Murder Ballads: Illustrated Lyrics and Lore by Katy Horan, 144 pages

 Murder Ballads is a guide to the origins and cultural impact of murder ballads as a music genre, covering its roots in patriarchal violence and white supremacy, as well as its contemporary relationship to true crime.

 
From “Delia's Gone” to “The Death of Queen Jane,” each of twenty carefully chosen ballads is accompanied by one of Horan’s beautifully macabre illustrations and a thoroughly researched reflection on the song's history and evolution. At the back of the book, readers can browse a list of essential recordings for each ballad.
 
Mysterious and alluring as the songs themselves, Murder Ballads will delight history enthusiasts, armchair musicologists, true crime fans (and critics), as well as anyone who appreciates the darker side of folk music.

Archie: Love Showdown 30th Anniversary Special Edition, 144 pages

 Before The Married Life , before Archie asked, "Will You Marry Me?" , there was Love Showdown - the first event in Archie Comics history. A standard-bearer for Archie's modern long-form storytelling, this 30th anniversary edition collects every piece of the ultimate battle for love.

Archie decides he is finally going to make up his mind and choose his true love. On hearing this, Betty and Veronica fight for his affections tooth and nail with wits and wiles... who will come out the winner? Fan-favorite "bad girl" Cheryl Blossom returns to the mix as well, ensuring that the romantic hijinx are at an all-time high... and that Archie's decision is harder than ever!

Love Showdown is in the Archie record books as its most popular comic book story of the 90s and a perennial title. This anniversary edition includes the complete, original Love Showdown four-part event plus the follow-up Love Showdown Special sequel and all-new content celebrating its legacy.

This is a must-have milestone edition for comic book fans of all ages.

Same Time Next Year by Tessa Bailey, 144 pages

 Adored by all, Britta is an ambitious waitress working at Sluggers. The popular bar holds a special place in her heart and is a regular hangout for the Bridgeport Bandits, the local hockey club. With a half brother on the team, Britta has a strict no-dating policy for hockey boys. But she does have a soft spot for one particular player.

A beast on the ice, Sumner Mayfield is on the brink of breaking into the NHL. But time’s running out. With his work visa about to expire, Sumner’s only chance to stay in Bridgeport is to marry an American—and get a green card. Otherwise, it’s back to Canada for the defenseman.

On New Year’s Eve, the team begs Britta to marry Sumner that very night. Sum is embarrassed yet hopeful—he’s desperately in love. But Britta balks at first. Until something about Sumner’s soulful brown eyes and ripped physique makes her reconsider…

Blossoms 666, 144 pages

 Archie Horror's newest title, featuring a demonic take on Riverdale's troublesome twins.

Cheryl and Jason Blossom are a pair of seemingly normal kids in Riverdale. They're wealthy, popular and likeable--but they also harbor a deep, dark secret--one of the Blossom Twins is the Anti-Christ. Both want the title, and no one in Riverdale is safe.

Judghead The Hunger versus Vampironica by Frank Tieri, 144 pages

 In the world of JUGHEAD: THE HUNGER, there are no vampires, having been wiped out in their great war with the werewolves. In the VAMPIRONICA universe, the opposite is the case, as it was the vampires who were the victors. So what happens when these two eternal enemies are brought together again? Whatever it is, it can't be good for poor ol' Jug and Vampironica, you can count on that much...

Jughead The Hunger, Volume Three by Frank Tieri, 144 pages

 Archie's Madhouse brings the third collection of the terrifying horror series that tears through Riverdale's cast of characters. Jughead Jones has always had an insatiable appetite... but what if his hunger came from a sinister place? When a murderous menace is on the prowl, taking the lives of some of the most well-known and esteemed inhabitants of Riverdale, Jughead and his family's dark legacy comes to light.

Marmaduke "Moose" Mason is dead, having been executed by the Cooper clan after turning into a werewolf. Then who... or what... is FrankenMoose? Find out as Jughead the Hunger goes classic movie monster with "FrankenMoose Meets the Wolf Jug!"

Jughead the Hunger, Volume Two by Frank Tieri, 144 pages

 Archie's Madhouse brings the second collection of the terrifying horror series that tears through Riverdale's cast of characters.

Jughead Jones has always had an insatiable appetite... but what if his hunger came from a sinister place? When a murderous menace is on the prowl, taking the lives of some of the most well-known and esteemed inhabitants of Riverdale, Jughead and his family's dark legacy comes to light.

Jughead the Hunger: Volume One by Frank Tieri, 144 pges

 Archie's Madhouse brings the first collection of the terrifying horror series that tears through Riverdale's cast of characters.

Jughead Jones has always had an insatiable appetite... but what if his hunger came from a sinister place? When a murderous menace is on the prowl, taking the lives of some of the most well-known and esteemed inhabitants of Riverdale, Jughead and his family's dark legacy comes to light. Join writer Frank Tieri ( Wolverine ) and artists Michael Walsh ( Secret Avengers ) and Pat & Tim Kennedy ( Death of Archie ) for this horrifying collection for TEEN+ readers.

Vampironica by Greg Smallwood, & Megan Smallwood 144 pages

 When Veronica is bitten by a centuries-old vampire, her thirst for blood threatens to turn Riverdale into a haven for the undead. Will she put an end to the vampire threat or give in to her blood lust? Archie Horror's latest series paints Riverdale red in the vampiric first collection by siblings Greg & Megan Smallwood.

Miss Bianca in the Orient by Margery Sharp, 144 pages

 Miss Bianca began to take more interest as the little green snake continued his story. "The Ranee's page," he added, "is in the elephant lines waiting to be trampled to smithereens at the next full moon on account of his sniveling into Her Highness's sherbert!"

And so intrepid Miss Bianca, her sense of justice outraged that such a dire punishment can be meted out for such a trifling error, begins to plan and scheme an urgent rescue mission, which must be the strangest and most exotic yet.

Only this time she will need every ounce of tact, every measure of courage and all the wits she could possibly muster.

The 1849 Cholera Outbreak in Jefferson City by Gary Elliott, 144 pages

 In 1849, a steamship named after President James Monroe headed from St. Louis to Council Bluffs, Iowa. The passengers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Philadelphia. At St. Louis, they were joined with a group of California gold diggers from Jeffersonville, Indiana. But their trip was interrupted when cholera broke out on board. Local fourteen-year-old James McHenry discovered the steamship after it landed at Jefferson City and observed the dead and dying victims along the riverbank. Author Gary Elliott details the history of the outbreak in the city and its far-reaching effects.

A Secret History of Brands by Matt MacNabb, 144 pages

 We live our lives immersed in name brand products. It's hard to drive down the street without seeing a plethora of chain restaurants, car dealerships, branded clothing they're all around us. What most of us don't know is that the origins of many of the most well-known and beloved brands in the world are shrouded in controversy, drug use and sometimes even addled with blatant racism.

A Secret History of Brands cuts through the rumors and urban legends and paints a picture of the true dark history of famous brands, like Coca-Cola, Hugo Boss, Adidas, Ford, Bayer, Chanel and BMW among others. Explore the mystery of the cocaine content of Coca-Cola, the Hitler-Henry Ford connection and why Bayer is famous for asprin, but began their journey with Heroin, and how Kellogg's Corn Flakes were crafted to deter sexual arousal. Thoroughly researched, McNabb details firsthand conducted interviews alongside fairly weighed research to present the decisive view of brands histories that you haven't heard of yet.

Gilded Age Murder & Mayhem in the Berkshires by Andrew Amelinckx, 144 pages

 Murder and dark deeds shadowed the extravagance of the Gilded Age in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. In the summer of 1893, a tall and well-dressed burglar plundered the massive summer mansions of the upper crust. A visit from President Teddy Roosevelt in 1902 ended in tragedy when a trolley car smashed into the presidential carriage, killing a Secret Service agent. Shocking the nation, a psychotic millworker opened fire on a packed streetcar, leaving three dead and five wounded. From axe murders to botched bank jobs, author Andrew Amelinckx dredges up the forgotten underbelly of the Berkshires with unforgettable stories of greed, jealousy and madness from the Gilded Age.

Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi, 144 pages

 

Once upon a dream, there was a prince named Ambrose
and a princess named Imelda who loved each other...
But alas, no more.
"What a witch takes, a witch does not give back!"
their friends and family warn.
They resign themselves to this loveless fate...
A year and a day pass.
And then their story truly begins...

Embark on a perilous journey with Imelda and Ambrose as they brave magical landscapes and enchanted creatures on their quest to reclaim their heart's desire... But first they must remember what that is...

The Turret by Margery Sharp, 144 pages

 The fabulous Miss Bianca has resigned, perhaps prematurely, as Madam Chairwoman of the Mouse Prisoners' Aid Society. In her honor an enchanting water picnic is held at the lily moat beneath a ruined turret in the park outside the city. While the band plays Handel's Water Music, the ever observant Miss Bianca discovers that someone is being held prisoner in the old turret.

It turns out to be the wicked Mandrake. No one, not even her dear friend Bernard (who in the course of events may be forced into a most unfortunate marriage), is the slightest bit inclined toward rescuing that scoundrel--in spite of Miss Bianca's conviction that he has reformed. Adventures fraught with danger follow as Miss Bianca, alone, pays a midnight visit to the turret to ponder Mandrake's penitence and make plans. Her plans come to include one boy scout, a precocious mouse named Shaun, and the magnificent stallion Sir Hector.

A Million Little Pieces of Close to Home by John McPherson, 144 pages

 Is your face suffering from a lack of exercise? Readers rely on John McPherson's Close to Home cartoon to contort their facial muscles into an unstoppable grin each day. Not even Botox can stop you from smiling at this latest collection of Close to Home.

How do you measure a cartoon's popularity? The true measure of a comic panel's popularity is how often it is posted on a refrigerator, cubicle, break room bulletin board, or office door. By that standard, Close to Home wins the comic panel popularity contest hands down.

Close to Home captures the humor in all facets of life. From home to hospitals, from classrooms to courtrooms, from boardrooms to backyards--there's a Close to Home panel that hits us where we live and work and play.

A Million Little Pieces of Close to Home features hilarious panels first published in newspapers in the year 2000, the year of the Y2K scare that never materialized. Of course, that's just the kind of thing you'd expect from a Close to Home world.

Heathcliff Pigs Out by George Gately, 144 pages

 Just a little something I picked up for Renee at a garage sale.

Teaching...Is a Learning Experience! by Lynn Johnston, 144 pages

 Lynn Johnston's award-winning For Better or For Worse comic strip is the world's most popular strip in which characters evolve through age and experience, rather than remaining frozen in time. Fans appreciate that the daily doings of the Patterson family often closely resemble their own.

* Featuring more than 43 weeks of strips, with Sundays in color, this collection features Elizabeth's developing teaching skills working in a northern First Nation's community, Mike and Deanna's move to Mrs. Saltzman's upstairs apartment, April's confrontation of teenage issues like acne and self-image, while John and Elly face middle-age ailments and the possibility of retirement.

With This Ring by Lynn Johnston, 144 pages

 It was a big year for new relationships in the Patterson household. Wanting to avoid an elaborate, expensive wedding, Michael and Deanna married in secret and moved in together. Meanwhile, her mother continued to engineer a huge social affair, which threatened to upset an already delicate relationship between the two families. When Elly helped her reluctant daughter-in-law choose a dress, it brought them closer together-as confidantes and friends-and in the end, the wedding was beautiful. Meanwhile, Grandpa Jim began a slow, sweet courtship with Iris, whom he met at the Wednesday night Legion dance, and Elizabeth moved in with her boyfriend, Eric. She soon suspected he was not her knight in shining armor, and Anthony, the boy Elly and John always hoped Elizabeth would marry, becomes engaged to someone else.

Family Business by Lynn Johnston, 144 pages

 Gleaned from the For Better or For Worse syndicated strip, this collection embodies the ups and downs of everyday family life.