The First Washington Conference, codenamed Arcadia, was a secret meeting held in the days immediately following the entrance of the United States into World War II. It was the first meeting between the United States and Britain to determine military strategy. Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and their top military advisors spent hours making major decisions that would determine the direction of the Allied war effort. The main achievement of the conference was the “Europe first” decision, declaring that the defeat of Germany was the highest priority. Neither side knew what to expect before this momentous meeting. Before the war, the British and the Americans had differing strategic concerns, especially about the Pacific and East Asia: differences of such contrast that the conference was in jeopardy of ending early if not resolved. The narrative uses a chronological approach that examines in detail each day of the conference. This day-by-day methodology shows the gradual development of rapport between the allied chieftains, why and how it forged relationships, and the undercurrent of tension as each ally sought to ensure its national interests while cooperating with the other in a grand alliance. Historian and retired Brigadier General John F. Shortal skillfully unravels the inside story of this pivotal meeting. He shows how the working and personal relationships between Roosevelt and Churchill, as well as their military chiefs of staffs, first took root and then blossomed during the conference. Code Name Arcadia makes a major contribution not only to the history of World War II, but also to our understanding of the power structure of the postwar world.

Rhode Island's contribution to World War II vastly exceeded its small size. Narragansett Bay was an armed camp dotted by army forts and navy facilities. They included the country's most important torpedo production and testing facilities at Newport and the Northeast's largest naval air station at Quonset Point. Three special, top-secret German POW camps were based in Narragansett and Jamestown. Meanwhile, Rhode Island workers from all over the state - including, for the first time, many women - manufactured military equipment and built warships, most notably the Liberty ships at Providence Shipyard. Authors from the Rhode Island history blog smallstatebighistory.com trace Rhode Island's outsized wartime role, from the scare of an enemy air raid after Pearl Harbor to the war's final German U-boat sunk off Point Judith.

What’s to Love: Our long tradition of breaking new talent—like Rafael Albuquerque (The Savage Brothers, American Vampire), Emma Rios (Hexed, Pretty Deadly), and Declan Shalvey (28 Days Later, Moon Knight)—continues with the debut of Alex Paknadel and Eric Scott Pfeiffer, two new creators whose extensive world-building in the sci-fi thriller Arcadia evokes comparisons to epics like Game of Thrones, The Matrix, and Astro City. What It Is: When 99% of humankind is wiped out by a pandemic, four billion people are “saved” by being digitized at the brink of death and uploaded into Arcadia, a utopian simulation in the cloud. But when Arcadia begins to rapidly deplete the energy resources upon which the handful of survivors in the real world (aka “The Meat”) depends, how long will The Meat be able—and willing—to help? Collects the entire eight-issue series.