The Locust Moon Top 40: August 2014

40. FABLES vol. 20

Willingham & Buckingham’s seemingly-endless saga wends towards its conclusion, out of the darkness of its previous volume and back towards its heroic roots.

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39. REMAINDER by Farel Dalrymple

The tour-de-force cartooning in this WRENCHIES side story would make Moebius proud.

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38. KILL MY MOTHER

Jules Feiffer is one of the true architects of the comics medium — here, in his smoke-wreathed noir debut graphic novel, he shows that he’s still on top of his game.

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37. This D&D Audiobook

Let Ice-T and Dan Harmon (sadly, not doing his impression of Ice-T) and friends read Dungeons and Dragons to you. It’s…something special.

36. MEGAHEX

Simon Hanselmann’s weirdly sociopathic stoner gag strip MEGG, MOGG & OWL, collected here by Fantagraphics, is a stealth delivery system for some terrifyingly dark character studies.

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35. MULTIVERSITY #1

Bucking the shitty MOR trends of DC, shamanic comics mastermind Grant Morrison delivers a brain-blasting metacomic, with gorgeously detailed universes drawn by Ivan Reis. Surprising that the suits are letting the iconoclastic Morrison have this much fun with their precious continuity.

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The Locust Moon Top 40: March 2014

40. DESTINO

This is what it looks like when Walt Disney and Salvador Dali sort of collaborate. Sure makes you wonder what could have come of a deeper partnership.

39. BASEWOOD

Another delicious fruit of the Kickstarter era. Never before would a work as personal and idiosyncratic as Alec Longstreth’s BASEWOOD have seen publication in such a beautifully produced oversized edition, a handsomely made book containing a flawlessly cartooned story of loss, survival and connection.

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38. GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

OK, so none of us have actually gotten around to seeing it yet. But we’re so happy to have more Wes Anderson in the world that we’re listing it anyway.

37. MONSTERS & TITANS – the BATTLING BOY art book

Finally, we can see BATTLING BOY artwork the way it deserves to be seen: BIG.

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36. This Terrifying Short Film

Watch if you’re sick of sleeping, and would prefer never to do it again.

35. New Wu Tang Album

They are pressing one single copy of their new double album, which will be sold to the highest bidder. Something tells me we won’t end up finding this one for $3 in the bargain bin of the Princeton Record Exchange, like we did with 36 Chambers in 1997.

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good this week

the wake part one : this is a smart offering, collecting issues 1-5 of the much-buzzed-about sci-fi horror story from popular creators scott snyder and sean murphy. a creepy, claustrophobic yarn that will read better in chunks, this one is highly recommended.

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pretty deadly #3 : the strongest issue yet of this myth- & blood-drenched spaghetti western. one of the best single issues of the year.

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fables volume 19 : the newest collection of the beloved series.

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saga #17 : the most consistently entertaining book of the last two years, with no sign of slowing down.

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east of west #8 : this book gets my year-end vote for ‘BEST OF’.

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figma metroid action figure set : yep.

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–chris stevens

good this week

prophet volume #2 & prophet #36 : a double dose of the out of this world series reinvention from brandon graham & company. this second collection has some of the finest art farel dalrymple has done to date.

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mouse guard: legends of the guard #1 : david petersen’s newest anthology series spinning off of the charming all-ages MOUSE GUARD starts off strong, with petersen providing a framing sequence around some wonderful watercolor pages from stan sakai, a bang-up job by philadelphia’s own alex eckman-lawn, and a superbly delightful turn by ben caldwell.

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The Locust Moon Top 40: May 2013

40. Copra Compendium
It’s finally here, courtesy of Bergen St. Comics. With a voice all his own Fiffe swipes liberally from Miller & Kirby, then high-tails it for the border.copra

39. Electric Light Orchestra
If there’s a better album to make comics to than ELO’s NEW WORLD RECORD, please tell me about it.



38. This Commencement Speech by Joss Whedon
Because YOU HAVE ALREADY BEGUN TO DIE.



37. Poutine
When this stuff finally breaks in the states, dozens of organic locally-sourced poutineries will start popping up all over Williamsburg & Silverlake.

36. Inky
We got a new cat. He’s a little monster, but also a kitten so we are legally and morally obligated to love him.

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good this week

elephantmen #48 : the stakes are rising in richard starkings’ masterful scifi-noir of man and beasts. the best-produced book on the stands. every issue looks fabulous, no matter who draws it.

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b.p.r.d. vampire #3 : mignola. ba. moon. stewart.

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the wake #1 : scott snyder & sean murphy form a new age dream team on this one, and the book looks creepy and smart and like it’s got a story to tell. let’s see where we’re going.

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x-men #1 : this new all-girl x-book has our customers excited across the board, from guys to gals and new & old readers alike.

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absolute top ten : one of my favorite series ever gets the whistles & bells treatment. the hard-to-find SMAX series in included, along with all the alan moore written issues of the titular series. this book is jam packed with comics love, from an at the top of his game moore to the incredibly detailed, and funny, world that zander cannon & gene ha bring to glorious visual life. i was lucky enough back in the day to sit with zander cannon and see what the process was like putting these pages together. i tip my hat to him now, many moons later, as he was really the unsung hero of this masterpiece.

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–chris stevens

good this week

the massive #1 for $1 : sociopolitical environmentalist action from brian wood. a great way to check out this unique series.

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the mice templar volume 4 #1 : we’ve got some signed FABLETOWN exclusive copies of the kickoff of the final story in this much beloved series from bryan glass, mike oeming, and victor santos.

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punk rock jesus tpb : sean murphy can draw anything and make it look good. here he dives into both ends of the zeitgeist and comes out with an unusual and endearing satire.

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kill shakespeare: the tide of blood #2 : it’s like FABLES. but with shakespeare. ’nuff said.

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godzilla the half century war #5 : james stokoe brings his badass romp in gojira-land to a close.

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thanos rising #1 : it’s thanos year one, with the lush art of simone bianchi. this is a beautiful book aiming to beef up the back story of the upcoming AVENGERS movie’s main bad guy.

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