Hardcovers You Probably Didn't Know Existed Part 2

And, we're back.

This time, we're going to tak about 8 different books by one of my all-time favorite publishers, Top Shelf. This company is very small, but is a rising star in the indy comic publishing market due in no small part to Alan Moore signing on to publish a number of projects with them, from Lost Girls to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But they have so much more to offer than Moore (sorry, couldn't resist the pun).

Let's start with the suff I have read.

The top row contains volumes 1 and 2 of Korgi, and all-ages, wordless graphic novel series about woodland dwelling gnome-like creatures and their faithful canine companions. It's not as corny as it might sound, I promise. The rendering by Christian Slade is phenominal, and some pages look like 19th century woodcutings they are so detailed. Just a fabulous series. My kids and I both love it. The hardcovers are, as far as I know, only available from Top Shelf directly, and not distributed through normal comic channels like Diamond. However, as of this writing, both are still available for purchase from the publisher.

Next, we have The King. by Rich Koslowski & Adam Wallenta. This book is charming, and pretty philosophical. It's an adventure/mystery about an Elvis Impersonator who may not be impersonating. Very good, and definitely worthy of the hardcover treatment. I need to read this again soon. It is still available from the publisher and is limited to just 500 copies.

In the middle we have Superspy, by Matt Kindt. I just got this in last week and haven't read it yet, but bought it on the strength of Top Shelf's reputation. A casual flip-through does not dissappoint. It's next up in my immediate to-be-read pile. Probably next week. It too, is still available from Top Shelf.

Now, we come to my favorite of the bunch. The Incredible Change-Bots by Jeffrey Brown, is an unabashed love-letter to the Transformers catoon and comic from the 80's. Since I was just about the right age to be a fan of both (I'm 34 now, you can do the math) this resonated with me perfectly. And it's in full color, which is a rarity for Top Shelf. You guessed it, it's still available from the publisher.

Finally, we have 3 books by Alex Robinson.

I haven't read any of these yet. And the truth is, it will be a while until I get to them. I intend to do a post in the near future about my entire library. What's in it, how it's organized, and how I read. Right now I am about halfway through my books alphabetically. I'm about to start Alan Moore's From Hell. My collection (except for superhero stuff from the big 2, newspaper strips, and EC archives) is organzied aphabetically by author, and then chronologically from oldest to newest works. So I have a bit more of Moore's work to plow through before I get to the "R" section. But again, all three of these were purchased on the strength of Top Shelf's reputation for me. Box Office Poison, Tricked, (both limited to 300 copies) and Too Cool to Be Forgotten (which is only available in hardcover) are all still available from the publisher.

Next up, a short post about a book that's only rare here in the colonies. Disney bought an entire company just for the rights to this title, and then pulled the rug out from under the author and artist without finishing the story. Book 4 isn't coming, and book 3 came out everywhere pretty mush, except in the US. Have you guessed it yet? Stay tuned for part 3.