Continuing our publishing preview for the new year, today we're taking a look at Last Gasp, one of the oldest underground comix publishers around and still distributing and publishing quality material today, a lot of it having to do with Tintin oddly enough.

Anyway, even though there's only a few comics-related titles in the new catalog, I thought I'd list all of the company's releases for the first half of the new year anyway, as there are quite a few books that have some potential crossover appeal.

American Surreal: The Art of Todd Schorr. Pop surrealist painter Schorr's latest works are lovingly displayed in this 100-page volume. $39.95 hardcover, April.

Barefoot Gen Vo. 7 & 8 by Keiji Nakazawa. Never before published in English, these volumes find Hiroshima survivor Gen entering middle school and attempting to come to terms with the horror he witnessed, while other factions would prefer he remain silent. Both books are expected to hit stores this month, and may in fact be out already. $14.95 each, paperback.

Banksy's Bristol: Home Sweet Home. A collection of early graffiti art by the popular "subversive" artist, much of which has never been published before. $24.95 hardcover. Already available in stores.

The Late Fauna of Early North America: The Art of Scott Musgrove. More lovely but seriously disturbing pop surrealism, this time focusing on Musgrove's bizarre creatures. $34.95 hardcover, June.

Best Erotic Comics 2009, edited by Greta Christina. A look back at the past year in smut, featuring work by Alison Bechdel, Rick Altergott, John Cuneo, Gilbert Hernandez, Molly Kiely and more. Junko Mizuno handles the cover. $19.95 paperback, February.

DirtyPilot.com Year 1 Rewind: The Art of Dirty Pilot by Alison Bortman. Another art book, this time celebrating the urban art that dominates this online gallery. $19.95 hardcover, June.

Relationship Report Cards by Aye Jay. Grade the progress your significant other is making -- or lack thereof as the case may be -- with the handy collection of charts found in this joke gift book. $8.95, paperback, March.

The Band Crime: Punk77 Revisited by James Stark. Stark's photographs chronicle the rise of one of the earliest punk bands, Crime. No, I hadn't heard of them either. $14.95 paperback, April.

Hi-Fructose Collected Edition. A compilation of the best work form the first four volumes of the popular underground art and counterculture magazine. $35 hardcover, June.