Hey Kids! Comics! May Be Books
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Below are some comic strip and cartoon books scheduled for May 2025 release (or so).
Images and links from a variety of publishers and outlets,
though ordering through your local comic shop or independent book store is a good idea.
Let’s start with one I just learned about that should have been on the February list:
Party Line Comics by Dik Browne (review)
In the early 1950s, cartoonist Dik Browne, best known as the creator of Hagar the Horrible and as the original artist on Hi & Lois, drew “Life’s That Way…”, a series of six-panel comic strips to be used in ads for local telephone companies. These stories focused on teaching proper phone etiquette, particularly for users of party lines, when several households shared a single phone line.
the bus 3 by Paul Kirchner
The bus is back!
Paul Kirchner revives his famous coach, in all its mesmerizing variations, to extend the bus series, the comic strip he started in 1979 in the pages of the American comics magazine Heavy Metal and continued in 2015 with the bus 2.
Each panel is an adventure that takes the commuter – a bald and bespectacled fellow – to an unpredictable destination. His body is thrown from one setting to another, cut to pieces, swallowed, or literally unknitted, constantly on the verge of vanishing and enduring all kinds of metamorphoses.
Krazy Kat. The Complete Color Sundays 1935–1944 by George Herriman
A complete facsimile of George Herriman’s Krazy Kat Sunday pages in color 1935–44. One of the first comics to be considered a work of art, Krazy Kat delights readers with its characterization, visual-verbal creativity, and the slapstick shenanigans between Krazy and Ignatz Mouse. This book comes with an illustrated introduction by Alexander Braun. – – Hardcover, 10.4 x 14.4 in., 7.81 lb, 632 pages
The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1928-1930
Meticulously and lovingly restored, this Eisner Award–nominated series showcases one of the most renowned and celebrated comic strips in the art form’s history. This exquisite, generously sized volume finishes up the 1920s collecting the acclaimed and groundbreaking Krazy Kat Sunday strips in an archival hardcover edition. – – Pages: 228, Format: Hardback Color Black-and-white, Dimensions: 11.3″ × 13.8″
With incisive essays by Herriman scholars, and reproductions of rare Herriman ephemera, this entry in our ongoing series makes it plain to Herriman fans and newcomers alike why historians, scholars, and cartoonists consider this to be the best comic strip ever created.
Insectopolis: A Natural History by Peter Kuper (review) (exhibit) (author interview)
Award-winning cartoonist Peter Kuper transports readers through the 400-million-year history of insects and the remarkable entomologists who have studied them.
This visually immersive work of graphic nonfiction dives into a world where ants, cicadas, bees, and butterflies visit a library exhibition that displays their stories and humanity’s connection to them throughout the ages. Kuper’s thrilling visual feast layers history and science, color and design, to tell the remarkable tales of dung beetles navigating by the stars, hawk-size prehistoric dragonflies hunting prey, and mosquitoes changing the course of human history.
The Lockhorns: Someday We’ll Look Back on This and Quickly Change the Subject by Hoest and Reiner
A relatable and hilarious one-panel comic about love, marriage, and everything in between, THE LOCKHORNS reaches millions of readers every day with some of the sharpest one-liners in the history of the funnies. This giftable hardcover book showcases hand-picked one-panel comics from the past twenty years and also includes an interview with the writer of THE LOCKHORNS, Bunny Hoest
My Degeneration: A Journey Through Parkinson’s by Peter Dunlap-Shohl
How does one deal with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease at the age of forty-three? My Degeneration, by former Anchorage Daily News staff cartoonist Peter Dunlap-Shohl, answers the question with humor and passion, recounting the author’s attempt to come to grips with the “malicious whimsy” of this chronic, progressive, and disabling disease. This graphic novel tracks Dunlap-Shohl’s journey through depression, the worsening symptoms of the disease, the juggling of medications and their side effects, the impact on relations with family and community, and the raft of mental and physical changes wrought by the malady.
Dethany and The Phantom of the Swim Team by Bill Holbrook
“Dethany and the Phantom of the Swim Team” is a prequel to the popular Dethany character from the hit newspaper strip “On the Fastrack.”
When Dethany Dendrobia, the cheerful 12-year-old Goth, joins the neighborhood swim team, she assumes she is just helping out friends who need an extra person to qualify for meets. Outdoor sports are definitely beyond her comfort zone, but Dethany relishes the opportunity to spend the summer with her best budsHowever, not long after her first meet, mysterious incidents begin happening at the pool, and Dethany is the prime suspect.
Note: “Dethany and the Phantom of the Swim Team” is published by Hermes Press so there is no guarantee for publication date (it was originally scheduled for February 2025). For example “The Phantom Coloring Book” from Hermes has been delayed so often that the Chronicle Chamber is wondering if it will ever be available:
January 2024 the Hermes Press Colouring in Book was announced and available for pre order. 15 months later the book is still showing on their website and other book websites available for pre order.
Some phans have been wondering what is the latest on this book?
From what we understand the pre orders so far for this book have been underwhelming and is a huge reason why the book has not yet gone to print.
The sceptic in me wonders if the low pre orders are affected by the non-publication of the Art of the Phantom book? But also…
Anyway
The Phantom Coloring Book by Lee Falk, Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy, and Sy Barry
The Phantom: The Official Coloring Book! This book is a tribute to Phantom artists from Ray Moore to Sy Barry and beyond. Hermes Press has been reprinting The Phantom for over 10 years, but now we’re doing something a little bit different. Springboarding off the success of our Dark Shadows Coloring Book, we have continued onward to the Ghost Who Walks! There are 80+ pages of content based on both official Phantom materials and independent drawings done by Phantom artists over the years. See The Phantom, Devil, Diana, Hero, and more in a way they’ve never been done before! And then color them in yourself!
Pogo vol. 9 delayed again. In other not-yet-being-published news is the years long rescheduling of Pogo The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips: Volume 9: A Distant Past Yet to Come has once again been pushed back another year to May of 2026. This volume was first supposedly coming our way in 2023(?). Volume 8 was issued in 2022.
Spent A Comic Novel By Alison Bechdel (review)
The celebrated and beloved New York Times bestselling author of the modern classic Fun Home presents a laugh-out-loud, brilliant, and passionately political work of autofiction.
In Alison Bechdel’s hilariously skewering and gloriously cast new comic novel confection, a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel, running a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont, is existentially irked by a climate-challenged world and a citizenry on the brink of civil war.
Buz Sawyer Vol. 5: Island of the Lotus Eaters by Roy Crane
Ripped from the headlines of the day, these eleven stories propel ace troubleshooter Buz Sawyer from Africa to South America to the Arctic Circle, from the heart of a hurricane to a plague of ravenous locusts. Meanwhile, back home, a femme fatale seduces Buz’s C.O. to steal military secrets. Then, it’s every parent’s worst nightmare — Buz and Christy’s new baby is kidnapped right in the hospital! Roy Crane, dean of the golden age of adventure comic strips, peppers these rollicking tales with rapid-fire action, suspense, intrigue, humor, unforgettable characters, and brilliant art. Now, at last, you can enjoy these stories, unseen since the 1950s.
Emmie & Friends: Entirely Emmie A Graphic Novel By Terri Libenson
MIDDLE SCHOOL
These days, Emmie doesn’t feel so invisible. At least not around her best friends and her crush, Tyler.
Class-clown Joe’s jokes aren’t landing the way they used to. Who doesn’t love a good prank? Apparently not his so-called friends, who don’t even seem to care if he’s around.
When their class goes on an end-of-year camping trip, Emmie and Joe find themselves stuck together—and expect the worst. But what happens instead turns out to be entirely unexpected.
THE POET Volume Two: 2021 by Todd Webb
THE POET is a daily comic strip that celebrates life’s little moments through the eyes of a poet, his spirited pigeon companion, and even – occasionally – a talking park bench. This volume collects a full year’s worth of comics, inviting you to embark on a charming and life-affirming walk in the park, sure to enchant new readers (of any age) and longtime fans alike.
The gentle world of THE POET is definitively presented here, with a foreword by Patrick McDonnell, a new afterword, and an extensive notes section.
This Makes That: TOON Level 1 by Ivan Brunetti
In this new Toon Level 1 Reader, noted creator and art professor Ivan Brunetti teaches young readers a playful lesson about how science is all around them.
Ivan Brunetti is back with a comic all about the science projects young readers do with their friends, peers, and classmates in their first years of elementary school. Capturing a STEAM classroom filled with laughs and visual delights.
Snoopy: Doghouse Tales by Charles M. Schulz
Whether he’s sledding in his supper dish, flying his Sopwith Camel on a dangerous mission, or leading Woodstock and friends on a dangerous cliffside hike, Snoopy is a beagle with a nose for adventure. The rest of the time he can be found at his doghouse, waiting for supper or writing on his trusty typewriter. Featuring a fun and uplifting series of full-color Peanuts comic strips by Charles Schulz selected especially for young readers, Doghouse Tales follows the adventures of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Woodstock, Snoopy’s brother Spike, and the entire Peanuts gang.
Lore Olympus: Volume Eight by Rachel Smythe
Scandalous gossip, wild parties, and forbidden love—the Greek tale of Hades and Persephone gets a romantic modern update in the gorgeously illustrated, Eisner Award-winning Lore Olympus, including a brand new bonus short story!
“You have no authority here.”
Revelations rock Olympus as Persephone’s trial ends, threatening to throw the gods into a new war.
This volume collects episodes 180–206 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus.
This edition features a brand-new, exclusive short story from creator Rachel Smythe
JMB: The Unseen Art of John M. Burns by John Dakin (preview)
John M. Burns was one of Britain’s, if not the world’s, finest continuity artists. In a career spanning over 60 years, he produced he drew newspaper strips: The Seekers; Danielle; George and Lynne; Modesty Blaise; Eartha; Jane; and Psycops to name but a few. Although always in demand, John found time between his numerous long term work commitments to help John Dakin in his quest to revive the British newspaper comic strip. Unfortunately this revitalization never happened, but over a 15 year period, both Johns created sexy (and often unclothed) new characters — spies, assassins, hookers, artist models…these are full color pages that until now have barely been seen by the public.
Current Amazon Best Sellers in Comic Strips
May Sale! The University Press of Mississippi is offering 55% off on their book titles through May 23, 2025. Here’s their “Comic Studies” pages.
feature image by Patrick McDonnell whose last book, Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story, has been nominated for a 2025 Eisner Award in the Best Graphic Album—Reprint category. While his upcoming Mutts: The Little Things collection will be in our July list.
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