Books published by publisher Iron Circus Comics

A Junior Library Guild Selection "Highly recommended for readers passionate about activism." ― SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review "Sure to inspire today’s youthful generation of tenacious changemakers." ― BOOKLIST, Starred Review "The messages of hope are universal." ― PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review "It’s hard to imagine a world where Banned Book Club could be more relevant than it is right now." ― A.V. CLUB When Kim Hyun Sook started college in 1983 she was ready for her world to open up. After acing her exams and sort-of convincing her traditional mother that it was a good idea for a woman to go to college, she looked forward to soaking up the ideas of Western Literature far from the drudgery she was promised at her family’s restaurant. But literature class would prove to be just the start of a massive turning point, still focused on reading but with life-or-death stakes she never could have imagined. This was during South Korea's Fifth Republic, a military regime that entrenched its power through censorship, torture, and the murder of protestors. In this charged political climate, with Molotov cocktails flying and fellow students disappearing for hours and returning with bruises, Hyun Sook sought refuge in the comfort of books. When the handsome young editor of the school newspaper invited her to his reading group, she expected to pop into the cafeteria to talk about Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Scarlet Letter. Instead she found herself hiding in a basement as the youngest member of an underground banned book club. And as Hyun Sook soon discovered, in a totalitarian regime, the delights of discovering great works of illicit literature are quickly overshadowed by fear and violence as the walls close in. In BANNED BOOK CLUB, Hyun Sook shares a dramatic true story of political division, fear-mongering, anti-intellectualism, the death of democratic institutions, and the relentless rebellion of reading.

"A comic horror tour de force." ― KIRKUS, Starred Review "Tailor-made for fans of postmodern horror comedy." ― BOOKLIST, Starred Review "Howard’s writing is so razor-sharp, it might have blood dripping from it." ― SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review The monster apocalypse is nigh, but never fear! Humanity is under the protection of . . . this crew? It’s a lonely Halloween night for ten-year-old Mona. While everyone else is out having a ghoulishly good time, she’s stuck inside without so much as a scary movie to watch. Just when she figures this evening can’t get much worse, a giant monster appears in her living room, proving her very, very wrong. Running for her life, Mona quickly sees that she’s not alone; trick-or-treating’s been canceled due to monster invasion! A barrier keeping billions of monsters at bay has broken and the horrific hordes have descended upon humanity, wreaking bloody havoc everywhere they stomp, slither, or squish. She may not be equipped for it, but it’s up to Mona to save the world with a team of fellow weirdos by her side. Perhaps they will succeed. Or perhaps this will be . . . The Last Halloween.

“Jesus of Nazareth . . . art thou come to destroy us?” Over the thousands of years since Christ’s Crucifixion, the original gospels detailing his life and death have been edited, sanded down, and molded into the tale millions of people know by heart today. But what if that first fevered, dreamlike writing about this moment of profound historical upheaval were to be resurrected itself, brought back to life in a haunting fable for our modern age? In THE HARROWING OF HELL, Evan Dahm draws upon a wide array of texts both ancient and modern, religious and historical, to create a brand new window into the life and death of Christ, a vision of a dying man’s revolutionary drive and fervent belief in humanity’s salvation from all manner of jailers. Discarding the heroic, demon-smiting Christ that has taken hold in the popular imagination, this story gives us a peaceable and contemplative Christ, defiantly at odds with the ancient and modern desires of His flock. A richly symbolic, densely illustrated allegorical tale that echoes back to us from ancient times, THE HARROWING OF HELL is a fascinating reinterpretation of one of the most important religious figures in history, before He was the god of the wealthy and powerful, before He was recast as the warrior worshipers preferred.

Shadoweyes is the story of an adorably monstrous vigilante in a futuristic dystopia, packed with gorgeous art and teenaged drama. This is a superhero story that re-examines what a superhero can or should be. It's about being young, being different, finding your identity, making friends, losing friends, and making a difference.Sophie Campbell is the Eisner Award-nominated creator of Wet Moon, Mountain Girl, and Can't Look Back. She has worked on Glory, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Jem and the Holograms.

"A light space comedy laced with witty dialogue." ― KIRKUS "A hilariously absurd comic." ― SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL "Breezy, satisfying science fiction." ― FOREWORD Earth has exploded! Here’s what happens next. When planet Earth just kind of blows up without warning, 13-year-old Kay becomes the world's youngest chunk of space debris. She's inadvertently rescued from the vacuum by Arizona, an alien space-waste collector, and Euclid, his erudite cybernetic pet, and from there this unlikely trio blasts off for the most outlandish, hilarious, and occasionally bureaucratic adventure of their lives! As Arizona tries to keep their ship on course and show Kay the ways of the wider universe, her new role as Earth’s sole survivor slowly comes into focus through each increasingly silly stop on their wild intergalactic road trip. The fledgling team is on a search for the next big score and a loose concept called “home,” both answered by the eternal question: “Where to next?”

"Dynamic and thought-provoking." ― KIRKUS Have you heard the one about the skull who borrowed body parts to pass himself off as a human so he could trick the village beauty into marriage? No? Well, what about when the daughters of Frog and Snake had a playdate? Okay, fine. But surely you've heard the story of the crocodiles who voted on whether or not to eat a man that had saved one of their lives? NO? Wow, have we got some stories for you! In this vibrant comics treasury, some of storytelling’s finest talents reimagine classic African folktales with a modern twist. Funny, warm, and wildly inventive, these timeless tales are brand new all over again. Featuring the work of JARRETT WILLIAMS, CARLA SPEED MCNEIL, CHRIS SCHWEIZER, FAITH ERIN HICKS, and many more!

"Just try to put it down.” ― KIRKUS The world is over. All that remains is the Citadel, and the Chancellor who protects it from the hostility beyond its walls. But what can she do when a fearful and angry mob is convinced she brought the world to ruin in the first place, and are determined to make her pay for it by destroying the one bastion of hope the world has left? In her dramatic, richly imagined graphic novel debut, cartoonist Maria Frantz has created a brisk fantasy tale about the fears that lead to war, and the bonds that can keep a stronghold standing against the darkness.

"A must for myth-loving middle schoolers." ― SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL “And they lived happily ever after . . . I assume.” Vengeful spirits, flying ogres, helpful teapots, ghost pepper ghosts, and trickster tigers? That’s just the start of this lively collection of Asian folktales, reimagined and retold in comics! This second volume of the "Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales" graphic novel series is a thrilling, funny, and totally unexpected take on stories spanning the entirety of the Asian continent, with loads of lesser-known myths and legends from Tibet, India, Indonesia, and beyond. Featuring the work of GENE LUEN YANG, NICK DRAGOTTA, BLUE DELLIQUANTI, CARLA SPEED MCNEIL, NINA MATSUMOTO, and many more!

Julian is going to change his life! Get off the couch, get a job, stop disappointing everyone he loves. But first: maybe a couple of pills? Being the mayor's son comes with a lot of pressure: pressure to conform, perform, and live up to expectations. But Julian's opting out of it all. He’s living on his girlfriend's couch, dealing drugs, and watching the days pass, empty and unfulfilled. It . . . wasn't too bad, to be honest. At least, not until Dana flushed his stash and booted him to the street. Alone, adrift, broke, and jonesing, Julian has burned his last bridge, his schemes have gone from “moronic” to “tied up in an abandoned mine shaft,” and the tiny town of Piney Bluff is swiftly running out of safe harbors for its most fortunate son. It’s time for Julian to take some steps, but first he has to find a way out of purgatory. An awkward, wince-worthy, and hilarious companion piece to creator Jon Allen’s previous work, The Lonesome Era, Julian in Purgatory is a wild safari through one kid’s bad choices and worse consequences.

Have you heard the one about the skull who borrowed body parts to pass himself off as a human so he could trick the village beauty into marriage? No? Well, what about when the daughters of Frog and Snake had a playdate? Okay, fine. But surely you've heard the story of the crocodiles who voted on whether or not to eat a man that had saved one of their lives? NO? Wow, have we got some stories for you! In this vibrant comics treasury, some of storytelling's finest talents reimagine classic African folktales with a modern twist. Funny, warm, and wildly inventive, these timeless tales are brand new all over again. Featuring the work of Jarrett Williams, Carla Speed Mcneil, Chris Schweizer, Faith Erin Hicks, and many more!

A masterful collection of tales from the faded border between our day-to-day world and the horrifying unknown on the other side of midnight. An old woman living alone on the edge of a bog gets an unexpected ― and unsettling ― visitor, throwing her quiet life into a long-buried mystery. An isolated backwoods family stumbles into good fortune for a time with a monstrous discovery in the lake behind their house, but that time is running short. And a misfit little girl, struggling to make friends, meets an understanding soul one day at the beach: but why will he only play with her alone at night? All these lonely souls ― and more ― have reached out into the darkness, not knowing what they might find. Around the dark edges of reality lurk unknown beings with unknowable intentions ― ordinary objects can become cursed possessions, entities who seem like friends can become monstrous, and those who seem monstrous can become the truest companions. In this collection of evocative, unnerving slice-of-life horror, five stories explore what happens when one is desperate enough to seek solace in the unnatural, and what might be waiting for us at the Crossroads at Midnight.