Dark Horse Maverick: 2001

In this second annual anthology of creator-owned coolness, we've roped a few wayward, unpredictable colts, corralled them with some solid but imaginative workhorses, and even had some of those fancy European ponies brought to the Dark Horse ranch for the best ride of the new millennium! Okay, horseplay aside, Matt Wagner visits the Grendel universe with another chapter of the Hunter Rose legacy, Sergio Aragonés rolls out an autobiographical anecdote in his trademark style, Will Eisner tells a tale of fleeting triumph, and young Usagi learns a valuable lesson in a story by Stan Sakai. All the way from France, Angoulême Grand Prize winners Charles Berberian and Philippe Dupuy send their charming and funny Monsieur Jean for your reading pleasure. Jogging in from the outfield, Denis Kitchen provides a hilariously absurd story called "My Five Minutes with God," and J.R. Williams provides his take on a Greek myth with "Skinboy: Sisyphus Revisited." Rounding out the edges we have a pin-up by Hellboy artist Mike Mignola and a cover by the ever-smoking Frank Miller, colored by Eisner Award-winning digital artist Laura DePuy. It's 48 pages of pure genius, and it's coming your way in July, the perfect month for a good read in a shady spot.