Abrams ComicArts Spring 2009 Catalog

THE ART OF HARVEY KURTZMAN

SECRET IDENTITY

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD OF TOMORROW?

THE ART OF JAIME HERNANDEZ

THE LAUGH-OUT-LOUD CATS SELL OUT

UNDERGROUND CLASSICS

EROTIC COMICS 2

Since 1949, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., has been the premier publisher of art and illustrated books in the world. From our inception, we have identified and celebrated contemporary, classical, and groundbreaking art, championed burgeoning creative fields, and presented them to the public in beautifully produced and authoritatively written printed works. Abrams has always viewed comics as an artistic medium in line with photography, sculpture, and painting. With the launch of Abrams ComicArts in our sixtieth year, we will continue to combine our editorial acumen with exceptional design and production values to build upon our storied past and create an exciting new future.

—Steve Tager, Publisher, Abrams When people think about comics, they often think of juvenile four-color stories with super heroes and funny animals—“joke books,” our parents called them. They were collections of strips, or stories for kids, disposable, produced on newsprint paper that barely contained their registration, easily tattering and falling apart when folded in our back pockets and passed among friends.

In recent decades comics have evolved. No longer just for children, they tackle serious subjects ranging from the Holocaust and 9/11 to memoirs, nonfiction, and metafiction—the content has been continuously changing, reflecting the times we live in.

Creators as diverse as their subject matter now tell their stories in formats equally as varied: from thirty-two pages printed on cheap pulp paper to 720-page epic stories printed in paperback, hardcover, or deluxe slipcased editions with gilded edges and ribbon markers.

When comics legend Will Eisner popularized the term “graphic novel,” he saw the future of an industry that needed to adapt and change, not only in the stories it told, but in the way they were packaged and designed and sold. Comics—“sequential art”—were no longer considered a disposable medium.

Slowly, over the decades, they have evolved into an art form, featured in museums and exhibitions around the world, and taught in classrooms and lecture halls alongside literature and fine art.

Abrams ComicArts will showcase the industry’s most acclaimed artists and writers, highlighting their work in innovative formats with the quality readers and booksellers have come to expect from Abrams. It is only fitting that as we enter our sixtieth year and celebrate our diamond anniversary, we continue to explore the multiple facets of this exciting medium and define comics as art for the next sixty years.

We hope you enjoy our inaugural list. The titles included here offer only a brief indication of those to come. As with any origin story, Abrams ComicArts will evolve and refine itself with age—unimaginable from the outset, but then that’s the exciting part.

—Charles Kochman, Executive Editor, Abrams ComicArts

June 2009

THE ART OF HARVEY KURTZMAN: THE MAD GENIUS OF COMICS

By Denis Kitchen

and

Paul Buhle

Introduction by Harry Shearer

Harvey Kurtzman discovered Robert Crumb and gave Gloria Steinem her first job in publishing when he hired her as his assistant. Terry Gilliam started at his side, met an unknown John Cleese in the process, and the genesis of Monty Python was formed. Art Spiegelman has stated that he owes his career to Kurtzman. And he’s one of Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner’s favorite artists. Harvey Kurtzman was an astonishingly talented and influential artist, writer, editor, and satirist. The creator of MAD and Playboy’s “Little Annie Fanny” was called “one of the most important figures in postwar America” by the New York Times.

Kurtzman’s groundbreaking war comics of the early ’50s (Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales) and various satirical publications (MAD, Trump, Humbug, and Help!) had an immense impact on popular culture, inspiring a generation of cartoonists. Without Kurtzman, it’s unlikely we’d have had Airplane, SNL, or National Lampoon.

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman is the first and only authorized celebration of this “Master of American Comics.”

This definitive book includes hundreds of never-before-seen illustrations, paintings, sketches, E.C. Comics ­layouts, color compositions, correspondence, and vintage photos from the rich Kurtzman archives.

E.B. Boatner

John Abromowski

San Diego Comic-Con

200 full-color illustrations 256 pages with an 8-page vellum insert, 11 ¼ x 10 ½ , hardcover with jacket isbn: 978-0-8109-7296-4 us $40.00 can $44.00 uk £ 20.00 rights: world june 2009 Denis Kitchen is a pioneering underground cartoonist, writer, editor, and publisher (Kitchen Sink Press).

His partnership, Kitchen, Lind & Assoc., represents the Harvey Kurtzman estate, providing unprecedented access for this book. In 1986 Kitchen established the nonprofit Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and served as president for its first eighteen years. He lives in western Massachusetts.

Paul Buhle is a senior lecturer in the American Civilization and History departments at Brown University, and a distinguished scholar of the Organization of American History and the American Studies Association.

He has written and edited thirty-five books, including Jews and American Comics (2008) and a half-dozen volumes about comics art that explore various facets of American history and popular culture. This is his sixth biographical volume. Paul Buhle lives in Rhode Island.

Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924–February 21, 1993) was a writer, artist, and editor. He was the comic genius who created MAD in 1952 (first as a full-color comic book, then as a black-and-white magazine). He later created Trump (for Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner), Humbug, and Help! ­magazines. Kurtzman was also the writer/artist of “Little Annie Fanny,” which appeared in Playboy from 1962 through 1988. In 1988 the Harvey Awards were founded, named in honor of Kurtzman to recognize the achievements of comic book industry professionals.

Harry Shearer is a comic personality and multiple hyphenate: author, director, satirist, musician, radio host, playwright, multimedia artist, and record label owner.

THE ART OF HARVEY KURTZMAN: THE MAD GENIUS OF COMICS

By Denis Kitchen

and

Paul Buhle

Introduction by Harry Shearer

A

conversation with

Denis Kitchen

and

Paul Buhle,

authors of

THE ART OF HARVEY KURTZMAN: THE MAD GENIUS OF COMICS How and when did you first meet Harvey Kurtzman?

novel based on the work of Charles Dickens, that raise intriguing “what might have been” questions.

Assembling the book has been a dream come true, but the cutting room floor was painful. I wish I had talked Abrams into a two-volume set!

Denis Kitchen: I corresponded with Harvey starting in 1969 after I drew my first underground comic, Mom’s Homemade Comics, and founded Kitchen Sink Press.

We didn’t meet until June 1971, when I arranged for him to give his first public talk, in Milwaukee, and got Harvey Kurtzman was a huge influence on countless him considerable TV and newspaper coverage. As a artists. Who or what inspired Kurtzman’s own work? reward he offered me a quick tour of Hugh Hefner’s Chicago mansion. The “quick tour” turned into a twenty- PB: In his own From Aaargh! to Zap! Harvey Kurtzman’s four-hour adventure, and our bond was secured.

Visual History of the Comics, Kurtzman says that Will Eisner was the greatest of comics artists, so one must How did you become interested in the work of Harvey assume he was an influence.

Kurtzman?

Paul Buhle: I was a reader of MAD comics at its very end, in 1955, and wrote an English class paper on Kurtzman when I was a high school junior. (The teacher liked the paper but disapproved of comics. I got a “B.”) After I published Radical America Komiks in 1969, I wrote a fan letter. Harvey responded, kindly, sending me an issue of Help! that I had missed.

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman is obviously a labor of love— what was the process of putting this book together like?

Did you make any new discoveries about him and his work along the way?

PB: What I discovered was how much more Denis Kitchen knew than I did. And what a wonderful person Adele Kurtzman is. It’s been thrilling to go through the archives and write about a childhood hero whom I had imagined writing to when I was still in high school.

DK: Reviewing Harvey’s life’s work, I was struck repeatedly by how brilliant he was, how far ahead of his time he was and, sadly, how tough it was to make a good living in comics during his lifetime. I was also reminded of various unfinished projects, such as a 1954 graphic

DK: Eisner was a big influence, for sure, as were Milton Caniff, Alex Raymond, and George Herriman. Harvey had a “Krazy Kat” Sunday page on his living room wall for many years. He loved a lot of the early European illustrators, too: Heinrich Kley, H.M. Bateman, and Caran d’Ache, among others.

Since Kurtzman’s death the appreciation and respect for comics art has exploded. How do you think Kurtzman’s legacy fits into the overall history of comics?

PB: Kurtzman will remain the master writer/artist/ editor/creator of the most important comics satire magazine in the twentieth century—certainly the most important in the English language—and a profound influence in the creation of a comics art realism treating historical and current conflict, wars, and military life, which other artists romanticized or avoided.

DK: Kurtzman loved the underground comix generation that followed him, and he would have been excited to witness the graphic novel explosion and the wide acceptance of the art form. In every field there are recognized giants. In comics, Harvey will remain the gold standard.

April 2009

S ecret I dentity : T he F etish A rt of S uperman ’ s C o - creator J oe S huster

By Craig Yoe Introduction by Stan Lee

Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster showcases rare and recently discovered erotic artwork by the most seminal artist in comics—Joe Shuster. Created in the early 1950s when Shuster was down on his luck after trying to reclaim the copyright for Superman, he illustrated these images for an obscure series of magazines called Nights of Horror, sold under the counter until they were banned by the U.S. Supreme Court. A murder trial, juvenile deliquency, anti-comics creator Dr. Fredric Wertham, and the neo-Nazi Brooklyn Thrill Killers gang all figure into this sensational story.

The discovery of this artwork and the story behind it by historian Craig Yoe reveals the “secret identity” of this revered comics creator, and is sure to generate controversy and change the way we look at Shuster and his creations — Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Jimmy Olsen — forever.

The book includes reproductions of these images, and text by Craig Yoe that provides a detailed account of the scandal and the murder trial that resulted from the publication of this racy material.

Clizia Gussoni

125 two-color illustrations, plus 32 pages of four-color illustrations 160 pages, 8 ½ x 8 ½ , hardcover with jacket isbn: 978-0-8109-9634-2 us $24.95 can $27.50 uk £ 12.99 rights: world april 2009 Craig Yoe has been called “the freaking Indiana Jones of comics” and a “twisted archivist of the ridiculous and the sublime.” Publishers Weekly, while they call his work “brilliant” and Yoe “a madman/visionary,” say he is “ruining America’s youth.” Yoe runs the design firm YOE! Studio with Clizia Gussoni, with clients from MTV to Microsoft. Yoe’s over thirty books include The Art of Mickey Mouse, which was a Time magazine book of the year. Yoe has won the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, two Addys, a Mobius, and an Eisner Award. A popular speaker worldwide on creativity, Yoe was VPGM/Creative Director for Jim Henson and the Muppets. Craig Yoe was best summed up by Animation Magazine as “Dr. Seuss on acid.”

Joseph “Joe” Shuster (July 10, 1914–July 30, 1992) was a Canadian-born Jewish comic book artist. He later moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and is best known for co-creating Superman, the first super hero, with boyhood pal and writer Jerry Siegel. Published by DC Comics in Action Comics no. 1 (June 1938), Superman lay the groundwork for the entire comic book industry. Shuster’s iconic artwork was as dynamic as the Man of Steel himself. Playwright and cartoonist Jules Feiffer, in his seminal work The Great Comic Book Heroes, opined that “Shuster represented the best of old-style comic book drawing. His work was direct, unprettied—crude and vigorous; as easy to read as a diagram.” The Joe Shuster Awards, which started in 2005, were named in his honor to recognize the achievements of Canadian creators, publishers, and retailers in the field of comic book publishing.

Stan Lee is a writer, editor, and comic book creator, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

Nights of Horror Issue No. 15 Detective Brad Stone is back—Nights of Horror has a continuing hero character! (Stone first appeared in Nights of Horror issue no. 6.)

This time Stone tangles with dope pushers, meets the “lovely and unforgettable Jill Van Zorn,” and “pits his strength and honesty against the cunning and evil brain of ‘Squint’ ” in “Dreams for Sale.”

”Dreams for Sale”

The little man wielded the whip with blazing relish.

“Oh-Oh-Jerry— don’t—”

(What is fascinating about these illustrations is how closely the villain resembles Lex Luthor and the victim Lois Lane.)

S ecret I dentity : T he F etish A rt of S uperman ’ s C o - creator J oe S huster

By Craig Yoe Introduction by Stan Lee

A

conversation with

Craig Yoe,

author of

S ecret I dentity : T he F etish A rt of S uperman ’ s C o - creator J oe S huster

I spend a lot of time searching for old, rare comics art material online these days, but that’s usually best for going after items you already know about. Nothing beats combing through the vanishing flea markets, antique shows, and book sales for that once-in-a-­lifetime discovery of material you never could have guessed existed. I first found these beautifully illustrated S&M materials at a rare book sale in a dusty “adults only” box offered by an otherwise respectable dealer.

Jack Koslow, who sported a Hitler mustache and was a follower of Nietzsche. Wertham found Koslow was a fan of Superman and was inspired by the Nights of Horror books to commit his heinous crimes while dressed like a super hero. The police raided the bookshops in Times Square that carried Nights of Horror. The publisher, Eddie Mishkin, a Gambino-connected mobster, took the obscenity case all the way to the Supreme Court, where he lost. However, nobody—Wertham, the police, or the court—connected the dots to Joe Shuster.

And now this book, after fifty-plus years, blows the whole incredible story wide open.

What was your first reaction when you first realized whose work this was?

Does the discovery of this artwork fill in any missing pieces to Shuster’s biography?

How did you come across Nights of Horror and the artwork seen in this book?

“Oh, my God, Joe Shuster!” The art was unsigned, but Most previous accounts of Joe Shuster’s fate after the just as a criminal can be identified by his fingerprints, 1948 trial to reclaim rights for Superman pretty much an artist’s work, even without a signature, can be depict him drifting off into nothingness. There are unmistakable to the trained eye. This erotica had Joe only vague references to his becoming a messenger boy.

Shuster written all over it. Because it’s by him, the art Secret Identity reveals a fascinating side of Shuster the looks as if Superman, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy public hasn’t known until now.

Olsen, and Lex Luthor were in a porno flick—but of course it’s not really them at all!

How do you think comic book fans will react to seeing this What were some of the discoveries you made in researching the background story on this material?

The main discovery is the fact that Joe Shuster, the artistic creator of Superman and virtually the whole comic book industry, created smut. Showcasing that art is an amazing book in and of itself. But as I started to research this I discovered lots more blockbusters at every turn. In 1954, four Jewish juvenile delinquents, called by the press the Brooklyn Thrill Killers, horsewhipped girls in the park and set vagrants on fire and murdered them. The anti-comics crusader, Dr. Fredric Wertham (who wrote Seduction of the Innocent), was drafted by the courts to interview the brains of the gang,

other side of Shuster, and how does it change our perception of him and Superman?

To start, there’re maybe a stronger sexual and ­violent sides to the Man of Steel that we haven’t really considered. But these revelations about Shuster don’t detract from his sterling reputation in any way. We do learn he was more than a children’s comic book creator. Now we know he also drew hard-hitting, noirish, sexually charged comic book style illustrations to excite and to titillate adults. To some followers of Shuster’s work this will be a controversial and difficult revelation. But I think the majority of his many superfans, of whom I consider myself a big one, will appreciate Joe Shuster as an artist all the more.

June 2009

W hatever H appened to the W orld of T omorrow ?

By Brian Fies

Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, the long-awaited follow-up to Mom’s Cancer, is a unique graphic novel that tells the story of a young boy and his relationship with his father. Spanning the period from the 1939 New York World’s Fair to the last Apollo space mission in 1975, it is told through the eyes of a boy as he grows up in an era that was optimistic and ambitious, fueled by industry, engines, electricity, rockets, and the atom bomb.

An insightful look at relationships and the promise of the future, award-winning author Brian Fies presents his story in a way that only comics and graphic novels can.

Interspersed with the comic book adventures of Commander Cap Crater (created by Fies to mirror the styles of the comics and the time periods he is depicting), and mixing art and historical photographs, this groundbreaking graphic novel is a lively trip through a half century of technological evolution. It is also a perceptive look at the changing moods of our nation—and the enduring promise of the future.

200 pages of full-color illustrations, with 40 pages on special comics paper 208 pages, 6 Á/• x 10 ³/¡§ , hardcover with jacket isbn: 978-0-8109-9636-6 us $24.95 can $27.50 uk £ 12.99 rights: world june 2009

Karen Fies

Brian Fies is a science writer, illustrator, and cartoonist living in northern California with his wife, Karen.

His first graphic novel, Mom’s Cancer (2006), was published by Abrams after finding an audience as a serialized Web comic. Among the recognition he and Mom’s Cancer have received are the 2006 Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic, the 2007 Harvey Award for Best New Talent, and the 2007 German Youth Literature Prize.

W hatever H appened to the W orld of T omorrow ?

By Brian Fies

A

conversation with

Brian Fies,

author of

W hatever H appened to the W orld of T omorrow ?

What was your inspiration for Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?

page unless I put it there. What shape were cola bottles in 1939? What did a street light look like in 1945?

I compiled probably a couple thousand pages of reference, in addition to old family photos, comic books, and my own memories, to help me get it right. Dread of readers discovering my mistakes after it’s too late to fix them drives me to make as few as possible.

I was a “Space Age” kid who grew up in the sixties and seventies believing in the possibility of a ­utopian future made possible by science. The kernel of Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? is my lingering disappointment that it didn’t happen—not just flying cars and jetpacks, but the very idea that technologi- How did the story surprise you from when you first concepcal progress is a force of good that could improve the tualized it until the time you finished? world. I wanted to understand why that didn’t work and suggest how it still might.

My concept for Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? grew almost unrecognizably from its origin.

Your first graphic novel, Mom’s Cancer, was widely Bouncing ideas off my editor and others helped me acclaimed by critics and readers. Are there any similari- focus on what the story is really about: the characters. ties between the two works?

Everything else is seen through that lens. As I worked, I was surprised by how often new information or soluMom’s Cancer centered on the relationship between tions to problems appeared exactly when I needed them. a mother and her children; Whatever Happened to the As with Mom’s Cancer, threads in the story wove together World of Tomorrow? focuses on a relationship between in ways I didn’t expect but which were very satisfying. a father and his son. Although my new characters are fictional, I approached both books in the same way, The story required you to emulate the styles of different almost journalistically, to tell the story as straight and artists from a range of time periods. You also employed true as I could. The subject matter is completely differ- a variety of mixed media. How does your own style show ent, but I think readers will recognize the same voice through in the work? and commitment to tell a story about people rather than about just things and events.

A big challenge with this book is making everything look like it belongs in the same universe. I worked Your new book covers the period from the 1939 New York hard to make it visually consistent while trying to adopt World’s Fair to the last Apollo space mission in 1975. How both the form and the ­content of work from different did you approach the research for this project? eras. My characters remain recognizably on model, but I hope that subtle differences in technique, palette, I’ve worked as a journalist, chemist, and science writer, and style will evoke a general sense of time and place and research is a big part of what I do. Both the beauty for most readers, and suggest specific allusions among and curse of a graphic novel is that nothing goes on the comics fans.

August 2009

T he A rt of J aime H ernandez : T he S ecrets of L ife and D eath B y T o dd H i g n i t e Introduction by Alison Bechdel

In 1981 three Mexican-American brothers self-published their first comic book, titled Love and Rockets, and “changed American cartooning forever” according to Publishers Weekly. Twenty-five years later it is still being published to critical and commercial success.

Jaime Hernandez’s moving stories chronicle the lives of some of the most memorable and fully formed characters the comics form has ever seen. His female protagonists, masterfully delineated with humor, candor, and breathtaking realism, come to life within California’s Mexican-American culture and the punk milieu.

In April 2006 Hernandez began serializing his work in the New York Times Magazine—all of which will be collected here in full color. The notoriously private artist has opened his archives for the first time, revealing never-before-seen sketches, childhood drawings, and unpublished work, alongside his most famous Love and Rockets material.

Eric Kroll

Sara Hignite

200 full-color and black-and-white illustrations 224 pages, 9 x 12 ¼ , hardcover with jacket isbn: 978-0-8109-9570-3 us $40.00 can $44.00 uk £ 20.00 rights: world august 2009 Todd Hignite is the founder and editor of the critically lauded publication Comic Art, which has been nominated for Eisner Awards every year of its existence, and won a Harvey Award in 2004. He is the author of In the Studio: Visits with Contemporary Cartoonists (2006), and co-editor and co-author of Strips, Toons, & Bluesies: Essays in Comics and Culture (2006). Hignite is one of the most visible chroniclers of contemporary English-language comics, having curated numerous exhibitions on the art form, including Speak: Nine Cartoonists (2006), the subject of a substantial feature in the New York Times, and R. Crumb’s Underground, currently touring the country. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife and daughter.

Jaime Hernandez was born in Oxnard, California, sixty miles northwest of Los Angeles. In 1981, he and his brothers Gilbert and Mario self published a single comic book called Love and Rockets. Shortly after that, they were picked up by Fantagraphics Books and produced fifty issues in fifteen years before they decided to take a break and pursue solo projects. For the next few years, Jaime’s projects included Whoa, Nellie!, Penny Century, and Maggie and Hopey’s Color Fun. In 2000, Jaime and Gilbert decided to revive Love and Rockets, and it continues today. Jaime has also worked for the New Yorker, Spin, and Hustler, and has done album covers for Michelle Shocked, 7 Year Bitch, Indigo Girls, and Los Lobos. Love and Rockets has won numerous awards, including ­multiple Harveys and Eisners. He lives in Pasadena, California.

Alison Bechdel is the bestselling critically acclaimed author of the graphic novel memoir Fun Home.

T he A rt of J aime H ernandez : T he S ecrets of L ife and D eath B y T o dd H i g n i t e Introduction by Alison Bechdel

A

conversation with

T o dd H i g n i t e ,

author of

The Art of Jaime Hernandez: The Secrets of Life and Death Do you remember the first time you encountered the work of Jaime Hernandez?

While I’d been fascinated by ads for Love and Rockets during the title’s first year or two, I was still too young to break away from super heroes. The first issue I bought was no. 15, and the warm spirit evoked by Jaime’s iconic cover has really come to symbolize what I’ve always loved about his art—and the best comics in general. It’s been burned onto my brain since I first saw it.

The characters are real to Jaime and their lives lead the stories. He never tries to massage them into situations; rather, they live and breathe, and as such create a holistic world. They’re just the polar opposite of virtually all male projections of females in comics. Maggie and Hopey truly restore my faith in humanity with every new issue.

Jaime Hernandez opened up his archives to you—what was that like?

Jaime’s generosity was just incredible—so much of the material has never even been seen by anyone outside of his close circle of friends, much less published.

His creative process is illuminated through sketches, More so than in any other comic, Jaime’s characters unused and unfinished original art, and story drafts resonate and grow in the mind of the reader. I can’t and doodles, in addition to his published originals, overstate the importance of Love and Rockets in com- sketchbooks, and illustration work. Not to mention pletely changing my view of comics’ possibilities. The all the incredible art from the first twenty years of rich world he’s created, which swirls forward and back his life leading up to Love and Rockets. I’m unbelievin time as the characters age, affects me profoundly ably grateful for his close participation at all stages of and on so many levels. And I’ve got a lot of company— this project.

I can safely say that no other cartoonist has created a body of work that garners such personal, visceral If you had to describe Jaime’s work to someone who had connections from readers. never seen it, what would you say?

Love and Rockets first appeared in 1981. What keeps the stories and characters fresh after so many years?

How do you think Jaime, a male artist, is able to so successfully capture the point of view of women in his work?

I explore this from different perspectives quite a bit in the book—it has to do with a seemingly simple principle that just rarely exists elsewhere in comics:

Real life in all its messy glory framed by some of the most accomplished and breathtaking cartooning ever seen in comics. And I do mean ever. In short, Jaime’s are the best, most poignantly rewarding comic book stories you could hope to find.

March 2009

T he L augh - O ut - L oud C ats S ell O ut

By Adam Koford Introduction by John Hodgman

Adam Koford’s The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out is a hilarious and charming mash-up of LOLcats (those ubiquitous online photos of cats, captioned humorously and ungrammatically) with the stylings of early twentiethcentury American comics, such as Walt Kelly’s Pogo and George Herriman’s Krazy Kat. These single-panel comic strips, drawn on “vintage” off-white paper and purportedly created around 1912 by Koford’s great-grandfather, Aloysius “Gorilla” Koford, allow familiar Internet jokes—plus references to Proust, Star Wars, Lovecraft, classical mythology, and everything in between—to transcend their origins in a fresh, inventive way.

The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out presents the very best of Koford’s online archives, alongside thirty new comics produced exclusively for this collection. An introduction by bestselling author and Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, whose 700 Hoboes project inspired Koford to create the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats, frames the strips for both the longtime fan and the LOLinitiate.

150 black-and-white illustrations 160 pages, 6 ½ x 6 ½ , hardcover isbn: 978-0-8109-9571-0 us $12.95 can $14.50 uk £ 7.99 rights: world march 2009

Amy Koford

Adam Koford is an improbably prolific cartoonist who has been involved in several viral Internet projects and collaborations, including 700 Hoboes, Conan vs. Bear, and Everybody Needs to Draw Mickey. He and his “great-grandfather,” Aloysius, have been featured on BoingBoing TV, among other places. He is a regular contributor to Drawn.ca, and resides in Utah (beside a train station).

John Hodgman is the author of The Areas of My Expertise (2006) and More Information Than You Require (2008), and a contributor to the Daily Show and the New York Times Magazine. He lives in New York City.

April 2009

U nderground C lassics : T he T ransformation of C omics I nto C omi x

By James Danky

and

Denis Kitchen

With essays by Paul Buhle, Jay Lynch, Trina Robbins, and Patrick Rosenkranz

The impact of American underground comix is profound: They galvanized artists both domestically and abroad, they forever changed the economics of comic book publishing, and they influenced generations of cartoonists and their predecessors. While the works of Robert Crumb and Art Spiegelman are well known via the New Yorker, Maus, and retrospective collections, the art of their contemporaries, such as Gilbert Shelton, Trina Robbins, Justin Green, Kim Deitch, S. Clay Wilson, and many other seminal cartoonists who came of age in the 1960s, is considerably less known.

Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix provides the first serious survey of underground comix as art, turning the spotlight on these influential and largely underappreciated artists. Essays from James Danky and Denis Kitchen, as well as Paul Buhle, Jay Lynch, Trina Robbins, and Patrick Rosenkranz, offer a thorough ­reflection and appraisal of the underground movement. Their words are accompanied by more than 150 original ­drawings, paintings, sculptures, and artifacts from private collections and from the collections of the artists themselves, making Underground Classics indispensible for the serious-minded comics fan and the casual reader alike.

125 full-color and 30 black-and-white illustrations 144 pages, 8 ¾ x 12, hardcover isbn: 978-0-8109-0598-6 us $29.95 can $32.95 uk £ 14.99 rights: world april 2009

San Diego Comic-Con

Ellen Meany

James Danky is the author of books on topics as varied as African-American newspapers and women’s publications. He is on the faculty of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also co-founded the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America.

Denis Kitchen—writer, cartoonist, editor, publisher, and entrepreneur — was present at the birth of the underground comix movement. From his first self-published effort, Mom’s Homemade Comics no. 1 in 1968, Kitchen has worked with every important artist active in producing underground comix. He is the author of The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics (2009).

Paul Buhle is the author of Jews and American Comics (2008) and The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics (2009). Jay Lynch is a legendary contributor to the underground comix movement, as well as MAD Magazine and Topps’ Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids. Trina Robbins is an influential underground comix artist and scholar, and co-founder of the first all-woman comic book, It Ain’t Me, Babe (1970). Patrick Rosenkranz is the author of Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution, 1963–1975 (2003) and You Call This Art? A Greg Irons Retrospective (2006).

March 2009

E rotic C omics 2 : A Graphic History from the Liberated ’7 0s to the I nternet by

Tim Pilcher

and

Gene Kannenberg, Jr.

Foreword by Alan Moore

For more than four decades, erotic comics have flourished around the world. Erotic Comics 2: A Graphic History From the Liberated ’70s to the Internet examines how this budding art form exploded from the California comix scene to become an international publishing phenomenon.

Beginning with an exploration of newly liberated American artists in the ’70s, this overview examines the gay and lesbian comics scene, current artists and publishers in Europe, and Japanese erotica. After delving into the sexual mores of Japanese Hentai—from tentacle sex to Yaoi—the book looks to the future, where erotic comics creators are sidestepping legal issues by producing work solely for the Internet.

Filled with rarely seen art from international forerunners such as Dave Stevens, Jordi Bennet, Frank Thorne, Tom of Finland, Ralf König, and Milo Manara, Erotic Comics 2 is perfect for fans of adult comics, art history, and erotic illustration. As Alan Moore urges in his foreword, “Absorb the contents of this book, and do so shamelessly.”

300 full-color illustrations 192 pages, 9 ¾ x 9 ¾ , hardcover with jacket isbn: 978-0-8109-7277-3 us $29.95 can $32.95 rights: north america march 2009

Phil Silcock

Tim Pilcher is the co-author of Erotic Comics: A Graphic History from Tijuana Bibles to Underground Comix (2008) and The Essential Guide to World Comics (2005), and has contributed to numerous other books.

He was an assistant editor at Vertigo Comics and an associate editor at Comics International. He lives in Brighton, England.

K. A. Laity

Gene Kannenberg, Jr., is a respected historian of comics and the director of ComicsResearch.org. He lives in Hudson Valley, New York.

Alan Moore is the award-winning author of the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen (1986), V for Vendetta (1988), From Hell (1999), and Lost Girls (2006). He lives in Northampton, England.

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Since the company’s inception in 1949, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., has identified and celebrated contemporary and groundbreaking art, championing burgeoning creative forms and presenting them to the public in beautifully produced and authoritatively written illustrated books.

In 1973 Abrams published The Art of Walt Disney by Christopher Finch, presenting this work as art in the same way we published books on Rockwell, Picasso, and Rembrandt.

Since then, Abrams has published many groundbreaking books on comics art, such as The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics by Bill Blackbeard, Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman by Patrick McDonnell, and Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics by Les Daniels.

With the launch of Abrams ComicArts, Abrams will continue to recognize and publish award-winning art books and graphic novels that illuminate the world of comics and comics art. Our goal is to maintain the fine art tradition Abrams is known for, and to define the medium of comics and comics art for generations to come. Editorial vision combined with phenomenal design and production capabilities position Abrams ComicArts to be the industry leader.

O T H E R

C O M I C S

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A B R A M S

Kirby: King of Comics

By Mark Evanier Introduction by Neil Gaiman 978-0-8109-9447-8 Hardcover with jacket US $40.00 CAN $44.00 UK £21.00

Nat Turner

By Kyle Baker 978-0-8109-7227-8 Paperback with flaps US $12.95 CAN $14.50 UK £6.99

Wacky Packages

By The Topps Company Introduction by Art Spiegelman 978-0-8109-9531-4 Hardcover with jacket US $19.95 CAN $21.95

M Illustrated by Jon J Muth Introduction by Adam Kempenaar 978-0-8109-9522-2 Hardcover with jacket US $24.95 CAN $27.50 UK £12.99

Tall Tales

By Al Jaffee Introduction by Stephen Colbert 978-0-8109-7272-8 Hardcover with die cut US $14.95 CAN $16.95 UK £7.99

R. Crumb’s Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country

By Stephen Calt, David Jansen, and Richard Nevins Introduction by Terry Zwigoff Illustrated by R. Crumb 978-0-8109-3086-5 Hardcover with jacket US $19.95 CAN $21.95 UK £10.95

Mom’s Cancer

By Brian Fies 978-0-8109-7107-3 Hardcover US $14.95 CAN $16.95 UK £7.95

Auschwitz

By Pascal Croci 978-0-8109-4831-0 Hardcover US $16.95 CAN $18.95 UK £11.95

Erotic Comics: A Graphic History from Tijuana Bibles to Underground Comix

By Tim Pilcher and Gene Kannenberg Foreword by Aline Kominsky-Crumb 978-0-8109-9515-4 Hardcover with jacket US $29.95 CAN $32.95

Angry Little Girls

By Lela Lee 978-0-8109-5868-5 Hardcover US $14.95 CAN $16.95 UK £7.95

Angry Little Girls in Love

By Lela Lee 978-0-8109-7275-9 Hardcover US $14.95 CAN 16.95 UK £7.99

Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels

By David A. Beronä Introduction by Peter Kuper 978-0-8109-9469-0 Hardcover US $35.00 CAN $39.00 UK £19.99

Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics

By Les Daniels 978-0-8109-3821-2 Hardcover with jacket US $49.50 CAN $54.50 £18.95

Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries, 1900–1969

By Dan Nadel 978-0-8109-5838-8 Hardcover with jacket US $40.00 CAN $44.00 UK £24.95

Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman

By Patrick McDonnell, Karen O’Connell, and Georgia Riley de Havenon 978-0-8109-9185-9 Paperback US $19.95 CAN $21.95 UK £11.95

The Golden Age of DC Comics: 365 Days Written and selected by Les Daniels Designed by Chip Kidd 978-0-8109-4969-0 Hardcover US $29.95 CAN $32.95 UK £19.95

Cartoon America: Comic Art in the Library of Congress

By Harry Katz 978-0-8109-5490-8 Hardcover with jacket US $50.00 CAN $55.00 UK £29.95

Winsor McCay: His Life and Art

By John Canemaker 978-0-8109-5941-5 Hardcover with jacket US $45.00 CAN $48.95 UK £26.00

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

By Jeff Kinney 978-0-8109-9313-6 Hardcover US $12.95 CAN $14.50

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

By Jeff Kinney 978-0-8109-9473-7 Hardcover US $12.95 CAN $14.50

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

By Jeff Kinney 978-0-8109-7068-7 Hardcover US $10.95 CAN $11.95

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book

By Jeff Kinney 978-0-8109-9473-7 Hardcover US $12.95 CAN $14.50

Child’s Play: Cartoon Art of Stan and Jan Berenstain

By Mike Berenstain Illustrated by Jan and Stan Berenstain 978-0-8109-7260-5 Hardcover with jacket US $35.00 CAN $39.00 UK £19.99

Mutts: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell

By Patrick McDonnell 978-0-8109-4616-3 Hardcover with jacket US $45.00 CAN $48.95 UK £30.00

Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet

By William Shakespeare Illustrated by Emma Vieceli 978-0-8109-9324-2 Paperback US $10.95 CAN $11.95

Manga Shakespeare: Julius Caesar

By William Shakespeare Illustrated by Mustashrik Mahbab 978-0-8109-7072-4 Paperback US $10.95 CAN $11.95

Manga Shakespeare: Macbeth

By William Shakespeare Illustrated by Robert Deas 978-0-8109-7073-1 Paperback US $10.95 CAN $11.95

Manga Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare Illustrated by Kate Brown 978-0-8109-9475-1 Paperback US $10.95 CAN $11.95

Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet

By William Shakespeare Illustrated by Sonia Leong 978-0-8109-9325-9 Paperback US $10.95 CAN $11.95

Manga Shakespeare: The Tempest

By William Shakespeare Illustrated by Paul Duffield 978-0-8109-9476-8 Paperback US $10.95 CAN $11.95

115 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011 T: 212-206-7715 F: 212-645-8437 www.abramscomicarts.com Abrams ComicArts is an imprint of ABRAMS — The Art of Books Since 1949 To place an order: Please call your sales representative or Hachette Book Group at 800-759-0190 or fax 800-286-9471, or visit www.abramsbooks.com.

To place an order in Canada: Please contact Canadian Manda at 416-516-0911 or fax 416-516-0917, or e-mail general@mandagroup.com.

To place an order in the United Kingdom: Please contact Grantham Book Services, Trent Road, Grantham, Lincs, NG31 7XQ. Telephone 01476-54180, or fax 01476-541060, or e-mail orders@gbs.tbs-ltd.co.uk. For more information please contact Nicola Harris at nharris@abramsbooks.co.uk.

To inquire about publicity: Please call 212-519-1232 or fax 212-366-0809.

Please forward all editorial inquiries to Executive Editor Charles Kochman at ckochman@hnabooks.com

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman copyright © 2009 Estate of Harvey Kurtzman. MAD Magazine copyright © 2009 E.C. Publications, Inc. Two-Fisted Tales copyright © 2009 William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc. • Secret Identity cover art by Joe Shuster.

Copyright © 2009 Craig Yoe. • Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? copyright © 2009 Brian Fies. • The Art of Jaime Hernandez copyright © 2009 Jaime Hernandez. • The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out copyright © 2009 Adam Koford. • Underground Classics cover art copyright © 2009 Robert Crumb.

•­Erotic Comics 2 cover art by Giovanna Casotto. Copyright © 2009 The Ilex Press Limited.

Abrams ComicArts logo design by Chip Kidd Brochure design by Chip Kidd with Mike Essl and Alexander Tochilovsky Copyright © 2008 Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

For promotional use only. Not for sale.

“When I first learned about Abrams and saw the types of books they were making, I knew I wanted my books to be published by them. Abrams books are special—when you hold one in your hands, you have the feeling that this book needed to be made. I once heard an artist say that books are fetish objects—I think Abrams gets that, because their books demand to be treasured. So who better to give comics art its proper due? I feel privileged to have found a home with Abrams.”

—Jeff Kinney “For years Abrams got by publishing Matisse, Picasso, and Renoir. Not too shabby. But with Abrams’ new ComicArts imprint there’s Harvey Kurtzman, Jaime Hernandez, and R. Crumb. Finally, they’re getting to the BIG names!”

—Denis Kitchen “Quality. That’s the first word, the one word that comes to mind when I think of the books published by Abrams.

In a world where so many companies are willing to cut corners, to do things the easy way in order to enhance the bottom line, it’s gratifying to know that there’s one company that obviously takes such pride in its finished product, one company that can always be counted on to design and produce a book that is, itself, as much a work of art as the illustrations on its pages.”

—Stan Lee “One of the happiest days of my life was the day I learned that Abrams was going to publish my book on George Herriman, creator of Krazy Kat. Abrams—just think—the top art publisher in the world was going to do a book on a comic strip artist. And, of course, Abrams gave the Herriman book the same care and respect it gave their fine art books. Twenty years later I had the good fortune of having Abrams publish my own Mutts: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”

—Patrick McDonnell “Anything really well-made has the effect of making you want to do what you do—better. Abrams has always made very beautiful books. It’s exciting to see this same excellence applied to the presentation of comics. Abrams ComicArts shows comics are stepping out of vaudeville and into Carnegie Hall—but the Marx Brothers will always be welcome!”

—Jon J Muth “Zap! Boom! Pow! Comics—they’re not just for Roy Lichtenstein anymore! Abrams ComicArts embraces all the complexity and excitement of the comics medium with their new line of beautifully designed and intelligently edited books that now expands their definitive approach to the ‘high’ arts all across the spectrum of our culture. Yipeee!”

—Art Spiegelman “Comics are Art with a capital ‘A’—who knew? The top art abook publisher in the world having an imprint called Abrams ComicArts is irrefutable proof!”

—Craig Yoe