The Copacetic Comics Company Sammy Harkham

Sammy Harkham

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)
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.
Typewriter #6	Nick Bertozzi, Kurt Wolfgang, Dylan Williams, Nicolas Robel and more ...	Self-published		$9.00 ($10.00 list)
Read more and comment...	<<•>> edited and published by David Youngblood <<•>> One of the highlights of the 2003 SPX, and one of the best anthologies of the year, this 160 page squarebound volume features a lot of great work by a lot of great people like Souther Salazar, Sammy Harkham, Josh Simmons, Kurt Wolfgang, Farel Dalrymple, Dylan Williams, Marc Bell, Paul Hornschemeier, Nick Bertozzi, and Pittsburgh's own Jim Rugg, among many others! The concept with this issue is that each story must begin with the sentence that the previous story ended with. This is one of the best out there: small press, community building, unique, original and good. Long out of print, but we just discovered that we have a secret stash! 2003 • 160 pages • B & W
Crickets #3	Sammy Harkham	Self-published	Crickets	$8.00 ($8.00 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Finally! A new issue of Crickets by the one and only Sammy Harkham. Sub-titled, "Sex Morons," this issue explores relationship issues and more, all in Harkham's highly informed, finely honed and intensely personal comics. This issue is printed biggest yet, both in length – it runs 48 pages – and in size – this time it comes to us in the 8 1/2" x 11" magazine format. As always, this issue is jam packed, cover-to-cover, with comics! Pittsburgh readers receive a special bonus in the form of the one-pager related to an evening spent in our fair city. Now out of print. Our copies are almost gone. Limit: One copy per customer. ALL GONE! WE're trying to get more, but aren't overly optimistic...
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #15	Tim Hensley, Matthew Thurber, Kevin Huizenga, Jordan Crane and more ...	Bongo		$8.00 ($4.99 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Just roll this one up and you've got the perfect stocking stuffer for the heppest of your pals. What makes this Simpson's comic book different from all other Simpson's comic books? Well, this 48 page (no interior ads!) full color comic book "starring" the Simpsons is written and drawn by full fledged members of The Kramers Ergot Gang, 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 features a cataclysmic cover by none other than dazzlin' Dan Zettwoch - 'nuff said! We were sold out, but just got a hold of FOUR copies. Act now, IF you can stand being charged over cover price... Sorry!
The Best American Comics 2009	Dash Shaw, Koren Shadmi, David Sandlin, Ron Regé and more ...	Houghton Mifflin	Best American	$20.00 ($22.95 list)
Read more and comment...	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.
Kramers Ergot #6	Sammy Harkham, C.F., Paper Rad, Marc Bell and more ...	Buenaventura Press	Kramers Ergot	$34.95 ($34.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Edited, as always, by Sammy Harkham -- this time around with an assist by co-publisher Alvin Buenaventura -- this now seemingly biennial publication continues to live up to the promise made with the fourth and fifth volumes. The format follows that of the last volume: a flat matte finish (this time sans texture) flexi cover fixed to a sturdy Smythe sewn binding that holds the contents firmly in place. And what contents! Many of those talents that readers have come to associate with Kramers Ergot are here again, and have submitted work that is as engaging as ever. Sammy Harkham, C.F., Paper Rad, Marc Bell, Souther Salazar, Ron Regé, Jr., Matthew Thurber, Dan Zettwoch and Elvis Studio are joined by Vanessa Davis, Tom Gaud, Martin Cendreda, Bald Eagles and a handful of others. Also, KE Alum Gary Panter finds himself under the same covers as former fellow Raw artist, Jerry Moriarty, who is given plenty of space to present his idiosyncratic Hopperesque visions for the first time (we've seen) in many years. In addition, with this issue Kramers Ergot adds a curatorial component to its offerings for the first time, as readers are given a rare look at two great historical figures of the comics world: we get a healthy sampling of a late sketchbook by the Dutch comics artist, Marc Smeets, which is preceded by "an incomplete appreciation" by Chris Ware; and an amazing reproduction of the early and highly influential manga, Norakuro by Suiho Tagawa. All in all, it seems once again to be an essential read for anyone involved in the contemporary comics scene. Here is a preview of the front cover along with 10 sample pages.
Poor Sailor	Sammy Harkham	Gingko Press		$14.44 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	While he is most widely known as the editor and publisher of Kramers Ergot, Sammy Harkham is a talented cartoonist in his own right, and his most notable achievement, Poor Sailor, which was originally published as the centerpiece of the classic but now out of print Kramers Ergot 4, is also available as a in this stand alone hardcover from Gingko Press. This elegy to regret is here presented in the single panel per page format that has been gaining some well deserved currency. This is how it was meant to be read! And, yes, we still have copies available. How much longer is anybody's guess...
Drawn and Quarterly Showcase #3	Sammy Harkham, Matt Broersma, Matt Broersma, Geneviève Elverum and more ...	Drawn and Quarterly		$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue features a trio of tales by Matt Broersma, Geneviève Elverum, and Sammy Harkham. Each work features a distinct artistic voice and is distinguished by the artist's personal color palette. Geneviève Elverum contributed the cover and opening story. Her work is rendered in a lush but limited palette of deep blues and reds (and one green) set off against large fields of white punctuated by grey and tells us of a struggle to find a place in the scheme of things. Readers familiar with Sammy Harkham's tale, "The Poor Sailor," which originally appeared in the fourth issue of his own anthology Title, Kramers Ergot (and which was later collected by David Eggars in his Non-Required Reading series), will feel right at home in this tale of teenage confusion and angst told with his trademark detachment and rendered in a palette of pale reds. The final piece, Matt Broersma's The Mummy is a multi-layered, self-deconstructing, post-modern pulp tale rendered in black and white and shades of green.
Crickets #1	Sammy Harkham	Drawn and Quarterly	Crickets	$3.55 ($3.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Kramers Ergot editor (and sometimes publisher), Sammy Harkham has decided, "Enough already with spending all my time getting other artists' work together. I just want to sit down and draw!" Crickets is his new ongoing series and we now have the first issue on hand so you can check out what he's been up to. This first issue is a nicely produced, slightly oversized, saddle-stitched, 32-page duo-tone (black and green) comic book that is entirely taken up by a single story titled, "Black Death," a mordant tale that falls pretty much half way between Jordan Crane and Anders Nilsen in its feel -- but is on its own after that -- seems to be a novel take on the legend of the golem, and is, evidently, the first installment of an epic saga which will, in subsequent issues, become the ongoing back-up feature, and that the lead features in these upcoming issues will be stand alone stories. Sammy Harkham has the singular ability to create characters that personify the inhumanity of fate. The premiere issue of Crickets shows Harkham demonstrating this ability to full effect. PLEASE NOTE: All copies in our remaining – and dwindling – stock of this item have dinked corners and so are not "mint."
Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories: Volume Two	David Mazzuchelli, Leif Goldberg, Brian Chippendale, Elinore Norflus and more ...	Yale University Press		$20.00 ($28.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Ivan Brunetti It's too early to say for certain, but this follow-up to Brunetti's already classic 2006 anthology, also published by Yale University Press, might just be even better than its precursor. One thing's for certain: Brunetti has held onto -- and further refined -- his editorial vision of arranging the work contained in this volume in an organic sequence, deftly managing to map out the similarities between artists so that each piece flows smoothly into into the other, creating an amazing sense of an innate connectivity between all areas of comics here on display. This book is a powerful ally in the struggle to bring the light of comics to those poor souls still dwelling in the darkness. It's the perfect choice to turn on a friend or relative to the joy, beauty and pleasures of our favorite medium. Hold onto your hats, here's the contributor list: Daniel Clowes, Saul Steinberg, Sammy Harkham, Chris Ware, R. Sikoryak, Michael Kupperman, Drew Friedman, Mark Beyer, Mack White, Jayr Pulga, Renee French, Kim Deitch, Richard Sala, J. Bradley Johnson, Archer Prewit, Anonymous (utility sketchbook), HJ Tuthill, Milt Gross, Bill Holman, Harvey Kurtzman, R.Crumb, Basil Wolverton, Art Spiegelman, Jess, John Hankiewicz, Tim Hensley, Bill Griffith, Richard McGuire, Gilbert Hernandez, Jim Woodring, David Collier, Eugene Teal, Charles Burns, Karl Wirsum, Gary Panter, Paper Rad, Fletcher Hanks, CF, Charles Forbell, Ron Rege, Jr., Winsor McCay, Matthew Thurber, Souther Salazar, Kevin Scalzo, Megan Kelso, James McShane, Laura Park, Vanessa Davis, Onsmith, Joe Matt, Jeffrey Brown, Martin Cendreda, Dave Kiersh, John Porcellino, Carrie Golus/Patrick Welch, Jessica Abel, Cole Johnson, Lynda Barry, Debbie Drechsler, Diane Noomin, Aline Kominsky-Crum, Ariel Bordeaux, Chester Brown, Anders Nilsen, Joe Sacco, Phoebe Gloeckner, Elinore Norflus, Brian Chippendale, Leif Goldberg, David Mazzuchelli, Jerry Moriarty, Ben Katchor, Frank Santoro, Dan Zettwoch, Kevin Huizenga, Harvey Pekar/R.Crumb, Carol Tyler, Maurice Vellekoop, Seth, Adrian Tomine, Jaime Hernandez & David Heatley. It's simply amazing. Comics Power! PLEASE NOTE: We feel compelled to mention that this volume includes several pieces that contain quite explicit sexual content; and while this content represents only a miniscule fraction of the total, it nevertheless renders this volume fit for ADULTS ONLY.
Kramers Ergot 7 Tour in Pittsburgh - 12/4/08	Sammy Harkham	Buenaventura Press		$0.00 ($0.00 list)
Read more and comment...	The Copacetic Comics Company presents The Kramers Ergot 7 National Book Tour at The BrilloBox 4104 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh PA 15224 Thursday, December 4, 2008 5:00pm - 10:00pm Please Note This event is open to all ages from 5pm - 9pm Over 21 only after 9pm OBVIOUSLY, THIS EVENT HAS PASSED. WE'RE LEAVING THIS UP AS PART OF THE ARCHIVE. The Copacetic Comics Company is pleased as punch to announce that we are sponsoring the Kramers Ergot 7 national book tour here in Pittsburgh. Confirmed Guests include Kramers Ergot editor and contributor, Sammy Harkham as well as Kevin Huizenga, John Pham, Ron Regé, Jr., Matthew Thurber and Pittsburgh's own Frank Santoro. We also plan to have on hand a contigent of local talent including Chris Cornwell, Jim Rugg and Tom Scioli as well as local publisher Unicorn Mountain. Watch this space for further announcements as Kramers Ergot publisher, Buenaventura Press, as well as Copacetic are working to bring more talent to this event. Kramers Ergot 7 is, without a doubt, one of the most spectacular works of comics ever published. Measuring a staggering 16" x 21", and containing all new, never before seen work that was commisioned specifically for this giant-size format, we will see today's top comic creators pulling out the stops for this rare chance to produce comics work on this scale. A mere 200 copies of KE7 are being advance shipped for this tour. Each will come with an exclusive print by Sammy Harkham that will only be available with those copies of the book purchased on the eight city tour (or directly from Buenaventura Press). We have been allotted only 20 copies, so we encourage you to reserve a copy now. A book this big and this beautiful does not come cheap, however, and we know not everyone will be able to afford the $125.00 retail price. We are offering a 10% discount (which works out to $112.50) on all copies that are pre-paid by Sunday, November 30, 2008. We encourage anyone who is sure they want a copy to take advantage of this offer, as doing so will guarantee you a copy at the event (and, of course, this would also ensure that you get a copy even if, perish the thought, you were unable to attend the event). Plenty of other related comics by Kramers contributors will be on sale, as well as new self-published local comics, at far more modest prices (including many for as little as $1 - $5), so rest assured that people of all means will be able to participate in this event.
Kramers Ergot #7	Dan Zettwoch, Frank Santoro, Chris Ware, Kevin Huizenga and more ...	Buenaventura Press	Kramers Ergot	$125.00 ($125.00 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	It's here! All we can say right now is, "WOW!" Sammy Harkham, Alvin Buenaventura and their cohorts have raised the bar once again with what must be considered as one of the most singular books in the history of comics. This volume of Kramers rolls back the hands of time by publishing a book that reproduces that magnificent size of the original Sunday comics of 100 years ago that we have been reacquainted with through the efforts of Sunday Press and their mind-boggling Little Nemo collections. Team Kramers has connected the dots and realized: "If they did it then, there's no reason why we can't do it now!" This volume presents all new work created specifically to be reproduced in the full-up, full-color, big-daddy, 16" x 21" format that will recapture the wonderful amazement of the glory days at the dawn of the comics era. The equally amazing renaissance that comics is currently undergoing will likely come to be symbolized in some fashion by this very volume. Kramers Ergot 7 is, without a doubt, one of the most spectacular works of comics ever published. Measuring a staggering 16" x 21", and containing all new, never before seen work that was commissioned specifically for this giant-size format, we will see today's top comic creators pulling out the stops for this rare chance to produce comics work on this scale. Here's a l of contributors: Rick Altergott, Gabrielle Bell, Jonathan Bennett, Blanquet, Blex Bolex, Conrad Botes, Shary Boyle, Mat Brinkman, John Brodowski, Ivan Brunetti, C.F., Chris Cilla, Jacob Ciocci, Dan Clowes, Martin Cendreda, Joe Daly, Kim Deitch, Matt Furie, Tom Gauld, Leif Goldberg, Matt Groening, John Hankiewicz, Sammy Harkham, Eric Haven, David Heatley, Tim Hensley, Jaime Hernandez, Walt Holcombe, Kevin Huizenga, J. Bradley Johnson, Ben Jones & Pshaw, Ben Katchor, Ted May, Geoff McFetridge, Jesse McManus, James McShane, Jerry Moriarty, Anders Nilsen, John Pham, Aapo Rapi, Ron Rege Jr., Xavier Robel, Helge Reumann, Ruppert & Mulot, Johnny Ryan, Richard Sala, Souther Salazar, Frank Santoro, Seth, Shoboshobo, Josh Simmons, Anna Sommer, Will Sweeney, Matthew Thurber, Adrian Tomine, C. Tyler, Chris Ware, and Dan Zettwoch. WOW! (This is no longer available from the publisher and we are almost out of our stock. As a result, we are no longer offering any discount. Sorry.)
Kramers Ergot #6	Sammy Harkham			$29.75 ($34.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Edited, as always, by Sammy Harkham -- this time around with an assist by co-publisher Alvin Buenaventura -- this now seemingly biennial publication continues to live up to the promise made with the fourth and fifth volumes. The format follows that of the last volume: a flat matte finish (this time sans texture) flexi cover fixed to a sturdy Smythe sewn binding that holds the contents firmly in place. And what contents! Many of those talents that readers have come to associate with Kramers Ergot are here again, and have submitted work that is as engaging as ever. Sammy Harkham, C.F., Paper Rad, Marc Bell, Souther Salazar, Ron Regé, Jr., Matthew Thurber, Dan Zettwoch and Elvis Studio are joined by Vanessa Davis, Tom Gaud, Martin Cendreda, Bald Eagles and a handful of others. Also, KE Alum Gary Panter finds himself under the same covers as former fellow Raw artist, Jerry Moriarty, who is given plenty of space to present his idiosyncratic Hopperesque visions for the first time (we've seen) in many years. In addition, with this issue Kramers Ergot adds a curatorial component to its offerings for the first time, as readers are given a rare look at two great historical figures of the comics world: we get a healthy sampling of a late sketchbook by the Dutch comics artist, Marc Smeets, which is preceded by "an incomplete appreciation" by Chris Ware; and an amazing reproduction of the early and highly influential manga, Norakuro by Suiho Tagawa. All in all, it seems once again to be an essential read for anyone involved in the contemporary comics scene.
Crickets #2	Sammy Harkham	Drawn and Quarterly		$4.44 ($4.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	The wait is over. It's been well over a year since this series premiered, and we were wondering if it was going to continue, or not. Well, no more! This issue -- which, according to the front cover, features "generals, pregnant teenagers, cartoonists, golems, prophets and boners" -- primarily consists of the second chapter of "Black Death", but there are a half dozen or so additional shorts that are a lot of fun and help make up for the long wait. It's like they say: "You can't rush quality." This work is in the "comics purist" school: every line, from cover to cover, including the credits and even the letters page, is hand drawn.
Private Stash: A Pin-Up Girl Portfolio by 20 Cartoonists	Adrian Tomine, Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Gilbert Hernandez and more ...	Buenaventura Press		$22.00 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This one is an attempt to be the last word in fetish object. Playing on the trope of arrested adolescent sexuality stereotypically identified with the bagging-and-boarding fanboy set of which more than a few of these participants are graduates, Private Stash starts out with a squarebound translucent case that contains -- once you've struggled to remove it from this secure enclosure without damaging it -- a clever two-layer illustrated wraparound slipcase portrait of all twenty contributors by Rick Altergott (displaying his Mort Drucker and Wally Wood chops to full effect) which opens to reveal a 20 panel accordian-print that opens (to over ten feet!) to reveal the wet-dream girls of a fairly astounding array of talent: R. Crumb, Dan Clowes, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Charles Burns, Gary Panter, Peter Bagge, Adrian Tomine, Kim Deitch, Tony Millionaire, Richard Sala, Ivan Brunetti, Ron Regé,Jr., Dan Zettwoch, Rick Altergott, Jonathan Bennett, Sammy Harkham, Tim Hensley, Mitch O'Connell and Archer Prewitt (It's too bad they couldn't get Chris Ware on board with this one, but then again, his fantasy might be too much for the rest of us to handle...).
Comics Comics #3	Timothy Hodler, Steve Gerber, Guy Davis, Marc Bell and more ...	PictureBox		$2.00 ($2.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Where traditional Japanese manga is lengthy, old school American comics are large, and Comics Comics is doing its part to keep this tradition alive by being printed on a web-press in newspaper format in the arm-spanning 44" x 28" (when held open) of the good old days. This issue is filled with articles, essays, interviews and reviews by and about the likes of Sammy Harkham, Guy Davis, David Heatley, Lauren Weinstein, Frank Santoro, Dan Nadel and Timothy Hodler, and is filled throughout by humorous marginal illustrations by Matthew Thurber (think Sergio Aragonés in Mad Magazine). The back cover is a gigantic, suitable-for-hanging-on-the-wall extravaganza by the one and only Marc Bell. A must for comics cognoscenti everywhere.

Mon - Thu	11 - 5
Fri & Sat	11 - 7
Sun	12 - 4