It's in this volume (featuring another two years worth of Pogo strips) that we meet one of Walt Kelly's boldest political caricatures. Folks across America had little trouble equating the insidious wildcat Simple J. Malarkey with the ascendant anti-Communist senator, Joseph McCarthy. The subject was sensitive enough that by the following year a Providence, Rhode Island newspaper threatened to drop the strip if Malarkey's face were to appear in it again. Kelly's response? He had Malarkey appear again but put a bag over the character's head for his next appearance. Ergo, his face did not appear. (Typical of Kelly's layers of verbal wit, the character Malarkey was hiding from was a Rhode Island Red hen, referencing both the source of his need to conceal Malarkey and the underlying political controversy.) The entirety of these sequences can be found in this book. But the Malarkey storyline is only a tiny portion of those rich, eventful two years, which include such classic sequences as con-man Seminole Sam's attempts to corner the market on water (which Porkypine's Uncle Baldwin tries to one-up by cornering the market on dirt); a return engagement of Pup Dog and Houndog's blank-eyed Little Orphan Annie parody Li'l Arf and Nonny; Churchy La Femme going in drag to deliver a love poem he wrote, Cyrano style, on Deacon Mush-rat's behalf to Sis Boombah (the aforementioned hen); P.T. Bridgeport's return to the swamp in search of new talent; and of course two rousing choruses of Deck Us All With Boston Charlie.

Little Mouse gets dressed to go to the barn with his mother, brothers, and sisters.

For Pogo fans everywhere, young and old, here's the best and brightest of the comic strip superstar and his creator, Walt Kelly, all in one volume. Who can forget Howland Owl, Porky Pine, Albert the Alligator, Churchy La Femme the Turtle, and of course Pogo Possum? Take a delightful inside look at one of the funniest, most popular and literate comic strips of all time. The Best of Pogo features Walt Kelly's landmark cartoons in a marvelous scrapbook of anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories. From Kelly's earliest cartoon creations to his legendary stories in pictures and words syndicated across the country, it's a warm and witty tribute to the man and his magical menagerie of lovable swamp "critters." You get the whole wonderful story, including: rare presyndicated Pogo comics ; the immortal Whirled Series of Baseball ; all the lyrics to "Deck Us All with Boston Charlie" ; and Pogo's real-life presidential campaigns, with first-hand reports on the wild victory parties that followed. Plus, a special feature - "MAD Goes Pogo," a reprint of Pogo Possum parodies from MAD magazine. All this and much more, as you relive the life and times of the Okefenokee Swamp - its timeless humor, its mischief, satire and political controversy.

Bruce is a bear who struggles with fun. When Bruce says no to fun one too many times, Nibbs, Thistle, and Rupert secretly wish Bruce was more fun. And the geese secretly wish for sandwiches. The next morning, all their wishes come true. Bruce is cheerful. Bruce is adventurous. Bruce has pizzazz . . . and a basket of sandwiches. Except Bruce is not exactly Bruce. He’s Kevin, Bruce’s fun cousin. Nobody knows that Bruce has gone fishing. Nobody knows that Kevin is coming. Nobody even knows who Kevin is. But, everyone quickly learns one thing: Kevin LOVES fun. Is it possible that too much fun is no fun at all?

"Volume 4, in addition to presenting all of 1955 and 1956's daily Pogo strips complete and in order for the first time anywhere (many of them once again scanned from original syndicate proofs, for their crispest and most detailed appearance ever), of Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips "Under the Bamboozle Bush" also contains all 104 Sunday strips from these two years, presented in lush full color for the first time since their original appearance in Sunday newspaper sections 60 years ago - plus the usual in-depth "Swamp Talk" annotations by R.C. Harvey, spectacular samples of Kelly's work scanned from original art, and a whole lot more!"--Publisher's website.

This early work by Robert E. Howard was originally published in 1936 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Black Canaan' is a horror short story set in the American South. Robert Ervin Howard was born in Peaster, Texas in 1906. During his youth, his family moved between a variety of Texan boomtowns, and Howard - a bookish and somewhat introverted child - was steeped in the violent myths and legends of the Old South. At fifteen Howard began to read the pulp magazines of the day, and to write more seriously. The December 1922 issue of his high school newspaper featured two of his stories, 'Golden Hope Christmas' and 'West is West'. In 1924 he sold his first piece - a short caveman tale titled 'Spear and Fang' - for $16 to the not-yet-famous Weird Tales magazine. Howard's most famous character, Conan the Cimmerian, was a barbarian-turned-King during the Hyborian Age, a mythical period of some 12,000 years ago. Conan featured in seventeen Weird Tales stories between 1933 and 1936 which is why Howard is now regarded as having spawned the 'sword and sorcery' genre. The Conan stories have since been adapted many times, most famously in the series of films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"A true natural genius of comic art." — Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey Starting in 1948, Walt Kelly's newspaper-based comic strip Pogo lampooned sociopolitical issues from the Red Scare to the environmental movement. A gifted cartoonist who began his career at Walt Disney Studios, Kelly explored the virtues and follies of human nature with a lively cast of Okefenokee Swamp critters. Kind-hearted Pogo Possum headed the crew, which included intellectual Howland Owl; exuberant Albert Alligator; poetic mud turtle Churchy LaFemme; romantic hound dog Beauregard Bugleboy; and other impish personalities. Even readers too young to appreciate the strip's satirical elements were charmed by the eccentric creatures and their offbeat wordplay. This compilation features comics from the election year of 1952, during which Pogo's neighbors encouraged the reluctant possum to run for president. Their rallying cry, "I Go Pogo," parodied Dwight D. Eisenhower's "I Like Ike" slogan and provided real-life fans with a write-in candidate. Kelly's sly humor and flair for creative language—replete with malapropisms and nonsense verse — retain their imaginative verve for comics enthusiasts of the twenty-first century.

From the acclaimed author of Floating in My Mother’s Palm and Children and Fire, a stunning story about ordinary people living in extraordinary times—“epic, daring, magnificent, the product of a defining and mesmerizing vision” (Los Angeles Times). Trudi Montag is a Zwerg—a dwarf—short, undesirable, different, the voice of anyone who has ever tried to fit in. Eventually she learns that being different is a secret that all humans share—from her mother who flees into madness, to her friend Georg whose parents pretend he’s a girl, to the Jews Trudi harbors in her cellar. Ursula Hegi brings us a timeless and unforgettable story in Trudi and a small town, weaving together a profound tapestry of emotional power, humanity, and truth.

"I slept with the lights on for two weeks."Remote Alabama. Cut off by rain flooded rivers: a veteran with a secret, a runaway teenage boy, and a Cherokee medicine woman face terrifying creatures - the Long Claws, a clan of cunning beings equipped to track and kill with speed and strength like nothing seen before.REVIEWERS"powerful story, characters, and chills - this book has everything""darkly fabulous storytelling""the best horror I've read since Stephen King hit the scene""he creates a hellish world with horrific creatures""thrilled and impressed by Peek's ability to pull readers into his story""half afraid to turn the page""amazing flair for description""Grisham-like Painted House feel to the simple rhythms he portrays""I read Longclaws straight through. This guy is a GREAT story Teller!""it made me believe it could be real"