Welcome to BookGN.com

Artists, cartoonists, comedians, musicians, actors, politicians, the famous and the infamous, these chosen people are just that: People chosen to be rendered by the man BoingBoing calls "The greatest living portrait artist."

Kim Deitch made his name as an "underground" cartoonist - a contemporary of Spiegelman, Crumb, et. al. - but over the last three decades has simply been one of the most vital graphic novelists the medium has to offer, including acknowledged classics such as The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Alias the Cat, and The Search for Smilin' Ed. His new graphic novel, Reincarnation Stories, feels like the apotheosis of his career, an ambitiously sprawling tour de force exploring the concept of reincarnation. When Deitch was four years old, he began having memories of a time when he wore glasses. The problem was, he had never actually worn glasses. Then, one day, young Deitch is sitting outside his apartment building when an elderly man approaches him, excited. "Is it possible? Sid! SID PINCUS! Good God, man! You've changed. You're smaller! And where are your glasses?" From here, Deitch weaves a dizzying path of reincarnation stories that spans the past, present, and future of human history, with appearances by Frank Sinatra, monkey gods, a forgotten cowboy star of the silver screen, a tribe of Native Americans that successfully resettled on the moon, and a parallel reality where Deitch himself is the megasuccessful creator of a series of kids books about a superhero called Young Avatar, who helps marginalized souls lead better lives and in his secret identity works as a carpenter. Did we mention Deitch's spiritual nemesis (an incarnation of Judas Iscariot), Waldo the Cat? Deitch's storytelling mastery has never been more fully on display that this rich tapestry of a graphic novel, certain to be a staple on 2019 "Best of " year-end lists.

In Tears of the Leather-Bound Saints, Casanova Frankenstein calls out the cruelty of capitalism and corporate greed, exorcises grim memories from his formative years, grapples with deep-seated anxieties over his blackness - and ultimately reveals the roots of his punk sensibility. A vulnerable work from a true comics outsider.

Chris Cajero Cilla's new book from FU Press is a collection of the artist's short stories created over the past decade-plus that recall the work of contemporary masters such as Matthew Thurber and Micheal Deforge, as well as the great underground comix of the 1960s and 1970s. Cilla co-mingles styles and genres in the service of surrealist gems such as "Burp's Law," "Exqueezmeat," and "Labyrinthectomy," all of which will buoy you with a blissfully dull buzz long after you've put it down.

In this book, Lane remasters milieus, attitudes, and cultural touchstones of the 20th century: wry slice-of-life vignettes are depicted in moodily crosshatched, noir-inflected drawings. Jazz clubs and pool halls, ballparks and graveyards, casinos and coffeehouses, back alleys and bus stops are populated by roughed-up boxers, bleary gamblers, rowdy winos, philosophical rail-riders, acrobatic fire-swallowers, and femme fatales - woven together into a uniquely designed collection of images and prose.

Collects all three volumes of the Eisner Award-nominated graphic novels series, which skewers a self-important male literary poser. Living in a beat-up motel and consorting with the downtrodden as well as the mid-level literati, Fante Bukowski must overcome great obstacles - a love interest turned rival, ghostwriting a teen celebrity's memoirs, no actual talent - to gain the respect and adoration from critics and, more importantly, his father. Van Sciver has created a scathing, hilarious, and empathetic character study of a self-styled author determined that he's just one more poem (or drink) away from success. The book includes a foreward by novelist Ryan Boudinot (Blueprints of the Afterlife), a facsimile reproduction of Bukowski's literary debut, 6 Poems (thought lost to time in the wake of a motel fire that destroyed the entire original print run), a "Works Cited" section, and a selection of "visual tributes" by over two dozen cartoonists including Nina Bunjevac, Simon Hanselmann, Jesse Jacobs, Ed Piskor, Leslie Stein, and others.

In 1656, Diego Velázquez, leading figure in the Spanish Golden Age of painting, created one of the most enigmatic works in the history of art: Las Meninas (The Ladies-in-Waiting). This graphic novel, written and drawn by two of Spain's most sophisticated comics creators, examines its legacy as one of the first paintings to explore the relationship among the viewer, reality, and unreality. (It guest stars Cano, Salvador Dalí, Zurbarán, and many others.) Olivares's art moves from clear line to expressionistic; from pen nib to brush stokes; from one color palette to another, as The Ladies-in-Waiting uses fiction to explore the ties among artists and patrons, the past and the present, institutions and audiences, creators and creativity.

When the father of a large family makes a beautiful winter coat, little does he know how much use it will get. Little Gedalia wears the coat with pride all year, but when it gets too tight for him - he's a growing boy, after all - it's given to his sister, Yeshaya. Thus begins the journey of the coat, as it's passed down from child to child - from the sweet Haya to the rambunctious Efraim and so on - falling apart bit by bit during their play until it's in tatters. Drawn in a clean-line style with a pleasingly muted color palette, The Life of a Coat is a charming portrait of a loving family. Based on the beloved Yiddish poem by the Polish poet Kadya Molodowsky, this gently humorous tale will

J + K follows the misadventures of an inseparable pair of idiots (Jay and Kay) as they navigate life in the modern world. These simple-seeming stories weave in and out of themselves and give you unexpectedly sad twists and hilarious turns; imagine Seinfeld mixed with Peanuts.

This series is rated Adults Only
DISCLAIMER: graphic sexuality
This uproarious graphic novel is a surreal take on the classic Western - and a rip-roaring adventure in gender identity and queerness! A rugged outlaw rides into a typical nineteenth-century Western town, swinging his six-guns and stirring up trouble. Meanwhile, an idle young woman gets the notion to outfit herself as a cowboy and makes her getaway. Danish cartoonist Villadsen's off-kilter vision of the Old West features exploding prostitutes, menstruating cowgirls, mysterious gender-bending, and much more. Giddyap!

Torn from the pages of National Lampoon magazine: Fantagraphics brings you the complete collection of The Appletons, Timberland Tales, and other hilarious comics creations. For fourteen years, cartoonist B.K. Taylor regaled and baffled the readers with the good-natured goofiness of his odd suburban family, The Appletons, and his innocent cast of Canadians who encountered the outside world and the trials of everyday life in Timberland Tales. Talyor's art is richly, realistically, and subversively detailed. At first, you might think it's being played it straight, but take a closer look ... With a foreword by comedian and star Tim Allen (Last Man Standing) and an afterword by horror writer R.L. Stine (Goosebumps; Fear Street).

All the Presidents is the latest book of portraits by the artist BoingBoing hails as "the greatest portrait artist of our time." All the Presidents is indeed what the title indicates, portraits of all 44 United States Presidents, from George Washington to Donald Trump and everyone in between, all rendered in
Friedman's celebrated in-your-face style of portraiture. The portraits will be accompanied by vital statistics on each subject (political affiliation as well as height and weight, etc.), as well as fascinating presidential factoids. Friedman's two page comic strip introduction "Drawn to Presidents" opens the book, specifically detailing his fasciation with drawing many US presidents throughout his life, from childhood scrawlings of Richard Nixon to illustrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton for Spy and eventually creating the famed Barack Obama/George Washington mashup inauguration cover for The New Yorker in 2009. The book also features a foreword by NPR's Studio 360 host, Kurt Andersen.

Alex is the story of failed dreams and the consequences faced by a man who discovers that accomplishing his career goals are no route to inner peace. It is a story about the redemptive power of art, and about how fleeting those chances for redemption can be in a society that emphasizes different values. This existential, 250-page exploration of depression and the healing power of art was originally published over ten years ago as a six-issue comic book series and is collected here as one book for the first time. Kalesniko is a former Disney animator with credits including The Prince and the Pauper, Mulan, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid.

Adastra in Africa spotlights a young, exiled goddess traveling to an African village and striving to bring salvation to the famine-stricken area. It's a compelling tale of an outsider attempting to use her own non-traditional methods to help a defiantly proud people regain its vitality, without compromising the tribe's heritage and values. This stand-alone graphic novel features some of the most beautifully intricate and graceful drawing of Windsor-Smith's legendary career.

This is the launch of brand-new, periodic anthology of comics from some of the best cartoonists in the world, such as Eleanor Davis (How to be Happy). Now is an affordable and ongoing (three times a year) anthology of new comics that appeals both to the comics-curious as well as the serious aficionado. It's a platform for short fiction, experimentation, and for showcasing diversity in the comics field. The only common denominator to each piece is an exemplary use of the comics form, with a lineup of established and up-and-coming talent from around the globe. The first issue includes new work from acclaimed creators such as Noah Van Sciver (Fante Bukowski), Gabrielle Bell (Lucky), Dash Shaw (Cosplayers), Sammy Harkham (Crickets), and Malachi Ward (Ancestor), as well as international stars such as J.C. Menu, Conxita Herrerro, Tobias Schalken, and Antoine Coss. Plus strips from Tommi Parrish, Sara Corbett, Daria Tessler, and Kaela Graham, as well as a gorgeous painted cover by artist Rebecca Morgan.

Dual graphic narratives by the acclaimed Italian cartoonist demonstrate how the choices our ancestors made dramatically affect generations to come. Silvano Landi is a successful writer who, at the age of 50, sees his family leave him and his life fall apart. Landi's great-grandfather, Mauro, is an anxious soldier being fed to the maw of carnage in the First World War. Alternating between past and present, a psych ward and the bloody trenches, and told through complex clues - a lone gas station, an apathetic baroness, found love letters, and shifting from scratchy black-and-white to lush watercolors (sometimes on the same page), One Story documents the origins of pain that serve as the roots of a twisted family tree, and allows the reader to trace the branches.

This is a psychedelically drawn, boldly political retelling of the 1950s graphic novel The Eternaut, whose imagery is still used as a symbol of resistance in Latin America to this day. The 1950s version of The Eternaut, a seminal Argentine work, is drawn in F. Solano Lopez's clean, orderly comics art style. In the 1969 reboot, the darker tone is reflected in Breccia's Expressionist art. In The Eternaut 1969, the great world powers have forsaken South America to alien invaders, and POV character Juan Salvo, along with his friend Professor Favalli, metalworker Franco, and neighbor Susanna, join the resistance in Buenos Aires with the knowledge that the outside world will not come to their aid. Through the lenses of these timeless characters, the politically prescient creators ask readers to consider the implications of global domination by the "great powers" before it's too late.

Fantagraphics collects the graphic novel Perramus - winner of an Amnesty International prize - in English for the first time. This graphic novel follows the existential odyssey of a political dissident. When he voluntarily loses his memory, he's dubbed "Perramus" from the brand of his raincoat. During his absurdist travels, he teams up with the gruff Cannelloni; a foreign aviator dubbed "The Enemy" by despot Mr. Whitesnow; and the blind author "Borges" (based on the real-life literary figure), who comes to be a guide. This motley crew journeys to outlandish locales where they encounter a variety of eccentric characters - including a director of trailers for films that will never exist; a guerilla fbeforce of circus folk, clowns, and puppeteers; a tin-pot dictator with a vast fortune built on an empire of excrement; and Ronald Reagan. This highly anticipated collection is an act of resistance in and of itself - it was created while Argentina's military dictatorship was still in power. Perramus is a cartooning tour de force, with a revolutionary message that remains vital to this day.

A graphic nonfiction story of the five extraordinary cartoonists who decided to rebel in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and WWII. In 1957, Editorial Bruguera was one of Spain's largest publishing houses, putting out hugely popular weekly magazines and comics for young and old - while retaining all rights and creative control of their artists' work. Spanish comics superstar Paco Roca investigates the true story of five cartoonists who, spurred by poor working conditions, arbitrary editorial edicts, and nationwide dictatorial rule, went on a quest for creative freedom. Little did they know that the corporation had begun actively trying to thwart their distribution and publishing efforts, turning their battle into a real-life David and Goliath tale. The Winter of the Cartoonist provides historical context and short profiles of these artists as they serve as everyday heroes for all of those who have chased a dream, no matter how high the obstacles that stand in front of them.

For the first time in English, this seminal Argentinian science fiction graphic novel whose main character is still viewed as a symbol of resistance in Latin America.This originally appeared as weekly installments from 1957-59. Juan Salvo, the inimitable protagonist, along with his friend Professor Favalli and the tenacious metal-worker Franco, face what appears to be a nuclear accident, but quickly turns out to be something much bigger than they had imagined. Cold War tensions, aliens of all sizes, space-and time travel-this one has it all.