A curious young scientist and comic book fan, Lio is the defender of the defenseless and the inventor of a legion of zombie bunnies. Lio is joined in his day-to-day exploits by his exasperated father, a pet snake named Frank, various imaginary robots, and creepy, crawly monsters.
This strip offers a fresh outlook and appeals to everyone . . . LIO is a comic strip that's edgy, funny, visually stunning, and truly different." --Daily Cartoonist With a feature film in the works from producer David Kirschner (Child's Play, An American Tail), LIO deftly melds the macabre with its brand of dark humor. Having been distinguished by Variety as "a fast riser," Mark Tatulli's morbidly mirthful pantomime comic strip, LIO, is humorously astute and just slightly askew in its perception of the world. Centered around an odd, ghostly-pale child named LIO, and his creepy coterie of friends, including a giant squid named Ishmael and a scythe-carrying grim reaper, LIO; is influenced by cartooning greats Gahan Wilson, Charles Addams, and 19th-century satirist A. J. Volck.
"... Mark Tatulli's Lio isn't just a charmingly macabre strip about a creepy little boy who dabbles in the occult; it's also a daily demonstration of how a skilled artist can express sometimes complicated comedic ideas without any dialogue. . . ."— A.V. Club, The Onion Lio is a small boy with a penchant for befriending squids, monsters, and aliens. He's a curious scientist, a comic-book fan, defender of the defenseless, and creator of an army of zombie bunnies. All without saying a word. Zombies Need Love Too is Lio's fifth book with AMP.
From debut author Lio Min comes BEATING HEART BABY, a tender love letter to internet friendships, anime, and indie rock, perfect for fans of HEARTSTOPPER When Santi arrives in Los Angeles, he hopes he can move past the loss of the childhood internet friend he’d known only as Memo. And in his new high school’s marching band, Santi gets a taste of the community he’s always longed for. Even the clashes with his section leader, Suwa, lead to Suwa opening up to Santi first as a friend, then something more. But when Suwa gets a shot at the rock star life he’s always dreamed of, the very thing that drew them to each other—a shared devotion to art—tests their budding relationship. Over years, Santi and Suwa glide and soar, crash and fall, together and apart. This twinned tale about the transitions between boyhood and manhood, internet confidants and IRL friends, the face in the crowd and the star on the stage, stakes and succeeds in making the bold claim: that Santi and Suwa’s fantastic dreams are as essential as art and love and life itself.
A full-color graphic novel about growing up, growing apart, and monster hunting, perfect for fans of Real Friends and All's Faire in Middle School. Andrew and Russ are best friends obsessed with finding the legendary Jersey Devil that supposedly lives in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, right in their own backyards. They're even making a movie about their desperate search for any sign of the mythical creature. But when Russ starts spending less time on their movie, and more time with artsy, first-chair violinist Tara, Andrew feels the cracks in their friendship begin to form. Suddenly, all of Andrew's favorite things are too babyish for Russ, and Andrew is left trying to figure out where he belongs without his best friend by his side. Then a rash of Jersey Devil sightings excite their small town, and the boys are thrown back together on a fevered hunt. Can Andrew and Russ put aside their differences for one last chance to find the monster of their dreams, or will the break in their friendship be too big to mend?
The Brobots are back in another mecha action meets Mother Goose mash-up! This time they're up against the Semisweet ChocoWitch of Crime Brûlée Mountain and her crumby criminal cohorts. Take a half cup of Power Rangers with a tablespoon of Powerpuff Girls and add a dash of Voltron for a recipe we're calling "Brobots and the Mecha Malarkey"!
"Tatulli's entry into the comics/fiction--hybrid market is one of the best…The target audience will snap this up and beg for more." ---Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "This is full of ghoulish fun, and fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid probably won't want to miss it." ---School Library Journal "Desmond Pucket neatly fills a gap for our readers---it's a step more sophisticated than Diary of a Wimpy Kid but appeals to that reader. It's also so great to have a Halloween/monster/scary stuff series to offer boys that is not Goosebumps." ---Rebecca Waesch, Children's Product Manager, Joseph-Beth Booksellers Meet Desmond Pucket---professor of frightology and master of monsters. Someday Desmond will be famous for his special effects wizardry, but for now he's just trying to make it through sixth grade at Cloverfield Memorial Junior High, which means he needs to stay one step ahead of the school's disciplinary officer, Mr. Needles. The only problem is Desmond just can't stop pulling pranks---like the time he attached a shrieking rubber goblin to the toilet seat in the teachers' bathroom. Mrs. Rubin screamed so loudly her wig flew off! Or the time he put giant motorized worms into the mashed potatoes in the cafeteria. Or the time Desmond and his best friend, Ricky, arranged for a three-headed ghost to crash his sister's slumber party. Rachel still hasn't forgiven him. And now Desmond has to stay prank-free for the rest of the year, or he won't be able to go on the class trip to Crab Shell Pier, home of the Mountain Full of Monsters ride! It's going to be tough, but Desmond has to try. This book includes a section of "Desmond's Notes": instructions for making monster magic (think scary noises, or fake blood) at home!
From debut author Lisa Moore Ramée comes this funny and big-hearted debut middle grade novel about friendship, family, and standing up for what’s right, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give and the novels of Renée Watson and Jason Reynolds. Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she’d also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.) But in junior high, it’s like all the rules have changed. Now she’s suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she’s not black enough. Wait, what? Shay’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shay doesn't think that's for her. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum. Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn't face her fear, she'll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that’s trouble, for real. "Tensions are high over the trial of a police officer who shot an unarmed Black man. When the officer is set free, and Shay goes with her family to a silent protest, she starts to see that some trouble is worth making." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")
Lio from the Gay Division of the Inter-dimensional Association of Cupids must get his arrow privileges back, and Aztec god Ethan must help Lio to believe in love again.