MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 2011
TOP SHELF FOR 2011
JANUARY
ESSEX COUNTY (NEW PRINTING)
By Jeff Lemire.
Where does a young boy turn when his whole world suddenly disappears? What could change two brothers from an unstoppable team into a pair of bitterly estranged loners? How does the work of one middle-aged nurse reveal the scars of an entire community, and can anything heal the wounds caused by a century of deception?
Set in an imaginary version of Jeff Lemire's hometown, Essex County is an intimate study of an eccentric farming community, and a tender meditation on family, memory, grief, secrets, and reconciliation. With the lush, expressive inking of a cartoonist at the height of his powers, Lemire draws us in and sets us free.
512 pages, $29.95.
TRICKED (NEW PRINTING)
By Alex Robinson.
Alex Robinson has created another tour de force. Tricked follows the lives of six people -- a reclusive rock legend, a heartbroken waitress, a counterfeiter, an obsessive crank, a lost daughter, and a frustrated lover -- whose lives are unconnected until an act of violence brings them spiraling in on each other. Combining intriguing characters with a story structure that is both complex and innovative, Tricked is now in an all-new hardcover edition with a new cover to boot!
352 pages, $19.99.
OWLY AND WORMY IN FRIENDS ALL AFLUTTER!
By Andy Runton.
Owly and Wormy want butterflies! But when they come home from Mrs. Raccoon's nursery with a milkweed plant that's supposed to attract some fluttering friends, what they get instead are chubby, green bugs! But green bugs are not butterflies! Will butterflies ever come to the forest? Only time will tell... Bold, graphic, and full of fun, this wordless storybook gives all-ages readers the wings they need to start reading on their own, and a firm footing on the idea of metamorphosis as they watch old friends become new friends.
40 pages, $16.99.
FROM HELL (NEW PRINTING)
By Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell.
From Hell is the story of Jack the Ripper, perhaps the most infamous man in the annals of murder. Detailing the events leading up to the Whitechapel killings and the cover-up that followed, From Hell is a meditation on the mind of a madman whose savagery and violence gave birth to the 20th century. The serialized story, presented in its entirety in this volume, has garnered widespread attention from critics and scholars, and has been adapted into a major motion picture from Twentieth Century Fox starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham. Often regarded as one of the most significant graphic novels ever published, From Hell combines meticulous research with educated speculation, resulting in a masterpiece of historical fiction both compelling and terrifying. This new edition, which has been completely re-mastered, is certainly the finest edition of the book produced to date.
572 pages, $35.
INCREDIBLE CHANGE-BOTS TWO
By Jeffrey Brown.
Four years ago, an alien race of shape-changing robots came to Earth, fired ray guns at each other for a while, then gave up and flew away. But they left behind one thing: Shootertron, the semi-cunning leader of the evil Fantasticons! Fortunately for Earth, Shootertron's memory is a little fuzzy. Unfortunately for Earth, the rest of the Incredible Change-Bots seem to be on their way back...
It's all-new action, drama, and comedy as Shootertron struggles to find an identity on Earth and the rest of the Change-Bots struggle to accomplish much of anything. Hilarious and gleefully childlike, Jeffrey Brown's Incredible Change-Bots Two is a nostalgic tribute not only to Saturday morning cartoons but also to Jeffrey Brown's Incredible Change-Bots One.
140 pages, $14.95.
INCREDIBLE CHANGE-BOTS ONE (NEW PRINTING)
By Jeffrey Brown.
Far away in space, there is a planet populated by machines able to change from robot form to vehicle form --- the Incredible Change-Bots! Leaving their war-torn planet, the Change-Bots arrive on Earth, where their battle continues -- but at what cost?!
Part parody, part nostalgic tribute, part moral fable, with Incredible Change-Bots Jeffrey Brown re-invents the shape-changing robot genre into a goofy action comedy that's full of romance, melodrama, and epic battles! The first FULL-COLOR graphic novel from Jeffrey Brown is an all-ages friendly (only one guy and some robots die) explosion of sci-fi fun.
144 pages, $15.
NIGHT ANIMALS
By Brecht Evens.
Lush colors, wild imagination, and rich human themes collide in the Top Shelf debut of Belgian cartoonist Brecht Evens (The Wrong Place). Night Animals is a deluxe full-color comic book containing two wordless stories, each a feast for the mind as well as the eyes. Join an innocent young girl as she becomes a woman and learns where the wild things are, then follow a rabbit-suited man as his blind date becomes the epic journey of a lifetime.
48 pages, $7.95.
LUCILLE
By Ludovic Debeurme
This internationally acclaimed graphic novel was named one of Les Essentiels D'Angouleme (the 5 "Essential" graphic novels of the Angouleme International Comics Festival), as well as was the recipient of the prestigious René Goscinny Prize -- and Top Shelf is proud to present it in the English language for the very first time.
In Lucille, Ludovic Debeurme takes on the difficult world of adolescence, following the life of a young anorexic woman and the troubled relationships she has with others. Influenced by psychoanalysis and the exploration of dreams, Debeurme explores life and fantasies with elegant clean graphics and a profound love of the games of childhood.
544 pages, $29.95.
LIAR'S KISS
By Eric Skillman and Jhomar Soriano.
Nick Archer isn't much of a detective, but he's managed to get himself one pretty sweet surveillance gig: once a week he sends a jealous millionaire the photos that prove his wife is faithful, leaving Nick plenty of free nights to spend making a liar of both himself and the client's wife. But when the client turns up dead, his cheating wife is the prime suspect and it's up to Nick to clear her—except Nick has an agenda of his own, and connections to this case that go deeper than anyone realizes. An amazing crime noir debut!
120 pages, $14.95.
THE HOMELAND DIRECTIVE
By Robert Venditti and Mike Huddleston.
As a leading researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Laura Regan is one of the world's foremost authorities on viral and bacteriological study. Having dedicated her career to halting the spread of infectious disease, she has always considered herself one of the good guys. But when her research partner is murdered and Laura is blamed for the crime, she finds herself at the heart of a vast and deadly conspiracy. Aided by three rogue federal agents who believe the government is behind the frame-up, Laura must evade law enforcement, mercenaries, and a team of cyber-detectives who know more about her life than she does—all while trying to expose a sinister plot that will impact the lives of every American.
Set in the Orwellian present, The Homeland Directive confronts one of the vital questions of our time: In an era when technology can either doom or save us, is it possible for personal privacy and national security to coexist?
144 pages, $19.95.
CHESTER 5000
By Jess Fink.
The Year: 1885, a time of industrial revolution and sexual frustration.
The Heroine: Pricilla, a beautiful woman who knows what she wants...and wants it all the time.
The Husband: Robert, a scientist and inventor -- unfortunately, the only thing he can keep on his mind is his work. Ah, but what does a scientist love more than a problem to solve? Some gears, some springs, the proper appendages, a little extra lubricant, and a little extra love and voila! Chester 5000 is born. Chester is the perfect tool to soothe Pricilla's desires... but what if Chester is more than just a machine? What are the consequences of attempting to engineer love?
A sepia-toned delight for adult readers of all stripes, Jess Fink's Top Shelf debut reads like a whimsical love-child of steampunk, silent film and erotic comics.
144 pages, $14.95.
GINGERBREAD GIRL
By Colleen Coover and Paul Tobin.
There are plenty of established facts concerning 26-year-old Annah Billips. She likes sushi and mountains, but hates paper cuts and beer breath. She dates girls and boys, and loves to travel. She may have a missing sister, or she might be insane. Did Annah invent an imaginary sister named Ginger during her parents' ferocious divorce, or did her mad scientist father extract part of her brain and transform it into a living twin? In this graphic novel, a host of narrators including boyfriends, girlfriends, magicians, pigeons, bulldogs and convenience store clerks follow Annah through a night in her life in an attempt to determine that one last fact about Annah…and the Gingerbread Girl.
112 pages, $12.95.
TOP SHELF KIDS CLUB -- 2011 (FCBD)
By Chris Eliopoulos and Ray Friesen and James Kochalka and Andy Runton and Christian Slade and Jess Smart Smiley, cover by Eliopoulos.
Top Shelf is proud to join the 2011 FREE COMIC BOOK DAY celebration with not one, but SIX all-ages tales. In this FCBD edition, we'll not only present three adventures from our established all-ages series OWLY by Andy Runton, JOHNNY BOO by James Kochalka, and KORGI by Christian Slade; but we'll also feature three all-new stories from three brand new all-ages series debuting this year: OKIE DOKIE DONUTS by Chris Eliopoulos, PIRATE PENGUIN VS NINJA CHICKEN by Ray Friesen, and UPSIDE DOWN by Jess Smart Smiley. Perfect for everyone in the family.
24 pages, free.
OKIE DOKIE DONUTS (STORY 1): OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
By Chris Eliopoulos.
Good morning! Welcome to Okie Dokie Donuts. Run by pastry pioneer and cunning culinarian, Big Mama! Okie Dokie Donuts is the best little donut shop in town! What's her secret? Big Mama rolls in a heaping serving of love into each of her hand made creations! Loyal customers can't get enough of her tantalizing turnovers. But running a donut shop isn't easy! Trouble is always poking holes in Big Mama's fun. But as long as our large and lovely heroine has friends and plenty of chocolate icing, nothing can stop Okie Dokie Donuts from reaching the highest levels of becoming a pastry powerhouse!
48 pages, $9.95.
PIRATE PENGUIN VS NINJA CHICKEN (BOOK 1): TROUBLEMS WITH FRENEMIES
By Ray Friesen.
Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken (Book 1): Troublems with Frenemies. So what is this book about? It's about a Pirate Penguin named Pirate Penguin and a Ninja Chicken who isn't (ninjas are too sneaky to let you know their real names. Hint: It isn't Harold.) They are the bestest of friends and also the worstest of enemies all at the same time (just like in real life! Only more cartoony of course.) I think you'll like this book, there are about a bajillion jokes inside, and it's filled with action, adventure and arguments. Sometimes the stories are really teeny, about stuff like ice cream or origami, and sometimes the story gets really epic-tastic, filled with spaceships and giant monsters and evil koalas and stuff (just like real life!). Plus, being about pirates, there are at least 17 swordfights (that's the rule with pirates). You'll just have to go ahead and read it to see if you like it, I've run out of back cover room to convince you how awesome it is anyway.
96 pages, $9.95.
LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (VOL III): CENTURY #2 - 1969
By Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.
Chapte two takes place almost sixty years later in the psychedelic daze of Swinging London during 1969, a place where Tadukic Acid Diethylamide 26 is the drug of choice, and where different underworlds are starting to overlap dangerously to an accompaniment of sit-ins and sitars. The vicious gangster bosses of London's East End find themselves brought into contact with a counter-culture underground of mystical and medicated flower-children, or amoral pop-stars on the edge of psychological disintegration and developing a taste for Satanism. Alerted to a threat concerning the same magic order that she and her colleagues were investigating during 1910, a thoroughly modern Mina Murray and her dwindling league of comrades attempt to navigate the perilous rapids of London's hippy and criminal subculture, as well as the twilight world of its occultists. Starting to buckle from the pressures of the twentieth century and the weight of their own endless lives, Mina and her companions must nevertheless prevent the making of a Moonchild that might well turn out to be the antichrist.
80 pages, $9.95.
ANY EMPIRE
By Nate Powell.
Nate Powell's follow-up to the Eisner winning Swallow Me Whole examines war and violence, and their trickledown effects on middle America. As a gang of small-town kids find themselves reunited in adulthood, their dark histories collide in a struggle for the future.
Any Empire follows three kids in a Southern town as a rash of mysterious turtle mutilations forces each to confront their relationship to their privileged suburban fantasies of violence. Then, after years apart, the three are thrown together again as adults, amid questions of choice and force, belonging and betrayal.
304 pages, $19.95.
INFINITE KUNG FU
By Kagan McLeod.
Infinite Kung Fu walks you through familiar corridors in the house of martial mayhem, but still smashes your face through walls of wonder and into rooms where kung fu is afraid to go.
The Martial World is ruled by a mysterious emperor whose five armies are each headed by a cruel and highly skilled kung fu master. Lei Kung, a soldier in one of these armies, grows tired of his master's evil ways and seeks enlightenment elsewhere. However, he soon finds that he's been chosen as the one who will put an end to the emperor's tyrannical rule, personally! Allegiances are blurred as techniques are perfected, and Lei Kung becomes less certain who's friend and who's foe in each chapter!
Fists fly, limbs are lost and blood vessels burst in this tale of furious rivals, supernatural masters, walking corpses, and above all, raging kung fu!
432 pages, $24.95.
KORGI (BOOK 3): A HOLLOW BEGINNING
By Christian Slade.
Every story has a beginning. It is time for this one to be told. Ivy and Sprout follow their curiosity about the shard of stained glass they discovered in the woods. What they find is a clue to the very origin of their beloved home, the Korgi Hollow. In this third book, many questions are answered and a few are created. Follow the brave Ivy and her lovable Korgi cub, Sprout as they start to unravel the mysteries surrounding their magical land. Ready to see how it all began? Of course you are! Just be sure to bring some extra cookies for Sprout!!
96 pages, $9.95; hardcover, $19.95.
JOHNNY BOO (BOOK 5): DOES SOMETHING!
By James Kochalka.
The silly all-ages hit series continues, as Johnny Boo does all KINDS of things! This book includes new color versions of all the Johnny Boo short stories, plus brand new adventures with our favorite goofy ghost.
40 pages, $9.95.
DRAGON PUNCHER (BOOK 2): ISLAND
By James Kochalka.
We know the Dragon Puncher is a heroic warrior kitty in a robot battle-suit. But who is this new fierce fighting feline? And what outrageous adventures await on . . . DRAGON PUNCHER ISLAND?! Twice the punching and twice the laughs, that's for sure!
40 pages, $9.95.
UNDERWIRE
By Jennifer Hayden.
Here's the wisdom that comes with wearing an underwire--and you don't have to own a bra to enjoy it! These stories are about the little things that give us the big picture. Jennifer Hayden started writing and drawing UNDERWIRE as a webcomic at www.ACT-I-VATE.com. Since then, it has gained critical attention as a fresh indie comic about womanhood, parenthood, and being-in-the-middle-of-life-hood. Here are twenty-two of the original strips, plus seventeen new pages of comix and art created exclusively for this collection.
80 pages, $9.95.
HUTCH OWEN (VOL 3): LET'S GET FURIOUS!
By Tom Hart.
He's outraged! He's not going to take it anymore! He's... not quite sure what to do next. Meet Hutch and his motley crew of lovable malcontents, struggling to make sense of an America that baffles, oppresses, and infuriates them. Collecting the five-year run of Tom Hart's bitingly hilarious, bitterly optimistic comic strip! -- a 368-page deluxe hardcover graphic novel, 8.25" x 5.5"
368 pages, $19.95.
OWLY (VOL 6): A FISHY SITUATION
By Andy Runton.
Owly's back! And he's exploring two new frontiers: the world underwater (where he and Wormy meet a fishy new friend) and the world of COLOR! That's right, the award-winning Owly series is moving to full-color, digitally painted graphic novels.
128 pages, $9.95; Hardcover, $19.95.
UPSIDE DOWN (BOOK 1): A VAMPIRE TALE
By Jess Smart Smiley.
Harold is a friendly young vampire —but he loves candy so much, the dentist might have to pull his teeth! Now, what if he and the dentist, plus a couple friendly bats, all get caught up in the evil plots of the local witch? It's a wild magical romp for all ages, just in time for Halloween. Upside Down is a spooky fun tale for all-ages and tweens, colored in black, white and Halloween green!
144 pages, $9.95.
SCENE BUT NOT HEARD
By Sam Henderson.
From the pages of Nickelodeon Magazine: the beloved wordless comedy of Sam Henderson's Scene But Not Heard comic strip, all collected in one handsome volume! Just try to keep up with his wild (and wildly funny) imagination.
128 pages, $9.95.
-- a 128 page full-color hardcover, 6" x 9"
AX (VOL 2): A COLLECTION OF ALTERNATIVE MANGA
Edited by Sean Michael Wilson.
One of the most talked-about books of 2010 gets a sequel! Yes, it's another gorgeously designed collection of underground comics from Japan's premier alternative manga anthology, the razor-sharp Ax!
400 pages, $19.95.
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