"the story of Astrid Kirchherr and Stuart Sutcliffe"
by Arne Bellstorf

Winner: Sondermann Prize for 'Best Newcomer' 2005

Winner: ICOM Independent Comic Prize 'Best Comic' 2006

This is the story of the 'fifth Beatle', Stuart Sutcliffe, and the love of his life, photographer Astrid Kirchherr.

Hamburg, 1960. Astrid Kirchherr has finished art school and now works as a photographic assistant for her former teacher. Her relationship with a young graphic designer, Klaus Voormann, is slowly fading.

One night, following another argument, Klaus leaves and goes out on his own. He returns late at night, excited about what he discovers in the redlight district - a young group from England playing rock’n’roll in a club called Kaiserkeller. When Astrid eventually agrees to accompany him the following night, she doesn’t know her life is about to change forever.

STAFF PICK

Signed and hand sketched by Javier Mariscal
Adaption:Fernando Trueba, Art: Javier Mariscal

Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unite them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment. From Havana to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas, two passionate individuals battle impossible odds to unite in music and love.
Each book contains a unique sketch and is signed by Javier Mariscal plus a limited edition colour bookplate (edition of 500)
Only whilst stock lasts!

by Judith Vanistendael
A moving love story inspired by the author's relationship with a political refugee from Togo. It began as a response to the publication of a short story, Message from the Fortress, written by the author's father, Geert Vanistendael. In it, her father gives vent to his feelings about the relationship. At first angry with her father, the author publicly responded by reclaiming the story in this semi-autobiographical novel. Dance By the Light of the Moon is a beautiful, unexpected tale which reaches far beyond the love story that originally inspired it.

Written by: Will Bingley Art by Anthony Hope-Smith

Over the course of Hunter S. Thompson's extraordinary life he was publically branded a bum, a vandal, a thief, a liar, an addict, a freak and a psychopath. Some of these were true. Yet, even when compared to the most significant figures of the 20th century, his legacy remains a brilliantly vital force. This is his story - the story of a troubled kid who went on to become an international icon, a story that plumbs the darkest depths of American society and charts the now-legendary adventures that birthed Gonzo journalism and a lifestyle beyond imagination.

Written by Andrew Vachss and Zak Mucha, art by Frank Caruso.

For more than three decades, best-selling author Andrew Vachss has battled the lowest bullies: child abusers. In his law practice, he's represented children and youth exclusively. As art director for King Features for two decades, Frank Caruso has developed a style that speaks to all ages, for all ages. The two are now joining forces to attack school bullying. Universally decried, bemoaned, and condemned. And on the rise. Heart Transplant is aimed at radically changing the way we deal with this most critical issue. The anchoring essay--by clinical social worker Zak Mucha--explains in detail what the reader has experienced . . . and why that experience could change our world.

by Reinhard Kleist
The graphic biography of the most famous country singer of all time - the Man in Black. Renowned graphic novelist Reinhard Kleist depicts Johnny Cash's eventful life from his early sessions with Elvis, through the concert in Folsom Prison, his spectacular comeback and the final years before his death. Cash is an idol to music fans of every generation and his entire unpredictable life as a loner, patriot, outlaw, music business rebel and a drug addict provides a complex true story for graphic novel and music fans alike.
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Written by Jose-Luis Bocquet
Illustrated by Catel
Winner of Angouleme Festival's Essential Prix & RTL Grand Prix. In the bohemian and brilliant Montparnasse of the 1920s, Kiki escaped poverty to become one of the most charismatic figures of the avant-garde years between the wars. Partner to Man Ray, she would be immortalised by many artists. The muse of a generation, she was one of the first emancipated women of the 20th century.

No story is too painful to tell - like how much she enjoyed fat camp; Nor too off limits - like her critique of R. Crumb; Nor too personal - like her stories of growing up Jewish in Florida. Using her sweet-but-biting wit, Davis effortlessly carves out a wholly original and refreshing niche in two well-worn territories: autobio comics and the jewish identity. Davis draws strips from her daily diary often centering on her relationships with men, her mother, and eventually her long-time boyfriend.

Writer:Marjane Satrapi
Artist:Marjane Satrapi
Now in one volume, both parts of Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi's brilliant memoir-in-comic-strips about growing up in Iran during and after the Islamic revolution.
Wise, often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, "Persepolis: The Story of Childhood" tells the story of Marjane Satrapi's life in Tehran from the ages of six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken child of radical Marxists, and the great-granddaughter of Iran's last emperor, Satrapi bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. "Persepolis" paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Amidst the tragedy, Marjane's child's eye view adds immediacy and humour, and her story of a childhood at once outrageous and ordinary, beset by the unthinkable and yet buffered by an extraordinary and loving family, is immensely moving. It is also very beautiful; Satrapi's drawings have the power of the very best woodcuts. "Persepolis" ends on a cliffhanger in 1984, just as fourteen-year-old Marjane is leaving behind her home in Tehran, escaping fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in the West. In "Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return" we follow our young, intrepid heroine through the next eight years of her life: an eye-opening and sometimes lonely four years of high school in Vienna, followed by a supremely educational and heartwrenching four years back home in Iran. Just as funny and heartbreaking as its predecessor - with perhaps an even greater sense of the ridiculous inspired by life in a fundamentalist state - "Persepolis 2" is also as clear-eyed and searing in its condemnation of fundamentalism and its cost to the human spirit. In its depiction of the universal trials of adolescent life and growing into adulthood - here compounded by being an outsider both abroad and at home, and by living in a state where you have no right to show your hair, wear make-up, run in public, date, or question authority - it's raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.