Dragman

Dragman
Author: Steven Appleby
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1250783585

WINNER OF SPECIAL JURY PRIZE AT 2021 FESTIVAL D'ANGOULÊME — NAMED A BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL OF 2020 BY THE GUARDIAN From "Britain's most loved comics artist" comes a superhero epic like no other—an ordinary man gains superpowers by donning women’s clothing, saving London and maybe even himself. August Crimp can fly, but only when he wears women’s clothes. Soaring above a gorgeous, lush vista of London, he is Dragman, catching falling persons, lost souls, and the odd stranded cat. After he’s rejected by the superhero establishment, where masked men chase endorsement deals rather than criminals, August quietly packs up his dress and cosmetics and retreats to normalcy — a wife and son who know nothing of his exploits or inclinations. When a technological innovation allows people to sell their souls, they do so in droves, turning empty, cruel, and hopeless, driven to throw themselves off planes. August is terrified of being outed, but feels compelled to bring back Dragman when Cherry, his young neighbor, begs him to save her parents. Can Dragman take down the forces behind this dreadful new black market? Can August embrace Dragman and step out of the shadows? The debut graphic novel from British cartoon phenomenon Steven Appleby, Dragman is at once a work of artistic brilliance, sly wit, and poignant humanity, a meditation on identity, morality, and desire, delivered with levity and grace.

Amazing Decisions

Amazing Decisions
Author: Dan Ariely
Publisher: Hill and Wang
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2019-07-23
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1466899549

Dan Ariely, the New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational, and illustrator Matt R. Trower present a playful graphic novel guide to better decision-making, based on the author’s groundbreaking research in behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology. The internationally renowned author Dan Ariely is known for his incisive investigations into the messy business of decision-making. Now, in Amazing Decisions, his unique perspective—informed by behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology—comes alive in the graphic form. The illustrator Matt R. Trower’s playful and expressive artwork captures the lessons of Ariely’s groundbreaking research as they explore the essential question: How can we make better decisions? Amazing Decisions follows the narrator, Adam, as he faces the daily barrage of choices and deliberations. He juggles two overlapping—and often contradictory—sets of norms: social norms and market norms. These norms inform our thinking in ways we often don’t notice, just as Adam is shadowed by the “market fairy” and the “social fairy,” each compelling him to act in certain ways. Good decision-making, Ariely argues, requires us to identify and evaluate the forces at play under different circumstances, leading to an optimal outcome. Amazing Decisions is a fascinating and entertaining guide to developing skills that will prove invaluable in personal and professional life.

The Sculptor

The Sculptor
Author: Scott McCloud
Publisher: First Second
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2015-02-03
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1466887281

David Smith is giving his life for his art—literally. Thanks to a deal with Death, the young sculptor gets his childhood wish: to sculpt anything he can imagine with his bare hands. But now that he only has 200 days to live, deciding what to create is harder than he thought, and discovering the love of his life at the 11th hour isn't making it any easier! This is a story of desire taken to the edge of reason and beyond; of the frantic, clumsy dance steps of young love; and a gorgeous, street-level portrait of the world's greatest city. It's about the small, warm, human moments of everyday life...and the great surging forces that lie just under the surface. Scott McCloud wrote the book on how comics work; now he vaults into great fiction with a breathtaking, funny, and unforgettable new work.

Feynman

Feynman
Author: Jim Ottaviani
Publisher: First Second
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2011-08-30
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1466805420

Richard Feynman: physicist . . . Nobel winner . . . bestselling author . . . safe-cracker. In this substantial graphic novel biography, First Second presents the larger-than-life exploits of Nobel-winning quantum physicist, adventurer, musician, world-class raconteur, and one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century: Richard Feynman. Written by nonfiction comics mainstay Jim Ottaviani and brilliantly illustrated by First Second author Leland Myrick, Feynman tells the story of the great man's life from his childhood in Long Island to his work on the Manhattan Project and the Challenger disaster. Ottaviani tackles the bad with the good, leaving the reader delighted by Feynman's exuberant life and staggered at the loss humanity suffered with his death. Anyone who ever wanted to know more about Richard P. Feynman, quantum electrodynamics, the fine art of the bongo drums, the outrageously obscure nation of Tuva, or the development and popularization of the field of physics in the United States need look no further than this rich and joyful work. One of School Library Journal's Best Adult Books 4 Teens titles of 2011 One of Horn Book's Best Nonfiction Books of 2011

Andre the Giant

Andre the Giant
Author: Brian "Box" Brown
Publisher: First Second
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2014-05-06
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1466858788

Andre Roussimoff is known as both the lovable giant in The Princess Bride and a heroic pro-wrestling figure. He was a normal guy who'd been dealt an extraordinary hand in life. At his peak, he weighed 500 pounds and stood nearly seven and a half feet tall. But the huge stature that made his fame also signed his death warrant. Box Brown brings his great talents as a cartoonist and biographer to this phenomenal new graphic novel. Drawing from historical records about Andre's life as well as a wealth of anecdotes from his colleagues in the wrestling world, including Hulk Hogan, and his film co-stars (Billy Crystal, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, etc), Brown has created in Andre the Giant, the first substantive biography of one of the twentieth century's most recognizable figures.

PTSD

PTSD
Author: Guillaume Singelin
Publisher: First Second
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2019-02-26
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1626723184

Singelin's PTSD is an adult fiction graphic novel that grapples with the reality of being a war veteran about a traumatized war vet who must fend for herself against all odds. After returning home from an unpopular war, Jun becomes an outsider in an indifferent world. Alone, desperate, and suffering from wounds both mental and physical, she seeks relief in the illicit drugs she manages to purchase or steal. Jun’s tough exterior served her well in combat, but she’ll need to nurture her vulnerability and humanity to survive at home. With the support of her fellow vets, the kindness of a stranger who refuses to turn away, and the companionship of a dog named Red, Jun learns to navigate the psychological trauma that she experienced in the war.

The Coffee Table Book of Doom

The Coffee Table Book of Doom
Author: Steven Appleby
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2012
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 0452298660

This handy guide shows all the ways everyone might cease to exist. It might not be able to save, but it can make Doomsday a lot more fun.

Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles

Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
Author: Ray Bradbury
Publisher: Hill and Wang
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2022-02-08
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 0374608288

Rendered in gorgeous, full-color art by Dennis Calero, Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles: The Authorized Adaptation graphically translates fourteen of Bradbury's famous interconnected science-fiction stories, turning an unforgettable vision of man and Mars into an unforgettable work of art. The Earthmen came by the handful, then the hundreds, then the millions. They swept aside the majestic, dying Martian civilization to build their homes, shopping malls, and cities. Mars began as a place of boundless hopes and dreams, a planet to replace an Earth sinking into waste and war. It became a canvas for mankind's follies and darkest desires. Ultimately, the Earthmen who came to conquer the red-gold planet awoke to discover themselves conquered by Mars. Lulled by its ancient enchantments, the Earthmen learned, at terrible cost, to overcome their own humanity.

Justice in the Swamp

Justice in the Swamp
Author: Stephen Koons
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2020-12-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1620236354

When three young African American males are involved in an accident with rich and influential Mr. Davis, two are left dead, one is left seriously injured, and one walks away unharmed. Despite Mr. Davis being at fault, the boys are instantly blamed, and Mr. Davis’ insurance company begins a cover-up that spans across state and country lines. To the insurance company, winning was the only option. However, one of the boys, Marvin Jones, has a mother who will stop at nothing to learn the truth, and she turns to Jack Shook, her attorney, to do just that. Shook’s team of investigators has to work quickly if they want to get justice for their client, as Mary Jo Staliniski, Mr. Davis’ insurance claim superintendent, is known for her shady, ruthless, and often successful investigations. Within hours of the crash, the race is on, with one side wanting justice and the other willing to go to any lengths to hide the truth. Having all the action and drama of a thriller, Justice in the Swamp, exposes the lengths some insurance companies will go to win claims and protects their clients, revealing that insurance fraud can go both ways. Filled with payoffs, coded messages, and even kidnapping, readers will be swept through the whirlwind investigation that will keep them guessing what will happen next.

Eartha

Eartha
Author: Cathy Malkasian
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2017-03-15
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1606999915

Malkasian’s stunning landscapes and depictions of nature, gestural character nuance, and sophisticated storytelling are on display in her latest graphic novel. For a thousand years, the unfinished dreams―sex fantasies, murder plots, wishful thinking―from the City Across the Sea came to Echo Fjord to find sanctuary. Emerging from the soil, they took bodily form and wandered the land, gently guided by the fjord folk. But recently they've stopped coming, and Eartha wants solve the mystery. Without thought or hesitation―the city isn’t on any map, or in anyone’s memory―she ventures into the limitless waters, hoping to find the City.