Lou had the life of her dreams, happy marriage, new baby, good job, the works, until she was murdered. Now, brought back to life as part of a government project, she finds her murder to not be as solved as they've claimed. But murder mystery is just the icing on a much more delicious, many layered cake, in this mega-addictive novel that just as much about the lives we build, the choices we make, and perspective that can only be gained from time and distance. I'd really love to tell you more, but can't give it away. 3 out of 3 booksellers in my direct line of sight agree. My Murder is a hit!
Q: When is a romance novel NOT a romance? A: When it is so much MORE, as is the case with this fun, funny, fast, and delightful novel, that's a bit deeper than it might seem. Serena runs across the man of her dreams on a trip to New Orleans, discovers they both live in Seattle, and completely upends her entire life in pursuit of him, but really in pursuit of self fulfillment. The romance bookends the story, which turns out to be about expectations, loss, coming of age (as a 30 year old adult), and choosing your own path.
How do these guys keep doing it ?!? Brubaker and Phillips are the best team going in comics, & the streak continues with this excellent noir/crime graphic novel. An American businessman visits a European town for a trade show, and inadvertently ends up living a different life while unable to sleep at night. A violent, instinctual life totally opposite of his comfortable suburban day to day. This book is so good! Brubaker and Phillips are the comics equivalent of your favorite HBO tv series or even better. Do not miss!
Two misfits growing up in a Dublin housing estate in the 80's find and cling to each other through good times and bad, with the bad times being especially bad. Catholic school is unkind to them, their parents don't get them, their peers persecute them. An extremely heartfelt & tender ode to friendship & who sticks with you through the hard times. You'll laugh, you'll cry, then you'll cry some more reading this bittersweet coming of age novel.
This book cannot be returned.
The Arca is spaceship filled with the last remaining survivors of the human race as they head off in search of a habitable planet in this fun, new post apocalyptic graphic novel. The elite run the show and reap the rewards, while the young people toil as servants, hoping to one day become elite themselves. Naturally, all is not as it seems, as the mystery behind this opressive social structure starts to unravel. I blazed through this fun, ground level sci-fi story and loved it. The perspective & the art lend a much more enjoyable indie tone to what would normally come off as a big, dumb Hollywood style space epic. Recommended!
Cleaning hostel bathrooms while she anxiously awaits a decision on her immigration status, Leyla, a Turkish student studying in Germany journals her struggles & occasional victories in this phenomenal debut novel. Sex, drugs, techno, & a curious new love interest keep her afloat as she butts up against a system built to reject her. Tender, raw, and funny, I loved this book.
Trapped in a loveless marriage with a child they never remembered having. Mark frets and Claire drinks, neither the ideal parent, to say the least. A miserable situation, told in single page comic strips as a larger story unfolds. I can't tell you much without spoilers, but beyond domestic strife, there's humor, scandal, some science fiction, and just maybe a little hope beyond the bleak.
The team behind the fan-fav reimagining of Mr. Miracle turns their sights on retro-science superhero Adam Strange, an earthman frequently beamed over to the far away planet Rann, where he is a beloved hero. Expecting a hero's welcome after returning to Earth after a brutal war, cracks begin to show. War is hell, as they say, and the truths we slowly discover of his time on the battlefield cause his fellow heroes to investigate. A fresh take on Watchmen like dissection of obscure heroes, there's a lot to dig into and a lot to love.
Ingredients: One black, biracial teenage girl. Her overpowering, well-read, very sex-positive Russian mother. An equally interesting, diverse, and often dangerous supporting cast of characters.
Boil in the California desert trailer park heat until well done. The results will delight, terrify, and enthrall you. Enjoy!
What does grown-up you owe your younger self? In this coming-of-age memoir, a young & successful drummer contemplates leaving his well established music career, for which he has more talent than passion for, to pursue an unknown future in writing. A fun and interesting journey from adolescence to adulthood, how tastes & needs change, & the battle between predestination & self-fulfillment.
Damani drives for a rideshare, struggling to take care of her mother & pay the bills during a heated summer of protest and unrest, reflecting her own unease & frustration with the world around her. When she falls for a rich, white woman that seems to be doing her best as an ally, sparks fly, romance blooms, until... it doesn't. This gender-flipped take on Taxi Driver is an addictive, fast, and funny look at the world around us, and our assumptions at what we see versus what is really happening all around us. It is so good!
Has ever a book title lived up to its name so perfectly? For sure, obvious allusions to Saturday Night Live and its writers, but beyond that a clever and funny feminist take on the traditional romcom tropes, that flips things around in regards to relationship, fame, and age stereotypes, with an ending that will really tug your heartstrings.
Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips are the best thing going as far as crime fiction comics go, having cranked out countless gritty winners. This stand-alone graphic novel is where it all began, telling the tale of a teenage girl who idolizes drugged out musicians and authors, only to end up in rehab herself. After falling for another patient, a series of misadventures follows, but all is not as it seems in this fast moving, dark, and funny neo-noir. This author/artist combo never disappoints, and it shows from their very first at bat.
Something strange lurks beneath the mines of Redfork, West Virginia, a small mining town ravaged by opioids, poverty, and hopelessness. When an ex-con returns home to set his life right and make amends with everyone he hurt, it falls on him to save his family and community from threats both supernatural & domestic. Equal parts social commentary and horror, if you enjoyed the graphic novel Grendel, KY, this is the book for you.
A young woman in the early 2000s searches for place and identity within punk rock, school, family, and her future in this riveting coming of age story where "mistakes" are just a chisel, carving us into our ultimate form. It's also very funny!
In this engaging noir/alt history, Argentina won the Falklands War, knocking the US out as a superpower, through the use of psychoactive pigments, such as Sunshine Yellow for happiness, Red for rage, and so on. A murder and conspiracy evolves and we follow an earnest, but burnt out pigment cop as the mystery unravels. The plot itself is interesting enough, but the world where everything is controlled by artificially-given emotions and the US is a 2nd or 3rd rate country, that's the real meat, the best part of this can't miss story.
Living in an old farmhouse with a hive of bees for roommates, Greta transcribes sessions for a sex therapist. When a patients powerful & mesmerizing voice casts its spell on Greta and they accidentally meet in the real world, a wild affair begins. Love, sex, shared trauma, & foreboding doom blend together in bizarre & hilarious conundrum that attempts to bridge the chasm between what we want vs what we need.
The expectations of others, parents, peers, and partners, weighs heavy on young Margot as she winds her way through childhood up to college. Raised in society and wealth, but dealt a sudden change of fortune, she struggles to find her own path through a budding love of science. Set against the ever-changing 1960s, Margot is an intimate, fascinating portrait of a young woman's coming of age, locking horns with her Mother, and the pressures of adolescence.
A young dating app employee encounters a bug that briefly zaps him to another world and dives deep into the secretive San Fran tech culture to unravel the mystery in this brisk and fun debut novel. Lots of how the sausage gets made in our modern social media obsessed world, filled with hilarious and ridiculous details and twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. A Severance like send up of tech culture.
As hurricanes and global warming render Florida increasingly more uninhabitable, this harrowing novel follows the lifetime of one gifted woman and her family, leaping forward decade to decade, as a inevitable series of catastrophic events occur. Modern life slips away gradually, then quickly, as the mainstays and comforts of civilization disappear. A very real story of survival, both practical and emotional, that will keep you on the edge of your seat, never knowing what this possible future may hold.
The bestselling author of the Obama/Biden Mysteries has returned with a delightfully cozy new whodunnit starring none other than beloved Congressional firebrand Bernie Saunders. Told from the perspective of his nervous new intern as they head to small town Vermont for a parade appearance. As Bernie cantankerously prepares to take on the corporate syrup industry, a body is discovered and mystery is afoot. Funny, sharp, and intriguing, all while as relaxing as a weekend trip to see the Fall colors.
A very funny and rollicking novel about one young man's often ill-fated quest for authenticity, originality, and beauty in modern times. Part of a generation raised in relative privilege by tv and breakfast cereal, he seeks more than the cog in the machine 9-5 life expected of him in search of unique experience, be it through farming, retail, travel, sex, drugs, rock and roll, all the way to marriage and fatherhood, often falling flat on his face. I devoured this book in one evening and enjoyed his misadventures thoroughly.
I loved this book! Two teen outcasts spend a magical 1990's summer creating a vaguely sinister piece of art that goes viral before there was such a thing, spinning their lives into chaos and their small town into a panic. But Kevin Wilson (Nothing To See Here) has crafted a story that goes far beyond that already promising premise. Come for the subversive comedy and nostalgia but stay for the unexpected depth and a deeply rewarding emotional resonance.
Where did Vladimir Putin come from and how did he end up running a superpower? Go deep in this entertaining and informative graphic memoir, expertly rendered by Box Brown, known for great bios of Andy Kaufman & Andre The Giant, and written by seasoned Russia expert, Andrew Weiss. Everything you need to know about one of modern history's largest characters, laid out in an easily digestible , without being overly simplified manner that shines a light on the motivations and rise of a very strange, controversial man. Fans of Maus and Persepolis will love it
My graphic novel pick of the year! I'm not usually a fan of genre mash ups, but this one takes the cake. One of the most original comic artists of the last few decades, JH Williams III takes his work to the next level here. Our heroes have stolen a strange gem from an evil wizard dictator and are on the run through realm after realm, each illustrated in its own unique way, be it pulp, superhero, horror, Greek myth, you name it. So much eye candy, so beautifully rendered, AND a rollicking adventure, to boot!
If you like fun books, guess what? Sam Lipsyte (Hark) has a fun book for you! Set in the seedy early 90's NYC punk scene, our hero has a big show coming up and his drugged out singer has stolen his bass and gone missing. Full of laughs, suspense, mystery, and nostalgia for the good old bad days, this rollicking novel is just what the Turn Your Brain Off Doctor ordered!
When her husband abruptly leave their 20 year marriage behind for parts unknown, aspiring writer Vita is left to cope with 4 unruly kids, a house constantly on the verge of collapse, her career, and countless other imminent fires. Written as journal entries over the course of these crises, this very funny novel is a slow burn, building on one domestic disaster after another, leading to a very satisfying conclusion that you won't see coming.
It's this simple: Lou Reed has quit the Velvet Underground and moved back home to work at his father's accounting firm, when he finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery. An imaginative, fast, and delightful romp of a novel, as Lou has to explore his hazy memories, his own lyrics, Andy Warhol's Factory scene, and the ennui of a return to domestic life after rock and roll fame. Deep VU cuts and an intriguing mystery to boot!
Next stop, the 5th Floor of Hell, Deals With The Devil Department. Your representative will be Peyote Trip, who just needs one more member of the Harrison family to sign on the dotted line so he can close the deal of his (after) lifetime. From the bars of Hell that only serve Jager, to the summer lake house of the Harrison Family (who have plenty of their own closet skeletons), this genre-bending novel has it all; dark humor, mystery, family drama, cults, murder, and more. Each fast moving chapter, from alternating characters, tosses you around with cliffhanger after cliffhanger. An expert balance of light and dark, I found this book impossible to put down. If you enjoyed my earlier pick of Here Goes Nothing by Steve Toltz, you should check this out.
The ingredients for good country music: love, loss, heartbreak, sorrow, booze, failure. Margo Price lived through it all in the pages of her engaging new memoir. The unlikely road to success is nothing but bumps along the way and Price's evocative storytelling makes you feel every one. From her childhood, busking in Nashville, sparsely attended shows around the world, raising a family, and battles with addiction and rejection. With a rich history like this, it is no wonder how her songs have touched so many.
High Schoolers on the cusp of graduation in an affluent suburb throw a raging party in a fancy new house under construction and end up destroying the place. That's the first domino to fall in a series of many in a brisk, fun, and fascinating novel that explores issues of class, privilege, expectation, community, and much more as the investigation and consequences threaten their future and the community itself. Rotten kids, rotten parents? Who's to blame? The answers are hard to come by, but make for a fascinating story that I couldn't get enough of.
A young girl, growing up in the 1970's NYC art scene, starts to gain fame as a young model and actress, straining a complicated relationship with her mother and her own fragile adolescence. As we hop back and forth to the present day, the price of fame starts to add up in unexpected ways. There's a lot going on here, especially regarding the uncomfortable space between childhood and adulthood, but Greenwood seams together a very entertaining, frequently heavy, nostalgic, relevant, and surprising story.
Maybe your teenage years were the best of your life, but for a lot of us, it's a rough time. Allegra Goodman's "Sam" isn't having such a fun time herself. This immersive, engaging novel follows Sam as a child all the way through her twenties and perfectly captures the confusion, elation, trauma, and frustration of finding your way through adolescence. Goodman expertly nails the claustrophobic helplessness of childhood, subject to the will of adults who cannot understand and disappoint you, unable to plot your own course. Written with such overwhelming empathy for her title character, Sam will grab a hold of you and never let go.
The Norman Rockwell of superhero comics returns with his first full-length graphic novel in years. A gorgeous, stand-alone new take on a classic storyline takes the team deep into the Negative Zone and back, for new and longtime fans alike.
In the male-dominated California art scene of the 1970's, Paz, an emerging young female artist, is haunted. Haunted by her new husband's dead wife, a rising artist who died suspiciously, leaving behind both a baby and a mystery. Haunted by her own impostor syndrome, after essentially inheriting someone else's life. Haunted by the men in control and the women she doesn't feel equal to. Moody, atmospheric, tense, feminist, and moving. I loved immersing myself in this unique world and quietly powerful novel.
Everybody's favorite rainy day poet/singer/songwriter/seer Leonard Cohen's "new" book is an unreleased early novel, paired with a half dozen or so short stories. In the main novel, a young man strives to find equilibrium as his long lost, somewhat senile and violent grandfather comes to live with him in his one room apartment, things get more serious with his lover, and he develops a strange obsession with an odd new character in his life. Leonard's regular themes of sex, love, religion, and death abound. His trademark darkness and cynicism is contrasted with a light, dry wit that often had me laughing out loud. He's never received enough credit for how downright hilarious he can be and these seemingly bleak, lonely stories are some of his funniest.
In this quietly gripping novel, an unnamed man attempts to erase himself, his past, his entire existence and start over with a new, much smaller life in an unnamed city. Not an easy task, which naturally doesn't go as planned. Ostensibly, there's a lot of "How" and "What" to this story, but the fascinating part is the unwritten "Why?". A very small picture tale that speaks to a much broader story about guilt, complicity, white privilege, and the footprints we leave behind. Good stuff!
Following a Jamaican family making a fresh start in 1980s Miami, this tense and funny novel deftly explores issues of race, class, and loyalty. Alternating chapters between the distinct voices of two brothers, their father, and their cousin, battling hurricanes, poverty, and mostly each other. A events unfold from each perspective, the real story of this family evolves bit by bit, almost Pulp Fiction-style. Come for the real life struggle and stay for the hope for a better tomorrow.
Who is our authentic true self? And how many "selves" do we have tumbling around in our minds? Big questions tackled with more fun than you might think in this witty new novel, already long listed for the Booker Prize. In 1960s London, a young woman surreptitiously visits, under an assumed name and personality, the therapist who may have pushed her sister down the path to suicide. Over the course of these visits, the lines between her old and new selves begin to blur in unexpected ways. Clever, funny, and addictive, this delightful look into the many aspects of our weird brains is a fantastic trip through our fragile identities that won't release its grip on you until the very last page.
In November 2019, nine women and children from a fundamentalist Mormon community were ambushed and murdered in Northern Mexico. In this fascinating investigation, Sally Denton (The Bluegrass Conspiracy) attempts to piece together what led these women there and exactly who polygamist fundamentalist Mormons are, their roots all the way back to Joseph Smith, fleeing prosecution across the US and seeking sanctuary in Mexico, through internal power struggles and murders a-plenty, and even strange connections to the NXIVM cult that they may have inspired. A dizzying and complicated tale of religion, power, conspiracy, drug cartels, and misplaced faith. Terrifying, gripping, bizarre, and shocking stuff, that seems too strange to be true, but is!
A fascinating story of the residents of a Harlem high rise building, each chapter a different character. Gentrification looms heavy, as the tenants struggle with poverty, family, school, friends, and neighbors. Complicated lives, different voices, all trying to survive and thrive against the odds. Equal parts sadness and hope, I really enjoyed spending time with each of them.
If you loved Daisy Jones & The 6 or Opal & Nev, Groupies is going to be your new summertime jam. Set in the not-quite heyday of the 1970s LA rock scene, this book is both a deep dive into the sordid backstage drama these young women went through, but also a poignant coming of age story as well. Come for the hot gossip, stay for the tales of female friendship and betrayal. A heck of a lot of fun!
Life's a gas when your stepdad owns a roller rink, right? This bittersweet novel hops between our hero's small town adolescence in the 1980s and the wasteland of his late 20s at the dawn of the millennium and his return to what is left of his roots and the memories and mysteries he left behind. A touching, lonely, hazy, and wistful look at family, music, rollerskating, and what it really means to go home again.
Why do we waste so much time and energy on our pop culture obsessions and how far can we take them? There's a reason they call it escapism. But what if the thing you're trying to escape catches up with you? Questions faced by our misanthropic hero Bonnie as she leaves her grocery clerk life behind to spend her record setting lottery winnings on a secluded Three's Company themed compound, where she plans to never see another soul ever again. This, naturally, doesn't exactly go according to plan. Equally ridiculous fun and horribly dark, I could not put this book down. You might find some of yourself in this book and that can be a little scary.
I generally don't read Science Fiction as I don't have the patience for trilogies of 1000 pages a book, with inevitable movies to come. So, this fantastic novella was a refreshing surprise. Written by Kentucky author Christopher Rowe, this fast moving story, set in the Kentucky hills, takes place 30 years after a devastating war with biomechanical AI has left a much smaller population stuggling to survive. When the Feds reappear to investigate some strange goings-on, our heroine must come out of retirement to invetigate. Hopping from the present back to the war years ago, this smart, intimate story feels local yet a million miles away. I loved it!
You can miss a lot of what the world has to offer growing up in a strict religious community. When ultra-orthodox, 18 year old Raizl manages to get her hands on the internet, something generally forbidden in her family, everything changes. She sees things she's never imagined (specifically of an "adult" manner) and begins to question her entire way of life. A fantastic tale of growing up, growing away, and learning how to become your own person. Very specific, but also very relatable in the larger sense.
In this very dark and very funny novel, our "hero" has been murdered and shuffled off to the next plane, which is not what he or anyone would have pictured. The Afterlife stinks just as much as regular old Earth life! And if that's not enough, he's stuck helplessly watching as his murderer courts his left-behind & pregnant wife. I couldn't put this book down. Every chapter topped the last in terms of unbelievable & shocking twists. Throw in a worldwide pandemic to keep things topical, and we might have the bleakest and funniest book of the year.
"How do I know if I'm living the right life?" A big question, explored like a time travel Choose Your Own Adventure by a woman approaching 40, grappling with her place in the world, her own happiness, and the mortality of the fragile lives of those we love. For all the heavy lifting of these weighty topics, this novel is a fast, fun, and touching blast. If reading the whole thing in one day counts as "can't put down-ness", we have a winner here!
This fantastic book, along with the new Glenn E. Friedman "What I See" photography book, make this a wonderful time to be a fan of 1980s California punk. Veteran zine and rock journalist Jim Ruland has put together a comprehensive history of SST Records, one of the most influential indie rock labels of all time. Originally a vessel for founder Greg Ginn to release his own Black Flag records, then rapidly expanding to introduce the world to the likes of Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, The Minutemen, and many, many more. Of course, the success wasn't meant to be forever, and the eventual collapse due to shady contracts, countless grudges, and the ever-changing world of media is just as mind-blowing on the way down. There's so much, so many bands, so many stories both obscure and known to dig into here. Perhaps this book seems like it is just for the hardcore and indie nerds, but anyone could enjoy such an epic tale of hubris.
My favorite superhero series of the 1990s/2000s is back and better than ever! Kurt Busiek, the acclaimed writer of Marvels, Avengers, and Superman takes all his Golden Age and beyond ideas that Marvel & DC would never use and creates his own universe from the ground up. Thinly and not-so thinly veiled tributes and amalgams of classic heroes abound, alongside all kinds of new & wild ideas and interpretations, including some of the best Superman and Batman stories ever told that don't actually happen to star either of them. After years of many out of print graphic novels, the series is being re-released in excellent collections that collected 2-3 of the old paperbacks in one large, affordable book. This first volume has some stone cold classics within and gets my highest recommendation!
This harrowing semi-autobiographical account of a young man addicted to crack and whatever else he can get his hands on and his possible salvation through books and higher education is riveting, funny, and sometimes gross, Sanchez delivers the goods no matter how uncomfortable or self-deprecating the details may be. Plus, bonus "Florida Man" weirdness!
On the verge of losing both his faith and his family, an unemployed PTSD English professor is hired by an eccentric millionaire to consult on a Dante's Inferno based theme park in deep in the heart of Indiana and ends up embroiled in local politics, the midwest opioid epidemic, and the fallout from the death of a black teenager at the hands of police. Equal parts funny, sad, and hopeful. A joy to follow our hero's path to possible clarity.
Ah, the heady days at the turn of the millenium! When punk, indie, & emo bands would regularly have wads of cash and the prospect of TRL level fame waved at them by the major record label big leagues. Great idea or terrible idea? Each chapter tells the tale for eleven different bands and how it did (or probably didn't) work out for them. Loads of entertaining dirt, straight from the artists and crooked A&R men themselves.
If NK Jemisin writing Green Lantern isn't enough for you, check this out: A rookie earth born space cop is stationed on a distant city planet comprised of carnivorous plant people, bat people, and digital people who have only held peace by purging their society of emotion until their first murder in hundreds of years threatens that peace. Most good sci-fi is thinly veiled metaphor for the issues of modern times, but this one does just that, but SO WELL! A story for the conflicts of now, just with flying cars and robots and stuff!
Everything you wanted to know (and a lot you didn't want to know) about the 80's hair metal scene but were afraid to ask. Listen, I know all these bands are legit terrible. But the stories of success, excess, and disgust in the pages provide maximum entertainment. A massive dissection with only one flaw: we need more!
For this year's annual dose of Klosterman, everybody's favorite pop culture expert weighs in on the grand, glorious, messy, & troublesome 1990s. Hitting all the beats, music, movies, celebrity, sports, big and small world events and more, this comprehensive & almost exhaustive look at the seemingly naive days before 9/11 brought us together and social media tore us apart. Lots of good stuff here on subjects you'd expect and more than a few you wouldn't.
Echoes of Dune, Jodorowsky's Incal, Akira, & Princess Mononoke reverberate throughout this thrilling, Eisner Award winning graphic novel. A cult of Christian zealots has set up a New Vatican in Canada, and is violently stamping out tribes of resistance, where we meet Little Bird and her epic quest begins. Beautiful & detailed art, sweeping scope, epic & gross sci fi. I loved it!
After a match gone wrong sidelines a half white/half Native American semipro Wrestler in Omaha, Nebraska, a desperate journey to the bottom of his self identity begins. Are we the sum of our past or something more? Funny, sad, and poignant. Sometimes when the going gets tough, the going just gets worse and worse!
Is the story Marvel Comics started in the 60's the longest continuous fiction ever told by mankind? Yes, according to this entertaining, informative, and weighty guide to about half a million pages of interconnected superhero tales. Wolk read every single page and bravely attempts (and succeeds) in threading it all together for the hardcore comic guys and casual fans alike, shining a light on both obscure and popular stories, but finding the connective tissue in over sixty years of four color fun.
Behind closed doors, a normal, suburban family is slowly torn apart by unspoken-of mental illness. Comparisons to Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home" are apt, but the expert and extremely satisfying art, mostly illustrating journal entries and ephemera from Kimball's adolescence, really sets this moving graphic novel apart. Recommended!
A writer, gifted a free house by an arts group, comes to grips with (or maybe doesn't!) the high cost of "free" as she becomes part of a mostly Bangladeshi Detroit neighborhood in this very funny, moving, and insightful memoir. With twists & turns both personal & political, the weight of trying to do the right thing is balanced by good old Midwestern cynicism and humor. Highly recommended!
What kind of guy creates The Best Show, the funniest, longest running comedy & music radio/internet show around for over two decades now? Find out what created Tom Scharpling in this swell, fast paced memoir! Of course, it's hilarious, but with the high Highs, you'll hit some low Lows that somehow makes the laughs even sweeter. Don't want to give too much away, but it's worth $80 alone for his ill-fated audition for the "New Monkees" alone. Recommended!
It's hard to describe how good this novel made me feel. Two adults fall in love in New York City and we get to experience all of it in lyrical, poetic detail, without side-stepping the natural jealousy and anxiety that comes along with it. From street lights to very involved pasta recipes, all through slighty rusted rose-colored glasses, you get it all from the inside out.
What's an old cowboy to do in the face of rising fascism in the late 30's? Find out in this fun and surprisingly relevant two fisted graphic novel written by Ed Brubaker, the writer that brought us the Winter Soldier and artist Sean Phillips, heir apparent in style to the great David Mazzucchelli. A one and done story, but another great addition to the growing catalog of new classics these two are churning out with astonishing regularity.
A fun and dizzying blast of 1983 New York City club life through the eyes of a young woman fresh out of a sheltered college life. Everybody's there - the club kids, the junkies, the roommates, the celebrities. How does one keep up? A really well balanced mix of "Here's what happened" and "Here's how it felt'. Recommended!
Gentrification hits London's seedy Soho neighborhood like a force of nature. In this sly novel, we see all sides of the story as we follow a diverse cast of characters. From a rollicking brothel, to the bar, a homeless community under the spell of a charismatic street preacher, to the halls and clubs of big business. I truly enjoyed spending time with these people!
Beowolf takes a trip to rural Kentucky in a fast paced 1970's drive in movie style thriller as generations of a family and an all female biker gang grapple with an unsolved murder, a deal with the devil, and lots and lots of weed. A hoot and a holler in an old Kentucky holler!
A husband cheats and agrees to let his wife hurt him three times as revenger to keep the family together. What follows is a surreal journey of suburban marital angst as the wounds change them both in unexpected ways. Domestic strife from the ground level to the otherworldly.
A young black woman finds her way in the white male art punk scene of 1970's NYC in this engaging rockumentary style novel as she explores her past while considering a comeback. If you loved Daisy Jones, this is that , with teeth!
With the clever superhero deconstruction of Watchmen and the bright broad strokes of The Incredibles, the best comic book of the year isn't a comic at all but this fantastic novel following the ups and downs of a temp and her rise through the ranks of super villainy.
A very specific book for a very specific fan of a very specific era of a very specific type of underground music. Have I scared you away yet? Well don't be afraid! Although tailor made for a guy like me, this book is great for anyone interested in punk/hardcore/underground music and subculture from the 1980s-1990's. Sam McPheeters, of Born Against fame, has spent his post rock years becoming a pretty sharp writer and has a unique point of view and sense of humor that gives us quite an insight to the motivations and stories behind the biggest and best songs and bands most folks were never lucky enough to witness. (Fun Fact! My first visit to Louisville was for a punk show!)
Lost in the wilderness of his twenties and burdened with a crippling gambling addiction and debt, The Dishwasher finds himself a new family amongst the colorful and equally addicted kitchen staff in this award winning and moving story.
Part One of a French trilogy. A riotous adventure through the streets and couches of Paris as a down on his luck ex-record shop owner tries to avoid homelessness, losing his few remaining pals, and cashing in on the legacy of his dead rock star pal. The English version of Part Two comes out in July and I cannot wait!
I can't quite put my finger on why, but I found this story of the disolution of the marriage of a NYC doctor and his successful agent wife totally fascinating. Maybe it's the missing spouse, maybe the shifting perspectives, maybe (probably) the gender politics, or maybe the peek into lives I don't relate to. I read it all in one fantastic vacation day!
A post (or maybe pre) apocalyptic road trip that mixes The Stand with Idiocracy by way of Terry Gilliam. Our loveable loser of a hero has to transport a talking goat across the chaotic territories Formerly Known As the United States, now a series of corporate nation states or lawless tribal wastelands, in order to prevent a possibly second end of the world. A little gross, a lot crass, very funny, but terrifyingly too close to now than it might seem.