Graphic novel news

Read Grovel's latest graphic novel review - Promethea: Book 2 by Alan Moore.

Read Grovel's latest graphic novel review - North Country by Shane White.

Read Shuck Unmasked, a 168-page graphic novel, by Rick Smith and Tania Menesse, completely free of charge at www.sulfurstar.com

"Shuck is a demon who used to be in the business of guarding souls. Wearing an old man mask to hide his goat-faced nature and to fit into his new retired lifestyle, Shuck lives in a house next door to little Thursday Friday, her mom and her talking cat Jamara. The mask doesn't help him hide and Shuck is drawn into the netherworld he thought he had left behind. Adventure ensues."

Titan's monthly batch of releases in the UK will appeal to a broad swath of comics fans. Alan Moore tops the bill with the fifth volume of his collected Promethea comic, available in hardback. Swamp Thing, the character famously revamped by Moore back in the '80s, also has a new book out - Love in Vain, the second volume in the revamped revamp, so to speak.

Followers of the continued adventures of the characters that originally came out of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman will be interested in Bill Willingham and Shawn McManus's take on Thessaly: Witch for Hire and Jill Thompson's manga-isation of The Dead Boy Detectives who first appeared in Season of Mists.

Then there's the superheroes. Top of our pile is Superman: That Healing Touch by Greg Rucka. Joining it are volume four of John
Byrne's Superman: Man of Steel and Syndicate Rules, volume 17 of JLA.

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Creating graphic novels can be a time-consuming business, but few take as long as a decade to complete. But that's how long Charles Burns has been working on Black Hole, hailed by many who read the serialized version to be a masterpiece.

Burns takes us back to the seventies, striking a community of teenagers with a bizarre sexually transmitted disease that alters their bodies: a rash here, a concealable bump there. But sometimes, for the particularly unlucky, it might kick-start the growth of an entirely new body part.

Part horror, part murder mystery, Burns' book transcends genre and has already been nominated for numerous awards. This collection of the entire story in one volume is surely not to be missed. Watch out for our review, coming soon.

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Read Grovel's latest graphic novel review - Ex Machina 2: Tag.

We're a bit behind on this one, but thought it was still worth mentioning that we hold in our hands what could be the most impressive looking volume ever created around a bunch of comic strips. Chris Ware's The ACME Novelty Library has to be seen to be believed, though fans of Ware's previous work should need little persuading. But just in case, let us present an extract from the official press release:

"Utterly eschewing the general bonhomie surrounding the newly-minted contemporary regard for the comic strip medium as a language of complicated personal expression and artistic sophistication, professional colorist and award-winning letterer F. C. Ware returns to the book trade with The ACME Novelty Library, a hardcover distillation of all his surviving one-page cartoon jokes with which he tuckpointed the holes of his regular comic book periodical over the past decade.

"Sometimes claimed to be his 'best work' by those who really don't know any better, this definitive congestion of stories of the future, the old west, and even of modern life nonetheless tries to stay interesting by including a luminescent map of the heavens, a chart of the general structure of the universe, assorted cut-out activitites, and a complete history of The ACME Novelty Company itself, decorated by rare photographs, early business ventures, not to mention the smallest example of a Comic Strip ever before offered to the general public.

"All in all, it will likely prove a rather mild disappointment, but at least it catches the light in a nice way and may force a smile here and there before being shelved for the next generation's ultimate disregard and/or disposal."

Watch out for our full review, coming soon.

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...now on, until Tuesday 25th. Great bargains on a big selection of Top Shelf graphic novels.

Read Grovel's latest graphic novel review - The Clouds Above by Jordan Crane.

Judge Dredd fans (at least, those that live in the UK) can now get hold of Satan's Island, which collects together 15 episodes previously printed in 2000AD, and sees Dredd enter a futuristic city of sin to track down a dangerous terrorist. Rogue Trooper: Eye of the Traitor collects some classic Gerry Finley-Day tales from the archives; and Family is a gangster story with a twist.

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Order from Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.co.uk

Read Grovel's latest graphic novel review - Superman/Batman: Absolute Power by Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino.

We hardly need the proof that comics can cater for a wide range of audiences, but here's a trio of graphic novels that do the job anyway. Invasion of the Dykes to Watch Out For is volume 11 in Alison Bechdel's award winning series following the lives of a group of lesbians; Beg the Question by Bob Fingerman focuses on bohemian New York twenty-somethings; and Pure Trance by Junko Mizuno is a dreamy adult sci-fi fantasy, aimed at women. Check them out.

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Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Read Grovel's latest graphic novel review - Cinema Panopticum by Thomas Ott.

A healthy collection of books from Titan have hit the stores over the last few days. Top of the pile is A History of Violence and you can read our recent review by clicking here. Superhero fans of all ages should find something between Matt Wagner's Trinity (also reviewed - just click here), Jeph Loeb's Superman/Batman: Absolute Power (review coming very soon), The Authority: Revolution Book One and Teen Titans 3: Beast Boys & Girls. Fans of British newspaper spy strips can get jealous of anyone who owns Modesty Blaise: The Green-Eyed Monster; while John Constantine fans should check out Garth Ennis's seminal Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits, which is getting a well deserved reprint - read our review here.

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Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Order from Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk

Read Grovel's latest graphic novel review - A History of Violence by John Wagner and Vincent Locke, recently adapted for the cinema by David Cronenberg.

Read Grovel's latest graphic novel review - Best of American Splendor by Harvey Pekar.