Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack

In these dark and gloomy days (one can say its the recession, one can say its the Irish summer) we all need a laugh to lighten up.

The Perry Bible Fellowship was easily one of the funniest and strangest comic strips online, a popular and critical darling.

And then one day Nicholas Gurewitch, the author, decided to just call it quits.

Luckily Dark Horse stepped in, taking the initiative of collecting all the comic strips in one handy volume.

I cannot recommend this enough if you're looking for something unique, smart and funny, but heck, don't just take my word for it, check out the entirety of the strips by yourself and then tell me if that's not a collection you want to own.

Be aware, though, some of the strips are NSFW and might contain mature situations.

[Bruno]

The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack by Nicholas Gurewitch.
Published by Dark Horse Comics, available in-store.

War, what is it good for?

Fantastic retro comics, is what. Just arrived in Secondhand, old (and highly collectible) issues of Commando, plus Conflict Libraries, War Picture Library and Combat Picture Library series, not to mention some volumes of the Cowboy Adventure Library and Sabre series.

The pocket-sized Commando, or Commando War Stories in Pictures to give them their full title, were launched by DC Thomson & Co. in 1961 and celebrated its 4,000 issue in 2007:

Classic World War II movies are one source of inspiration for the stiff-upper-lip Tommy, but for those who came of age during the 60s and 70s, memories of childhood comics are perhaps as great a contribution.

Writing in the Observer, Will Hutton made the link: "For those who lived in the world of Commando comics, in which the dashing squaddy or Spitfire pilot always heroically triumphed in a trial of honest Brit against foreign evil, the contrast is bitter..."

In their heyday, British war comics, like Victor ("True stories of men at war"), Valiant and Warlord, shifted by the Bedford lorry load. Commando, which began in 1961, is all that remains of this history, and continues to sell healthily to this day. Four editions are published per fortnight, and this week the 4,000th issue goes on sale, snappily titled "Aces All".

Each pocket-sized edition houses a 63-page black and white saga of square jawed heroes and dastardly villains (mostly Teutonic types typically exclaiming "Achtung!" when surprised, "Schnell!" when in a rush, and "Aieee!" when shot), clashing mostly on the WWII battlefield.

Available at Chapters Secondhand while stocks last.

Iain Banks signing

We would like to thank everyone who braved the rain and came along to the Iain Banks signing yesterday. Everything went off without a hitch and the long queue of fans were taken care of in record time.

Iain has a new book, Transition, coming in early September, which he talks about in an interview here. Until then you can enjoy his fantastic back-list of both sci-fi and literary fiction novels, all available in-store.

A big thank you to the inimitable Mr Banks from all here at Chapters. Hope you enjoy the whiskey.