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Quit Your Job by James Kochalka


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Long Walk to Valhalla


Adam Smith - 2015
    He'd like to forget his alcoholic father or absent mother. He'd like to forget about his ex-girlfriend, now married to his ex-best friend. Sometimes, he'd even like to forget about his older brother Joe. Joe saw the world differently than other people--sometimes in beautiful ways, seeing what he always called "the Pretty Things." But sometimes the Pretty Things turned ugly and bad things happened. Those are the things Rory wishes he could forget most of all.When his car breaks down on the side of the road just out of town, a young girl named Sylvia appears from the corn fields. Sylvia is a Valkyrie sent by the Norse god Odin to deliver Rory to Valhalla. Because today is the day he's going to die. Together, Rory and Sylvia walk back through the memories of Rory's childhood, this time seeing them the way Joe saw them. Rory must face the Pretty Things, the Ugly Things, and all the real life in between before it's time to say goodbye.

Lazarus, Vol. 3: Conclave


Greg Rucka - 2015
    A handful of Families rule, jealously guarding what they have and exploiting the Waste who struggle to survive in their domains. Forever Carlyle defends her family's holdings through deception and force as their protector, their Lazarus. The 16 Families have gathered together in the exclusive luxury confines of Triton One to resolve the emerging conflict between Carlyle and Hock, and they've brought their Lazari with them. While Forever's romance with the Morray Lazarus, Joacquim, continues to blossom, she finds herself not only questioning her identity, but also her loyalty to her Family and her father, Malcolm, when orders her to kill her brother, Jonah. Collecting issues #10-15 of the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling series and the third story arc, "Conclave."

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life


Bryan Lee O'Malley - 2004
    He's 23 years old, he's in a rockband, he's "between jobs" and he's dating a cute high school girl. Nothing could possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott's awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle? The short answer is yes. The long answer is Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

Deep Dark Fears


Fran Krause - 2015
    Based on the wildly popular eponymous Tumblr, Deep Dark Fears explores our odd, creepy, and hilariously singular fears. Animator, illustrator, and cartoonist Fran Krause brings these fears to life in vividly illustrated comics based on real fears submitted by readers (plus a few of his own). These "deep dark fears" run the gamut from unlikely but plausible to completely ridiculous, highlighting both our deeply human similarities and our peculiar uniquenesses.

Ant Colony


Michael DeForge - 2014
    His brash, confident, undulating artwork sent a shock wave through the comics world for its unique, fully formed aesthetic.From its opening pages, Ant Colony immerses the reader in a world that is darkly existential, with false prophets, unjust wars, and corrupt police officers, as it follows the denizens of a black ant colony under attack from the nearby red ants. On the surface, it’s the story of this war, the destruction of a civilization, and the ants’ all too familiar desire to rebuild. Underneath, though, Ant Colony plumbs the deepest human concerns—loneliness, faith, love, apathy, and more. All of this is done with humor and sensitivity, exposing a world where spiders can wreak unimaginable amounts of havoc with a single gnash of their jaws.DeForge’s striking visual sensibility—stark lines, dramatic color choices, and brilliant use of page and panel space—stands out in this volume.

Big Questions


Anders Nilsen - 2011
    This beautiful minimalist story, collected here for the first time, is the culmination of ten years and more than six hundred pages of work that details the metaphysical quandaries of the occupants of an endless plain, existing somewhere between a dream and a Russian steppe. A downed plane is thought to be a bird and the unexploded bomb that came from it is mistaken for a giant egg by the group of birds whose lives the story follows. The indifferent, stranded pilot is of great interest to the birds—some doggedly seek his approval, while others do quite the opposite, leading to tensions in the group. Nilsen seamlessly moves from humor to heartbreak. His distinctive, detailed line work is paired with plentiful white space and large, often frameless panels, conveying an ineffable sense of vulnerability and openness.Big Questions has roots in classic fables—the birds and snakes have more to say than their human counterparts, and there are hints of the hero’s journey, but here the easy moral that closes most fables is left open and ambiguous. Rather than lending its world meaning, Nilsen’s parable lets the questions wander where they will.

My Dirty Dumb Eyes


Lisa Hanawalt - 2013
    Her world vision is intricately rendered in a full spectrum of color, unapologetically gorgeous and intensely bizarre.  With movie reviews, tips for her readers, laugh-out-loud lists and short pieces such as “Rumors I’ve Heard About Anna Wintour,” and “The Secret Lives of Chefs,”  Hanawalt’s comedy shines, making the quotidian silly and surreal, flatulent and facetious.

Megahex


Simon Hanselmann - 2014
    Mogg is her black cat. Their friend, Owl, is an anthropomorphized owl. They hang out a lot with Werewolf Jones. This may sound like a pure stoner comedy, but it transcends the genre: these characters struggle unsuccessfully to come to grips with their depression, drug use, sexuality, poverty, lack of work, lack of ambition, and their complex feelings about each other in ways that have made Megg and Mogg sensations on Hanselmann's GirlMountain tumblr. This is the first collection of Hanselmann's work, freed from its cumbersome Internet prison, and sure to be one of the most talked about graphic novels of 2014, featuring all of the "classic" Megg and Mogg episodes from the past five years as well as over 70 pages of all-new material.

Skyward, Vol. 1: My Low-G Life


Joe Henderson - 2018
    Twenty years later, humanity has adapted to its new low-gravity reality. And to Willa Fowler, a woman born just after G-day, it's...well, it's pretty awesome, actually. You can fly through the air! I mean, sure, you can also die if you jump too high. So you just don't jump too high. And maybe don't get mixed up in your Dad's secret plan to bring gravity back that could get you killed...SKYWARD, VOL. 1 collects issues #1-5 of the ongoing series from writer Joe Henderson (showrunner of Fox's Lucifer) and artist Lee Garbett (Lucifer, Loki: Agent of Asgard).

Skyscrapers of the Midwest


Joshua W. Cotter - 2008
    Filled with belligerent cowboys, lumbering automaton deities, and wide-open spaces, this comic gives voice to a highly respected new creator in the field of sequential literature.

RASL, Vol. 1: The Drift


Jeff Smith - 2009
    In part one of three, Rasl faces an assassin's bullet and stumbles across a mystery that not only threatens to expose his own illicit activities, but could also uncover one of the world's most dangerous and sought after secrets. Collects RASL issues #1-3

MIND MGMT, Volume One: The Manager


Matt Kindt - 2013
    Her ensuing journey involves weaponized psychics, hypnotic advertising, talking dolphins, and seemingly immortal pursuers, as she attempts to find the flight's missing passenger, the man who was MIND MGMT's greatest success - and its most devastating failure. But in a world where people can rewrite reality itself, can she trust anything she sees?Collecting: MIND MGMT 1-6

Captain America: Reborn


Ed BrubakerJustin Ponsor - 2010
    Or is what they found something more sinister? The Red Skull's greatest plan to destroy Captain America has been in motion and its completion is almost at hand. Will Captain America be lost forever, or will he be Reborn?Collecting: Captain America: Reborn 1-6

Deadly Class, Volume 1: Reagan Youth


Rick Remender - 2014
    Marcus Lopez hates school. His grades suck. The jocks are hassling his friends. He can’t focus in class. But the jocks are the children of Joseph Stalin’s top assassin, the teachers are members of an ancient league of assassins, the class he's failing is “Dismemberment 101,” and his crush has a double-digit body count. Welcome to the most brutal high school on earth, where the world’s top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. Murder is an art. Killing is a craft. At Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the dagger in your back isn’t always metaphorical. Collecting the first arc of the most critically acclaimed new series of 2014, by writer RICK REMENDER (BLACK SCIENCE, Fear Agent) and rising star artist WESLEY CRAIG (Batman). Experience the 1980s underground through the eyes of the world’s most damaged and dangerous teenagers.Collects DEADLY CLASS #1-6.

Wonton Soup: Big Bowl Edition


James Stokoe - 2014
    Collects WONTON SOUP VOLUMES 1 and 2.