Richard Sala Knihy

A genre-defining masterpiece of graphic noir comes back into print.In The Chuckling Whatsit, Sala weaves the gothic cartooning traditions of Edward Gorey and Charles Addams with a densely constructed, melodramatic murder mystery involving astrology, ghouls, academia and outsider art. Part noir, part horror and part comedy, this labyrinthian tale of intrigue follows an unemployed writer named Broom who becomes unwittingly ensnared in a complex plot involving mysterious outsider artist Emile Jarnac, the shadowy machinations of the Ghoul Appreciation Society Headquarters (GASH), and the enigmatic Mr. Ixnay. Sala's deadpan delivery makes this ingeniously layered narrative a roller-coaster ride of darkly pure comic suspense. Sala's drawing style, while most often compared to Edward Gorey, also reveals the influence of everything from Hollywood monster movies and Dick Tracy to German expressionism and Grimm's fairy tales. It's a style that's perfectly suited to the narrative, constantly flirting with Sala's fascination for the grotesque and lending palpable tension to the gruesome riddle of The Chuckling Whatsit.Sala's eclectic career includes contributions to Art Spiegelman's RAW magazine, MTV's Liquid Television, The New York Times, Playboy and his ongoing Evil Eye comic book series from Fantagraphics, though The Chuckling Whatsit remains his most popular work.

In this graphic novel, a series of grisly murders echo the work of the master criminal, the Bloody Cardinal. But, he’s dead! Or is he? He was trapped by police in an abandoned asylum which burnt to the ground. The charred remains found in the ashes were presumed to have been his. However, he left behind a journal which has been tied to a string of violent, unsolved murders. Who is behind these crimes? Full-color illustrations throughout.

Just months before his tragic passing in March 2020, Richard Sala completed his final works, which are now collected in a stunning hardcover. This volume includes four original graphic novellas that highlight Sala's mastery of the macabre. The first story, "House of the Blue Dwarf," is a 125-page thriller featuring the master criminal Bloody Cardinal, whose chaotic presence leaves destruction in his wake. Next is "Monsters Illustrated," a whimsical 64-page homage to monster movies that showcases Sala's visual creativity. It follows a young woman in a dusty bookstore who reads a peculiar bestiary, presenting a "book within a book" filled with Sala's exquisite watercolor and ink illustrations. The third novella, "Cave Girls Of The Lost World," is a campy 60-page adventure about a group of young women whose plane crashes in a prehistoric land filled with dinosaurs and carnivorous plants. These brave and clever women are ready to confront the challenges ahead. Finally, "The Amazing Adventures of Fantomina Fantomella" delivers 45 pages of relentless action, as Fantomina returns with a vengeance against those who believed her dead. This collection is a testament to Sala's stunning artwork and his passion for B-movie horror, silent film archetypes, and strong female characters.

Is this the end of the world? How did it happen? Why did it happen? There is one man who knows... Take a walk with the dazed survivors of a mysterious worldwide catastrophe. They are bound for a place, somewhere in the desert, where a terrible truth awaits them. Richard Sala's books are "deliriously entertaining" (Rue Morgue Magazine), "cinematic and cheerfully over-the-top" (The New York Times Book Review), containing "brilliantly atmospheric art, full of shadows and spikes." (Booklist)