Named for the brick-throwing mouse in George Herriman's Krazy Kat , the Ignatz series is an ongoing collection of 32-page, two-color comic books that boast absurdly high production values. Flipping through one will make a book lover froth at the mouth, while any comics collector is sure to treat each issue as a fetish object. The covers are exquisite (and complete with removable jackets), the paper stock is excellent, and the artistic skill displayed inside rivals anything else on the market.

The series is the result of an alliance between American comics-publishing stalwart Fantagraphics and the seven-year-old Italian press Coconino. It's published 14 authors thus far — six Italian, six American, one French, and one Spanish. The names of the Americans involved stand out as some of the greats of the alt-comics scene: Gilbert Hernandez, Richard Sala, Kevin Huizenga, award-winning upstart Anders Nilsen, and former Low bassist Zak Sally. The international talent is no less impressive. David B continues the work he began in his acclaimed graphic novel Epileptic , expanding on his relationship with his afflicted brother; Italian artist Gipi depicts retired criminals struggling with their uncomfortably present pasts in arresting watercolors; and Marco Corona's haunting Reflections is split between the real world of a disaffected young girl and the unsettling pirate fantasies of her bedridden younger brother.

The editor of the imprint is Coconino founder Igort, a veteran of the Italian and Japanese comics scenes. Not content with merely corralling talent, Igort has his own contribution to the series: a surreal, Windsor McCay-influenced story that's already in its second issue. The honcho on the American side is Fantagraphics co-founder Kim Thompson, who also translates many of the titles into English. The "Ignatz" Series matches the international pedigree of its authors by being translated and published simultaneously in Germany, France, Holland, Spain, Italy, and America.

For a few of the artists, the series is the only stateside place their work is available, making it an invaluable passport into comics' increasingly global media. As the series expands and adds even more artists, it seems like it can only improve. World unity through excellent comics — it's about damn time.

-Andy Warner