Ben Catmull's eerie new book is at the printer a little early for release in July or August (with a debut at Comic-Con in San Diego), bringing you some much-needed chills and goose pimples in the dog days of summer. The author introduces the book thusly:
"Welcome to Ghosts and Ruins, a compendium of old, forgotten haunted houses, their strange histories, and the experiences of those brave enough to visit. It is highly recommended that you read this book alone late at night in the dark far away from civilization, preferably during a power outage."
Get ready to explore "The Buried House," "The Disgusting Garden," "The Secluded House," "The Lighthouse," the "Labyrinth of Junk," and "The Crawling House"; meet "Drowned Shelley" (that's her below), "The Woman Outside the Window," "The Sculptor," and the "Lonely Old Spinster"; and learn the secrets of "Wandering Smoke," "The Order of the Shadowy Finger" (their HQ is on the cover), and "Hair and Earwigs."
Stay tuned for more spine-tingling sneak peeks in the coming weeks!
“I fell madly in love with Cathy Malkasian’s beautiful Percy Gloom graphic novel a few years back, which was as beautiful as it was unexpected, so there is little to no way that I am not eagerly anticipating this follow-up. For those who like gorgeously-illustrated, melancholy and touching books: This is for you.” – Graeme McMillan, Robot 6
Cathy Malkasian's second Percy Gloom graphic novel is another fable that the author brings to vivid life through her lush and detailed pencil renderings, surreal humor, absurdist characters, breathtaking landscapes, and luminous storytelling.
Kindhearted, Candide-esque Percy wakes up from a 200 year nap and finds himself in a strange new land. Searching for his mother, lamenting his long-lost love and soul-mate Miss Margaret, Percy meets bizarre, wise, naive, and sometimes dangerous characters, encounters inspired inventions, and forges friendships, discovering a few unexpected verities along the way.
Not to mention the singing goats and furniture parades.
Jim Woodring posted this on Facebook just a few hours ago and I couldn't wait until tomorrow to share it:
"Almost eighteen months after work was begun on it the completed FRAN is being placed in the loving hands of Fantagraphics tomorrow. Meet me at the intersection; I'll bring the ether."
Assembled from work done in the author’s sketchbooks in the year following the death of his partner in 2005, The End is a collection of meditations on loss and a record of his struggle to reconcile her death. The book encompasses a variety of forms, from finely observed depictions of a newly transformed daily life, to mutating abstractions of internal turmoil, and imagined dialogues with the dead. The book carries the reader through a year of grief tinged by turns with humor, anger, absurdity, and grace.
It's a Love and Rockets two-fer! These books are in the can, ready for press, available for pre-order, and coming to you this Summer:
At last, all of Gilbert Hernandez's New Tales of Old Palomar are collected between two covers for your bookshelf, with a new name: The Children of Palomar. These stories flash back to the "Heartbreak Soup" days — and before! — and expand the Palomar mythology in new and surprising ways. When first released in comic form, this material was hailed by critics as some of Gilbert's best work ever, and the stories, while richly rewarding for longtime fans, stand on their own for new readers as well. (We've bundled it up with Gilbert's recent triumph Julio's Day in a nicely discounted set.) Get a sneak peek at 11 pages of story & art here.
Well, the Love and Rockets 30th anniversary books are missing the actual anniversary, but they are so worth the wait! The Love and Rockets Companion: 30 Years (and Counting) is the ultimate guide to everything Palomar, Hoppers, and beyond, with 3 major interviews with the Hernandez brothers, character guides, unpublished artwork, timelines, a checklist, and even letter column highlights from the original series. Oh and by the way, the black title area on the cover is a removable sticker and the jacket folds out into a poster on one side and character family tree on the other! We've put together a 32-page preview with smatterings of pages from the major sections, which you can read and/or download here.
These two covers really show off the versatility of our lead designer Tony Ong, don't they?
With this volume, "The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library" loops back to Barks's earlier days, collecting the entirety of Barks's (astounding) 1948 output.
The title story, "The Old Castle's Secret," is notable not just for being the first full-length 32-page adventure instigated by Scrooge McDuck (in his second-ever appearance), but for featuring some of Barks's spookiest, lushest settings in old Clan McDuck castle of Dismal Downs. The other long story, "The Sheriff of Bullet Valley," plunks Donald and the nephews in the Wild West, with Donald as an overconfident deputy having to deal with some high-tech rustlers. The book also includes the less-known "In Darkest Africa," originally published in a giveaway and unreleased for decades.
This volume also features an even 10 of Barks's dynamic "Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories" 10-pagers, including "Wintertime Wager" (the first appearance of a not-yet-lucky-but-still-obnoxious Gladstone Gander); "Spoil the Rod" (in which the exquisitely named educational professor Pulpheart Clabberhead is brought in to help tame the nephews); "Rocket Race to the Moon" (a rare full-on adventure — interplanetary, no less — in the short form); "Gladstone Returns" and "Links Highjinks" (two more Gladstone yarns); and five more stories... plus a half-dozen hilarious one-page gags.
Of course, once again all the stories have been shot from crisp originals, then re-colored (and printed) to match, for the first time since their original release over 60 years ago, the colorful yet soft hues of the originals — and of course the book is rounded off with essays about Barks, the Ducks, and these specific stories by Barks experts from all over the world.
During the 1990s and 2000s, Peter Bagge worked mostly on his "Buddy Bradley" stories in Hate and a series of standalone graphic novels (Apocalypse Nerd), but in-between these major projects this ever-energetic cartoonist also cranked out dozens of shorter stories, which are now finally being collected in this riotously anarchic book.
Peter Bagge's Other Stuff includes a few lesser-known Bagge characters, including the wacky modern party girl "Lovey" and the aging bobo "Shut-Ins" — not to mention the self-explanatory "Rock 'N' Roll Dad" starring Murry Wilson and the Beach Boys. But many of the strips are one-off gags or short stories, often with a contemporary satirical slant, including on-site reportage like "So Much Comedy, So Little Time" (from a comedy festival) and more. Also: Dick Cheney, The Matrix, and Alien!
Other Stuff also includes a series of Bagge-written stories drawn by other cartoonists, including "Life in these United States" with Daniel Clowes, "Shamrock Squid" with Adrian Tomine, and the one-two parody punch of "Caffy" (with art by R. Crumb) and "Dildobert" (with art by Prison Pit’s Johnny Ryan)... plus a highlight of the book, the hilarious, literate and intricate exposé of "Kool-Aid Man" written by Alan Moore and drawn by Bagge. (Other collaborators include the Hernandez Brothers and Danny Hellman.)
Bagge is one of the funniest cartoonists of the century (20th or 21st), and this collection shows him at his most free-wheeling and craziest... 50 times over.
With its long-awaited second volume, Linda Medley's witty and sublimely drawn fantasy eases into a relaxed comedy of manners as Lady Jain settles into her new life in Castle Waiting.
Unexpected visitors result in the discovery and exploration of a secret passageway, not to mention an epic bowling tournament. A quest for ladies' underpants, the identity of Pindar's father, the education of Simon, Rackham and Chess arguing about the "manly arts," and an escape-prone goat are just a few of the elements in this delightful new volume.
The book also includes many flashbacks that deepen the stories behind the characters, including Jain's earliest romantic entanglements and conflicts with her bratty older sisters, the horrific past of the enigmatic Dr. Fell, and more.
Originally released in a slightly shorter version when the series ceased publication, this new edition includes over 60 pages' worth of brand new additional story and epilogue, and the entire book has been re-lettered in a livelier, more inviting style for an even more engaging reading experience.
