Hey Kids! Comics! Check ‘Em Out!
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Below are some comic strip and cartoon books scheduled for March 2025 release (or so).
Images and links from a variety of publishers and outlets,
though ordering through your local comic shop or independent book store is a good idea.
Barnaby Volume Five by Crockett Johnson and Jack Morley
Volume Five collects the final two-plus years [1950-1952] of the strip, including the rarely-if-ever seen conclusion of the strip, as five-year-old Barnaby Baxter says goodbye to his Fairy Godfather, Mr. O’Malley. Unlike most comic strips, Barnaby ended its ten-year run with an emotionally satisfying ending that broke the hearts of fans when first published in newspapers. The magic of Barnaby resides in its canny mix of fantasy and satire, amplified by the understated elegance of Crockett Johnson’s clean, spare art.
The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium Set 4 by Bill Watterson
The fourth set of books collecting Bill Watterson’s timeless Calvin and Hobbes comics in a new portable format designed to introduce the timeless adventures of a boy and his stuffed tiger to a new generation of readers. Featuring nearly 500 comics presented chronologically from December 1989 to April 1991.
Featuring archival slipcase and cover art selected by the author … This is the fourth set in a series of seven.
American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-69 by John Wells (2nd printing)
NOW BACK IN PRINT!
John Wells headlines this second volume on the 1960s, covering all the pivotal moments and behind-the-scenes details of comics during the stormy cultural upheaval of 1965-1969! You’ll get a year-by-year account of the most significant publications, notable creators, and impactful trends, including: The transformation of Marvel Comics into a pop phenomenon! Wally Wood’s Tower Comics storms on the scene with the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents while Charlton’s Action Heroes strike a blow of their own! Batmania sweeps the nation as the smash Adam West TV show pushes superhero comic sales into orbit! Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, and Denny O’Neil lead a wave of fresh young voices in the comic book industry! Gold Key unlocks a new format with its digest line! The Archies and Josie & the Pussycats sing their way to the top! These are just a few of the events chronicled in this exhaustive, full-color hardcover.
Toronto: A Sketchy History by Brian Gable (or via Amazon as the publisher is out of stock)
The brilliantly talented Brian Gable, seven-time winner of the National Newspaper Award for political cartoons, takes readers on a witty, visual journey through Toronto’s transformation from a modest military garrison to a bustling metropolis.
With over seventy original sketches, Gable captures the city’s most pivotal moments, weaving together humour and history in a brisk, engaging narrative. Toronto: A Sketchy History is a lively tribute to a city whose past is as colourful as its present.
The Life Vest by Mr. Ollie (Tim Oliphant)
The lively illustrated Memoir, The Life Vest, covers Mr. Ollie’s childhood dream of becoming a cartoonist, his bumpy path that ultimately made his love for cartooning grow stronger, and how a major health problem changed his perspective of life and his life-long dream.
Nat A Chance (Nat Enough #6) by Maria Scrivan
The sixth book in the New York Times bestselling series that began with Nat Enough!
You don’t know until you try…
Nat doesn’t think she’s an athlete, but after a series of painfully embarrassing moments, she’s determined to build her confidence and signs up for a triathlon with her best friend, Zoe. As training begins, Nat realizes she’s in way over her head, facing so many setbacks and challenges that she wonders why she ever signed up! Can Nat get out of her own way and complete the triathlon, or will she convince herself that she’s not cut out for it and quit?
Carol Day, Last of The Line by David Wright
If you’re a dedicated fan of this beautiful newspaper strip created by David Wright, first published in the Daily Mail between 10th September 1956 and 25th May 1967, you should preorder now, before the 16th March 2025 cut off.
A wonderful newspaper strip, with its combination of sophisticated themes and stories, rounded characters and always magnificent art, Carol Day transcends even the best American strips of the time, and yet, strangely, despite being sold internationally, it was never syndicated in the United States.
• David Wright’s Carol Day: Last of The Line is available to preorder here from Book Palace Books | Limited to pre-ordered copies only, available solely through the Book Palace – place order by 16th March | 56 pages | Quarterbound with a cloth spine (Size: 19″ x 14″ (489mm x 362mm) | Large format to match the original artwork
Murderburg by Carol Lay (excerpt)
Off the coast of Maine, behind flesh-eating fog, lies the island of Muderburg, less-than-affectionately dubbed Murderburg. When the notorious mobster Leo Scazzo and his wife Antonia endeavor to leave their life of crime behind them, they pack up their three children, along with their murderous ways, and head to the lush enclave of Muderburg to start anew. The Scazzo crew runs the curious little island, with Leo as mayor, Antonio as the enviable first lady, and eldest daughter Isabell serving as the intrepid publisher of the weekly paper, The Murderburg Beacon.
In this collection of six stories, alternative comix great Carol Lay illustrates a portrait of a family whose villainy is only narrowly outweighed by their devotion to each other and the inhabitants of their own little corner of hell.
ALLEY OOP IN THE ANCIENT LOST ATLANTIS 1946 by V. T. Hamlin
10 color Sundays & all Dailies from 1946. Highly Recommended. Alley Oop is flung back in time to legendary Atlantis — right into the raging floodwaters that devastate the city! In the twentieth century, Oop fights a trio of crooked carnival con-men. Then it’s back to Moo to find the population ravaged by the Cro-Mags and Oola kidnapped — and fighting mad! Finally, he time travels with “Pop Fish” to the old west to find a gold mine and get thrown in jail. They escape but are now wanted outlaws. Just wonderful adventures across time with our hero and heroine!
ALLEY OOP AND THE COUNTERFEIT QUEEN 1999 by Dave Graue and Jack Bender
It’s intrigue in the high court of ancient Moo as an impostor takes over the throne! Who is the mysterious “She” from the Land of Seven Peaks and what are her plans for the real Queen Umpateedle? Oola is a big part of the action as she infiltrates an enemy tribe that is into open war with Alley’s. And then the time machine screws up…again…and flings Alley into the middle ages to meet an aging witch. All daily strips from 1999!
Too Much Coffee Man Saves the Universe (and Other Mistakes) by Shannon Wheeler
Brace yourself for a new Too Much Coffee Man collection from Eisner Award winning and New Yorker cartoonist Shannon Wheeler. This new book collects the first appearances of TMCM from the mini-comics, short stories, ads, and, notably, the story Wheeler shot with a gun. Also included are contemporaneous sketches by Sergio Arragones, Dan Clowes, Adrian Tomine, Mike Judge, and others, as well as a spiffy die-cut cover. Wheeler updates the material with contextualizing essays that explain, among other things, what a cord on a telephone is.
John Cuneo’s Good Intentions by John Cuneo
Enter a world where behind every suburban front door is a licentious bacchanal. Whether it’s ram-headed, alcoholic, paper-pushers; hand puppet sex parties; or Hokusai’s insatiable octopus (who turns out, knows a thing or two about the saxophone), Cuneo renders each intimate tableaux with delightfully feverish pen strokes and delicate watercolors. Effortlessly combining the fantastical and the grotesque, with bulbous heads, dapper cats, muses depicted as gargantuan women, and a multitude of sex acts invented for the occasion. A pearl-clutching, monocle-popping, knee slapping graphic revelation. Full-color illustrations throughout
Mandrake the Magician: The Complete Newspaper Dailies Volume Three by Lee Falk and Phil Davis
The strips presented in this series of reprints feature two staple characters in addition to the master magician: Lothar and Princess Narda (princess of the mythical European kingdom Cockaigne). Lothar appears within the first few days (June 14, 1934), and Narda is introduced in Mandrake’s second adventure.
This third volume of the series presents eight stories: “Mandrake in Hollywood”; “Sonny the Child Movie Star”; “Mandrake and the Haunted House”: “Blozz the Chamption”; “Mandrake in Love”; “Visitors from Space”; “The Deep South”; and “Mandrake in Cockaigne.”
The Phantom Dailies: Vol. 1: (1936-1937) by Lee Falk and Ray Moore (third edition)
The first volume of Hermes Press’ critically acclaimed reprint series of The Phantom has been sold-out for over three years. Now, Hermes Press is re-issuing this volume again, with additional documentary material and revisions! Spanning the first two years of the strips, The Phantom: The Complete Newspaper Dailies Volume 1 (1936-1937) presents the origin of the Phantom as well as two additional continuities of the strip. Included in this deluxe reprint are comprehensive historic essays by comic historian Ron Goulart and Phantom expert, the late Ed Rhoades.
The above to books are from Hermes Press – so no guarantee they will be published on schedule.
Terry and the Pirates: The Master Collection, vol. 10 by Milton Caniff
The saga continues in Terry and the Pirates Volume 10, reproduced from Milton Caniff’s personal set of color syndicate tabloid proofs!
Terry must solve the riddle, “Who? Who is Madame Shoo-Shoo?” It’s an answer that places him in the clutches of Singh-Singh; his wife, Cheery Blaze; and the Nazi major with whom they do business! Meanwhile, Burma and teenaged orphan Willow Belinda connect with Terry just in time to meet the nosy war correspondent, Dunkan, and the noisy new flyboy, Hotshot Charlie! But the hearts that beat fastest belong to daredevil pilot “Snake” Tumblin and “Big” Jane Allen of the Women’s Army Corps…
This tabloid-sized Volume 10 containing the 1944 dailies and Sundays is an unparalleled upgrade that no Terry fan can afford to pass up.
Flash Gordon: Classic Collection Vol.3 1941-1944 by Alex Raymond and Don Moore
Science fiction’s most enduring icon Flash Gordon returns in newly restored editions, collecting his ongoing adventures on the mysterious planet Mongo. In this volume, the battle between Flash and the devious Ming the Merciless reaches its thrilling climax-but can Earth’s fearless hero bring everlasting peace to a chaotic planet? Flash Gordon: Classic Collection, Volume 3 reprints all of Alex Raymond’s Sunday strips from January 19, 1941 to August 13, 1944, and includes an extensive essay examining his final years on the series by writer Doug Murray.
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