New Releases by Mark Crilley

When Akiko’s Smoovian friends, Poog, Mr. Beeba, Gax, and Spuckler Boach, swing by to pick her up in an astroshuttle, she’s feeling bored with her “normal” life and more than ready to go—anywhere. What she doesn’t know is that King Froptoppit has enrolled them all in the Intergalactic Space Patrollers Training Camp on Zarga Baffa. Every planet in the universe relies on patrollers for protection, but no one from Smoo has ever graduated. Akiko and her crew are the planet’s last hope. After a freak accident at nearby Virpling Canyon, Akiko’s crew faces the ultimate final exam. Will Akiko go home, leaving the rescuing to others? Or will she stay and risk everything?

“Poog’s in trouble.” Just three simple words, but they’re enough to launch fifth-grade Akiko and the rest of her crew—Spuckler Boach, Mr. Beeba, and Gax—on their next mission. And it just might be their most important mission yet: To save the planet Toog, home of their good friend Poog. Someone’s out to destroy Toog, and only Akiko and the gang can stop them. But first they have to escape from a Toogolian jail cell, zoom through a barrage of exploding drobe mines, and enlist the help of Spuckler’s old friend Fluggly Ragstubble—who’s anything but helpful. The clock is ticking and every second counts. Will they win the race against time and save Poog’s home planet?

Billy Clikk’s just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill . . . hero? A guy whose hobbies include skateboarding, extreme mountain biking—and a brand of snowboarding he wishes would include a few good old-fashioned body slams. Unfortunately, 12-year-old Billy’s boring home town of Piffling, Indiana, will probably never host the X Games. But that doesn’t stop him from bungee jumping off a bridge and winning the X-Sports Challenge in front of Dave’s Cycle and Fitness. Then one day, things suddenly get more interesting. Billy discovers his insect-exterminating parents—supposedly the best in Piffling—have been living a double life. In just a few short hours, he’s sucked into a world that his parents have been trying to hide from him. And this world is much bigger, stranger, and scarier than the one he left behind. How could his own dull parents have so many secrets that even their secrets have secrets? On the bright side, this could be Billy’s chance to fight some real bad guys: the huge kind with teeth and too many hairy tentacles to count. Within a few hours of learning the truth, he’s flying to India and testing out some very cool James Bond–style gadgetry, things no average 12-year-old can even imagine. But before Billy can fight alongside his parents, he’ll have to prove himself. Being a hero doesn’t always mean getting the bad guy—sometimes it means keeping a cool head to figure out what’s really going on. And at the end of the day, Billy just might get to save the world—or go down trying.

Akiko and her crew–Spuckler Boach, Mr. Beeba, Poog, and Gax–are competing in an intergalactic race from one side of the universe to the other. Along the way they have to make it through the narrow passages of the Labyrinth of Lulla-ma-Waygo, the notorious Almost Black Hole of Luzbert-7, and the deadly Jaws of McVluddapuck. All Akiko wants to do is make it back to Earth in one piece! But when Spuckler discovers that his old rival Bluggamin Streed is also in the race, winning becomes the most important thing. And Akiko quickly finds herself caught up in the competition. Who will go home with the celebrated Centauri Cup?

Sixth-grader Akiko and her friends from the planet Smoo travel to the upside-down city of Gollarondo, where an accident befalls Gax the robot and a search begins for all his missing pieces.

Can love survive? It''s winter, and a bitter chill of desperation has settled over Miki and Hiro. Far from home, the young couple treks through the frozen north, with Akuzu''s powerful agents hot on their trail. Miki knows they are determined to tear her and Hiro apart. But she has different plans. With the help of an unlikely ally, Miki and Hiro endure a daring journey, battling freezing conditions and frightening forces just to be together. Miki is certain they can make it, hoping that love really does conquer all.

Second in an exciting new graphic-novel quartet for teenagers by renowned comic book artist Mark Crilley.

As Miki and Hiro trek through the frozen north they wonder if their love can survive the freezing conditions and frightening forces attempting to tear them apart.

Is their secret safe? It''s autumn, and Miki Yoshida''s life is finally settling into a routine. She and Hiro are spending all their time together, and Miki couldn''t be happier. There''s just one problem. Hiro''s breaking all the rules to be with Miki, and the more time they spend together—and the more they fall for each other—the more there is at stake. With jealous Reika on the prowl, Miki knows they can''t hide forever.

Has Miki fallen too hard? It''s summer, and Miki Yoshida is learning all about love. Her senior year has blossomed with promise ever since she gained Hiro Sakurai''s confidence. Now, she''s resolved to keep his trust as he reveals more about his secret mission and warns: "Don''t get involved." But Miki fears his work might do more harm than good, and she takes control—with disastrous results. How can trying to make things right turn out so dangerously wrong?

It''s spring—a time for new beginnings. This is Miki Yoshida''s final year of high school, and she''s determined to make this the best year yet. Miki is in control . . . . . . until Hiro Sakurai shows up. The tall, handsome new student is hiding something, and Miki wants to know what. As she breaks down Hiro''s defenses, she is unnerved by how much she cares about him. Too bad he is the one guy who can''t care for her back. But Miki is falling for Hiro, and nothing''s going to stop her from getting close to him—not even his dangerous secret.

A selection of bonus features, pin-ups, comic strips, and gags from the back pages of issues one through thirty-nine of Mark Crilley''s "Akiko" comic books.

Miki Yoshida has decided that her final year of high school is going to be her best. Then, Hiroo Sakurai shows up, with a secret that Miki desperately wants to know. Then she starts to fall for him and nothing, even Hiro himself, can stop her.

It''s autumn, and Miki Yoshida''s life is finally settling into a routine, She and Hiro are spending all their time together, and Miki couldn''t be happier, There''s just one problem. Hiro''s breaking all the rules to be with Miki, and the more time they spend together - and the more they fall for each other - the more there is at stake. With jealous Reika on the prowl, Miki knows they can''t hide forever.

Brody hoped it was just a hallucination. But no, the teenaged ghostly girl who''d come face to face with him in the middle of a busy city street was all too real. And now she was back, telling him she needed his help in hunting down a dangerous killer, and that he must undergo training from the spirit of a centuries-old samurai to unlock his hidden supernatural powers. Thirteen-time Eisner nominee Mark Crilley joins Dark Horse to launch his most original and action-packed saga to date in Brody''s Ghost, the first in a six-volume limited series. * Paramount Pictures and Brad Pitt''s Plan B have acquired Miki Falls, a four-volume manga series created by Mark Crilley. * Crilley is best known for his Akiko young-adult novels and comic books. From the creator of the Eisner-nominated Akiko!

Reunites Akiko and the gang with Prince Proptoppit on a quest for a legendary elixir that Mr. Beebs hopes will save the life of his friend and mentor.

Summer vacation has only just begun when 4th grader Akiko is whisked off to a distant galaxy and put in charge of a perilous mission on the planet Smoo, where she soon gets a crash course in adventure.

Contains four different stories about Akiko and her crew, including a robot insurrection on a doomed starship and a perilous journey aboard a fortress-bearing dinosaur.

Fifth-grader Akiko''s old friends from the planet Smoo return to Earth to take her to see an intergalactic zoo, where she has a harrowing adventure with a winged Zullziban girl.

Akiko goes to the planet Smoo where she has adventures.

Akiko and her crew — Spuckler Boach, Mr. Beeba, Poog, and Gax — have faced dangers unimaginable to the average fourth-grade earthling. Now their mission is finally coming to an end. At last they’ve reached the castle of Alia Rellapor — but that doesn’t mean that things have gotten any easier. The castle is heavily guarded by robots and getting inside won’t be easy. If they do get in, they have to locate Prince Froptoppit, free him from captivity, and escape from the castle without alerting the guards or their leader, the half man — half machine Throck. Can a girl who’s too scared to be school safety leader pull it off? If anyone can, Akiko can!

Akiko''s back! No longer simply a shy fourth-grade girl, she''s become an intergalactic leader, taking her band of would-be heroes on a quest to find a kidnapped prince! Armed with a map showing the way to Alia Rellapor''s castle, Akiko, Mr. Beeba, Spuckler, Gax, and Poog are nearing the end of their mission. But first they have to scale the Great Wall of Trudd. Like the Great Wall of China only bigger, the Great Wall of Trudd stretches across the landscape -- there''s no way around it, under it, or through it. So Akiko and the gang will just have to find a way to go over it! But the Great Wall is just one of the many strange obstacles in their path that Akiko must overcome if she''s finally to rescue Prince Froptoppit.

In this companion novel to Akiko on the Planet Smoo, fourth-grade earthling Akiko and her odd team are on a journey to save the kidnapped Prince Froptoppit from the evil Alia Rellapor. Unfortunately, on their way to Alia Rellapor''s castle, the group has gotten lost while sailing over the Moonguzzit Sea in their flying boat. With no maps available, the team''s best hope is to find Queen Pwip of the Sprubly Islands, a clairvoyant, who will be able to point them in the right direction. But the Sprubly Islands aren''t like Akiko''s hometown, and when Spuckler and Mr. Beeba disappear one night, Akiko is left to decide how she is to survive in this strange new world.

At the start of summer vacation, 4th grader Akiko is whisked off to the planet Smoo and must rescue its prince.