Required reading from the week in books and comics.

George CarlinThe new biography "Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin" chronicles the late, great comedian's skirmishes with the law and the FCC over his infamous "Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say on TV" routine. (Link NSFW.) Author James Sullivan, who previously delved into James Brown's historic Boston Garden concert, discusses the Supreme Court case against Carlin, which went in favor of the FCC and turned the comedian into an alt-comedy hero. A notable saga in both Carlin's life and pop culture, and an engrossing tale of one of our greatest comedic minds.

Also in stores:
-- "Wednesday Comics," DC Comics' gorgeous experiment in the art of newspaper-style comics, is now available in an oversize hardcover edition perfect for your coffee and/or bedside table. An all-star list of creators (everyone from Neil Gaiman to "Sgt. Rock" artist Joe Kubert) delivers meticulously detailed comic-strip tales featuring characters both A-list (Batman) and decidedly C-list (Plastic Man).
-- Neil Young's sprawling environmental epic "Greendale" (which was previously both a concept album and a movie) gets the comic book treatment in a graphic novel penned by Joshua Dysart ("Unknown Soldier") with art by Cliff Chiang ("Green Arrow"). Could Broadway be next for Neil Young?
-- "The Golden Compass" author Philip Pullman tackles his favorite topic (dogmatic Christianity) by breaking down the Gospels in the fantasy novel "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ." Is it us, or does the title sound like a Western? Finally, a book about a six-shooter-toting Jesus cleaning up an Old West town.