Scenes from an Impending Marriage: A Prenuptial Memoir
Adrian Tomine, Drawn & Quarterly, $9.95 (40p) ISBN 978-1-77046-034-8 
The sweet scenes in this little book are a contrast to the sometimes jaded tone of Tomine's work in the great Optic Nerve series and his previous books, Summer Blonde, Shortcomings, and Sleepwalk. Many have suspected an autobiographical subtext in those previous works, but this intimate tome is billed as the artist's "first nonfiction book." As such, it casts a gentle light on Tomine's nuptials and relationship with Sarah. The two are pictured discussing the guest list, DJ, seating arrangements--in short, all the nightmarish details of wedding planning--and throughout we see their personalities emerge. Adrian starts out insisting he doesn't really want to invite most of his friends, but then gets obsessed over every detail of the invitation's design. Meanwhile, Sarah navigates caterers, florists, and gift registries, fielding Adrian's oddball requests at every turn. We watch as the two get sucked into the vortex of wedding consumerism in spite of themselves. It's a familiar scene, but a sweet one, and the ending is as tender and satisfying as a wedding day should be. A lovely personal book from a great comics creator, and it's sure to end up getting unwrapped at many an engagement party. (Mar.)
Daytripper
Gabriel Bá and Fabio Moon, DC/Vertigo, $19.99 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-4012-2969-6 
A stunning, moving story about one man's life and all the possibilities to be realized or lost along the way. Brothers Bá and Moon take readers through the life of a man named Brás de Oliva Domingos, selecting a series of individual events of great significance to Brás, showing each as if it could be the day Brás dies, and in so doing creating an examination of family, friendship, love, art, life, and death that urges the reader to turn the same careful inspection on their own life. Central is the relationship between Brás, who is first seen as a disgruntled writer stuck in a job writing obituaries, and his father, Benedito de Oliva Domingos, a famous author. Although each section can be years apart, themes all beautifully tie in throughout the work; characters develop as more is learned about them as the story jumps back and forth in time; and moments of Brás' life take on entirely new meanings as events from his possible pasts or futures cast them into new lights. Moon and Bá's artwork is as impressive as their writing, and aided by colorist Dave Stewart the artists/writers render gorgeous cities and landscapes from Brazil across several decades, adding in touches of the surreal when the story calls for it. This is an intense work that promises to bring the reader along on a personal and rewarding journey. (Feb.)
Psychiatric Tales: Eleven Graphic Stories About Mental Illness
Darryl Cunningham, Bloomsbury, $15 (160p) ISBN 978-1-60819-278-6 
In this debut book, Cunningham tells his reader right away that he has a message to impart. Having worked for years as a health care assistant in a hospital's psychiatric ward, he states his intent to counter the stigma surrounding mental illness and to represent the patients who suffer from "this most mysterious group of illnesses." The down and dirty truth about what it takes to care for dementia patients, the acts that self-harming patients are capable of, and the conundrum of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia all make for powerful, informative, and sometimes difficult reading. Cunningham's message, that "a mental illness is a brain disease just as a stroke or a brain tumor is a brain disease," is delivered in direct, no-nonsense language, while black and white drawings convey the hectic life of the disordered mind. Cunningham frequently speaks directly to sufferers, telling them that their symptoms are not their fault, that there are ways of dealing with them and simply that "you can survive." Speaking with compassion and clarity, Cunningham tells of his own struggles with severe anxiety and depression. creating a valuable tool for both those within the mental health profession and casual readers who may know someone with mental illness. (Feb.)
Incorruptible, Vol. 3
Mark Waid and Horacio Domingues, Boom! (www.boomstudios.com), $16.99 trade paper (112p) ISBN 978-1-608860-39-5 
A spinoff series to Irredeemable, this action comic stars a man named Max Damage who was once a terrible villain. In the past, Plutonian was the hero of the world, only to turn and kill millions of people, with Max as a witness. Since then Max has turned good, though his dark past is sure to haunt him. For help, he has a masked sidekick colorfully called Jailbait, a young woman who is dedicated but perhaps a bit unsteady. In this story line, Alana Patel, the girlfriend of Plutonian, has written a tell-all biography that could be very dangerous in the wrong hands, since it describes Max's weaknesses. Incorruptible is entertaining to those familiar with the superhero tropes of switching the good and bad sides. Diaz's stylish art gives everyone suitably superheroic bulges and curves. (Feb.)
