Don't know Marlys Mullen? She is the most beloved character in Lynda Barry's nationally syndicated comic strip, Ernie Pook's Comeek. In the mid-1980s, Barry first introduced the strange yet poignant world of Marlys Mullen, her groovy teenage sister Maybonne, and her sensitive little brother Freddie.The trials and tribulations of childhood and adolescence have rarely been chronicled in such an original fashion. Now the early comic strips, which were out of print, have been collected in this oversize book, which will let fans old and new enjoy Marlys's adventures and outlook on life.

THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF TROUBLED ADOLESCENTS FROM BARRY’S ACCLAIMED COMIC The Freddie Stories traces a year in the life of Freddie, the youngest member of the dysfunctional Mullen family. These four-panel entries–each representing an episode in the life of Freddie–bring to life adolescence, pimples and all. No matter what happens, it all seems to go wrong for Freddie–he’s set up as an arsonist, mercilessly teased in school, and bossed around by classmates. With consummate skill, Lynda Barry writes about the cruelty of children at this most vulnerable age when the friends they make and the paths they choose can forever change their lives. In The Freddie Stories every word of dialogue, every piece of narration, and every dark line evokes adolescent angst. These short, moving stories are collected from Barry’s beloved Ernie Pook’s Comeek, which was serialized across North America for two decades. Re-packaged here with a brand-new afterword from Lynda Barry, The Freddie Stories is an adult tale about just how hard it is to be a teenager–a classic Barry work alongside her cult masterpiece novel Cruddy–poignant, insightful, and true.

This autobiographical comic drama by a noted cartoonist about growing up in an interracial neighborhood in the 1960s enjoyed a long Off Broadway run. Twelve year old best friends, one black and one white, stand by each other through upheaval and tragedy, in spite of each families disapproval. However, racial peer pressure eventually drives a wedge between the girls. Interspersed are songs of the period, some heard on the Victrola and others perform by the spirited cast.

In this collection of 20 comic strips, Lynda Barry wrestles with some of her 100 demons in her signature quirky, irrepressible voice.

Welcome to the world of Marlys and Maybonne "Lynda Barry's comics were my YA, before YA really even existed. She's been writing teen stories with an incredibly clear voice since the early 80s. [The Greatest Of Marlys] is raw, ugly, hilarious, and poignant." --Raina Telgemeier, Smile & Drama Eight-year-old Marlys Mullen is Lynda Barry's most famous character from her long-running and landmark comic strip Ernie Pook's Comeek, and for good reason! Given her very own collection of strips, Marlys shines in all her freckled and pig-tailed groovy glory. The trailer park where she and her family live is the grand stage for her dramas big and small. Joining Marlys are her teenaged sister Maybonne, her younger brother Freddie, their mother, and an offbeat array of family members, neighbors, and classmates. Marlys's enthusiasm for life knows no bounds. Her childhood is one where the neighborhood kids stay out all night playing kickball; the desire to be popular is unending; bullies are unrepentant; and parents make few appearances. The Greatest Of Marlys spotlights Barry's masterful skill of chronicling childhood through adolescence in all of its wonder, awkwardness, humor, and pain.

The outrageous humor of cult favorite and syndicated cartoonist Lynda Barry--one of the world's "shrewdest chroniclers of sex, love and romance" (Mother Jones).

In this twisting time-travel thriller, a woman faints on the eve of her wedding—and awakens at the turn of the century in her grandmother’s body . . . The night before she is supposed to get married, Shay Garrett has no idea that a glimpse into her grandmother’s antique Chinese mirror will completely transform her seemingly ordinary life. But after a bizarre blackout, she wakes up to find herself in the same house—but in the year 1900. Even stranger, she realizes she is now living in the body of her grandmother, Brandy McCabe, as a young woman. Meanwhile, Brandy, having looked into the same mirror, awakens in Shay’s body in the present day—and discovers herself pregnant. As Rachael—the woman who links these two generations, mother to one and daughter to another—weaves back and forth between two time periods, this imaginative thriller explores questions of family, identity, and love. Courageous, compassionate Shay finds herself fighting against the confines of a society still decades away from women’s liberation, while Brandy struggles to adapt to the modern world she has suddenly been thrust into. The truth behind this inexplicable turn of events is more complex than either woman can imagine—and The Mirror is a tribute to the triumph of the female spirit, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. “What happens will surprise you. In the meantime, settle down for a good read.” —The Denver Post