40. SECRET AVENGERS
Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Doop be damned — this may be the most fun book that Marvel is putting out. Come for the comedy, stay for the wild sci-fi ideas and propulsively energetic storytelling.
39. Alan Moore Interview on Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson has had an outsized impact on comics sci-fi as one of the prime influences of two of its major writers: Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. Now, as bonus content for the COSMIC TRIGGER theatrical Kickstarter, you can hear comics favorite curmudgeon spend an hour kvelling about the importance of Wilson’s particular brand of visionary oddball sci-fi.
38. SHE-HULK
Charles Soule & Javier Pulido continue making us smile with their latest issue of She-Hulk, taking the jolly green she-giant over to San Francisco to see Daredevil — making for an obviously perfect crossover. The two super-lawyers wonder why they never went up against each other back in NYC, and so do we…
37. THE AMATEURS
Conor Stechschulte’s graphic novel debut is a strange little incantation, a quietly funny nightmare in black & white — the sort of book that lingers in the back corners of your mind.
36. KIRBY NEW GODS ARTIST’S EDITION
The unadulterated tiger-force, delivered straight from the tiger-source.
35. This New James Jean Drawing
The master has been quiet lately, but he proves he hasn’t lost a step with this pen & ink tiger-force of his own.
34. The Watcher’s Eyeball
Definitely the most deliciously gruesome and delightfully bouncy promotional item Mavel has ever sent us. Fun for weirdos of all ages. Free with purchase at Locust Moon.
33. This Crowdfunded Undersea Observation Vehicle
If Jacques Cousteau was a Starfleet Captain this would have been his ship.
32. Jonathan Hickman’s AVENGERS Books
Hickman can, at times, be an almost infuriatingly methodical writer — but when he starts pulling strings, and his intricate Rube Goldberg plot structures start collapsing on each other, there’s nothing quite like it in comics.
31. This Turtle Who Survived 30 Years Lost in His Owner’s House
Who says you can’t go home again? The trick is to never leave.
30. This Dog’s Horrifying Halloween Costume
You open the door to your house, and your dog comes running up to greet you…
29. BLACK SCIENCE Volume 1
Image is building an arsenal of accessible TPBs and this book is a major sci-fi adventure shot in their salvo.
28. MAD MEN
We come to the end of the beginning of the end. As the sixties comes to a close we get ready to say goodbye to what might be the best show on television.
27. Bob Dylan’s Birthday
Our man has a new album coming out. We hear he’s finally going to reveal how many roads a man must walk down. NO SPOILERS PLZ.
26. MIRACLEMAN
After years mired in the muck of lawsuits and IP disputes, one of the greatest comics of all time emerges, back in print from Marvel, timeless and poetic and otherworldly. If you haven’t read Miracleman yet you’re in for quite a journey.
25. Harrison Ford Confronting Chewie
This takes an unexpected, hilarious & slightly heartbreaking turn.
24. Renee Nault
Our neighbor at TCAF was a creator of stunning illustrations and gorgeous, mysterious comics. Check out her work here.
23. This Insane STREET FIGHTER-style Whirlwind Kick
Did this kid jump out of a video game and into real life?
22. Electricomics
This digital comics initiative has Alan Moore excited about comics again. That gets us excited. And guess what? Moore’s personal contribution to this project he’s spearheading is BIG NEMO, where he’ll chronicle the adventures of a grown up Nemo in the 1930s.
21. Tolkien LORD OF THE RINGS Art
Who knew? Maybe you did, but we certainly didn’t — J.R.R. Tolkien was a gifted & original aspiring visual artist. It’s a shame he never did an illustrated edition of one of his books.
20. Arthur Adams Inks the Dark Phoenix
In 16 minutes Arthur Adams takes a blank page to a fully rendered example of his continual awesomeness and cross-hatching brilliance.
19. This STREET ANGEL Statue
Jim Rugg has been hyping up the release of his beautiful new STREET ANGEL hardcover collection (from AdHouse) by sharing bits and bobs from his SA archives. This fan-made, Rugg-designed statue is one of our favorite discoveries yet.
18. El Vez NYC Opening
We dined with Denis Kitchen at the newly opened NYC edition of Philadelphia’s EL VEZ, which features design work, murals, and various art by our own ink-slinging bad-ass, Jimmy Comey. If you had told us six months ago that the Goldman Sachs building would feature a bathroom with a 20-foot Comey painting of a 300 lb woman masturbating, we would have said, “You’re damn right it will.”
17. FINAL INCAL
No one can follow Moebius — but if someone has to try, I can’t think of a better choice than Ladronn. He teams up with Alejandro Jodorowsky to complete the sweeping futurist epic THE INCAL.
16. GENIUS, ANIMATED
The third entry in this series of brilliantly detailed and beautifully designed Alex Toth art books enters Toth’s late period — the Hanna-Barbera years, when every frill and gild had been boiled away, leaving only the pure, singing gesture of a born graphic storyteller.
15. ART OF NEIL GAIMAN
A handsome art/bio/behind the scenes hardcover delving into Mr. Gaiman’s back pages.
14. 477 BRIGHT CIRCLE
A sort of companion piece to her last mini SUB, Daryl Seitchik effortlessly blends formal experimentation with memory and longing — another semi-autobiographical piece about falling through the comics page, into the past.
13. Art Adams’ Interlocking Covers
So Marvel got Arthur Adams to do variant covers for their ORIGINAL SIN event. No big deal, Arthur does a bunch of covers for Marvel and has been an in-demand artist for almost 30 years. Oh, wait, he’s drawing all 8 interconnected covers on one huge board?
WOW.
12. DEVIL DINOSAUR
One of the King’s final creations for the company he was instrumental in creating finally gets collected in one volume. Gloriously goofy, with flashes of the raw power Kirby wielded throughout the 1970s.
11. BOOM BOOM BOOM
This sexy little handmade anthology of woodcut erotica was our favorite of many wonderful TCAF discoveries. Hilariously odd, beautifully crafted, and guaranteed to give you wood.
10. TCAF
The world’s best comics festival was the world’s best comics festival. We’re counting down the days ’til next year. Here’s our recap.
9. THIS ONE SUMMER
Mariko & Jillian Tamaki weave a rapturous spell in this downbeat masterpiece of adolescent ennui.
8. CYCLOPS #1
Perfectly pitched space pirating and fatherly love make what seemed to be a baffling idea for a series one of our new favorites. Greg Rucka’s relatable, charming, and tightly paced writing and Russell Dauterman’s command of the superhero (and spare pirate) form cement this as one of Marvel’s strongest titles right out of the gate.
7. MAGICAL GAME TIME
We finally met Zac Gorman at TCAF, where we picked up his first print collection of the poignant video game-inspired webcomics he’s been charming us (and occasionally bringing us to tears) with over the last few years. And we can’t wait to see the full-length COSTUME QUEST book he’s done for Double Fine — it’s a match made in our personal heaven.
6. This TCAF Video Review
This reader from TCAF sums up Rob Woods’ work more thoroughly, thoughtfully, and heartbreakingly than we ever could. Never stop reading with your heart, Jessie.
5. LOVE AND ROCKETS Soundtrack
Listen along to the sound of Locas — Gabe Soria has assembled a playlist of every song ever mentioned in Love and Rockets.
4. ANDRE THE GIANT
Like Ed Piskor’s HIP HOP FAMILY TREE, ANDRE THE GIANT finds a remarkable cartoonist marrying two great passions to truly joyous effect. Andre’s life was a wild story, and there’s no one better than Box Brown to tell it.
3. Seth Kushner, Delete Blood Cancer
Seth is a talented writer and photographer, a loving husband & father, and a genuine good guy. Let’s cheer him on as he fights leukemia. And check out one of the daily superhero drawings Seth’s been doing from the hospital for his son. You’re pretty fantastic yourself, Seth.
2. LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM is finished.
Our play for the history books is finished and off to the printer. Feels a bit like a buzzer-beating three pointer, hanging tantalizingly and terrifyingly in the air.
1. ONCE UPON A TIME MACHINE begins anew.
And the gears are now fully in motion for a return to the book — or perhaps now we should say series — that started Locust Moon.
