A true cornerstone of the Japanese underground scene of the 1960sSeiichi Hayashi produced Red Colored Elegy between 1970 and 1971, in the aftermath of a politically turbulent and culturally vibrant decade that promised but failed to deliver new possibilities. With a combination of sparse line work and visual codes borrowed from animation and film, the quiet, melancholy lives of a young couple struggling to make ends meet are beautifully captured in this poetic masterpiece. Uninvolved with the political movements of the time, Ichiro and Sachiko hope for something better, but they're no revolutionaries; their spare time is spent drinking, smoking, daydreaming, and sleeping--together and at times with others. While Ichiro attempts to make a living from his comics, Sachiko's parents are eager to arrange a marriage for her, but Ichiro doesn't seem interested. Both in their relationship and at work, Ichiro and Sachiko are unable to say the things they need to say, and like any couple, at times say things to each other that they do not mean, ultimately communicating as much with their body language and what remains unsaid as with words. Red Colored Elegy is informed as much by underground Japanese comics of the time as it is by the French nouvelle vague, and its cultural referents range from James Dean to Ken Takakura. Its influence in Japan was so great that Morio Agata, a prominent Japanese folk musician and singer/songwriter, debuted with a love song written and named after it.

A third collection of illustrated short tales by a forefront Japanese cartoonist is comprised of World War II pieces that were drawn in 1971 and 1972 and includes the stories of a prostitute who despairs when American GIs return to America and a man who devotes his life to honoring Hiroshima victims only to realize a horrible misconception.

The annual comics anthology of emerging cartoonists Drawn & Quarterly Showcase is a new-talent anthology and the only annual collection to have the focused visual acumen of the D+Q editor in chief, Chris Oliveros, who scours the globe for three cartoonists to spotlight and introduce to North American readers. More often than not, it is the first time the cartoonists have had the chance to work in full color with twenty-five pages, and on such a wide-reaching visual platform. The series is hailed for its consistent quality and for the superior editorial vision of its short stories, volume after volume. Book Five features Anneli Furmark (Sweden), Amanda Vähämäki (Finland), and T. Edward Bak (United States), with cover art by Vähämäki. Previous Showcases have featured Kevin Huizenga, Jeffrey Brown,Geneviève Castrée, Gabrielle Bell, and Nicolas Robel.

The rise and fall of the small northern Canadian town of White Rapids is told in a graphic novel that weaves together the official history of the town and snapshots of the everyday life of its residents. Original.

In the second volume of Tove Jansson's humorous yet melancholic Moomin comic strip, we get four new stories about jealousy, competition, child rearing, and self-reinvention.