The Copacetic Comics Company Ben Jones

Ben Jones

Title	Creator	Publisher	Series	Price
MOME: Spring 2010 #18	Eric Reynolds, Nate Neal, Frank Santoro, Ben Jones and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue's editorial claims that, with the publication of MOME 18, MOME has now published over 2000 pages of comics, and that this "may be a record for an English-language alternative comics anthology." Who knew? To start off the celebration we have Nate Neal's cover feature, the multi-layered and multi-levelled, "Neurotic Nexus of Creation." This one should leave you with much to ponder, especially regarding its innovative formal qualities, but as well as for its worldview. Of special interest to Copacetic customers is the latest message from the Cold Heat universe, brought to you by the combined powers of Ben Jones, Frank Santoro and John Vermilyea. This feature is a vigorously rendered and sumptously colored tale of drugs, rock 'n' roll, sex, and gruesome horror. Also in this issue we have: an all-new Tim Lane tale, "The Passenger"; a surprise new Pip and Norton adventure from Dave Cooper and Gavin McInnes; "Burrow World," wherein Joe Daly does Mat Brinkman; three short pieces by Nicolas Mahler; the third installment of Fuz & Pluck in "The Moolah Tree"; the second installments of both T. Edward Bak's WIldman – "A Barvarian Botanist in St. Petersburg," and Michael Jada & Derek Van Gieson's "Devil Doll"; a four-pager by Lilli Carré that had us thinking of old Rick Geary; the pastoral "Autumn" by Conor O'Keefe; more René French; and the Chris Ware homage, "The Jerk Machine," by Jon Adams. MOME!
MOME #16	Sara Edward-Corbett, Ben Jones, Jon Vermilyea, T. Edward Bak and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	<<•>> edited by Eric Reynolds and Gary Groth <<•>> The obvious highlight of this issue for us here at The CCC is the new Cold Heat story by the team of Frank Santoro, Ben Jones & Jon Vermilyea. In addition, we have on hand: the furiously productive Dash Shaw, who translates an episode of "Blind Date" into comics form; the second chapter of T. Edward Bak's "Wild Man - The Strange Journey - and Fantastic Accounts - of the Naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, from Bavaria to Bolshaya Zemlya (and Beyond)"; new work from Renée French (who is also responsible for this issue's front and back covers); an all-new “Funny Bunny” strip by the rarely seen (in comics, anyway) Archer Prewitt; “The Moolah Tree”, a new Fuzz & Pluck graphic novel from Ted Stearn, begins it's serialization here; the MOME debut of Nicholas Mahler – "What Is Art?" (translated by Kim Thompson); and new stories from Lilli Carré, Conor O'Keefe, Laura Park, Nate Neal, and Sara Edward-Corbett, with incidental drawings by Kaela Graham. Get a PDF preview, HERE.
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #15	Dan Zettwoch, C.F., Jeffrey Brown, John Kerschbaum and more ...	Bongo		$4.44 ($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!
Blood Orange #3	Jeffrey Brown, Anders Nilsen, Ben Jones	Fantagraphics		$5.00 ($5.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The highlight of this, the latest installment of Fantagraphics' quarterly anthology title featuring far out and fabulous comics by some of the best of the current crop of adventurous cartoonists, is an eleven page romp by Jeffrey Brown that is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit with anyone who enjoys his work. Also worthy of note is "The Mediocrity Principle," a six page story by Anders Nilsen that is of a piece with his contribution to Kramers Ergot 5 (see below). Other contributors to this issue are: Pakito Bolino, Ben Jones, Favio Zimbres , Alex Baladi, Caroline, Surym Renee Frenchm Olaf Ladousse, Nicolas Mahler , Scott Teplin and Ulf K.
MOME #14	Emile Bravo, Gilbert Shelton, John Vermilyea, Ben Jones and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$13.50 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Another fine issue from the recently reenergized MOME. This issue's standout feature is Lilli Carré's, full-color, 32-page piece (graphic novella?), "The Carnival," that is a dream-like meditation on the desires that flow just below the surface of the quotidian, desires that are constantly struggling to break through, and yet seem always to be mysteriously held back by... what exactly? "The Carnival" doesn't pretend to give you the answers, but it will help put you in a place where you might find some on your own. The highlight for us here at Copacetic is an all-new Cold Heat tale by Frank Santoro, Ben Jones and John Vermilyea (who also turns in a solo piece here that has to be one of the most pithy portrayals of the American Way ever penned). And there's plenty more including the continuation of Gilbert Shelton's multi-part saga which reveals -- among other things -- that he, along with fellow underground comix grandmaster, R. Crumb, is a lifelong Carl Barks fan. Emile Bravo provides a deeply sarcastic satire of American Politics; Ray Fenwick, Laura Park, Dash Shaw, Sara Edward-Corbett, Olivier Schrauwen, Josh Simmons and Conor O'Keefe are all on hand, and are joined by newcomers (to American Comics) Hernán Migoya & Juaco Vizuente; and the entire issue is punctuated by a series of one-pages by Derek Van Gieson.
Cold Heat #5/6	Ben Jones, Frank Santoro	PictureBox	Cold Heat	$18.88 ($20.00 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	It's been well over a year since the last issue of Cold Heat appeared, but we're here to tell you that this is one comic book that was worth the wait!! It's a 48 page double issue printed in the trademarked Cold Heat two-color process employing magenta and blue. It's comics at their most adventurous and risk-taking, produced by creators who have the experience, skill and training to get to the other side, and, crucially, to take the reader there along with them -- but you'll have to pay close attention and hold on tight as it's quite a trip! A key to understanding this work is that its true subject is the relationship between the perception of reality and the representation of reality, between the signifier and the signified; how the representation of reality creates a feedback loop which transforms reality in the process. And there is a special focus on the relationship between subjectivity and perception; particularly on how emotional and chemically altered states of mind alter the perception of events, which then, in turn, alters their representation, and, finally, is capable of altering their actual outcome as well. This is a task to which comics are ideally suited and which Frank Santoro has been in the vanguard of exploring. With this issue he has pushed the furthest yet into this unmapped and only dimly comprehended artistic territory. Yes, this is one pricey comic book, but the economics of today's comic book market have forced the publisher into a corner and so this edition is being produced in an extremely small quantity for the True Believers.
Cold Heat #3	Ben Jones, Frank Santoro	PictureBox	Cold Heat	$3.00 ($5.00 list)
Read more and comment...	The plot thickens, the mystery deepens, the pace is picked up and no holds are barred in this, the third issue of the most innovative comic book series in America. While other comic books tout their "new" plot twists and "new" characters and "new" concepts, the comics they produce are, formally, all the same, maintaining the tried and tired industry status quo. Cold Heat is authentically different. Creators, BJ and Santoro understand the conventions under girding the standard comic book format and deftly undercut them, subverting the implicit conservatism of these conventions by exogamously marrying them to an entirely different, diverse and far ranging array of techniques, tropes and teleologies. Fauvism, cubism, expressionism and pop art rub shoulders with an allusive montage of narrative codes including action/adventure, detective, horror, romance and more. And that's just what's going on beneath the surface. What you see, starting with the startlingly disorienting and surpassingly original cover image, is a powerful story indicting the wrongs of today that is powered by some of the most visionary artwork around. Delicate yet defiant and densely packed, Cold Heat #3 is a one of a kind comic book.
Cold Heat #2	Frank Santoro, Ben Jones	PictureBox	Cold Heat	$3.00 ($5.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Picking up where the first issue left off, Cold Heat #2 revs it up a few notches and takes us on a whirlwind ride through the dis-united states of the disturbed American psyche. Series artist, Frank Santoro once again refuses to play it safe. This time around he pulls out all the stops and takes the chances that most other artists wouldn't take even if they could. Leaping into the artistic no man's land between the well established borders of pre-existent genres, Santoro combines the propulsive narratives of mainstream American heroic adventure comics, the exaggerated expressiveness of Japanese manga, and the naivete of self-published autobiographical comics with his own experimental ideas to create a totally unique comics cocktail that will knock you for a loop (You don't have to take our word for it: Check out this double-page spread). Cold Heat takes the outside in and then brings the inside out -- demonstrating how our internalization of international affairs creates monsters in our minds that are every bit as dangerous as anything we'll meet on the street -- and by so doing helps us see our place in and find our way through the mess of our world.
Cold Heat #1	Ben Jones, Frank Santoro	PictureBox	Cold Heat	$10.00 ($5.00 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	As crazy as it may sound, this is the first issue of a twelve-issue comic book maxi-series written and drawn by art comics favorites, Ben "Paper Rad" Jones and Frank "Storeyville" Santoro. Mightily manifesting the poignant praxis of pioneering publisher, Picturebox, Cold Heat is not necessarily stoned, but beautiful -- a hypnotically tranced-out, maximum-volume take on the action/adventure genre that stays out all night and doesn't come home until the party's over and it's time to crash. From it's super-slick full color covers, to its orange-juice-orange inside covers and through its 24-page interior printed entirely in magenta and sky blue, this is a comic book that stands out in a crowd, and about which we are entirely comfortable in saying, "there's nothing else remotely like it on the market." Feeling adventurous? Try this. (and don't sit on the fence too long, as this one's just about gone – very few copies remain) 24 pages, 2-color
Cold Heat #2	Ben Jones, Frank Santoro	PictureBox		$4.00 ($5.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Picking up where the first issue left off, Cold Heat #2 revs it up a few notches and takes us on a whirlwind ride through the dis-united states of the disturbed American psyche. Series artist, Frank Santoro once again refuses to play it safe. This time around he pulls out all the stops and takes the chances that most other artists wouldn't take even if they could. Leaping into the artistic no man's land between the well established borders of pre-existent genres, Santoro combines the propulsive narratives of mainstream American heroic adventure comics, the exaggerated expressiveness of Japanese manga, and the naivete of self-published autobiographical comics with his own experimental ideas to create a totally unique comics cocktail that will knock you for a loop (You don't have to take our word for it: Check out this double-page spread). Cold Heat takes the outside in and then brings the inside out -- demonstrating how our internalization of international affairs creates monsters in our minds that are every bit as dangerous as anything we'll meet on the street -- and by so doing helps us see our place in and find our way through the mess of our world.
Cold Heat #4	Ben Jones, Frank Santoro	PictureBox	Cold Heat	$4.00 ($5.00 list)
Read more and comment...	How?! Cold Heat #4 is already in stock, and it's a doozy. Disparate and heretofore disconnected aspects of the storyline are joined together as some puzzling pieces of the plot are put into place. We don't want to give too much away here, but suffice it to say that some things have turned out -- surprise! -- not to be what they seemed. Lovers of cosmic mysteries and mighty metaphors will find plenty of food for thought this time around, and thrill seekers should find what they're looking for as the intensity is ramped up a notch or two. Santoro's art really shines this issue as he continues to bring a world beat of styles and perspectives to the mix while at the same time turning in some of his most polished art to date. To those of you who have been watching on the sidelines, uneasy about the ellipticality of Cold Heat's narrative, wondering what it's all about and where it's been leading, we say: Now's your chance -- this is the one you've been waiting for. This is the issue that puts the story into focus and brings the series up to speed, and to put our money where our mouth is, we are offering a special price on a set of the first four issues on our Cold Heat page.

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