We heard only hours before starting to write up the arrival of the softcover edition of this classic work by two of the all-time greats of bande dessinee, that Moebius, perhaps the greatest of them all, had passed away. While Madwoman does not contain the type of cosmic science fiction imagery most closely associated with Moebius, it is second only to The Incal as his most important collaboration withAlejandro Jodorowsky, and it is a work that clearly demonstrates his seemingly effortless mastery of the form and that is certainly one of his most mature and sophisticated works from a narrative standpoint. On the one hand Madwoman is a close...

And here's another reason to get up in the morning: a new release by Kevin H. This one is fairly convoluted in its conception and execution, but therein lies part of its appeal. Wild Kingdom had its humble beginnings in Super Monster 12 that was first published way back at the dawn of the millennium. This material was then bolstered and slightly reconfigured for the February 2006 release of the fourth issue of Or Else, his since discontinued Drawn & Quarterly series. And, now with Wild Kingdom, the material at last receives its apotheosis. The core meaning of Wild Kingdom is surrounded by a dense underbrush of irony that must be...

Reid Paley's now classic 1999 debut solo LP, Lucky's Tune has at long last been released on (140g) vinyl, in a limited, SIGNED, gatefold edition of 1000 copies from Demon Records in the UK.

A key architect of the Pittsburgh punk scene, among whose many roles were show promoter, gig securer, venue locator, press liaison, actor in the seminal Pittsburgh punk film, Debt Begins at Twenty and, oh yeah, being the front man for Pittsburgh's greatest punk band (which later relocated to Boston), THE FIVE, Reid Paley has gone on to have a lengthy solo career, based in Brooklyn, NY where he continues to write, record and perform his unique brand of...

I Am Young reads likea series oflushly renderedpostcards sent through time from eras past, eachaccompanied by an illustrated "soundtrack" consisting of classic LPs. Running throughout, as the main theme, is an ill-starred love story set to the music, lives and times of The Beatles. Other LPs incorporated into the narratives of love and heartbreak are Eddy Arnold's Anytime, The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, theTom Jones debut, Along Came Jones (ironic or not ironic? / that is the question), along withChuck Berry's greatest hits collection, The Great Twenty-Eight –and it all gets started with a Brunswick 78 rpm 10" of Cab Calloway's "St. James...

Well, if you're only going to read one comic book this year... then you are going to have to steer clear of this one! That's becauseBuilding Storiesis a box set offourteenseparate comics pieces, including two hardcover books, pamphlet style comics, accordion fold-outs, newspapers, flip books,a gameboard-esque piece,and more (check out the accompanying illustrations to get an idea). In his relentless quest to up the ante of what comics are capable of pulling off, Mr. Ware has pulled out the stops, called in the reserves, and put the Acme Novelty Company on a wartime footing to forge thismassive meditation on the parallelsbetween the...

The follow up to last year's It Never Happened, New Construction features two new comics novellas, "Backyard" and "Household."Each is tautly rendered in Alden's forceful pencil line. New Construction is aptly titled in that it is put together diferently. It is a bifurcated edition, with the first tale, "Backyard," being both tightly rendered and printed on a (relatively) bright cream colored stock, while the second, "Household" is far more loose and expressionistic in its rendering and is printed on a dull light gray newsprint. It is worth noting here that the reproduction quality in New Construction is significantly superior to that of It...

One could say thatJoseph Smith and the Mormons, a 464-page, hardcover, full color, historical-epic/biography in comics form of the life of Joseph Smith and the founding of the Church of the Latter Day Saints – aka the Mormons – is the work of a lifetime. It is the fruition of years of self-reflection and research followed by even more years of writing and drawing (and then editing). Noah Van Sciver was brought up in the the Church of the Latter Day Saints, but then fell away from it – along with his mother, and some (but not all) of his siblings – after his parents divorced. His father stayed in the church. These biographical facts shed...

The cover image with whichthe collectedArt Comicfirst greets the eye,in juxtaposing Yves Klein’s “Leap into the Void” with Jeff Koon’s “Balloon Dog,” sends a strong, clear signal of what is in store for the reader, once they crack the cover. The protagonist’s leap here is made with an expression mixing equal parts of hope,fear and anxiety (with, perhaps, a hint of aggression), likely matchingThurber’s own feelings regarding the work’s central concern: the contemporary, NYC-centered, fine art world, and his experiences therein and thereof.

The story begins from the perspective of youthful idealism embodied by students attending Thurber’s...

How's this for value: the complete 360 page graphic novel in hardcover for the same price as the 160 page Book One in softcover issued by Fantagraphics a couple years back? Not only that, but this edition completes Kim Thompson's excellent translation that he started for Book One. Originally published in six volumes in France between 1996 and 2004, this edition represents the first time the complete story has appeared in English. As readers of David B.'s recently released Babel already know, he is a formidable graphic stylist with a strong and sure line and a great sense of how to use blacks to create a balanced page. Epileptic is the...