attic, The Doubtful Guest, The Object Lesson, The Bug Book, The Fatal Lozenge, The Hapless Child, The Curious Sofa, The Willowdale Handcar, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Insect God, The West Wing, The Wuggly Ump, The Sinking Spell, and The Remembered Visit.
Asterios Polyp
David Mazzucchelli - 2009
An epic story long awaited, and well worth the wait. Meet Asterios Polyp: middle-aged, meagerly successful architect and teacher, aesthete and womanizer, whose life is wholly upended when his New York City apartment goes up in flames. In a tenacious daze, he leaves the city and relocates to a small town in the American heartland. But what is this “escape” really about? As the story unfolds, moving between the present and the past, we begin to understand this confounding yet fascinating character, and how he’s gotten to where he is. And isn’t. And we meet Hana: a sweet, smart, first-generation Japanese American artist with whom he had made a blissful life. But now she’s gone. Did Asterios do something to drive her away? What has happened to her? Is she even alive? All the questions will be answered, eventually.In the meantime, we are enthralled by Mazzucchelli’s extraordinarily imagined world of brilliantly conceived eccentrics, sharply observed social mores, and deftly depicted asides on everything from design theory to the nature of human perception.Asterios Polyp is David Mazzucchelli’s masterpiece: a great American graphic novel.
Skullkickers, Vol. 1: 1000 Opas and a Dead Body
Jim Zub - 2011
Image's new hit fantasy action-comedy series has gone through multiple printings of each issue released so far and is getting rave reviews from readers and critics alike. Pick up the first collection and find out what all the excitement is about.Collects SKULLKICKERS #1-5 and the short stories from POPGUN, VOL. 2 & 3
Monsters! and Other Stories
Gustavo Duarte - 2012
In Có!, an alien abduction disarms a gentle farmer, and in Birds, two business partners run from fate only to find themselves hopelessly unable to change the future. * In the tradition of Pixar! * Giant beasts bent on destroying the world!
Batman: Hush
Jeph Loeb - 2005
The complete critically acclaimed and best-selling tale is now available in one sensational volume.BATMAN: HUSH is a thrilling mystery of action, intrigue, and deception penned by Jeph Loeb (BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN) and illustrated by comics superstar Jim Lee (ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER) in which Batman sets out to discover the identity of a mysterious mastermind using the Joker, Riddler, Ra's al Ghul and the Dark Knight's other enemies - and allies - as pawns in a plan to wreak havoc.This volume collects Batman #609-619 as well as the 6-page segment from Wizard #0 and a 2-page origin story that originally appeared at dccomics.com.
The Cape
Jason Ciaramella - 2007
but "what if "one day that dream were to come true? Eric was like every other eight-year-old boy, until a tragic accident changed his life forever. THE CAPE explores the dark side of power, as the adult Eric - a confused and broken man - takes to the skies... and sets out to exact a terrible vengeance on everyone who ever disappointed him. This critically acclaimed, Eisner-Award nominated story, written by Jason Ciaramella, based on the short story by "New York Times" bestselling author Joe Hill, with art by Zach Howard and Nelson Daniel, will linger with you long after you turn the last page, and force you to ask yourself the question: "What if?"
Three Shadows
Cyril Pedrosa - 2007
The taste of cherries, the cool shade, the smell of the river... That was how we lived, in a vale among the hills—sheltered from storms, ignorant of the world, as though on an island, peaceful and untroubled.And then...And then everything changed.Can you ever escape your fate?Three shadows stand outside the house—and Louis and Lise know why the spectral figures are there. The shadows have come for Louis and Lise’s son, and nothing anyone can do will stop them. Louis cannot let his son die without trying to prevent it, so the family embarks on a journey to the ends of the earth, fleeing death.Poignant and suspenseful, Three Shadows is a haunting story of love and grief, told in moving text and sweeping black and white artwork by Cyril Pedrosa.
Rumble, Vol. 1: What Color of Darkness
John Arcudi - 2015
A Scarecrow Warrior God walks into a bar...and proceeds to drag a modern American city into a ten-thousand-year-old grudge-match! A bizarre new adventure—complete with boozehound shamans, monster queens, and a football-fetching hydra! Featuring an extended sketchbook section and a few surprises!Collects RUMBLE #1-5
Wanted
Mark Millar - 2005
What if then, after all this, someone gave you back total control? What if he revealed you were the next in line to join a secret society of super-villains that controlled the entire planet? Mark Millar and J.G. Jones provide a look at one man who goes from being the world's biggest loser to the deadliest assassin alive.
Heartbreak Soup
Gilbert Hernández - 1987
This volume collects the first half of Gilbert Hernandez's acclaimed magical-realist tales of "Palomar," the small Central American town, beginning with the groundbreaking "Sopa de Gran Pena" (which introduces most of his main cast of characters as children, plus the imposing newcomer Luba), and continuing on through such modern-day classics as "Ecce Homo," "Act of Contrition," "Duck Feet," and the great love story "For the Love of Carmen."
The Black Monday Murders, Volume 1
Jonathan Hickman - 2017
and exactly what kind of people you can buy with it. The Black Monday Murders, Volume 1: All Hail, God Mammon is classic occultism where the various schools of magic are actually clandestine banking cartels who control all of society: a secret world where vampire Russian oligarchs, Black popes, enchanted American aristocrats, and hitmen from the International Monetary Fund work together to keep all of us in our proper place.Collecting: The Black Monday Murders 1-4
House of Mystery, Volume 1: Room and Boredom
Matthew SturgesLee Loughridge - 2009
House of Mystery
focuses on five characters trapped in a supernatural bar, trying to solve the mystery of how and why they're imprisoned there. Each one has a terrible past they'd like to forget, and with no books, newspapers or TV allowed in the House, they face an eternity of boredom. But stories become the new currency, and fortunately, the House attracts only the finest storytellers.Collecting: House of Mystery 1-5
Black Science, Vol. 1: How to Fall Forever
Rick Remender - 2014
But now Grant and his team are trapped in the folds of infinity, the Pillar sending them careening through a million universes of unimaginable adventure, sanity-flaying danger and no way home...Presenting the first mind-warping chapter of the critically acclaimed sci-fi epic by superstar creative team of writer RICK REMENDER (Uncanny Avengers, Captain America) and artist MATTEO SCALERA (Secret Avengers).Collects BLACK SCIENCE #1-6.
Batman: The Black Mirror
Scott Snyder - 2011
Helpless and trapped in the deadly Mirror House, Batman must fight for his life against one of Gotham City's oldest and most powerful evils!Then, in a second story called "Hungry City," the corpse of a killer whale shows up on the floor of one of Gotham City's foremost banks. The event begins a strange and deadly mystery that will bring Batman face-to-face with the new, terrifying faces of organized crime in Gotham.Collects: Detective Comics #871-881.