The Copacetic Comics Company Last Gasp

Last Gasp

The original SF Underground publisher is still crazy after all these years.

Title	Creator	Publisher	Series	Price
Pinocchio	Winshluss	Last Gasp		$27.75 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	In this massive, deluxe, 188 page, full color hardcover, the classic tale of Pinocchio, originally penned by Carlo Collodi towards the close of the 19th century, gets a 21st century makeover; which, we hasten to add, renders it unsuitable for children. Winner of the 2009 Angoulême best book of the year prize it is now published in English for the first time by Last Gasp in the US and Knockabout in the UK. In the wake of its success, its creator, Winshluss (the pen name of French cartoonist, Vincent Paronnaud) has won many converts. We now refer you to Ben Towle's infectiously enthusiastic write up that does its best to add you to their ranks. Replete with illustrations and links, Towle does his best to convince you of this book's merits, which are many and various.
Barefoot Gen 10: Never Give Up	Keiji Nakazawa	Last Gasp	Barefoot Gen	$13.50 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	At last! Over twenty years after Nakazawa completed his epic masterpiece it was first published in Japan, the definitive English translation has been completed and the last two volumes have been published here in the USA, courtesy of the fine folks at Last Gasp. These volumes take us to eight years after the atomic blast that destroyed Gen's home city of Hiroshima, and the destructive forces unleashed by this devastating blast continue to reverberate through the lives of its inhabitants. The series ends with a violent climax before concluding on an upbeat and hopeful note. Anyone who has been waiting for the completion of the series before starting now has a green light to tear through this 2,500 page masterwork. We say, go for it!
Barefoot Gen 9: Breaking Down Borders	Keiji Nakazawa	Last Gasp	Barefoot Gen	$13.50 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	At last! Over twenty years after Nakazawa completed his epic masterpiece it was first published in Japan, the definitive English translation has been completed and the last two volumes have been published here in the USA, courtesy of the fine folks at Last Gasp. These volumes take us to eight years after the atomic blast that destroyed Gen's home city of Hiroshima, and the destructive forces unleashed by this devastating blast continue to reverberate through the lives of its inhabitants. The series ends with a violent climax before concluding on an upbeat and hopeful note. Anyone who has been waiting for the completion of the series before starting now has a green light to tear through this 2,500 page masterwork. We say, go for it!
Barefoot Gen 8: Merchants of Death	Keiji Nakazawa	Last Gasp	Barefoot Gen	$13.50 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This amazing 10-volume saga nears its conclusion with this volume that, interestingly, deals, in part, with Gen's efforts to publish an eyewitness account of the bombing. Clearly, the impetus to give voice to this story, which in turn led to the creation of this landmark work, was there from the very beginning. Indeed, the original comic book publication of this tale in the United States (in the early 1970s – making it, we believe, the first US manga publication) was titled, "I Saw It!" A title that conveys a sense of urgency that belies the twenty plus years it took to get the story out. Anyone who has yet to read the first volume of this series, is hereby given a push to do so... today!
Barefoot Gen 7: Bones Into Dust	Keiji Nakazawa	Last Gasp	Barefoot Gen	$13.50 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This amazing 10-volume saga nears its conclusion with this volume that, interestingly, deals, in part, with Gen's efforts to publish an eyewitness account of the bombing. Clearly, the impetus to give voice to this story, which in turn led to the creation of this landmark work, was there from the very beginning. Indeed, the original comic book publication of this tale in the United States (in the early 1970s – making it, we believe, the first US manga publication) was titled, "I Saw It!" A title that conveys a sense of urgency that belies the twenty plus years it took to get the story out. Anyone who has yet to read the first volume of this series, is hereby given a push to do so... today!
Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon History of Hiroshima	Keiji Nakazawa	Last Gasp	Barefoot Gen	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This is it, one of the most important comics works of all time, the complete ten-volume saga will now be presented in English for the first time, courtesy of Project Gen and Last Gasp. Barefoot Gen chronicles one family’s experience living in Hiroshima before, during and after WWII. This opening volume provides an emotionally moving chronicle of this family’s hardships during wartime -- hardships that were more severe than most due to the family's pacifism and anti-war stance. This book, however, will always be remembered most for its absolutely searing first-person account of experiencing the first atomic bombing. There is no other account in any medium that matches the power of Nakazawa’s. The experience of reading this book will be permanently imprinted in the memory of anyone who reads it; it is an unforgettable experience. Produced in the 1970s, Barefoot Gen precedes Art Spiegelman’s Maus by a decade, and in fact -- as Spiegelman’s introduction attests -- was both a catalyst for and a profound influence on that Pulitzer Prize winning work. Barefoot Gen almost single-handedly established the genre of comics-as-dramatic-history that has gone on to produce other great works in addition to Maus, such as the works of Joe Sacco (Palestine, Safe Area Gorazde) and Persepolis, among many others.
Barefoot Gen, Volume 4: Out of the Ashes	Keiji Nakazawa	Last Gasp		$13.45 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Finally, the next two volumes of the new uniform edition of the complete Gen of Hiroshima have been released. These two volumes continue one of the most important works in the history of comics, in a revised and updated complete translation. As the titles of these two volumes clearly suggest, we've reached the point in the chronicle that depicts the story of the survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the Americans at the close of the second world war in 1945. While Gen of Hiroshima was one of the (if not the) first Japanese manga to be translated into English and published in America (in the 1970s, believe it or not), these volumes are part of the first ever complete edition. Last Gasp intends to publish the entire ten-volume epic, and they need our support if they're going to make it through to the end. This will be an expensive undertaking, as they are comissioning a new translation, so if this story sounds like something you might be interested in, please don't wait for the entire series to be completed before checking it out, because it might not ever be completed if readers don't get on board now! Here's what R. Crumb has to say about Barefoot Gen: "...some of the best comics ever done... Nakazawa, I'm sure, will be considered one of the great comic artists of this century, becuase he tells the truth in a plain, straightforward way, filled with real human feelings." And, because the story he has to tell is one that we all need to know.
Barefoot Gen, Volume 3: Life After the Bomb	Keiji Nakazawa	Last Gasp		$13.45 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Finally, the next two volumes of the new uniform edition of the complete Gen of Hiroshima have been released. These two volumes continue one of the most important works in the history of comics, in a revised and updated complete translation. As the titles of these two volumes clearly suggest, we've reached the point in the chronicle that depicts the story of the survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the Americans at the close of the second world war in 1945. While Gen of Hiroshima was one of the (if not the) first Japanese manga to be translated into English and published in America (in the 1970s, believe it or not), these volumes are part of the first ever complete edition. Last Gasp intends to publish the entire ten-volume epic, and they need our support if they're going to make it through to the end. This will be an expensive undertaking, as they are comissioning a new translation, so if this story sounds like something you might be interested in, please don't wait for the entire series to be completed before checking it out, because it might not ever be completed if readers don't get on board now! Here's what R. Crumb has to say about Barefoot Gen: "...some of the best comics ever done... Nakazawa, I'm sure, will be considered one of the great comic artists of this century, becuase he tells the truth in a plain, straightforward way, filled with real human feelings." And, because the story he has to tell is one that we all need to know.
Zap #15	Robert Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Spain, Victor Moscoso and more ...	Last Gasp		$4.75 ($4.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The legendary underground comic book that started it all back in 1967 is back with a 15th issue. The long time regulars -- R. Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, Spain and Victor Moscoso -- welcome a couple of fellow old-timers to the ranks of Zap for the first (?) time: Paul Mavrides and Gilbert Shelton, to whose famous early (pre-Freak Brothers) creation, Wonder Warthog, is given one of the two covers in the 69 layout. As would be expected, the highlight of the issue is the ten-page Crumb story, "Walkin' the Streets," which, if his dated signature is to be believed, he worked on for twelve years! This is the story that was exhibited in its entirety at the latest Carnegie International. If you missed it, you can take it from us: it's a classic. In addition to the individual works by the contributors listed above, another tradition returns in this issue -- the Zap Jam: everybody dived in for a group two-page swim in the pen, ink and paper pool of comics.
Arab in America	Toufic El Rassi	Last Gasp		$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	While we're on the subject of comics' ability to show how the world looks through another's eyes, this new 118 page graphic memoir, also published by Last Gasp (which seems to be on a mission to broaden American's perspectives), promises its readers, "The eye-opening story of the life of an average Arab-American struggling with his identity in an increasingly hostile nation." Moving with his family from Beirut to Chicago a year after his birth in 1978, El Rassi is well positioned to illustrate the prejudice and discrimination Arabs and Muslims experience in American society. He recounts his personal experiences after the 9/11 attacks and during the implementation of new security and immigration laws that followed, and gives context to current world events, providing readers with an overview of the modern history of the Middle East, including the Gulf wars. In addition, Arab in America includes several asides that examine the roles American films and news media play in creating negative stereotypes of Arab-Americans, in order to demonstrate how difficult it is to have an Arab identity in a society saturated with anti-Arab images and messages.
Barefoot Gen 6: Writing the Truth	Keiji Nakazawa	Last Gasp	Barefoot Gen	$13.50 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	In Volume Six, Gen fights against a corrupt medical system, the discriminatory practices of his neighbors, and the American presence in postwar Japan. Gen's brother, Koji, has gone away to work in the coal mines, but has since disappeared. To make up for the shortage, he and his friends must resort to more drastic measures, which lands one of the bunch in a juvenile detention center." What's that? You say you haven't even started reading this series yet? Well, don't despair, we still have the first four volumes of this 20th century masterpiece in stock and copacetically priced.
Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms	Fumiyo Kouno	Last Gasp		$8.95 ($9.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Two forcefully felt and admirably rendered tales of contemporary life in Hiroshima, Japan by a talent that we hope we'll see more of in the future. ToEC,CoCB tells of growing up, young love, a determination to succeed against the odds that does not in and of itself guarantee success, and the sixty-year long shadow cast by a mushroom cloud. Inspiring if somewhat sombre tales suitable for all ages make this a book worth recommending, which we do.

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