comics

Title	Creator	Publisher	Series	Price
J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography	Rick Geary	Hill and Wang		$15.25 ($16.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Best known for his series of comics documentaries on famous 19th century murders, Rick Geary enters the 20th century with a comics biography of the most famous lawman of them all, J. Edgar Hoover, that manages to cull the essentials and distill them into exactly 100 pages of the precisely rendered comics that are his trademark (as Copacetic customer David Grim has just serendipitously pointed out).  Informative and enjoyable, this is a straightforward story that, while minimal in detail, is, almost entirely free of speculation, and thereby skirts salacious material regarding the longtime director of the FBI.  Nevertheless, the reader will come away with a solid picture of the man and his times.
Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History	Harvey Pekar	Hill and Wang		$20.00 ($22.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History by Harvey Pekar and Gary Dumm; edited by Paul Buhle w/ addditional text by SDS members and addtl. art by Josh Brown, James Cennamo, and others.  A history lesson, a consciousness-raising session, a political roundtable discussion, an artistic jam-sesion --   in its mulitplicity of perspectives, this comics history provides a well-rounded portrait of its subject.  One of the most high-profile, widely-active and important political groups of its time, SDS is almost synonomous with leftist politics in the 1960s.  The tale told here is complex, multi-faceted, labyrinthine and fascinating.  The fact that Pekar's editor on this volume, Paul Buhle, is a well regarded leftist writer and scholar who was the founding editor of the SDS journal, Radical America, is a big plus in bringing together the former SDSers who tell their personal stories alongside Pekar's history.  A walloping 26 bonus tales are presented here in all thier graphic glory, including several each by Pekar and Buhle along with those by lesser known figures such as Mark Naison, Penelope Rosemont and many others.  Taken together these multiple points of view weave a comics tapestry of the SDS years. The 212 page volume closes out with brief look at the tentative revival that SDS is currently undergoing, illustrated by none other than Pittsburgh's own Ed Piskor!
Krazy and Ignatz - 1941 - 1942: "A Ragout of Raspberries"	George Herriman	Fantagraphics	Krazy & Ignatz	$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	By George Herriman It's here, the latest  -- and, sadly, the next-to-last -- two-year collection of the full color Krazy Kat Sunday pages.  That's right, there's 104 full color, full page reproductions of Herriman masterworks laid out one after another, filling this volume that is more than just a book, becoming, during the process of its consumption, a soothing balm for frazzled nerves and a lightener of darkened moods.  Edited, as always, by the indefatigable Bill Blackbeard and witih an introduciton by classic comics aficionado, Jeet Heer that is accompanied by some choice Herriman works including a double-page spread of an original watercolor that we guarantee will knock your socks off!  Essential.
Hotwire #2	David Sandlin, Ivan Brunetti, Lauren Weinstein, Mary Fleener and more ...	Fantagraphics		$19.55 ($22.99 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Glenn Head It took awhile to get this second volume together, but it just goes to show that you can't rush quality.  This second 136 page oversize softcover is packed to the gills with comics work from the wrong side of the tracks.  Included this time around are extended pieces by Tim Lane, Mary Fleener, Mack White, series editor, Glenn Head, Carol Swain and Dutch artist Tobias Tak.  Also on hand are shorter pieces by the likes of David Sandlin, Jonathon Rosen, Stephane Blanquet, Craig Yoe, Christian Northeast, and Mike Wartella. There are also hot new strips by David Lasky, Rick Altergott, Lauren Weinstein, Matti Hagelberg, Danny Hellman, Bob Sikoryak, Michael Kupperman and Chadwick Whitehead and others.  And Hotwire delivers in the humor department as well, with a pile o' gag pages by Ivan Brunetti, Johnny Ryan, Doug Allen, Gary Lieb and Sam Henderson.  To learn more check out the official Hotwire site. on the lower right hand corner of which you can click onto a nice set of preview pages and so get an idea of what you're in for.
The Last Musketeer	Jason	Fantagraphics		$11.00 ($12.95 list)
Read more and comment...	It's the new Jason book.  It's the standard French-flapped format, full color, 48 softcover .  What more do you need to know?  Well, how about the fact that this time out Jason takes the classic swashbuckling heroic adventure story and tosses it into the blender with an old school science fiction yarn involving invaders from Mars, pushes frappé and pours out another smooth comics work that goes down easy.  Here's what Fanta sez:  "Perhaps Jason's loopiest premise: the by-now centuries old musketeer Athos has been reduced to a suavely dressed but useless near-panhandler. All this changes when Martians attack Earth, and suddenly a swashbuckling hero is needed. "
Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Graphic Novels	Lynd Ward, Laurence Hyde, Franz Masereel, Giacomo Patri and more ...	Firefly		$26.95 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Four Wordless Graphic Novels edited by George Walker This collection brings us back to a fascinating era of wordless novels -- i.e. novels told entirely in pictures -- that had a modest flowering during the first half of the 20th century.  These novels tended to emerge from a socialist  -- and even, dare we say it, communist -- consciousness and often centered on class struggle and/or the clash between labor and capital.  This volume contains four excellent works, each hand crafted by a master of the form between 1918 and 1951: The Passion of a Man by Franz Masereel;  Wild Pilgrimage by Lynd Ward; White Collar by Giacomo Patri; and Southern Cross by Laurence Hyde.  Part of the attraction of politically motivated artists to this form, as George Walker explains in his excellent introduction, is the universality of the image -- it does not need to be translated, and can cross cultural barriers in a single bound, as it were, and so communicate the message of human liberation that the creators were eager to impart as widely as possible.  Somewhat ironically, these class-conscious works that aimed  -- at least in part --  to raise the awareness of the exploitative quality of capitalism and spur the masses into rising up against "the man" were produced by members of more-or-less the middle class and published by companies that put out hardcover volumes priced in dollars that aimed at the middle class, while at the same time just down the street at the comic book publishers, works were being published that sold in huge numbers for a dime and that would ultimately prove to have the greatest impact in shaping the consciousness of the of these very masses that the picture novelists were trying to reach.  This is not in any way to knock these works -- they are excellent and show precisely that compassion for the human condition that super hero power fantasies worked so hard  -- and, one must add, succcessfully -- to obviate.  It is not at all surprising that these works are coming back into vogue at this juncture as the values that they champion are sorely in need at the same time that the public at large is warming to the idea of reading graphic novels, of which, in many respects -- not the least of which in this regard is the enthusiasm of mainstream publishers -- the works collected here may be seen as  precursors if not progenitors.  This collection definitely warrants a look, and, if you like what you see, it really is a great value when you consider it collects four complete works.  The stand out, in our opinion, has to be Lynd Ward's Wild Pilgrimage.  Ward is probably the most well known and widely published of the creators collected here, and his work God's Man has been kept in print far longer than any other work in this genre, but Wild Pilgrimage is probably his most intense work.
The Arrival	Shaun Tan			$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Well, once we're on the topic of wordless picture novels, there's no way we can avoid mentioning Shaun Tan's The Arrival, which is a simply stunning representative of the form.  It takes as its subject one of the most appropriate possible topics for exploiting the universalizing capacities of the wordless form:  the immigrant experience.  A native of Australia who is himself the son of a Malaysian immmigrant, Tan has created a truly unique and wonderful work which is almost magical in how it captures the inherent strangeness of every "new world" to the immigrant who arrives there.  While American readers of The Arrival won't be able to help but see a transformed New York City on display here, and certainly The United States is the nation most synonomous with the phrase "the new world", the fact of Tan's Australian citizenship and Malaysian ancestry brings a larger frame to the tale and must, at least in part, be responsibe for its ability to breath fresh life into the immigrant tale.  Told entirely in a series of fine pencil drawings, most of which are presented in such a manner as to bring to mind faded snap black & white snap shots.  There are, however, quite a few breath-taking full-page and even double-page spreads featuring landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, and other vistas that will fill readers of all ages with wonder.  The Arrival is a one-of-a-kind work that communicates the immigrant experience like no other.  This book was originally published for the 2007 holiday season, and its appropriateness as a gift was amply demonstrated by its instant sellout here -- as well as everywhere else -- before we had the chance to bring it to your attention here.  Now that it the new printing as at last arrived on our shores (from the printers in Singapore) we are happy to be able to present it at last.
MOME 10: Winter/Spring 2008	Dash Shaw, Paul Hornschemeier, John Hankiewicz, Jim Woodring and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Yes, it's another fine issue in the ongoing, regularly published comics anthology that consistently publishes some of the most original, challenging and engaiging comics on the market.  This time around the obvious highlight is the conclusion of Jim Woodring's The Lute String, which began last issue, a tale that is wonderful in conception as well as masterful in execution and amply demonstrates that Woodring's genius, but there's plenty more to get excited about:  The uniquely weird story by up-and-comer Dash Shaw that starts off this issue is his most inventive work yet and will both charm and confuse you; Robert Goodin returns with a swell comics -- as well as comic -- adaptation of a classic Indian fable; also returning is Tom Kaczynski, who is this issue's interview subject as well.  And, still with us are a core cadre of MOME regulars:  Sophie Crumb, Paul Hornschemeier, Kurt Wolfgang, as well as Tim Hensley, Jeremy Eaton, Émile Bravo and Ray Fenwick (whom everyone is jealous of for his ingenious exploitation of old canvas covered used books).  And, finally, we can't leave you without lettnig you know that the one and only John Hankiewicz makes his MOME debut in this issue.  For those of you who are already familiar with his work, this notice of his inclusion will provide you with that much more impetus to purchase this issue; but it is those MOME readers among you who are unfamiliar with Hankiewicz:  make sure to pay close attention to his contribution, "Success Comes to Westmont, IL" --  if you find yourself intrigued, but you're not sure why, you may want to take a look at his excellent collection, Asthma, published a little while back by Sparkplug Comics, it's a rare gem.
Popgun, Volume One		Image Comics		$26.95 ($29.99 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Mark Andrew Smith & Joe Keatinge 444 pages of full color comics by 63 -- count 'em, we did -- contributors fill this freewheeling anthology published by the folks at Image.  Popgun is aimed at those among the heroic fantasy reading crowd who are looking to stretch out a bit in their interests, but aren't quite ready yet to go too far afield.   The art styles range far and wide, while the subject matter stays relatively close to what you'll find on the racks of your local comic book store, and all of it employs fairly normative narrative techniques and should be readily comprehended, so this is a good choice for mainstream comics readers ready to expose themselves to a wide variety of new -- and not so new -- talent dedicated to having fun with comics.
The Atomics	Mike Allred	Image Comics		$22.22 ($24.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Ok, we'll admit it:  we have a soft spot for Mike Allred's groovy homage to the super heroic swinging sixties, The Atomics, in which his primary creation, Madman also takes many a turn.  It's now all been collected in this single ginchy volume, the cover of which is a bit different from the one pictured here.
The Claws Come Out	Pat Lewis			$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Did someone say something about "having fun with comics?"  Well, Pittsburgh native -- and occasional Copacetic customer --  Pat Lewis knows a thing or two about having a good time in pen and ink, having created and published a string of entertaining minis over the past several years.  And with The Claws Come Out, a 152-page hardcover published by IDW, he finally gets his chance to stretch out and show his stuff, which turns out to be a batch of tales -- each introduced by a voluptous vampire hostess -- featuring a bevvy of cute girls battling a series of monsters, zombies and creeps, but all played for laughs.   Lewis has spent his years in the self-publishing wilderness perfecting his comic timing and his efforts pay off here.  It's an interesting mix and if you have any sort of predilection for this sort of material, you're in for a treat, along with a trick or two.
This Book Contains Graphic Language	Rocco Versaci			$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Ok, admit it -- you find it hard to believe that anyone with the name Rocco Versaci would be a PhD holding professor of of English who specializes in comics; but there you have it and here's his book.  This Book Contains Graphic Language is a thoroughly engaging 240 page account of the authors's life long (but for one brief hiatus) involvement with reading comics and how it merged with his studies in literature which is part memoir, part apologia, part polemic and part epistemological exegesis that that taken together makes for an eminently readable work that anyone who shares his interests will find hard to put down.  Ranging from Classics Illustrated to American Splendor to EC comics to Eightball and Love and Rockets and much in between, Versaci's enthusiasm for his subject is infectious and will have you pulling out old favorites for a second look as well as heading down to your friendly neghborhood comics retailer to get your hands on some new works with which to expand your horizons.
The Complete Jack Kirby: Volume One	Jack Kirby	Pure Imagination		$19.99 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This book contians all the extant examples of Kirby's earliest works --  much of which was signed not as Kirby (whose given name was, of course, Jacob Kurtzburg), but by at least a half dozen other aliases ranging from Ted Grey to Fred Sande to Jack Curtis.  It was not until the amazing science fiction tale "Solar Legion" that the name Jack Kirby first - and quite fittingly -- saw print.  There's an almost incredible variety of material here, and it shows Kirby wearing many different hats.  There are daily newspaper strips like the Popeye knock-off, "Socko the Seadog", the pirate strip, "The Black Buccaneer", Ripley's Believe-it-or-not wanna be "Facts You Never Knew" and many others; there are full-page Sunday strips like "The Diary of Dr. Hayward" and "Wilton of the West"; and even editorial cartoons!  His style is all over the place in these pieces as Kirby adapts himself each time to the demands of the particular assignment.   It was when Kirby started producing work directly for comic books he began to "find his voice" and his emblematic style finally starts to coalesce and take the now iconic Kirby form.  So, between the covers of this single volume, lucky readers will be able to witness the forging of the most important talent in the history of comic books, that of Jack "King" Kirby!  And, not only that, but you will be guided along the way by a series of informative essays written by the editor and publisher of The Complete Kirby series, noted Kirby Scholar, Greg Theakston; and, as an added bonus -- an interview with "the King" himself.  182 pages in all, and now available at a special Copacetic exclusive price.

dvds

Title	Director	Publisher	Price
The Street: The Complete First Season			$12.77 ($29.98 list)
Read more and comment...	This two-disc DVD contains the six, hour-long episodes that comprised the first season of this BBC drama created and written by Jimmmy McGovern.  The Street features exceptionally solid performances by a host of talented actors including Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall, Jane Horrocks and Sue Johnston among many others who are equally talented if less well-known. Each of the six episodes centers on one or more of the families living on a block of townhouses in an outer ring of London. Each is a hard hitting drama that tells a tale of actions and their consequences in no uncertain terms and with a strong moral flavor. If you find current offerings of American television to be crude, exploitative and/or mindless drivel you stand a very good chance of being throroughly engaged by this series. Evidently the hold of American television on its audiences has not loosened much as this series failed to make much of an impact here and as a result we are able to offer this DVD at a discount of over 60% off its retail price. Here's a chance for you to take advantage of your neighbors' lack of taste to get a real bargain on a solid television drama.

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