New Releases by Cecil Castellucci

It all comes to a head, as Shade faces every action and (non)decision she has made up to this point. Armed with the advice of mentors and the lessons she has learned from friends, Shade must decide once and for all: Can a person-be she human or avian-truly change?

The DC and DC's Young Animal--a grassroots mature reader imprint, creatively spearheaded by Gerard Way--crossover is here! Now some of the world's most famous superheroes appear alongside the DC's Young Animal misfits for some thrilling crime-fighting adventures. What happens when the Doom Patrol team of misfits meets Justice League of America, or the new Gotham vigilante Mother Panic comes face to face with Batman? Will Shade the Changing Girl be able to appease Wonder Woman and will Cave Carson be able to team up with Swamp Thing to destroy the evil, interdimensional corporation called RetCo from the inside? Valid questions. Very valid. How will we ever find out the answer? Right here in DC/YOUNG ANIMAL: MILK WARS, of course! Led by Eisner Award-winning author and DC's Young Animal creator, Gerard Way, top talents from DC and DC's Young Animal are collaborating for the first time to bring you the wildest and weirdest crime-fighting adventures in comics history. DC's Young Animal bridges the gap between the DCU and Vertigo, focusing on the juxtaposition between visual and thematic storytelling. Collects JLA/DOOM PATROL SPECIAL #1, MOTHER PANIC/BATMAN SPECIAL #1, SHADE, THE CHANGING GIRL/WONDER WOMAN SPECIAL #1, CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE/SWAMP THING SPECIAL #1 and DOOM PATROL/JLA SPECIAL #1.

After her homeworld was destroyed, Shade became a refugee on Meta, where her family was deemed unfit to raise her. Then two decades later, she was taken by Madness to Earth, where she was placed in anotherÕs body and lived out the consequences of a life she never lived. In order to deal with these traumas, Shade buried her heart. Now new and old threats pursue her and her friends, but without a heart, can Shade even pretend to care about these outward horrors-let alone the ones she herself caused?

In an attempt to move on with her new life, Shade decides she must separate her head from her heart-literally. Meanwhile, River gets caught up in an anti-alien league, while a familiar force visits vengeance upon Valley VilleÕs residents.

Shade has a new body thatÕs all her own, but does that mean she also requires a new life, one of her making, as well? River, Teacup and the rest of the Valley Ville crew have moved on, and so must she. But creating a life from scratch isnÕt as easy as getting a new body, especially when all you have is the memory of what you had.

Brand-new from the DC imprint DC’s Young Animal, go along for a wild and psychedelic ride in SHADE, THE CHANGING GIRL VOL. 2: LITTLE RUNAWAY—the latest chapter in the radical reimagining of one of comics’ craziest characters: Shade, the Changing Man. There’s one lesson that Shade is taking to heart. Once she was known as Loma, a native of the planet Meta. Then, using the power of her stolen Madness Coat, she warped into the body of an all-American mean girl named Megan Boyer. Now, with the authorities of her homeworld in hot pursuit, she’s ditching the hellish halls of secondary education for the ultimate in freedom—a cross-country road trip. From the shadowy streets of Gotham City to the atom-blasted sands of Los Alamos to the star-studded hills of Hollywood, Shade’s on a quest to discover her own American dream—even if that means using the power of madness to make it a reality. And at the center of that vision is the galaxy’s favorite TV show, LIFE WITH HONEY—an Atomic Age comedy whose fading star is about to take on the role of several lifetimes! From writer Cecil Castellucci and artists Marley Zarcone, Ande Parks and Marguerite Sauvage, SHADE, THE CHANGING GIRL VOL. 2: LITTLE RUNAWAY collects issues #7-12.

This sweetly snarky, romantic YA novel follows Edan as she tries to gather the strength to be the hero in her own real life even as she connects with her dream boy at a costume competition. When Edan Kupferman dresses up like her favorite character, Gargantua, she feels tall and powerful. That''s important right now, because her family is a mess, her best friend is gone for the summer, her crush is confusing, and Edan''s feeling small and not sure which end is up. When Edan''s cosplaying, she can be angry, loud, and not the good girl everyone thinks she is. And when she''s at conventions, she feels like she''s found her own Team Tomorrow. But when her personal life starts to spiral out of control, Edan has to figure out whether she needs a sidekick, or if she has the strength to be the hero of her own story.

Following her encounters in Gotham City, Shade decides to head out west and check out Los Alamos, New Mexico, the one-time location of nuclear test sites, and also the setting of her favorite TV show, ÒLife with Honey.Ó But itÕs been half a century since those bombs went offÑand since ÒHoneyÓ went off the air. So what kind of ghostly memories await Shade in the desert? Plus, a brand new ÒLife with HoneyÓ backup story.

Part two of ShadeÕs visit to Gotham City, the first stop on her tour of America. What will happen when she uses madness to get reality to line up with her American dreams? And now that her enemies on Meta have tracked Shade and the madness coat to Earth, she no longer has to worry about how sheÕs going to get back to her home planetÑbecause ShadeÕs home planet is coming to her! All this and a new ÒLife With HoneyÓ tale illustrated by guest artist Brittney Williams (Goldie Vance).

Shade hits the road! After her high school friends made it clear they didn’t want her around, Shade realized she doesn’t want to be there anyway. Map in hand, she decides to explore America. First stop: Gotham City. The city’s population may have seen its fair share of madness, but never like this. The only thing Shade didn’t factor in is that embracing her powers ends up signaling her home planet as to her whereabouts, and Meta police are going to come looking for her stolen coat.

In this stand-alone issue, Shade begins to ponder whatÕs next for her on Earth. As the winter dance approaches, she reminisces about high school on Meta, and starts to wonder why sheÕs putting herself through that kind of hell again. Will she find the perfect dress, or will the dance be a perfect disaster? Plus, an all-new episode of ÒLife with Honey.Ó

When Shade took over MeganÕs body, Megan had to go somewhereÑand that she did. The displaced Earthling flew across the galaxy and back, and now that sheÕs home, Megan is pissed! ItÕs alien invader versus teenage bully in the climactic conclusion of our first arc!

Which is more powerful? These new human emotions or the madness that brought Shade to Earth? Balancing both is difficult, as the divide between where she is now and where she comes from grows deeper. ItÕs all about duality as the future and the past are racing to catch up with Shade. She sees strange visions of a possible tomorrow while Megan, the girl whose body she stole, is racing across galaxies to take her life back. Plus, an all-new backup feature: ShadeÕs favorite TV show, Life With Honey, comes to comics!

As Megan, the soul that Shade displaced, gets farther and farther away from Earth, Shade is starting to find things about her new planet and her new body that she really likes. For instance, thereÕs music. And also boys. Not to mention would-be friends and her new parents. This feeling of peace keeps the madness in check-but only temporarily. There is still the matter of that terrible night that put Megan in a coma to begin with.

Trying to settle into her new life as an Earth girl, Shade finds the body she has taken over doesnÕt have the same skills as it did when its previous inhabitant was in charge. ItÕs bad enough that her swim team hates her, but now she canÕt perform in the water at all. Can Shade find anyone she can trust to give her guidance before the madness takes over and exposes her as an alien to the entire school?

Shade has settled into her adopted human body, but the rest of her high school isnÕt sure how to deal with this strange new behavior from the girl they once knew. The more Shade learns about MeganÕs former life, the more she realizes everyone hates her. ItÕs one of many fresh sensations Shade is getting to know. Being a human is galaxies different than being from Meta, and itÕs not going to be easy balancing all of that with the madness that brought her here.

Princess Leia returns for an all-new adventure in this thrilling upper middle grade novel. Set between Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi, the story follows the warrior princess as she leads a ragtag group of rebels on a dangerous mission against the evil Galactic Empire. Hidden in the story are also hints and clues about the upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, making this a must-read for fans old and new!

Download the first five chapters of TIN STAR by Cecil Castellucci. On their way to start a new life, Tula and her family travel on the Prairie Rose, a colony ship headed to a planet in the outer reaches of the galaxy. All is going well until the ship makes a stop at a remote space station, the Yertina Feray, and the colonist''s leader, Brother Blue, beats Tula within an inch of her life. An alien, Heckleck, saves her and teaches her the ways of life on the space station. When three humans crash land onto the station, Tula''s desire for escape becomes irresistible, and her desire for companionship becomes unavoidable. But just as Tula begins to concoct a plan to get off the space station and kill Brother Blue, everything goes awry, and suddenly romance is the farthest thing from her mind.

The Interceptor needs repairs, so the crew visits a junk depot! But the asteroid's inhabitants aren't happy about these visitors.... And things get even worse when more ships arrive!

Alternating chapters of prose and comics are interwoven in this extraordinary YA novel about grief and how it cuts us off from the ones we love.

"Castellucci mixes details of the L.A. punk scene with memorable characters and witty dialogue. . . . Consider this pure Nirvana." -- BOOKLIST Exiled from Canada to Los Angeles, Katy can''t believe she is spending the summer with her father--punk name: the Rat--a recovered addict and drummer for the band Suck. Even though Katy feels abandoned by her mom, even though the Rat''s place is a mess and he''s not like anything she''d call a father, Kathy won''t make a fuss. After all, she is a girl who is quiet and polite, a girl who smiles, a girl who is, well, beige. Or is she? From the author of BOY PROOF and THE QUEEN OF COOL comes an edgy L.A. novel full of humor, heart, and music.

A startling, wonderful novel about the true meaning of being an alien in an equally alien world."We are specks. Pieces of dust in this universe. Big nothings.""I know what I am."Mal lives on the fringes of high school. Angry. Misunderstood. Yet loving the world -- or, at least, an idea of the world. Then he meets Hooper. Who says he''s from another planet. And may be going home very soon.

A Time Magazine 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time Selection "This novel''s funny first-person narrative will grab teens (and not just sci-fi fans) with its romance and the screwball special effects."– Booklist Meet Egg. Her real name is Victoria Jurgen, but she''s renamed herself after the kick-ass heroine of her favorite sci-fi movie, Terminal Earth. Like her namesake, Egg dresses all in white, colors her eyebrows, and shaves her head. She always knows the right answers, she''s always in control, and she''s far too busy — taking photos for the school paper, meeting with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Club, and hanging out at the "creature shop" with her dad, the special-effects makeup wizard — to be bothered with friends, much less members of the opposite sex. As far as Egg is concerned, she''s boy proof, and she likes it that way. But then Egg meets a boy named Max, a boy who''s smart and funny and creative and cool . . . and happens to like Egg. Could this be the end of the world — at least as Egg knows it?

Partly based on the author''s own experiences at the famous Manhattan high school for the performing arts, this novel explores friendship, freedom, and the art of challenging convention.Set in New York in the 1980s, this story of two ballet dancers (one American, one Russian) recounts the unforgettable night they spend in the city, and celebrates the friendship they form despite their cultural and political differences.

Jane had to move from the arty, urbane world of Metro City to the suburbs. She thought her life was over, until she found three friends to form a secret art gang called ''People Loving Art in Neighborhoods''.

"Albert Camus meets Mariah Fredericks in this smart, edgy take on one adolescent’s search for identity and meaning in life." — Kirkus Reviews On the outside, Libby Brin is the most popular girl in school. But on the inside, Libby is dying — of boredom. In a moment of desperation, Libby signs up for an internship at the Los Angeles Zoo, much to the dismay of her friends, who’d prefer she spend her time with them, shopping, partying, and making fun of everyone else. Oddly, Libby realizes that she actually enjoys her new job and that she may even like the two "nerds" she works with. Will the Queen of Cool be forced to give up her crown?

Girls' Day Out part 1 of 2! Lois Lane doesn't do "puff piece" interviews, which is fine, because Diana of Themyscira is not interested in being treated as fluff. But when they're attacked by robots and croco-aliens, the situation really gets heated!