Noelle Stevenson

A great comic book cover is an advertisement, a work of art, a statement, and an invitation. A great comic book cover is a glimpse of another world through a canvas no bigger than a window pane. In Best Comic Book Covers Ever (This Month), we look back over some of the most eye-catching, original and exceptional covers of the past month. September's covers include masterclass composition from Genndy Tarkakovsky and Noelle Stevenson, some beautiful uses of light, color, and contrast, and some very different portraits of gods, old and new.

It's really starting to look like 2014 is the year of the giant, oversized offbeat anthology comic. Not only have we gotten books like Cosmic Scoundrels and Giant-Size Kung Fu Bible Stories, but today, Boom! Studios announced the latest offering from their creator-owned imprint, the Boom! Box 2014 Mix Tape, and it already looks amazing. Clocking in at an oversized 8.5 x 11", the Mix Tape is set to include a pretty impressive roster, including covers by Teen Dog creator Jake Lawrence and a new Lumberjanes story written and drawn by Noelle Stevenson, and a new story from the award-winning team behind Adventure Time, Ryan North, Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb. And if that wasn't enough, we have an exclusive look at character designs for four short stories by Rian Sygh, including Teen Prez, which may actually be the Sensational Character Find of 2014.

Lumberjanes is many things: paranormal adventure, ode to friendship, celebration of girlhood, viral success, emblem of a changing industry. A lesser book might have crumbled beneath these ambitions and expectations. It very immediately became not just a highly-anticipated comic, but -- for reasons included the fact that it's written, drawn, colored, lettered and edited by women -- an important comic, and that's as promising as it is dangerous. Privately, I had my doubts—it looked interesting, but I've been burned before by important books and I kept my excitement at a low simmer. But five issues into the Brooke Allen-drawn series, Boom! Studios/Boom! Box's Lumberjanes has firmly established itself as one of the cleverest, most good-natured comics on the market. The story of a delightfully plucky troop of wilderness girl scouts (not to be confused with the Girl Scouts) and the variously hilarious and supernatural adventures they get into at summer camp, the book is buoyed by the emotions and friendships of early adolescence, and can be enjoyed by neophytes and collectors alike—including, happily, young girls. It is never didactic or (most crucially) boring, and it balances character focus and plot extremely well.It is, simply and uncommonly, fun. ComicsAlliance sat down with creators Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Shannon Watters to discuss Disney movies, comics on Tumblr, and what's coming next for our favorite hardcore lady-types.

You're all reading Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Brooke Allen's Lumberjanes already, right? I mean, of course you are, we've been telling you how great it is since January, and in that time, the action, mystery and friendship have made it one of our favorite comics on the stands. So really, it's not like you need a preview to know that you're going to want to pick up the fifth issue when it hits the stands next week. But, on the off chance that you want to know what you're in for, we've got good news in the form of an exclusive peek at Lumberjanes #5, with bad dreams and hints at the mystery of the boys across the lake. So get out your yarn and get ready, because it's time to make some friendship bracelets.

If there are two things I love in this cruel, cruel world of ours, they are, without a doubt, bragging about my accomplishments through clothing accessories and Lumberjanes, the incredible new book by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson and Brooke Allen that's currently coming out from Boom! Studios. And now, there is a way to combine them: At San Diego's Comic-Con International, looming ever closer later this month, the publisher will have Lumberjanes Scout Patches available for fans to buy and apply to their own clothing to celebrate what they've learned. The badges will be based on the ones that have actually appeared in the comic, starting off with a set of four that include an unrevealed mystery patch, available during the con.

Terrifyingly, it's just a few weeks until Comic-Con International annexes most of downtown San Diego and with it, our souls. But with a new comics convention comes a new offering of exclusive stuff from BOOM! Studios. The publisher of the Adventure Time line of comics as well Lumberjanes and Bee and Puppycat and others is known among rarities collectors for its convention-only releases, and they'll be back at their booth with more at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Check out the company's latest assortment of exclusives below, including the hardcover Mathematical Edition of Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens.

Fox's Sleepy Hollow may be the most comic-book-like show on television, excepting the growing list of shows that are actually based on comic books. It tells the story of a Revolutionary War-era man -- who always wears the same clothes -- being revived in the present day and working with a local police officer to fight an invincible demon with no head and a semi-automatic rifle. They have to come up with clever ideas -- like traps made of light -- to fight off the evil all around them. Frankly, it's a wonder the show hasn't become a comic before now. Boom Studios has recruited writer Marguerite Bennett (Superman: Lois Lane) and artist Jorge Coelho (Venom) to tell stories that tie into the show. From the sound of it, they have a pretty good handle on it in their upcoming four-issue miniseries.

  We make a regular practice at ComicsAlliance of spotlighting particular artists or specific bodies of work, as well as the special qualities of comic book storytelling, but because cartoonists, illustrators and their fans share countless numbers of great pinups, fan art and other illustrations on sites like Flickr, Tumblr, DeviantArt and seemingly infinite art blogs that we’ve created Best Art E

I've been excited about Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters and Brooke Allen's Lumberjanes since the day it was announced. It's been one of my most anticipated debuts of the year, and not just because Boom! Studios has been on a pretty solid roll of knocking out solid all-ages titles. Just the basic premise of a team of girls at summer camp fighting monsters in the woods with the power

Here at ComicsAlliance, we obviously have a vested interest in seeing comics bloggers do well with their various projects. That said, it's a lot easier to get behind stuff when it looks like it's going to be amazing, which is why we're all pretty excited about Kelly Thompson's Storykiller and the roster of incredible artists she's gathered to illustrate the special edition of her new novel. As you