There’s not a glowstick or a Dr. Seuss hat to be found for Linda Tate in the pages of this drug addiction memoir. But this is one book that lays it all the bad memories and bad trips on the line without getting too preachy.

The Big Green Issue is out, and from Matthew Moyer’s description, if you don’t have this you should be a bit verdant with envy for those who do.

Make me a snack as big as the moon? After reading this new book, Scott Adams knows more about the Moon Pie than any one person has the right to know. Yum yum.

Whether or not you’re trying to dispense with a certain roadrunning thorn in your side, Rob Levy finds much to enjoy in thisvolume. Christmas is just around the corner, after all, and doesn’t some special in your life need an Instant Tunnel Painter?

At first glance, maybe it seems a little shocking that Clinton Heylin has temporarily abandoned the rock world to write about filmmaker Orson Welles, but after reading this book, Matthew Moyer wonders what took him so bloody long.

Musician Graham Slater documents the decadence and desperation of the gig circuit in beat group-era Hamburg, albeit behind a thin veil of fiction. Tom Schulte gets in the van.

Hey buddy, wanna see the dead? John Hood has a few ideas on how to pull off the impossible after reading Graham Hancock’s new tome.

Can Bill Deasy make the transition from celebrated singer-songwriter to accomplished author with his debut novel, Ransom Seaborn? Andrew Ellis finds out.

From the editors of Write Now! and Draw! magazines comes a comics crossover like no other. Seriously. Darius Gentley shows you how you too can script and illustrate comics like a pro. And no, it doesn’t involve winning a reality TV show.

Are you an aspiring superhero, but there’s something missing in your wardrobe? Does your alias “Quickie” bring laughter rather than fear? Then take a look at Does This Cape Make Me Look Fat? and find out the answers that work and the ones that don’t to these and other questions posed by superhero wannabes like Tim Wardyn.

Dust off your tiaras and practice your wave! Brittany Sturges delves into the history of the beauty pageant, courtesy of this new volume.

What would the USA be like if it were overrun by creatures that refused to shuffle off this mortal coil? David Wellington tells us in Monster Nation, and zombie enthusiast Lips Fresno enjoys his vision.

Black Sabbath. The name alone conjures up images of protean Metal, the stuff that called the demons forth and made the parents sweat. Matthew Moyer tells us why Doom Let Loose is the definitive guide to the definitive metal band.

Two nerds hold a mock trial to determine the merits of George Lucas’s most popular creation. The result is somewhere between Night Court and A Few Good Men. James Greene Jr. is our court reporter for the day.

The frontman of a hugely popular rock band is found dead by a shotgun wound. Sound familiar? It’s also the beginning of rock writer James Greer’s elliptical new novel. And, as Sheila Scoville finds out, any resemblance to actual events or people is entirely purposeful.

It’s just a comic, right? Wrong. Matthew Moyer examines this anthology from the celebrated fanzine Alter Ego, full of comics passion, knowledge and treasures.

Sheila Scoville is dazzled by the range of subjects and themes in the first issue of a new “journal of urbane urban literature.” Step to this.

Okay, so you have no idea why fans of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees hate each other with the same fervor that Quebec hates Canada? Well then, Tim Wardyn thinks Emperors and Idiots will help explain why this is the best (and most intense) rivalry in sports - or provide seasoned fans with even more ammunition.

So you think you know about the X-Men? Len Wein, the creator of Wolverine, brings together Science Fiction and Comic Book writers to pick apart the X-Men universe for hidden meanings, allegories and other deeper meanings. Bob Pomeroy , at the front of the class, diligently takes notes.

A field guide to all the odd contraptions along the road answers the urban explorer’s curiosity. With that and his trusty collector’s net, Carl F Gauze chases after the minutia of public transport’s infrastructure.