Strange Suspense

Before Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, the legendary comic book artist Steve Ditko was conjuring all manners of horrors at his drawing table. In his first two years in the industry (1953 and 1954), Ditko drew tales of macabre suspense that were not yet hobbled by the imminent Comics Code Authority (adopted in October 1954). These stories featured graphic bloodshed, dismemberment and blood-curdling acid baths as the ugly end to the lives of the dark and twisted inhabitants of Steve Ditko’s imagination. Strange Suspense features spectacular full-color reprints of every story from those first two years of his career.

When Finn Learson staggers out of a stormy sea into a village on the Shetland Isles, he brings a secret with him. While the other villagers are enchanted by the stranger, Robbie suspects he's hiding something. Haunted by tales of the Selkie Folk, Robbie sees the clues everywhere -- the strange coin, the missing ship, Finn's love for Robbie's sister and her golden hair. But can Robbie convince the others in time to save his sister?

"Strange and haunting, a gothic novel with a modern consciousness." —Philippa Gregory "A haunting, sophisticated story about a woman discovering the truth about herself and the elusive, possibly illusive, nature of genius." —Sunday Times "Mesmerizing, haunting, imbued with a complete sense of historical verisimilitude" —Times Literary Supplement "A psychologically haunting and disturbing tale as full of mystery, exotic foreign places, and questions of parentage as any penned by her protagonist." —Library Journal "Thrilling and heartbreaking, a gothic novel with emotional heart and depth." —Foreword Reviews "A darkly mischievous novel about love, obsession and the burden of charisma, played out against the backdrop of Venice's watery, decadent glory." —Sarah Dunant "A mesmerizing story of love and obsession in nineteenth-century Venice: dark and utterly compelling." —Natasha Solomons Set in bustling Regency England and decaying Venice, A Man of Genius portrays a psychological journey from safety into secrecy and obsession. After a troubled childhood, Ann achieves independence earning her living as an author of Gothic novels. Within a group of male writers, she meets and is enthralled by the supposed poetic genius, Robert James. They become uneasy lovers. Ann and Robert travel from London through a Europe exhausted by the Napoleonic Wars. They arrive in a Venice of spies and intrigue, where their relationship becomes tortuous and Robert descends into near madness. Forced to flee with a stranger, Ann delves into her past to be jolted by a series of revelations about her lover, her parentage, the stranger, and herself.

The co-creator of Spider-Man will shock you with these twisted tales in the fourth volume of The Ditko Archives. Five years before Steve Ditko began work on his now legendary co-creations for Marvel Comics, the Amazing Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, he was producing some of his best work in near anonymity for Charlton Comics. Like its predecessors, Impossible Tales: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 4 features over 200 meticulously restored full-color pages of Ditko in his early prime―stories that have never seen a proper reprinting until now, thrilling stories of suspense, mystery, haunted houses, and unsuspecting victims all delineated in Ditko’s wildly idiosyncratic, masterful style.

Comic Story:The comic reprints from Escamilla Comics are reproduced from actual classic comics, and sometimes reflect the imperfection of books that are decades old.

This catalogue celebrates the recently installed collection of twentieth-century sculpture donated to the J. Paul Getty Trust by the Fran and Ray Stark Trust in 2005. The book takes the reader on a visual tour of the J. Paul Getty Museum's new sculpture gardens and installations, which features twenty-eight works by artists such as Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Ferdinand Leger, Roy Lichtenstein, Rene Magritte, Aristide Maillol, Joan Miro, Henry Moore, and Isamu Noguchi. The book offers essays on the curatorial decisions involved in establishing harmonious groupings; a history of European and American sculpture within built outdoor environments and gardens; and catalogue entries that discuss individual pieces within their broader art-historical contexts."

From the critically acclaimed author of Honor Girl, comes a “sassy, sultry whodunit” (School Library Journal) set in an Atlanta boarding school that’s infused with subversive humor and featuring a cast of bizarre and unforgettable characters. It’s better to know the truth. At least sometimes. Halfway through Friday night’s football game, beautiful cheerleader Brittany Montague—dressed as the giant Winship Wildcat mascot—hurls herself off a bridge into Atlanta’s surging Chattahoochee River. Just like that, she’s gone. Eight days later, Benny Flax and Virginia Leeds will be the only ones who know why. Their search for the truth reveals a web of depravity hiding in plain sight at their picture perfect school. When love becomes obsession, how far will someone go to make their twisted fantasies a reality? And who has the power to stop them? A twisty, turny mystery loaded with the perfect punch of satire and heart.

Named a BEST BOOK by People Magazine, Boston Globe, BookBub, PopSugar, CrimeReads and more. “Brilliant…. A well-crafted psychological thriller.” —The New York Times Book Review When former journalist Rain Winter was twelve years old, she narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. The abductor was eventually found and sent to prison, but years later was released. Then someone delivered real justice--and killed him in cold blood. Now Rain is living the perfect suburban life, spending her days as a stay-at-home mom. But when another criminal who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the case, forced to revisit memories she’s worked hard to leave behind. Is there a vigilante at work? Who is the next target? Why can’t Rain just let it go? Introducing one of the most compelling and original killers in crime fiction today, Lisa Unger takes readers deep inside the minds of both perpetrator and victim, blurring the lines between right and wrong, crime and justice, and showing that sometimes even good people are drawn to do evil things. Don't miss The New Couple in 5B, Lisa Unger's newest psychological thriller about a couple that inherits an apartment with a truly chilling past. Looking for more spine-tingling thrillers? Check out these other titles by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger: Under My Skin Confessions on the 7:45 Last Girl Ghosted Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six The New Couple in 5B (coming March 2024!)