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Have you ever pondered what it would be like to marry a gorilla? Or to have your deepest desires granted by a satanic genie? Have you ever considered sacrificing your children to culinary aliens, separating your soul from your body, or bioengineering a sex beast? If so, MY GORILLA FAMILY is for you! Comprising fourteen mind-melting stories from the early 1970s, Iijima Ichiro's MY GORILLA FAMILY offers an intimate, profoundly humanistic-and profoundly disturbing-introduction to one of the most bonkers imaginations in the history of Japanese comics. With an essay by wacko-manga archaeologist Onishi Shohei, MY GORILLA FAMILY is the fifth volume of SMUDGE, a line of vintage horror, occult, and dark fantasy manga curated and translated by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg.

Humans grow and age. They change. But always we are the same person, the same creature. Not so with insects, whose powers of metamorphosis alter not only their shape and size, but also their very beings. And now, because of one young man's unhealthy obsession with bugs, humans also find themselves transformed into disgusting, decrepit, bloodsucking insect monsters! Published in 1975, Koga Shinichi's MANSECT is a shonen horror classic by one of the undisputed masters of the genre. Swarming with mesmerizingly gnarly imagery and freakish bio-evolutionary speculation, Koga here demonstrates why his name is uttered with the same quivering reverence as horror manga legends Mizuki Shigeru, Umezz Kazuo, and Ito Junji. MANSECT is the third volume of SMUDGE, a line of vintage horror, occult, and dark fantasy manga, curated and translated by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg.

*The Complete Charles Dana Gibson: A Widow and Her Friends (1899-1901) is the first of a three-volume series dedicated to the complete bibliography of perhaps America's greatest-ever cartoonist, the incomparable Charles Dana Gibson. This first book in The Complete Charles Dana Gibson will present the most beloved and long-form of Gibson's influential graphic-novel works, The Education of Mr. Pip and A Widow and Her Friends.The book features stunning reproduction, laboriously sourced and restored from the best possible sources, gorgeous printing that gives unparalleled insight into why Gibson was one of America's greatest artistic and cultural exports during the decades in which he worked.The book also includes a long biographical essay by series editor and production artist Sean Michael Robinson that contextualizes Gibson's work for a modern audience, illuminating his progressive politics, his wry humor, and his explosive mark-making that influenced generations of fine artists and illustrators.

A headless busty blonde, a face-stealing psychopath, a sleazy serial-killer sculptor, a horny handsome hunchback, a vengeful caterpillar cuckold, a torturous hangover in the pits of hell. Welcome to the raunchy and gristly world of FACE MEAT, from the decadent imagination of outlaw polymath Bonten Taro—ex-kamikaze, ex-yakuza, singer, songwriter, actor, world-famous tattooist, husband of seven, and underappreciated pioneer of “pinky violence” femme fatales and adult horror manga. While Mizuki Shigeru and Umezz Kazuo were paving the way for horror in shonen and shojo magazines in the 1960s, Bonten was secretly doing the same in erotic men’s rags—and the results are as trashy as you’d expect. With an essay by Bonten booster and B-gekiga expert Kunisawa Hiroshi, FACE MEAT includes fourteen hair- and pants-raising stories that have never before been assembled under a single cover in any language! FACE MEAT is the fourth volume of SMUDGE, a line of vintage horror, occult, and dark fantasy manga, curated and translated by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg.

“Papa, mama, please don’t be surprised. A year ago, my organs were replaced with gears and springs…”Tadashi is the lone son of a watchmaker. Clocks are his only friends. Ever since a nightmarish bicycle accident, he fears going to school. So, his parents hire him a special tutor—not a man, but a mustachioed pocket watch. He, too, fails to improve Tadashi’s grades, though gifts him a magical wristwatch capable of transporting its wearer to a frighteningly surreal land of clock people. As the automatons begin to turn on their makers, Tadashi decides that it’s best to abandon his uneasy humanity and bestow his soul to the ticktocks.Originally published in 1962, Tokunami Seiichiro’s HUMAN CLOCK has no peer or parallel in manga history. Years before it was acceptable to be abstract and oneiric in Japanese comics, years before it was common to cartoon in an artistic manner that privileged form over function, Tokunami was expressionistically slashing through panels in a Kafka-esque fever dream of jagged and melting imagery. Including an equally weird second story, THE CAT’S MOURNING CLOTHES, and an essay by subculturalist Udagawa Takeo, HUMAN CLOCK is the ninth volume of SMUDGE, a line of vintage horror, occult, and dark fantasy manga curated and translated by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg and published by Living the Line.

Sabu is a cool and handsome rock-n-roller. Chicks dig him, but he’s obsessed with Mari, his pretty neighbor. But Mari loves someone else, which Sabu cannot bear to even think about—nor can his evil doppelganger. Who is that? Is it just my shadow? Or is it another me, lurking there, peering and plotting, in THE DARKNESS?!An imaginative and unsettling adaptation of Edogawa Ranpo’s classic story THE STALKER IN THE ATTIC, Koga Shinichi’s THE DARKNESS shows one of horror manga’s pioneers applying his astonishing artistry and palpitating pacing to comics for a more mature audience. Reinforced by three other horrifying stories from the early 1970s, including the criminally cruel HUNGRY GHOST, THE DARKNESS is the tenth volume of Smudge, a line of vintage horror, occult, and dark fantasy manga curated and translated by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg and published by Living the Line. With an essay about Koga by artist and publisher Sean Michael Robinson.

MOOOO! Lord Momon cries out, ready for her meal. MOOOO! Baby sister cries out, miserable and cold. As a young teen, sweet Miki learns the bizarre truth about her family: for centuries, they have harnessed half-cow, half-human beasts known as "kudan" for their wealth and power. And soon, another shall be born. The hour approaches. Her mother moans in pain as the contractions begin. But all poor Miki can plead is MOTHER, PLEASE DON'T GIVE BIRTH TO A MONSTER! Published in 1988 at the end of the classic era of horror manga, MOTHER, PLEASE DON'T GIVE BIRTH TO A MONSTER is a revolting and zany tour de force by the incomparable Shirakawa Marina. The author's last published graphic novel, this manga marks the ultimate elaboration of Shirakawa's creepy, crackpot synthesis of Japanese history, legend, and the occult, as made famous in his cult favorite UFO MUSHROOM INVASION. Never before reprinted even in Japan, and with an essay about Shirakawa's mysterious life and career, MOTHER, PLEASE DON'T GIVE BIRTH TO A MONSTER is the eighth volume of Smudge, a line of vintage horror and dark fantasy manga curated by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg and published by Living the Line.

UK In a Bad Way And Other Stories is the long-awaited first collection of comics by award-winning writer/artist James Harvey (Masterplasty, Doom Patrol, Phoo Action and Lifehouse for comics, Love Death + Robots and Metal Gear Solid for screens). The collection includes his graphic novella UK In a Bad Way (a riot of punk energy and razor-sharp satire), Luigi Mode (a prophetic dystopian farce), and Masterplasty, his scabrous sci-fi debut that tears apart the world of cosmetic self-perfection and self-destruction. The other stories go even harder― expect sex, rebellion, and corrosive social commentary. Do not get caught reading this in public unless you want people to think you're cool. Backup strip by Brandon Graham. Foreword by Italian comics legend Igort.

In a post-human world, Adam, the man of miium enters the deadly lands of Rog Hu where he must face a lower arena of giants locked in eternal combat, only to escape to an upper arena of intrigue, backstabbing and murder. We also meet a conductor of musical stones as he infiltrates the lair of the Eater. And the whale hunter and his zoologist companion are tracked through a land of humongous corpses. Written and drawn by Eisner and Diamond Gem award-winning author and artist Brandon Graham (Prophet, King City, Rain Like Hammers) and featuring artist Xurxo G. Penalta, and guest writer Wyatt Kennedy and artist Alessandro Canzanella, Moonray presents a mind-altering new dawn for a distant sci-fi future unlike any other. This next step continues the Moonray saga, from comic book to video game and beyond.

A 2024 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY SELECTION FOR BEST NEW COMICS OF 2024PUBLISHERS WEEKLY TOP 10 MUST-READ MANGA OF 2024 Dare to read the psycho-horror classic that horror manga master Ito Junji called a “frightening but moving story about an unfortunate individual who, lost in search of his true self, finds his own annihilation instead.”Little Tetsuo is a wimpy mess. His parents don’t love him. He meets the beautiful Kimiko, an ailing teenage girl obsessed with movies and mayhem in equal amounts. She doesn’t love Tetsuo either, or anyone other than herself. But she needs him. So Tetsuo becomes the man she wants—the monster she wants. He becomes HER FRANKENSTEIN!Originally published in 1986, Kawashima Norikazu’s HER FRANKENSTEIN marks the bizarre and sadomasochistic finale to a cult era in Japanese horror comics. A few years after it was published, the author burned all of his artwork and abandoned Tokyo, never to be heard from again! HER FRANKENSTEIN is the inaugural volume of SMUDGE, a line of pulp, horror, and dark mystery manga, curated and translated into English by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg.

2024 MoCCAArtsFest Award of Excellence Recipient! Wandering in a World on Fire.The ground in and around Centralia has warmed so much, it’s impossible to stand on without melting. Those who survive long enough will be confronted with carnivorous birds, collapsing buildings, and the trigger-happy Simia Nasalis, armed with bazookas and stilts.Against their better judgement, a group of adventurers set out to discover the treasure of gold hidden away at the heart of the abandoned town.

“UFOs are one of the world’s greatest mysteries...and I hope they stay that way. For the day that aliens reveal themselves may very well become the beginning of the end of life on Earth as we know it!”A flying saucer crashes deep in the mountains of Japan. Wary of the hyper-intelligent beings they find inside, the government hides from the public all news of the alien craft. But it’s not the strange visitors themselves that they should be afraid of—the real danger is the parasitic spores smuggled aboard! Will Earth survive the UFO MUSHROOM INVASION?!Originally published in 1976, Shirakawa Marina’s UFO MUSHROOM INVASION is a masterpiece of sci-fi horror. Drawing on his deep knowledge of Japanese folklore and the supernatural, Shirakawa created one of manga history’s cult classics and an unforgettably creepy entry in the canon of spore-horror. With an essay by weirdologist Udagawa Takeo, UFO MUSHROOM INVASION is the second volume of SMUDGE, a line of vintage horror, occult, and dark fantasy manga, curated and translated by award-winning historian Ryan Holmberg.

What would the suburbs look like if fire was never invented? Can a person get pregnant from a single look? What's it like growing up as the only gay person in a village in Lapland? Another carefully woven set of cutting-edge Finnish comics storytelling.Roihu is a joint work by twelve artists and the second part in a series. Kutikuti is an association and collective of about sixty contemporary comic artists living in Finland. Roihu/'roîhu/Blazing flames. The astronomical term is solar flare; a powerful but transitory emission of the Sun.

The Rabagoo Race, the most famous boat race in the world, sees contestants face certain death throughout its frantic stages, all in the impossible hopes of reaching that mythical finish line, and winning everything their hearts desire.Only three ships have survived the 100 brutal stages of boat racing. Having fought mega sea monsters, riptide hell storms, and whip smart competitors, they must now face each other in the final sprint to the finish line. Does the humble sailboat the Boulie Bear have what it takes to beat the Slick Van Vex and the Indestructible Solid Slope?The Rabagoo Race is the first graphic novel by the mononymous Garresh, a young Scottish artist who leverages complex gallery-worthy abstraction and impeccable color and figurative work into comic pages of unsettling power. This debut puts Garresh square in the center of an international graphic tradition that stretches from Moebius to Cam Kennedy to contemporaries like Linnea Sterte, Taiyo Matsumoto, and beyond.PW Editors' Pick"Pure spectacle, an explosion of aquatic action and color that delights in the possibilities of the comics form."—Publishers Weekly

A deluge, an avalanche, a landslide. A mass of a substance such as earth or rocks falling or sliding rapidly downwards. Vyory is a joint work by twelve comic artists, and is the third book in a series from Kutikuti, an association and collective of about sixty contemporary comic artists living in Finland.

DAFFY: GOLDEN AGE WRESTLING QUEEN is the first of a historic two-volume series collecting at long last the complete adventures of Daffy Dill, the original comic book Queen of Wrestling. Originally serialized in Smash Comics in the 1940s, and featuring an array of contributors, DAFFY showcases playfully innovative cartooning and design as the titular heroine battles a lineup of unusual challengers from crooked gangsters and bootleggers, to monsters and rogue toreadors. Daffy's adventures showcase a stunning variety of classic cartooning styles, from series creator Gill Fox's chunky brawler, to the flashy, stylish lines of the great Janice Valleau (working as “Ginger”). Witness the evolution of Daffy Dill as she evolves from a lovably klutzy behemoth to a whip-smart, scrappy fighter who can solve any problem and suffers no fool for long. Daffy Dill's adventures are presented here for the first time in 80 years, painstakingly restored and ready at last for another round in the ring.

"The Strange Death of Alex Raymond is one of the most spectacular comics I have ever read or seen. I can't recommend it enough, although you may hate it. Bizarre and beautiful and completely unique." - Jim Rugg, Cartoonist Kayfabe, Street Angel, The P.L.A.I.N. Janes"This is a master work. I'm honoured to have even laid eyes on it." - E.S. Glenn, author of Unsmooth, cartoonist for The New Yorker"A must-read for anyone interested in the history and craft of comics" - Brandon Graham, King City, Warhead, Prophet"Grubaugh provides a brilliant and fitting conclusion to what would have otherwise been one of the most notable unfinished works of recent times. I for one am excited at holding the completed Strange Death of Alex Raymond in my hands." - Gary Spencer Millidge, Strangehaven, Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary GentlemanLegendary creator Dave Sim is renowned world-wide for his groundbreaking Cerebus the Aardvark. Now, in The Strange Death of Alex Raymond, Sim brings to life the history of comics' greatest creators, using their own techniques. Equal parts Understanding Comics and From Hell, Strange Death is a head-on collision of ink drawing and spiritual intrigue, pulp comics and movies, history and fiction. The story traces the lives and techniques of Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon, Rip Kirby), Stan Drake (Juliet Jones), Hal Foster (Prince Valiant), and more, dissecting their techniques through recreations of their artwork, and highlighting the metatextual resonances that bind them together.Foreword by Eddie Campbell.

Art and literature historians of the future will be flabbergasted that Yokoyama existed in our time. He is a visionary on the level of William Blake. PLAZA is a parade of invention, set to the beat of turning pages.- Dash Shaw (Cryptozoo, Discipline) Bigger, bolder, and louder than ever before, neo-manga artist Yokoyama Yuichi is back with PLAZA! Inspired by Carnaval in Brazil, PLAZA offers a maniacal extravaganza of marching, dancing, leaping, firing, cheering, smashing, and exploding over the course of 225 eye-and-eardrum-confounding pages. Originally published in Japan in 2019, this oversize English edition of PLAZA brings to full, hyper-animated life the spectacular graphic art of this genre-defying work of avant-garde comics.

After seven years of exile, battle-hardened Hallstein Thordsson returns home to Iceland, only to find that old wounds haven't healed. His stepmother Solveig and his half-brother Ottar are besieged by wood thieves, directed by her unwelcome suitor, Einar. The Exile's presence disrupts the delicate balance and threatens to tip all of Iceland into violence. A remarkable decades-spanning epic, Erik Kriek's The Exile is equal parts action “Western” and family drama, with a surprising story of violence and consequences at its core. Told in a naturalistic modern style but with tremendous fidelity to the historical period in which it is set, The Exile depicts the Viking age in all of its conflict, turmoil, and social structure, with every detail depicted vividly on the page. Hailing from the Netherlands, Kriek is an internationally-decorated illustrator known for his work on In the Pines (2015) and Gutsman. Lushly told with gorgeous traditionally-drawn brush work, and a limited palette illustration style reminiscent of the great three-color illustrators of the 1940s and 50s, Kriek's art is alternately breezy and gritty, but always stunning, whether he's depicting a full-blown Viking battle or a wearying sea voyage. Praise for Erik Kriek's In the Pines: Murder Ballads (2018)-"...a beautiful and eerie collection, filled with betrayals, revenge, and exceptional visual storytelling." - Publishers Weekly "...Kriek’s work is so lyrical and innate in its study of violence and human nature..." - Carl Doherty, Shelf Abuse "... a stylish first outing." - Bookmunch " ...disturbing, macabre, yet beautiful and is likely to appeal to fans of shows like Twin Peaks and Hannibal which are known for blending stunning visuals with twisted storylines. [...] a gorgeous and unusual addition to your bookshelf." - GeekMom

"The Abolition of Man is a thorough test drive of AI image making, and the results are extraordinary, appalling, compelling, cold, hot, beautiful, repellant, and should be abolished." — Dave McKean, Prompt, Sandman, Cages "Chilling. Exciting. Bizarre." — Jim Rugg, Cartoonist Kayfabe, Street Angel, Hulk: Grand Design "The Abolition Of Man is a curiously uneasy experiment. One that almost seems as if the construction of it is trying to discover why it should exist. That alone is worth the time to explore it." — J H Williams III (Echolands, The Sandman Overture, Batwoman, Promethea) Don't miss out on one of the most innovative graphic novels of the decade. Conceived of and executed by fine-artist/educator/philosopher turned Eisner Award nominated cartoonist, Carson Grubaugh, The Abolition of Man Deluxe Edition collects all five issues of the groundbreaking series of the same name, the first comic series in history to be entirely illustrated by an Artificial Intelligence. In a series of four interwoven experiments, Grubaugh used Midjourney AI to interpret an essay by renowned thinker, C.S.Lewis, imagine a satirical dystopian future, illustrate an AI generated script, and finally, to produce graphics for an essay provided by Oxford Philosopher of Information and AI & Data Ethics policy advisor to the EU, UK, Google, etc., Luciano Floridi. All of these strands, alternately hilarious and terrifying, weave together to give a chilling peek into the world of the future, where humans and their most treasured passions have lost all purpose. This deluxe hardcover edition contains loads of exclusive content, including a reprint of the extremely rare Dall-E 2 variant edition of The Abolition of Man #1, in which the entire interior of issue #1 was re-illustrated using Dall-E 2. The collection also includes two pieces of philosophical writing produced by Grubaugh between 2007 and 2018 that were the source of inspiration for this project. These essays included predictions about the banal, content apocalypse AI is now making a reality. Also accompanying the Abolition of Man project are a series of long-form discussions about the ethics and impact of AI art with superstar guests Dave McKean (illustrator), NFN Kalyan (fine artist), John Mahoney (concept designer, filmmaker) and Luciano Floridi (Philosopher of Information, Data and AI Ethics policy maker). These are posted to Living The Line's YouTube channel and linked in the book. This singular project will hold an important place not only in the history of comics but in the history of art as it is the first of its kind to engage with the most important moment in the history of art since some wasteful cave-person blew juice at their hand on a wall instead of drinking it.

Visions of Nordic introspectiveness, occult pocket watches, suburban drifting, untamed forests and butterfly appreciation all come together in a sticky weave of cutting-edge Finnish comics storytelling.Tihku is a joint work by twelve artists and the first part in a series. Kutikuti is an association and collective of about sixty contemporary comic artists living in Finland.Tihku [/ˈtihku/, ˈt̪içku] - drizzle. Meteorologically, drizzle consists of small drops of precipitation about 1mm in diameter. Drizzle can be easily seen on your glasses but it doesn't make rings on puddles. Drizzle falls from banks of fog.

"MOONRAY is gloriously epic, exploding scifi fantasy world daydreams in every wonderful way! I can't think of anything I've enjoyed more in recent memory!" -Michael Allred: Madman, Silver Surfer, Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns and Moonage Daydreams, Red Rocket 7, Superman: Space Age "Moonray is a deeply personal work built on top of a licensed property, that provides a stunning meta-mythical framework for how to live happily in 21st century." — Carson Grubaugh, The Strange Death of Alex Raymond, The Abolition of Man “Moonray is a heady rich stew of psychedelic science fiction, my favorite kind. And in the skillful hands of Brandon Graham and Xurxo Penalta, it’s served with an unsettling ease in every bite. The perplexing becomes the flavors. It’s joyful to get lost in it.”— J H Williams III, Echolands, Batwoman, The Sandman Overture, Promethea In a post-human world, the man of miium is born. Created to avenge a slain goddess, our nameless warrior travels an unrecognizable landscape, constantly evolving with new wonders and terrors: Zanikam pirates, deadly reflections, a living bridge, and a red tear in the sky. Written and drawn by Eisner-award-winning author and artist Brandon Graham (PROPHET, KING CITY, RAIN LIKE HAMMERS), and featuring artist Xurxo G. Penalta, Moonray presents a mind-altering new dawn for a distant sci-fi future unlike any other. This bold graphic odyssey births the Moonray universe, from comic book to video game and beyond. Moonray is a daring experiment in world-building, a true graphic epic that began in a truly unusual way. Moonray the graphic novel series shares its name and characters with a surreal 3rd-person multiplayer battle arena game set in a fantastical sci-fi world. Featuring intense combat, stunning visuals, and a world-class soundtrack, Moonray the game has been in development by the independent game developers Moonray PBC since 2019, and will be available publicly in an arena-combat form this fall of 2023. But Moonray was written and drawn almost entirely in reverse of the normal process of a video game “tie-in” book. Rather than developing a book based on a game, the game team is developing a game based on Graham's work. In Moonray Book One, Graham leverages his narrative freedom to create a story of untethered exploration, of naivete and determination, a graphic novel as gentle as it is thrilling. Brandon Graham was born in 1976, the grandson of pin-up artist Bill Randall. He grew up in Seattle around a lot of graffiti and comics from all over the word. His books include KING CITY, MULTIPLE WARHEADS, PROPHET, ROYALBOILER, and RAIN LIKE HAMMERS. Xurxo G Penalta is a Galician artist who’s collaborated with Brandon on KIEM and PROPHET. He's been published by Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Marvel, and illustrated for multiple music labels and live events. He focuses on science fiction and fantasy artwork in the European clear line style, with late 70s and 80s influences from comics, animation and film. Graham was born in 1976, the grandson of pin-up artist Bill Randall. He grew up in Seattle around a lot of graffiti and comics from all over the word. His books include KING CITY, MULTIPLE WARHEADS, PROPHET, ROYALBOILER, and RAIN LIKE HAMMERS.

If you're going through hell, KEEP GOING. From daily routines and art-making, to dealing with depression, and living among porn performers in Las Vegas, Eisner Award winning cartoonist Brandon Graham (King City, Rain like Hammers, Prophet, Moonray) offers a funny and touching look into the life of an artist making his way in the 21st century.Graham, who has been known primarily for his strange far future science-fiction and pun-filled fantasy works, has been making memoir comics for decades. This is the first major collection of this work, exploring Graham's life in the seedy alien landscape of Las Vegas, while he strives at making art as a tool for surviving the chaotic universe.

In the aftermath of personal tragedy, Hugh and Sara retreat to an old family home in the woods of the Veluwe in the hopes of getting their lives back on track. But can you run fast enough to escape the past? And what do those strange glyphs carved into the old beech trees really mean?Erik Kriek's latest graphic novel is a contemporary work of magical realism, that is not set in the dark forests of North America (In the Pines, Fantagraphics, 2017), nor in the cold hills of medieval Iceland (The Exile, Living the Line, 2023), but in the rural countryside of the Netherlands. Hailing from the Netherlands, Kriek is an internationally-decorated illustrator known for his work on In the Pines (2015) and Gutsman. Lushly told with gorgeous traditionally-drawn brush work, and a limited palette illustration style reminiscent of the great limited-color illustrators of the 1940s and 50s.

Be careful who you hunt down-you might find them.2064, Cape Town. Clouds roll down table mountain into the city bowl, letting the neon signs and burning lights take over for the evening. The Seawall keeps the tides at bay, the ramparts keep the townships out, but nothing keeps the bodies from dropping into the night.One cussing, cursed SAPS Detective, Gung "Gunnie" Yan Fung, is on the case. But this murder's not like others. It seems to expand everywhere, and even reaches into Gunnie's own past. Getting to the bottom of this one is going to cost her. And Gunnie has nothing left to offer.From the Cape of Good Hope to the streets of Hong Kong, comes Harpy, a moody, retro futuristic detective mystery. A tale of belonging, of purpose and above all, of consequences.From the brush and pen of internationally-renowned science fiction pinup artist EPHK.