Lio's Astonishing Tales From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors by Mark Tatulli, 221 pages

 A boy's imagination is unleashed in Lio's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors. The 2009 National Cartoonists Award for Best Newspaper Comic Strip, Lio is unique in its pantomime content and drawing style. This treasury includes creator commentary and origins of Lio.

It's slightly dark and terribly funny. Lio, the main character, a young boy with an imagination that has no limit, explores everything kid. From bumps in the night to things hiding under the bed, readers get an inside look at different shades of humor but always come out the other end unscathed and laughing.

Lio: Making Friends by Mark Tatulli, 224 pages

 Creepy, crawly, slimy, and awesome! Welcome to the darkly detailed world of spiky-haired Lio.

A curious young scientist and comic book fan, Lio is the defender of the defenseless and the inventor of a legion of zombie bunnies. Lio is joined in his day-to-day exploits by his exasperated and sleep-deprived father, a pet snake named Frank, a squid named Ishmael, and various imaginary robots and creepy, crawly monsters. Within this humorously macabre framework of sarcasm, parody, and high jinks, sidesplitting laughter abounds—all without so much as a word.

Zombies Need Love Too: And Still Another Lio Collection by Mark Tatulli, 128 pages

 The main character, Lio, is a small boy with a penchant for befriending squids, monsters, and aliens. Lio is a curious scientist, a comic-book fan, defender of the defenseless and creator of an army of zombie bunnies. All without saying a word. Zombies Need Love Too is Lio's fifth book.

Lio: Happiness is a Squishy Cephalopod by Mark Tatulli, 128 pages

  LI O is a pantomime strip featuring a curious young boy whose daydreams embark from reality destined for the dark chasm where wit and sarcasm collide.

In describing his strip, Tatulli explains he was eager "to bring something truly different to the comics pages . . . something to appeal to all ages, drawn in pictures only. To tell a story without text, while updating the pantomime concept with a modern audience in mind."

* The result is a mind-bendingly humorous and astute journey into the darkly detailed world of young LiO--where a spit wad can put a school bus out of commission faster than a spider can hamper the efforts of the U.S. Postal Service.

Silent But Deadly: Another Lio Collection by Mark Tatulli, 128 pages

Having been distinguished by Variety as "a fast riser," Mark Tatulli's morbidly mirthful pantomime comic strip, LIO, is humorously astute and just slightly askew in its perception of the world.

Centered around an odd, ghostly-pale child named LIO, and his creepy coterie of friends, including a giant squid named Ishmael and a scythe-carrying grim reaper, LIO; is influenced by cartooning greats Gahan Wilson, Charles Addams, and 19th-century satirist A. J. Volck.

Lio: There's a Monster in My Socks by Mark Tatulli, 224 pages

For the first time, the creepy, crawly, awesome world of Lio in a kid-targeted book.

The world of Lio is filled with the extraordinary—monsters under the bed, wild reptile pets, robot inventions, weird science—but it’s all commonplace for this most uncommon young man. Mark Tatulli renders this pantomime strip in pen-and-ink style, giving the artwork a dark, spidery feel to match the strip’s dark humor. Lio explores the twisted realm of a kid’s imagination—at once bizarre, creepy, and fun. Now, in this collection edited specially for kids, Lio is available to his most dedicated fans.

Zombie Need Love Too by Mark Tatulli, 128 pages

My only regret with these Lio collections is that there aren't more of them. The cartoons are sick, twisted, funny, and sweet all at once, like my family.