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Required reading from the week in books.

"The Art of Harvey Kurtzman" celebrates the genius mind behind "Mad" and "Playboy"'s Little Annie Fanny. Get acquainted with the classic early days of "Mad," before it became overrun with lazy puns and far too many "The Lighter Side Of ... " strips.
"You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation!", the latest collection of surreal superhero comics by forgotten Golden Age artist Fletcher Hanks, features a space wizard named Stardust who comes up with creative ways of dispatching his enemies, like tossing their heads into the cosmos.

"Who Killed Art Deco?" is the latest novel from Chuck Barris, former "Gong Show" host and author of "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." Considering he claimed to be a C.I.A. assassin, it's safe to say the guy knows his way around a potboiler. Our money's on the Unknown Comic as the killer.

"Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" Neil Gaiman's elegy for the late Dark Knight, is far more readable than the near impenetrable "Batman R.I.P." Plus, it pairs well with Alan Moore's recently reissued final Superman tale, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"