The pieces in this collection range in setting from the small towns of New England to the deserts of the Southwest. Grounded in personal experience these essays ask through narrative what it means to be a rebel girl, a rebel teenager, and a rebel woman in a world that seems to offer no real alternative to traditional roles. Infused with lyrical and figurative language, this collection combines the swiftness of the prose poem with the power of the personal essay resulting in writing that pulls the ground out from under the reader again and again. The collection is organized chronologically in a way that charts the development of a woman as she attempts to adapt to the world around her through stories of love, heartbreak, and adventure. The essays travel with the narrator from a summer camp in Maine, to opal mining in Nevada, to the story of a deadly thunderstorm in Vermont, to hunting for ginseng, asking the questions about belonging, expectation and, ultimately, if there is a chance for real happiness.

This year, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his first appearance on the screen, the original, uncut version of Godzilla was released in American theaters to the delight of Sci-Fi and B-Movie fans everywhere. Ever since Godzilla (or, Gojira, as he is known in Japan) crawled out of his radioactive birthplace to cut a swath of destruction through Tokyo, he has claimed a place alongside King Kong and others in the movie monster pantheon. He is the third most recognizable Japanese celebrity in the United States, and his fan base continues to grow as children today prove his enduring appeal. Now, Bill Tsutsui, a life-long fan and historian, takes a light-hearted look at the big, green, radioactive lizard, revealing how he was born and how he became a megastar. With humorous anecdotes, Godzilla on My Mind explores his lasting cultural impact on the world. This book is sure to be welcomed by pop culture enthusiasts, fans, and historians alike.

Monsters are more than things that go bump in the night... Monsters are lurking in the woods, beneath the waves, and within our favorite books, films, and games--and there are good reasons why they appear so often. Monsters are manifestations of our fears and symbols of our society--not to mention they're a lot of fun--but each should serve a purpose and enhance the themes and tension in your fiction. In Writing Monsters, best-selling author Philip Athans uses classic examples from books, films, and the world around us to explore what makes monsters memorable--and terrifying. You'll learn what monsters can (and should) represent in your story and how to create monsters from the ground up. Writing Monsters includes: • In-depth discussions of where monsters come from, what they symbolize, and how to best portray them in fiction • Informative overviews of famous monsters, archetypes, and legendary creatures • A Monster Creation Form to help you create your monster from scratch • An annotated version of H.P. Lovecraft's chilling story "The Unnamable" Whether you write fantasy, science fiction, or horror, your vampires, ghouls, aliens, and trolls need to be both compelling and meaningful. With Writing Monsters, you can craft creatures that will wreak havoc in your stories and haunt your readers' imaginations--and nightmares.

Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of late ’60s Chicago, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is the fictional graphic diary of 10-year-old Karen Reyes, filled with B-movie horror and pulp monster magazines iconography. Karen Reyes tries to solve the murder of her enigmatic upstairs neighbor, Anka Silverberg, a holocaust survivor, while the interconnected stories of those around her unfold. When Karen’s investigation takes us back to Anka’s life in Nazi Germany, the reader discovers how the personal, the political, the past, and the present converge.

In this humorous, rhyming story a little girl's attempts to befriend a monster lead from one disaster to the next. All is not lost though as this unlikely pair may have more in common than you think.

Lock your doors and gather close . . . if you dare! Once a rising TV journalist, Jerri Bartman has returned to her small Midwest hometown station. Demoted to hosting the nightly Creature Feature, Jerri's professional humiliation is eclipsed by the discovery that her new job comes with a secret, supernatural duty. Her missing predecessor, Count Crowley, was one of the last "Appointed" hunters of monsters. Yes. Monsters. They're real and they're hell bent on controlling the news and information consumed by humans. Everything we've ever been taught about monsters is a lie and Jerri's only possible advisor is a senile male chauvinist. It's 1983 and the outlook for humanity is getting . . . gnarly and their only hope is an alcoholic, acerbic horror host from Missouri. David Dastmalchian's authorial comics debut with artist Lukas Ketner--this terrifying trade collects issues #1-#4 of the Dark Horse Comics series Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter!

A breakthrough paper-folding book for kids—paper airplanes meet Origami meets Pokemon. Papertoys, the Internet phenomenon that’s hot among graphic designers and illustrators around the world, now comes to kids in the coolest new book. Created and curated by Brian Castleforte, a graphic designer and papertoy pioneer who rounded up 25 of the hottest papertoy designers from around the world (Indonesia, Japan, Australia, Italy, Croatia, Chile, even Jackson, Tennessee), Papertoy Monsters offers 50 fiendishly original die-cut designs that are ready to pop out, fold, and glue. The book interleaves card stock with paper stock for a unique craft package; the graphics are colorful and hip, combining the edginess of anime with the goofy fun of Uglydolls and other collectibles. Plus each character comes with its own back-story. And the results are delicious: meet Pharaoh Thoth Amon, who once ruled Egypt but is now a mummy who practices dark magic in his sarcophagus. Or Zumbie the Zombie, who loves nothing more than a nice plate of brains and yams. NotSoScary, a little monster so useless at frightening people that he has to wear a scary mask. Yucky Chuck, the lunchbox creature born in the deepest depths of your school bag. Plus Zeke, the monster under your bed, Nom Nom, eater of cities, and Grumpy Gramps, the hairy grandpa monster with his very own moustache collection.