Comics & Graphic Novels

The third and final volume of All Over Coffee presents some of the most beloved and never-before-collected pieces from the weekly series. Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle, this timeless work, which includes collaborations with many prize-winning authors, is now collected for the first time into a new gorgeous hardcover edition.

"[Paul] Madonna, Bayview-based artist, illustrator, writer and award-winning author, is renowned for his long-running city-inspired comic strip series ‘All Over Coffee.’ Once described by Madonna as ‘a comic strip without the comic,’ the series paired intricate sketches of The City—a street corner, a view of Alcatraz or a deserted alleyway—with poignant, poetic text. The infusion of art and literature challenged typical comic strip conventions, attracting a regional cult following and setting Madonna on a path of artistic discovery. The third and final installment [of the series], You Know Exactly, launched this month."
—San Francisco Examiner

"All Over Coffee was in many ways a gift to the city. It immortalized the San Francisco that locals see every day; not the one most commonly depicted in movies and on TV. Because of its grounding in familiar corners, sidewalks and liquor stores, Madonna's art can also ask viewers to explore their own psyche, or to suspend their disbelief, or to go on a journey with him they weren't expecting. And sometimes, just sometimes, it'll be so close to home, you'll think he's made a personal visit."
—KQED Arts & Culture

"[A]n impressive coffee-table style volume, You Know Exactly, the Third Collection of All Over Coffee is an inherently fascinating book to browse through."
—Midwest Book Review

You Know Exactly enigmatically melds art, story, and travel to capture the profundity reflected outside and resting deep within the soul. With original writings plus collaborations with award-winning writers including Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Cheryl Strayed, Andrew Sean Greer, Robert Olen Butler, Kristen Tracy, Daniel Handler (otherwise known as Lemony Snicket), and more, artist and writer Paul Madonna pairs words with exquisitely rendered cityscapes to create a poignant, thought-provoking showpiece. Each page offers something unique: short stories, poems, fleeting thoughts, and one-liners displayed alongside pen and ink drawings that travel from San Francisco to New York, from Paris to Tokyo. The effect coalesces into a mesmerizing work that you’ll want to return to again and again.

2020 Bram Stoker Awards Finalist

In the vein of Flatliners and Ghost meets The Bourne Identity and La Femme Nikita, a diverse team of black ops “Spectres”—elite soldiers who died in the line of duty only to be reanimated by military scientists and brought back as actual ghosts—carry out illicit missions for the United States government in exchange for day passes to haunt their old lives and fulfill their unfinished business.

Spectre Deep 6 is a paranormal sci-fi graphic novel that centers on six reanimated spectres who have the tactical precision and paranormal abilities to carry out the most important and clandestine missions for our government. Missions that are too dangerous, illegal, and secretive to leave any trace—assassinations, regime toppling, technology theft, halting nuclear weapons programs, and more.

When the Spectre Team assassinates a target, they literally scare the victim to death, making it look like they had a stroke or heart attack, so the target appears to die from natural causes. Then they ghost from the scene, leaving no trace they were ever there. They’re the perfect weapons. The downside to spectre soldiers? They’re like batteries that need to be recharged, or they’ll disperse and pass on. That’s why they have to stay locked in containment most of the time, a glorified ghost prison located in a secret military bunker under Area 51 and powered by a nuclear reactor (it takes a lot of energy to charge a ghost). Oh, and ghost soldiers can get a bit … testy. They don’t always get along or follow orders. After all, they didn’t ask to be brought back.

2020 Bram Stoker Awards Finalist

“Spectre Deep 6 is awesome! Horror, science-fiction, great characters, devious twists, rampant weirdness and a heck of a lot of fun! Highly recommended!” -Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of V-Wars, Rot & Ruin and Black Panther: Doomwar”

In the vein of Flatliners and Ghost meets The Bourne Identity and La Femme Nikita, a diverse team of black ops “Spectres”—elite soldiers who died in the line of duty only to be reanimated by military scientists and brought back as actual ghosts—carry out illicit missions for the United States government in exchange for day passes to haunt their old lives and fulfill their unfinished business.

Spectre Deep 6 is a paranormal sci-fi graphic novel that centers on six reanimated spectres who have the tactical precision and paranormal abilities to carry out the most important and clandestine missions for our government. Missions that are too dangerous, illegal, and secretive to leave any trace—assassinations, regime toppling, technology theft, halting nuclear weapons programs, and more.

When the Spectre Team assassinates a target, they literally scare the victim to death, making it look like they had a stroke or heart attack, so the target appears to die from natural causes. Then they ghost from the scene, leaving no trace they were ever there. They’re the perfect weapons. The downside to spectre soldiers? They’re like batteries that need to be recharged, or they’ll disperse and pass on. That’s why they have to stay locked in containment most of the time, a glorified ghost prison located in a secret military bunker under Area 51 and powered by a nuclear reactor (it takes a lot of energy to charge a ghost). Oh, and ghost soldiers can get a bit … testy. They don’t always get along or follow orders. After all, they didn’t ask to be brought back.

A quietly powerful graphic novel of hope, separation, and perseverance in the journey to reunite with those you love.

"Set in a near future of apocalyptic threat and space colonization, Fiona Ostby's debut graphic novel, Space Story, is a queer love story full of wistful longing. . . Refreshingly, most characters are women or nonbinary and are matter-of-factly represented as queer. Many particularly touching spreads create parallels: a left-hand panel in red, opposite one in blue, show Leah and Hannah in separate beds, facing each other across an impossible divide. The simple layouts and focus on relationships turn a cosmic dystopia into something universal."
—Shelf Awareness, featured as one of the Best Books of the Week

"This is a story filled with bitter-sweet moments (but with a happy ending), and I am in love with it."
—BookRiot

"Economical and poignantly told, Ostby’s debut graphic novel sets a queer family’s separation drama against an apocalyptic backdrop. . . This is a touching love story for hard times."
—Publishers Weekly

Two women fall in love and start a family on a dying Earth.

Only one escapes to space.

Her family is still on the planet.

They won't give up until they find each other again.

From debut author Fiona Ostby, Space Story weaves an interstellar tale of discovering love and finding strength, courage, and hope—even in the darkest moments.

A quietly powerful graphic novel of hope, separation, and perseverance in the journey to reunite with those you love.

"Set in a near future of apocalyptic threat and space colonization, Fiona Ostby's debut graphic novel, Space Story, is a queer love story full of wistful longing. . . Refreshingly, most characters are women or nonbinary and are matter-of-factly represented as queer. Many particularly touching spreads create parallels: a left-hand panel in red, opposite one in blue, show Leah and Hannah in separate beds, facing each other across an impossible divide. The simple layouts and focus on relationships turn a cosmic dystopia into something universal."
—Shelf Awareness, featured as one of the Best Books of the Week

"This is a story filled with bitter-sweet moments (but with a happy ending), and I am in love with it."
—BookRiot

"Economical and poignantly told, Ostby’s debut graphic novel sets a queer family’s separation drama against an apocalyptic backdrop. . . This is a touching love story for hard times."
—Publishers Weekly

Two women fall in love and start a family on a dying Earth.

Only one escapes to space.

Her family is still on the planet.

They won't give up until they find each other again.

From debut author Fiona Ostby, Space Story weaves an interstellar tale of discovering love and finding strength, courage, and hope—even in the darkest moments.