
MUTTS Sunday Funnies: Why Patrick McDonnell Belongs Among the Greats
Patrick McDonnell’s new MUTTS Sunday Funnies Volumes 1 and 2 collect his Sunday comic strips from 1994 to 1998 in beautifully presented hardcover editions.

Patrick McDonnell’s new MUTTS Sunday Funnies Volumes 1 and 2 collect his Sunday comic strips from 1994 to 1998 in beautifully presented hardcover editions.

The BBC withheld four Star Trek episodes for years and rejected Sesame Street, even as British children watched the surreal favourite The Magic Roundabout.

Why was The Transformers: The Movie soundtrack so unusual? From Stan Bush and Weird Al to Orson Welles, its strange mix still works 40 years later.

Howie Noel, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Dick Tracy and Charles Schulz reveal how legendary comic strips keep going after their original creators are gone.

Anna Kodé’s Unseen Places explores observation, curiosity and the hidden stories of everyday life, from Italian construction watchers to bonobo apes.

David Byrne’s Sleeping Beauties explores forgotten ideas, overlooked inventions and artists who waited decades or centuries to be rediscovered.

Martin Mull was more than a television actor. From comedy and music to painting, his unusual career made him impossible to put in one box.

Harvey Ball created the iconic smiley face in 10 minutes for $45. Here is how a simple insurance-company design became a global symbol and an Acid House icon.

Old cookbooks weren’t always harmless. Some mixed food, medicine and household chemistry in ways that can make Grandma’s apple pie look downright safe.

During the Siege of Paris, starving Parisians ate zoo animals. Here’s the bizarre story behind elephant, camel and kangaroo appearing on a Paris menu.

That stupid little pocket in your jeans has a long history, from pocket watches and the real 5th pocket to its cheeky modern reputation as the condom pocket.

Why did missing children’s faces appear on milk cartons? We look at the strange history behind the campaign, the kids who recognized themselves, Milk Carton 2.0 and Canada’s famous milk bags.

Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926, but he wasn’t alone. Explore the famous figures who died on October 31 and Houdini’s final escape pact.

When did 81 become young? A funny look at aging, retirement, baby boomers and how our idea of old age keeps changing.

Scratch-and-sniff was once everywhere, from Raspberries albums and MAD Magazine to John Waters’ Odorama. Now the strange little fad is making a comeback.

Matt Kirkland has a strange solution for giant books: chop them into smaller, manageable volumes. Chop the biggest books and why it might make sense.

This comprehensive collection of the original trading card series—timed to publish alongside the release of Jurassic World: Dominion—includes the fronts and backs of all of these classic cards, plus the special chase cards and rare promotional material. The book also includes text and commentary by Gary Gerani, editor of the original series, and an afterword by Chip Kidd, who created and designed the cover of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, which became the iconic logo for the franchise.

Hogan’s Alley #23 features a long examination of the legendary Frank Frazetta’s time working for Li’l Abner creator Al Capp, with gorgeous Frazetta artwork (some supplied by his family). The issue also features an in-depth look at the lawsuit that led to two versions of the seminal comic strip The Katzenjammer Kids, with new research into the legal archives. The issue has a feature on a short-lived attempt to produce a live-action sitcom based on Ernie Bushmiller’s Nancy. This issue also has a long interview with Golden Age comic book and comic strip artist Bob Fujitani.

All four books collecting Charles M. Schulz’s original comics of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang are now in one special box set. Find the meaning of friendship, love, and comfort in all the little things around us in I Need All the Friends I Can Get, Happiness Is a Warm Puppy, Security Is a Thumb and a Blanket, and Love Is Walking Hand in Hand. The box set also comes with four collectible cards with a Peanuts quote!

Join Paul, John, George, and Ringo as they take a journey on a yellow submarine to Pepperland to save the music-loving inhabitants from the Blue Meanies! Premium playing cards featuring fan-favorite characters and artwork from the iconic animated musical adventure. The decks are illustrated with remarkable details and colorful, vibrant imagery. “It’s all in the mind y’know!”

The Art of Batman is the official behind-the-scenes illustrated tie-in book to the highly anticipated film The Batman by Matt Reeves, coming to theaters March 4, 2022. The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/The Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/ The Riddler, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as Lieutenant James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone.

So many books and so little time. CAMERA MAN: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century by Dana Stevens is a must read on my to-do-list. After listening to Dana on the Marc Maron show, the highly intelligent writer has got my interest. It also helps that I am a fan of Buster Keaton. It’s great to see new passion for Buster Keaton, who has garnished rightly deserved praise as a brilliant artist in recent years. This is one book that you should pick up and polish your knowledge on a much under appreciated silent cinema dominated by Buster Keaton.

Bear Family Records’ tribute to Jack Kerouac on the occasion of his 100th birthday in March 2022. Jack Kerouac, who along with Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs formed the core cell of the Beat Generation.

Tom Gauld returns with his wittiest and most trenchant collection of literary cartoons to date. Perfectly composed drawings are punctuated with the artist’s signature brand of humor, hitting high and low. After all, Gauld is just as comfortable taking jabs at Jane Eyre and Game of Thrones.

From creators Justin Roiland (“Solar Opposites”) and Dan Harmon (“Community”), go on an intergalactic adventure across the multi-verse with the epic release of the Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-5 boxed set on Blu-ray™ and DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 29, 2022. Get Schwifty while you binge on one of cables #1 watched comedies – and follow the misadventures of America’s favorite crazy scientist and his grandchildren with this outrageous boxed set which includes all 51 episodes from the first five seasons of the award-winning series, along with copious special features, including audio commentary, deleted scenes, “Inside the Episode” segments, numerous featurettes, past animatic sketches, and more.

The first words in Barry Gifford’s new poetry collection say it all—“Here I am wasting time again / writing poems to keep myself company” — doing what he has ever done, surprising his readers in kaleidoscopic prisms of color, turning every breath into a story, and himself into his most colorful character.

SHOWTIME released the official trailer and key art for the upcoming four-part docuseries WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT COSBY, from Emmy-winning director W. Kamau Bell (United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell). Offering an in-depth look at the revolutionary career and personal descent of Bill Cosby, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT COSBY will screen at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, ahead of its SHOWTIME premiere on Sunday, January 30 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. All episodes will be available across all SHOWTIME streaming and VOD platforms on January 30.

Relive one of the most iconic decades in film history with 12 classic films spanning the 1960s and travel back in time to the romance, laughs and thrills of these 11 far out favorites from throughout the 1970s!