Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography


Chester Brown - 2003
    Brown coolly documents with dramatic subtlety the violent rebellion on the Canadian prairie led by Riel, who some regard a martyr who died in the name of freedom, while others consider him a treacherous murderer.

She of the Mountains


Vivek Shraya - 2014
    There is no she.Two cells make up one cell. This is the mathematics behind creation. One plus one makes one. Life begets life. We are the period to a sentence, the effect to a cause, always belonging to someone. We are never our own.This is why we are so lonely.She of the Mountains is a beautifully rendered illustrated novel by Vivek Shraya, the author of the Lambda Literary Award finalist God Loves Hair. Shraya weaves a passionate, contemporary love story between a man and his body, with a re-imagining of Hindu mythology. Both narratives explore the complexities of embodiment and the damaging effects that policing gender and sexuality can have on the human heart.Illustrations are by Raymond Biesinger, whose work has appeared in such publications as The New Yorker and the New York Times.Vivek Shraya is a multimedia artist, working in the mediums of music, performance, literature, and film. Her most recent film, What I LOVE about Being QUEER, has been expanded to include an online project and book with contributions from around the world. She is also author of God Loves Hairand Even This Page Is White.

Nine Lives


William Dalrymple - 2009
    . . A prison warder from Kerala is worshipped as an incarnate deity for two months of every year . . . A Jain nun tests her powers of detachment watching her closest friend ritually starve herself to death . . . The twenty-third in a centuries-old line of idol makers struggles to reconcile with his son’s wish to study computer engineering . . . An illiterate goatherd keeps alive in his memory an ancient 200,000-stanza sacred epic . . . A temple prostitute, who resisted her own initiation into sex work, pushes her daughters into the trade she nonetheless regards as a sacred calling.William Dalrymple tells these stories, among others, with expansive insight and a spellbinding evocation of remarkable circumstance, giving us a dazzling travelogue of both place and spirit

Train Man: A Shojo Manga


Machiko Ocha - 2005
    Then one day, on the train home, he rescues a beautiful girl from a troublesome drunk. Now the girl sees the hero inside the otaku–and it appears that Ikumi will finally find romance! But though Ikumi found the courage to save her, will he ever be brave enough to win her heart?Desperate, Ikumi posts an urgent plea on an Internet message board: “Help me win the girl of my dreams!” Ikumi’s story ignites the whole online world. Everyone is ready to help Ikumi prove that even an otaku can find true love!Includes special extras after the story!

A Drifting Life


Yoshihiro Tatsumi - 2008
    A Drifting Life is his monumental memoir eleven years in the making, beginning with his experiences as a child in Osaka, growing up as part of a country burdened by the shadows of World War II.Spanning fifteen years from August 1945 to June 1960, Tatsumi’s stand-in protagonist, Hiroshi, faces his father’s financial burdens and his parents’ failing marriage, his jealous brother’s deteriorating health, and the innumerable pitfalls that await him in the competitive manga market of mid-twentieth-century Japan. He dreams of following in the considerable footsteps of his idol, the manga artist Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy, Apollo’s Song, Ode to Kirihito, Buddha)—with whom Tatsumi eventually became a peer and, at times, a stylistic rival. As with his short-story collection, A Drifting Life is designed by Adrian Tomine.

Apocalypse Meow, Volume 1


Motofumi Kobayashi - 1998
    with cats and rabbits! Rabbits are fighting in the Vietnam War?! That's right-the characters of this pseudo-historical account of Vietnam War are rabbits, cats, and other animals representing various nationalities involved in the war. It's the story of the life and adventures of the Special Operations unit lead by Sergeant "Perky" Perkins. The reader will experience and feel the danger and life or death excitement of the battlefield alongside Perky and his rabbits as they face terrible battles in the jungles of Vietnam. A remarkable synthesis of gritty realism and fable-like characters. Apocalypse Meow is a unique masterpiece!

Indra and Sachi


Lakshmi Seshadri - 2011
    Lying and killing for the sake of peace and order, Indra felt he was unworthy of being king of heaven. A new king was installed on his throne! Now it was up to Indra’s wife Shachi to ensure that his honour survived. Would the gods ever regain their respect for her beloved?

Get Jiro!


Anthony Bourdain - 2012
    where master chefs rule the town like crime lords and people literally kill for a seat at the best restaurants, a bloody culinary war is raging.On one side, the Internationalists, who blend foods from all over the world into exotic delights. On the other, the "Vertical Farm," who prepare nothing but organic, vegetarian, macrobiotic dishes. Into this maelstrom steps Jiro, a renegade and ruthless sushi chef, known to decapitate patrons who dare request a California Roll, or who stir wasabi into their soy sauce. Both sides want Jiro to join their factions. Jiro, however has bigger ideas, and in the end, no chef may be left alive!Anthony Bourdain, top chef, acclaimed writer (Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw) and star of the hit travel show, No Reservations, co-writes with Joel Rose (Kill Kill Faster Faster, The Blackest Bird) this stylized send-up of food culture and society, with detailed and dynamic art by Langdon Foss.

My New York Diary


Julie Doucet - 1999
    In one of the first contemporary graphic novels, Doucet abruptly packs her bags and moves to New York. Trouble follows her in the form of a jealous boyfriend, insecurity about her talent, her worsening epilepsy, and a tendency to self-medicate with booze and drugs.

Deadpool: All in the Family


James Asmus - 2011
    CHILL as Lady Deadpool and Headpool try to find the root cause of their majorly abusive frenemieship. Then THRILL as Kidpool and Dogpool embark on a 100-ton mechanized joy ride and and uhm...GET ILL as Dogpool makes a brand-new archenemy. Then it's 'Two Mutants and a Baby' in the untold story of how Cable escaped from Alaska with Hope. Wait -- You don't think Cable did that alone, did you? PLUS: Deadpool struggles to find the perfect way to honor his pal Cable.

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less


Sarah Glidden - 2010
    Her experience clashes with her preconceived notions again and again, particularly when she tries to take a non-chaperoned excursion into the West Bank. As she struggles to "understand Israel," Sarah is forced to question first her beliefs, then ultimately her own identity.Sarah Glidden won the prestigious Ignatz Award for "Most Promising New Talent" as well as the Masie Kukoc Award for Comics Inspiration. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies.

Gonzo


Will Bingley - 2010
    Thompson's extraordinary life he was publicly branded a bum, a vandal, a thief, a liar, an addict, a freak and a psychopath. Only some of which are true. Even in the 20th century crowded with celebrity, his legacy remains a brilliantly vital force.The great American iconoclast, the great American outlaw, the great American hedonist... However you choose to view him, Thompson remains the high-water mark for all social commentators the world over, and a truly fearless champion of individual liberties.This is his story... the story of a troubled kid from Louisville, Kentucky, who went on to become an international icon. This is a story that charts the legendary heights of so-called "Gonzo Journalism", plumbs the darkest depths of American politics, and presents a lifestyle beyond imagination."No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride."

Hellblazer: Original Sins


Jamie Delano - 1988
    He's a hero, of sorts, who manages to come out on top through a combination of luck, trickery, and genuine magical skill. The Original Sins collection is a loosely connected series of tales of John's early years where Constantine was at his best and at his worst, all at the same time.Collects Hellblazer #1-9.

Slaine: The Horned God - Part Two


Pat Mills - 1990
    Having finally acquired the sacred weapons and approval he needed from the three other kings of Tir-Nan-Og, Slaine ascends to the position of High King - to immediately face his greatest threat, an army of Drunes, Sea Demons and other foul creatures! But Slaine's mission is two-fold; as High King, he must also lead his people away from the darkness and mystery of their old religions, back to a oneness with nature... not that he won't be breaking a few heads along the way!

Cairo: A Graphic Novel


G. Willow Wilson - 2007
    But the vastness of Africa's legendary City of Victory extends into a spiritual realm—the Undernile—and even darker powers lurk there...Written by journalist G. Willow Wilson (Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, Cairo Magazine) and drawn by award-winning illustrator M.K. Perker (The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal), this magical-realist thriller brings together the ancient and modern Middle East."Chock full of brilliant ideas drawn from the mythology and legends of the Middle East, deftly reinterpreted and modernized by Wilson's agile and whimsical mind and Perker's impressive craft." - Bill Willingham, creator and writer of FABLES