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Self-published




Title Author Publisher Price
Cometbus #53 Madalena Polletta, Aaron Cometbus Self-published $2.75
($3.00 list)
Cometbus53
Read more and comment... 		Aaron is still riding the Punk Train (see #52 for more).  This time out we have a lengthy piece on the early days of punk and art and comics in NYC in the mid-1970s that is largely derived from an in-depth interview Aaron conducted with John Holstrom, the co-founder of the legendary Punk Magazine.  But that's just the main course, there's plenty more on offer here.  For starters, this issue is co-authored by long-time Cometbus pal, Maddalena Polletta, who contributes a half dozen pieces which are interspersed throughout, providing contrapuntal hamony and making for a idiosyncratic and personal – if dolorous – production.  Grab a copy and stick it in your pocket, so that when you head out into the cold harsh world you'll know you have a friend along.
Cometbus 52: The Spirit of St. Louis, or How To Break Your Own Heart, a Tragedy in 24 Parts Aaron Cometbus Self-published $3.00
($3.00 list)
Cometbus_52
Read more and comment... 		It's safe to say that here we have the item that delivers the biggest bang for your buck in the year 2009.  A mere three dollars will get you this memoir of Aaron's early days of punk rock life spent in St. Louis that fills sixty-four prose-packed pages.  Angry?  Yes, but filled with insights into human nature and recognitions of the inevitable patterns that so many fall prey to.  The definitive DIY writer continues his literary journey.  It is certainly safe to say that long time Cometbus readers will want to join him, but for those of you who have yet to take a walk on the Cometbus side of life, this is an excellent place to start.  We're still working our way through this one here at Copacetic, but we can report that so far Cometbus #52 is shaping up to be a strong contender for the best issue yet.
Mixed Reviews Aaron Cometbus Self-published $3.00
($3.00 list)

Read more and comment... 		Aaron Cometbus is back with a follow-up volume to last year's well received (and now totally sold out) Chicago Stories.  This one has the same square-bound, pocket-size format but weighs in with an extra twenty pages -- 68 in total -- for the same price.  Not only that, but these pieces have not appeared in Cometbus, but instead are a mixture of new, never-before-published work and rareties culled from sources as diverse as the Philadelphia Independent and Maximum RocknRoll.  This time around we have ten pieces (three of which are super short) that, as the title intimates, are reviews... of sorts.  What's actually being reviewed, as with all the best writing, is life itself, and the quality thereof, as it can be located and isolated with certain people, at various places and times, in particular objects and products.  Casting this, the widest of nets, Aaron shares his catch:  reviews of coffee, a thirtieth birthday, a restaurant (tangentially, at best), NYC, the NYC life, love at the library, the inherent integrity of being a punk, and more.  Another volume perfectly suited to a life in the back pocket of your pants, by the guy who should know.
Cometbus #51 Aaron Cometbus Self-published $2.75
($3.00 list)
Cometbus51
Read more and comment... 		A book length excursion into the people and places that together make up the history of the Berkeley, CA alternative bookstores centered on Telegraph Avenue that played no small part in the history of the 1960s counter-culture explosion that reverberates to this day.  Aaron focuses primarily on the personalities involved, and there's a veritable deluge of empathy here, so be prepared to be carried  away.
Cometbus #50 Aaron Cometbus Self-published $2.00
($2.00 list)
OUT OF STOCK!
Cometbus50200
Read more and comment... 		This one is a jam issue with Aaron getting by with a little help from his friends to produce 96 pages of punk rock life for $2.00!  This issue has it all:  The centerpiece made up of seven new stories, that together are titled "New York Journal"; a panoply of punk rock interviews -- with the one-and-only Ian Mackaye, Zak Sally (Low, Dirty Three), Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio),Greta Brinkman (Moby and Deborah Harry bands), Alison Wolfe (Bratmobile), Blake Schwarzenbach (Jawbeaker) and Christina Billotte (Casual Dots); a lengthy "Book Report" on the state of used book stores in New York City (with Photos by Katie Glicksberg); and the biggest batch of letters yet.  Bonus features include "Pensacola Songs" by Scott Mylxine and two stories by Maddalena Polletta: "Driveway" and "American Elm."  It's safe to that this is the deal-of-the-month.
Chicago Stories Aaron Cometbus Self-published $3.00
($3.00 list)
OUT OF STOCK!
Chisto
Read more and comment... 		His first new release in quite awhile, Chicago Stories is a nifty little 48 page tome composed of eleven short stories culled from the pages of later issues of Cometbus  with Chicago as their focal point.  This one represents a bit of a format departure for  Mr. Cometbus, as the contents are (gasp!) typeset and printed on a nice heavy stock, plus there's a color wraparound cover by Megan Kelso and illustrated chapter headings by Frank Sirk. 
Cometbus 54: In China with Green Day Aaron Cometbus Self-published $4.00
($4.00 list)
Cometbus54
Read more and comment... 		Other writers would take this exact same piece of writing we find here, blow up the font a couple notches, scatter a bunch of concert and "behind-the-scenes" photos throughout it, shop around for a big name publisher, and put it out as a $30 or $40 coffee table book - but not Aaron Cometbus!  No!  Instead, what we have here is "only" the latest issue of Cometbus.  No one gives you your money's worth like Aaron.  This time around it's a just-shy-of-100-page issue filled cover to cover with the highly engaging tale of life on tour with a bunch of friends who happen to be a world famous rock band.  Here, we'll even help you get started:  "What happens when friends grow up together but make choices that lead them down different paths?  Can they still travel together, despite their differences?  That's what I wondered as I boarded the plane bound for Thailand, and, for the first time in my life, took a seat in first class..."