Jeff Smith (l.) and Art Spiegelman.

Diamond Book Distribution v-p, marketing Kuo-Yu Liang said this year's BEA was "absolutely fantastic for us. It's been a great show." He dismissed concerns about floor traffic, noting "I had meetings every half hour with the people I need to see." Liang said he spoke with graphic novel buyers from Canadian retailer Indigo Chapters, Amazon.com and Buy.com as well as buyers for U.S. military bases-he even said it looked as though independent bookstores were finally getting on board after lagging behind the chains in embracing the category. "Floor traffic doesn't matter if you've got appointments with all the people you need to talk to," said Liang.

Long before he was a novelist of some repute, Ames was a teenage drunk of fearsome abilities. As Ames relates in this semi-autobiographical graphic novel, he got drunk for the first time at the age of 15 in 1979, and found he loved it. The years that followed might have been a vomit-soaked mess, but that didn't stop Ames from keeping on with it. Even later, once Ames gets sober and becomes a writer, he continues his romance with alcohol by having the hero of his mystery novels be a serious drinker. Told in flashback fashion from a particularly horrendous post-drinking blackout (occasionally in sardonic asides), Ames' novel is primarily a (albeit admittedly) self-obsessed narrative of self-destructive behavior, with a particular emphasis on bad breakups and sexual misbehavior. The insular narrative is given drive by Haspiel's characteristically slash and jab illustrating style. But with the exception of the hauntingly unresolved story of Ames' painfully fraught childhood friendship with Sal, his original drinking partner, this is standard-issue graphic confessional, enlivened by the occasional bit of debauchery. (September)

First introduced to American manga readers last summer, Natsume makes his American comics debut this spring with Batman: Death Mask, a 4-issue miniseries published by DC Comics. Best known for the Viz manga series, Togari, the story of a young man given the chance to escape Hell by battling evil, Natsume is no stranger to a protagonist with a dark side.

• Lobster Johnson Vol. 1: Iron Prometheus (Dark Horse)
• Infinity Inc Vol. 1: Luthor's Monsters (DC)
• Wormwood: Calamari Rising (IDW Publishing)
• Tellos: Colossal Vol. 1 (Image)
• Penace Relentless (Marvel)
• Muzz (Amaze Ink/ Slave Labor)
• Kingdom of the Winds (NetComics)
• Hollow Fields Vol. 2 (Seven Seas Entertainment)
• Rosario and Vampire Vol. 1 (Viz Media)
• Metro Survive Vol. 2 (DR Masters Publications)
• Red (Digital Manga Publishing)
• Honey and Clover Vol. 2 (Viz Media)

• MoCCA Art Festival
• Prince of Persia GN Trailer
• Comics Symposium at NYU
• Cartoonists Discussion in NYC
• Signing at Books of Wonder
• June Bestsellers