Whether you are a professional artist or designer, a student pursuing a creative career, a person of faith, someone who likes walks on the beach, or a dreamer who sits on the front porch contemplating life, this collection of one- and two-page comics will provide insight into the joys and frustrations of creativity, inspiration, and process—no matter your age or creative background.

    (Neil Gaiman)Drawn from Gaiman's trove of published speeches, poems and creative manifestos, 'ART MATTERS' is an embodiment of this remarkable multimedia artist's vision - an exploration of how reading, imagining, and creating can transform the world and our lives. 'ART MATTERS' brings together four of Gaiman's most beloved writings on creativity and artistry:❖1❖"CREDO", his remarkably concise and relevant manifesto on free expression, first delivered in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings❖2❖"MAKE GOOD ART", his famous 2012 commencement address delivered at the Philadelphia University of the Arts❖3❖"MAKING A CHAIR", a poem about the joys of creating something, even when the words won't come❖4❖"ON LIBRARIES", an impassioned argument for libraries that illuminates their importance to our future and celebrates how they foster readers and daydreamers.'ART MATTERS' is a stirring testament to the freedom of ideas that inspire us to make art in the face of adversity and dares us to choose to be bold.RUNNING TIME ⇰ 49mins.©2018 Neil Gaiman (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

    In a small park near the river, Alex sleeps on a bench. When he awakens, we can see that he's a mess. He is coming off a colossal bender. As he stirs, a book falls out of his coat: a high school yearbook. He flips through the pages and finds himself. "Alex Kalienka: Alex likes watching T.V., drawing cartoons, and doing nothing. Future places: Sunny California and Mickey Walt Cartoon Studios." Alex closes the book and vomits in the river.Alex is the story of failed dreams and the consequences faced by a man who discovers that accomplishing his career goals are no route to inner peace. It is a story about the redemptive power of art, and about how fleeting those chances for redemption can be in a society that emphasizes different values.This existential, 250-page exploration of depression and the healing power of art was originally published over ten years ago as a six-issue comic book series and is collected here as one book for the first time. Kalesniko is a former Disney animator with credits including The Prince and the Pauper, Mulan, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. He has also created the graphic novels Why Did Pete Duel Kill Himself? and Mail Order Bride.

    The hugely successful blog catvshuman.com receives over 6,000 page views per day, and many of its cartoons have gone viral. 40% new material unpublished on the website.Yasmine Surovec began sketching her clever and sarcastic Cat Versus Human cartoons as a way to relax and unwind. Soon, her popular blog at catversushuman.blogspot.com began receiving as many as 12,000 hits per day, with a number of posts going viral and appearing on popular Web sites such as The Huffington Post and I Can Has Cheezburger. Now, a selection of 100 Cat Versus Human strips--many never previously published--can be found inside this inaugural collection of Cat Versus Human.Proud owners of Felis domesticus will instantly recognize Surovec's keen insights into cat behavior and all of the characteristic intricacies of the cat-human relationship, such as the allure of an empty cardboard box trumping an expensive battery-operated toy or how a cat's favorite nap spot might as easily be inside a litter box, on top of clean laundry, or directly on top of a human face. Cat Versus Human also encourages an affectionate look at your once-was-in-mint-condition midcentury modern sofa that is now being unstuffed one cat claw at a time.

    Fortunately, some of those people have grown up to be clever and talented comic artists, with an important message to share: Everyone can survive middle school! Edited by underground comics icon Ariel Schrag, this anthology of illustrated tales about the agonies and triumphs of seventh and eight grade features some of America's leading graphic novelists, including Daniel Clowes, Joe Matt, Lauren Weinstein, and Ariel herself. With a sense of humor as refreshing as it is bitingly honest, seventeen artists share their stories of first love, bullying, zits, and all the things that make middle school the worst years of our lives.

    In the 1930s, American “Tijuana Bibles,” little pornographic comic books that parodied popular comics and comic strips, were widely available. World War II gave a boost to erotic comics, especially illustrated pin-ups. This set the stage for men’s magazines such as Playboy, which included racy cartoons from the beginning, and fetish comics. The flowering of the counterculture in the next decade gave rise to underground comics, whose acknowledged master was Robert Crumb. A parallel development occurred in Europe, where erotic comics like Barbarella were suddenly the rage. Erotic Comics tells this story with hundreds of illustrations, informative text, and insights from key artists, writers, and publishers. It’s sexy, artistic, entertaining, intriguing, and informative.

    Wonder Woman is the most popular female super hero of all time and a cultural icon. During her existence, she has served in the army, renounced her powers at the height of the feminist movement, and helped launch Gloria Steinem’s Ms. magazine. She has been—and continues to be—a trailblazing role model to girls and women and an integral part of the cultural zeitgeist. Loosely chronological, Wonder Woman explores idiosyncratic creator William Moulton Marston’s interest in ideas of a "new woman" for the twentieth century; costume and character story changes over the decades; the influence on all other female comic book characters since her inception; and how Wonder Woman is still powerful and relevant in today’s comic book renaissance. The book contains more than 250 Wonder Woman illustrations, including covers, interior comic art, and sketch treatments, beginning with her inception in the early 1940s to present-day treatments of the character. Celebrated artists include Alex Ross, Jim Lee, George Perez, and Brian Bolland, to name only a few. The book will also feature rare covers and pin-up posters created for past special-edition comic books. Wonder Woman is certain to appeal to fanboys and fangirls, collectors, and newcomers to the comic book genre alike.

    Jonathan Vankin's Big Book of the '70s looks in surprising depth at the trends and the notable figures of that decade, using illustrations from dozens of excellent comics artists like Shary Flenniken and Terry Laban. Richard Nixon, Jane Fonda, Burt Reynolds, and Jimmy Carter all get the Big Book treatment in a delicious combination of behind-the-scenes peeks and easily digested history lessons. Fads and phenomena like disco, running, and the rise of the women's movement are also explained and, in some cases, followed up through modern times. The writing is clear and snappy, the illustration is consistently well-done, and the topics chosen are a thorough, comprehensive mix of lightweight (pet rocks) and serious (Vietnam). --RobLightner

    Not an intricately plotted "whodunit" or fiery passionate fury. But dirty, sad, disturbing actions from real people. That's what Truman Capote decided to use for IN COLD BLOOD—his bold experiment in the realm of the non-fiction "novel." Following in that legacy is CAPOTE IN KANSAS, a fictionalized tale of Capote's time in Middle America researching his classic book. Capote's struggles with the town, the betrayal, and his own troubled past make this book a compelling portrait of one of the greatest literary talents of the 20th century.

    DK commemorates this special anniversary with "Marvel Comics Cover Art," a beautiful, large-scale book featuring some of the most impactful, inspiring, and unusual comic cover art to come out of the Marvel vault.With access to the rarest and most interesting cover art in Marvel's 75-year history, DK brings together an unforgettable gallery spotlighting the most iconic covers along with never-before-seen concept art from all over the world. Featuring the likes of Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The Avengers, as well as the writers and artists who gave them life, including Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, this book brings together the beloved Marvel characters like no other has done before.Spreads feature blown-up versions of the beautiful comic art capturing every detail while captioning facts and information about each cover's artist, storyline, and history. "Marvel Comics Cover Art" is the only book of its kind to span the breadth of Marvel's cover art and is an imperative addition to any collection.

    Using his experiences from working in the comic book industry, movie studios and teaching, Marcos introduces the reader to a step-by-step system that will create the most successful storyboards and graphics for the best visual communication.After a brief discussion on narrative art, Marcos introduces us to drawing and composing a single image, to composing steady shots to drawing to compose for continuity between all the shots. These lessons are then applied to three diverse story lines – a train accident, a cowboy tale and bikers approaching a mysterious house.In addition to setting up the shots, he also explains and illustrates visual character development, emotive stances and expressions along with development of the environmental setting to fully develop the visual narrative.

    Stephen (The 101 Best Graphic Novels) Weiner takes us on a historical tour of this format with a bit of background on comics as a whole.

    Spanning the period from the 1939 New York World's Fair to the last Apollo space mission in 1975, it is told through the eyes of a boy as he grows up in an era that was optimistic and ambitious, fueled by industry, engines, electricity, rockets, and the atom bomb. An insightful look at relationships and the promise of the future, award-winning author Brian Fies presents his story in a way that only comics and graphic novels can. Interspersed with the comic book adventures of Commander Cap Crater (created by Fies to mirror the styles of the comics and the time periods he is depicting), and mixing art and historical photographs, this groundbreaking graphic novel is a lively trip through a half century of technological evolution. It is also a perceptive look at the changing moods of our nation-and the enduring promise of the future."A hopelessly optimistic moon-age daydream"—The Village Voice"Whatever Happened To The World Of Tomorrow is a very special book that will speak to you on so many levels. And at the end of it, when you sit there and think on what you’ve just read, it may even make you, like it did me, realise that Fies’ vision of our past and his hope for the future is something we can all share in. Quite brilliant."—Richard Bruton, forbiddenplanet.co.ukF&P level: Y

    One of the most beloved and avidly read comic strips of all time, Bloom County not only became a part of, but helped define, the popular culture of a decade. This collection is destined to become a classic.

    In Masterful Marks, top illustrators—including Drew Friedman, Nora Krug, Denis Kitchen, and Peter Kuper—reveal how sixteen visionary cartoonists overcame massive financial, political, and personal challenges to create a new form of art that now defines our world.Superhero comics didn’t exist until two teenagers from Cleveland created the first superhero of all time: Superman. Advertising artist Theodor Geisel released his first book in 1937 as Dr. Seuss—and children’s literature was never the same. Charles M. Schulz’s perseverance and passion gave the world Peanuts, the world’s most famous comic strip. Featuring these tales, and profiling such giants as Walt Disney, Robert Crumb, and the creators of MAD, Tintin, and manga, Masterful Marks illustrates how graphic storytelling became such a rich and popular medium.Masterful Marks is a stunning portrait of the comic art’s aesthetic heritage and a powerful story of how creative vision can change the world.