The Copacetic Comics Company Kim Deitch

Kim Deitch

Title	Creator	Publisher	Series	Price
The Search for Smilin' Ed	Kim Deitch	Fantagraphics		$15.00 ($16.99 list)
Read more and comment...	A new book by Kim Deitch is always a cause for celebration and the release of Smilin' Ed is certainly no exception. This graphic novel at long last collects the entirety of the Smilin' Ed saga from the pages of the 1990s anthology, Zero Zero, along with an ALL-NEW chapter. A true comics powerhouse, Kim Deitch has spent the better part of five decades forging a mythography of American entertainment folklore in comics form. It is a veritable Yoknapatawpha County of the collective unconscious, and The Search for Smilin' Ed is the latest installment of this modern masterwork. Please do yourself a favor and read the first ten pages, and then, if you feel like delving deep into the significance of this work, go right ahead and read the entirety of Bill Kartopolis's introduction.
The Comics Journal #292	Kim Deitch	Fantagraphics	The Comics Journal	$11.75 ($12.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Are you ready? Do you think you can handle it? Yes, this issue contains a mind-boggling 120-page interview -- over 100,000 words! -- with the Deitch family cartoon dynasty. Starting off with big daddy Gene Deitch (read an excerpt here) who regales readers with tales of his storied career creating bebop illustrations, Saturday morning cartoons and Sunday newspaper comic strips, the interviews continue with underground comics legend, Kim Deitch, whose interview provides a fascinating tour of the 1960s underground comics scene, and whose interview was so long that they actually had to cut it (but the trimmings are available to read here, whew!) and his lesser known, but nevertheless talented siblings, Simon and Seth.
Best American Comics 2006	R. Crumb, Kim Deitch, Lynda Barry, Jaime Hernandez and more ...	Houghton Mifflin		$8.88 ($22.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edted by Harvey Pekar and Anne Elizabeth Moore This volume marks the first time that comics joins the well established "Best American Series." It is a surprisingly well produced book -- surprising in that it's from Houghton Mifflin, a major NY publisher, whose eyes are usually more closely set on the bottom line -- that contains a good cross-section of work published in North America in 2004 and 2005 and functions as a fine follow-up -- as a yearbook does to an encyclopedia (for those of you old enough to know what we're talking about) -- to both McSweeney's #13 -- which is clearly its inspiration -- and the just-released Brunetti-edited Yale anthology. This collection spans the generations, including new work from old-timers Kim Deitch, Gilbert Shelton and Robert Crumb, middle-agers Jaime Hernandez, Lynda Barry and Joe Sacco, and youngins' Anders Nilsen, Rebecca Dart and Jesse Reklaw, whose story, "13 Cats of My Childhood," we singled out for praise in our 2005 SPX report, when it appeared in it's original form as Couch Tag #2, stating at the time, "It is one of the best comics at this year's SPX... and deserving of a much wider audience than it will be able to find in this form." So, suffice it to say that we're quite happy to see it included here in this anthology. By far the longest piece included in this 320 page anthology, practically a graphic novella, "La Rubia Loca," by Justin Hall -- another SPX attending self-publisher -- is an engrossing story about a bunch of hippie slackers stuck on a bus tour through Mexico with a crazy woman. And keep in mind that these are just the highlights, there's plenty more. 2006 • full color • hardcover • 320 pages
Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories: Volume Two	Maurice Vellekoop, Carol Tyler, Harvey Pekar/R.Crumb, Kevin Huizenga and more ...	Yale University Press		$25.00 ($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.
Deitch's Pictorama	Kim Deitch, Gene Deitch, Seth Deitch	Fantagraphics		$17.00 ($18.99 list)
Read more and comment...	It's a family affair as dad (Gene) and his three sons jam to their obsessions in this all-new 200 page book that mixes comics and illustrated fiction and that is a truly unique concoction of story, art and imagination.
Kramers Ergot #7	Gabrielle Bell, Rick Altergott, Daniel Clowes, Sammy Harkham and more ...	Buenaventura Press	Kramers Ergot	$125.00 ($125.00 list)
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	Lynda Barry, Adrian Tomine, Seth, Kim Deitch 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.
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...).
Shadowland	Kim Deitch	Fantagraphics		$16.00 ($18.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This sturdily produced oversize softcover collects pretty much all of Deitch's heretofore uncollected work of the last two decades. Deitch has the semi-miraculous ability to capture the deranged hidden spirit of bygone eras -- primarily the 1920s and '30s -- that he renders here, in all their freakish glory, with his meticuous Fleischer-esque pen and ink style. Shadowland is made up of ten complete stories, including the five shorts that were originally published in Weirdo ("Murder on the Midway!" "The Mystic Shrine," "Pong Wook-Ee!" "Young Ledicker," and "Two Old Birds"), "The Road to Rana Poona" which originally appeared in Raw, "No Business Like Show Business" (which originally appeared in 3-D and receives its first conventional printing here). The feature attractions are the 41-page novella, "The Strange Secret of Molly O'Dare" that was originally serialized over a half-dozen issues of Zero, Zero, and the epic, 45-page "Crafton Curse" that originally appeared in the 2-issue Shadowland mini-series and which makes up the centerpiece of this collection. Also included are a series of newly executed framing illustrations, an introduction by the author and a full color "Shadowland Art Gallery" that includes many images only previously seen by a select few, along with reproductions of the covers of the comics many of these stories first appeared in. All in all, quite a treat!
Alias the Cat	Kim Deitch	Pantheon		$19.55 ($23.00 list)
Read more and comment...	A fab hardcover just released by Random House's Pantheon imprint, Alias the Cat is probably Deitch's densest, most multi-layered work. Putting himself and his wife at the center of the story creates a layer of ambiguity in this work, a work that can be seen as an exegesis of cartoon consciousness in comics form of a world where the boundary lines separating the imaginary and the real are becoming increasingly porous. If you don't already have this work in its original comic book form, Stuff of Dreams, the three-issue series published over the past five or so years by Fantagraphics, then we pronounce this collection a must for Deitch fans and a highly worthwhile work for students of the mechanics of American mythologies as well as anyone looking for a fantastic fable in comics form.
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.

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