Comicdom’s premier anthology of new lit comics―a 2006, 2007 and 2008 Eisner and Harvey Award nominee for “Best Anthology.” The influence of Fantagraphics’ flagship anthology of new comic art and storytelling continues to grow with annual award nominations, a widely-acknowledged banner 2008 that found MOME on many year-end critics’ lists, increasing academic and library interest, several gallery exhibitions mounted nationwide, and an increasingly potent well of top-notch, known and unknown talent making every issue a surprising, dense and delightful read. With this season, the quarterly journal of comics will have brought over 2,000 pages of new comics to the world since its inception in 2005. Upcoming contributors of short stories to MOME include: Lilli Carré, Laura Park, Olivier Schrauwen, Tom Kaczynski, Dash Shaw, Ray Fenwick, Émile Bravo, Andrice Arp, Al Columbia, Eleanor Davis, Nathan Neal, Conor O’Keefe, Jon Vermilyea, Jonathan Bennett, Robert Goodin, Sara Edward-Corbett, Derek Van Gieson, and many more. 2009 saw the end of three serials for MOME ―legendary cartoonist Gilbert Shel¬ton’s serialized graphic novel, “Last Gig in Shngrlig,” Paul Hornschemeier’s “Life with Mr. Dangerous,” and Tim Hensley’s “Wally Gropius”― and the launch of two more. T. Edward Bak’s biography of German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller―who traveled with Vitus Bering on what is generally known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition in 1741―is certain to eventually become one of the most acclaimed graphic novels of the decade. In the hands of Bak, Steller’s narrative story transcends natural history, science and biography and becomes a riveting, beautifully illustrated drama. Ted Stearn’s cult favorite characters have struck a chord with comic lovers over the years (Matt Groening declares them “why I love comics”) in two previous graphic novels, Fuzz & Pluck and Fuzz & Pluck: Splitsville . Stearn now graces MOME with a new, serialized adventure in which the hapless Fuzz & Pluck discover a literal money tree. The ensuing entanglement of intrigue and desire is a surrealist, picaresque tour de force of comics storytelling with strong thematical ties to America’s housing and financial meltdown, and the dreams that led to it. There’s also a pirate, and we all know that pirates sell . 120 color illustrations "Like Weirdo , Raw, and Drawn and Quarterly before it, Fantagraphics’ Mome has been the go-to showcase of its time for emerging alt-comics visionaries. Mome Vol. 18 is another excellent installment of the anthology series ― so excellent, in fact, that it’s hard to single out a highlight. [Grade:] A-." ― The Onion A.V. Club "It must be said, of all the art comix anthologies, MOME is probably the most perfect distillation. Sometimes evolution works." ― Heidi MacDonald, Publishers Weekly "Almost to a story, the bits and pieces of Mome [Vol. 18] just suck the careful reader in. Indeed, almost every contribution practically begs for critical examination, not to mention a different frame of mind. ... Some of the individual stories are just stunning." ― Jeremy Nisen, Under the Radar Gary Groth  is the co-founder of  The Comics Journal  and Fantagraphics Books. He lives in Seattle. Eric Reynolds is the VP/Associate Publisher of Fantagraphics Books. He lives in Seattle, WA.