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From the New York Times best-selling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires comes an affectionate, nostalgic, and unflinchingly funny celebration of the horror fiction boom of the 1970s and ’80s.

Take a tour through the horror paperback novels of two iconic decades . . . if you dare. Page through dozens and dozens of amazing book covers featuring well-dressed skeletons, evil dolls, and knife-wielding killer crabs! Read shocking plot summaries that invoke devil worship, satanic children, and haunted real estate! Horror author and vintage paperback book collector Grady Hendrix offers killer commentary and witty insight on these trashy thrillers that tried so hard to be the next Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby. Complete with story summaries and artist and author profiles, this unforgettable volume dishes on familiar authors like V. C. Andrews and R. L. Stine, plus many more who’ve faded into obscurity. Also included are recommendations for which of these forgotten treasures are well worth your reading time and which should stay buried.

Acclaimed artist Andrew DeGraff has created beautiful hand-painted maps of all your favorite films, from King Kong and North by Northwest to The Princess Bride, Fargo, Pulp Fiction, even The Breakfast Club—with the routes of major characters charted in meticulous cartographic detail. Follow Marty McFly through the Hill Valley of 1985, 1955, and 1985 once again as he races Back to the Future. Trail Jack Torrance as he navigates the corridors of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. And join Indiana Jones on a globe-spanning journey from Nepal to Cairo to London on his quest for the famed Lost Ark. Each map is presented in an 11-by-14-inch format, with key details enlarged for closer inspection, and is accompanied by illuminating essays by film critic A. D. Jameson, who speaks to the unique geographies of each film. This beautifully designed atlas is an essential reference for anyone who loves great art and great films.

Join the youngest crew of astronauts ever to make the trip to Mars! Faced with fearsome dangers and difficult decisions, your choices will determine your fate on the Red Planet. Will you achieve the mission and return home to Earth safely, successfully earning the title of the youngest astronaut ever to make it to Mars? Or will you be forced to turn back early? This thrilling adventure offers twenty-two possible endings, but only ONE leads to the ultimate success! With eye-catching comic book style illustrations and information based on scientific facts related to Mars and space exploration, young readers will be over the moon with this entertaining addition to the Worst-Case Scenario series!

Now in paperback, Fred Van Lente’s brilliant debut is both a savagely funny homage to the Golden Age of Mystery and a thoroughly contemporary show-business satire.

As the story opens, nine comedians of various acclaim are summoned to the island retreat of legendary Hollywood funnyman Dustin Walker. The group includes a former late-night TV host, a washed-up improv instructor, a ridiculously wealthy “blue collar” comic, and a past-her-prime Vegas icon. All nine arrive via boat to find that every building on the island is completely deserted. Marooned without cell phone service or wifi signals, they soon find themselves being murdered one by one. But who is doing the killing, and why?

A darkly clever take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None and other classics of the genre, Ten Dead Comedians is a marvel of literary ventriloquism, with hilarious comic monologues in the voice of every suspect. It’s also an ingeniously plotted puzzler with a twist you’ll never see coming!

A woman's place is saving the universe.
 
Think comic books can’t feature strong female protagonists? Think again! In The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen you’ll meet the most fascinating exemplars of the powerful, compelling, entertaining, and heroic female characters who’ve populated comic books from the very beginning. This spectacular sisterhood includes costumed crimebusters like Miss Fury, super-spies like Tiffany Sinn, sci-fi pioneers like Gale Allen, and even kid troublemakers like Little Lulu. With vintage art, publication details, a decade-by-decade survey of industry trends and women’s roles in comics, and spotlights on iconic favorites like Wonder Woman and Ms. Marvel, The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen proves that not only do strong female protagonists belong in comics, they’ve always been there.

Learn the answers to modern food and etiquette questions with this beautifully illustrated guide for curious foodies everywhere.

For adventurous foodies everywhere, How to Eat a Lobster is the perfect handbook for handling every tricky dining situation you can imagine (and a few you can’t) with grace, style, and minimal splatter. With easy-to-follow instructions and helpful illustrations, you’ll learn the answers to 50 food-related questions you’ve been afraid to ask. (What do you do when crawfish arrive? Twist and snap off the head. Peel the tail and pull out the meat. Then suck the juices from the head. Seriously: you’re supposed to!)

Topics include:
• How to Eat Crawfish
• How to Eat Raw Oysters
• How to Eat Escargots
• How to Open a Coconut
• How to Slice a Mango
• How to Use Chopsticks
• How to Hold a Wineglass
• How to Use Bread as a Utensil
• How to Eat Sushi
• How to Recover from a Tongue Burn
• And more!

Equal parts cheat sheet and cheerleader, How to Eat a Lobster not only shows you how to open a coconut—it shows you that you can!