FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
EXCAVATION HC
(W) Max Andersson (A) Max Andersson (CA) Max Andersson
A new German Expressionist-influenced graphic novel from the author of Pixy and Bosnian Flat Dog where nothing is as it seems. A man and his girlfriend go to visit his family, only to find their home destroyed and his father Frankensteining his siblings. Based on the author's dreams, The Excavation's surreal verisimilitude recalls cult films like The Forbidden Zone and Eraserhead and reads like a collaboration between Gary Panter and Edvard Munch.
INTERVIEW HC
(W) Manuele Fior (A) Manuele Fior (CA) Manuele Fior
Set in 2048, is a science fiction novel from the author of that eschews outer space for inner space. It is a moving story about the passage of time, the commonalities and differences between generations, and on our changing society. "I tried to imagine the near future," says the author, "where not everything is negative and catastrophic, where the end of the world does not come with a violent apocalypse, but rather an intimate and familiar context of daily life that keeps flowing."
LOVE & ROCKETS MAGAZINE #2
(W) Gilbert Hernandez (A) Gilbert Hernandez (CA) Gilbert Hernandez
The second issue of Love and Rockets picks right up from Issue #1! Over on Jaime's side, it's La Llorona's turn to hit the stage at the punk rock reunion and the Hellmets are closing in on Princess Animus. Is Hopey ready? Is Isla ready? Are you ready? On Gilbert's side, Fritz and her twin daughters meet, making Fritz crazier than ever, while Pipo and her new squeeze visit the mysterious Dr. Emil in prison in an effort to learn just what his secret cosmetic treatment actually is...
MOUNTEBANK GN
Mountebank is like nothing you've ever seen before: a systematized sketchbook that tracks the inner workings of an obsessive brain and a book that could only be described as "psychedoolic." Both meditative and hypnotic, D.W. invites you to get lost alongside anthropomorphic creatures crawling through grid paper labyrinths and in his own brand of whirling dervish mark-making.
MY FAVORITE THING IS MONSTERS GN
(W) Emil Ferris (A) Emil Ferris (CA) Emil Ferris
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is a murder mystery, a family drama, a sweeping historical epic, and a psychological thriller about monsters, real and imagined. Set against the political backdrop of late '60s Chicago, Karen Reyes tries to solve the murder of her enigmatic upstairs neighbor. Rendered in a kaleidoscopically visual style, Emil Ferris' draftsmanship echoes the drawing of Otto Dix, George Grosz, and Robert Crumb. This is a revelatory work of striking originality and will undoubtedly be greeted as the debut graphic novel of the year.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD GN
(W) Graham Chaffee (A) Graham Chaffee (CA) Graham Chaffee
This noir thriller from Graham Chaffee () is a hard-boiled journey to the darker regions of the American Dream and of married life. Set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the banality of Lonnie and Kate Ross' marriage goes on as Kate looks outside her marriage for satisfaction and Lonnie's suspicions of his wife's infidelity lead him down a deadly road of paranoia and violence. Possession, jealousy, lust, and betrayal - the classic ingredients for a rocky marriage in an America on the verge of nuclear apocalypse are all present. Masterfully paced and drawn, captures the pulpy, nocturnal atmosphere of classic noir.