With the holidays just around the corner, here a holiday gift guide of Oni Press titles. In no particular order.
KRAMPUS: A YULETIDE ADVENTURE
By: (W) Brian Joines, (A) Dean Kotz
When the Secret Society of Santa Clauses are robbed of their holiday magic and rendered powerless by an unknown force, they have no choice but to enlist the infamous yuletide terror known as the Krampus to journey from the North Pole to recapture their magic in time to save the day. Oh, sure — besting a malevolent gang of Sugar Plum Fairies, a holiday-themed gun for hire, and Krampus’s own hatred for the Society (and all of society in general) sounds like a cake walk, but when a dark secret from the Santas’ past comes to light, the Krampus is put to the ultimate test.
Collecting the original five-issue series by Brian Joines (Backtrack, Imagine Agents) and Dean Kotz (The Butcher of Paris) in a new special edition printing, Krampus is back with a fresh cover as well as bonus content from the creators!
GENDER QUEER
By: Maia Kobabe, (C) Phoebe Kobabe
2020 ALA Alex Award Winner. 2020 Stonewall — Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Honor Book.
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Then e created Gender Queer.
Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fan fiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: It is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
This special deluxe hardcover edition of Gender Queer features a brand-new cover, exclusive art and sketches, a foreword from ND Stevenson, Lumberjanes writer and creator of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and an afterword from Kobabe.
THE CRUMRIN CHRONICLES, VOL. 2
By: Ted Naifeh
The second volume in the Courtney Crumrin spin-off series that follows the adventures of Courtney’s younger brother, Will!
Imagine waking up one morning and realizing that fifty years have gone by and you hardly noticed, let alone aged. That’s what happens to Calpurnia Crisp, a humble schoolteacher from Hillsborough. Agent Odell of Homeland Security is convinced Calpurnia was the victim of magic and wants her to join him in his crusade against what he sees as a conspiracy undermining the country.
Odell recruits her as an undercover asset to infiltrate the world of Courtney Crumrin, the mysterious teenager who left a trail of unexplained horrors in Hillsborough, and Courtney’s younger brother Will, the strange boy who appeared out of nowhere. But as she penetrates the world of the Crumrins, Calpurnia begins to suspect the gap in her memories is due to her magic being erased. She must ultimately decide between the world of magic or helping the reactionary agent determined to eradicate it.
LUCKY PENNY: COLOR EDITION
By: Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota, (C) Julia Hagerty
If Penny Brighton didn’t have bad luck, she’d have no luck at all. She lost her job. And her apartment. In the same day. But it’s okay, her friend has a cozy storage unit she can crash in. And there’s bound to be career opportunities at the neighborhood laundromat―just look how fast that 12-year-old who runs the place made it to management! Plus, there’s this sweet guy at the community center, and maybe Penny can even have a conversation with him without being a total dork. Surely Penny is capable of becoming an actual responsible adult, and if she can do that her luck’s bound to change! Right?
THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
By: K. O’Neill, (L) Crank!
In the bewitching Tea Dragon Society series, two-time Eisner Award-winning creator K. O’Neill offers three stories featuring the enchanting world of Tea Dragons. Now collected in a beautiful box set with brand-new box cover art, readers can experience The Tea Dragon Society, The Tea Dragon Festival, and The Tea Dragon Tapestry from start to finish.
This charming and peaceful trilogy is heartwarming, inclusive, and absolutely magical.
WILD: OR SO I WAS BORN TO BE
By: Cristian Castelo
Half roller derby action, half coming-of-age tale, Cristian Castelo’s debut graphic novel takes readers into the rinks of the 1970s on a track where identity is made and the league underdogs live to skate another day.
At Westhoff High, pain is part of the curriculum… But so is math, science, and chemistry. However, Wild Rodriguez and her pint-size companions have always had one goal and one goal only as they enter freshman year: to join the Rocket Rollers and test their mettle in the infamously violent roller derby league. Now, summer draws to an end and tryouts are here! Do they have what it takes to climb the ranks of the derby world, or will their dream just as quickly turn into a nightmare?
TINY FOX AND GREAT BEAR BOOK TWO: FURTHEST
By: Berenika Kolomycka
Follow the adventures of Tiny Fox and Great Boar on their next journey, full of new landscapes and new friendships from award-winning Polish cartoonist Berenika Kolomycka.
Tiny Fox and Great Boar left their familiar forest behind, setting their sights ahead on new landscapes and new friendships. The duo encounter a sea of fireflies and journey through engulfing fog to finally reach the ocean. But when they are met with a group of seals and Boar becomes enchanted by their seaside lifestyle, Fox worries he will lose his best pal. What will Tiny Fox do?
CHEF’S KISS
By: (W) Jarrett Melendez, (C) Hank Jones, (I) Danica Brine, (L) Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Now that college is over, English graduate Ben Cook is on the job hunt looking for something…anything…related to his passion for reading and writing. But interview after interview, hiring committee after hiring committee, Ben soon learns getting the dream job won’t be as easy as he thought. Proofreading? Journalism? Copywriting? Not enough experience. It turns out he doesn’t even have enough experience to be a garbage collector! But when Ben stumbles upon a “Now Hiring—No Experience Necessary” sign outside a restaurant, he jumps at the chance to land his first job.
Plus, he can keep looking for a writing job in the meantime. He’s actually not so bad in the kitchen, but he will have to pass a series of cooking tests to prove he’s got the culinary skills to stay on full-time. But it’s only temporary…right?
SPACE TRASH
By: Jenn Woodall
In 2115, Earth has been abandoned as a lost cause and mankind has moved on to space colonization. At a decrepit high school on the moon for underprivileged youth, Stab, Yuki and Una are three teenagers who try to keep their boredom and resentment at bay by fighting rival gangs and cliques, hanging out, sleeping their way through class, all while trying to avoid punishment from the Student Council.
Fights over turf, respect and snacks lead to unearthing an exciting secret, but will their friendship be strong enough to forge a new future?
THIS IS A BIRTHDAY CAKE
By: Andrew Cangelose and Josh Shipley
Fan-favorite characters from This Is a Taco are back in this hilarious picture-book tale of the ultimate birthday cake disaster!
It’s Taco the squirrel’s birthday, and all of his little animal friends are planning a big surprise for him—they’re going to make him a birthday cake! The only problem with their plan is that none of them knows how to make a cake. So, as this sassy crew of critters is known to do, they set out to learn all they can about birthday cakes and how to make one, with spectacularly disastrous and delightful results.
METEOR MEN – EXPANDED EDITION
By: (W) Jeff Parker and Sandy Jarell, (I) Kevin Volo
The Deluxe Expanded Edition features twenty new pages of story and art interspersed with the original pages of this modern classic!
One summer night, Alden Baylor sits in a field watching the largest meteor shower in human history. What begins as a teenage adventure becomes something more—the celestial event brings travelers who will change the world completely, and Alden discovers a connection to one of them. How does a young man who had to grow up fast handle the invasion of his planet? Can Alden keep humanity from oblivion?
From writer Jeff Parker (Aquaman, Hulk) and artist Sandy Jarrell (Batman ’66) comes this story of adolescence, friendship, and hard decisions.
A QUICK AND EASY GUIDE TO ASEXUALITY
By: Molly Muldoon, (I) Will Hernandez
This book is for anyone who wants to learn about asexuality, and for Ace people themselves, to validate their experiences.
Asexuality is often called The Invisible Orientation. You don’t learn about it in school, you don’t hear “ace” on television. So, it’s kinda hard to be ace in a society so steeped in sex that no one knows you exist. Too many young people grow up believing that their lack of sexual desire means they are broken – so writer Molly Muldoon and cartoonist Will Hernandez, both in the ace community, are here to shed light on society’s misconceptions of asexuality and what being ace is really like.
This book is for anyone who wants to learn about asexuality, and for Ace people themselves, to validate their experiences. Asexuality is a real identity and it’s time the world recognizes it. Here’s to being invisible no more!
IT TOOK LUKE
By: (W) Mark Bouchard, (A) Bayleigh Underwood
Wipe the viscera from your eyes and prepare to assimilate into the flesh in this queer adult debut graphic novella exploring crunch culture and its casualties.
LA, 2028. Down-on-their-luck exterminator Sal Hernandez is sick of long hours, living in their work van, and ready to reconcile with their estranged partner. The only thing standing in their way is one last shift. What seems like a routine job is anything but, and when a proselytizing mass of flesh abducts Sal’s newest coworker, Luke, an extermination job quickly turns into a rescue mission.
Freshly concussed from a pro-bono job earlier in the morning, for Sal, the line between reality and hallucination begins to blur. Sal and their teammates Molly and Hussam are as experienced as they come, but will it be enough to overcome the horrific creature that waits in the shadows and the incompetence of their boss?
DANCING ON THE VOLCANO
By: Floor de Goede
When cartoonist Flo travels the globe for the first time without his boyfriend, Bas, he is too preoccupied with feeling homesick to really see any of the beauty around him. Even after many years together, do you still need distance between you in order to miss each other–or can you occupy the same space and still feel disconnected?
Dancing on the Volcano is an autobiographical story about the painful but recognizable sides of love. We all know that a long relationship has many stages, but never before has someone portrayed all those different facets of love as beautifully as Floor de Goede in the original graphic memoir.
AREA 510
By: (W) Jay Faerber, (A) Justin Greenwood
Rookie officer Ward has his hands full with an overbearing partner and a scheming burglary suspect. But when Ward’s partner is shockingly killed by aliens, Ward and his suspect, the wily Lucinda, make a run for it. Their destination: Oakland Police HQ, where they hope to find safe haven. But as Ward and Lucinda have numerous alien encounters along the way, they fear these attacks aren’t random, and that the aliens are targeting them!
From blockbuster creators, Jay Faerber (Copperhead, Near Death, television’s Supergirl) and Justin Greenwood (Stumptown, Compass, Stringers), comes a thrilling tale of urban survival.
ISSUNBOSHI
By: Ryan Lang
An epic graphic novel retelling of the Japanese folktale about the one-inch Samurai, Issunboshi.
In feudal Japan where creatures of myth and folklore are real, a demon sets out to reforge an ancient weapon to take over the world. The only person who can stop him is a six-inch-tall would-be samurai, who also happens to be the final and most important piece of the weapon.
TAPROOT
By: Keezy Young, (L) Tom Napolitano
Rainbow Book List Best Graphic Novel of 2017. Powell’s Books Best of 2017. The Advocate’s Best LGBTQ Graphic Novel of 2017.
Blue has been living as a ghost for a year when he meets Hamal, a beautiful and sweet gardener who has the ability to see and communicate with spirits. Together, their friendship develops into something more, but being a ghost, Blue can never truly be connected with Hamal.
When Blue realizes Hamal’s strange ability may be putting him in danger, Blue has to find a way to protect him–even if it means leaving him.
OPEN BAR
By: Eduardo Medeiros
Lenny and Beardo are two childhood friends with a lot of road behind them. When Beardo’s deadbeat dad dies and leaves them his old bar, they make a go of it as business partners. Easy enough, right? Maybe not.
Running a business in a low-traffic area of town isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, but luckily for the boys, the one-two punch of viral media attention when their neighbor gets crushed by a 747 engine that falls from the sky and a sorta suspect (but very potent) beer recipe they stumble into catch the public’s imagination at just the right time.
Things get even more complicated when Lenny’s ex-girlfriend Amanda shows up again, pregnant. Can our two heroes weather the ravages of success any better than they dealt with being losers? Can Lenny level up and be a good dad? Can Beardo forgive his dead, absentee father? Will the general public run them out of town when they find out what was in that beer? These questions and more are answered inside!
SILK HILLS
By: (W) Ryan Ferrier, Brian Level, (A) Kate Sherron, (L) Crank!
When Beth Wills comes to Silk Hills, a small Appalachian town that’s seen better days since the mines were abandoned, she expected a bit of culture shock… But not like this! Beth is someone who has a talent for finding people who don’t want to be found, and when she’s called to Silk Hills by a local titan of industry, she can tell that something’s not right. Little does she know…
Silk Hills was once booming, but the only reason people tend to come through town anymore is to buy Mothman merchandise. Before long, Beth finds out just how wrong things can get in the woods, as her search for a missing troubled youth finds her running afoul of the local drug trade, too-friendly creepers, a very sinister deer, and psychoactive moth dust.
