JO LEIGH

Lee despairs that she’ll never meet the right man, since she seems to have a knack for dating all the wrong men. But maybe she doesn’t need to meet Mr. Right—maybe she’s already met him. Trevor has been her best friend since their college days, and Lee thinks he could be her perfect partner. But she’ll need more than a best friend—she’ll need sexual chemistry, too! To see if it could work, Lee proposes that she and Trevor become friends with benefits. He resists the idea at first, but eventually he caves and sleeps with her. Are these two friends the perfect match, or have they staked their friendship on a fleeting dream?

Secretary Jane has been in love with Charles, the CEO, for three years. One day, Jane receives an order from Charles to put out a personal ad in a magazine addressed to a “Holly Baskin." Could Holly be his ex-girlfriend…? Jane is still reeling from the shock of the ad going to print when a statue of Cupid falls from the sky and hits her in the head, knocking her unconscious. She wakes up to find herself in a hospital bed, unable to remember anything, no matter what the doctors ask her. Then suddenly, she remembers her name: “I’m Holly…Holly Baskin.”

Canadian comics publisher Drawn & Quarterly has distinguished itself during its four years of publishing by releasing a wonderfully idiosyncratic series of comic book serials notable for an emphasis on autobiographical stories, loose expressive drawing styles and characters either stuck on or passing through the social margins. This beautifully produced trade paperback collects work from D&Q's equally quirky, eponymous quarterly anthology and presents shorter pieces by some of the best young comic artists of the moment. Michael Dougan ( I Can't Tell You Anything ) contributes ``Black Cherry,'' another of his ``dumb job'' stories that recreates the parade of oddballs and crazies that frequent an ice cream parlour where he used to work. Maurice Vellekoops (who contributed the richly colored, ``scandalously'' funny cover art) presents ``The 8 pillars of Gay Culture'' and ``Homoman,'' both of which happily exploit gay sterotypes (`` `did you hire a decorator?' `Of course not; I'm a homosexual.' '') with mischievous, politically incorrect wit. Also note Debbie Drechsler's disturbing (and nicely drawn) ``Visitors in the Night'' on child sexual exploitation; and Joe Matt, Mr. Peep Show himself, who would like to share his darkest secret with us--it's crude and very funny--whether we want to know it or not. Also includes Carol Tyler, Roberta Gregory, David Mazzucchelli, Mary Fleener and others.