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Graphic Novel

These are actual graphic novels, not just thick books filled with comics. Not that we have anything against thick books filled with comics. It's just important to keep in mind that there are distinctions.


Title Creator Publisher Series Price
Kramers Ergot #8 Dash Shaw, Takeshi Murata, Robert Beatty, Sammy Harkham and more ... PictureBox Kramers Ergot $29.75
($32.95 list)
Ke8
Read more and comment... 		<<•>>  edited by Sammy Harkham  <<•>>  Starting out way back in 2000 as a plain ol' self-published, black and white comic book, Sammy Harkham's Kramers Ergot has been through some serious changes over the years.  In 2003, when Sammy went for broke (literally) and switched to a massive full-color book format with the fourth issue, Kramers was transformed from a simple comic book to a synecdoche/catch phrase for the exploding art comics scene.  The subsequent two issues followed suit and were published by art house publisher, Gingko Press.  Then, with the seventh issue the stakes were raised again with the gigantic, full-blown, original-old-school Sunday page size – a whoppin'' 16" x 21" – full color, hardcover published by Buenaventura Press that knocked people's socks off the world over; not least folks here in Pittsburgh, where we hosted the Kramers Tour at The BrilloBox to much acclaim.  Now, with the eighth issue, Kramers is being published by our pals at PictureBox and has entered yet another phase.  This time out – perhaps in keeping with its maturation – Kramers takes the form of an unassuming standard size hardcover sporting a tan cloth cover of deceptively straightforward design by Robert Beatty; one which nonetheless provides both visual and tactile pleasure to the reader and hints at what is to come, which is another all-star anthology featuring some of today's top cartoonists working in an environment where they feel comfortable taking risks.  An essay by Ian Svenonius, "Notes on Camp, Part 2" sets the tone with a hyperbolic sequel to Susan Sontag's famous essay, in which Svevonius traces a lineage for pop, camp and comics that centers on Warhol and goes back through to the Roman Empire. Then we are treated to a brand new Jimbo adventure by Gary Panter followed by new stories by C.F., Kevin Huizenga (who redraws the story "The Half Men" from the classic ACG series of the 1950s & '60s, Mysteries of Unexplained Worlds), Gabrielle Bell, Johnny Ryan, Time Hensley, Leon Sadler, Chris Cilla, Anya Davidson, Ben Jones and Sammy Harkham, himself.  The clear standout of Kramers Ergot 8 is the collaboration between Dash Shaw and Frank Santoro, "Childhood Predators."  This sixteen page story is a masterpiece of layout which was consciously composed as a series of eight two-page spreads by someone who really knows what they're doing.  Santoro displays his mastery of the medium by employing a host of techniques and methods to deliver a highly textured, subtly nuanced, and deeply felt look at an emotionally complex and politically fraught scenario that will amply reward repeated readings.  In addition to the comics, there are a pair of art portfolios featuring Robert Beatty's "retro-future" airbrush art, as well as a series of freakishly photorealistic digital artworks by Takeshi Murata, all of which are reproduced on bright glossy stock, in contrast to the flat off-white stock of the comics work.  The 40-page dose of Oh, Wicked Wanda! comics that closes out this issue is also printed on glossy stock to mimic its original appearance in the pages of Penthouse Magazine back in the 1970s.  Oh, Wicked Wanda was created by the British artist and writer duo of Ron Embleton and Frederic Mullalley as Penthouse's answer to Kurtzman and Elder's Little Annie Fannie, which ran in Playboy Magazine.  As with everything Penthouse, it is the same as Playboy, only more so; and in this case, the humor is decidedly British (as was Penthouse) with its international settings and casual conflation of kinky sex with Nazis.  We'd be curious to learn why the largest hunk of this issue of Kramers was devoted to these comics, so we hope Harkham will go on record as to his rationale and motivation here.  Regardless of what they may be, Kramers remains in the vanguard of contemporary comics and is indispensable reading for anyone who likes their comics challenging.
His Dream of the Skyland Aya Morton, Anne Opotowsky Gestalt Walled City Trilogy $29.75
($32.95 list)
Hisdreamofskybig
Read more and comment... 		Wow!  This book came out of nowhere.  Nearly 300 pages in length, this oversize softcover is the product of a pair of Americans that has been issued by Gestalt Publishing of Australia and beautifully printed in Singapore on heavy, flat white stock.  Written by Anne Opotowsky and fabulously rendered by Aya Morton in a unique water color fashion, employing an asian-inflected brushwork style with a muted, limited palette that excludes black line and hews to blue (do yourself a favor and check out these page samples).  Set in early 20th century Hong Kong, specifically the Kowloon area, it follows the adventures of a young man, Song, as he sets out to explore the possibilities life has to offer.  Believe it or not, this mammoth tome is only the first volume of the Walled City Trilogy! 
The Frank Book - softcover Jim Woodring Fantagraphics $29.75
($34.99 list)
Frankbooksc-big
Read more and comment... 		One of the classic colletions of contemporary comics is now back in print in this softcover edition.  This edition appears to be identical in size and contents and reproductive quality with the original out of print hardcover edition.  The 350 pages of wordless comics, both in startling black and white and luscious cartoon color, will transport readers into a vivid realm that is part waking dream part parallel universe in which natural laws are clearly in effect but off kilter.  Woodring has continued to visit this realm in a series of works, including this year's Congress of the Animals and last year's Weathercraft.  The Frank Book is where it all begins – representing the initial voyage of discovery to this previously uncharted region – and remains the essential volume  that belongs in every self-respecting comics reader's library.  Dan Clowes states, "Frank, and I say this without a shred of hyperbole, is a work of true genius by one of the all-time greats."
Ode to Kirihito #2 Osamu Tezuka Vertical $13.75
($14.95 list)
Kirihito
Read more and comment... 		This is the big book that has it all!  Originally serialized in Biggu Komiku in 1970-71, and a personal favorite of the artist, manga founding-father Osamu Tezuka, Ode to Kirihito is a unique effort, in more than one respect.  Weighing in at a mammoth 822 pages, Ode is the first of Tezuka's works to incorporate adult themed gekiga (see Tatsumi's Abandon the Old in Tokyo) elements.  Perhaps paradoxically, it is also a work that while dealing with the darker sides of human nature simultaneously deals with Christian (Kirihito is a pun on the Japanese pronunciation of Christ, Kirisuto) themes -- specifically of overcoming the illusional dualism of beast and soul, metaphorically dealt with here as a struggle against a disease that turns men into dog-like beasts.  This book is a one-stop  for everything Tezuka as he displays a veritable cornicopia of storytelling devices, styles, page-layouts and more; if you pay attention, you will also find some fascinating foreshadowing of current alt. comics themes and representational tropes (Fort Thunder, Paper Rad, etc.).  It's a Tezuka tour de force!  He delves into a panoply of themes: most importantly that of Japanese masculinity as it confronts the sexual revolution; also explored are Japanese perspectives in the dawn of the global era as the story brings us into contact with mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, South Africans, Europeans -- but, interestingly, almost no Americans -- and we get not only Tezuka's views of these peoples but also his point of view on their views of the Japanese, creating a roundabout of perspectives.   That Tezuka fans will find this work a reading experience to relish almost goes without saying.  We'd like to take a moment here to recommend this book to those of you who are curious about Tezuka's legendary status but have been put off by his association with what is widely considered "kid's fare" -- Astro Boy, Kimba and the like.  Ode to Kirihito will stand up to any comparison with contemporary literary comics.  It is an engaging and intriguing tale, told by a master of the form at the peak of his powers.  Anyone serious about comics owes it to themselves to read this.  NOW DIVIDED INTO TWO VOLUMES, OF WHICH THIS IS THE SECOND. Recommended!
The Book of Human Insects Osamu Tezuka Vertical $20.00
($21.95 list)
Bookofhumaninsects
Read more and comment... 		Here is the latest in Vertical's excellent run of Tezuka's late-career, mature graphic novels. This story contained in this 364 page stand-alone hardcover edition was originally published in 1970 and 1971.  The Book of Human Insects ranges far and wide:  from New York City to Tokyo, from the world of design to the world of entomology, from backrooms to boardrooms, from science to sex.  A work of transformation and metamophosis full of cartooned caricatures and detailed renderings; another trademark Tezuka.
1-800 Mice Matthew Thurber PictureBox $19.75
($22.95 list)
1-800micehc
Read more and comment... 		This swellegant hardcover volumes collects all five issues of the 1-800-Mice comic book series that has many longtime readers here at Copacetic; but that's not all!  Those lollygaggers among you who have been putting off their partaking of this fine work are rewarded for delaying your gratification with an all-new, never-before-seen concluding chapter that appears here for the first time (the rest of us longtime devotees would have probably bought this book anyway, but now there's simply no getting around it).  We'd say more, but anything we might have to say seems superfluous after reading these testimonials:  "Mr. Thurber has invested everything in his demented opus, and the payoff is rich with big laughs and a palpable sense that his world of mice and man-tree love persists far beyond the borders of its panels." -- Daniel Clowes  • " Matthew Thurber uses the lowly conventions of the comic-book to express the narrative freedom of the unconscious mind.  He has singlehandedly revived the surrealist program of revolutionary politics through dreamwork.  What more can you ask for in a comic-book?" – Ben Katchor • Bonus:  comes complete with an illustrated dramatis personae, to help you keep track of the massive cast of characters!
Color Engineering Yuichi Yokoyama PictureBox $29.75
($35.00 list)
Colorebig
Read more and comment... 		This one is a challenging excursion into the mental landscape, so you'll need some quality alone time, perhaps with some choice trance instrumentals blasting in your headphones blocking out any extraneous distractions, to take the trip that is Color Engineering.  We strongly recommend that you make your first run through solely focused on the visuals:  ignore the text and the translations – just take in the images as they build, one on the next; feel the rhythm.  Only after you have completed this journey, and have absorbed it, should you pay any attention to the text and notes.  Our quick formulaic take away is: ∫ f (Yuichi Yokoyama's Color Engineering) dx = F (Jennifer Bartlett's Rhapsody) - F (Jack Kirby's The Eternals).  In other words:  prepare yourself.  When you have finished the journey, you will doubtless come back with your own ideas.
Streakers Nick Maandag Mean Dog Comics $7.00
($7.00 list)
Streakers
Read more and comment... 		And, speaking of John Porcellino, he personally recommended that we carry this book; and of course we readily obliged.  Also recommending this work by this Torontonian is fellow Canadian cartoonist, Seth, who states:  "Streakers is that rare creation – a work whose subject matter is unexpected, unasked for, and probably unwanted (!)... and yet, one that is both funny and genuinely affecting.  I certainly laughed plenty while readin it.  It's a very funny book.  But I also felt strangely moved by these unpleasant creeps.  I was in their corner cheering them on the whole time.  Against all odds, Streakers is surely the book of the year!"
The Next Day Paul Peterson, Jason Gilmore, John Porcellino pop sandbox $15.00
($16.95 list)
Thenextdayporcellino
Read more and comment... 		"Constructed from intimate interviews with survivors of near-fatal suicide attempts," The Next Day takes us into the minds of four individuals who attempted suicide and lived to tell the tale, and asks the question, "What if they had waited just one more day?"  Certainly, the decision of the authors to bring in John Porcellino to illustrate this work was the single most important one they made, as only Porcellino's minimal, understated line could work here; anyone else's work would have risked pushing the material into the maudlin realm.  Obviously, this is not a book for everyone, but it's good that it's now out there for anyone.  Delve deeper into this book by reading The Comics Journal review.
The Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists Seth Drawn and Quarterly $22.75
($24.95 list)
Seth-gnb
Read more and comment... 		And speaking of finely crafted books from Drawn & Quarterly, here's the latest from the cartoonist who more than anyone else is responsible for what might be considered the D&Q "house style", whose conscious integration of book design as a formal element into the structure, significance and meaning of his comics works may very well be his most lasting contribution to the medium.  The GNBCC is a follow-up to his first "sketchbook" graphic novel, Wimbledon Green.  Not exactly a sequel, it is set in the same quasi-fictional/semi-factual world and (re)creates an unequalled sense of Canadian comics cameraderie.  Complete with exhaustive index and reproductions of Seth's cardboard constructions.
Daybreak Brian Ralph Drawn and Quarterly $19.75
($21.95 list)
Daybreak
Read more and comment... 		After years spent in the small press comics wilderness, Brian Ralph finally makes it onto bookstore shelves everywhere with this handsome, finely crafted (embossed!) hardcover volume from Drawn & Quarterly that collects the three softcover volumes orginally published by indy stalwart, Bodega Press.  A co-founder of the Providence, RI-based art collective, Fort Thunder, Ralph made his mark with the (now out of print) wordless graphic novel, Cave-In, published by Highwater Books.  Daybreak employs a formally unique hybrid of second-person and direct address that it would be hard to pull off in any medium other than comics to tell a tale of post-apocalyptic zombies that puts the reader right in the thick of it.
The Death-Ray Daniel Clowes Drawn and Quarterly $17.77
($19.95 list)
Deathray
Read more and comment... 		2011 PEN Center USA Literary Award Winner, Daniel Clowes originally wrote and drew this work a few years back for what remains the last issue (#23) of his epoch-making comics book series, Eightball.  Here in this laminated, oversize, full color hardcover edition from Drawn & Quarterly it is represented in a "revised" version.  We have not yet had the opportunity to do a page by page comparison between the two versions of the story (sadly due to our inability to locate our copy of the issue of Eightball in question), but are confident that the story will continue to pack the same wallop that it did back when it first appeared – especially to those readers who are encountering it here for the first time.  We remember well when Clowes first announced that he was working on "a superhero story set in the 1970s" and he stated that his doing so was "a sure sign that I have lost my mind" (or something along those lines).  Yet, for all that, when it arrived on the stands, it was another Certified Clowes Classic™.  And here it is again for all those who weren't there the first time around – and for those who were, as well.
The Hidden Richard Sala Fantagraphics $17.77
($19.99 list)
Hiddensala
Read more and comment... 		Sala's latest graphic novel takes its readers to a post-apolcalyptic USA, wherein the story of what happened to bring the world to this pass is gradually revealed in a narrative that opens with a dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream sequence that, in its disorienting qualities, provides a good preview of the flat-out craziness of the tale to come, which is, in addition to being deeply creepy, a politically-tinged fable with a message for our times.
Mark Twain's Autobiography, 1910 - 2010 Michael Kupperman Fantagraphics $17.77
($19.99 list)
Twainkupp
Read more and comment... 		Right away, the fact that this "autobiography" is written by other than the subject is a dead giveaway that this work is not going to be what it purports to be; the fact that its author is Michael Kupperman let's you know that not only is it not going to be what it purports to be, but that it is also going to be odd and strangely off-kilter in a way that you can't quite put your finger on (but maybe sometimes you sort of can – like the way thetime period outlined in the title occurs entirely after the subject of the autobiography has died), but that will somehow involve an unusual combination of prose and comics in putting together the pieces in which the core of the meaning resides.  Oh yeah – it's also going to be funny.
Feynman Hilary Sycamore, Leland Myrick, Jim Ottaviani (:01) First Second $26.95
($29.95 list)
Feynman
Read more and comment... 		Long the foremost popularizer of science in comics, Jim Ottaviani has here teamed up with the artist illustrator Leland Myrick – who is probably best known for his graphic novel, Missouri Boy, also published by First Second – and colorist Hilary Sycamore to present the story of the life and work of the Nobel-Prize winning physicist, Richard P. Feynman, in this 162 page full color, hardcover graphic biography. Read this review in The Washington Post to learn more and for a brief preview.
Troop 142: A Graphic Novel Mike Dawson Secret Acres $16.75
($20.00 list)
Troop142
Read more and comment... 		The popular web comic, Troop 142 at last makes the leap to the printed page with the help of the intrepid small press comics publisher Secret Acres.  Troop 142, as is often – but certainly not always – the case with web comics, benefits from being collected all at once under one cover, giving the reader both opportunity and impetus to read all the way through the entirety of this story about one week spent at Pinewood Forest Camp, New Jersey, with The Boy Scouts of America Troop 142.  Dylan Horrocks states that it, "dig(s) deep into the dark side of teenage - and adult - masculinity to reveal the brittle, wounded humanity at its heart."
Storeyville (original newspaper edition) Frank Santoro Sirk Productions $50.00
Storeyvillesmall
Read more and comment... 		<<•>>  WAREHOUSE FIND <<•>>  Much to our amazement, a heretofore unknown secret stash of the original 1995 newspaper edition of Storeyville has been unearthed!  Each copy had been sealed in a polypropylene bag and the entire box had been taped up and stored away in a corner where it was eventually forgotten... until now!  We haven't seen a copy of this for sale anywhere for years (except for one that was on sale on Amazon for $1000!) so, if this is something you've been thinking about, don't debate about it too long, as there's only this one box, and when it's empty, that's it! A perfect match of form and content, Storeyville is a 40 page tabloid newspaper -- printed in black and white and a set of muted tones ranging from sandy yellow to a deep sepia -- that describes the arc of a youthful adventure that takes its protagonist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the USA to Montreal, Quebec in Canada at the opening of the 20th century.  Click on image at left to read our full length review.
Habibi Craig Thompson Pantheon $31.50
($35.00 list)
Habibi
Read more and comment... 		Craig Thompson's long awaited follow up to Blankets – one of the most widely and loudly lauded graphic novels in history – is now weighing heavily on the shelves here at Copacetic.  A sprawling, multi-layered, multi-faceted, multi-pronged work, Habibi is part history lesson, part tutorial, part travelogue, part anthro/socio/psychological study, part sermon, and all love story.  Thompson clearly had outsized ambitions for this work, likely necessitated by the high  expectations surrounding any follow up to Blankets.  It's always an additional challenge for creators to follow up a highly praised work.  Should they try to compete with their big hit? should they use this moment of high regard to do their secret project that they had always wanted to do, but could never hope to get green lighted before? or should they just pretend that nothing's changed and just do what comes naturally?  In the creation of Habibi, it seems that Thompson took all three approaches and melded them into an organic whole.  In other words:  Habibi tries to have it all and do it all; at times it seems that its contents may overflow.  Learn more in our full page review.  In any event, if the length of the lines of those waiting to buy a copy of Habibi and get it signed by Craig Thompson at SPX are any indication of the demand for this book, then it's safe to say that its publisher, Pantheon Books, will probably get over its grumpiness over how much longer it took Craig to finish the book than originally expected (2007) when they paid him his advance way back in 2005.  At least part of the reason it took him so much longer to finish the book is that it is another mammoth tome – weighing in at 674 pages it's close to 100 pages longer than Blankets, which was, at the time of its publication, the longest, not-previously-serialized graphic novel ever published.
Motel Art Improvement Service Jason Little Dark Horse $18.88
($19.99 list)
Motelart2
Read more and comment... 		Somehow, this one slipped through the Copacetic cracks on its release.  Jason Little is a natural storyteller and an excellent colorist, and Motel Art Improvement Service combines his strengths in bringing you this highly entertaining and rather racy work that will take your mind off of whatever's worrying it and plunge you straight into the soft underbelly of the hospitality industry with a screwball comedy story set behind the scenes at a string of hotels.  It features:  one directionless, hot-to-trot bicyclist and her worldly roommate; one zany, drug fuelled artist; one drug dealing army soldier on leave; a couple of drug manufacturing college chemists (yes, it's safe to say that drugs feature prominently in this tale); and a wide assortment of hotel staff and guests as well as a lone NYC art dealer on a quest.  Motel Art is produced in a nearly identical format to Little's previous book, Shutterbug Follies, and features the same leading lady, Bee, and you can read a ten-page excerpt here at beecomix.com, so it does not seem unreasonable to assert that it is the second in a series. 
Citizen Rex Gilbert Hernandez, Mario Hernandez Dark Horse $17.77
($19.99 list)
Citizenrex
Read more and comment... 		The other Hernandez brother, Mario, busts out with brother Beto and pens a fantastic fifties-style sci-fi fable that focuses on a highly stratified, mediated, fabricated and policed society that put us in mind of a futuristic synthesis of Latin and Anglo America – which, come to think of it, may very well be how things play out. In other words: this work of old school comics that echoes the science fiction comic books of the 1950s that nourished the growing minds in the Hernandez household could tell The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal a thing or two about the shape of things to come.  Citizen Rex is also a frantic, fast-paced and fun read packed with detail and nuance, that, while completely zany, will, nevertheless reward close reading.  Hardcover!
Forming #Volume One Jesse Moynihan NoBrow $27.00
($30.00 list)
Forming
Read more and comment... 		The first of a projected three volumes collecting Mr. Moynihan's ongoing webcomic detailing "the spawning of worlds, and the trajectory of consciousness on Earth."  This oversize, full color, hardcover volume is published under the auspices of NoBrow, and is another feather in their cap of excellence in craft (printed in Belgium!).  Jesse Moynihan has been producing adventurous self-published comics for quite awhile, as those intrepid Copacetic customers who managed to score Backwards Folding Mirror and/or Follow Me already know.  Forming is by far his most ambitious project yet, and we feel confident in recommending it to fans of C.F's Powr Mastrs, Frank Santoro and Ben Jones's Cold Heat, the works of Yuichi Yokoyama and all those waiting around for the next Kramers Ergot.  Yes, that's quite a broad recommendation, we know; but! – you don't have to take our word for it as you can read the entire saga online, starting here.  Until you come down and see it for yourself, you will, however, have to take our word that this sumptuously produced book provides an aesthetic experience all its own. 
The Incal Moebius, Alejandro Jodorowsky Humanoids $44.95
($44.95 list)
OUT OF STOCK!
Incalbig
Read more and comment... 		Perhaps the single greatest science-fiction-adventure bande dessinée series of all time, the six-book series that was originally published in France throughout the 1980s has at last been collected in its entirety in a single hardcover volume for a price that works out to less than $7.50 per book.  Massively influential (see Brian Michael Bendis's introduction cum rant), The Incal has informed many a popular culture work, across mediums:  films, television series, and books, in addition to countless comics, manga and graphic novels  have been influenced and/or informed by this Jodorowsky-Moebius masterpiece.  While the page-size is here slightly reduced from the original, the magnificent colors – along with their registration and reproduction – are of high quality and enable the reader to plunge right into the definitively fantastic Moebius art that propels the twists and turns of the epic Jodorowsky plot in this now definitive English language edition.
A Zoo in Winter Jiro Taniguchi Fanfare/Ponent Mon $21.75
($23.00 list)
Zooinwinter
Read more and comment... 		Fans of Taniguchi's singular work, from the now-out-of-print Walking Man (which the cover image at left meaningfully evokes) to his ongoing Summit of the Gods, can now rejoice with the release of this new hardcover release (which is, amazingly, priced less than his last few softcover releases!). Originally released fairly recently (2008) in Japan, A Zoo in Winter's 231 pages amply display Tanuguchi's mature skills as he combines all of his interests - meditative scenes of walking outdoors, detailed urban landscapes, animals and snow, all in the service of a complex, deftly constructed narrative involving the intricacies of the human heart.  The story is an autobiographical roman á clef recounting Taniguchi's early years, beginning in the winter of 1966, at the point when he had recently moved to Kyoto to follow his dream of being a textile designer. Events there lead him to takie up a friend's invitation to move to Tokyo to work as a mangaka assistant... but we don't want to give too much away here! And as always with Taniguchi, that's just one layer of the complex weavings of the story, there's plenty more going on, all skillfully rendered and deftly paced. Recommended!
Esperanza: A Love and Rockets Book Jaime Hernandez Fantagraphics Love and Rockets $15.00
($18.99 list)
Esperanzabig
Read more and comment... 		This 248-page black & white 7.5" x 9.25" softcover is the fifth volume of Locas stories by Jaime Hernandez; and the eighth overall, the other three collecting Gilbert's Palomar stories.  Esperanza picks up where 2010’s Penny Century collection left off in collecting the  the stories from the second volume of Love and Rockets – the comic book size series that ran from 2000 through 2007.  Together, the two volumes collect everything Locas up through #19, the second to last issue of the series (#20, the last issue, presents the full color story that originally ran in the New York Times, along with a second, off-format story of Maggie's childhood, neither of which would work in this volume; completists take note).  Page after page of immortal classics fill this essential volume.  We know that all true believers already own the original issues, but, for the rest of you:  It really doesn't get any better than Love and Rockets.  Really.
Big Questions - S/N hardcover Anders Nilsen Drawn and Quarterly Big Questions $64.95
($69.95 list)
Bigquestions
Read more and comment... 		Deluxe, Signed and Numbered, Hardcover Edition (of 1000) Please note that this edition – in addition to possessing a signed and numbered tipped-in plate – includes the entirety of the standard softcover edition, plus 3 appendices that comprise an additional 55 (or so) pages that are not in the softcover.  What you get is:  the extra, non-essential stories from Big Questions #1 & #2; all the covers of the original series – including an unseen (by us, at any rate), unused (to the best of our knowledge...) extra cover for #5; "bird strips" from other publications that did not appear in the original Big Questions series.
Big Questions Anders Nilsen Drawn and Quarterly Big Questions $37.77
($44.95 list)
Bigquestionsbig
Read more and comment... 		The tiny seed that was planted in the back of Mr. Nilsen's mind during the course of an artist workshop exercise that took place at the D.H. Lawrence Ranch in Taos, NM in 1996 has now at last reached its maturity in this sequoia-like 592 page tome that collects the entire continuity originally published in the (mostly) long out of print series.  The first six issues were self published before Drawn & Quarterly – the publisher of this collection – picked it up and added the series to their then burgeoning but now defunct series of regularly published pamphlet comics.  Big Questions defies easy categorization, and many have written much about the original issues  (including, in brief, us). We'll try to have something intelligent to say shortly on the event of its book publication, but for now will cede the floor to Anders himself in this interview posted on CBR on 12 August where he talks about his comics career and answers questions Big and small.  The uninitiated are encouraged to read this brief, yet poignant PDF preview.
Anya's Ghost (hardcover) Vera Brosgol (:01) First Second $17.77
($19.99 list)
Anyabig
Read more and comment... 		Here's the HARDCOVER edition of the great new graphic novel in the vein of Hope Larson that will be especially appreciated by girls in the first half of their teen years (11 - 15).  Brosgol is a native of Russia who moved to the US as a child and has spent most of her life here; and from the quality of the work on display in Anya's Ghost, we'd say that she has devoted quite a bit of her life to drawing.  She holds a degree in Classical Animation (who knew there even was such a degree?) and is a professional storyboarder.  While she has previously contributed to the annual Flight anthology, this is her first book length work, and it's well work checking out.  Weighing in at 221 pages printed in black and white and shades of mauve(?), this book will make for some fun summer reading for the young adult set formerly known as teens.
Anya's Ghost Vera Brosgol (:01) First Second $14.75
($15.99 list)
Anyasghost
Read more and comment... 		Here's a great new graphic novel in the vein of Hope Larson that will be especially appreciated by girls in the first half of their teen years (11 - 15).  Brosgol is a native of Russia who moved to the US as a child and has spent most of her life here; and from the quality of the work on display in Anya's Ghost, we'd say that she has devoted quite a bit of her life to drawing.  She holds a degree in Classical Animation (who knew there even was such a degree?) and is a professional storyboarder.  While she has previously contributed to the annual Flight anthology, this is her first book length work, and it's well work checking out.  Weighing in at 221 pages printed in black and white and shades of mauve(?), this book will make for some fun summer reading for the young adult set formerly known as teens.
Approximate Continuum Comics Lewis Trondheim Fantagraphics $17.00
($18.99 list)
Approximatebig
Read more and comment... 		Trondheim's autobiographical masterpiece is at last collected!  This 160 page French-flapped softcover collects the entirety of the six issue series originally published between 1993 and 1996 along with seven pages of "rebuttals" from individuals – mostly French comics creators – who were subjectified in Trondheim's tale of comics in comics, including such L'Association luminaries as David B., Killoffer, Charles Berberian and Philippe Dupuy.  Get an intimate inside look at the world of French comics – or should we say, bande desinee – while simultaneously receiving an inside look at the mind that is perceiving that world; it's a comics feedback loop!
Isle of 100,000 Graves Fabien Vehlman, Jason Fantagraphics $12.75
($14.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		A new work by Norway's greatest comics creator is always a cause for celebration.  Isle of 100,000 Graves marks a departure of sorts for Jason in that it marks his first original collaboration with a writer.  Fabien Vehlman has crafted a "tortuously funny yarn" that Jason has made his own with his highly addictive comics stylings.  Full color by Jason's longtime colorist, Hubert.  Anyone worried that this might not be the Jason they've come to know and love can check out this six page PDF excerpt.