Scott Mills, the critically acclaimed cartoonist behind Cells, Big Clay Pot, and Trenches, does it again! Carter Zacharias is a man with a mission, a scientist who will stop at nothing to save the universe itself from its unrelenting expansion...and God help any man, woman, or planet that gets in his way.

Silent and sophisticated, whimsical and funny, short comics involving mummies, vampires, the wolfman, and Frankenstein. Austrian cartoonist Nicholas Mahler is famous for his silent and sophisticated comics. His short stories are intriguing, humorous and incredibly illustrated in a whimsical, yet weighted, sketchy style. Characters in this volume include the classic archetypes: mummy, vampire, wolfman, Frankenstein, et al. This first American compilation will be sure to create an instant fan base his for work.

The life of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa combined with a story of a friendship between a small girl and boy in Hawaii. The story of a small girl and her one-day friendship with a strange boy while on vacation with her family in Hawaii. Their lives are forever changed as they explore the island and themselves. Bookended by full-color biographical excerpts from the life of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, the central story's themes reflect those of the filmmaker and is told through black and white half-toned, fully-painted artwork. The Barefoot Serpent is offered as a 128-page hardcover graphic novel, in the same size and format as the Little Golden Books of old. This is definitely Scott's most unique and ambitious graphic novel to date.

This thought-provoking story is told almost completely without words, relying on Kochalka's expressive illustrations of the title characters. For all the book's humorous and charming appearance, beneath the entertaining veneer lies a stirring examination of the dual nature of existence, the dichotomy within the human mind, and our profound effect on the ecological environment. A modern day fable for readers of all ages, based on the age-old struggle between nature and technology.

by Jason Hall & Matt Kindt Jack Peril is the beloved hero of radio, comics, and the silver screen — but is his existence merely fictional? What does a series of grisly murders and a new lecture series condemning the pulse-pounding parables of said Mr. Peril have to do with it all? And just who is The Yellow Menace? Mitch and Charlie, along with luckless cop Ray and inquisitive maid Isla, plan to find out!

Magic Boy is an old, decrepit man. Lonely and confused, he decides to build a robotic replica of himself. However, the robot goes insane and attacks his creator, then goes back in time, and kills his creator's childhood self. The robot then lives out the entirety of his creator's life in his stead. Space and time warp around Magic Boy and his Robot Elf, and fact and fantasy fracture and get shuffled together.

Edited by Brett Warnock and Robert Goodin, this issue of Top Shelf includes Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie's banned DC Comics Cobweb story; a Peanuts tribute featuring Chris Ware, Seth, and a host of other cartoonists; a brand new section by the Swiss avant-garde cartoonist collective Arta Bile; an excerpt of a graphic novel by Martin Tom Dieck; new contributions by the entire Robot Publishing gang (a group of professional animators led by Robert Goodin who make amazing comics); an interview with David Chelsea that includes a portfolio; and new strips by Steve Weissman, James Kochalka, Matt Madden, James Sturm, Mack White, and many more!

Tune-in your dial to the smashing Top Shelf debut of two young upstarts and witness with wonder as the lives of morally ambiguous characters collide in a train wreck of a graphic novel called Pistolwhip! A naive bellhop's struggle towards a life's ambition; an expatriate musician on the run; a young woman's battle with her paranoia and her past; and the mysterious figure who wants to control their lives. Set in an exotic atmosphere of a by-gone era, Pistolwhip is a marvelous tale crafted with a crime noir feel and an artistic style reminiscent of the best European graphic novelists. We promise you will be rewarded with each re-reading of this elaborate narrative.

by James Kochalka The Perfect Planet, clocking in at 208 pages, represents James Kochalka's largest graphic novel to date. Including the Ignatz Award-winning story, The Perfect Planet, and the two brand- new stories Nonironic Futuropolis, and Frog & Fly, this portends to be the best Kochalka book yet! Miss this at your own peril! Perfect Bound.