The Copacetic Comics Company James Sturm

James Sturm

Founder and director of the Center for Cartoon Studies, and top flight cartoonist in his own right.

Title	Creator	Publisher	Series	Price
Nursery Rhyme Comics	Gahan Wilson, Roz Chast, Tony Millionaire, Lilli Carre and more ...	(:01) First Second		$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Chris Duffy This 115 page, full-size, full color collection of 50 "timeless rhymes" includes all the favorites and then some. What makes this one different? What makes it stand out from the crowd? What makes it mind-bogglingly amazing? The list of artists who created the 50 works that fill this volumedoes, that's what. It is practically a "who's who" of contemporary cartoonists that stretches around the block. We're only going to give you a baker's dozen here, just to whet your appetite: Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez (each contributing their own comics nursery rhyme), Theo Ellsworth, James Sturm, Jordan Crane, Eleanor Davis, Patrick McDonnell, Kate Beaton, Craig Thompson, Lilli Carré, Tony Millionaire, Roz Chast, Gahan Wilson... we think you get the idea. This is pretty much a guaranteed gift success story if a comics fan is involved in any capacity: whether you're giving or getting, this one has it all. And it is practically a Platonic ideal as a gift designed to sprout a love of comics in a new reader.
Cartoon Picayune #2	Josh Kramer, Bill Volk, James Sturm, Katherine Roy and more ...	Self-published	Cartoon Picayune	$3.00 ($3.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Josh Kramer 36 pages of feature news stories in comics form. This time around we have the second half of editor Kramer's story of high school ski jumpers, "Fly By Night"; Pittsburgher Bill Volk provides a tale of Pittsburgh (and post-Pittsburgh) brewing in "'Arn: A Brief History of Iron City Beer"; Josh Kramer is back again with "School's In for the Summer," a tale of – if you can believe it – a day camp school-of-rock; and then the issue closes out with a piece by Center for Cartoon Studies founder and director, James Sturm and Katherine Roy, "Honk and Wave," that follows Vermont gubernatorial candidate, Matt Dunne around for a day of his election campaign. A small press comics innovation!
Denys Wortman's New York: Portrait of the City in the 1930s and 1940s	Denys Wortman, James Sturm, Brandon Elston	Drawn and Quarterly		$27.50 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	And, while we're on the topic of pencil-rendered realities, it would be a gross injustice not to bring this amazing volume to your attention. Editors James Sturm and Brandon Elston haven't messed around, but have simply cut to the chase and delivered the goods. What we have here is over 250 simply beautiful cartoons depicting life in NYC over two full decades. This book is a real "Wow!" It is indeed a true "portrait of the city": a crystal clear picture window which provides neglected and forgotten views that will reinvigorate our understanding of the times it depicts and the lives of those who lived through them. A perfect book to remind us about real people and an excellent antidote to the dehumanizing electronic entertainments that seem to have us hemmed in on all sides in the present moment. Denys Wortman's New York provides us with an escape hatch. It couldn't have come at a better time.
Market Day	James Sturm	Drawn and Quarterly		$18.88 ($21.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The founder and director of The Center for Cartoon Studies puts on his other hat to present us with his first solo graphic novel in nearly a decade, since 2001's The Golem's Mighty Swing. That's not to say Sturm hasn't been busy, as quite the opposite is in fact the case. In the intervening hears, in addition to founding and running CCS, he has co-authored Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules, Satchel Paige and Adventures in Cartooning. With Market Day, however, we get a solid dose of pure unadulterated Sturm, and it's a heavy load he drops on the pages here. There is a a weariness reflected in the tone and modulation in this work which may very well reflect his own personal exhaustion at having to shoulder so much responsibility; or not. Regardless of the source of the mood that is evinced in the pages of this work, it is fairly clear that the inspiration for it is the world of independent comics production. It is atavistically embodied here in the form of a nineteenth century European carpet weaver. Implicitly woven into this atavism is a connection of the world of 19th century European Jewry to that of their descendants in 20th century America who went on to create the comic industry. This creates a complex multi-levelled pattern right that will engage perceptive readers right at the get go. The comics work itself is confident, poised, finely wrought and expertly paced. We couldn't help but feel that Sturm's narrative strategies in Market Day evinced some sympathies towards Seth's latest work, especially George Sprott, but with closer attention to detail and a more nuanced sense of rhythm. A dark, deep and challenging work that you can, and should, preview here.
Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics	James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, Alexis Frederick-Frost	(:01) First Second		$11.75 ($12.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This volume was produced under the aegis of The Center for Cartoon Studies. It is by the Center's director, James Sturm, and two of his students. It very simply provides the basic building blocks of comics while embodying core CCS principles of story-telling. It is primarily geared to encourage and empower youngsters to create comics of their own and is priced to encourage parents and relatives to buy it for them (or even for them to buy it themselves). There's a swell 17 page excerpt on the web, here. Check it out!
Above and Below: Two stories of the American Frontier	James Sturm	Drawn and Quarterly		$7.95 ($9.95 list)
Read more and comment...	With this saddle-stitched volume, publisher Drawn & Quarterly collects James Sturm's two self-published and out-of-print classics of Americana: The Revival -- it's Kentucky, it's 1801, and thousands gather to look for salvation; and Hundreds of Feet Below Daylight -- life in an Idaho mining town in 1886. These are the stories that comics iconclast Sturm built his rep on. He's now spearheading the development of The Center for Cartoon Studies, which aims to be the first full-fledged university for all things comics. His work is well worth checking out.
Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules	Guy Davis, James Sturm	Marvel		$12.59 ($13.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Back in print at last, Unstable Molecules is one of the best graphic novels Marvel has produced... well, possibly, ever, but, to hedge our bets, let’s say, "in quite awhile." In any event, it is like nothing Marvel has ever produced in the past. It is a textual analysis of comics done in comics, and it is one of the finest ever produced -- certainly the finest ever produced by Marvel! It should be considered in the context of Understanding Comics and Hicksville as much as the Fantastic Four. Telling the "true" story of the "real people" that the Fantastic Four were based on, this book is a work of metacomics and a dream come true for students of narrative theory at the same time that it makes for an enormously entertaining read. It explodes the text rather than simply deconstructing it. This is a one of kind feat that will probably not be duplicated any time soon. PLEASE NOTE: We are currently sold out of the book collection, so we are in its place offering complete sets of the original hard-to-find four-issue limited series for the same price, while supplies last! Don't miss it this time!
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow (softcover)	James Sturm, Rich Tommaso	Hyperion		$8.88 ($9.99 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	This is the second -- after Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi's Harry Houdini: The Handcuff King, released about six months back -- in the ongoing series of young adult comics biographies being produced under the auspices of The Center for Cartoon Studies. Satchel Paige is another striking exemplar of the humble yet heroic character that captures what is best about America. Sturm is the head of CCS for a reason: he knows how to employ the language of comics to do what comics does best: tell stories and show character. Paige comes alive on the page as the reader gets to see his life unfold from a number of different perspectives, each offering a different facet of Paige's character and career. But that's only half the story. The heart of this work is the darkness of the Jim Crow south, and the generations long struggle of the descendents of slaves for self respect and self determination in a world dominated and controlled by the descendents of masters. Sturm and Tommaso show us that Satchel Paige, in addition to being a phenomenal athlete, provided a beacon to those looking for a way out of their horrible bind, and that this was perhaps his greatest legacy. Learn all about it on this CCS hosted page designed for educators who want to use this work to teach the kids today a thing or two about what's gone before. (softcover edition)
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow	James Sturm, Rich Tommaso	Hyperion		$15.00 ($16.99 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	This is the second -- after Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi's Harry Houdini: The Handcuff King, released about six months back -- in the ongoing series of young adult comics biographies being produced under the auspices of The Center for Cartoon Studies. Satchel Paige is another striking exemplar of the humble yet heroic character that captures what is best about America. Sturm is the head of CCS for a reason: he knows how to employ the language of comics to do what comics does best: tell stories and show character. Paige comes alive on the page as the reader gets to see his life unfold from a number of different perspectives, each offering a different facet of Paige's character and career. But that's only half the story. The heart of this work is the darkness of the Jim Crow south, and the generations long struggle of the descendents of slaves for self respect and self determination in a world dominated and controlled by the descendents of masters. Sturm and Tommaso show us that Satchel Paige, in addition to being a phenomenal athlete, provided a beacon to those looking for a way out of their horrible bind, and that this was perhaps his greatest legacy. Learn all about it on this CCS hosted page designed for educators who want to use this work to teach the kids today a thing or two about what's gone before. hardcover:
The Revival	James Sturm	Self-published		$2.95 ($2.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This nicely produced one-shot sports a coated, card-stock cover and follows two (presumably) fictional characters to a single instance of what was a wide-spread phenomenon at the dawn of the nineteenth century in the United States: t he religious revival meeting. This unique finely crafted item that is destined to be a future collector’s item can presently be had for a pittance.

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