"In the Shadow of No Towers"
By Art Spiegelman
42 pages
Pantheon
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I already covered Spiegelman's massive rumination on 9/11 -- and the terrorism gold rush it inspired -- earlier this year. But memories are short. How else did a war against WMD become a campaign to spread peace and freedom? Spiegelman's book should be a collector's item soon, but that would be sad indeed. Most of the strips he created for the book were offered to high-profile publications that nixed them, for fear of stirring whiskey into John Ashcroft's coffee. Wimpy bastards. Next to Peter Kuper's "World War 3 Illustrated," Spiegelman's visually arresting release is the most damning indictment of U.S. policy and arrogance committed to paper this year.

"The Jungle"
By Peter Kuper
 48 pages
NBM/ComicsLit
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Speaking of Kuper, he has rendered Upton Sinclair's tragic story of Jurgis Rudkus and the Chicago meatpacking industry in harrowing colors -- and just in time. With rampant corruption and multinational greed reaching an all-time high, the world could stand to read up on Sinclair's socialist tracts, especially those that rail against corporate crime and hypocritical religious orders. Here Kuper mashes Soviet-era propaganda art with Picasso's "Guernica" and more for a captivating peek into the world of those much less fortunate than you. The way things are going in the world right now, that contingency will grow by leaps and bounds. Don't sleep on this one.

"McSweeney's Quarterly Concern Issue 13"
Edited by Chris Ware
263 pages
McSweeney's
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This gargantuan edition of Dave Eggers' continuing promotion of all that is strange and good in literature and the arts is stacked to the spine with knockout artists, most of whom are already household names. Guest editor Chris Ware ("Jimmy Corrigan") has compiled some heady material for this hard-to-find (at least the last time I checked) collection, including excerpts from Joe Sacco's "The Fixer," Art Spiegelman's "In the Shadow of No Towers," Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez's "Love & Rockets," and much more, as well as some vintage toss-offs like Charles Schulz's early "Peanuts" scribblings. Way more wine-and-cheese than Rall's macaroni-and-cheese compilation, "McSweeney's 13" is a capable introduction to the finest of what the contemporary comic set has to offer, although you're not likely to find too many unknowns. But the edition's astounding visual and textual arrangements are reward enough for the fairly steep price. Get it for those adult-alternative snobs who still think comics are for losers.

"Son of the Gun: Sinner"
By Alejandro Jodorowsky
112 pages
Humanoids/DC Comics
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Yeah, it might be DC Comics, but "Superman," this ain't. Unless the caped crusader is a South American street orphan born with a tail, raised by a transvestite/prostitute dwarf and suckled by a dog, that is. The infamous Alejandro Jodorowsky more or less created the midnight movie circuit with the hard-to-stomach 1970 cult western known as "El Topo," before scaring the living crap out of deviant moviegoers everywhere with the twisted "Santa Sangre" and "The Holy Mountain." He's done the same in his various sci-fi comics like "Metabarons" and "Technopriest." "Son of the Gun" has much more in common with Brian De Palma's now-canonical film "Scarface" than with "Heavy Metal." There is so much conscienceless violence -- especially against women -- in "Son of the Gun" that you'd be forgiven for tossing the book out the window. But Jodorowsky has built his guts 'n' gore rep on worse, and those hardboiled fans who think that Takeshi Miike's films are just what Dr. Feelgood ordered will feel right at home here. For strong stomachs only.

"Locas: A Love & Rockets Book"
by Jaime Hernandez
780 pages
Fantagraphics
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In my own haughty opinion, this is the release of the year (see my Salon piece on Jaime for more on that score). Compiling more than 20 years of material from Los Bros. Hernandez's pioneering "Love & Rockets" series, "Locas" follows the bisexual Maggie Chascarillo as she tries to find herself in the burgeoning Southern California punk rock scene. On the way, she also find Hopey Glass, a rebellious kindred spirit, and the two spend the rest of this massive tome simultaneously trying to escape and reconcile with each other. There are few comics that conscientiously attempt to represent alternative sexuality, and few authors in the genre as revered as Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez. If you're going to grab one book from this list for yourself, grab this one.

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