Media Release -- The new year brings the all the joys and near-drownings of young love in The Case of the Fire Inside, the latest volume of Bad Machinery! Sonny meets a mysterious new girl who seems to have climbed out of the sea itself, while Mildred falls for the bad boy of Saturday detention. But can either of them succeed in the face of jealous exes, overprotective fathers, and the persistent tide of DESTINY?

What is a "selkie"? Is a Morton's toe fatal? And can Dark Rotuss truly save the galaxy?

BAD MACHINERY VOL. 5: THE CASE OF THE FIRE INSIDE
(W/A/C/CA) John Allison
Age Range: 10 and up
Genre: Comedy, Mystery
Price: $19.99

Why It's Neat:

Can't get enough of Allison's Giant Days? Lumberjanes and Gotham Academy fans will love this middle grader alternative, chock-full of the same characteristic witty dialogue and banter.
It's Scooby-Doo for the BBC—off-beat British humor runs rampant in this YA Hardy Boys meets Nancy Drew adolescent comedy.
Do you like ADORABLE SEALS? Then BOY HOWDY, are you in for a treat!
Accolades:
YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2016, Top Ten 2015
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books of 2013
Texas Library Association's 2015 Maverick Graphic Novel List, Grades 9-12
Cybils Awards Finalist, Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novels, 2014
British Comic Award for Best Comic, 2012
What creator John Allison has to say:
"When I try to explain what my books are about to strangers—say, the sort of strong, rough-handed man who visits your house to fix something—I feel a certain incongruity in telling them that I write stories mostly about teenage girls and women. But I'm proud that I do. I intend to write a lot more of them."

What people are saying:

"When people ask me what my favourite comic is, I don't even let them finish the sentence before I'm attempting to push some form of Bad Machinery into their life. [...] For me, this comic will always be the one to beat, and I don't see many contenders." Harvey Award-winner Kate Beaton (Hark! A Vagrant, The Princess and the Pony)
"My favorite things in the world are friendship and mystery, and John Allison produces—apparently effortlessly—my absolute favorite versions of my favorite things. John's art is impossibly charming and his writing is laugh-out-loud hilarious." Eisner and Harvey Award-winner Ryan North (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Adventure Time)
"John Allison is a master storyteller—Bad Machinery deftly balances fiendish mystery, plotting, shyly hilarious characters and a lived-in setting, You will love this!" Eisner and Harvey Award-winner Bryan Lee O'Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim
"John Allison really can do it all—brilliant dialogue, mysterious plots, properly funny jokes... and art that just sings. A master of the comics form at his very best." Eisner Award nominee Stephen Collins (The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil)
"In the conversation about young superheroes, John Allison should be right up in there with the very best writers and artists that comics has to offer. I think I've recommended every volume of Bad Machinery as part of 'Best Comics Ever' thus far, but there's a dashed good reason—it's a blinding good comic." ComicsAlliance
"A good, humorous addition to school and public libraries' graphic novel collections." School Library Journal
"[...] teens and adults who like a bit of smart snark and sass, will appreciate Allison's unique humor and offbeat story as well as the Kate Beaton–like (though full-color) art." Booklist
"This small-press charmer, based on an ongoing webcomic, is a stylish jumble of pop-culture references, sly humor, eye-catching characters, mystery [...]." Kirkus
"Allison is a triple threat: he plots deftly, draws confidently, and writes dead-on adolescent dialogue. [...] Dark, fast-paced, and riotously funny entertainment." Publishers Weekly, starred review

BAD MACHINERY VOLUME 5 THE CASE OF THE FIRE INSIDE GN