Clearly the most notable release solicited this month is Joe Sacco's SAFE AREA GORAZDE from Fantagraphics Books. Following up on his award-winning series PALESTINE, Sacco spent four months in Bosnia in 1995 and 1996, and returned to share his insights on life during wartime.
Why focus on the Serbian enclave of Gorazde? In an interview for Diamond's Previews, Sacco said, 'I sort of went for the hell of it, just because a press pass entitled me to get on a convoy, to see something new. But I fell in love with the place and the people, and I was captivated by their story. I was pulled in.'
Sacco continues, 'Gorazde was a microcosm of the break-up of Yugoslavia. Serbs and Muslims had lived alongside each other for a long time, nationalist leaders stoked their fears, and the communities went to war. By telling Gorazde's story and the story of individual people there, it's possible to show the disintegration of the goodwill that existed between neighbors and the drift towards total war between them.'
As Fantagraphics rightly boasts, Sacco is not only one of comics' most notable artists; he is also one of America's most distinguished journalists.
A Silent Comics ARSENIC LULLABY #9 ______________________________________________ AAA Pop Comics ATOMICS #5 Mike Allred! ______________________________________________ Aardvark Vanaheim CEREBUS #254 Dave Sim! ______________________________________________ Abstract Studio STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #32 Terry Moore! ______________________________________________ Active Synapse CLAN APIS TP Jay Hosler's imaginative adventure doubles as an authoritative documentary of the natural life-cycle of honey bees! Fun, craftmanlike, and mind-expanding, this series has attracted widespread attention. Now pick up the entire series in an attractive trade paperback format with extra pages! ______________________________________________ Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics I FEEL SICK ABOUT A GIRL #2 Jhonen Vasquez! STITCH #4 Tommy Kovac! THE WAITING PLACE VOL II #4 Realistic high-school drama by McKeever, Norton, &Yurkovich! ______________________________________________ Antarctic Press WESTSIDE #2 Western action by Dean Hsieh! ______________________________________________ Arrow Comics Group LAND OF OZ #10 Action with Dorothy and the gang by Bishop, Bryan, and Mesner-Loebs! ______________________________________________ Black Daze BALLAD OF UTOPIA #3 Barry Buchanan and Mike Hoffman continue their outstanding, offbeat western series! ______________________________________________ Black Swan Press BLOODTHIRSTY PIRATE TALES #8 Richard Becker! ______________________________________________ Caliber Entertainment ANCIENT WARRIORS #1 Historical comics anthology about Attila, Genghis Khan, and other fan favorites! ______________________________________________ Cartoon Books CASTLE WAITING VOL. 1: LUCKY ROAD TP Linda Medley's gentle fantasy series is is a joyful exercise in subtle humor and rich imagery! This collection of the earlier issues kicks off the series move to Jeff Smith's company! ______________________________________________ Claypool Comics ELVIRA #85 SOULSEARCHERS #42 ______________________________________________ Drawn & Quarterly LOUIS RIEL #4 Chester Brown's historical Canadian drama! PALOOKA-VILLE #14 Seth! ______________________________________________ Eddie Campbell Comics EDDIE CAMPBELL'S COLLECTED BACHUS VOL. 6: 1001 NIGHTS OF BACCHUS An anthology of stories by the celebrated and versatile author/artist! ______________________________________________ Epoch Publications EPOCH #1 Anthology comic by various artists! ______________________________________________ Fantagraphics Books RADIO: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE Intriguing documentary comic by Jessica Abel with Ira Glass, about the production of the radio show THIS AMERICAN LIFE; A project underwritten by National Public Radio! MAAKIES Collecting Tony Millionaire's weekly comic strip! SAFE AREA GORAZDE A 240-page look at the war in the former Yugoslavia, this is Joe Sacco's follow-up to his award-winning PALESTINE! Not to be missed!!! Also being solicited are these past Sacco triumphs: PALESTINE BOOK ONE: A NATION OCCUPIED PALESTIME BOOK TWO: IN THE GAZA STRIP WAR JUNKIE MIRROR, WINDOW: AN ARTBABE COLLECTION Collecting Jessica Abel's Artbabe series! ______________________________________________ Humanoids Publishing BLACK ORDER BRIGADE HC Pierre Christin & Enki Bilal's Spanish historical fiction! ______________________________________________ I Box Publishing THIEVES AND KINGS #32 Mark Oakley's wildly imaginative series continues! ______________________________________________ INSIGHT STUDIOS Liberty Meadows #10 ______________________________________________ Lightspeed Press FINDER #17 Carla Speed McNeil's innovative and thought-provoking SF series continues! Not to be missed! ______________________________________________ Oni Press GEISHA ONE-SHOT Andi Watson! ______________________________________________ Palliard Press LEONARD & LARRY VOL 3: EXCERPTS FROM THE RING CYCLE IN ROYAL ALBERT HALL Collecting more adventures of Tim Barela's gay duo! ______________________________________________ Radio Comix FURRLOUGH #89 Anthropomorphic anthology! ______________________________________________ Shanda Fantasy Arts SHANDA THE PANDA #28 Curtis, McNeil, & various! ______________________________________________ Sirius Entertainment DARKLIGHT PRELUDE #2 Teri Sue Wood! ______________________________________________ Top Shelf Productions BUGHOUSE GN Collecting Steve Lafler's 'insect noir' series! ______________________________________________ Viz Communications SECRET COMICS JAPAN Anthology of underground Japanese comics from the '80s and '90s! Sounds promising! PULP VOL 4 #6 Manga-noir anthology, with Toyokazu Matsunaga's gleefully-violent BAKUNE YOUNG series being a standout! ______________________________________________ Non-independent Comics Published by Huge Bloated Monoliths of Anti-Human Savagery THE SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL 1 (DC) Will Eisner's series reprinted in full color! THE BIG BOOK OF THE '70'S (DC) Another one of those 'Big Book' anthologies! WAHOO MORRIS #2 (Image) Craig A. Taillefer's occult Rock and Roll saga continues! NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (Marvel) Following up on last month's collection of Barry Smith's Conan, this reprint of Jim Steranko's groundbreaking series will be of great interest to comics historians. More than any other superhero artist, Steranko shattered the linear storytelling tradition!