The Copacetic Comics Company Daniel Clowes

Daniel Clowes

Title	Creator	Publisher	Series	Price
The Death-Ray	Daniel Clowes	Drawn and Quarterly		$17.77 ($19.95 list)
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.
Mister Wonderful	Daniel Clowes	Pantheon		$18.88 ($19.99 list)
Read more and comment...	It's been so long since this was serialized in the New York Times, that we'll bet some of you had forgotten about it – but that's all part of the master plan. This laminated, horizontally formatted hardcover just released by the industry leading Graphic Novel division of the eminent Pantheon imprint of the storied Knopf Doubleday publishing group of that pillar of publication, Random House, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, is simply the next step in the inevitable domination of the globe by Daniel Gillespie Clowes. By insinuating himself at the lowliest point in the media food chain, Clowes has, with this aptly named work, been able to surreptitiously release a virus of comics irony that will slowly but surely work its way up to the top, wherein it will catalyze a linguistically encoded polymerase chain reaction that will initiate a resequencing of heretofore normative power relations the end result of which will be a catapulting of comics to its rightful place at the center of the palace of wisdom, with Clowes himself firmly ensconced on the throne. So, if you want to find a place for yourself in this coming new world order, you are hereby advised to purchase and study this essential tome.
David Boring	Daniel Clowes	Pantheon		$19.75 ($21.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Dan defects to Pantheon with this tale of neurosis and decline.
Pussey	Daniel Clowes	Fantagraphics		$8.88 ($9.99 list)
Read more and comment...	For the recovering comic geek in your life... who may be you!
Ghost World: Special Edition	Daniel Clowes	Fantagraphics		$34.95 ($39.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Fantagraphics did a nice job here, and anyone who is a true devotee of Clowes and/or Ghost World will get their money's worth. The highlights for us were the new strips executed especially for this edition by Clowes, with Enid and Rebecca commenting on their post-Ghost World movie status.
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron	Daniel Clowes	Fantagraphics		$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Dan's "Twin Peaks". This is, of course, totally unfair as Clowes deliberately refrained from viewing Twin Peaks during its inital run for fear that it would influence Velvet Glove; but as Twin Peaks was running at the same time as Velvet Glove, comparisons were unavoidable. And, evidently, still are!
Caricature	Daniel Clowes	Fantagraphics		$14.44 ($16.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Yep, we got it. Nine classic Clowes tales.
Ghost World	Daniel Clowes	Fantagraphics		$9.95 ($11.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The Clowes classic for less!
Wilson	Daniel Clowes	Drawn and Quarterly		$18.88 ($21.95 list)
Read more and comment...	OK, admit it – this is the one you've been waiting for. Well, it's here, the first original graphic novel by Mr. Clowes; the first, in other words, that did not first see the light of day in his long running solo title, Eightball. Wilson extends the vein he opened in Eightball #22 (the story that went on to be released as Ice Haven) and continued in Eightball #23 (the yet to be graphic-novelized 1970s "super-hero" story). In these two works Clowes penned a sequence of stand-alone short strips of varying length each rendered in one of a variety of distinct cartoon voices (aka styles). Through the course of these works, the short pieces slowly coalesce into an organic whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. In Wilson Clowes employs this technique with a singular focus. Whereas in the aforementioned works, point of view shifted among and between the characters, in Wilson each and every one of the 71 single page strips, while employing the same wide variety of voices as the other works, features and focuses on the titular character. In addition, almost all the single page strips contain six panels – with the few that don't all being either seven or eight panels – and the last panel of each strip serves as a sort of "punch line." Taken together, this homogeneity creates a formal unity between all of the strips and gives a sense that the book is a collection of Sunday page strips that is doubling as a graphic novel. The cumulative narrative effect of Wilson is to provide the reader with a massive refraction of a single personality and the realization that while context can and does alter the perception of people and events, an individual's character remains and retains an essential unity that undergirds and connects it all.
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.
Eightball #23	Daniel Clowes	Fantagraphics	Eightball	$7.00 ($7.00 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Yes, believe it or not, it's been three years since Eightball #22. Is #23 worth the wait? We'll leave that for you to decide. Suffice it to say that Mr. Clowes is a singular talent and that he has put this talent in the service of his generation (i.e. the tail-end of the baby boom) in telling this particular tale; a tale that it is deleriously difficult -- if not downright dangerous -- to describe. It is a tawdry tale of teen trauma. It is a meditation on the role played by super heroes in shaping the psyche and -- perhaps -- in contributing to psychosis, as well: a look at what type of personality results from someone who never manages to advance beyond the world view and mind set engendered by adolescent power-fantasies. It is, in addition, a bit of alternate-reality autobiography: a sort of, "There but for the grace of God (or, as Clowes might have it, Harvey Kurtzman) go I." Throughout it all, Clowes deftly employs his arsenal of finely honed comics craft: pacing, panel layout, page composition, pencilling, inking, coloring, lettering -- and most especially the overall construction of the book, when taken as an organic whole -- all are uniformly excellent here, and continue in the direction that Clowes initiated with Eightball #22. All long time devotees of Clowes will find it difficult if not impossible to pass this issue up. Novices and initiates may find themselves confused at times as to what, exactly, he is up to here, but will -- surely -- nevertheless manage to experience the pleasures of the text.
Ice Haven	Daniel Clowes	Fantagraphics	Eightball	$17.00 ($18.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This, the latest from comics maestro Clowes, is a nifty, shiny, perky, 100-page hardcover that is a repackaged, revised and revamped version of Eightball #22 and is probably the single work that most completely realizes his vision. Yes, we know you already have Eightball #22, and that you're asking yourself, "Why should I have to buy this again?" What can we say? It's up to you to decide whether or not to fork over for Ice Haven as well. Only you can decide whether or not to miss out on the compelling psychological breakthroughs embodied in new chapters like, "David Goldberg," "The Convenience Store," and "Leopold and Loeb." Only you can decide whether or not to take a pass on these still mint first print copies that the publisher has already sold out of that are climbing in value as we speak. Only you know whether or not you can live without the authoritative edition of this great comics masterwork. We're confident you'll make the right decision. To learn more about the world according to Clowes, check out this NPR interview.
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	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.)
McSweeney's #13	Mark Beyer, Ivan Brunetti, Kaz, Art Spiegelman and more ...	McSweeney's	McSweeney's	$20.00 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Finally, it's here: the most anticipated release of 2004 (so far). Striving for objet d'art status, McSweeney's 13 comes as close as any comics release to attaining it. Starting with a dust jacket that folds out into a two sided comics poster: the outer side featuring a dense full color, 360º narrative by editor and comics fiend, Chris Ware; the inner side featuring a vaguely ceremonial (think Mayan) worshipping of the idols of comics by Gary Panter. But there's more: tucked into the folds of this dust-jacket-cum-suitable-for-framing-wall-art are two mini-comics commissioned especially for this issue; one -- in full color -- by Ron Rege, Jr., and the other in B & W (as it should be) by long time mini-master, John Porcellino. And that's just the dust jacket! Moving on to the front and back binding plates (the hard covers beneath the dust jacket), we have a hundred or so images culled from a 1936 guide to cartooning separated by a lavishly embossed spine. The end papers are by Ivan Brunetti, and feature a wallpaper of minimalistic renditions of his personal comics and cartoon hall of fame. And, finally, there is the contents of the book itself. The subject of much speculation as to whether it would be reprints or newly commissioned work, the answer is... Both! About half and half, depending on how you look at it. Here's how it breaks down: Some of the work has appeared in non-comics periodicals, but is collected herein for the first time. Under this category are Mark Beyer, Ivan Brunetti, Kaz, Art Spiegelman (although his pieces are being reprinted everywhere at this point) and some of the pieces by Chris Ware. Straight out reprints are the inclusions by Charles Burns (although the frontispiece is new), Chester Brown, Debbie Drechsler, Jaime and Gilberto Hernandez, Mark Newgarden, Archer Prewitt, Joe Sacco, Richard Sala (newly colored, however), Seth, and Adrian Tomine. New to us -- and therefore, we imagine, new to you as well -- are the works by Lynda Barry, Jeffrey Brown, Dan Clowes, David Collier, R. Crumb, Kim Deitch, Julie Doucet, David Heatley, Ben Katchor, Joe Matt, Richard McGuire, Gary Panter, some of the Chris Ware, and of course the aforementioned dust-jacket and minis. In addition to all this contemporary work, there are selections of classic and archival work sprinkled throughout: First and foremost among these is a 15-page spread on "the inventor of comics," Rodolphe Töpfler, and his first appearance in America, introduced by Chris Ware; an 80% reproduction of an original 1922 Mutt and Jeff daily strip by Bud Fisher that takes four pages to display (which gives you an idea of how big they drew comics back then!); and a nine page spread on George Herriman, introduced by Tim Samuelson and featuring Herriman's last Krazy Kat dailies, also reproduced from the originals. And, as if this weren't enough, there are two appreciations by Chris Ware, one of the abstract-expressionist-turned-representational-painter-with-a-personal-affinity-for-comics-iconography, Philip Guston, and the other of Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz. In addition there is a critical appreciation of comics from John Updike, and nostalgiac/elegiac remembrances of comics related experiences by Glen David Gold, Malachi Cohen, and Chip Kidd. The volume opens with a preface from Ira Glass, followed by an introduction by Chris Ware, who, when all is said and done, is clearly more than simply the editor of this work. This is a great piece, especially when you consider it's primary purpose: preaching to the unconverted, those countless, teeming millions out there in America and beyond who don't locate the foundation of their identity in comics. With this volume, McSweeney's begins a new ambitious distribution arrangement with Publisher's Group West in the USA and Penguin Books in the UK; thereby bringing their publications before a great many more potential readers. They couldn't have chosen a better volume to initiate this venture. Let's wish them luck.
Art School Confidential: The Illustrated Screenplay	Daniel Clowes	Fantagraphics		$10.00 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Yes, it is actually here, just in time for the movie: "The official unexpurgated top-secret final last-minute shooting draft." Complete with a for-the-first-time full color version of the original Eightball short story that started it all and pages of Clowes's sketchbook character drawings. The only question is, should you read it before or after seeing the film?
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...).
Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age	Daniel Clowes, Dash Shaw, Lauren Weinstein, Gabrielle Bell and more ...	UNDEFINED		$17.00 ($18.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Edited by Ariel Schrag. The "joys" of middle school are displayed here in all their angst-filled glory. Ms. Schrag has managed to recruit an impressive array of comics talent to turn in 200 pages of teen turmoil, and, on top of that, to convince the venerable Viking publishing house to release it. Included in this zit-poppin' anthology are works by Gabrielle Bell, Ariel Bordeaux, Robyn Chapman, Daniel Clowes, Vanessa Davis, Nick Eliopulos, Eric Enright, Jim Hoover, Cole Johnson, Joe Matt, Jace Smith, Aaron Renier, Ariel Schrag (2), Tania Schrag, Dash Shaw & Lauren Weinstein. While the Dan Clowes and Joe Matt are reprints of previously published material, all the rest was, to the best of our knowledge, produced specifically for this anthology and is appearing here for the first time. The stories cover typical teen concerns, but especially focus on the alienated outsider (which pretty much defines just about anyone at some point in their teenage years). This is a book about teens that is both suitable for and will appeal to those currently in middle school, as well as those who have passed through and lived to tell the tale. Here's a book you won't have to go out of your way to get a teen to read. Special Bonus: the Junior High photos of the contributors included in the biographical information at the back of the book may very well be worth the entire price of the book. You may find yourself tempted to cut out your favorite and put it on your refreigerator (or in your wallet).

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