American Rigolos

's first 5-issue arc follows two stories: one written by Scott Snyder and one written by the master of horror himself, Stephen King, both with art by future superstar Rafael Albuquerque. Snyder's tale follows Pearl, a young woman living in 1920s Los Angeles, who is brutally turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European monsters who tortured and abused her. And in King's story set in the days of America's Wild West, readers learn the origin of Skinner Sweet, the original American vampire – a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before. Stephen King it seems will no longer be around for the succeeding issues, with the series gaining popular acclaim and following, and firmly entrenched in the public mind as more than capably handled by Scott Snyder. Issue #6 departs from the dual-story issues that comprised the initial arc, the title shifts locations, the writer (Snyder) shifts characters, and the artist shifts his style. Set in Nevada in 1935, as The Great Depression has settled onto the United States, this issue swings over to Las Vegas. Set during the time that the Hoover Dam was being built, Snyder brings in some new characters and returns a few others. Another great ongoing from Vertigo that has Entertainment Weekly gushing, "At a time when vampire stories engulf pop culture, this one's actually fresh and original." All high-quality Minutemen scans.

There is a group of compelling, bewitching folk songs that are part of American's cultural DNA: murder ballads, work songs, sea shanties. Though many of them originated in the British Isles, immigrants brought them here and filtered them through American experiences, making them part of the foundation of American music.

This is a tour-de-force new work by rising indie comics star Gene Yang. “American Born Chinese” maps the adolescent Chinese-American experience through three separate but interwoven stories. One story centres on Jin Wang, a Chinese-American student at an all-white California high school. Jin is plagued by jocks and bullies, so when another Chinese student transfers to the school, Jin wants nothing to do with him. Next is a comic update of the legendary story of the Monkey King, an ancient Chinese morality tale. Finally, there’s the gross and surreal stereotype of Chin-Kee, the ultimate negative Chinese cliche, complete with a sitcom-style “laugh track”. These three apparently unrelated tales come together in an astonishing climax – all with a mighty blast of humour, surprising poignancy and skilled artistry.