This is a heavily illustrated -- in both color and black & white, as the situation calls for --  oversize volume that may very well be the best contemporary survey of Manga currently available.  Written and compiled by internationally recognized British comics authority, Paul Gravett, this book provides a well designed and perfectly positioned window on the world of Manga.  Excellent examples of the fabulous and mind-boggling variety and range of manga abound.  Literally hundreds of different styles, schools and genres are featured.  Readers really get a good sense of the cultural legacy and growing international influence of manga.  This  book makes an excellent gift for any manga fan.  (one caveat:  there are a small number of illustrations -- amounting to less than 1% of the total -- featuring adult situations -- both sexual and/or violent in nature -- that make the book inappropriate for anyone under 15 or 16).

While we admit to being turned off by any book that claims to be "everything you need to know" on any subject, we will grant Mr. Gravett the benefit of the doubt and assume that this particular sub-title was the publisher's idea and not his own -- as this book is actually the best single volume introduction to the world of graphic novels yet produced (and, to be fair, the cover text was changed to the much more appropriate, "Stories to Change Your Life").  It's unique organizing principle of choosing thirty standard bearers of specific sub-categories of the form and then grouping together other works perceived as related makes for an efficient way to get acquainted with the medium and what it has to offer.  And we must say that we admire the taste on display here as it overlaps at so many points with the Copacetic Canon.  An excellent choice for anyone desiring to get a handle on the brave new world of graphic novels but not sure where to start, and a must for every library.

<<•>> edited by Alex Spiro; introduction by Paul Gravett <<•>> art by Stuart Kolakovic, Mikkel Sommers, Brecht Vandenbroucke, Luke Best, Rob Hunter, Jon McNaught, Ben Newman, Andrew Rae, Luke Pearson, Jack Teagle, Jon Boam, Jakob Hindrichs, Clayton Junior, Daniel Locke, Isabel Greenberg, Mike Bertino, Nick White, Rui Tenreiro, Sean Hudson, Luc Melanson, Katia Fouquet, Yeji Yun, Matthew Lyons & Liesbeth De Stercke  <<•>>  The fine folks at the London-based NoBrow Ltd. have produced their first anthology, and it's a doozy!  Editor, Alex Spiro has assembled twenty-four artists and, with a nod to The Book of Genesis, asked each of them to "take on seven pages to tell their tales of the creation of everything."  As those who are familiar with the NoBrow works on display here at Copacetic already know, their publications are finely crafted and produced in an engaged, hands-on manner, in keeping with the company's stated aim "to place a renewed focus on quality in print."  The company maintains a special focus on hand-separated planes of flat color that gives their entire catalogue a wholly unique feel, and now, with A Graphic Cosmogony, they have produced an amazing 176 page hardcover volume – by a large margin the most ambitious assemblage they have yet to produce – that will pop your eyes out and knock your socks off!  It's hot off the press and it's here.  Check it out. 

The catalogue for the exhibition of the same name co-curated by Kim L Pace and Emma Mahony, and currently touring Britain through 2008, this lushly printed oversize volume includes an excellent introductory essay by noted comics critic, Paul Gravett and contains 123 illustrations of the varoius ways comics and art interact by the likes of Robert Crumb, Dan Clowes, Marcel Dzama, Debbie Dreschler, Kiloffer, Joe Sacco, Julie Doucet, Kerry James Marshall, Raymond Pettibone, Mark Kalesniko, Melinda Gebbie, and quite a few others.  Also included are the reproductions of the 27 artists' questionnaires -- made up of six business card sized rectangles, each with a question on one side and a blank space for the answer on the other -- as completed by each of the contributing artists.  Makes for fun and fascinating reading.  A nice contribution to the growing discourse.  Sound interesting?  Learn more at Paul Gravett's link-packed page devoted to this book.