Betty's Picks
Abidjan's favorite daughter returns in an all-new volume of writer Marguerite Abouet's beloved series
Long-time creative team Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie make a stunning comeback after a lengthy twelve-year hiatus. Aya: Claws Come Out takes us all back to Yop City--home to the hustle and bustle of the Ivory Coast.
The reader will experience the story from Batman's viewpoint on pages 108-117. After a series of brutal murders rocks Gotham City, Batman begins to realize that perhaps these crimes go far deeper than appearances suggest. As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he's sworn to protect. Batman has heard tales of Gotham City's Court of Owls: that the members of this powerful cabal are the true rulers of Gotham. The Dark Knight dismissed the stories as rumors and old wives' tales. Gotham was his city. Until now. A brutal assassin is sinking his razor-sharp talons into the city's best and brightest, as well as its most dangerous and deadly. If the dark legends are true, his masters are more powerful predators than the Batman could ever imagine. This now-classic graphic novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling creative team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo is not just fantastic jumping-on point for any new reader, but one of the great Batman stories ever told. With every year that passes, this masterpiece becomes more entrenched into this medium's pantheon of the greatest stories ever told. Collects issues #1-7 of Batman.
Now a hit Netflix Original Anime! A manga about the struggles and rewards of a life dedicated to art. Popular guy Yatora realizes he's just going through the motions to make other people happy and finds himself in a new passion: painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling... 2020 Manga Taisho Grand Prize Winner
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens selection
Texas Library Association Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List unanimous selection STILL LIFE Yatora is the perfect high school student, with good grades and lots of friends. It's an effortless performance, and, ultimately... a dull one. But he wanders into the art room one day, and a lone painting captures his eye, awakening him to a kind of beauty he never knew. Compelled and consumed, he dives in headfirst--and he's about to learn how savage and unforgiving art can be...
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens selection
Texas Library Association Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List unanimous selection STILL LIFE Yatora is the perfect high school student, with good grades and lots of friends. It's an effortless performance, and, ultimately... a dull one. But he wanders into the art room one day, and a lone painting captures his eye, awakening him to a kind of beauty he never knew. Compelled and consumed, he dives in headfirst--and he's about to learn how savage and unforgiving art can be...
A New York Times Notable book! One of Barack Obama's favorite books of 2022! Winner of Canada Reads 2023!
"An exceptionally beautiful book about loneliness, labor, and survival."--Carmen Maria Machado
Winner of the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic! The first murder in 500 years. Twenty billion suspects. One hope. The City Enduring, a booming metropolis at the edge of the universe, hasn't experienced a violent crime in generations. The Emotion Exploit has erased its citizens' full range of feelings, allowing three resident races to overlook their turbulent history and coexist peacefully--until now. Rookie Green Lantern Sojourner "Jo" Mullein is still adjusting to her assignment to protect this strange world when a brutal murder rattles its social order, threatening to undo centu r ies of controversia l pro gress . As the populace rises up against the legacy of the Emotion Exploit and leaders grapple for power under threat of a new war, Jo must rely on her unique instincts--as a Green Lantern and the only human in this sector--to solve the crime and guide the City Enduring toward a more promi sing future. Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin joins bestselling Naomi artist Jamal Campbell in the Eisner Award-nominated sci-fi murder mystery Far Sector, collecting all 12 issues, concept art and character designs, and an introduction by Gerard Way.
The FLAVOR GIRLS are the new Magical Girls that Sailor Moon fans have been waiting for! Naoko, Camille, and V are the FLAVOR GIRLS, Sacred Fruit Guardians of Earth! They defend the earth from the threat of ever-looming Agarthians, whose motives regarding earth and humanity are still unknown. Sara, just a U.N. applicant trying her best to help, finds herself in over her head when she's thrown into this crisis in a way she never could have imagined! As the Flavor Girls hone their sacred fruit powers with their master Himiko, can their newest member help them save the planet from impending destruction? From writer and artist Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky (Persephone), comes a new Magical Girl all-ages adventure with an environmental twist for fans of Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Power Rangers! Collects Flavor Girls #1-3.
Every summer, Grog the Frog forgets to celebrate the most important magic ritual of the year: the Perseids harvest. But this year will be different. The eternally grumpy wizard will travel to forsaken mystical mountains and complete the magical rites. Unless, of course, a case of mistaken identities means that he becomes embroiled in a duel with his cosmic rival.
Will Grog be able to put order in chaos and fulfill his purpose? Or wait, perhaps Grog would prefer chaos? He's supposed to be the lord of chaos, isn't he? Either way, it will be epic!
Drama, love, magic, a delivery guy who can fly, a weird snake, a bald centaur who rents cars... it all awaits Grog in this hilarious graphic novel! All hail Grog!
Will Grog be able to put order in chaos and fulfill his purpose? Or wait, perhaps Grog would prefer chaos? He's supposed to be the lord of chaos, isn't he? Either way, it will be epic!
Drama, love, magic, a delivery guy who can fly, a weird snake, a bald centaur who rents cars... it all awaits Grog in this hilarious graphic novel! All hail Grog!
A vibrant tableau of small-town life as seen through the eyes of a woman returning home from Paris.
Juliette boards a train from Paris and comes back to her hometown hoping for a low-key visit with family and old friends. What she finds is anything but. Her sister, a caregiver and mother of two, is carrying on an elaborate affair with a man from a costume shop. Her parents, separated, are now estranged. Father is sure he's developing Alzheimer's, though it's more likely that he's simply getting old. Mother, on the other hand, revels in the second act of her life as a free woman, an artist with a show at their local gallery to prove it. Slowly, Juliette finds herself entangled with the unlikely Georges, a dyspeptic alcoholic who is stuck in his life. These divergent paths inevitably cross against a gloriously painted backdrop of eccentric small-town living. Camille Jourdy's beautiful watercolor pages provide an unfeigned mileu for the subtle dramedy at hand in Juliette. All too real human emotions, bittersweet and relatable in their rawness, come together to form a poetic realism.
Is there anything spookier than a silent feline, eyes glinting, stalking you in the night...IN YOUR OWN HOME Master of horror Junji Ito turns his twisted eye on his own life in this comedic graphic memoir about becoming a cat owner, now reissued in a deluxe hardcover featuring an exclusive interivew with Ito and a NEW cover illustration by the author that GLOWS IN THE DARK! The perfect gift for the slightly-twisted cat lover in your life. Reigning king of horror manga Junji Ito presents a series of hissterical tales chronicling his real-life trials and tribulations of becoming a cat owner. Junji Ito, as J-kun, has recently built a new house and has invited his financée, A-ko, to live with him. Little did he know...his blushing bride-to-be has some unexpected company in tow--Yon, a ghastly-looking family cat, and Mu, an adorable Norwegian forest cat. Despite being a dog person, J-kun finds himself purrsuaded by their odd cuteness and thus begins his comedic struggle to gain the affection of his new feline friends.
A terrifying, time-loop. A bad romance. An unforgettable, genre-bending mashup from boundary-pushing creative duo Tom King and Elsa Charretier! From multiple Eisner Award winning writer Tom King and up-and-coming artist Elsa Charretier comes the first volume of a thrilling, genre-bending romance/horror mashup. Joan Peterson discovers that she is trapped in an endless, terrifying cycle of "romance"--a problem to be solved, a man to marry--and every time she falls in love she's torn from her world and thrust into another tear-soaked tale. Her bloody, time-looping journey to freedom and revelation begins in this breathtaking, groundbreaking debut volume. Collects Love Everlasting #1-5. Select praise for Love Everlasting: "Romance comics meet Quantum Leap in this quirky odyssey through time, space, and the heart... King energizes the familiar romance genre with twists and turns that fuse each of Joan's trysts into an intricate puzzle... Charretier's thick-line cartoony character design, reminiscent of Darwyn Cooke, perfectly depicts this genre crossover, and Matt Hollingsworth's colors capture the eeriness, avoiding primary colors with suitably subdued secondary palettes for each chapter. This series launch piles on the thrills and leaves tantalizing questions open. Readers will be eager to see the next volume." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "While much of the story is told in a dead-on, entertaining style that pays homage to the romance comics of the 1950s, the elements of mystery and horror that emerge make the book much more than a nostalgic indulgence. The writing is clever and builds tension throughout, while the art is impeccable in its blend of colors, linework, and style, covering settings from World War I era France to the Old West in America well. Rich themes and deep questions underpin Joan's adventures, as about the true nature of love, the need for it, and the desire for independence and self-realization...Love Everlasting Volume 1 is a fascinating romantic horror story about a woman who shifts between lives." --Foreword Reviews "Elsa and Tom are two of the very most talented creators giving their energy to sequential art, seeing them reinvent the romance genre is bold, inspiring, and a total must read." --Rick Remender, Deadly Class, The Scumbag "Love Everlasting is a perfectly crafted mystery from the brilliant mind of Tom King, like an everlasting episode of The Twilight Zone where Elsa Charretier shows us all she can draw EVERYTHING and she does it with apparent ease. Just a wonderful book by two of the best creators in comics!" --Francesco Francavilla "Love Everlasting keeps the mystery of a good romance story alive even if some characters have to die in the process. You might think you know where the story is going, but love is as unpredictable as it is everlasting." --Fábio Moon
Acclaimed author Rumiko Takahashi's classic romantic comedy about finding your path in life. Yusaku Godai didn't get accepted into college on the first try, so he's studying to retake the entrance exams. But living in a dilapidated building full of eccentric and noisy tenants is making it hard for him to achieve his goals. Now that a beautiful woman has moved in to become the new resident manager, Godai is driven to distraction!
Exorcise your destiny in an era-spanning supernatural adventure from manga legend Rumiko Takahashi! When Nanoka travels back in time to a supernatural early 20th century, she gets recruited by aloof exorcist Mao. What is the thread of fate that connects them? Together, they seek answers...and kick some demon butt along the way! Nanoka passes through a portal into the Taisho era, where exorcist Mao reluctantly rescues her from the jaws of a grotesque yokai. When Nanoka gets back to the present, she discovers she has some new, incredible abilities. She returns to the past looking for answers, only to get caught up in Mao's investigation of a series of gruesome murders. As her questions about herself multiply, Nanoka learns that Mao is cursed by a cat demon named Byoki--and so is his sword. If anyone but Mao attempts to wield it, they are doomed. But when Mao's life is in jeopardy, Nanoka picks up his blade and swings!
Collects Ms. Marvel (2014) #1-11 and material From All-New Marvel Now! Point One. Marvel Comics presents the all-new Ms. Marvel, the groundbreaking heroine who has become an international sensation! Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City - until she suddenly gains extraordinary gifts. But who is she now? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Kamala explores her newfound powers, but will the weight of the legacy before her be too much? Encounters with the maniacal Inventor and the Inhumans' Royal Family; team-ups with her favorite hero, Wolverine, and the Inhumans' dog, Lockjaw - Kamala is living the dream. But as she discovers more about her past, her future is threatened! How long can Ms. Marvel's life override Kamala's? Experience the beginning of the fan-favorite, critically acclaimed series!
#1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman and Eisner Award-winning comics legend P. Craig Russell breathe new life into the ancient Norse stories in this comic-book adaptation of the hit novel Norse Mythology. Gaiman and Russell team with a legendary collection of artists to take readers through a series of Norse myths, including the creation of the Nine Worlds, the loss of Odin's eye and source of his knowledge, the crafting of Thor's hammer and the gods' most valuable treasures, the origin of poetry, and Loki's part in the end of all things--Ragnarök. Collects Norse Mythology #1-#6, featuring art by P. Craig Russell, Mike Mignola, Jerry Ordway, David Rubín, Piotr Kowalski, and Jill Thompson in a beautiful hardcover volume with a dust jacket.
The best selling and most beloved food manga of all time! As part of the celebrations for its 100th anniversary, the publishers of the Tōzai News have commissioned the creation of the "Ultimate Menu," a model meal embodying the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. This all-important task has been entrusted to journalist Yamaoka Shirō, an inveterate cynic who possesses no initiative--but also an incredibly refined palate and an encyclopedic knowledge of food. In this volume of Oishinbo, Yamaoka and company look into the single most essential food in Japanese cuisine: rice. Cultivated for millennia, a staple meal in itself and the basis of countless other dishes, rice is an important component not only of the Japanese kitchen but also of Japanese culture. When Yamaoka is asked by Tōzai's head chef for help in coming up with a new rice dish, what starts out as a simple culinary request rapidly grows into a disquisition into the past, present and future of Japan's food culture.
The best selling and most beloved food manga of all time! As part of the celebrations for its 100th anniversary, the publishers of the Tōzai News have commissioned the creation of the "Ultimate Menu," a model meal embodying the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. This all-important task has been entrusted to journalist Yamaoka Shirō, an inveterate cynic who possesses no initiative--but also an incredibly refined palate and an encyclopedic knowledge of food. Weekly Time magazine sets up a series of culinary battles between the Tōzai News's "Ultimate Menu," represented by Yamaoka, and the Teito Times's "Supreme Menu," represented by Kaibara Yūzan, Yamaoka's father and nemesis. The ingredient this time is vegetables, specifically cabbages and turnips. Who will win the Vegetable Showdown? Later, Yamaoka and Kurita help Tomii's son get over his hatred of eggplant, and patch a rift between lovers using the power of asparagus.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her obsession honestly. In her forthright, thoughtful, and funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is bookended with an illustrated recipe--many of them treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucy's original inventions. A welcome read for anyone who ever felt more passion for a sandwich than is strictly speaking proper, Relish is a graphic novel for our time: it invites the reader to celebrate food as a connection to our bodies and a connection to the earth, rather than an enemy, a compulsion, or a consumer product. A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2013An NPR Best Book of 2013
"Gloriously rendered... An ode to traveling as friends when you're both young and carefree and every new experience is exciting and wondrous."―Robert Ito, The New York Times Book Review
Spring Break, 2009: Five days, three friends, and one big city.Roaming marks a triumphant return to the graphic novel and a deft foray into new adult fiction for Caldecott Medal authors Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki. Over the course of a much-anticipated trip to New York, an unexpected fling blossoms between casual acquaintances and throws a long-term friendship off-balance. Emotional tensions vibrate wildly against the resplendently illustrated backdrop of the city, capturing a spontaneous queer romance in all of its fledgling glory. Slick attention to the details of a bustling, intimidating metropolis are softened with a palette of muted pastels, as though seen through the eyes of first-time travelers. The awe, wonder, and occasional stumble along the way come to life with stunning accuracy. Roaming is the third collaboration from the critically acclaimed team behind Skim and Governor General's Literary Award winner This One Summer. Moody, atmospheric, and teeming with life, the magic of this comics duo leaks through the pages with lush and exquisite pen work. The Tamakis' singular, elegant vision of an urban paradise slowly revealing its imperfections to the tune of its visitors' rhythms is a masterpiece--a future classic for generations to come.
Doctor Doom, Deadpool, even Thanos: There's one hero who's beaten them all - and now she's starring in her own series! That's right, it's SQUIRREL GIRL! The nuttiest and most upbeat super hero in the world is starting college! And as if meeting her new roommate and getting to class on time isn't hard enough, now she has to deal with Kraven the Hunter, too? At least her squirrel friend Tippy-Toe is on hand to help out. But what can one girl, and one squirrel, do when a hungry Galactus heads toward Earth? You'd be surprised! With time running out and Iron Man lending a helping hand (sort of), who will win in the battle between the Power Cosmic and the Power Chestnut? Plus: Squirrel Girl's classic debut! Collecting UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1-4 and material from MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1990) #8.