Don’t Be Scared… They’re Only CLOWNS! He’s not really a clown...he’s just your dentist! That’s not a clown...in the back seat of your car! Sleep well...there’s no clown under the bed! Don’t look behind you, don’t turn your head, don’t open your eyes… …or you’ll see nothing but 30 single-sided pages of clowns for you to color... ...WON'T THAT BE FUN?

Bad clowns—those malicious misfits of the midway who terrorize, haunt, and threaten us—have long been a cultural icon. This book describes the history of bad clowns, why clowns go bad, and why many people fear them. Going beyond familiar clowns such as the Joker, Krusty, John Wayne Gacy, and Stephen King’s Pennywise, it also features bizarre, lesser-known stories of weird clown antics including Bozo obscenity, Ronald McDonald haters, killer clowns, phantom-clown abductors, evil-clown panics, sex clowns, carnival clowns, troll clowns, and much more. Bad Clowns blends humor, investigation, and scholarship to reveal what is behind the clown’s dark smile.

A short history of the earliest clowns -- The despicable rogue Mr. Punch -- The unnatural nature of the evil clown -- Coulrophobia: Fear of clowns -- Bad clowns of the Ink -- Bad clowns of the Screen -- Bad clowns of the Song -- The carnal carnival: Buffoon boffing and clown sex -- Creepy, criminal, and killer clowns -- Activist clowns -- Crazed caged carny clowns -- The phantom clowns -- Troll clowns and the future of bad clowns

A gorgeously rendered graphic novel of Daniel Alarcón’s story City of Clowns. From the author of The King Is Always Above the People, which was longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award for Fiction. Oscar “Chino” Uribe is a young Peruvian journalist for a local tabloid paper. After the recent death of his philandering father, he must confront the idea of his father’s other family, and how much of his own identity has been shaped by his father’s murky morals. At the same time, he begins to chronicle the life of street clowns, sad characters who populate the violent and corrupt city streets of Lima, and is drawn into their haunting, fantastical world. This remarkably affecting story by Daniel Alarcón was included in his acclaimed first book, War by Candlelight, and now, in collaboration with artist Sheila Alvarado, it takes on a new, thrilling form. This graphic novel, with its short punches of action and images, its stark contrasts between light and dark, truth and fiction, perfectly corresponds to the tone of Chino’s story. With the city of Lima as a character, and the bold visual language from the story, City of Clowns is moving, menacing, and brilliantly vivid.

Sicko the clown wasn't always “a clown gone bad.” He had a life. Growing up in a world populated with clowns, Sicko was at first confused with what to do with himself because he couldn't juggle nor ride a unicycle or be in the circus. He tried being a Hobo but it didn't suit him. And he didn't fit in with the Bumpkins in the hot chocolate houses. But he could play the bongos and found a new calling as a musician. At the peak of his success, he got drafted into the Clown Kingdom's Royal Fighting Fools, where he trained as a deadly Nincompoop before shipping off to Nam. But after his best friend, Buddy-Buddy, is captured and tortured by mimes, leaving him disfigured, Sicko can only think of revenge as mimes remain at the heart of Sicko's problems. All mimes must die!

Creepy clowns are everywhere, sighted all over the world. They are watching YOUR children. Why?Put your best face on... The circus is coming to town!A creepy clown stares at a young boy from the woods next to his grade school. The boy tells his father. The father wants to get to the bottom of it. Who are they? What do they want? Questions he never should have asked... The answers are here. This is the terrifying story of a desperate father, a simple medicated "beauty lotion," a secret clinical study at a big Pharmaceutical company north of Chicago, and how SERIOUS COMPLICATIONS changed MY life forever. Nothing will be the same again, for me OR for you. Creepy Clowns: Who are they? What do they want? The answer is as clear as the big red nose on your face.

In his debut short fiction collection, A Scholar of Pain, Grant Jerkins remains—as the Washington Post put it—“Determined to peer into the darkness and tell us exactly what he sees.” Here, the depth of that darkness is on evident, oftentimes poetic, display. We meet, and come reluctantly to sympathize with: The office chair-sniffer who only wants to be loved, a bottomed-out cough-syrup addict, a terminally ill school bus driver who takes her young riders on a drunken suicide run, and a cheated-on housewife who discovers her husband’s other woman isn’t a woman at all, but a…No spoilers here. Just read it. Read all sixteen of these deviant diversions. Peer into the darkness. Praise for A SCHOLAR OF PAIN: “A Scholar of Pain hits that literary sweet spot: Could be crime fiction, might be southern gothic—or even horror. The stories are funny as hell, too. And compassionate. In fact, Jerkins’ voice is amongst the most compassionate I’ve heard, because he extends it to some hideous wretches in a way that underscores the humanity I share with them. I heartily recommend Grant Jerkins.” —Jedidiah Ayers, author of Peckerwood and Fierce Bitches “Sophisticated. Elegant. Sleek and demolishing.” —Ryan Sayles, author of Subtle Art of Brutality and Warpath “A joyous celebration of the darkness within us all. With A Scholar of Pain, Grant Jerkins gives an unflinching look—with no anger or judgment—into the realities that surround us. It’s one thing to write a convincing and compassionate love story, but writing one that involves a sex doll, well that’s another thing completely.” —DH Tuck, author of Formica