D&Q publisher Chris Oliveros was so impressed by the work of these two young artists that he decided to commission each of them to write and draw original illustrated short stories for this new book. Kevin Huizenga and Nicolas Robel represent some of the brightest new talents in comics today. This is the inaugural volume in an annual showcase of new talent, complimenting our annual flagship anthology. This is comics pushing all the boundaries; surreal, edgy stories of wonder that shimmer with visual style and emotional power. They are presented here in a deluxe package to introduce them to new fans of illustrated fiction.

The annual comics anthology of emerging cartoonists The Drawn & Quarterly Showcase new talent series stands out among other anthologies on the shelf, as it is the only anthology to have the focused editorial vision of D+Q editor in chief Chris Oliveros, who is responsible for launching the careers of Adrian Tomine, Seth, Julie Doucet, and more. Five years ago, Oliveros was impressed by the talent and vitality of the new generation of cartoonists. Each volume has been lauded for its short stories, and by selecting the best cartoonists every year, Oliveros gives each artist more than twenty-five pages in the Showcase to spotlight their storytelling and artistic abilities. The D+Q Showcase is where you find tomorrow's critically acclaimed graphic novelists today. Book Four features three North American cartoonists: Dan Zettwoch (The Ghost of Dragon Canoe) of St. Louis, Gabrielle Bell (When I'm Old) of Brooklyn, and Martin Cendreda (Dang!) of Los Angeles. Zettwoch and Bell have both contributed to the award-winning anthology Kramer's Ergot. Cendreda is a frequent contributor to Giant Robot magazine.

D+Q presents the latest anthology of new comics talent from around the world. D+Q publisher Chris Oliveros started the company by publishing a quarterly magazine of the world's best comics talent, which over the years became an award-winning deluxe coffee-table anthology that featured cartoon classics of yesteryear, such as Gasoline Alley, and today's French comics superstars Dupuy & Berberian. Fourteen years later, Oliveros noticed an explosion of new talent from around the globe, so he decided to combine two of the things he does best-publishing anthologies and nurturing talent. The result is the Drawn & Quarterly Showcase, which is one of the most exciting outlets for readers to find new comics talent. Book Three features three cartoonists from around the world: Genevieve Castrée from Canada, Matt Broersma from England, and Sammy Harkham from the United States, whose previous graphic novella, Poor Sailor, was excerpted in the David Eggers-edited Best American Nonrequired Reading 2004.

A dark, bizarre comedy where teachers push boundaries into preposterous places The Follies of Richard Wadsworth showcases Nick Maandag’s signature blend of deadpan satire and exceedingly unexpected plot twists. In “Night School,” a Modern Managerial Business Administration and Operational Leadership class goes awry when a fire alarm brings the Chief to school and he decides to stick around to teach the students a thing or two about leadership—and discipline. “The Follies of Richard Wadsworth” follows the title character, a professor of philosophy, as he begins work as a contract instructor at yet another university. When Wadsworth finds himself smoking reefer at his student’s party and discovers she works at a rub ’n’ tug, an off-kilter plan is hatched. And in “The Disciple,” a yarn about a coed Buddhist monastery, Brother Bananas, the resident gorilla, isn’t the only one having difficulty keeping his lust tucked safely under his robe. In Maandag’s hands—hands that love to toy with morally ambiguous characters and flirt with absurdity—troubled men make poor decisions, unlikable characters gain our sympathies through their very haplessness, and riotous laughs ensue. Maandag has achieved cult acclaim through his self-published and micro-published comics, and The Follies of Richard Wadsworth is his debut book. His mechanical, affectless characters and economical artwork efficiently deliver cringes, heightening the awkward silence and stillness of his hilarious comics.

"The filthy, funny early work from the Tuca & Bertie creator, and Bojack Horseman production designer Before the critically acclaimed animated shows, the bestselling graphic novel Coyote Doggirl, or the humor collections Hot Dog Taste Test and My Dirty Dumb Eyes, cartoonist Lisa Hanawalt was a comic-book-industry sensation with her Ignatz Award-winning minicomic series I Want You. Hanawalt’s outlandish humor and ingenious formalism are evident in the comics collected here. Her love of anthropomorphism and scatology are on full display, all lovingly and grotesquely drawn by Hanawalt in obsessive, unnerving detail. The stars here are She-Moose, who we join sex-toy shopping, and He-Horse, who we learn mid-flight suffers from ornithophobia. The true star of I Want You may just be Hanawalt’s hilarious command of the graphic listicle. “Top Causes of Freeway Accidents” is a prescient pre-BoJack display of Hanawalt’s love for all things equine. “Things We Are Sorry We Did Last Night” includes the murder of all Hanawalt's Google doppelgängers. Whether she’s discussing the daily commute or masturbation, she packs each comic in I Want You with punchy cultural observations and sharp-witted reflections on typically taboo subjects. A master humorist, Hanawalt strikes the perfect balance between drawing the gorgeous and the repugnant, the fantastical and the lifelike, the bizarre and the hilarious—creating a deeply human experience that everyone can relate to."

The annual comics anthology of emerging cartoonists Drawn & Quarterly Showcase is a new-talent anthology and the only annual collection to have the focused visual acumen of the D+Q editor in chief, Chris Oliveros, who scours the globe for three cartoonists to spotlight and introduce to North American readers. More often than not, it is the first time the cartoonists have had the chance to work in full color with twenty-five pages, and on such a wide-reaching visual platform. The series is hailed for its consistent quality and for the superior editorial vision of its short stories, volume after volume. Book Five features Anneli Furmark (Sweden), Amanda Vähämäki (Finland), and T. Edward Bak (United States), with cover art by Vähämäki. Previous Showcases have featured Kevin Huizenga, Jeffrey Brown,Geneviève Castrée, Gabrielle Bell, and Nicolas Robel.

In the two decades since Curses first hit the shelves, River at Night cartoonist Kevin Huizenga has taken his rightful place on a short A-list of comics experimentalists. Deep research and loopy cartooning serve up philosophical musings while maintaining a classic comic-strip devotion to “the gag.” Huizenga remains one of the funniest and smartest cartoonists working today, and now, the very book that heralded his arrival as a talent to watch is available once more in deluxe paperback as the early work of a now true genius. The short stories collected herewith confront the textures of mortality in unique and peculiar ways. Central character Glenn Ganges is a seemingly middle-class, suburbanite whose blank-eyed wonderment at the everyday brings together diverse aspects of our world—like golf, theology, late-night diners, parenthood, politics, Sudanese refugees, and hallucinatory vision—into a complete experience as multifaceted as each of our own lives.