Comic books in 'Garterbelt', graded by CBCS

Written by Steve Moore and Peter Hogan. Art by Melinda Gebbie and Rick Veitch. Cover by Terry Dodson. The second in the ABC A-Z set of books, filled with page after page of material guaranteed to satisfy new and long-time ABC fans everywhere! ABC A-Z: Greyshirt & Cobweb explores the world of Indigo City's man of mystery and reveals through the sultry eyes of the enticing adventuress just how steamy crime fighting can be. 32 pages, full color. Cover price $3.99.

Written by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner. Art by Duke Mighten. Cover by Howard Chaykin. Mike Fallon faces his ultimate challenge as he infiltrates a Mafia cell, where his mission is to eliminate the Godfather. And of course, he's got to make it look like an accident. If he can survive that, then he's got to draw on all his assassin's skills to deal with the beautiful but deadly Stiletto. An Accident Man's work is never done... B&W. Cover price $2.50.

By BRYAN TALBOT. Following his bloody coup, the Lord Protector of Westminister Abbey consolidates his rule of the British Empire - thus furthering the diabolical plot of the Disruptors to take over the multi-verse! Meanwhile, Arkwright lies in a coma, suffering from the near-fatal wound he received defending Britain's rightful King. Cover price $1.95.

(W) Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti (A/CA) Ted Naifeh The first time in print for these digital-first adventures! Part 3 of the first Ame-Comi story line! The origin of the Duela Dent! First appearance of Ame-Comi Brainiac! Cover price $3.99.

WRITTEN BY HOWARD CHAYKIN AND DAVID TISCHMAN. ART BY LAN MEDINA AND JOHN STOKES. PAINTED COVER BY GLEN ORBIK. In "Smackdown," Harry creates Starburst Comics' newest costumed hero, and Tiny Tim wrestles with his conscience... for the championship belt. Plus, the return of an old flame as a familiar Hollywood starlet takes on Broadway. MATURE READERS FC, 32pgs. Cover price $2.75.

Reuben Flagg encounters a lot more than he expected when he has to serve as a bodyguard and driver for the mayor in "Hard Times Part 2: Jukebox Saturday Night." Script and art by Howard Chaykin. Cover price $1.00.

When Reuben Flagg tries to find the murderer of Chief Plexus Ranger Hilton Krieger, Krieger's daughter Mandy joins in the investigation in "Hard Times Part 3: Killed in the Ratings." Script and art by Howard Chaykin. Issue also has a text feature "The Origins of Independent Comics – Part 1" by Charles Meyerson. Cover price $1.00.

When Reuben Flagg discovers that the subliminals on television that cause violence originate from Brazil, he journeys there to find out more in "Southern Comfort." Script and art by Howard Chaykin. Issue also has a text feature "The Origins of Independent Comics – Part 2" by Charles Meyerson. Cover price $1.00.

It's Reuben Flagg versus a bunch of Canadian Communist cowboys in an all-out barroom brawl and he also discovers who is the Black Beaver, while back in Chicago, the mayoral elections are going on in "Northern Lights…Double Cross – Part 2." Script and art by Howard Chaykin. Issue also has an "American Flagg Dossier – Part 3" with pinups. Cover price $1.25.

Reuben Flagg and Bullets Kisco continue their manhunt for escaped killer Roy Magruder while blackmail becomes a part of the mayoral contest in "Bullets and Ballots – Part 3." Script and art by Howard Chaykin. Issue also has "Mark Thrust – Sexus Ranger" in "The Hot Slot" with script by Alan Moore and art by Larry Stroman & Don Lomax. Cover price $1.25.

As Reuben Flagg hunts for Magruder, the blackmail video comes out and the result is a surprising write-in candidate winner for the mayoral election in "Bullets and Ballots – Part 4." Script and art by Howard Chaykin. Issue also has "Luther Ironheart – Machineries of Joy" with script by Alan Moore and art by Larry Stroman & Don Lomax. Cover price $1.25.

The battle for Q-USA continues with the KKK and Gotterdammecrats invading and Sam finds out about a plan to kill Reuben Flagg in "That's Entertainment – Part 3." Script by Steven Grant and art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin. Issue also has "Bob Violence: Mavis Streetweis and Scum the Incredibly Stupid Mutant Dog" with script by Howard Chaykin & Steven Grant and art by Norm Breyfogle & Hilary Barta. Cover price $1.25.

A special issue in which the first four years of Reuben Flagg's adventures are summarized and a preview of what is to come in the future issues is given. Issue has reprinted material by Howard Chaykin, Steven Grant, Mark Badger and J.M. De Matteis and new material by Paul Smith and Mike Vosburg. Cover price $1.25.

Reuben and Jules get into the middle of a poli-club confrontation that ends up leveling the original site of the Q-USA station and afterwards Reuben decides to go on a trip with Jules in "Little Hitlers." Script by Howard Chaykin & Mindy Newell and art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory. Cover price $1.75.

Reuben pursues a Master Programmer henchman through casinos while old foe Titania Weis readies a biotoxin weapon capable of wiping out all of Siberia in "Loose Women and Best Men – Part 2." Script by John Moore and art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory. Issue also has "P.J. Harvey's Ultracool and Mondosecret Fortress." Cover price $1.95.

2nd and later printings. Beginning with Let Them Eat Cheesecake, through Second Slice, The Cheesecake Chronicles, American Geisha, and Bettie Page by Olivia, the acclaimed The Art of Olivia series of "night table" art books have set a consistently high standard. For imaginatively conceived and masterly rendered settings and situations, for the lusciousness she brings out in her models, for the pure spirit of revelry infused in all her art, Olivia de Berardinis transcends the "pin-up" genre and joins the great master artist celebrants of the female - Titian, Boucher, Vargas, Olivia! Hardcover, 9-in. x 12-in., 120 pages, full color. Mature Readers Cover price $29.95.

Betty Page Pin-Up art by Steve Woron. Cover price $3.25.

1st printing. Cover art by Howard Chaykin. Black Kiss Book Two, script and inks by Howard Chaykin, pencils by Howard Chaykin and Alice Furey (production design); Laine and Grove get Cass Pollack, a jazz musician and ex-heroin addict who is on the run from the Mafia, to steal the Vatican's pornographic reel in return for them providing Pollack with an alibi. This is due to the Mafia killing Pollack's wife and daughter and Pollack being the only suspect, so he also has the police trying to find him. Adults only.$1.25. Cover price $1.25.

Cover art by Howard Chaykin. Black Kiss Book Six, script and inks by Howard Chaykin, pencils by Howard Chaykin and Ella Vine (graphic design); Laine and Grove (who look virtually identical) provide Pollack with a lead as to where the reel is after the death of Father Murtaugh; This takes Pollack first of all to an occult bookshop called "The Oath of Incannabulata" where he steals a copy of a book about the mysterious "Order of Bonniface"; After the bookshop he ends up in a funeral home called "Tanas" where he finds a number of celebrities indulging in bizarre rituals. Adults only. 16 pgs. $1.25. Cover price $1.25.

Cover by Moebius. An entire world of entertainment lies within the pages of this month's giant-sized spectacular! Featured this issue is the beginning of The Tower, another fascinating tale from The Lost Cities series by Schuiten and Peeters (the team that brought you Fever in Urbicand). Also featured is more of the first book of Joe Haldeman's science-fiction classic, The Forever War, as adapted by artist Marvano (Mark Van Oppen), along with Andreas' hard-hitting story of detective Coutoo, the third installment in The Eyeball Kid by Eddie Campbell, and Delirius, the continuing saga of the Lone Sloane by Philippe Druillet. Plus, artwork by Rick Geary, Everett (Duckman) Peck, a fold-out poster by artist Geof Darrow, and a cover painting by Moebius. With all this great entertainment inside, how can you pass it up? 64 pages, B&W. Mature Readers Cover price $4.50.

b&w. Mature Readers. Cover price $2.50.

1st printing.

Edited by Alex Chun.

CLASSIC PIN-UPS FROM A GIANT OF THE FIELD - A collection of the rare '50s pin-ups that led to the artist's final gig, as Playboy's first star cartoonist. In the rarefied realm of classic cartoon pin-up art, nobody did it better than Jack Cole. With his quirky line drawings and sensual watercolors, Cole, under Hugh Hefner's guiding hand, catapulted to stardom in the 1950s as Playboy's marquee cartoonist, a position he held until his untimely death at the age of 43. Jack Cole has been justly celebrated as the creator of Plastic Man and an innovative comic book artist of the 1940s (especially in Art Spiegelman and Chip Kidd's Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms stretched To Their Limits).

After finishing his 14-year run on Plastic Man, he found himself looking for something new. According to Cole, his savior was the Humorama line of down-market digest magazines. This girls and gags magazine circuit proved to be the perfect training ground to regain his footing and develop his craft at single panel "gag" cartoons. His ability to render the female form was already without peer. Though he signed his cartoons "Jake," Cole's exquisite line drawings and masterful use of ink-wash - a skill he carried over to Playboy - betrayed his pseudonym. In comparison to his contemporaries, however, Cole was probably Humorama's least prolific artist.

Though his images were frequently used for covers, Cole's cartoons were few and far between, with scarcely a single drawing appearing every five issues. Along with a foreword by editor Alex Chun, this volume (originally released in a now out-of-print hardcover edition that now fetches high prices on the secondhand market) collects the best of these hidden gems, including several shot from Cole's stunning original art. Most of these drawings have not seen print elsewhere since their original publication.

Softcover, 7 1/2-in. x 10-in., 104 pages, B&W. Cover price $18.99.

Volume 3 - 1st printing. "Diplomatic Impunity!" Story and art by Ben Dunn. Cover by Derek Kirk. Welcome to the wacky world of NINJA HIGH SCHOOL, a place where the students of Quagmire encounter female cybernetic law enforcement officers, super heroes created by zetranite-charged steam, and cosmic dogs, all while trying to study for finals. Includes: "Relative Happenings"; "Bean, Steam, and Automobiles"; "Diplomatic Impunity"; and Days of Past Remembrance!" Softcover, 100 pages, B&W. Cover price $10.95.

Uncle Creepy is back with the third thick and icky issue of Creepy! This issue Doug Moench and Angelo Torres team up to tell a tale of demonic devotion and organized crime, Joe Harris and Jason Shawn Alexander wrap their warped three-parter, 'The Curse,' and a weird revisionist look back at the fall of the Nazi empire reveals a shocking truth-evil never dies! Plus an all-new Loathsome Lore, a bonus Creepy classic story, and more! Cover price $4.99.

Nefarious Kinky. Regular cover by Daniel Schaffer. Story and art by Daniel Schaffer. Indie filmmaker and amateur demonologist Violet Grimm summons trouble in a goth-style adventure. In the aftermath of her sisters violent death, lonely Violet summons up a soul mate from the depths of Hell. 32 pages, B&W. Mature readers. Cover price $2.95.

Evangeline's first mission, to rescue girls that were kidnapped to serve as host mothers, is revealed in "The Pilot." Script by Charles Dixon and art by John Statema & Ricardo Villagran. Cover price $1.75.

Written by Garth Ennis. Art by Tomas Aira. Cover by Matt Martin. As if defending the Golan Heights against impossible odds wasn't enough, the battered Israeli survivors of the battle now find themselves leading an invasion of Syria. The race to Damascus is on, but even with the tables turned against the Arab coalition the action is still furious and losses heavy. Can there even be winners and losers in a war that seems destined to last forever? Garth Ennis and Toma Aira conclude their tale of 1973's Yom Kippur War, in the final part of Children Of Israel. 32 pages, full color. Cover price $3.99.