comics

Title	Creator	Publisher	Series	Price
Love and Rockets: New Stories #2	Jaime Hernandez, Gilbert Hernandez	Fantagraphics	Love and Rockets	$11.99 ($14.99 list)
Read more and comment...	It's Here!  We don't have a lot to say about it, yet, but what else do you need to know, really?  Well, for starters, how about the fact that this issue features a 42 page pantomime comic by Beto that is a midnight ferry ride through the subconscious realm that will leave you with that tantalizing feeling you get when you wake up from a particularly vivid yet mystifying dream:  that you had the answer, that you saw how all the pieces fit together and you had it all figured out... if only you could remember!  And then there's the fantastic fifty-page finale of Jaime's epic opus of femme superheroics, "Ti-Girls Adventures Number 34."  This contemporary classic that transcends all attempts to categorize it now only comes out once a year, so we feel that all we have to say is, "Be there, or be square!"
Stuffed	Nick Bertozzi, Glenn Eichler	(:01) First Second		$15.99 ($17.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Stuffed is an excellent work.  Written by award-winning, Colbert Report scriptor, Glenn Eichler, and illustrated by the under-appreciated Nick Bertozzi (read The Salon, if you haven't already).  The cast of characters, the settings, the interactions – all ring true:  these are people we know, doing things in a way that we understand, and that make sense.  At its core lie the roles, rites and responsibilities of parenting, as well as the responses to it.  Stuffed makes for a solid, enriching, rewarding – and entertaining – read. Recommended!
The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book	Joe Daly	Fantagraphics		$18.88 ($22.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Two full color works, the novella length, "The Leaking Cello Case," and the novel length, "John Wesley Harding," make this hardcover volume a welcome arrival for all long suffering fans of South Africa's reigning comics hepster, Joe Daly.  Here is work that really is like no other, a truly diverse amalgamation that brings to mind comics from Hergé to Clowes to Pete Sickman-Garner, but remains utterly unique and distinctly South African.  Not enough people are hep to this guy, so we say, "Check this one out!"  And we're making it easy for you, with this 10-page PDF preview.
Giraffes In My Hair	Bruce Paley, Carol Swain	Fantagraphics		$17.77 ($19.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Carol Swain is one of Britain's finest artists, and with Giraffes In My Hair, written by her current companion, Bruce Paley, we have her most substantial work to date.  It is a memoir of Paley's "life in the tumultuous '60s and '70s."  Starting out in 1967 with hitchhiking and moving on through dropping acid, Disneyland, Chicago '68, Black Panthers and then into the '70s, and Max's Kansas City, doing drugs with Johnny Thunders and punk rock "nihilism."  All told in Carol Swain's exquisite, understated and finely tuned pencil rendering that are a pleasure to behold.  But you don't have to take our word for it; just check out this 9-page PDF preview and decide for yourself.
The Squirrel Machine	Hans Rickheit	Fantagraphics		$16.66 ($18.99 list)
Read more and comment...	It's a freaky frenzy of pen and ink in this aptly titled tale of sex and science fiction set in Victorian-era New England.  Rickheit splices 19th century literary tropes onto a 21st century comics sensibility to come up with a sort of H.G. Wells meets Jim Woodring tale that defies description.  178 pages of the mind-bending and the macabre.  Having trouble visualizing this work from our paltry description we have provided you with?  Have no fears, a 15-page PDF preview is here!
West Coast Blues	Jaques Tardi, Jean-Patrick Manchette	Fantagraphics		$16.66 ($18.99 list)
Read more and comment...	France's king of crime comics is back!  West Coast Blues is an all-new noir full of dramatic pen and ink travelogue of anarchic violence:  from seashore to urban center to deep in the woods.   A world full of people you don't want to meet doing things you'd be better off not knowing about, but somehow, there's something about this world which makes you curious:  just what makes these people tick, and what does that say about the world we live in?
Prison Pit	Johnny Ryan	Fantagraphics		$11.77 ($12.99 list)
Read more and comment...	We have to say, from the looks of Prison Pit (Book One), that it appears that Mr. Ryan has been spending some quality time with the works of Mat Brinkman.  This work is quite a departure and long time Ryan readers may not know what to make of this violent (well, at least that's familiar), nearly wordless, quest-driven narrative set in a barren and nameless terrain.  Fans of hyperviolent role playing video games may have met their match with this one.
Stitches	David Small	Norton		$22.22 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This is a moving childhood memoir from renowned children's picture book illustrator, David Small.  While his career has largely been devoted to serving children, this work reveals that it is likely that he was nourishing his own inner child, as his parents never did.  Stitches is a fairly dark and harrowing work, as are many childhood memoirs, it must be said.  It is executed entirely in pen and ink worked over with delicately nuanced ink washes that capture his pain.  Fans of Will Eisner's late, mature work (also, interestingly, published by Stitches' publisher, W.W. Norton) are herein especially encouraged to take a look, as it manages to achieve a similar emotional punch.  And it's garnered some pretty hefty praise from the likes of Jules Feiffer, Francoise Mouly – even Stan Lee! – but most of all, R. Crumb, who states, "David Small evokes the mad scientific world of the 1950s beautifully.  Small is an innocent lamb, a sensitive boy, caught in a nightmare situation.  Capturing body language and facial expression subtly, Stitches becomes in Small's skillful hands a powerful story, an emotionally charged autobiography."
From Wonderland With Love: Danish Comics in the Third Millenium	Steffen Maarup	Fantagraphics		$25.00 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This is a flexi-bound collection of 178 pages of comics from Denmark:  black and white, duotone and full color.  There's an amazing variety of work on display here, from three-panel pen and ink dailies to full color graphic novellas.  Satire, sarcasm, cuddly cuteness, potentially discomfiting explorations of the unconscious, and much more are packed in side-by-side and executed in a dazzling variety of styles.  Take a look at this 14-page PDF preview and see what you think.
All and Sundry	Paul Hornschemeier	Fantagraphics		$25.00 ($29.99 list)
Read more and comment...	by Paul Hornschemeier All the bits and pieces that were scattered hither and yon have been carefully collected and sequenced in this big fat scrapbook that was (no surprise here) designed by Hornschemeier himself.  There's much to be gleaned here, especially by the artists among you. Not sure what kind of work has been collected?  This PDF preview should give you a better a idea.
Big Questions #12	Anders Nilsen	Drawn and Quarterly	Big Questions	$5.35 ($5.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Yes, it's here.  Apologies for not noting it earlier...  This issue features straight-up bird-on-bird action in a single, issue-length story.  Anders takes us on yet another metaphorical foray into our life and times, as his fine flock of feathered friends gets jumped by a gang of crows set on mayhem and murder.
The Art of Tony Millionaire	Tony Millionaire	Dark Horse		$34.95 ($39.95 list)
Read more and comment...	It's here, Tony Millionaire's coffee-table moment – but, professional drinker and rabble rouser that Mr. Millionaire is, it might be a tad risky to put the fine china next to this volume, as the spirit inhabiting it is liable to bubble forth and wreak havoc.  It is a volume that is likely to feel more at home next to a bottle of spirits, whether it's at the corner tavern or the basement bar.  Included along with page after page of Mr. Millionaire's classic-illustration-era, fine pen and ink stylings are many heretofore unknown and unseen bits and pieces of his life and times and antics:  newspaper clippings, embarrasing photos, confessions of vicious boozing and more!  Long time fans will find much to induldge in.
The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics	Art Siegelman, Francoise Mouly, Carl Barks, Basil Wolverton and more ...	Abrams ComicArts		$35.00 ($40.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Art Spiegelman and Francois Mouly If the amazing kids' comics from the halycon days of yore are your thing, then you've hit the jackopot with this one!  Well over 300 pages of classics, all scanned from the original comics themselves, and printed at approximately 120% of the originals.  These scans have been digitally cleaned up a bit, so there's no newsprint background tones, just the flat white paper that they're printed on.  While this might upset some purists, it was probably a good call as this book is clearly going to be marketed as a gift for children as well as for older fans, and lay people will have difficulty appreciating the nuances of newsprint; and they did a more than decent job of balancing the tones.  The book is, somewhat arbitrarily, divided into five sections:  Hey, Kids; Funny Animals; Fantasyland; Storytime; and Weird and Wacky.  The book successfully draws across the spectrum of children's comics from the twenty years following the close of the second world war – the golden age of kids' comics that fed the baby boomers' imaginations before television took over.  While certainly no one is going to agree with every choice, the editors – along with the board of advisors – picked a good crop of comics that is certain to contain favorites of every fan as well as win the hearts of every reader and, more importantly, is sure to capture the imagination of the next generation.  Includes work by all-time greats Carl Barks, Basil Wolverton, Harvey Kurtzman, John Stanley, Bob Bolling, Walt Kelly, and many, many more (even Dr. Seuss, who started out in comics).  Get a sneak peek, here (just click on the image of the open book at the top right, under "Sample Toon Treasury").
Nancy	John Stanley, Seth	Drawn and Quarterly	The John Stanley Library	$22.22 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Drawn and Quarterly continues their long held dream to present the works of John Stanley in deluxe, Seth-designed volumes.  Pretty much everything we said about the premiere volume in this series, Melvin Monster, holds true for this one, and then some!
The Complete Collected Peanuts, Volume 12: 1973 - 74	Charles Schulz	Fantagraphics	The Complete Peanuts	$23.99 ($28.99 list)
Read more and comment...	<<•>>  introduction by by Billie Jean King  <<•>>  This is the dawning of the age of... Woodstock and Peppermint Patty, who take center stage along with the rest of the Peanuts gang as we head deep into the heart of the 1970s.  Billie Jean King's introduction is a real surprise and has to be the most sincerely heartfelt one yet.  The range of introducers this series has accumulated thus far is a real testament to the amazingly broad appeal of Peanuts:  from Walter Cronkite (Volume 2) to Whoopi Goldberg (Volume 5), from Jonathan Franzen (Volume 4) to John Waters (Volume 9), and now Billie Jean King – everyone loves good ol' Charlie Brown and Co.!
The Complete Collected Peanuts Gift Box Set 6: 1971 - 74	Charles Schulz	Fantagraphics	The Complete Peanuts	$39.99 ($49.99 list)
Read more and comment...	As always, this box set contains the two latest volumes in the series (11 & 12, this time around) , nestled in a sturdy Seth-designed slip case, for a substantial savings.

books

Title	Author	Publisher	Price
Rock Candy	Femke Hiemstra	Fantagraphics	$24.99 ($29.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Here she is, the Dutch Pop Surrealist Queen in all her glory.  This perky die-cut hardcover volume designed and edited by Jacob Covey contains a vibrant mix of painting, sketches, and mixed-media objets d'art.  Get a taste with this generous 15-page preview courtesy of the fine folks at Fantagraphics.
McSweeney's 32	Chris Adrian, Wells Tower, Heidi Julavits, Anthony Doerr and more ...	McSweeney's	$12.95 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	We're offering a special price on some McSweeney's publications this month, so if you've been thinking about checking in with them, sow's your chance.  Here's the official word from Eggar's & Co.:  "Because it seemed important to know in advance, we've dedicated Issue 32 to an investigation of the world to come—near-future stories written by the likes of Anthony Doerr, Heidi Julavits, Wells Tower, Chris Adrian, and Salvador Plascencia, each of 'em unearthing a different corner of life in the year 2024. This will be, we are sure, way more entertaining than waiting fifteen years for the real thing." SPECIAL WEB ONLY SALE PRICE!!!
Read Hard	Jonathan Lethem, William T. Vollmann, Ben Ehrenreich, Paul La Farge and more ...	McSweeney's	$9.95 ($18.00 list)
Read more and comment...	We're offering a special price on some McSweeney's publications this month, so if you've been thinking about checking in with them, sow's your chance.  Here's the publisher's official word:  "This volume collects the finest essays and articles from the four-time National Magazine Award–nominated Believer magazine. The book combines all the erudition and wit readers have come to expect from its pages: Jonathan Lethem on Nathanael West, William T. Vollmann on W. G. Sebald, Ben Ehrenreich on Brian Evenson, Paul La Farge on Dungeons & Dragons, and much, much more. It’s an essential anthology, collecting the best in creative nonfiction, the best in literary journalism, and the best writing in English from the beginning of the twenty-first century, from one of the smartest, weirdest, and funniest magazines in the country. SPECIAL WEB ONLY SALE!!!
McSweeney's 31	Will Sheff, Mary Miller, Shelley Jackson, John Brandon and more ...	McSweeney's	$15.95 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	We're offering a special price on some McSweeney's publications this month, so if you've been thinking about checking in with them, sow's your chance.  Here's the official word from Eggar's & Co.:  "Barthelme said that "The Novel of the Soil is dead, as are Expressionism, Impressionism, Futurism, Imagism, Vorticism, Regionalism, Realism, the Kitchen Sink School of Drama, the Theatre of the Absurd, the Theatre of Cruelty, Black Humor, and Gongorism." But he left out, pointedly, the Biji, the Nivola, the Graustarkian Romance, the Consuetudinary, the Whore's Dialogue, the Fornaldarsaga, and the eighties, which are not dead; they are all in McSweeney's 31, as rendered by Douglas Coupland, Joy Williams, John Brandon, Shelley Jackson, Mary Miller, and Will Sheff, along with other fugitive genres recaptured by our finest writers, as part of a project to bring them back alive (except for the eighties, there is actually nothing about the eighties). In an oversized format, with annotations, illustrations, and pantoums, Issue 31 aims to introduce you to all the genres you never knew you loved."

dvds

Title	Director	Publisher	Price
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer	Robbie Cavolina, Ian McCrudden		$25.00 ($29.98 list)
Read more and comment...	Years in the making, this definitive documentary film portrait of one of the all-time great jazz singers is now here.  It's a two-disc marvel with a bonus disc that includes what all true aficionado's crave:  90 minutes of uninterrupted live performances!  Make sure to get a taste here, at the official Anita O'Day website.

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