Parasyte Volume 1

Grisly and surreal, this story of an alien invasion gives the phrase "talk to the hand" a whole new meaning. Alien spores roughly the size of tennis balls fall to earth one night; from within crawl sluglike creatures that burrow their way into the brains of humans, effectively killing them and taking over their bodies. Young Shinichi is wearing headphones when one tries to attack him, and it ends up taking over his hand instead. The hand talks to him—in time, he names it Migi ("right")—and begins devouring books to learn more about the new "host race." Meanwhile, other invaders are devouring people, touching off a worldwide string of horrid murders; the invaders can sense one another, and a clue in a late chapter hints at some sort of purpose for their trip to Earth. Violence is graphic and often shocking, depicted in a style reminiscent of western comics and H.R. Giger. The ordinary nature of the rest of the illustration gives the whole book an unsettling edge, a sort of subliminal "it could happen anywhere" vibe. A cult favorite manga, this was originally released in the U.S. by Tokyopop in the '90s, but Del Rey is presenting a new translation and it should find an eager audience. (May)