Alternative Comics: 73 books

Set in 19th century Denver, A City of Whiskey & Fire paints a dark picture of the harsh realities of life in the midst of the Gold Rush and the events leading up to the Great Fire of 1863 in the Mile High City. It’s a lavishly drawn poignant historical fiction.

Falling Rock National Park is a comic strip that takes place in a southwestern national park. Park Ranger Dee looks after animal residents Carver, Ernesto, Pam, and Melissa. Funny and sweet, Falling Rock is a pleasant place to visit. Issue #1 features Ernesto acting as a tour guide, the mysterious Uncanny Valley, an intractable truck, and an invisible friend!

The Professor and the boys assume the worst when they spot sea monsters snacking on legs near Johannes' empty car. Back at the house, Gabi holds a zombie horde at bay while her friends play video games. Family, friends, sea monsters and zombies have a terrifying reunion on the front lawn - who will survive to see the dawn? Probably not the zombies.

Dean tries rescuing Astrid's stuff from her car as the tide washes it away, but a creepy underwater encounter scares him off, prompting Gabi to tell more of her own story. No one has patience, but what they see as the sun sets proves her stories might be true. Hopefully they'll heed Jorge's warnings to "remember the wind dimensions."

Escaping beach zombies, Astrid, Gabi, Dean, Jorge and Bernard drive out to see The Professor. In an extended flashback that EXPLAINS IT ALL, Gabi fills everyone in on The Professor, what he has to do with the dead coming back to life, and how it all ties in to Gabi's fear of the shore.

Kindgom/Order wordlessly follows a man as he searches for some sort of meaning in his life. Through symbols and sounds it is clear that he is a part of the greater Natural world, and a bit divorced from the Modern world which surrounds him. The nameless protagonist finds himself noticing and following the sounds of the animals around him.

More Mundane began one late September morning with a tiny sketchbook and an impulse. Noah Van Sciver then proceeded to transform the struggles and victories of daily life into a series of quietly poignant revelations interspersed with comedy. More Mundane was printed by the author in an exclusive 100-copy run, and will not be printed again.

Three cartoon animals live in a house together in the American Midwest. They get a job, get sick, and throw a party. Their lives are lit by street lamps and the flickering TV set. They do incredibly stupid things with hilarious and disastrous results. It's about friendship, booze, and the slow collapse...

Pam goes on a strange journey to a mountain monastery. Guest artist Tyrell Cannon (Victus) illustrates eight pages. Falling Rock National Park is a comic strip that takes place in a southwestern national park. Park Ranger Dee looks after animal residents Carver, Ernesto, Pam, and Melissa. Funny and sweet, Falling Rock is a pleasant place to visit.

Sam Henderson comes out of seclusion with the new “annual” format for his long-running, always funny series. He’s added a few sketchbook pages and some longer pieces such as the full-color 24-page “The Hamburger Joe Story”. Don’t worry, Sam hasn’t gone artsy-fartsy or anything - it’s still the same kind of hilarity which has earned him Harvey and Emmy nominations.

Steven Cerio offers a playfully sinister look at the drug culture, written and illustrated in the style of a child's alphabet book. From "A is for Angel Dust" to "G is for Grass" and "V is for Valium," squares and hipsters alike will have hours of goofy fun poring over Cerio's psychedelically detailed images.

Sam Henderson is joined this issue by John Brodowski, Manuel Gomez Burns, Jesse McManus, Ansis Purins, and Leah Wishnia as Magic Whistle expands to a relaunched and  larger anthology format. It also contains Peter Bagge's touching (and hilarious) homage to the comic strips of his late brother, Doug.

A quiet stroll through the lives of three girls on the verge of something big, drawn in a loose calligraphic style. Three tales of hiking, Russian forest witches, and Dutch people. A collection of unconnected stories about girls in ephemeral landscapes – one dreaming, one grieving, one stuck. Queen’s Day explores our internal landscapes and private moments.

Subway Series follows Tina, a frustrated sixteen-year-old city girl whose affections are divided between two guys. The problem is, one has an out of town girlfriend and the other is a complete jerk. Add to that a bitchy adversary whom she once called a friend who’s out to humiliate her, and now confused Tina doesn’t know which way to turn.