NEW
STUFF
A
SELECTION
OF RECENT ARRIVALS
New for November 2009
A Distant Neighborhood, Volume 1
by Jiro Taniguchi
There is an embarrassment of riches in the Taniguchi department this month as we have – unbelievably – two new (to American readers) works. A Distant Neighborhood is a two volume work, and we are told that we won't have long to wait for the conclusion. It is a work of the interior, a what-if sort of tale. Specifically, it graphically asks the question: what if you could go back and relive the critical years of your adolescence over again, while still retaining your adult memories? We don't have anything further to say about this one right now (but we will!) other than, "Hey, it's Taniguchi. What more do you need to know?" Well then, how about checking out this brief preview (look to the left hand side of the page and click on the thumbnails of the cover image for this book [and the next] to get to the preview and then click on the thumbnails of the pages for full size images).
retail price - $23.00 copacetic price - $20.75
The Summit of the Gods, Volume 1
by Jiro Taniguchi and Yumemakura Baku
While this is, evidently, an adaptation of an adventure novel of the same name, it is a match made in heaven, as it reads like pure Taniguchi. In many respects this is an ideal follow-up to Quest for the Missing Girl. Summit of the Gods is an exploration into the mechanics of masculinity, male-bonding and identity formation in the guise of a mountain climbing epic. It is also an artistic tour de force as Taniguchi pulls out all the stops and goes for page after page of stunning art that deftly parallels the urban environs of Tokyo, wherein the skeins of the story unwind, and the haunting mountain peaks that are the story's central focus. This work presents many of the tropes we associate with the superhero genre of comics here in the USA – a rugged, musclebound, loner driven by the inner demons of having his parents die tragically while he was still a child to become obsessed with achievement to the point of alienating his peers yet through his achievements attracting the adulation of a teen sidekick who had a similarly tragic loss of his parents (beginning to sound familiar?) – yet with a spectacularly greater degree of realism than what we associate with American superhero comics. This is a story that is set in the real world and is entirely devoid of the fantastic escapist fantasies that are essential to superheroes by their very nature, yet nevertheless manages to provide the same quintessential frisson-filled catharsis. This makes it an ideal comics work for those long-suffering comics fans who pine for that long-ago thrill that they once enjoyed in the pages of superhero comics but that is now denied them by the reality principle that has been imposed upon them as responsible adults. Taniguchi is without peer in his ability to create a sense of place and in setting the pace, and this work is a real page turner if ever there was one (except for the fact that some readers will want to pause to lavish their attention on the amazingly detailed urban and mountain landscapes). And this is only the first of FIVE volumes.
retail price - $25.00 copacetic price - $22.22
Hot Potatoe
by Marc Bell
Voot O'Reenie! Break out the Slim Gaillard and get comfortable! This gigantic album of the one and only Marc Bell, Canada's answer to long lonely winters, is coming over and you'll want to be prepared. Comics, illustration, mixed media and Bell's own idiosyncratic combinations of these that together embody one of the most singular ouevre's in the art comics biz are all amply on display in the over 270, 9" x 12" pages. Color and black and white works are reproduced accordingly and with care in this multiple-paper-stock-employing oversize hardcover volume that is an ideal tonic for chasing away those winter blues, and has been released just in time to do the job
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $33.95
Big Questions #13: A House That Floats
by Anders Nilsen
Already another issue! This is the shortest interval between issues since D & Q began publishing it with the seventh issue; and not only that, but this time out we have a double-length 48-page issue! It appears that Mr. Nilson has been eating his Wheaties™. This issue comes equipped with French flaps which provide the added bonus of cameo-style portraits and mini-bios of the entire cast of characters. We know that this issue, coming so fast on the heels of the last, and being a double issue to boot, will be a shock to the wallet of some, and so we are offering it, for now, at a special reduced price.
retail price - $9.95 copacetic price - $7.77
Red Snow
by Susumu Katsumata
Canadian publisher, Drawn and Quarterly extends their literary manga winning streak with the excellent hardcover collection of ten short stories in manga. Susumu Katsumata is yet another of the manga maestros who are woefully under-recognized here in North America that D & Q has taken upon themselves to introduce to what they hope – and so far has been – an appreciative audience. Katusmata's work is unique in that it falls into the category of gekiga – the grittier form of manga pioneered by Tatsumi and others – yet, unlike the vast majority of those practicing their craft within this form, Katsumata's tales are set in rural pre-modern Japan, giving his work some parallels with that master of Japanese cinema, Akira Kurosawa. Includes an interview with and biography of the author.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.22
Aya: The Secrets Come Out
by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie
The third volume in this intelligent and endearing look at bourgeois life in Côte d'Ivoire – The Ivory Coast to those of us in the English speaking world – during the 1970s that focuses on the trials and tribulations of a large cast of characters (that are helpfully outlined in a double page spread to assist those readers for whom this volume is their first to get up to speed) that centers on a young woman named Aya. Oubrerie's art is stunning as usual, as he continues to bring to life the unique color pallet of western Africa. At once exotic and mundane, this series truly brings this time and place back to life.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $17.77
The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My
by Tove Jansson
This NOT a fifth book in the collection of Moomin comics. That collection was – to the best of our knowledge – completed with the fourth volume. What this IS, is something else altogether: an amazing example of book arts that combines storytelling, gorgeous full color illustration and inventive die-cutting to create a unique reading experience that can be enjoyed by all ages. Be sure to pick this one up and look through it!
retail price - $16.95 copacetic price - $15.00
Like a Dog
by Zak Sally
Long suffering indy comics – and, indy music (he was a member of the rock trio Low for many a moon) – creator, editor and publisher steps into the Fantagraphics spotlight with this rugged yet strangely elegant hardcover collection that gives us – his not quite so suffering fans – a chance to read the vast majority of his hard to find and largely out of print work, including, most notably, the first two numbers of The Recidivist (the third is still, as of this writing, in print and available from Sally's own imprint, La Mano). Visceral, gripping, dark, and, most importantly, good, these are comics worth reading (and to help induce you to take the plunge, we're offering it at a special price).
retail price - $22.95 copacetic price - $18.88
No Cartoon Left
Behind
by Rob Rogers
Here it is, the big book of editorial cartoons by the resident cartoonist at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the past quarter century. This is an especially nice book as editorial cartoon collections go. It is a wallopin' 380 10" x 12" pages printed on semi-gloss stock. It opens up with five chapters that give a brief overview of Rob's development as a cartoonist and then heads in for twenty thematically united chapters of cartoons that take us on rollercoaster ride of the last twenty five years, through the prism of his editorial lens. Especially interesting is the chapter, "Holy Cow Tipping," which includes a number of examples of the kind of venomous and vituperative responses his cartoons sometimes receive from the Post-Gazette's readership as well as several cartoons that were either killed by the editors of the paper or deemed by Rogers himself to have been a mistake. This chapter provides a fascinating behind the scenes glimpse at the world of editorial cartooning that is the icing on this birthday cake of a book.
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $35.95
Starting Point: 1979 - 1996
by Hayao Miyazaki
This 460 page hardcover is a dream come true for anyone wanting to learn more about the life and mind of Miyazaki, the man behind what are probably the greatest animated films of our time. This volume collects essays, interviews, and memoirs written and conducted during the first two decades of his career. Readers will discover his theories of animation as well as how he came to formulate them, stories of his childhood, the founding of Studio Ghibli, as well as how all these came together. Food for thought, indeed.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $27.77
Logicomix:
An Epic Search for Truth
By Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou
Artwork by Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna
We're sorry for not listing this sooner, but our initial shipment sold out in a matter of days after its arrival – before we even had the chance to list it here – and then when we went to reorder we learned that the entire first printing had sold out! Well, now that we have our hot little hands on the second printing we want to let all you math and logic types, as well as those intrigued by the developments in this field that led to the Alan Turing's breakthroughs that made computers possible and so indirectly gave birth to the information age amidst which we currently find ourselves, that this engaging and highly readable graphic account the history of mathematics and logic during the first half of the twentieth century is now back on our shelves. Employing the dramatic device of linking all the historical events to the life of the philosopher/mathematician, Bertrand Russell, and bracketing the story with a self-referential account of its creation in the present, the authors have managed the difficult feat of simultaneously educating and entertaining the reader in equal measure. Needless to say (but, as all of you reading this well know, that has never stopped us before and we see no reason to let it start stopping us here) this book is packed with potential to be the perfect holiday gift for any mathematically inclined comics reader. Learn plenty more about it at: http://www.logicomix.com
retail price - $22.95 copacetic price - $20.00
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror
by... The Kramers Ergot Gang!
We're sorry for not listing this sooner, but our initial shipment sold out in a matter of days after its arrival – before we even had the chance to list it here – and we weren't sure that we would be able to get a restock on it. But now we have! So, if you missed out on this one the first time around, you have received a reprieve and been given another chance – don't blow it. What's all the fuss about? Well, this is a 48 page (no interior ads!) full color comic book "starring" the Simpsons written and drawn by Tim Hensley, Matthew Thurber, Kevin Huizenga, Jordan Crane, Ted May, Sammy Harkham, Will Sweeney, Jon Vermilyea, Ben Jones, John Kerschbaum, Jeffrey Brown and C.F., and featuring a cataclysmic cover by none other than dazzlin' Dan Zettwoch - 'nuff said!
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
New for October 2009
The Book of Genesis, Illustrated
by R. Crumb
Yes, here it is: the most talked about book in comics. Five years at the drawing board hath wrought Crumb's own pen & ink rendering of the West's origin myth. Crumb, as he warned and as we would naturally expect, hasn't pulled any punches and has illustrated this tale as written, warts and all. Crumb says it best himself in his introduction: "I, R. Crumb, the illustrator of this book, have, to the best of my ability, faithfully reproduced every word of the original text... Every other comic book version of The Bible that I've seen contains passages of completely made-up narrative and dialogue, in an attempt to streamline and 'modernize' the old scriptures, and still, these various comic book Bibles all claim to adhere to the belief that the Bible is 'the word of God' or 'inspired by God,' whereas I, ironically, do not believe the Bible is 'the word of God.' I believe it is the words of men. It is, nonetheless, a powerful text with layers of meaning that reach deep into our collective consciousness, our historical consciousness, if you will. It seems to be an inspired work but I believe that its power derives from its having been a collective endeavor that evolved and condensed over many generations ..." Every line in this book is hand drawn. The only mechanical text is on the copyright page, the inside jacket flaps, and the commentary in the addendum. It's the Bible! It's a comic book! It's Crumb! It is, in short, amazing. Dive right in with this preview.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.22
The Best
American Comics 2009
edited by Charles Burns
Well, Crumb is a tough act to follow, but we'll give it a shot with this star-studded anthology filled with the best and the brightest from the last twelve months of comics, as judged by Charles Burns. In a book like this, we feel that the contributor list says it best: Doug Allen, Peter Bagge, Gabrielle Bell, Matt Broersma, Daniel Clowes, Al Columbia, Robert Dennis Crumb, Sammy Harkham, Tim Hensley, Gilbert Hernandez, Kevin Huizenga, Ben Katchor, Kaz, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Michael Kupperman, Jason Lutes, Tony Millionaire, Jerry Moriarty, Anders Nilsen, Gary Panter, Laura Park, Mimi Pond, Ron Regé, David Sandlin, Koren Shadmi, Dash Shaw, Art Spiegelman, Ted Stearn, Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, Dan Zettwoch. 'Nuff said. Well, actually, we can't help but add that while the material contained in this anthology is absolutely fabulous, the quality of its reproduction is, mysteriously, not up to the same standard as the three previous volumes in this series, which were excellent in that department. This shouldn't stop anyone from picking up this fine volume, but it is worrisome. Let's hope that this was a one time aberration and that next year we'll find the fine folks at Houghton Mifflin have figured out what went wrong and put things in the production department back on track.
retail price - $22.95 copacetic price - $20.00
Wholphin
9
It seems like some of you have forgotten about the wholesome goodness that is Wholphin, The DVD magazine of rare and unseen short films. Seeing as how we like all things related to the number nine, we've chosen this issue to offer a special "let's-get-reacquainted" price on. It's a packed disc – over three hours worth of material. It's an especially good issue, filled with all sorts of films from around the world. The official hype states: "Wholphin No. 9 features three, hilarious, never-before-seen short films by Spike Jonze (which include appearances by Maurice Sendack and Catherine Keener, and illustrations by Marcel Dzama!); Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s short story, "Sparks," starring Carla Gugino and Eric Stoltz; the Academy Award-nominated documentary, "La Corona," about a high-stakes beauty pageant in a Colombian women’s prison; an incredibly rare and candid glimpse into the life of a Mormon fundamentalist who shares a husband with her younger biological sister; the Jury Prize-winning short from Cannes; Caveh Zahedi; meteorites; motordromes; acting lesson orgasms; films from Belgium, France, Germany, Australia and Japan, and much more." And there's plenty more besides! Review the entire contents and preview it here.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic special price - $15.95
OK, there is a growing list of new fiction releases here on the shelves at Copacetic that we believe will be of interest, but, sadly are nowhere near to being able to proffer any intelligible comments on... so we're going to punt. In the following listings we have enlisted the writers' friends and peers who have graciously contributed the jacket copy – "blurbs" – to do the job for us.
Chronic CIty
by Jonathan Lethem
Those of you who enjoyed Lethem's contribution to The Book of Other People – as we most certainly did here at Copacetic – will be pleased to discover that it was an excerpt from this novel, about which David Shields has to say: "I'm reminded of the well-rubbed Kafka line: A book must be the axe to break the frozen sea within us. Lethem's book, with incredible fury, aspires to do little less. It's almost certainly his best novel. It's genuinely great." How about them apples!
retail price - $28.95 copacetic price - $25.00
Zeitoun
by Dave Eggers
"Zeitoun is an instant American classic carved from fierce eloquence and a haunting moral sensibility. By wrestling with the demons of xenophobia and racial profiling that converged in the swirling vortex of Hurricane Katrina and post-9/11 America, Eggers lets loose the angels of wisdom and courage that hover over the lives of the beleaguered, but miraculously unbroken, Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun. This is a major work full of fire and wit by one of our most important writers." – Michael Eric Dyson
retail price - $24.00 copacetic price - $20.00
The Death of Bunny Munro
by Nick Cave
"Put Cormac McCarthy, Franz Kafka and Benny Hill together in a Brighton seaside guesthouse and they might just come up with Bunny Munro. As it stands, though, this novel emerges emphatically as the work of one of the great cross-genre storytellers o our age: a compulsive read possessing all of Nick Cave's trademark horror and humanity, often thinly disguised in a galloping, playful romp." – Irvine Welsh (See Nick read. Read Nick, read.)
retail price - $25.00 copacetic price - $22.22
Fantagraphics is still pumping them out...
Pim
& Francie
by Al Columbia
Yes, you've read that correctly, it's an entire hardcover volume devoted to the work of that notorious comics recluse, Al Columbia. Enter the deeply creepy cartoon world of funeral parlors, undertakers, cadavers and creatures the likes of which were never seen anywhere but in these pages. This book reads like a scrap book for an aborted animation project that succeeded all too well in dragging the artist's inner demons out from his unconscious and into the light of the drawing table lamp, whereupon they proceeded to wreak havoc on his soul. It appears that the artist may have come to the realization that he could not allow these foul creatures to become fully formed, lest they burrow into the collective consciousness – or, conversely, this may very well be from whence they emerged and he has cleverly trapped them here so that we could identify them and thereby prevent them from inflicting any further damage. Either way, tread carefully... AND, before, while or after you do, be SURE to read this amazing in-depth look at Pim & Francie on ComicsComics.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.00
Popeye, Volume 4
by E.C. Segar
The latest giant-size, full-color, die-cut-hardcover collection of the classic Sunday pages (as well as also containing, in glorious black and white, the accompanying daily strips, cleverly laid out six [as in Monday through Saturday] to a page so as to perfectly balance out the weekly rhythm of the Sunday pages) is here. Classic comics written and drawn by E.C. Segar collected in a book designed by Jacob Covey that is published by Fantagraphics so as to be offered for sale by Copacetic, and purchased by... you?
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.00
Cat Burglar Black
by Richard Sala
An all new 128 page full color graphic novel full of trademark Sala tropes. K. is a cute teenage orphan raised by a crazed matron to be a master thief and pickpocket. She has now been invited to attend Bellsong Academy, a (need we say it?) mysterious boarding school where something is not as it seems... The works of Richard Sala provide formal pleasures akin to those of amusement park haunted house rides; their pages filled with twists that present thrills at every turn. From (:01) First Second Books.
retail price - $16.95 copacetic price - $15.25
Project Recess, Volume 3
by James Jean
The third installment in the elegantly designed and much demanded (the first two were quick sellouts) series of the art of James Jean provides an intimate look at the working methods of this talented, stylish and popular artist. A plain black die-cut cover hints at the informal sketchbook/scrapbook contents within. Fans who have been waiting to get an up-close and personal look at the creative core of James Jean now have their chance. Check this out for an idea what's in store (but only a hint, as the cumulative effect of a book full of work can't be captured in a preview),.
retail price - $34.95 copacetic price - $29.75
Poem
Strip
by Dino Buzzati
An Italian author and illustrator best known for his 1952 novel, The Tartar Steppe, a Kafkaesque take on WW II that based in part on his own experiences, as well as for a series of classic children's books, including The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily, Dino Buzzati here presents us with his swan song in Poem Strip. An unusual synthesis of words and pictures, it just barely qualifies as comics... but it does. Created when the author was in his 60s, and set in a highly hedonistic and fabulously fleshy rendering of the "swinging sixties," it is a retelling of the Orpheus myth, casting a pop/rock singer/songwriter in the lead. It makes for an intriguing read, and the most fun comes from sussing out the symbol-laden artwork. There is no getting around the male gaze of the artist and fetishization of the female form on display here, nor can one avoid the equations of sex, sin and death, but these are all part of the formula that links the multiple mythic memes of the Mediterranean. The republication of this classic simultaneously provides a missing piece of both the puzzle of the 1960s and the development of the graphic novel.
retail price - $14.95 copacetic price - $13.50
Joe Henry: Blood From Stars (CD)
Another impossibly good album from the one and only Joe Henry. Amazingly, you can listen to the entire LP online at his site, HERE (Just click on "Launch MP3 player to listen"). And while you're listening to it, you can take a moment to read the note he penned on the day of its release, HERE. And, please note that both the package and booklet covers feature photographs taken by Eugene Smith in Pittsburgh, PA during his epic Dream Street project of 1955-56.
retail price - $17.98 copacetic price - $15.97
And then there's our haul from SPX 2009. As with every year, we picked up some great stuff. Some highlights include:
The
Complete Jack Survives
by Jerry Moriarty
Begun thirty years ago, Jack has at last found a permanent luxury dwelling in this sumptuously produced (by Buenaventura Press) oversized hardcover book that will be treasured by comics aesthetes everywhere. Jerry Moriarty, who has the courage to admit that, "When I started out, I didn't know what I was doing," took a chance and headed into unknown territory, taking a painterly sensibility rooted in the depression-era painting of Hopper, Sheeler and Burchfield, and grafting it straight onto his own hardwired, homegrown comics sensibility. Without taking the time to worry what it all meant or where he was going, he just struck out for the territory and made it all his own. Take a tour.
retail price - $34.95 copacetic price - $29.75
also from Buenaventura Press, which is currently championing the classic comic book (i.e. pamphlet) form:
The Gigantic Robot
by Tom Gauld
A meditation on the ephemerality of existence that tries to have it both ways, as only comics can.
retail price - $16.95 copacetic special price - $12.95
I Want You
by (this year's Ignatz winner for Outstanding Mini-Comic) Lisa Hanawalt
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
Injury
by Ted "St. Louis Blues" May & Co.
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
The Aviatrix
by Eric "Tales to Demolish" Haven
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
Boy's Club #3
by Matt "B.J. Jr." Furie
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
And then there's the double header from John P.:
King-Cat #70
by John Porcellino
The issue that marks the twentieth anniversary of King-Cat Comics and Stories. And it really is an extra special issue, one of the best ever. Twenty years. Amazing. Congratulations, Mr. P.!
retail price - $3.00 copacetic price - $3.00
Map of My Heart
by John Porcellino
To celebrate King-Cat Comics and Stories' twentieth birthday, Drawn and Quarterly has given us a present: this swell 360 page volume that collects King-Cat Comics and Stories #51 - #61 – all classics – in their entirety, along with copious notes, bonus comics, journal and notebook entries, maps, and even an index (of titles)! This one should be a no-brainer for everyone except those who already own the originals (and even they might be tempted by the bonuses). Those who are unfamiliar with Porcellino's work can get a nice PDF taste of it here. And, we're adding to the celebration by offering a special discount.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic special price - $19.95
Diehard indy comics distributor-cum-publisher, Bodega, was on hand with their two latest releases:
Follow Me
by Jesse Moynihan
Here we have 120 pages of comics that stand a good chance of intriguing quite a few more readers than they currently are (at least around here). Readers of comics by the Kramers crowd – specifically, C.F., B.J., and Sammy H. – as well as Chester Brown fans mourning the lack of new work, and members of the Theo Ellsworth Army, all stand to be pleasantly surprised by Mr. Moynihan's work in Follow Me, which is, technically, the third part of The Backwards Folding Mirror (we're out of the first two parts at the moment, but we'll see what we can do about getting them back in stock; that said, this one will stand on its own). Check it out and see what you think, here.
retail price - $11.00 copacetic price - $8.75
The Mourning Star, Book 2
by Kazimir Strzepak
The second volume in an ongoing series, this one is, like the first (which we've still got around here somewhere), a fat, square, Jordan Crane designed book packed with alternate universe action. This work shows some affinity to the work of Fort Thunderers Brian Chippendale, Chris Fourges and, especially, Brian Ralph, in its themes and visual vocabulary, but it is a quite a bit more accessible to the uninitiated.
retail price - $13.00 copacetic price - $11.00
Tugboat Press keeps on chugging along...
Papercutter #11
The latest issue of our favorite regularly published comics anthology debuted at SPX, and it's another issue that no indy comics fan will want to miss. The bulk of the issue – 26 pages and one front cover worth, to be exact – are devoted to "Lululand," a slice of life vignette of the life of Lulu a wondering and wandering washer of dishes and dreamer of dreams trying to figure it out that is imagined by writer Amy Adoyzie and diligently delineated by Jon Sukarangsan. Backing this up is "Duperman," a snappy one-pager by your friend and mine, Dustin Harbin, and "Letter Home," a story of schoolwork vs. artwork by someone who should know, the Portland, OR artist and educator, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg, who takes us through to the back cover. Inside covers by Nate Beaty. Edited by Greg Means
retail price - $4.00 copacetic price - $3.50
Some of the better small-press and self-published comics we picked up include:
Schematic Comics
by Dan Zettwoch
First off, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention this unexpected treat. This is a new printing of one of the hits of SPX 2005 that has long been unavailable and highly sought after. It collects fifteen fabulous pieces by the talented and versatile Mr. Zettwoch. All we have to say is: If you missed this the first time around, then don't make the same mistake twice! Come one down and pick this one up before it's gone again. And this goes double for anyone who wasn't around for the first go round. This one's a classic of self-publishing. 48 pages under a hand-silk-screened cover.
retail price - $3.95 copacetic price - $3.95
Funny Aminals
Long suffering fans of the funny animal genre of comic books, one of the classic standard bearers of the comics tradition that has fallen by the wayside as of late, have much to rejoice with the release of this magical magazine size comic book that is clearly a labor of love. Full color front and back covers, printed on heavy stock, contain 68 pages of comics and stories by the likes of Joe Lambert, Bryan Stone, Colleen Frakes, Penina and more, all entirely devoted to animal fun, and includes a lengthy essay on the history of the genre by none other than Mr. Steve "Swamp Thing" Bissette! Learn more about the Funny Aminal gang, here. Recommended (and, on special)!
retail price - $8.00 copacetic price - $6.00
Pope Hats
by Ethan Rilly
This guy has the chops and pulls off some nice slice of life comics about twenty-somethings with an easy naturalism and quiet verisimilitude that make him an obvious choice to nominate as a potential successor the Adrian Tomine. This comic is a nice, professionally printed comic, complete with full color cardstock cover, made possible by Mr. Rilly's receipt of a Xeric grant. We think you should check this out, so we're offering a special introductory price on it, for now.
retail price - $4.00 copacetic special price - $2.50
And, while you're at it, you might want to pick up Ethan's latest mini, The Nervous Party. It's well worth the $2.00 you'll have to shell out.
Woman King
by Colleen Frakes
Ms. Frakes took home this year's Ignatz for "Promising New Talent." The award specifically cited Woman King in its announcement, so it is a winner by association. We also have last year's Tragic Relief trade edition for the same special price.
retail price - $7.00 copacetic price - $5.95
This Is What Concerns Me
Remainder
Favorites
Nine Gallons
all by Susie Cagle
Leftist, hippie, vegan comics from San Francisco by someone who can tell a story and draw. Entertaining and enlightening.
all except Nine Gallons – retail price - $2.00 copacetic price - $2.00@
Nine Gallons – retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - $4.44
Exploding Head Man
Solipsist's Doodles
by Jason Overby
Are you ready for 128 (96 and 32 pages respectively) pages of unimpeded personal expression in comic book form? If so you might want to give these the once over. Original and unique, obscure yet satisfying, Overby's comics are leading us somewhere, but it's too soon to tell if it's going to be to a place where we'll want to stick around. Here are comics for risk takers.
Exploding Head Man – retail price - $6.00 copacetic price - $6.00
Solipsist's Doodles – retail price - $3.00 copacetic price - $3.00
Dead Letters and Rare Words
by Mark Burrier
A nice 60-page sketchbook collection with cardstock two-color cover.
retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - $4.44
Love Is a Peculiar Type of Thing
by Box Brown
The latest confessional comics-creating Brown (as in Jeffrey, Chester, and, intriguingly, beginning with the granddaddy of all confessional comics, the fictional "Binky") enters the indy arena with this Xeric Foundation supported 96 page squarebound collection of comics in the great Brown tradition.
retail price - $10.00 copacetic price - $8.75
And we've saved the best for last! The Copacetic pick for the highlight of this year's SPX is:
Cold Heat Special #6
Items from our October 2009 listings may now be purchased online at our new site, HERE.
New for September 2009
Well, it appears that the folks at Fantagraphics are feeling particularly gung-ho on comics right now, based on their ten-pack of new releases. Let's start it off with the essential release. Yes, you guessed it, it's:
Love and
Rockets: New Stories #2
by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez
It's Here! We don't have a lot to say about it, yet, but what else do you need to know, really? Well, for starters, how about the fact that this issue features a 42 page pantomime comic by Beto that is a midnight ferry ride through the subconscious realm that will leave you with that tantalizing feeling you get when you wake up from a particularly vivid yet mystifying dream: that you had the answer, that you saw how all the pieces fit together and you had it all figured out... if only you could remember! And then there's the fantastic fifty-page finale of Jaime's epic opus of femme superheoics, "Ti-Girls Adventures." This contemporary classic that transcends all attempts to categorize it now only comes out once a year, so we feel that all we have to say is, "Be there, or be square!"
retail price - $14.99 copacetic price - $11.99
All and Sundry
by Paul Hornschemeier
All the bits and pieces that were scattered hither and yon have been carefully collected and sequenced in this big fat scrapbook that was (no surprise here) designed by Hornschemeier himself. There's much to be gleaned here, especially by the artists among you. Not sure what kind of work has been collected? This PDF preview should give you a better a idea.
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.00
The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book
by Joe Daly
Two full color works, the novella length, "The Leaking Cello Case," and the novel length, "John Wesley Harding," make this hardcover volume a welcome arrival for all long suffering fans of South Africa's reigning comics hepster, Joe Daly. Here is work that really is like no other, a truly diverse amalgamation that brings to mind comics from Hergé to Clowes to Pete Sickman-Garner, but remains utterly unique and distinctly South African. Not enough people are hep to this guy, so we say, "Check this one out!" And we're making it easy for you, with this 10-page PDF preview.
retail price - $22.99 copacetic price - $19.99
Giraffes In My Hair
by Bruce Paley and Carol Swain
Carol Swain is one of Britain's finest artists, and with Giraffes In My Hair, written by her current companion, Bruce Paley, we have her most substantial work to date. It is a memoir of Paley's "life in the tumultuous '60s and '70s." Starting out in 1967 with hitchhiking and moving on through dropping acid, Disneyland, Chicago '68, Black Panthers and then into the '70s, and Max's Kansas City, doing drugs with Johnny Thunders and punk rock "nihilism." All told in Carol Swain's exquisite, understated and finely tuned pencil rendering that are a pleasure to behold. But you don't have to take our word fo rit; just check out this 9-page PDF preview and decide for yourself.
retail price - $19.99 copacetic price - $17.77
The Squirrel Machine
by Hans Rickheit
It's a freaky frenzy of pen and ink in this aptly titled tale of sex and science fiction set in Victorian-era New England. Rickheit splices 19th century literary tropes onto a 21st century comics sensibility to come up with a sort of H.G. Wells meets Jim Woodring tale that defies description. 178 pages of the mind-bending and the macabre. Having trouble visualizing this work from our paltry description we have provided you with? Have no fears, a 15-page PDF preview is here!
retail price - $18.99 copacetic price - $16.66
Prison Pit
by Johnny Ryan
We have to say, from the looks of Prison Pit (Book One), that it appears that Mr. Ryan has been spending some quality time with the works of Mat Brinkman. This work is quite a departure and long time Ryan readers may not know what to make of this violent (well, at least that's familiar), nearly wordless, quest-driven narrative set in a barren and nameless terrain. Fans of hyper-violent role-playing video games may have met their match with this one.
retail price - $12.99 copacetic price - $11.75
West Coast
Blues
by Jaques Tardi and Jean-Patrick Manchette
France's king of crime comics is back! West Coast Blues is an all-new noir full of Tardi's inimitable pen and ink stylizations in the service of creating a dramatic travelogue of anarchic violence: from seashore to urban center to deep in the woods. A world full of people you don't want to meet doing things you'd be better off not knowing about, but somehow, there's something about this world which makes you curious: just what makes these people tick, and what does that say about the world we live in?
retail price - $18.99 copacetic price - $16.66
From Wonderland With Love: Danish Comics in the Third Millenium
edited by Steffen P. Maarup
This is a flexi-bound collection of 178 pages of comics from Denmark: black and white, duotone and full color. There's an amazing variety of work on display here, from three-panel pen and ink dailies to full color graphic novellas. Satire, sarcasm, cuddly cuteness, potentially discomfiting explorations of the unconscious, and much more are packed in side-by-side and executed in a dazzling variety of styles. Take a look at this 14-page PDF preview and see what you think.
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.00
Rock Candy
by Femke Hiemstra
Here she is, the Dutch Pop Surrealist Queen in all her glory. This perky die-cut hardcover volume designed and edited by Jacob Covey contains a vibrant mix of painting, sketches, and mixed-media objets d'art. Get a taste with this generous 15-page preview courtesy of the fine folks at Fantagraphics.
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $24.99
The Complete Collected Peanuts, Volume 12: 1973 - 74
by Charles M. Schulz
introduction by by Billie Jean King
This is the dawning of the age of... Woodstock and Peppermint Patty, who take center stage along with the rest of the Peanuts gang as we head deep into the heart of the 1970s. Billie Jean King's introduction is a real surprise and has to be the most sincerely heartfelt one yet. The range of introducers this series has accumulated thus far is a real testament to the amazingly broad appeal of Peanuts: from Walter Cronkite (Volume 2) to Whoopi Goldberg (Volume 5), from Jonathan Franzen (Volume 4) to John Waters (Volume 9), and now Billie Jean King – everyone loves good ol' Charlie Brown and Co.!
retail price - $28.99 copacetic price - $23.99
and for all of you who were waiting for this year's box set to arrive, well, the wait is over:
The Complete Collected Peanuts Gift Box Set 6: 1971 - 74
by Charles M. Schulz
As always, this box set contains the two latest volumes in the series (11 & 12, this time around) , nestled in a sturdy Seth-designed slip case, for a substantial savings.
retail price - $49.99 copacetic special price - $39.99
Whew! That's it for Fantagraphics. There are, of course, other people in the comics publishing biz, so let's continue on...
Nancy
by John Stanley
Drawn and Quarterly continues their long held dream to present the works of John Stanley in deluxe, Seth-designed volumes. Pretty much everything we said about the premiere volume in this series, Melvin Monster, holds true for this one, and then some!
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.22
Stitches
by David Small
This is a moving childhood memoir from renowned children's picture book illustrator, David Small. While his career has largely been devoted to serving children, this work reveals that it is likely that he was nourishing his own inner child, as his parents never did. Stitches is a fairly dark and harrowing work, as are many childhood memoirs, it must be said. It is executed entirely in pen and ink worked over with delicately nuanced ink washes that capture his pain. Fans of Will Eisner's late, mature work (also, interestingly, published by Stitches' publisher, W.W. Norton) are herein especially encouraged to take a look, as it manages to achieve a similar emotional punch. And it's garnered some pretty hefty praise from the likes of Jules Feiffer, Francoise Mouly – even Stan Lee! – but most of all, R. Crumb, who states, "David Small evokes the mad scientific world of the 1950s beautifully. Small is an innocent lamb, a sensitive boy, caught in a nightmare situation. Capturing body language and facial expression subtly, Stitches becomes in Small's skillful hands a powerful story, an emotionally charged autobiography."
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $22.22
Stuffed
Nick Bertozzi & Glenn Eichler
Stuffed is an excellent work. Written by award-winning, Colbert Report scriptor, Glenn Eichler, and illustrated by the under-appreciated Nick Bertozzi (read The Salon, if you haven't already). The cast of characters, the settings, the interactions – all ring true: these are people we know, doing things in a way that we understand, and that make sense. At its core lie the roles, rites and responsibilities of parenting, as well as the responses to it. Stuffed makes for a solid, enriching, rewarding – and entertaining – read. Recommended!
retail price - $17.99 copacetic price - $15.99
The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics
edited by Art Spiegelman and Francois Mouly
If the amazing kids' comics from the halycon days of yore are your thing, then you've hit the jackopot with this one! Well over 300 pages of classics, all scanned from the original comics themselves, and printed at approximately 120% of the originals. These scans have been digitally cleaned up a bit, so there's no newsprint background tones, just the flat white paper that they're printed on. While this might upset some purists, it was probably a good call as this book is clearly going to be marketed as a gift for children as well as for older fans, and lay people will have difficulty appreciating the nuances of newsprint; and they did a more than decent job of balancing the tones. The book is, somewhat arbitrarily, divided into five sections: Hey, Kids; Funny Animals; Fantasyland; Storytime; and Weird and Wacky. The book successfully draws across the spectrum of children's comics from the twenty years following the close of the second world war – the golden age of kids' comics that fed the baby boomers' imaginations before television took over. While certainly no one is going to agree with every choice, the editors – along with the board of advisors – picked a good crop of comics that is certain to contain favorites of every fan as well as win the hearts of every reader and, more importantly, is sure to capture the imagination of the next generation. Includes work by all-time greats Carl Barks, Basil Wolverton, Harvey Kurtzman, John Stanley, Bob Bolling, Walt Kelly, and many, many more (even Dr. Seuss, who started out in comics). Get a sneak peek, here (just click on the image of the open book at the top right, under "Sample Toon Treasury").
retail price - $40.00 copacetic price - $35.00
Big Questions #12
by Anders Nilsen
Yes, it's here. Apologies for not noting it earlier... This issue features straight-up bird-on-bird action in a single, issue-length story. Anders takes us on yet another metaphorical foray into our life and times, as his fine flock of feathered friends gets jumped by a gang of crows set on mayhem and murder.
retail price - $5.95 copacetic price - $5.35
The Art of Tony Millionaire
by (duh) Tony Millionaire
It's here, Tony Millionaire's coffee-table moment – but, professional drinker and rabble rouser that Mr. Millionaire is, it might be a tad risky to put the fine china next to this volume, as the spirit inhabiting it is liable to bubble forth and wreak havoc. It is a volume that is likely to feel more at home next to a bottle of spirits, whether it's at the corner tavern or the basement bar. Included along with page after page of Mr. Millionaire's classic-illustration-era, fine pen and ink stylings are many heretofore unknown and unseen bits and pieces of his life and times and antics: newspaper clippings, embarrasing photos, confessions of vicious boozing and more! Long time fans will find much to induldge in.
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $34.95
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer (DVD)
a film by Robbie Cavolina & Ian McCrudden
Years in the making, this definitive documentary film portrait of one of the all-time great jazz singers is now here. It's a two-disc marvel with a bonus disc that includes what all true aficionado's crave: 90 minutes of uninterrupted live performances! Make sure to get a taste here, at the official Anita O'Day website.
retail price - $29.98 copacetic price - $25.00
Items from our September 2009 listings may now be purchased online at our new site, HERE.
New for August 2009
Locas II
by Jaime Hernandez
418 pages of the greatest comics of our time under one cover. This volume picks up, roughly, where Locas left off, and collects nearly all the standard comic book size formatted work that Jaime has executed since the conclusion of the original 50-issue run of the magazine size formatted Love and Rockets. Locas II bring together under one cover all six issues of the Penny Century series along with Jaime's contributions to the first nineteen issues of the twenty-issue run of the second volume of Love and Rockets. Not everything from this period is here, however. The most notable exclusion is the first work Jaime completed after the termination of L&R, vol. I, the three-issue mini-series, Whoa, Nellie! As it was only tangentially connected to the Locas storyline, it is not collected here. Also not included are numerous short strips – mostly one or two pages in length – that appeared in the aforementioned issues of Penny Century and L&R, vol. II, but are not related to the Locas continuity, as well as the full color, novella length work that originally appeared (slightly abridged) in The New York Times Sunday Magazine and subsequently appeared in Love and Rockets, Volume II #20. (Completists take note!) That said, what you are getting is a big book filled with the best of the best, all laid out in a mammoth narrative arc that continues to build on the magnificent structure of past work in creating the most richly complex and deeply human work in the history of comics.
retail price - $39.99 copacetic price - $33.99
Masterpiece Comics
by R. Sikoryak
Literally two decades in the making, here is a book that lives up to its name! There are levels of irony upon irony and then within and in between these there lurks hints and glimmers of more. There is militant subversion and blatant transgression of the exact same material for which is simultaneously exhibited the deepest respect and greatest empathy. R. Sikoryak is a truly singular master of comics who knows its classical forms and major practitioners inside out to a degree that is simply unparalleled. His work contained here will trigger a panoply of associations to anyone devoted to the form of comics and this is then squared for those who are on equally familiar terms with the literary classics that are adapted. Sikoryak's achievment in successfully splicing together classic literature and classic comics at the deep level of their respective genetic codes is such that the reading of this collection will, for some, spark a revolution in their perceptual apparatus that will topple the reigning dominant ideology and force a reordering of priorities. We have here the Book of Genesis as a series of Blondie Sunday pages; Dante's Inferno imagined as Bazooka Gum insert comics; Shakespeare's Macbeth as a Mary Worth sub-plot; Voltaire's Candide imagined as Ziggy; Marlowe's Faust as a series of Garfield dailies; Wuthering Heights as an EC horror comic; The Scarlet Letter as acted out by Little Lulu and Tubby; Kafka's "Metamorphosis" starring Charlie Brown; The Portrait of Dorian Gray as a sequence from Little Nemo in Slumberland; Waiting for Godot starring Beavis and Butthead; and, finally the piece de resistance, Crime and Punishment as a 1950s Detective Comics featuring Batman & Robin and the Joker followed by the encore of Camus's L'Etranger condensed into a series of Action Comics covers circa the same era. No self-respecting comics fan can hold their head high without having this volume in their library. Please take a moment to feast your eyes on this PDF sneak peek. And then take a few moments to read this 3-part interview with Sikoryak.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $17.77
Cold Heat 7/8
by Frank Santoro and BJ
Cold Heat closes in for the kill with another double issue. This one brings the series one (double) issue away from completion. After the massive action blow-out of #5/6, this time around we have more of a culture jam as the saga crosses international boundaries when Castle & Co. head to the southern hemisphere, accompanied by the BBC, and the modern condition of living in the global village is given the Cold Heat treatment along the way. Land lines and laptops, mobile phones and desktops, the internet and intensive care units, wifi and the web, credit cards and music festivals, airports and hotel rooms, Starbucks and taxi cabs, bright beaches and dark alleys – all seamlessly connect to form the all-encompassing phenomenological envelope that passes for reality in the 21st century. As always, series artist, Frank Santoro takes chances – starting, most obviously this time around, with the front cover, which invokes Ellsworth Kelly and Ad Reinhardt while highlighting the "thingness" of a comic book – as he pushes and pokes at the formal elements that make up the current corpus of comics in his ongoing challenge to the received wisdom that constitutes contemporary comics orthodoxy.
The
images we've selected to illustrate this listing focus on one of
Santoro's greatest strengths that of exploring the many avenues open to
graphically rendering interior subjective states of mind beyond mere
mastery of facial expression. The many faces of Castle on display
in the pages of Cold Heat embody of the struggle to forge new tools to
place in the comics craft toolbox, making each issue of the series
double as a workshop – and none moreso than this one. There's an
aspect to the experience of reading Cold Heat that feels like being
taken behind the scenes to see how it's done while the action never
stops happening all around. It's like bringing you right there on the
set while they're filming yet still managing to maintain the
manufactured illusion of the movie. This issue has a
terrifyingly low print run of 100 copies, so delay purchase at your own
risk.
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $18.88
Abstract Comics
edited by Andrei Molotiu
Andrei Molotiu, college professor, art historian, and all-star poster to the TCJ message board, has pulled together a wide ranging assortment of works under the banner of "abstract comics." Molotiu well understands the vagaries that will attach themselves to an overly broad designation such as this and has penned a cogent introduction to give readers as idea of his thoughts about what areas this label could assist in classifying. Importantly, he is well aware that this primary purpose of this collection is to get the conversation started. And this it has already accomplished, as the numerous posts to the Abstract Comics Blog firmly attest. Artists represented in this volume range from celebrated masters such as R. Crumb, Gary Panter and Patrick McDonnell, to accomplished practitioners of the comics arts such as James Kochalka, Lewis Trondheim, J.R. Williams and John Hankiewicz, to marginally known art comics figures like Richard Hahn, Jason T. Miles, Blaise Larmee and Warren Craghead III, but the majority of contributors are obscure figures working on the margins that few readers of these pages will be familiar with – at least in the context of producing comics – such as editor Molotiu himself, who turned in eight pages of free floating abstractions, and Copacetic's own Bill Boichel, whose entry is a 24-page mini-comic that has been reformatted as a two-page spread. Yet lack of renown should not be conflated with lack of artistic vision as some of the most engaging works on display here are by the least recognized artists. In recognition of the fact that the purchase of this volume represents a bit of a risk for most comics readers due to the largely unfamiliar terrain, we have decided to shoulder some of that risk by offering an introductory special price of 25% below retail, which works out to a savings of $10.00 that you can either pocket... or spend on more comics!
retail price - $39.99 copacetic special price - $29.99
Sleeper Car
by Theo Ellsworth
Looking for something to celebrate? How about this: An all new 32-page comic book by Theo Ellsworth! It's been almost a year since up-and-coming indy-comics publisher, Secret Acres unleashed the full force of his massive talent in the definitive Capacity collection that was released at last year's SPX and has been one of Copacetic's best sellers since then. In the interim, the question, "Is there anything new by Theo Ellsworth?" has become perhaps the most frequent of all queries here at Copacetic (followed closely by, "Can I use the bathroom?") Now, at last we can answer in the affirmative. Sleeper Car is firmly in the tradition of the comics that filled Capacity, and is sure to be enjoyed by all its fans. The sleeper car is now ready for boarding, aaall aboooaaarrd!
retail price - $6.00 copacetic price - $5.40
Gen of Hiroshima 7: Bones Into Dust
Gen of HIroshima 8: Merchants of Death
by
Keiji Nakazawa
This amazing 10-volume saga nears its conclusion with these two volumes that, interestingly, deal, in part, with Gen's efforts to publish an eyewitness account of the bombing. Clearly, the impetus to give voice to this story, which in turn led to the creation of this landmark work, was there from the very beginning. Indeed, the original comic book publication of this tale in the United States (in the early 1970s – making it, we believe, the first US manga publication) was titled, "I Saw It!" A title that conveys a sense of urgency that belies the twenty plus years it took to get the story out. We apologize to readers of this series for our tardiness in bringing the release of these two volumes to your attention. Anyone who has yet to read the first volume of this series, is hereby given a push to do so... today!
retail price - $14.95@ copacetic price - $13.50@
A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge
by Josh Neufeld
Three years in the making, here is what is highly likely to be the definitive comics documentary of the great New Orleans flood of 2005. Heavily researched, it combines intimate human portraits with important details to create a close up and personal account.
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $22.22
Bringing Up Father
by George McManus
This is the first volume in what we hope will be an ongoing series of George McManus's immortal classic newspaper comics series, Bringing Up Father. It is also a subset of an already ongoing series from NBM, Forever Nuts, dedicated to collecting "classic screwball strips." Already available in this series are the initial volumes of Mutt 'n' Jeff and Happy Hooligan. While we have nothing disparaging to say about these two, we feel compelled to point out that, while the early strips on display in this volume are indeed exemplars of the form, Bringing Up Father is much more than simply a screwball strip. Together with Chic Young's Blondie, it pioneered the family sitcom that went on to become a staple of radio and then television entertainment that continues to this day (interestingly, The Simpsons now holds the title of the longest running sitcom of all time; perhaps the roots of the sitcom form in comics has somehow contributed to The Simpsons' longevity...). And not only that, George McManus is the undisputed progenitor of what has come to be known as the clear line school of comics. While this school came to be codified in France – hence its moniker, ligne claire (of which "clear line" is a translation) – it all begins here with these strips collected here – all dailies from the first two years of the strip, 1913 & 1914. McManus is more than just the originator of the clear line, he is also its undisputed master. The strips here are just the beginning: over the next thirty years he perfected a smooth clear line that continues to set the standard by which all others are measured. Here's hoping we get a chance to see more of it in print soon!
retail price - $24.95 copacetic special price - $19.95
Tank Girl 3
(remastered)
By Jamie Hewlett, Alan Martin and Philip Bond
Here it is, the new and improved, "remastered" edition of the third volume of that pop/punk icon, Tank Girl. While we have to admit to preferring the in-your-face covers of the original series of trades to the more discreet packaging on the new editions, we must say that the interiors are superior. The pages have been re-proportioned to bring them closer to the Deadline originals, the art that was intended for black and white reproduction is printed here as intended, while the color work receives much better reproduction; and there are two extra stories that don't appear in the original edition, making for 16 additional bonus pages. Not only that, this edition costs LESS than the old one. All in all, it's hard to knock.
retail price - $14.95 copacetic price - $13.50
Melvin Monster
by John Stanley
Drawn & Quarterly launches their long held dream project of a John Stanley Library with this lush, Seth-designed hardcover volume containing 112 pages of full color comics – all scanned from the original comic books, for that collector frisson (all that's missing is the smell) – that originally comprised the first three issues of the 1965 Dell series. Seth has lavished his designer attentions on this book and it is another fine fetish-worthy volume. Not sure if Melvin Monster is for you (or, perhaps, a child near you)? Well then, just take a moment out of your busy day to peruse this full color preview and see what you think.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $17.77
Items from our August 2009 listings may now be purchased online at our new site, HERE.
A Distant Neighborhood, Volume 1
by Jiro Taniguchi
There is an embarrassment of riches in the Taniguchi department this month as we have – unbelievably – two new (to American readers) works. A Distant Neighborhood is a two volume work, and we are told that we won't have long to wait for the conclusion. It is a work of the interior, a what-if sort of tale. Specifically, it graphically asks the question: what if you could go back and relive the critical years of your adolescence over again, while still retaining your adult memories? We don't have anything further to say about this one right now (but we will!) other than, "Hey, it's Taniguchi. What more do you need to know?" Well then, how about checking out this brief preview (look to the left hand side of the page and click on the thumbnails of the cover image for this book [and the next] to get to the preview and then click on the thumbnails of the pages for full size images).
retail price - $23.00 copacetic price - $20.75
The Summit of the Gods, Volume 1
by Jiro Taniguchi and Yumemakura Baku
While this is, evidently, an adaptation of an adventure novel of the same name, it is a match made in heaven, as it reads like pure Taniguchi. In many respects this is an ideal follow-up to Quest for the Missing Girl. Summit of the Gods is an exploration into the mechanics of masculinity, male-bonding and identity formation in the guise of a mountain climbing epic. It is also an artistic tour de force as Taniguchi pulls out all the stops and goes for page after page of stunning art that deftly parallels the urban environs of Tokyo, wherein the skeins of the story unwind, and the haunting mountain peaks that are the story's central focus. This work presents many of the tropes we associate with the superhero genre of comics here in the USA – a rugged, musclebound, loner driven by the inner demons of having his parents die tragically while he was still a child to become obsessed with achievement to the point of alienating his peers yet through his achievements attracting the adulation of a teen sidekick who had a similarly tragic loss of his parents (beginning to sound familiar?) – yet with a spectacularly greater degree of realism than what we associate with American superhero comics. This is a story that is set in the real world and is entirely devoid of the fantastic escapist fantasies that are essential to superheroes by their very nature, yet nevertheless manages to provide the same quintessential frisson-filled catharsis. This makes it an ideal comics work for those long-suffering comics fans who pine for that long-ago thrill that they once enjoyed in the pages of superhero comics but that is now denied them by the reality principle that has been imposed upon them as responsible adults. Taniguchi is without peer in his ability to create a sense of place and in setting the pace, and this work is a real page turner if ever there was one (except for the fact that some readers will want to pause to lavish their attention on the amazingly detailed urban and mountain landscapes). And this is only the first of FIVE volumes.
retail price - $25.00 copacetic price - $22.22
Hot Potatoeby Marc Bell
Voot O'Reenie! Break out the Slim Gaillard and get comfortable! This gigantic album of the one and only Marc Bell, Canada's answer to long lonely winters, is coming over and you'll want to be prepared. Comics, illustration, mixed media and Bell's own idiosyncratic combinations of these that together embody one of the most singular ouevre's in the art comics biz are all amply on display in the over 270, 9" x 12" pages. Color and black and white works are reproduced accordingly and with care in this multiple-paper-stock-employing oversize hardcover volume that is an ideal tonic for chasing away those winter blues, and has been released just in time to do the job
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $33.95
Big Questions #13: A House That Floats
by Anders Nilsen
Already another issue! This is the shortest interval between issues since D & Q began publishing it with the seventh issue; and not only that, but this time out we have a double-length 48-page issue! It appears that Mr. Nilson has been eating his Wheaties™. This issue comes equipped with French flaps which provide the added bonus of cameo-style portraits and mini-bios of the entire cast of characters. We know that this issue, coming so fast on the heels of the last, and being a double issue to boot, will be a shock to the wallet of some, and so we are offering it, for now, at a special reduced price.
retail price - $9.95 copacetic price - $7.77
Red Snow
by Susumu Katsumata
Canadian publisher, Drawn and Quarterly extends their literary manga winning streak with the excellent hardcover collection of ten short stories in manga. Susumu Katsumata is yet another of the manga maestros who are woefully under-recognized here in North America that D & Q has taken upon themselves to introduce to what they hope – and so far has been – an appreciative audience. Katusmata's work is unique in that it falls into the category of gekiga – the grittier form of manga pioneered by Tatsumi and others – yet, unlike the vast majority of those practicing their craft within this form, Katsumata's tales are set in rural pre-modern Japan, giving his work some parallels with that master of Japanese cinema, Akira Kurosawa. Includes an interview with and biography of the author.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.22
Aya: The Secrets Come Out
by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie
The third volume in this intelligent and endearing look at bourgeois life in Côte d'Ivoire – The Ivory Coast to those of us in the English speaking world – during the 1970s that focuses on the trials and tribulations of a large cast of characters (that are helpfully outlined in a double page spread to assist those readers for whom this volume is their first to get up to speed) that centers on a young woman named Aya. Oubrerie's art is stunning as usual, as he continues to bring to life the unique color pallet of western Africa. At once exotic and mundane, this series truly brings this time and place back to life.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $17.77
The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My
by Tove Jansson
This NOT a fifth book in the collection of Moomin comics. That collection was – to the best of our knowledge – completed with the fourth volume. What this IS, is something else altogether: an amazing example of book arts that combines storytelling, gorgeous full color illustration and inventive die-cutting to create a unique reading experience that can be enjoyed by all ages. Be sure to pick this one up and look through it!
retail price - $16.95 copacetic price - $15.00
Like a Dog
by Zak Sally
Long suffering indy comics – and, indy music (he was a member of the rock trio Low for many a moon) – creator, editor and publisher steps into the Fantagraphics spotlight with this rugged yet strangely elegant hardcover collection that gives us – his not quite so suffering fans – a chance to read the vast majority of his hard to find and largely out of print work, including, most notably, the first two numbers of The Recidivist (the third is still, as of this writing, in print and available from Sally's own imprint, La Mano). Visceral, gripping, dark, and, most importantly, good, these are comics worth reading (and to help induce you to take the plunge, we're offering it at a special price).
retail price - $22.95 copacetic price - $18.88
No Cartoon Left
Behindby Rob Rogers
Here it is, the big book of editorial cartoons by the resident cartoonist at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the past quarter century. This is an especially nice book as editorial cartoon collections go. It is a wallopin' 380 10" x 12" pages printed on semi-gloss stock. It opens up with five chapters that give a brief overview of Rob's development as a cartoonist and then heads in for twenty thematically united chapters of cartoons that take us on rollercoaster ride of the last twenty five years, through the prism of his editorial lens. Especially interesting is the chapter, "Holy Cow Tipping," which includes a number of examples of the kind of venomous and vituperative responses his cartoons sometimes receive from the Post-Gazette's readership as well as several cartoons that were either killed by the editors of the paper or deemed by Rogers himself to have been a mistake. This chapter provides a fascinating behind the scenes glimpse at the world of editorial cartooning that is the icing on this birthday cake of a book.
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $35.95
Starting Point: 1979 - 1996
by Hayao Miyazaki
This 460 page hardcover is a dream come true for anyone wanting to learn more about the life and mind of Miyazaki, the man behind what are probably the greatest animated films of our time. This volume collects essays, interviews, and memoirs written and conducted during the first two decades of his career. Readers will discover his theories of animation as well as how he came to formulate them, stories of his childhood, the founding of Studio Ghibli, as well as how all these came together. Food for thought, indeed.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $27.77
Logicomix:
An Epic Search for TruthBy Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou
Artwork by Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna
We're sorry for not listing this sooner, but our initial shipment sold out in a matter of days after its arrival – before we even had the chance to list it here – and then when we went to reorder we learned that the entire first printing had sold out! Well, now that we have our hot little hands on the second printing we want to let all you math and logic types, as well as those intrigued by the developments in this field that led to the Alan Turing's breakthroughs that made computers possible and so indirectly gave birth to the information age amidst which we currently find ourselves, that this engaging and highly readable graphic account the history of mathematics and logic during the first half of the twentieth century is now back on our shelves. Employing the dramatic device of linking all the historical events to the life of the philosopher/mathematician, Bertrand Russell, and bracketing the story with a self-referential account of its creation in the present, the authors have managed the difficult feat of simultaneously educating and entertaining the reader in equal measure. Needless to say (but, as all of you reading this well know, that has never stopped us before and we see no reason to let it start stopping us here) this book is packed with potential to be the perfect holiday gift for any mathematically inclined comics reader. Learn plenty more about it at: http://www.logicomix.com
retail price - $22.95 copacetic price - $20.00
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror
by... The Kramers Ergot Gang!
We're sorry for not listing this sooner, but our initial shipment sold out in a matter of days after its arrival – before we even had the chance to list it here – and we weren't sure that we would be able to get a restock on it. But now we have! So, if you missed out on this one the first time around, you have received a reprieve and been given another chance – don't blow it. What's all the fuss about? Well, this is a 48 page (no interior ads!) full color comic book "starring" the Simpsons written and drawn by Tim Hensley, Matthew Thurber, Kevin Huizenga, Jordan Crane, Ted May, Sammy Harkham, Will Sweeney, Jon Vermilyea, Ben Jones, John Kerschbaum, Jeffrey Brown and C.F., and featuring a cataclysmic cover by none other than dazzlin' Dan Zettwoch - 'nuff said!
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
New for October 2009
The Book of Genesis, Illustratedby R. Crumb
Yes, here it is: the most talked about book in comics. Five years at the drawing board hath wrought Crumb's own pen & ink rendering of the West's origin myth. Crumb, as he warned and as we would naturally expect, hasn't pulled any punches and has illustrated this tale as written, warts and all. Crumb says it best himself in his introduction: "I, R. Crumb, the illustrator of this book, have, to the best of my ability, faithfully reproduced every word of the original text... Every other comic book version of The Bible that I've seen contains passages of completely made-up narrative and dialogue, in an attempt to streamline and 'modernize' the old scriptures, and still, these various comic book Bibles all claim to adhere to the belief that the Bible is 'the word of God' or 'inspired by God,' whereas I, ironically, do not believe the Bible is 'the word of God.' I believe it is the words of men. It is, nonetheless, a powerful text with layers of meaning that reach deep into our collective consciousness, our historical consciousness, if you will. It seems to be an inspired work but I believe that its power derives from its having been a collective endeavor that evolved and condensed over many generations ..." Every line in this book is hand drawn. The only mechanical text is on the copyright page, the inside jacket flaps, and the commentary in the addendum. It's the Bible! It's a comic book! It's Crumb! It is, in short, amazing. Dive right in with this preview.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.22
The Best
American Comics 2009edited by Charles Burns
Well, Crumb is a tough act to follow, but we'll give it a shot with this star-studded anthology filled with the best and the brightest from the last twelve months of comics, as judged by Charles Burns. In a book like this, we feel that the contributor list says it best: Doug Allen, Peter Bagge, Gabrielle Bell, Matt Broersma, Daniel Clowes, Al Columbia, Robert Dennis Crumb, Sammy Harkham, Tim Hensley, Gilbert Hernandez, Kevin Huizenga, Ben Katchor, Kaz, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Michael Kupperman, Jason Lutes, Tony Millionaire, Jerry Moriarty, Anders Nilsen, Gary Panter, Laura Park, Mimi Pond, Ron Regé, David Sandlin, Koren Shadmi, Dash Shaw, Art Spiegelman, Ted Stearn, Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, Dan Zettwoch. 'Nuff said. Well, actually, we can't help but add that while the material contained in this anthology is absolutely fabulous, the quality of its reproduction is, mysteriously, not up to the same standard as the three previous volumes in this series, which were excellent in that department. This shouldn't stop anyone from picking up this fine volume, but it is worrisome. Let's hope that this was a one time aberration and that next year we'll find the fine folks at Houghton Mifflin have figured out what went wrong and put things in the production department back on track.
retail price - $22.95 copacetic price - $20.00
Wholphin
9It seems like some of you have forgotten about the wholesome goodness that is Wholphin, The DVD magazine of rare and unseen short films. Seeing as how we like all things related to the number nine, we've chosen this issue to offer a special "let's-get-reacquainted" price on. It's a packed disc – over three hours worth of material. It's an especially good issue, filled with all sorts of films from around the world. The official hype states: "Wholphin No. 9 features three, hilarious, never-before-seen short films by Spike Jonze (which include appearances by Maurice Sendack and Catherine Keener, and illustrations by Marcel Dzama!); Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s short story, "Sparks," starring Carla Gugino and Eric Stoltz; the Academy Award-nominated documentary, "La Corona," about a high-stakes beauty pageant in a Colombian women’s prison; an incredibly rare and candid glimpse into the life of a Mormon fundamentalist who shares a husband with her younger biological sister; the Jury Prize-winning short from Cannes; Caveh Zahedi; meteorites; motordromes; acting lesson orgasms; films from Belgium, France, Germany, Australia and Japan, and much more." And there's plenty more besides! Review the entire contents and preview it here.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic special price - $15.95
OK, there is a growing list of new fiction releases here on the shelves at Copacetic that we believe will be of interest, but, sadly are nowhere near to being able to proffer any intelligible comments on... so we're going to punt. In the following listings we have enlisted the writers' friends and peers who have graciously contributed the jacket copy – "blurbs" – to do the job for us.
Chronic CIty
by Jonathan Lethem
Those of you who enjoyed Lethem's contribution to The Book of Other People – as we most certainly did here at Copacetic – will be pleased to discover that it was an excerpt from this novel, about which David Shields has to say: "I'm reminded of the well-rubbed Kafka line: A book must be the axe to break the frozen sea within us. Lethem's book, with incredible fury, aspires to do little less. It's almost certainly his best novel. It's genuinely great." How about them apples!
retail price - $28.95 copacetic price - $25.00
Zeitoun
by Dave Eggers
"Zeitoun is an instant American classic carved from fierce eloquence and a haunting moral sensibility. By wrestling with the demons of xenophobia and racial profiling that converged in the swirling vortex of Hurricane Katrina and post-9/11 America, Eggers lets loose the angels of wisdom and courage that hover over the lives of the beleaguered, but miraculously unbroken, Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun. This is a major work full of fire and wit by one of our most important writers." – Michael Eric Dyson
retail price - $24.00 copacetic price - $20.00
The Death of Bunny Munro
by Nick Cave
"Put Cormac McCarthy, Franz Kafka and Benny Hill together in a Brighton seaside guesthouse and they might just come up with Bunny Munro. As it stands, though, this novel emerges emphatically as the work of one of the great cross-genre storytellers o our age: a compulsive read possessing all of Nick Cave's trademark horror and humanity, often thinly disguised in a galloping, playful romp." – Irvine Welsh (See Nick read. Read Nick, read.)
retail price - $25.00 copacetic price - $22.22
Fantagraphics is still pumping them out...
Pim
& Francieby Al Columbia
Yes, you've read that correctly, it's an entire hardcover volume devoted to the work of that notorious comics recluse, Al Columbia. Enter the deeply creepy cartoon world of funeral parlors, undertakers, cadavers and creatures the likes of which were never seen anywhere but in these pages. This book reads like a scrap book for an aborted animation project that succeeded all too well in dragging the artist's inner demons out from his unconscious and into the light of the drawing table lamp, whereupon they proceeded to wreak havoc on his soul. It appears that the artist may have come to the realization that he could not allow these foul creatures to become fully formed, lest they burrow into the collective consciousness – or, conversely, this may very well be from whence they emerged and he has cleverly trapped them here so that we could identify them and thereby prevent them from inflicting any further damage. Either way, tread carefully... AND, before, while or after you do, be SURE to read this amazing in-depth look at Pim & Francie on ComicsComics.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.00
Popeye, Volume 4
by E.C. Segar
The latest giant-size, full-color, die-cut-hardcover collection of the classic Sunday pages (as well as also containing, in glorious black and white, the accompanying daily strips, cleverly laid out six [as in Monday through Saturday] to a page so as to perfectly balance out the weekly rhythm of the Sunday pages) is here. Classic comics written and drawn by E.C. Segar collected in a book designed by Jacob Covey that is published by Fantagraphics so as to be offered for sale by Copacetic, and purchased by... you?
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.00
Cat Burglar Black
by Richard Sala
An all new 128 page full color graphic novel full of trademark Sala tropes. K. is a cute teenage orphan raised by a crazed matron to be a master thief and pickpocket. She has now been invited to attend Bellsong Academy, a (need we say it?) mysterious boarding school where something is not as it seems... The works of Richard Sala provide formal pleasures akin to those of amusement park haunted house rides; their pages filled with twists that present thrills at every turn. From (:01) First Second Books.
retail price - $16.95 copacetic price - $15.25
Project Recess, Volume 3
by James Jean
The third installment in the elegantly designed and much demanded (the first two were quick sellouts) series of the art of James Jean provides an intimate look at the working methods of this talented, stylish and popular artist. A plain black die-cut cover hints at the informal sketchbook/scrapbook contents within. Fans who have been waiting to get an up-close and personal look at the creative core of James Jean now have their chance. Check this out for an idea what's in store (but only a hint, as the cumulative effect of a book full of work can't be captured in a preview),.
retail price - $34.95 copacetic price - $29.75
Poem
Stripby Dino Buzzati
An Italian author and illustrator best known for his 1952 novel, The Tartar Steppe, a Kafkaesque take on WW II that based in part on his own experiences, as well as for a series of classic children's books, including The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily, Dino Buzzati here presents us with his swan song in Poem Strip. An unusual synthesis of words and pictures, it just barely qualifies as comics... but it does. Created when the author was in his 60s, and set in a highly hedonistic and fabulously fleshy rendering of the "swinging sixties," it is a retelling of the Orpheus myth, casting a pop/rock singer/songwriter in the lead. It makes for an intriguing read, and the most fun comes from sussing out the symbol-laden artwork. There is no getting around the male gaze of the artist and fetishization of the female form on display here, nor can one avoid the equations of sex, sin and death, but these are all part of the formula that links the multiple mythic memes of the Mediterranean. The republication of this classic simultaneously provides a missing piece of both the puzzle of the 1960s and the development of the graphic novel.
retail price - $14.95 copacetic price - $13.50
Joe Henry: Blood From Stars (CD)
Another impossibly good album from the one and only Joe Henry. Amazingly, you can listen to the entire LP online at his site, HERE (Just click on "Launch MP3 player to listen"). And while you're listening to it, you can take a moment to read the note he penned on the day of its release, HERE. And, please note that both the package and booklet covers feature photographs taken by Eugene Smith in Pittsburgh, PA during his epic Dream Street project of 1955-56.
retail price - $17.98 copacetic price - $15.97
And then there's our haul from SPX 2009. As with every year, we picked up some great stuff. Some highlights include:
The
Complete Jack Survivesby Jerry Moriarty
Begun thirty years ago, Jack has at last found a permanent luxury dwelling in this sumptuously produced (by Buenaventura Press) oversized hardcover book that will be treasured by comics aesthetes everywhere. Jerry Moriarty, who has the courage to admit that, "When I started out, I didn't know what I was doing," took a chance and headed into unknown territory, taking a painterly sensibility rooted in the depression-era painting of Hopper, Sheeler and Burchfield, and grafting it straight onto his own hardwired, homegrown comics sensibility. Without taking the time to worry what it all meant or where he was going, he just struck out for the territory and made it all his own. Take a tour.
retail price - $34.95 copacetic price - $29.75
also from Buenaventura Press, which is currently championing the classic comic book (i.e. pamphlet) form:
The Gigantic Robot
by Tom Gauld
A meditation on the ephemerality of existence that tries to have it both ways, as only comics can.
retail price - $16.95 copacetic special price - $12.95
I Want You
by (this year's Ignatz winner for Outstanding Mini-Comic) Lisa Hanawalt
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
Injury
by Ted "St. Louis Blues" May & Co.
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
The Aviatrix
by Eric "Tales to Demolish" Haven
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
Boy's Club #3
by Matt "B.J. Jr." Furie
retail price - $4.95 copacetic price - $4.44
And then there's the double header from John P.:King-Cat #70
by John Porcellino
The issue that marks the twentieth anniversary of King-Cat Comics and Stories. And it really is an extra special issue, one of the best ever. Twenty years. Amazing. Congratulations, Mr. P.!
retail price - $3.00 copacetic price - $3.00
Map of My Heart
by John Porcellino
To celebrate King-Cat Comics and Stories' twentieth birthday, Drawn and Quarterly has given us a present: this swell 360 page volume that collects King-Cat Comics and Stories #51 - #61 – all classics – in their entirety, along with copious notes, bonus comics, journal and notebook entries, maps, and even an index (of titles)! This one should be a no-brainer for everyone except those who already own the originals (and even they might be tempted by the bonuses). Those who are unfamiliar with Porcellino's work can get a nice PDF taste of it here. And, we're adding to the celebration by offering a special discount.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic special price - $19.95
Diehard indy comics distributor-cum-publisher, Bodega, was on hand with their two latest releases:
Follow Me
by Jesse Moynihan
Here we have 120 pages of comics that stand a good chance of intriguing quite a few more readers than they currently are (at least around here). Readers of comics by the Kramers crowd – specifically, C.F., B.J., and Sammy H. – as well as Chester Brown fans mourning the lack of new work, and members of the Theo Ellsworth Army, all stand to be pleasantly surprised by Mr. Moynihan's work in Follow Me, which is, technically, the third part of The Backwards Folding Mirror (we're out of the first two parts at the moment, but we'll see what we can do about getting them back in stock; that said, this one will stand on its own). Check it out and see what you think, here.
retail price - $11.00 copacetic price - $8.75
The Mourning Star, Book 2
by Kazimir Strzepak
The second volume in an ongoing series, this one is, like the first (which we've still got around here somewhere), a fat, square, Jordan Crane designed book packed with alternate universe action. This work shows some affinity to the work of Fort Thunderers Brian Chippendale, Chris Fourges and, especially, Brian Ralph, in its themes and visual vocabulary, but it is a quite a bit more accessible to the uninitiated.
retail price - $13.00 copacetic price - $11.00
Tugboat Press keeps on chugging along...
Papercutter #11
The latest issue of our favorite regularly published comics anthology debuted at SPX, and it's another issue that no indy comics fan will want to miss. The bulk of the issue – 26 pages and one front cover worth, to be exact – are devoted to "Lululand," a slice of life vignette of the life of Lulu a wondering and wandering washer of dishes and dreamer of dreams trying to figure it out that is imagined by writer Amy Adoyzie and diligently delineated by Jon Sukarangsan. Backing this up is "Duperman," a snappy one-pager by your friend and mine, Dustin Harbin, and "Letter Home," a story of schoolwork vs. artwork by someone who should know, the Portland, OR artist and educator, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg, who takes us through to the back cover. Inside covers by Nate Beaty. Edited by Greg Means
retail price - $4.00 copacetic price - $3.50
Some of the better small-press and self-published comics we picked up include:
Schematic Comics
by Dan Zettwoch
First off, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention this unexpected treat. This is a new printing of one of the hits of SPX 2005 that has long been unavailable and highly sought after. It collects fifteen fabulous pieces by the talented and versatile Mr. Zettwoch. All we have to say is: If you missed this the first time around, then don't make the same mistake twice! Come one down and pick this one up before it's gone again. And this goes double for anyone who wasn't around for the first go round. This one's a classic of self-publishing. 48 pages under a hand-silk-screened cover.
retail price - $3.95 copacetic price - $3.95
Funny Aminals
Long suffering fans of the funny animal genre of comic books, one of the classic standard bearers of the comics tradition that has fallen by the wayside as of late, have much to rejoice with the release of this magical magazine size comic book that is clearly a labor of love. Full color front and back covers, printed on heavy stock, contain 68 pages of comics and stories by the likes of Joe Lambert, Bryan Stone, Colleen Frakes, Penina and more, all entirely devoted to animal fun, and includes a lengthy essay on the history of the genre by none other than Mr. Steve "Swamp Thing" Bissette! Learn more about the Funny Aminal gang, here. Recommended (and, on special)!
retail price - $8.00 copacetic price - $6.00
Pope Hats
by Ethan Rilly
This guy has the chops and pulls off some nice slice of life comics about twenty-somethings with an easy naturalism and quiet verisimilitude that make him an obvious choice to nominate as a potential successor the Adrian Tomine. This comic is a nice, professionally printed comic, complete with full color cardstock cover, made possible by Mr. Rilly's receipt of a Xeric grant. We think you should check this out, so we're offering a special introductory price on it, for now.
retail price - $4.00 copacetic special price - $2.50
And, while you're at it, you might want to pick up Ethan's latest mini, The Nervous Party. It's well worth the $2.00 you'll have to shell out.
Woman King
by Colleen Frakes
Ms. Frakes took home this year's Ignatz for "Promising New Talent." The award specifically cited Woman King in its announcement, so it is a winner by association. We also have last year's Tragic Relief trade edition for the same special price.
retail price - $7.00 copacetic price - $5.95
This Is What Concerns Me
Remainder
Favorites
Nine Gallons
all by Susie Cagle
Leftist, hippie, vegan comics from San Francisco by someone who can tell a story and draw. Entertaining and enlightening.
all except Nine Gallons – retail price - $2.00 copacetic price - $2.00@
Nine Gallons – retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - $4.44
Exploding Head Man
Solipsist's Doodles
by Jason Overby
Are you ready for 128 (96 and 32 pages respectively) pages of unimpeded personal expression in comic book form? If so you might want to give these the once over. Original and unique, obscure yet satisfying, Overby's comics are leading us somewhere, but it's too soon to tell if it's going to be to a place where we'll want to stick around. Here are comics for risk takers.
Exploding Head Man – retail price - $6.00 copacetic price - $6.00
Solipsist's Doodles – retail price - $3.00 copacetic price - $3.00
Dead Letters and Rare Words
by Mark Burrier
A nice 60-page sketchbook collection with cardstock two-color cover.
retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - $4.44
Love Is a Peculiar Type of Thing
by Box Brown
The latest confessional comics-creating Brown (as in Jeffrey, Chester, and, intriguingly, beginning with the granddaddy of all confessional comics, the fictional "Binky") enters the indy arena with this Xeric Foundation supported 96 page squarebound collection of comics in the great Brown tradition.
retail price - $10.00 copacetic price - $8.75
And we've saved the best for last! The Copacetic pick for the highlight of this year's SPX is:
Cold Heat Special #6 published
by PictureBox
Yes, Cold Heat Special 8 and 9 have come (and, in the case of number 8, gone as well) but without any sign of numbers 6 and 7... until now! Over a year in the making, Cold Heat Special Number Six is now in stock and it's a one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted work of art. Wrapped in fabulous front and back cover silkscreens – complete with inside front and back cover silk-screened "endpapers," which are overlaid with hand tipped full color "plates" (ink jet prints) – this magazine-size special is an aesthetic treat and feast for the eyes, yes, but most of all it is an experience for the mind. Extending and vastly expanding on the themes he introduced in his first Cold Heat Special (number two), Cornwell has here seamlessly merged his own artistic concerns with those of Cold Heat creators BJ and Santoro to forge a fantastic journey to the center of the mind that intimates at the nature of eternal recurrence and the simultaneity of historicity in a universe that has banished linear time and made way for cosmic consciousness. Working firmly in the Cold Heat tradition of turning readers on to DIY culture and the untested possibilities of a new life living off the grid and on the fringes, and smartly leveraging the series' signs and symbols for maximum psychic impact, this comic book also reveals that the corridors of power extend in multiple directions through time and space, penetrating numerous dimensional barriers along the way, and that the control of the power that thusly flows is directed by some unusual players engaged in some surprising relationships. Limited to 100 hand numbered copies. Recommended!
retail price - $12.00 copacetic price - $10.00
Yes, Cold Heat Special 8 and 9 have come (and, in the case of number 8, gone as well) but without any sign of numbers 6 and 7... until now! Over a year in the making, Cold Heat Special Number Six is now in stock and it's a one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted work of art. Wrapped in fabulous front and back cover silkscreens – complete with inside front and back cover silk-screened "endpapers," which are overlaid with hand tipped full color "plates" (ink jet prints) – this magazine-size special is an aesthetic treat and feast for the eyes, yes, but most of all it is an experience for the mind. Extending and vastly expanding on the themes he introduced in his first Cold Heat Special (number two), Cornwell has here seamlessly merged his own artistic concerns with those of Cold Heat creators BJ and Santoro to forge a fantastic journey to the center of the mind that intimates at the nature of eternal recurrence and the simultaneity of historicity in a universe that has banished linear time and made way for cosmic consciousness. Working firmly in the Cold Heat tradition of turning readers on to DIY culture and the untested possibilities of a new life living off the grid and on the fringes, and smartly leveraging the series' signs and symbols for maximum psychic impact, this comic book also reveals that the corridors of power extend in multiple directions through time and space, penetrating numerous dimensional barriers along the way, and that the control of the power that thusly flows is directed by some unusual players engaged in some surprising relationships. Limited to 100 hand numbered copies. Recommended!
retail price - $12.00 copacetic price - $10.00
Items from our October 2009 listings may now be purchased online at our new site, HERE.
New for September 2009
Well, it appears that the folks at Fantagraphics are feeling particularly gung-ho on comics right now, based on their ten-pack of new releases. Let's start it off with the essential release. Yes, you guessed it, it's:
Love and
Rockets: New Stories #2by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez
It's Here! We don't have a lot to say about it, yet, but what else do you need to know, really? Well, for starters, how about the fact that this issue features a 42 page pantomime comic by Beto that is a midnight ferry ride through the subconscious realm that will leave you with that tantalizing feeling you get when you wake up from a particularly vivid yet mystifying dream: that you had the answer, that you saw how all the pieces fit together and you had it all figured out... if only you could remember! And then there's the fantastic fifty-page finale of Jaime's epic opus of femme superheoics, "Ti-Girls Adventures." This contemporary classic that transcends all attempts to categorize it now only comes out once a year, so we feel that all we have to say is, "Be there, or be square!"
retail price - $14.99 copacetic price - $11.99
All and Sundry
by Paul Hornschemeier
All the bits and pieces that were scattered hither and yon have been carefully collected and sequenced in this big fat scrapbook that was (no surprise here) designed by Hornschemeier himself. There's much to be gleaned here, especially by the artists among you. Not sure what kind of work has been collected? This PDF preview should give you a better a idea.
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.00
The Red Monkey Double Happiness Bookby Joe Daly
Two full color works, the novella length, "The Leaking Cello Case," and the novel length, "John Wesley Harding," make this hardcover volume a welcome arrival for all long suffering fans of South Africa's reigning comics hepster, Joe Daly. Here is work that really is like no other, a truly diverse amalgamation that brings to mind comics from Hergé to Clowes to Pete Sickman-Garner, but remains utterly unique and distinctly South African. Not enough people are hep to this guy, so we say, "Check this one out!" And we're making it easy for you, with this 10-page PDF preview.
retail price - $22.99 copacetic price - $19.99
Giraffes In My Hairby Bruce Paley and Carol Swain
Carol Swain is one of Britain's finest artists, and with Giraffes In My Hair, written by her current companion, Bruce Paley, we have her most substantial work to date. It is a memoir of Paley's "life in the tumultuous '60s and '70s." Starting out in 1967 with hitchhiking and moving on through dropping acid, Disneyland, Chicago '68, Black Panthers and then into the '70s, and Max's Kansas City, doing drugs with Johnny Thunders and punk rock "nihilism." All told in Carol Swain's exquisite, understated and finely tuned pencil rendering that are a pleasure to behold. But you don't have to take our word fo rit; just check out this 9-page PDF preview and decide for yourself.
retail price - $19.99 copacetic price - $17.77
The Squirrel Machine
by Hans Rickheit
It's a freaky frenzy of pen and ink in this aptly titled tale of sex and science fiction set in Victorian-era New England. Rickheit splices 19th century literary tropes onto a 21st century comics sensibility to come up with a sort of H.G. Wells meets Jim Woodring tale that defies description. 178 pages of the mind-bending and the macabre. Having trouble visualizing this work from our paltry description we have provided you with? Have no fears, a 15-page PDF preview is here!
retail price - $18.99 copacetic price - $16.66
Prison Pitby Johnny Ryan
We have to say, from the looks of Prison Pit (Book One), that it appears that Mr. Ryan has been spending some quality time with the works of Mat Brinkman. This work is quite a departure and long time Ryan readers may not know what to make of this violent (well, at least that's familiar), nearly wordless, quest-driven narrative set in a barren and nameless terrain. Fans of hyper-violent role-playing video games may have met their match with this one.
retail price - $12.99 copacetic price - $11.75
West Coast
Blues by Jaques Tardi and Jean-Patrick Manchette
France's king of crime comics is back! West Coast Blues is an all-new noir full of Tardi's inimitable pen and ink stylizations in the service of creating a dramatic travelogue of anarchic violence: from seashore to urban center to deep in the woods. A world full of people you don't want to meet doing things you'd be better off not knowing about, but somehow, there's something about this world which makes you curious: just what makes these people tick, and what does that say about the world we live in?
retail price - $18.99 copacetic price - $16.66
From Wonderland With Love: Danish Comics in the Third Millenium
edited by Steffen P. Maarup
This is a flexi-bound collection of 178 pages of comics from Denmark: black and white, duotone and full color. There's an amazing variety of work on display here, from three-panel pen and ink dailies to full color graphic novellas. Satire, sarcasm, cuddly cuteness, potentially discomfiting explorations of the unconscious, and much more are packed in side-by-side and executed in a dazzling variety of styles. Take a look at this 14-page PDF preview and see what you think.
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.00
Rock Candy
by Femke Hiemstra
Here she is, the Dutch Pop Surrealist Queen in all her glory. This perky die-cut hardcover volume designed and edited by Jacob Covey contains a vibrant mix of painting, sketches, and mixed-media objets d'art. Get a taste with this generous 15-page preview courtesy of the fine folks at Fantagraphics.
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $24.99
The Complete Collected Peanuts, Volume 12: 1973 - 74by Charles M. Schulz
introduction by by Billie Jean King
This is the dawning of the age of... Woodstock and Peppermint Patty, who take center stage along with the rest of the Peanuts gang as we head deep into the heart of the 1970s. Billie Jean King's introduction is a real surprise and has to be the most sincerely heartfelt one yet. The range of introducers this series has accumulated thus far is a real testament to the amazingly broad appeal of Peanuts: from Walter Cronkite (Volume 2) to Whoopi Goldberg (Volume 5), from Jonathan Franzen (Volume 4) to John Waters (Volume 9), and now Billie Jean King – everyone loves good ol' Charlie Brown and Co.!
retail price - $28.99 copacetic price - $23.99
and for all of you who were waiting for this year's box set to arrive, well, the wait is over:
The Complete Collected Peanuts Gift Box Set 6: 1971 - 74
by Charles M. Schulz
As always, this box set contains the two latest volumes in the series (11 & 12, this time around) , nestled in a sturdy Seth-designed slip case, for a substantial savings.
retail price - $49.99 copacetic special price - $39.99
Whew! That's it for Fantagraphics. There are, of course, other people in the comics publishing biz, so let's continue on...
Nancy
by John Stanley
Drawn and Quarterly continues their long held dream to present the works of John Stanley in deluxe, Seth-designed volumes. Pretty much everything we said about the premiere volume in this series, Melvin Monster, holds true for this one, and then some!
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.22
Stitchesby David Small
This is a moving childhood memoir from renowned children's picture book illustrator, David Small. While his career has largely been devoted to serving children, this work reveals that it is likely that he was nourishing his own inner child, as his parents never did. Stitches is a fairly dark and harrowing work, as are many childhood memoirs, it must be said. It is executed entirely in pen and ink worked over with delicately nuanced ink washes that capture his pain. Fans of Will Eisner's late, mature work (also, interestingly, published by Stitches' publisher, W.W. Norton) are herein especially encouraged to take a look, as it manages to achieve a similar emotional punch. And it's garnered some pretty hefty praise from the likes of Jules Feiffer, Francoise Mouly – even Stan Lee! – but most of all, R. Crumb, who states, "David Small evokes the mad scientific world of the 1950s beautifully. Small is an innocent lamb, a sensitive boy, caught in a nightmare situation. Capturing body language and facial expression subtly, Stitches becomes in Small's skillful hands a powerful story, an emotionally charged autobiography."
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $22.22
Stuffed
Nick Bertozzi & Glenn Eichler
Stuffed is an excellent work. Written by award-winning, Colbert Report scriptor, Glenn Eichler, and illustrated by the under-appreciated Nick Bertozzi (read The Salon, if you haven't already). The cast of characters, the settings, the interactions – all ring true: these are people we know, doing things in a way that we understand, and that make sense. At its core lie the roles, rites and responsibilities of parenting, as well as the responses to it. Stuffed makes for a solid, enriching, rewarding – and entertaining – read. Recommended!
retail price - $17.99 copacetic price - $15.99
The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comicsedited by Art Spiegelman and Francois Mouly
If the amazing kids' comics from the halycon days of yore are your thing, then you've hit the jackopot with this one! Well over 300 pages of classics, all scanned from the original comics themselves, and printed at approximately 120% of the originals. These scans have been digitally cleaned up a bit, so there's no newsprint background tones, just the flat white paper that they're printed on. While this might upset some purists, it was probably a good call as this book is clearly going to be marketed as a gift for children as well as for older fans, and lay people will have difficulty appreciating the nuances of newsprint; and they did a more than decent job of balancing the tones. The book is, somewhat arbitrarily, divided into five sections: Hey, Kids; Funny Animals; Fantasyland; Storytime; and Weird and Wacky. The book successfully draws across the spectrum of children's comics from the twenty years following the close of the second world war – the golden age of kids' comics that fed the baby boomers' imaginations before television took over. While certainly no one is going to agree with every choice, the editors – along with the board of advisors – picked a good crop of comics that is certain to contain favorites of every fan as well as win the hearts of every reader and, more importantly, is sure to capture the imagination of the next generation. Includes work by all-time greats Carl Barks, Basil Wolverton, Harvey Kurtzman, John Stanley, Bob Bolling, Walt Kelly, and many, many more (even Dr. Seuss, who started out in comics). Get a sneak peek, here (just click on the image of the open book at the top right, under "Sample Toon Treasury").
retail price - $40.00 copacetic price - $35.00
Big Questions #12
by Anders Nilsen
Yes, it's here. Apologies for not noting it earlier... This issue features straight-up bird-on-bird action in a single, issue-length story. Anders takes us on yet another metaphorical foray into our life and times, as his fine flock of feathered friends gets jumped by a gang of crows set on mayhem and murder.
retail price - $5.95 copacetic price - $5.35
The Art of Tony Millionaireby (duh) Tony Millionaire
It's here, Tony Millionaire's coffee-table moment – but, professional drinker and rabble rouser that Mr. Millionaire is, it might be a tad risky to put the fine china next to this volume, as the spirit inhabiting it is liable to bubble forth and wreak havoc. It is a volume that is likely to feel more at home next to a bottle of spirits, whether it's at the corner tavern or the basement bar. Included along with page after page of Mr. Millionaire's classic-illustration-era, fine pen and ink stylings are many heretofore unknown and unseen bits and pieces of his life and times and antics: newspaper clippings, embarrasing photos, confessions of vicious boozing and more! Long time fans will find much to induldge in.
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $34.95
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer (DVD)
a film by Robbie Cavolina & Ian McCrudden
Years in the making, this definitive documentary film portrait of one of the all-time great jazz singers is now here. It's a two-disc marvel with a bonus disc that includes what all true aficionado's crave: 90 minutes of uninterrupted live performances! Make sure to get a taste here, at the official Anita O'Day website.
retail price - $29.98 copacetic price - $25.00
Items from our September 2009 listings may now be purchased online at our new site, HERE.
New for August 2009
Locas II
by Jaime Hernandez
418 pages of the greatest comics of our time under one cover. This volume picks up, roughly, where Locas left off, and collects nearly all the standard comic book size formatted work that Jaime has executed since the conclusion of the original 50-issue run of the magazine size formatted Love and Rockets. Locas II bring together under one cover all six issues of the Penny Century series along with Jaime's contributions to the first nineteen issues of the twenty-issue run of the second volume of Love and Rockets. Not everything from this period is here, however. The most notable exclusion is the first work Jaime completed after the termination of L&R, vol. I, the three-issue mini-series, Whoa, Nellie! As it was only tangentially connected to the Locas storyline, it is not collected here. Also not included are numerous short strips – mostly one or two pages in length – that appeared in the aforementioned issues of Penny Century and L&R, vol. II, but are not related to the Locas continuity, as well as the full color, novella length work that originally appeared (slightly abridged) in The New York Times Sunday Magazine and subsequently appeared in Love and Rockets, Volume II #20. (Completists take note!) That said, what you are getting is a big book filled with the best of the best, all laid out in a mammoth narrative arc that continues to build on the magnificent structure of past work in creating the most richly complex and deeply human work in the history of comics.
retail price - $39.99 copacetic price - $33.99
Masterpiece Comicsby R. Sikoryak
Literally two decades in the making, here is a book that lives up to its name! There are levels of irony upon irony and then within and in between these there lurks hints and glimmers of more. There is militant subversion and blatant transgression of the exact same material for which is simultaneously exhibited the deepest respect and greatest empathy. R. Sikoryak is a truly singular master of comics who knows its classical forms and major practitioners inside out to a degree that is simply unparalleled. His work contained here will trigger a panoply of associations to anyone devoted to the form of comics and this is then squared for those who are on equally familiar terms with the literary classics that are adapted. Sikoryak's achievment in successfully splicing together classic literature and classic comics at the deep level of their respective genetic codes is such that the reading of this collection will, for some, spark a revolution in their perceptual apparatus that will topple the reigning dominant ideology and force a reordering of priorities. We have here the Book of Genesis as a series of Blondie Sunday pages; Dante's Inferno imagined as Bazooka Gum insert comics; Shakespeare's Macbeth as a Mary Worth sub-plot; Voltaire's Candide imagined as Ziggy; Marlowe's Faust as a series of Garfield dailies; Wuthering Heights as an EC horror comic; The Scarlet Letter as acted out by Little Lulu and Tubby; Kafka's "Metamorphosis" starring Charlie Brown; The Portrait of Dorian Gray as a sequence from Little Nemo in Slumberland; Waiting for Godot starring Beavis and Butthead; and, finally the piece de resistance, Crime and Punishment as a 1950s Detective Comics featuring Batman & Robin and the Joker followed by the encore of Camus's L'Etranger condensed into a series of Action Comics covers circa the same era. No self-respecting comics fan can hold their head high without having this volume in their library. Please take a moment to feast your eyes on this PDF sneak peek. And then take a few moments to read this 3-part interview with Sikoryak.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $17.77
Cold Heat 7/8by Frank Santoro and BJ
Cold Heat closes in for the kill with another double issue. This one brings the series one (double) issue away from completion. After the massive action blow-out of #5/6, this time around we have more of a culture jam as the saga crosses international boundaries when Castle & Co. head to the southern hemisphere, accompanied by the BBC, and the modern condition of living in the global village is given the Cold Heat treatment along the way. Land lines and laptops, mobile phones and desktops, the internet and intensive care units, wifi and the web, credit cards and music festivals, airports and hotel rooms, Starbucks and taxi cabs, bright beaches and dark alleys – all seamlessly connect to form the all-encompassing phenomenological envelope that passes for reality in the 21st century. As always, series artist, Frank Santoro takes chances – starting, most obviously this time around, with the front cover, which invokes Ellsworth Kelly and Ad Reinhardt while highlighting the "thingness" of a comic book – as he pushes and pokes at the formal elements that make up the current corpus of comics in his ongoing challenge to the received wisdom that constitutes contemporary comics orthodoxy.
The
images we've selected to illustrate this listing focus on one of
Santoro's greatest strengths that of exploring the many avenues open to
graphically rendering interior subjective states of mind beyond mere
mastery of facial expression. The many faces of Castle on display
in the pages of Cold Heat embody of the struggle to forge new tools to
place in the comics craft toolbox, making each issue of the series
double as a workshop – and none moreso than this one. There's an
aspect to the experience of reading Cold Heat that feels like being
taken behind the scenes to see how it's done while the action never
stops happening all around. It's like bringing you right there on the
set while they're filming yet still managing to maintain the
manufactured illusion of the movie. This issue has a
terrifyingly low print run of 100 copies, so delay purchase at your own
risk. retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $18.88
Abstract Comics edited by Andrei Molotiu
Andrei Molotiu, college professor, art historian, and all-star poster to the TCJ message board, has pulled together a wide ranging assortment of works under the banner of "abstract comics." Molotiu well understands the vagaries that will attach themselves to an overly broad designation such as this and has penned a cogent introduction to give readers as idea of his thoughts about what areas this label could assist in classifying. Importantly, he is well aware that this primary purpose of this collection is to get the conversation started. And this it has already accomplished, as the numerous posts to the Abstract Comics Blog firmly attest. Artists represented in this volume range from celebrated masters such as R. Crumb, Gary Panter and Patrick McDonnell, to accomplished practitioners of the comics arts such as James Kochalka, Lewis Trondheim, J.R. Williams and John Hankiewicz, to marginally known art comics figures like Richard Hahn, Jason T. Miles, Blaise Larmee and Warren Craghead III, but the majority of contributors are obscure figures working on the margins that few readers of these pages will be familiar with – at least in the context of producing comics – such as editor Molotiu himself, who turned in eight pages of free floating abstractions, and Copacetic's own Bill Boichel, whose entry is a 24-page mini-comic that has been reformatted as a two-page spread. Yet lack of renown should not be conflated with lack of artistic vision as some of the most engaging works on display here are by the least recognized artists. In recognition of the fact that the purchase of this volume represents a bit of a risk for most comics readers due to the largely unfamiliar terrain, we have decided to shoulder some of that risk by offering an introductory special price of 25% below retail, which works out to a savings of $10.00 that you can either pocket... or spend on more comics!
retail price - $39.99 copacetic special price - $29.99
Sleeper Car
by Theo Ellsworth
Looking for something to celebrate? How about this: An all new 32-page comic book by Theo Ellsworth! It's been almost a year since up-and-coming indy-comics publisher, Secret Acres unleashed the full force of his massive talent in the definitive Capacity collection that was released at last year's SPX and has been one of Copacetic's best sellers since then. In the interim, the question, "Is there anything new by Theo Ellsworth?" has become perhaps the most frequent of all queries here at Copacetic (followed closely by, "Can I use the bathroom?") Now, at last we can answer in the affirmative. Sleeper Car is firmly in the tradition of the comics that filled Capacity, and is sure to be enjoyed by all its fans. The sleeper car is now ready for boarding, aaall aboooaaarrd!
retail price - $6.00 copacetic price - $5.40
Gen of Hiroshima 7: Bones Into Dust
Gen of HIroshima 8: Merchants of Death
by
Keiji NakazawaThis amazing 10-volume saga nears its conclusion with these two volumes that, interestingly, deal, in part, with Gen's efforts to publish an eyewitness account of the bombing. Clearly, the impetus to give voice to this story, which in turn led to the creation of this landmark work, was there from the very beginning. Indeed, the original comic book publication of this tale in the United States (in the early 1970s – making it, we believe, the first US manga publication) was titled, "I Saw It!" A title that conveys a sense of urgency that belies the twenty plus years it took to get the story out. We apologize to readers of this series for our tardiness in bringing the release of these two volumes to your attention. Anyone who has yet to read the first volume of this series, is hereby given a push to do so... today!
retail price - $14.95@ copacetic price - $13.50@
A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge
by Josh Neufeld
Three years in the making, here is what is highly likely to be the definitive comics documentary of the great New Orleans flood of 2005. Heavily researched, it combines intimate human portraits with important details to create a close up and personal account.
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $22.22
Bringing Up Fatherby George McManus
This is the first volume in what we hope will be an ongoing series of George McManus's immortal classic newspaper comics series, Bringing Up Father. It is also a subset of an already ongoing series from NBM, Forever Nuts, dedicated to collecting "classic screwball strips." Already available in this series are the initial volumes of Mutt 'n' Jeff and Happy Hooligan. While we have nothing disparaging to say about these two, we feel compelled to point out that, while the early strips on display in this volume are indeed exemplars of the form, Bringing Up Father is much more than simply a screwball strip. Together with Chic Young's Blondie, it pioneered the family sitcom that went on to become a staple of radio and then television entertainment that continues to this day (interestingly, The Simpsons now holds the title of the longest running sitcom of all time; perhaps the roots of the sitcom form in comics has somehow contributed to The Simpsons' longevity...). And not only that, George McManus is the undisputed progenitor of what has come to be known as the clear line school of comics. While this school came to be codified in France – hence its moniker, ligne claire (of which "clear line" is a translation) – it all begins here with these strips collected here – all dailies from the first two years of the strip, 1913 & 1914. McManus is more than just the originator of the clear line, he is also its undisputed master. The strips here are just the beginning: over the next thirty years he perfected a smooth clear line that continues to set the standard by which all others are measured. Here's hoping we get a chance to see more of it in print soon!
retail price - $24.95 copacetic special price - $19.95
Tank Girl 3
(remastered)By Jamie Hewlett, Alan Martin and Philip Bond
Here it is, the new and improved, "remastered" edition of the third volume of that pop/punk icon, Tank Girl. While we have to admit to preferring the in-your-face covers of the original series of trades to the more discreet packaging on the new editions, we must say that the interiors are superior. The pages have been re-proportioned to bring them closer to the Deadline originals, the art that was intended for black and white reproduction is printed here as intended, while the color work receives much better reproduction; and there are two extra stories that don't appear in the original edition, making for 16 additional bonus pages. Not only that, this edition costs LESS than the old one. All in all, it's hard to knock.
retail price - $14.95 copacetic price - $13.50
Melvin Monster
by John Stanley
Drawn & Quarterly launches their long held dream project of a John Stanley Library with this lush, Seth-designed hardcover volume containing 112 pages of full color comics – all scanned from the original comic books, for that collector frisson (all that's missing is the smell) – that originally comprised the first three issues of the 1965 Dell series. Seth has lavished his designer attentions on this book and it is another fine fetish-worthy volume. Not sure if Melvin Monster is for you (or, perhaps, a child near you)? Well then, just take a moment out of your busy day to peruse this full color preview and see what you think.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $17.77
Items from our August 2009 listings may now be purchased online at our new site, HERE.
