The super-rich are often portrayed as self-made, as if their wealth was created entirely by their own efforts. But is this true? In his latest book of graphic analysis, celebrated author Darryl Cunningham examines the evidence, featuring graphic biographies of media baron Rupert Murdoch, oil and gas tycoons Charles and David Koch, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Have these individuals enjoyed advantages, beyond their personal ability and attributes, that have aided their success? Cunningham makes comparisons with the 'Gilded Age' (1870s to 1900), the last period in America in which a few individuals gained colossal wealth. Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, JP Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt and others made fortunes, but also helped create the modern world of railroads, manufacturing, and finance. What essential elements have the modern equivalents brought us? Despite the often reported disadvantages brought by the widening gulf between the poorest and the super-rich, are such wealthy individuals necessary to finance technological progress? Would we be poorer without them?

A mysterious new player enters the Marvel Universe...and the X-Men are square in the center of his crosshairs! What is the mission of Major X - and what does it have to do with the time-traveler known as Cable? It's a race against time to save mutantkind from certain devastation, but will Cable try to stop the deadly soldier and his far-reaching goals - or will he forge a tentative union with the mysterious military man? Writer/artist Rob Liefeld introduces a new wrinkle into the saga of Marvel's Mightiest Mutants! Join the X-Men as they ask the question that will soon be on everyone's lips: who is Major X?! COLLECTING: MAJOR X #1-6

In 1962's Amazing Fantasy #15, fifteen-year-old Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and became the Amazing Spider-Man! 57 years have passed in the real world since that event - so what would have happened if the same amount of time passed for Peter as well? To celebrate Marvel's 80th anniversary, Chip Zdarsky and Spider-Man legend Mark Bagley unite to spin a unique Spidey tale - telling an entire history of Spider-Man from beginning to end, set against the key events of the decades through which he lived! Prepare to watch Peter Parker age through 57 years of groundbreaking history - and find out what happens to him, and those he loves the most! COLLECTING SPIDER-MAN: LIFE STORY #1-6

Apocalypse fights for change in the Age of X-Man! Nate Grey has created a utopia for mutants...one where nobody knows love. Thankfully, a hero has risen up to lead a rebellion against X-Man's oppressive way of life and teach the ways of family and romance. And he goes by the name En Sabah Nur! Join Apocalypse and his revolutionary X-Tracts as they strive to teach the world to love again! Their newest mission takes them to the wilds of the former Soviet Union, where a creature lurks that locals call the "Tongue of Czernobog"...but why do Apocalypse and the X-Tracts want to fi nd him? And can they get to him before the enforcers from Department X do? COLLECTING: AGE OF X-MAN: APOCALYPSE & THE X-TRACTS 1-5

The Marvel event of the decade is here! the Avengers and the X-Men are faced with a common foe that becomes their greatest threat: Wanda Maximoff! the Scarlet Witch is out of control, and the fate of the entire world is in her hands. Will Magneto help his daughter or use her powers to his own benefit? Starring the Astonishing X-Men and the New Avengers! You know how sometimes you hear the phrase: and nothing will ever be the same again? Well, this time believe it, buster! Nothing will ever be the same again! Collects House of M #1-8.

A moving, often very funny graphic memoir about what it is like to grow up with an illness that no one can diagnose. When the headaches started, Sarah Lippett would stand alone on a different side of the playground from the other children. When she started to drag one of her legs, her parents took her to hospital, and so began the visits to many different doctors, each one more bewildered by her illness than the last. Initially schooled at home, when Sarah went back to school she was placed with the struggling kids, and still so often ill, she felt even more alone. But although Sarah's parents often despaired of the stream of appointments and no cure, they never showed it and she grew up in the midst of a boisterous, loving family and found good friends at last, as well as venturing into bands, art, boys, books and records. Finally, when Sarah turned sixteen, she was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital where the doctors diagnosed her with the rare disease, Moyamoya. The book ends with Sarah waking up after brain surgery.

In midcentury America, the world's greatest superheroes triumph in their public battles, while struggling with private ones. Social and political unrest take a personal toll: one member joins the counterculture movement, others grapple with personal demons, and suspicion and betrayal cast a shadow over the most trusted friendships.

Sheriff "Big Bert" Tubb once cleaned up Craw County, Alabama with an iron jaw and a big ol' stick. But that was 40 years ago. When his son, Earl Tubb, returns home to settle some family business, he finds his daddy's grave unkempt, the stick he was buried with grown into a gnarled old tree, and Craw County in worse shape than ever. The hit new crime series, Southern Bastards, returns for its second volume. Then that tree gets struck by lightning. And suddenly Earl has a stick of his own. And some questions he’d like answered. Jason Aaron ( Scalped, Thor, Star Wars) and Jason Latour ( Wolverine & the X-Men, Loose Ends) pull back the curtain on the dark and seedy history of Craw County and its most famous and feared resident, the high school football coach turned backwoods crime lord, Euless Boss. In a place where only bastards flourish, what does it take to be the biggest, meanest, most powerful bastard of them all? Only Coach Boss knows. But if I was you, I wouldn't ask him. Collects Southern Bastards #5-8

Powerhouse creative team JEFF LEMIRE and DUSTIN NGUYEN launch an all new series in ASCENDER! Set 10 years after the conclusion of DESCENDER 's storyline, here magic has taken the place of machinery and the rules are very different indeed... MILA, the daughter of Andy and Effie from DESCENDER , spends her days exploring the lonely wilds of the planet Sampson and trying to stay out of the clutches of the evil disciples of the all powerful vampire witch known only as Mother. But like her parents, Mila doesn't like to play by the rules and when a certain robot pal of her dad's shows up, nothing will ever be the same! With all the scope and heart of the sci-fi classic, DESCENDER, LEMIRE and NGUYEN reunite to take readers on an unforgettable fantasy quest! Collects ASCENDER #1-5

The hot horror series that WIRED magazine named one of the best books of 2018 returns from the creative team that BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS said “will go down as one of the greatest comic teams of all time!” After the mind-blowing events of the second arc, our story heads right through the looking glass. Father Burke tracks a vicious killer named...Norton Sinclair? And when that killer can travel through time (and space!) readers are in for a wild ride. Collects GIDEON FALLS #12-16

The Red Hook's dead girlfriend is resurrected into WAR CRY, a human of mass destruction hosted by a teenage boy named Rajak Allah. When a demigod from their past comes to haunt them to death they must resolve their lost love. This Ringo nominated comic continues the New Brooklyn saga.

Jedidiah Jenkins is a simple farmer. But his cash crop isn't corn or soy. He grows fast-healing, highly-customizable human organs. For years Jed's organic transplants have been a miracle cure. Of course, that was before his former patients began to transform into something not quite human. As these poor souls come to the Jenkins Farm searching for answers, a dark figure lurks in their shadow with sinister plans for Jedidiah, his family and the world. Collects FARMHAND #6-10

Take a walk down dark, twisting paths into the history of the Hole World, the demonic dimension that spawned Wizord, Margaret, Ruby Stitch and all the rest of your favorite morally dubious sorcerors. We haven't forgotten about our world, though - intrigue and spells and strange, wonderful things abound as Wizord continues his quest to be the baddest wizord New York City's ever seen. The third chapter of the dark, funny fantasy that NPR says "exists to amuse and astound." From CHARLES SOULE (Daredevil, Darth Vader) and RYAN BROWNE (God Hates Astronauts). Collects issues 11 through 15.

Amazon Book Review’s Best Comics & Graphic Novels of 2018 A mysterious and bloodthirsty matriarchal force runs the town of Redlands, Florida, and in order to stay on top, sacrifices must be made. Someone is intent on removing these women from the top of the food chain, and he's ready to unleash their darkest secret but has seriously underestimated the lengths the townspeople will go to protect the new order of things. Inspired by the strange complexities of real world politics and crime, the characters of Redlands play victim and villain, attempting to understand themselves and others, through murder, magic and mayhem. Collects issues 1 through 6.

The world has realized that dark wizards fighting epic battles in the skies above our cities might actually be a bad thing, and Earth's leaders have finally agreed on one thing: they want Wizord and Margaret gone. Meanwhile, the evil Sizzajee is still gunning for them, and Wizord's ex, the lovely Ruby Stitch, is striking out on her own path. Forget it, Jake... it's Explosiontown. The second chapter of the dark, funny fantasy that's captured imaginations across the land, and refuses to let them go. From CHARLES SOULE (Daredevil, Darth Vader) and RYAN BROWNE (God Hates Astronauts). Collects issues 6 through 10, plus the Curse Words Holiday Special.

A wizard has appeared in present-day New York! His name is Wizord, and he's here to save us all from dark magical forces bent on our destruction. He's the best wizard of all time! Or... he's not, and he's lying to everyone, and secretly is the dark magical force, but wants to hang out in our world for a while because it's so much nicer than the hellhole he comes from. Secrets, and spells, and talking koalas - CURSE WORDS is a gonzo dark fantasy from CHARLES SOULE (Daredevil, Letter 44, Star Wars) and RYAN BROWNE (God Hates Astronauts). Collects Issues 1-5.

Go globetrotting with our undead host, Ghouliana, as she shows off her favorite ghastly haunts from around the world in Volume 3 of the bestselling coloring book series! Life of Agony bassist Alan Robert reveals more of Ghouliana's monochromatic world, and it's just waiting for you to saturate it with red, black, or any other color you can imagine (even pastels). You never know what's lurking behind the next corner, so keep your eyes peeled for all the hidden pieces of the monster Ghouliana is trying to reanimate. Collect them all and find out why Alternative Press hails The Beauty of Horror as the twisted coloring book you've been waiting for! Sink your fangs into over 80 pages of intricate, hand-drawn, spooktacular designs presented in a high-quality, deluxe coloring format.

The story of screwball comics, with new research and rare art from some of the most hilarious cartoonists of all time. Before screwball became a movie genre, it was a staple of other forms of American culture, including newspaper comic strips. Emerging from the pressures of a rapidly accelerating technological and information-drenched society, screwball comics offered a healthy dose of laughter and perspective. The disruptive, manic, and surreal verbal-visual comedy of these funnies fostered an absurdist sensibility embraced by The Marx Brothers (who took their names from a popular comic strip), W. C. Fields, Tex Avery, Spike Jones, Ernie Kovacs, and Mad magazine. Comics scholar Paul C. Tumey traces the development of screwball as a genre in magazine cartoons and newspaper comics, presenting the lives and work of around two dozen cartoonists, with an art-stuffed chapter on each. The book offers a wealth of previously un-reprinted comics unleashing fresh views of some of America's greatest and most-loved cartoonists, including George Herriman (Krazy Kat), E.C. Segar (creator of Popeye), Winsor McCay (Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend), Rube Goldberg (The Inventions of Professor Lucifer G. Butts, A.K.) and Bill Holman (Smokey Stover). In addition, readers will be delighted to discover previously lost screwball masters including Gene Ahern (The Squirrel Cage), Gus Mager (Sherlocko the Monk), Milt Gross (Count Screwloose), George Swanson ($alesman $am) and many others.