Kingdom Comics plans to release its first book in summer 2009. All publications will be at least 120 pages and consist of a self-contained story, although successful works may spawn sequels. When the graphic novels draw on the Disney vaults, it will be to reimagine less successful live-action features, especially from the 1970s and '80s, in original ways. "Disney wants to put a lot behind this and there is a good chance these stories will become the next film franchises," according to Beranek. Zappa and Beranek will coauthor some books, but they are actively seeking other writers as well as artists. At Heroes Con, Beranek and Zappa announced the first creators who will work on the line, writers Scott Lobdell and Steve Niles, with more to be announced soon. "All I can say is, I think the fans will be happy," Beranek promised.

The Bottomless Belly Button

Shaw's stunningly conceived and executed comic opus captures one moment of change in a family. Maggie and David Loony have called their three adult children to their childhood home to announce that, after 40 years of marriage, they're getting a divorce. Dennis, the eldest, desperately searches for an answer to why. He believes that if he just finds the right old letters, he'll understand what's happening to his parents, only to find that his answers say a lot more about his own marriage and infant son. Claire, the middle child, has been through her own divorce and is now struggling to raise a teen daughter by herself. The youngest, Peter, who has always felt like a changeling in his family and is drawn with a frog's head, is going through a delayed coming-of-age. Shaw's style deftly combines cartoon drawings with slavish attention to detail. The result feels reminiscent of a photo album, one person's quest to remember everything from the floor plans of the vacation home to the texture of the sand on the lake beach. Masterfully using the comics medium to juggle all the different characters, weaving their stories together seamlessly, Shaw allows the Loonys' emotions to play out naturally without forced resolutions, leaving a wistful hopefulness that feels just as conflicted and confusing as every family is. (June)

Dean Koontz's character Odd Thomas makes the leap from paragraphs to panels in the new graphic novel In Odd We Trust, published on June 24 by Del Rey. Co-written by Koontz and Queenie Chan, and illustrated by Chan, In Odd We Trust is a prequel to Koontz's bestselling novels Odd Thomas, Forever Odd, Brother Odd, and Odd Hours. All the novels feature Odd Thomas, a short-order cook with the ability to see the dead. In the graphic novel, he helps the police find the person who murdered a young boy.

• Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite (Dark Horse)
• All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 (DC)
• Gimoles: Secrets of the Seasons (Image)
• Captain America: The Chosen (Marvel)
• Good Bye (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Chiggers (Simon & Schuster)
• Gantz Vol. 1 (Dark Horse)
• Dororo Vol. 2 (Vertical)
• Cat Eyed Boy Vol. 2 (Viz Media)
• Kamichama Karin-Chu Vol. 1 (Del Ray Manga)

• 2008 Harvey Awards
• PW The Beat: DiDio, Heroes Con
• EW's 100 Best Books
• Brian K. Vaughan at Midtown Comics
• Guests at NYAF
• Vanguard at SDCC
• Transfuzion at Wizard World Chicago
• Don Parent at Wizard World Chicago