Anthologies

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Title	Creator	Publisher	Series	Price
The Best American Comics 2007	Adrian Tomine, Gabrielle Bell, John Porcellino, Jeffrey Brown and more ...	Houghton Mifflin		$19.75 ($22.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Chris Ware From Lynda Barry to Dan Zettwoch and everything inbetween, this volume provides us with a a fabulous selection of excellent comics in an attractive well produced package at an affordable price. While -- as Chris Ware makes eminently clear in his excellent introduction -- it is certainly hard to make any sort of definitive argument that these are "the best" American comics of 2007, we are quite confident that no Copacetic customer will be disappointed with the 340 pages of comics herein assembled. It is true that some may find that they already own much of what appears here, but few if any will have read it all and most will discover exciting new work and be introduced to talented comics creators. Among the amazing contributors you will find, Alison Bechdel, Gabrielle Bell, Jeffrey Brown, Ivan Brunetti, Charles Burns, C.F., Robert, Aline and Sophie Crumb, Kim Deitch, Sammy Harkham, Gilbert Hernandez, Kevin Huizenga, Anders Nilsen, Gary Panter, Paper Rad, John Porcellino, Ron Regé Jr., Seth, Art Spiegelman, Adrian Tomnie, Carol Tyler and more (whew!)
Elfworld #1	Kazimir Strzepek	Family Style		$11.65 ($12.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Compiled by Jeffrey Brown, edited by François Vigneault, designed by Jonas Madden-Connor, and published by Family Style, Elfworld is a sword and sorcery comics anthology that features the artwork of many contemporary indy comics stalwarts, some of whom you might not have suspected of harboring elfin-oriented fantasies. Contained with the Jesse Reklaw cover, this 128-page squarebound anthology presents 19 stories, ranging from brief sorties by Jeffrey Brown, Martin Cendreda, Matt Wiegle and the team of Ron Regé, Jr. & Souther Salazar, to mini-epics by François Vigneault, Kazimir Strzepek, Dave McKenna, Grant Reynolds, Ansis Purins and the teams of Erik Nebel & Jesse Reklaw and Sean Collins & Matt Wiegle. In between we are treated to bite-size fare by Liz Prince, Jason Overby, K. Thor Jensen, Dalton Sharp, and Jason & Jody Turner. Laughs, thrills, action, romance -- it's all here! Check it out and see what you think.
Comic Art #9		Buenaventura Press	Comic Art Magazine	$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The best magazine about comics ever published is back with another amazing jam-packed issue. Edited by comics aficionado extraordinaire, Todd Hignite, this 208 page signature-bound squareback is produced and printed to the highest of standards. Each and every article, interview, and feature centers on or is accompanied by excellent, high-resolution reproductions of original art, comics pages, prints, letters, photographs, and more; each a pleasure to behold. This issue spans continents as well as centuries as we are treated to a truly eclectic assemblage of top comics talent. Jerry Moriarity (Raw, Kramers Ergot, SVA) is visited by publisher Alvin Buenaventura; fellow NY hepster, KAZ, is profiled by Ben Schwartz; Tom de Haven goes long on Chester Gould's "Plainclothes Tracy;" Thierry Smolderen explores Lyonel Feininger's "Lost Continent;" the work of definitive Tarzan comics artist, Jesse Marsh, is examined by comics historian, Ron Goulart, and discussed by none other than Gilbert Hernandez and Adrian Tomine; Jeet Heer pens an in-depth piece on New Yoker cartoonist Gluyas Williams and his relationship with E.B. White... and there's plenty more, it's too much to list, but here's a preview). We can't sign-off on this issue, however, without mentioning the three one-page strips by Copacetic favorite, Dan Zettwoch, which features his dad's strips for the church newsletter(!). And then there's the issue's bonus book, which might just be the best thing about the whole issue. It's an 80-page paperback book that comes shrink-wrapped together with the magazine, it's written and illustrated by Ivan Brunetti, it's titled, Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice, it is described as a "classroom in a book," it represents the distillation of Mr. Brunetti's 15-week college course -- and it's yours free with Comic Art #9! Is that a deal, or is that a deal?
Comic Arf	Craig Yoe	Fantagraphics		$17.77 ($19.99 list)
Read more and comment...	It's time for another oversize collection of "the unholy marriage of comics + art" as defined by editor Yoe. The highlight this time around is the opening salvo: 31 of today's top cartoonists each complete an installment of "Draw Your Own Conclusion," a series originally created in the late 1920s by old-school-comics-master, Milt Gross, as a contest wherein readers sent in their version of the last panel, and the winner received $25 (a lot, in those days) and saw their conclusion see print. This time around we're all winners as the responders whose conclusions see print range from R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman and Kaz to Xaime Hernandez, Pete Bagge and Ivan Brunetti to Mike Mignola and Sergio Aragonés to Patrick McDonnell and Bill Griffith to Jules Feiffer and Matt Groening to Mort Walker and Bil Keane... and more! There's also a hefty dose of Gross's full-page full-color Sunday pages from the same period. There's plenty more on hand here including color scans of the original art for a seven-page Bob Powell pre-code horror story.
Tin House: The Graphic Issue	Jonathan Lethem, Michael Chabon, Lynda Barry, Marjane Satrapi and more ...	Tin House Magazine		$13.45 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Technically the first issue of the eighth volume of this funky yet respected journal of comtemporary arts and literature, this is the first issue (to our knowledge) that is devoted to all things comics. The group responsible for this issue bring a fresh, savvy, and somewhat outsiderish perspective to the wonderful world of comics and that world is a better place for it. We start off with a cover by the one and only Lynda Barry that serves as a preview of what's to come: not only an interview with the estimable Ms. Barry, but an eight page essay-on-art-in-art (Barry's own unique comics/collage hybrid) that is truly a one-of-a-kind piece that is simultaneously a feast for the eyes and mind. This piece alone is -- in our opinion -- worth the price of admission. But, there is much else to recommend this issue besides. Such as: learning that authors Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, Chris Offutt and Luc Sante not only still have the comics they drew as children, but they're willing to have them printed in a nationally distributed magazine, and,when you're ready to handle it, they're hiding here in plain sight. While we're in the fan zone, this is an opportune time to mention long-suffering DC artist Karl Kessel's contribution -- a heartfelt appreciation of Jack Kirby's relatively unheralded creation, The Challengers of the Unknown (the entirety of which, by the way, was just collected by DC in the latest volume of their Showcase Presents series; yes, we have it in stock), which Kirby created for DC immediately before moving to Marvel to create The Fantastic Four with Stan Lee. But there's way more, starting with an amazing selection of excerpts, from: Marjane Satrapi's latest, Chicken with Plums; Martin Lemelman's upcoming graphic memoir, Mendel's Daughter; Zak Smith's insane project illustrating Thomas Pynchon's masterpiece, Gravity's Rainbow; Daniel Raeburn's fascinating historical survey of Mexican comics; and Graham Rawle's upcoming novel, Woman's World that is ENTIRELY composed (the editors say "assembled") out of cut and pasted exerpts from women's magazines -- and this is old school cut-and-paste we're talking about here, these excerpts are physically cut and pasted so you see the original fonts and X-acto cut strips laid side by side, making this a work of collage as well. OK, I guess we've got to stop, but there's really quite a bit more including a new Tom Tomorrow, storyboards for an upcoming Dylan biopic, not to mention the regular fiction and poetry features. Check this issue out, it's a bargain!
Syncopated #Volume Three	Nick Bertozzi, Brendan Burford, Gary Gianni, Dave Kiersh and more ...	Self-published		$12.50 ($15.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Syncopated: Volume Three edited by Brendan Burford This attractively produced, squarebound, 104 page, magazine size comics anthology presents a fine batch of all new comics, doodles, sketches and stories (but, mostly, comics) by an interesting bunch of cartoonists. This volume is easily the best so far in the Syncopated series, and is packed with unique pieces, including: editor Burford's excellent meditations on time and place that open and close the book, as well as his text piece, "A Tugboat Graveyard," that is illustrated by Gary Gianni of Prince Valiant fame; a recollection of discovery by Dave Kiersh; a sixteen page real life adventure tale by Nick Bertozzi (The Salon) that relates Ernest Shackleton & Co's voyage aboard the James Caird; Greg Cook's "My Dorchester Neighbors" which vividly evokes the horrors borne by soldiers in Iraq; and many more. Be sure to take a look at this one.
Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman	Alan Moore	Top Shelf		$14.99 ($14.99 list)
Read more and comment...	“The world’s top comics creators pay tribute to the world’s greatest comics writer in his 50th year.” 352 pages on, by and about the man himself. Highly recommended to serious Alan Moore aficianados: you will find much to enjoy here. For the rest of you, the highlights include: a nice concise (twelve-page) comics style biography (Biographic™) of Moore by Gary Spencer Millidge; “Hungry is the Heart,” a twelve-page comic by Moore and the inimitable Dame Darcy; and a fifteen page remenisence by Swamp Thing artist, Steve Bissette, “Mr. Moore and Me.” And, if reading this volume inspires you to seek out more by Moore, the editors have thoughtfully appended a listing of all the extant volumes that collect his work.
Kramers Ergot #4		Avodah		$39.95 ($24.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	SOLD OUT! (sorry) -- SECOND PRINTING COMING in 2008 Kramers Ergot 4 Over 300 pages! Full color throughout ! Featuring work by: ron rege renee french mat brinkman marc bell anders nilsen john hankewiticz lauren weinstein david lasky tobias schalken stefan gruber ben jones allison cole genevieve castree souther salazar sammy harkham jim drain leif goldberg jeffery brown Click here to preview. In the currently travelling exhibit, Comic Release, we had the world of Gallery Art make its bid to incorporate/co-opt the world of comics art. With Kramers Ergot #4, we have the reverse, and when one compares it to the Comic Release exhibition catalogue, it is clear that KE4 is a far more successful venture. Whether this is due to the innate structural qualities of the respective mediums, or whether it is just a specific instance of superiority it is far too soon to know, but we can take pleasure in the success of KE4 regardless of the eventual outcome of this comparison. The book is oversize (9” x 11”), massive (over 300 pages printed on heavy flat stock) and color throughout (with each artist given free reign to employ the capacity for color in their own way). The material runs the gamut from a comics mini-bio of the Carter family by David Lasky that strongly evokes the early years of newspaper comics, especially Gasoline Alley, to the full-blown freaky stylings of Joe Grillo, some of which are hardly recognizable as comics -- but their inclusion here forces an imagining of how they are, and that’s good. The real revelation in the book is the work of Souther Salazar: With his work in this volume he proves himself to be an honest-to-God artist. This is work to savor, work that renews itself with each viewing, work that confronts and challenges and enriches those who reach out to it. This is a book that is best consumed a bit at a time; dipped into a little bit here, and a little bit there, until, finally, it’s finished. Then, favorites can be savored, doubts and confusions can be confronted, and fresh perspectives can be discovered. It will get plenty of use, as everyone who comes into contact with it will be curious to check it out, and all but the most dogmatic will be able to find something that they can connect with. retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - SOLD OUT! (sorry) 2nd Printing coming in 2008
An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories	Ivan Brunetti	Yale University Press		$25.00 ($28.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Ivan Brunetti Published by Yale University Press, this awesome anthology is a worthy successor to McSweeney's 13 as the must have comics collection of the foreseeable future. Editor, Brunetti goes all out to offer us a (OK, well, his) canonical assemblage with the 400 pages of comics here on display, where it is the form itself that is always at the heart of the work represented. The work we find here -- while, of course, being comics -- is also, at some level, telling us something about comics, and this latter value-added feature can be attributed in no small part to Brunetti's editorial approach in assembling this work, which he clearly views as an organic whole. Each artist represented in this collection has a distinct and original approach to the medium that embodies their personal interaction with the comics form as well as -- and this is where this anthology is unique -- with each other piece in the book. This book is organized around the principal of association. The pieces are grouped in clusters that are related in a wide variety of ways, from the form and content of the work to the geographic region and ethnicity of the creators. Brunetti tips his hand right at the outset by starting with the raw, unbridled, free-associative works of Marc Bell, Sam Henderson, Mark Newgarden, Kaz, Tony Millionaire and Bill Griffith (who all, with the exception of Bell, have NYC connections as well). This approach yields many surprising and unexpected connections as well as much that that proceeds in due course.
Hotwire #2	David Sandlin, Ivan Brunetti, Lauren Weinstein, Mary Fleener and more ...	Fantagraphics		$19.55 ($22.99 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Glenn Head It took awhile to get this second volume together, but it just goes to show that you can't rush quality. This second 136 page oversize softcover is packed to the gills with comics work from the wrong side of the tracks. Included this time around are extended pieces by Tim Lane, Mary Fleener, Mack White, series editor, Glenn Head, Carol Swain and Dutch artist Tobias Tak. Also on hand are shorter pieces by the likes of David Sandlin, Jonathon Rosen, Stephane Blanquet, Craig Yoe, Christian Northeast, and Mike Wartella. There are also hot new strips by David Lasky, Rick Altergott, Lauren Weinstein, Matti Hagelberg, Danny Hellman, Bob Sikoryak, Michael Kupperman and Chadwick Whitehead and others. And Hotwire delivers in the humor department as well, with a pile o' gag pages by Ivan Brunetti, Johnny Ryan, Doug Allen, Gary Lieb and Sam Henderson. To learn more check out the official Hotwire site. on the lower right hand corner of which you can click onto a nice set of preview pages and so get an idea of what you're in for.
Popgun, Volume One		Image Comics		$26.95 ($29.99 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Mark Andrew Smith & Joe Keatinge 444 pages of full color comics by 63 -- count 'em, we did -- contributors fill this freewheeling anthology published by the folks at Image. Popgun is aimed at those among the heroic fantasy reading crowd who are looking to stretch out a bit in their interests, but aren't quite ready yet to go too far afield. The art styles range far and wide, while the subject matter stays relatively close to what you'll find on the racks of your local comic book store, and all of it employs fairly normative narrative techniques and should be readily comprehended, so this is a good choice for mainstream comics readers ready to expose themselves to a wide variety of new -- and not so new -- talent dedicated to having fun with comics.
High Horse Omonibus		UNDEFINED		$11.95 ($11.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This 112 page anthology of work from the world of small presses and self-publishing contains a nice concentration of the fine yet scarce work that you ususally have to work hard to hunt down. Includes stories by such indy notables such as Gabrielle Bell, Martin Cendreda, Cole Johnson, Thein Pham, Jesse Reklaw, Joan Reilly, Zack Soto as well as three by Hi-Horse veteran Howard John Arey; and, finally, Copacetic fave Dan Zettwoch takes a bow in a fun four-page outing.
Drawn & Quarterly # volume 5	Yoshihiro Tatsumi	Drawn and Quarterly		$25.47 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This year’s oversize (11" x 13") annual of North American (with the accent on Canadian), European and Asian comics is here. Beautifully produced as always, this issue features covers and end papers and a graphic novella by DuPuy and Berberian, a short work by long ignored Japanese master, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, “Kept,” a Michel Rabagliati short featuring Paul, and more. The highlight for us is ”The Crypt of Bronte” by that master of all styles, R. Sikoryak. Of special interest for jaded know-it-alls is the massive 75 page retrospective on the unknown (at least to us) Canadian artist, Albert Chartier. This retrospective presents a truly rare opportunity to simultaneously discover and then plunge right into a whole new bit of artistic terrain. Reader’s of Seth’s It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken will relate.
Michael Chabon presents The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, Volume 1	Howard Chaykin	Dark Horse		$16.15 ($17.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This collects the entirety of the first two issues of the comic book of the same name. The page size of this volume is a bit smaller than the comic books. However, this edition sports new front and back covers by Mr. Chris Ware, more than making up for it. 160 pages; full color throughout.
Actus presents Dead Herring Comics	Art Spiegelman	Actus Tragicus		$22.22 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Those of you who have been sitting on the fence about Actus can finally get off it as they have finally hit the nail on the head with this one. It's a 120 page oversize (9" x 12") softcover in the tradition of Raw and the D & Q Annuals, with a pinch of the old Mad Magazine Super Specials thrown in in the form of six detachable posters. It's mostly full color, but there are several B & W pieces as well. Worthy of special note is the six pages of full color "In the Shadow of No Towers" strips by Art Spiegelman, and the first english language interview we've ever seen with Japanese manga master, Suehiro Maruo. The rest of the issue is filled with contributions from the regular Actus gang, most if not all of whom are based in Israel and Europe; and it really isn't hype when we say that this issue represents their best work so far. Definitely worth a look.
Blood Orange #1	Kevin Huizenga	Fantagraphics		$5.55 ($5.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Here it is, the first issue of the new anthology title from Fantagraphics that we've been patiently awaiting. Edited by Chris Polkki, this issue features work by a host of talent including Rick Altergott, Michael Kupperman, Lauren Weinstein, David Collier, Marc Bell, Ron Rege Jr., John Hankiewicz, Kevin Huizenga and many others. Don't miss this one!
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.
Best American Comics 2008	Lynda Barry	Houghton Mifflin		$20.00 ($22.00 list)
Read more and comment...	The Best American Comics 2008 edited by Lynda Barry This is a 324 page, nicely produced, hardcover volume that is chock-a-block with great comics. Starting with the amazing embossed wraparound dustjacket by Eleanor Davis, the book is cover to cover comics that are worth reading. It leads off with a ten-page introduction by editor Barry, rendered in her new What It Is collage-comics style. It then proceeds -- in alphabetical order, no less -- with a well-rounded survey of the state of American comics. Missing from previous volumes in this series was any focus on Ms. Barry's peers in the independent newsweekly world. That has been smartly rectified this time out with a nice selection of work by fellow pioneer of independent comics syndication, Matt Groening (Life In Hell), along with Alison Bechdel (Dykes To Watch Out For), Derf (The City) and Kaz (Underworld). And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We've got excerpts from some of the year's best graphic novels -- Salon by Nick Bertozzi, The Saga of the Bloody Benders by Rick Geary, Berlin: Book Two by Jason Lutes, Percy Gloom by Cathy Malkasian and American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, among others. Then we've got a one after another super solid short and medium length comics works that show a truly remarkable range. We have instant classics by established masters like Jaime Hernandez's "Gold Diggers of 1969" from Love and Rockets and Chris Ware's "Thanksgiving Series" from The New Yorker. Then we have what is probably this collection's signal strength: new work by new(er) talent: Graham Annable and Sarah Oleksyk, both from Papercutter; T. Edward Bak and Evan Larson, both from Project: Romantic; Eleanor Davis and Martin Cendreda, both from MOME; Eric Haven and Michael Kupperman from their own comics, Tales To Demolish and Tales Designed To Thrizzle, respectively; and then self-published works by Lilli Carré, Shawn Cheng and Sara Edward-Corbett, Joseph Lambert, and John Mejias. And there's more! This one is a winner. Recommended!
Drawn & Quarterly Showcase #5	Anneli Furmark, Amanda Vähämäki, Edward Bak (T.)	Drawn and Quarterly		$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	by Anneli Furmark, Amanda Vähämäki, and T. Edward Bak We listed this last month, but in our haste neglected to write it up, a gross oversight on our part, as you will see... This volume has a special Scandinavian focus, with two of the three comics works originating in the somber lands of the midnight sun. A melancholy northern mood pervades the entire collection, including its centerpiece, the contribution of the lone North American, T. Edward Bak. The Partisan -- his first fully developed work since Service Industry, the work for which he is best known -- is a complex multi-layered work that (or, at least, so it seems to us) seeks to expiate regret connected to a failed relationship, one in which it was realized too late that the priorities in the relationship weren't what they should have been. Bak's artwork continues to be inventive and varied, employing bold scratchboard as well as pen and ink and delicate watercolors, each chosen to best express the needs of each particular aspect of the tale. Preceding The Partisan, is the collection opener, Inland by Anneli Furmark. This piece is built upon a series of subtle revelations that create a gradual portrait of a set of interlinked relationships. A deliberate, minimal palette color-codes the action which unfolds in an efficient sequence that establishes a complex interplay of personalities with surprisingly little exposition. And, finally, there is the grande finalé, the untitled piece by Amanda Vähämäki. Born in Tampere, Finland in 1981, Vähämäki has a true gift when it comes to color. Her keen observation is matched by her finely tuned execution. It is our considered opinion that never before in the history of comics have the nuances of the widely varying shades in which the sky above appears been better captured than here in this story; all rendered with colored pencils, no less. It is a highly imaginative tale of a pair of adolescents carving out a new, private world for themselves amidst the public, old world around them. And while we can't help but focus our praise on Amanda's amazing color-centric talent, this should in no way be interpreted as any sort of slight against any of her other skills. The characterization on display is quite strong, both in the narrative development and in the physical renderings. There is a nearly seamless visual integration of the characters into their surroundings that functions on a narrative level as well. This piece is simply a pleasure to behold. You will find yourself going back to its pages again and again to bask in their beauty.
Best American Comics 2006	Jesse Reklaw, Joe Sacco, Anders Nilsen, 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 anthology reviewed above. 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
MOME 10: Winter/Spring 2008	Dash Shaw, Paul Hornschemeier, John Hankiewicz, Jim Woodring and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Yes, it's another fine issue in the ongoing, regularly published comics anthology that consistently publishes some of the most original, challenging and engaiging comics on the market. This time around the obvious highlight is the conclusion of Jim Woodring's The Lute String, which began last issue, a tale that is wonderful in conception as well as masterful in execution and amply demonstrates that Woodring's genius, but there's plenty more to get excited about: The uniquely weird story by up-and-comer Dash Shaw that starts off this issue is his most inventive work yet and will both charm and confuse you; Robert Goodin returns with a swell comics -- as well as comic -- adaptation of a classic Indian fable; also returning is Tom Kaczynski, who is this issue's interview subject as well. And, still with us are a core cadre of MOME regulars: Sophie Crumb, Paul Hornschemeier, Kurt Wolfgang, as well as Tim Hensley, Jeremy Eaton, Émile Bravo and Ray Fenwick (whom everyone is jealous of for his ingenious exploitation of old canvas covered used books). And, finally, we can't leave you without lettnig you know that the one and only John Hankiewicz makes his MOME debut in this issue. For those of you who are already familiar with his work, this notice of his inclusion will provide you with that much more impetus to purchase this issue; but it is those MOME readers among you who are unfamiliar with Hankiewicz: make sure to pay close attention to his contribution, "Success Comes to Westmont, IL" -- if you find yourself intrigued, but you're not sure why, you may want to take a look at his excellent collection, Asthma, published a little while back by Sparkplug Comics, it's a rare gem.
MOME #9	Jim Woodring, Tim Hensley, Ray Fenwick, Gabrielle Bell and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Yes, it's another issue packed with swell contemporary comics, as MOME continues to deliver. The unquestioned highlight of this issue is the first new extended comics work by Jim Woodring in several years: Part I (of 2) of the 45 page piece, "The Lute String." (This issue provides the first 25 pages and the next issue will provide the 20-page conclusion.) There's no one like Woodring, and "The Lute String" proves that he still has the magic touch. He's joined here by team-MOME: the relative newcomers Ray Fenwick, Tim Hensley, Al Columbia, Eleanor Davis, Joe Kimball and Tom Kaczynski, along with the stalwart veterans Gabrielle Bell, Kurt Wolfgang, Paul Hornschemeier and Sophie Crumb.
MOME #11: Summer 2008	John Hankiewicz, Paul Hornschemeier, Killoffer, Tom Kaczynski and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Speaking of "a whole new approach to comics," what better fits this description than MOME? To any readers who might have felt a creeping worry that MOME wouldn't be able to keep it up, that there simply wasn't enough high calibre new work being produced to keep MOME floating on its lofty plane, let us be first to say that these fears can be laid to rest with this issue, which is arguably the best yet. It starts off with a new Al Columbia piece that (finally) lives up to the promise of his outsized rep. "5:45 A.M." is a story which shows us that, yes, God is in the details. In a mere eight, actionless panels -- more or less a tableaux nature morte -- Columbia manages to quite successfully share with us his own dark lord. "Einmal Ist Keinmal" by this issue's cover artist, Killoffer, follows. A variation on his singular masterwork, 676 Apparitions of Killoffer, "EIK" will give you plenty to ponder while you pore over its seductive linework. Nate Neal is up next with "The 5 Simple Cosmic Do Dats" wherein he deftly manages the fairly astounding party trick of grafting his own left-leaning post-punk tendencies onto a synthetic hybridization of the aesthetics of Kim Deitch and the narrative techniqes of Dan Clowes to create that wonder of wonders: an entertaining work that is both funny and smart. You might find yourself scratching your head at first while working through this one, but keep going -- or better yet, start over and try again -- this one has more going on in it than first meets the eye. Four panels of "Truth Bear" by Ray Fenwick (who doubles as this issue's [quite engaging] interview subject) follow. Eleanor Davis serves up an irresisitable visual treat , "The 10,000 Rescues," and then we have seven pages of fun with the future of the wonderful world of Art in "The Galactic Funnels," courtesy Dash Shaw, before plunging into John Hankiewicz's personal gift to Copacetic -- a five-page story that combines his own totally unique approach to narrative with a brief episode in the life of the one and only Anita O'Day! (Thank you, John.) Then it's Emile Bravo's turn to wow us with his four-page assembly of signs & meaning which deftly deconstructs the quandary of globalization, "A Question of Human Resources." Newcomer, Conor O'Keefe brings a novel approach to his two pieces, combining an old-old-school Sunday page design sense (we suspect he may have spent some time curled up with Art Out of Time) with a very contemporary sensibility. We look forward to watching his talent develop (and we hope that it continues to do so in the pages of MOME). And then there's the topper: "Million Year Boom," by Tom Kaczynski will knock your socks off. It is probably the first succcessful translation of the Ballardian (as in J.G. Ballard) narrative approach to science fiction yet achieved in comics form. This deeply creepy tale brings us face to face with a world where major corporate leaders so deeply internalize their own marketing messages and stock market hype that they become untethered from consensus reality and move into the ambiguous landscapes of delusion, paranoia and insanity that were so successfully mined by Ballard (and, to be fair, by many others, most notably Philip K Dick; but none so well as Ballard, who is most convincingly evoked here). While the influence of Clowes is certainly evident in Kaczynski's work, he has created a wholly original synthesis here. This issue is rounded out with contributions by MOME regulars Andrice Arp, Paul Hornschemeier and Kurt Wolfgang. Encore! Encore!
Unicorn Mountain #2	Curt Gettman			$12.00 ($15.00 list)
Read more and comment...	As the cover states, this is a compendium of comics, writing and music. This time around Unicorn Mountain is a chunky 206-page squarebound squareformat anthology printed in umber ink on flat white paper of (mostly) Pittsburgh culture that contains an eclectic 21-track CD, all for less than the prie of the average stand-alone CD! Made possible in part by a grant from the seemingly omnipresent Sprout Fund, this issue is a big step up from the first issue. Highlights include "Thousands of Mistakes" by Frank Santoro, "Niran and Theola" by Curt Gettman and Owl Kahol Systems (a pseudonym for a local comics artist), "Like Lace" by JULIACKS, "Rock & You" by Paulette Poullet, a two-page untitled piece by Brian Maruca and Jim Rugg of Street Angel fame, and a fistful of untitled illustrations by Paper Rad. The material on the CD ranges far and wide and includes new tunes by Modey Lemon, Oneida, Ex-Models, Elf Power and Pink Mountaintops. The Karl Hendricks Rock Band's "The Last Uncompromising Hardcore Band" will have you tapping your toes and singing along before you even realize it.
Kramers Ergot #6	Sammy Harkham			$29.75 ($34.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Edited, as always, by Sammy Harkham -- this time around with an assist by co-publisher Alvin Buenaventura -- this now seemingly biennial publication continues to live up to the promise made with the fourth and fifth volumes. The format follows that of the last volume: a flat matte finish (this time sans texture) flexi cover fixed to a sturdy Smythe sewn binding that holds the contents firmly in place. And what contents! Many of those talents that readers have come to associate with Kramers Ergot are here again, and have submitted work that is as engaging as ever. Sammy Harkham, C.F., Paper Rad, Marc Bell, Souther Salazar, Ron Regé, Jr., Matthew Thurber, Dan Zettwoch and Elvis Studio are joined by Vanessa Davis, Tom Gaud, Martin Cendreda, Bald Eagles and a handful of others. Also, KE Alum Gary Panter finds himself under the same covers as former fellow Raw artist, Jerry Moriarty, who is given plenty of space to present his idiosyncratic Hopperesque visions for the first time (we've seen) in many years. In addition, with this issue Kramers Ergot adds a curatorial component to its offerings for the first time, as readers are given a rare look at two great historical figures of the comics world: we get a healthy sampling of a late sketchbook by the Dutch comics artist, Marc Smeets, which is preceded by "an incomplete appreciation" by Chris Ware; and an amazing reproduction of the early and highly influential manga, Norakuro by Suiho Tagawa. All in all, it seems once again to be an essential read for anyone involved in the contemporary comics scene.
Drawn and Quarterly Showcase #4	Gabrielle Bell, Martin Cendreda	Drawn and Quarterly		$11.95 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This just came in and it looks great! We'll be back with more info once we've had the chance to dive in. Here's what you having waiting for you on the Copacetic Rack of new arrivals: Long time Copacetic favorite Dan Zettwoch gets a well-deserved opportunity to flex his creative muscles in a top comics publication, accompanied by the excellent talents of Gabrielle Bell (who's really been on a roll lately) and Martin Cendreda. This issue is also significant in its representing a geographic cross-section of contemporary American comics, allowing the reader a chance to compare and contrast regional distinctions and differences: Bell is a denizen of the east coast, currently hailing from Brooklyn, NY; Zettwoch is a midwest heartlander, boots firmly planted in St. Louis, MO soil; and Cendreda is winging it on the west coast, living it up in LA, CA. Don't miss this one!
Wobblies!: A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World	Paul Buhle, Nicole Schulman			$21.25 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Featuring the graphic work of Peter Kuper, Harvey Pekar, Seth Tobocman, Trina Robbins, Spain Rodriguez, Sabrina Jones, Sue Coe, Mike Alewitz and many others, this is a book that no self-respecting leftist comics fan can be without.
How To Love	Actus Tragicus			$27.50 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	When this book first came in we sold out of it before we had a chance to write about it here. Now that it's back in stock we are here to tell that How To Love is another fine anthology of work by the Israeli cartoonists known as Actus Tragicus. This 144 page, full color, horizontally formatted hardcover volume contains six graphic novellas by Batia Koltonk, David Polosky, Mira Friedmann, Itzik Rennert, Yirmi Pinkus and Rutu Modan, who turns in what may be her best work yet. Read more about this book at Read About Comics.
Meathaus: S.O.S.	Brandon Graham, Chris McD			$26.95 ($30.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This one is also a (slightly less) massive 272-page ful color anthology of new comics. The creators are, on balance, a tad more adventurous than those in the Popgun anthology. Intriguingly, the sole point of overlap between the Popgun and Meathaus volumes is that this volume too contains another all-new, all-different Afrodisiac story by the aforementioned Jim Rugg. Also on offer here are works by James Jean, Farel Dalrymple, Tomer & Asaf Hanuka, Jesse Moynihan, Jim Campbell, Dave Kiersh and rising star, Dash Shaw, among a host of others. Check out this big preview on Nerdcore.
Windy City Magazine #2	Austin English			$8.88 ($10.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue features more full color comics in Prismacolor colored pencil by its editor, Austin English, who has also, it seems, managed to convert publisher, Dylan Williams, to the way of the crayon, as his contribution (Williams is an established comics writer/artist as well as publisher) is his first full color work and it is rendered entirely in oil pastel. Other notable contributions to this anthology publication are a historical overview of the works of legendary children's author/illustrator, Lois Lenski -- also by Austin English -- and, the highlight for us, a lengthy illustrated interview (conducted by fellow cartoonist and pal, Jeremy Onsmith) with the one and only John Hankiewicz, who proves himself to be as articulate about his work as he is in control of it. The issue comes to a close with a full color back cover illustration by Copacetic customer, Juliacks. Recommended for fans of MOME who are ready to adventure a bit farther afield, and anyone else interested in the intersection of comics, art and illustration.
Rabid Rabbit #5	David Sandlin			$2.75 ($3.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This is a nice anthology series out of New York City that we somehow missed out on, until now. We suspect the contributor list is populated in part by current and former students of SVA (as well as at least one instructor, David Sandlin). This is a good thing. The comics here, while generally focused on urban themes, are diverse in their styles and approaches. Each of these issues is devoted to a specific theme, to wit: #4 - Trash; #5 - Alphabet City; #5 - The Future; #7 - Pornography (18+ only, natch'); and #8 -- The Beatles! Issues #4 - #7 are digest size and are 36, 32, 40 & 48 pages respectively; #8 is 8 1/2" square -- and squarebound -- (to resemble a record jacket -- The White Album, in this case) and runs a big 64 pages. Learn more at: http://www.rabidrabbit.org
Rabid Rabbit #6	David Sandlin			$2.75 ($3.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This is a nice anthology series out of New York City that we somehow missed out on, until now. We suspect the contributor list is populated in part by current and former students of SVA (as well as at least one instructor, David Sandlin). This is a good thing. The comics here, while generally focused on urban themes, are diverse in their styles and approaches. Each of these issues is devoted to a specific theme, to wit: #4 - Trash; #5 - Alphabet City; #5 - The Future; #7 - Pornography (18+ only, natch'); and #8 -- The Beatles! Issues #4 - #7 are digest size and are 36, 32, 40 & 48 pages respectively; #8 is 8 1/2" square -- and squarebound -- (to resemble a record jacket -- The White Album, in this case) and runs a big 64 pages. Learn more at: http://www.rabidrabbit.org
Rabid Rabbit #7	David Sandlin			$2.75 ($3.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This is a nice anthology series out of New York City that we somehow missed out on, until now. We suspect the contributor list is populated in part by current and former students of SVA (as well as at least one instructor, David Sandlin). This is a good thing. The comics here, while generally focused on urban themes, are diverse in their styles and approaches. Each of these issues is devoted to a specific theme, to wit: #4 - Trash; #5 - Alphabet City; #5 - The Future; #7 - Pornography (18+ only, natch'); and #8 -- The Beatles! Issues #4 - #7 are digest size and are 36, 32, 40 & 48 pages respectively; #8 is 8 1/2" square -- and squarebound -- (to resemble a record jacket -- The White Album, in this case) and runs a big 64 pages. Learn more at: http://www.rabidrabbit.org
Rabid Rabbit #8	David Sandlin			$5.00 ($6.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This is a nice anthology series out of New York City that we somehow missed out on, until now. We suspect the contributor list is populated in part by current and former students of SVA (as well as at least one instructor, David Sandlin). This is a good thing. The comics here, while generally focused on urban themes, are diverse in their styles and approaches. Each of these issues is devoted to a specific theme, to wit: #4 - Trash; #5 - Alphabet City; #5 - The Future; #7 - Pornography (18+ only, natch'); and #8 -- The Beatles! Issues #4 - #7 are digest size and are 36, 32, 40 & 48 pages respectively; #8 is 8 1/2" square -- and squarebound -- (to resemble a record jacket -- The White Album, in this case) and runs a big 64 pages. Learn more at: http://www.rabidrabbit.org
Flight #2	Kazu Kibuishi			$22.45 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This massive sequel to last year's well received Flight anthology weighs in at a hopping 432 full color pages! You're definitely getting your money's worth on this one. This hefty tome containing thirty-three pieces of the mind being freed and the heart taking flight is the production of a diverse cross-section of the up and coming generation of cartoonists who are working hard to expand the realm of graphic fantasy -- as well as break out of it altogether. It includes stand out work by Hope Larson, Becky Cloonan, Rad Sechrist and Pittsburgh's own Neil Babra; an interesting early piece (from 2001) by Doug TenNapel; a new four-page cosmic gag-strip by Jeff Smith; and twenty-seven more graphic experiences.
Flight #5	Kazu Kibuishi		Flight	$22.22 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Yes, it's time for another 360 page anthology of full color fantasy inflected comics of an international flavor that leans towords the pacific rim. Contributors this time around include Graham Annable, Matthew Bernier, Scott Campbell, Tony Cliff, Michel Gagné, Reagan Lodge, John Martz & Ryan North, Paul Rivoche, Joey Weiser and over a dozen others including editor Kibuishi, who also handles the cover chores. There's something for everyone here: from baseball games to ninja battles, from polar bears to dragons to robots (and robot dragons), from space travel to couch surfing and plenty more. Here's a great preview.
Unicorn Mountain #1	Curt Gettman			$12.00
Read more and comment...	Made in Pittsburgh! This is the first of a projected series of anthologies featuring local writers, musicians and comics creators. It comes with a full length CD and -- for a limited time -- a special hand printed insert comic by Pittsburgh poster maven, Budai. Learn more at www.unicornmountain.com.
Drawn and Quarterly Showcase #3	Sammy Harkham, Matt Broersma, Matt Broersma, Geneviève Elverum and more ...	Drawn and Quarterly		$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue features a trio of tales by Matt Broersma, Geneviève Elverum, and Sammy Harkham. Each work features a distinct artistic voice and is distinguished by the artist's personal color palette. Geneviève Elverum contributed the cover and opening story. Her work is rendered in a lush but limited palette of deep blues and reds (and one green) set off against large fields of white punctuated by grey and tells us of a struggle to find a place in the scheme of things. Readers familiar with Sammy Harkham's tale, "The Poor Sailor," which originally appeared in the fourth issue of his own anthology Title, Kramers Ergot (and which was later collected by David Eggars in his Non-Required Reading series), will feel right at home in this tale of teenage confusion and angst told with his trademark detachment and rendered in a palette of pale reds. The final piece, Matt Broersma's The Mummy is a multi-layered, self-deconstructing, post-modern pulp tale rendered in black and white and shades of green.
Blurred Vision #4	Matt Madden, Toc Fetch			$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Weighing in at 232 pages, this is the biggest and quite possibly best issue yet of this 8 1/2" x 11" B & W anthology of "new narrative art" from New York City. BV regulars Toc Fetch, Ethan Persoff, Karl Stevens and Kevin Mutch are joined by a host of newcomers including recognized creators such as Matt Madden and K. Thor Jensen.
Bizarro World	Jaime Hernandez, Peter Bagge, Craig Thompson, Dylan Horrocks and more ...	DC		$26.95 ($29.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	DC lets its proprietary guard down for a contained barrage of absurdity; allowing its audience a glimpse at the super-id that lies beneath the super-ego of its stable of heroes. This long awaited sequel to the popular Bizarro Comics is a veritable who's who of the indy comics world. Starting off with a cover by Locas maestro, Jaime Hernandez, the line-up inside includes Rick Altergbott, Peter Bagge, Ariel Bourdeaux, Ivan Brunetti, Eddie Campbell, Dave Cooper (in a ten-page opus featuring Super Girl and Wonder Woman), Leela Corman, Evan Dorkin, Ben Dunn, Sarah Dyer, Phil Elliot, Hunt Emerson, Asaf & Tomer Hanuka, Gilbert Hernandez, Dylan Horrocks, James Kochalka, Michael Kupperman (he's in his element here), Roger Langridge, Tony Millionaire (with a very gothic Batman), Harvey Pekar teams up with Dean Haspiel, Craig Thompson, Pittsburgh's own Don Simpson -- even the French team of Philippe Dupuy & Charles Berberian! And many more. Fab fan fun.
MOME #7: Spring 2007	Al Columbia, Andrice Arp, Kurt Wolfgang, Eleanor Davis and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue finds MOME at a crossroads of sorts as this is the the last time -- at least for now -- that it will feature work by the core of MOME regulars Anders Nilsen -- who also provides this issue's interview -- Jeffrey Brown, Gabrielle Bell and Martin Cendreda all of whom except Brown (who is, evidently, already gone) turn in their farewell pieces this issue. New team-MOME members premiering here are self-publishing stalwarts Eleanor Davis and Tom Kaczynzki who both turn in the first of what promises to be a string of fine pieces, and we can only presume that they will be joined next issue with more voices from the alterna-ground. Also on hand this issue is cover artist, Lewis Trondheim's hybrid/sketchbook/collage comics work, "At Loose Ends, Part 2," continued from last time. Sophie Crumb -- about whom we admit to having been a bit skeptical, at first -- has proven herself a keen observer of humanity in her short pieces for MOME, and her contributions this time around are some of her finest to date. David Heatley and Kurt Wolfgang soldier on with their respective continuing sagas; Andrice Arp and Paul Hornschemeier both shift gears -- Arp with a dream piece and Paul H. with a couple of oddball toyings with words and pictures; finally, "weird" Al Columbia turns in a batch of "Chopped-Up People." You have been warned.
Galago, Volume 01 - From the Shadow of the Northern Lights: An Anthology of Swedish Alternative Comics #1				$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Hey you comics fans of all things Scandanavian, here's 200 pages of dark, brooding, self-conscious, introverted tales of foreboding, angst, self-doubt, self-pity and more, all originating from the center of Scandanavia -- Sweden! There's really quite a variety of drawing styles and story-telling schemas on display here, more than you might think; so if this sounds interesting, don't forget to take a look, because our supply is small.
Mome #8 - Summer 2007	Jonathan Bennet, Sophie Crumb and, Eleanor Davis, Ray Fenwick and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.00 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	MOME 8 - Summer 2007 is edited by Eric Reynolds and Gary Groth. This issue pretty much completes the transition to the new "Team MOME." Original members Jonathan Bennet, Sophie Crumb and Paul Hornschemeier are joined here by new comers (some of whom showed up last issue) Eleanor Davis, Ray Fenwick, Tom Kaczynski, Al Columbia, Émile Bravo and Joe Kimball, while Lewis Trondheim wraps up his three-part "At Loose Ends." Davis is the featured artist this issue with her work gracing the cover and providing the lead story, while she is the interview subject as well. Her story, "Stick and String" is a moody meditation on exogamous bonding that shows her work moving a bit in the direction of Sammy Harkham (although, in her interview, she identifies Joann Sfar as her current fave). The Copacetic pick for this issue is Tom Kaczynski's "10,000 Years," a mordant take on contemporary alienation that, while clearly indebted to Clowes, brings an original perspective to the table with its smart synthesis of dialectical materialism and post-industrial consumer culture. And we can't sign off on this issue without mentioning Émile Bravo's "Young Americans," which is certainly one of the cleverest short comics we've read in a while.
Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators	Frédéric Boilet, Jiro Taniguchi, Joann Sfar, Kan Takahama and more ...	Fanfare/Ponent Mon		$22.50 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Our friends at Fanfare/Ponent Mon -- who brought us that understated masterpiece, The Walking Man -- now bring us a fresh treat. Initiated by the powers that be at the French Institutes and Alliances in Japan, who, along with the French Embassy, bankrolled the visits of nine French comics creators to Japan in order that they be inspired to create eight of the works we have here. The other half -- eight more pieces -- were supplied by Japanese natives (one of whom, the editor, Frédéric Boilet, is a French ex-pat residing in Japan). Together, these sixteen pieces provide a kaliedoscope of views of Japan today; and not just Tokyo. This project was designed with a geographically broad view: the entire country, from the southern tip at Amakusa to the northern metropolis of Sapporo, is on display here. Creators include manga master Jiro Taniguchi (author of the aforementioned masterwork, The Walking Man), Joann Sfar, of The Rabbi's Cat fame, François Schuiten & Benoît Peeters, Kan Takahama, Fabrice Neaud, Little Fish, Aurélia Aurita and nine others. This is an excellent anthology of comics work at the same time as it is an engaging cultural survey. Of equal interest to readers of contemporary comics work and students of Japan, this is a sure fire must have for anyone who is both.
The Ganzfeld #3	Peter Blegvad	PictureBox	The Ganzfeld	$11.77 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The Ganzfeld is a true one-of-a-kind publication and #3 is by far the best issue yet. It shouldn't really be under the comics listing, but as it is truly uncategorizable, this is as good a spot as any. The editors once again bring together a unique group of designers, illustrators, cartoonists, and artists in a coherent, strongly designed format. It features a unique collaboration between Rick Moody and Fred Tomaselli; a new picture story by designer Geoff McFetridge, and even an illustrated essay by Alfred Hitchcock. Lengthy comics and picture stories are contributed by an international group, Renée French, Ron Rege, Jr., Blexbolex, Brian Ralph. The major highlight of the book is Peter Blegvad's contribution: a highly innovative piece that is a stellar work of genius. Really, it's that good. No one compares to Blegvad. He's in a class by himself here. (If you aren't familiar with Peter Blegvad's work, do yourself a favor and check out The Book of Leviathan.) The Ganzfeld #3 also puts the spotlight on history: profiles include the inventor of the Macy's Parade Balloons; a special 40-page section devoted to the art collective The Hairy Who, and articles on Bruegel and deep space photography. Also: humorous picture stories on color theory, where we go when we die, and the lost genre of blank books. And much more, all bound together and accentuated by impeccable graphic design.
The Ganzfeld #4	Gary Panter, Mark Newgarden, Frank Santoro, David Sandlin and more ...	PictureBox	The Ganzfeld	$26.95 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The Ganzfeld No. 4: Art History? Two years in the making, the latest issue of the Ganzfeld is finally on our shelves! It starts out with a wraparound cover and end papers by the high priestess of Canadian comics, Julie Doucet, and doesn't let up . After the lead off introductions by editor, Dan Nadel and artist extraordinaire, Peter Blegvad, the book is divided up into four sections of approximately equal length. In the first, Art History, you'll discover a lot that you hadn't know that you needed to know but will be glad to learn, including the secret history of the enigmatic cover art for Led Zeppelin's Presence that's always been a nagging question mark lurking in a back alley of your consciousness ever since you first saw it back in 1976. Next up is Drawings, by the recognized hepsters Gary Panter and Mark Newgarden, as well as others whose art you are far less likely to have previously come into contact with; but now will! Artists on Art is an intriguing, highly engaging and fairly unique feature which presents artists on art in art: David Sandlin's 18-page, lushly colored piece on H.C. Westermann is a tour de force of admiration, while Marc Bell's Ph.D.-thesis-in-comics-form provides a fresh, delightful and direct access to the work of Philip Guston that will be much appreciated by many. And then, finally, there's the Comics. This section starts off, semi-miraculously, with a six-page walking tour of Pittsburgh, both real and dreamed -- as a place on the map and as a state of mind -- by peripatetic former resident, Frank Santoro, and continues with fine work by Paper Rad, Leif Goldberg, Ted Stearn, Matthew Thurber, Jim Drain, Mark Newgarden, and a wild and wooly journey to the center of the mind by "C.F." The centerpiece is the amazing 22-page, "Ganmodoki," a piece from the late, surrealist period of Japanese manga legend, Shigeru Sugiura. And there you have it.
The Ganzfeld 5: Japanada	Yuichi Yokoyama, Marc Bell, Julie Doucet, Dan Nadel and more ...	PictureBox	The Ganzfeld	$25.00 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Dan Nadel w/ Marc Bell & Yuki Minami You'll want to strap yourself in before cracking open the latest issue of The Ganzfeld, as the going gets going and doesn't stop until it's solid gone, and things get so far out you might wonder where it is you've gotten to. Well, the answer, if you haven't already guessed, is, of course: Japanada! The artists featured in this issue all hail from either Japan or Canada -- hence the title -- and the end result could be seen as an imaginary island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but we'll assert here that it would be more accurately described as representing a heretofore unexplored province of the mind; more a state of mind than a place on a map. This volume invites you to get away from the restrictive conformity of life in these United States and take a walk on the wild shores of Japanada where anything goes. Here you'll find artistic risk taking the like of which you aren't likely to find between any other two covers. You'll discover new and daring works by (from Japan): Saseo Ono, Shigeru Sugiura, Keiichi Tanaami, King Terry, Eye Yamatsuka, Misaki Kawui, Yuichi Yokoyama; (and from Canada) Julie Doucet, Bobo Boutin & Dominique Pétrin, "the All-Star Schnauzer Band", Tommy Lacroix, Amy Lockhart, Owen Plummer & Andrew Dick, Scott Evans, Mark Connery and Shayne Ehman. Each artist's work is prefaced by a short - or not so short -- essay to help get the reader up to speed and ready to confront the artistic frenzies of Japanada.
Sturgeon White Moss #5	Xavier Robel, Marc Bell, Ivan Brunetti, Ron Regé and more ...			$8.75
Read more and comment...	We finally got around to importing this spirited anthology from London, England. We now have the entire (so far) run of #1 - 6 on hand. There's a wealth of variety on hand in these issues, each of which is limited to a 1000 copy print run, only a fraction of which have managed to make it across the Atlantic. From Marc Bell and Ivan Brunetti to Xavier Robel and Ron Regé, Jr. and many, many others -- quite a few of whom will be new to you -- Sturgeon White Moss is a challenging ongoing forum for new comics work from Europe and North America.
Scheherazade: Comics About Love, Treachery, Mothers and Monsters	Megan Kelso			$16.95 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Better late -- and slightly flawed -- than never; that's what we say about this new 224 page anthology of contemporary comics by women from Soft Skull Press. As a result of an imaging software mix-up, the half-tones on several of the stories do not appear as they were intended, and while, yes, this does impact the æsthetic experience of the affected pieces, you can still enjoy and appreciate them; and please bear in mind that this problem affected only a minority -- less than a third -- of the pieces presented here. OK, now that we have that out of the way, let's just say that Scheherazade is the best all X chromosome anthology that's come our way in quite awhile, and not one that you should pass by. To the best of our knowledge none of the stories here have been seen before, making for a rare opportunity to really take a good long look at a solid batch of new work. Here's who you'll cross paths with if you venture forth: Andrice Arp, Gabrielle Bell, Ariel Bordeaux, Shary Boyle, Isabel Carvalho, Robyn Chapman, Allison Cole, Leela Corman, Eleanor Davis, Vanessa Davis, Jennifer DayDreamer, Ellen Forney, Garbrielle Gamboa, Megan Kelso, Ellen Lindner, Amy Lockhart, J. Manix, Nikki McClure (cover),Sophie McMillan, Lark Pien, Ariel Schrag, Kelly Seda, Sara Varon, and Lauren Weinstein.
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.
The Comics Journal Library -- Volume 4: Drawing the Line	Jules Feiffer, David Levine, Ralph Steadman.	Fantagraphics	The Comics Journal Library	$17.95 ($22.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This LP sized (12" x 12") edition is composed of profusely illustrated interviews with four masters of fine line cartooning: Jules Feiffer, David Levine, Edward Sorel and Ralph Steadman.
Drawn & Quarterly Showcase #1	Kevin Huizenga, Nicolas Robel	Drawn and Quarterly	Drawn & Quarterly Showcase	$14.95 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This is the first in an ongoing series designed to showcase up and coming talents in the world of comics and graphic story-telling. Published by independent comics stalwart, Drawn & Quarterly Publications, this first issue was originally intended to feature three tales. Anders Nilsen, however, bowed out of this issue as his story ended up being too long (!); so we still have something more to look forward to. As a result the book sports a new, lower price: $14.95 instead of $18.95. Not to worry, however: the work that is presented here is more than enough to put this series on solid footing. The volume opens with a multi-layered contribution authored by a long time stalwart of self-published comics, St. Louis based Kevin Huizenga: A triptych featuring his fictional stand-in, Glenn Ganges (“like the river”) in which the central tale, 28th Street, a loose, offbeat adaptation of the Italian folk tale, “The Feathered Ogre,” is bookended by a pair of tales which, while sharing with 28th Street the identical locales and cast of characters, are more purely realist, with the latter, The Curse, being identified in the sub-title as being “based on a true story.” Despite these intra-textual shifts in generic conventions, each of these stories segues smoothly into the next, with the finished product reading as an organic whole. Huizenga has, over the years that he has been laboring in the comics field -- primarily on that barely arable north forty which is tenanted by the itinerant laborers of the self-publishing, mini-comics community -- developed an extremely dense visual style, filled with a wide variety of idiosyncratic techniques that he employs with great dexterity. More than perhaps any other comics artist of his generation, Huizenga is constantly at work figuring out new elements to expand the visual vocabulary of comics, and in the three tales here he shows no sign of letting up in this developmental drive. In the lead story, he employs free floating images and text within certain panels to represent those moments when thought becomes untethered and a free associating meandering of consciousness occurs as parts of the mind disengage from the matters at hand and drift. The narrative context within which these moments take place provides the thoughtful reader with insights into a connection between doodling and daydreaming in human neural wiring. In the third tale he inserts into word balloons a variety of combinations of text, mathematical formulas, small, simple abstract line drawings, and even cartooned images -- all printed in the single additional color with which all three stories are printed (a light olive drab) rather than the standard black in which all other text is printed -- to convey the songs/sounds made by starlings, which, as the supporting text points out, are gifted mimics, in order to represent to sources of their “language.” Yet, despite all this seriousness of purpose, Huizenga's work retains a playful element. His style is firmly grounded in the classic cartooning school of comics, with obvious precursors being E.C. Segar, Roy Crane and Hergé among countless others. And in The Curse, there is a fairly obvious reference to a specific work by Crumb. Readers who would like to explore Huizenga's work further are strongly encouraged to learn more here. Serving to balance the relentlessly analytical style of the Huizenga triptych is the tale by Canadian-Swiss artist Nicolas Robel that follows, 87 Blvd des Capucines. (We feel compelled to interject the observation that both this tale and the central Huizenga tale, 28th Street, employ a combination of street name and number in the title, suggesting a hard-boiled "just the facts ma'am" type of tale, which in fact turns out in both cases to be entirely belied by the story which follows. Was there any editorial direction on this, or was it pure coincidence? In either event this duplication serves to reinforce the suggestion of a nascent feeling that the hard reality of our lives is but a thin veneer overlaying the hidden mysteries of our actual being.) This tale is essentially an emotional one. Robel employs a visual vocabulary that appears to be made up of equal parts of David Sandlin, Julie Doucet, Debbie Dreschler and Ron Rege (but, of course, may not, in actuality, be) to convey the interior life of a twenty-something women forced to realize that the traumas of her past continue to inhabit her present as she reaches a crucial transition point: moving to a new apartment. Perhaps it's her first, perhaps she's moving in with a boyfriend. It's hard to be sure, and the vagueness on this point seems to be a deliberate attempt to universalize this particular dilemma so that it may serve to represent a broader category of personal development milestones. The art is very dream-like at times and works well in supporting the narrative's task of diagramming a relationship between mind, body and spirit and then situating this trinity into a schematic of the material world. While the artist Nicolas Robel is, presumably, male, the story is nevertheless primarily concerned with capturing the interior life of its female protagonist. This aspect of the story also serves as a counterweight the essentially masculine concerns addressed in Kevin Huizenga's work, providing the anthology with at least a sort of gender balance, if only on the narrative plane. The stories in this volume work together with the common cause of pushing the reader to recognize that life is lived on many different levels simultaneously and continuously. In the due course of our daily lives we are rarely, if ever, aware of this fact. To the degree that it is the function of art to confront us with this ever present yet ever hidden reality, these tales can be judged a success. To the extent, however, that the work can be said to provide readers with intellectual and creative tools to further develop their abilities to form constructive relationships with these multiplicities, Huizenga's work stands alone. All in all, this premier issue of Drawn & Quarterly Showcase, despite the lack of the initially expected work of Anders Nilsen, is a very promising start for what we can only hope will be a long running series.
MOME #13	Gilbert Shelton, Dash Shaw, Laura Park	Fantagraphics	MOME	$13.50 ($14.99 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Gary Goth and Eric Reynolds The marquee highlight this time around is the first part (of three) to an all-new full-length saga -- "Last Gig in Shnagrlig," (no, that's not a typo) by the one and only Gilbert "Freak Brothers" Shelton. Other MOME first timers this time around are David "Duplex Planet" Greenberger, Josh "Happy" Simmons, Laura Park and Pic. They join Dash Shaw, Kurt Wolfgang, TIm Hensley (who contributes a whopping three stories this time out), Nate Neal, T. Ott, Sarah Edward-Corbett, Conor O'Keefe and Derek Van Gieson. Alienation and absurdity abound, thoughtfully rendered with craft and care.
Mineshaft #21	Mary Fleener, R. Crumb, Ed Piskor			$6.25 ($6.95 list)
Read more and comment...	A counter-culture zine of comics and more that is still going strong. This issue features a front cover and five sketchbook pages by R. Crumb, a swell 4-page comics-bio of that beatnikita, Diane di Prima by Harvey Pekar and Mary Fleener, a selection of fine pen and ink drawings along with commentary by their creator, William Crook, Jr., Bill Griffith's 3-panel revelation of "How I Got My Start in the Comics Business!!" a back cover and more by Cristoph Mueller, and a "Sunday" page by Jay Lynch and Pittsburgh's own Ed Piskor describing an afternoon with the one and only Chester Gould. Plus plenty more!
The Comics Journal Special Edition 2005 (#5)	Paul Hornschemeier, Igort, Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez and more ...	Fantagraphics		$19.95 ($24.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Well, for our money at least, this volume is hands down the best so far. It has a tripartite structure: A survey of Manga Masters featuring pieces on Osamu Tezuka, Hideshi Hino, Suehiro Maruo, Saseo Ono and Yoshihiro Tsuge; a focus on Vaughn Bodé that features a critical appreciation, a revealing biography and a personal reminiscence -- all amply accompanied by classic and rare Bodé comics, illustrations and rarely (if ever!) seen sketchbook pages; and then there's the giant comics feature: this time around the theme is "seduction" and the contributions by many of today's best comics practitioners are top notch. Among the contributors are Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Igort (whose 4-pager is among the highlights), Mary Fleener, Rick Geary, Bill Griffith, Megan Kelso, Paul Hornschemeier, Marc Bell, Gabrielle Bell (whose submission is her most accomplished work yet published), Carol Lay and many others. This is a great volume to have just lying around: no matter what page you open to you'll find something engaging.
MOME #3	Eric Reynolds, Gary Groth, David B., Andrice Arp and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Well, the undisputed highlight of this issue is an all-new 36-page piece by David B. (Epileptic) titled "The Armed Garden". Yes! Along side of this is a line-up up the ususal MOME suspects: Andrice Arp, Gabrielle Bell, Jonathan Bennett, Jeffrey Brown, Martin Cendreda, David Heatley, Anders Nilsen, and Kurt Wolfgang, who is the interviewee this time around. (Concerned MOME devotees may be assured that both John Pham and Paul Hornschemeier will return in the next issue) R. Kikuo Johnson (Night Fisher) takes a bow in this issue with a series of three-panel strips featuring "Cher Shimura." MOME is fast becoming the official "little literary magazine" of the comics world. If you've read an issue already, you know what we're talking about; if you haven't, this is a good time to find out for yourself. To learn more, visit our MOME page.
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.
MOME #4	Gary Groth, Paul Hornschemeier, Sophie Crumb, R. Kikuo Johnson and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Another great issue of the comics anthology you can't afford to miss is now on our shelves. The highlight of this issue is another wonderful mythical/historical comics novella by David B., "The Veiled Prophet." Also on offer are a great new story by Martin Cendreda, "La Brea Woman" that shows him moving in a new direction. And the gang's all here: John Pham returns to 221 Sycamore Avenue to provide the cover along with the dream landscape of a high school teacher and his family; Sophie Crumb returns with more tales of street urchins on drugs, Jonathan Bennet and Gabrielle Bell take deft turns at depicting urban melancholy; Jeffrey Brown steps out of his comfort zone and turns in an atypical (and metaphorical) tale of existential angst; and David Heatley, Paul Hornschemeier, Anders Nilsen, Kurt Wolfgang and R. Kikuo Johnson each do their thing and do it well, rounding out another issue where everything is good!
Project Superior	R. Kikuo Johnson, Chris Pitzer			$17.95 ($19.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	This is the first great new anthology of the year. It's chock-a-block with meta-super tales by the best and brightest of the new voices in comics. We'll have more to say once we get a chance to give it the once over, but for now, you can read this rave review on 4th Rail.
MOME #6 (Winter 2007)	Anders Nilsen, Paul Hornschemeier, Lewis Trondheim, Tim Hensley and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Eric Reynolds and Gary Groth Yes, we have all the ususal suspects again this time around -- J. Bennett, J. Brown, Sophie Crumb, M. Cenreda, Anders Nilsen, Paul Hornschemeier, David Heatley, Tim Hensley, and some pretty amazing apocryphal neo-romance covers by R. Kikuo Johnson -- but there are a couple new entries from Europe that are quite worth noting: Lewis Trondheim makes his MOME debut with the first part of his new comics diary, Loose Ends; and Vosges Studio co-founder, Émile Bravo provides this issue's standout story, The Brothers Ben Qutuz in "Frustration Land." This ten page pantomime (no text or dialogue) story -- enabling it to be read and understood without it having to be translated -- is a startlingly succinct exegesis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as experienced at street level on the Palestinian side, that will invade your consciousness and refuse to leave; a perfect example of the value of comics as a form of commmunication.
Papercutter #7	Aron Nels Steinke, Andy Hartzell, MK Reed, Jonathan Hill and more ...	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$3.50 ($4.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Another fine issue of this perky peppy anthology published in Portland, Oregon by Tugboat Press. This time around we have an epic of 8th grade outsiders by MK Reed and Jonathan Hill followed by a one-pager by Aron Nels Steinke and a striking adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Sheperdess and the Chimney Sweep" by Andy Hartzell, who has clearly built on the momentum of his successful Fox Bunny Fox and turned in his finest work to date here. We can't wait for the next issue!
Papercutter #5	Bwana Spoons, Liz Prince, Kazimir Strzepek	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$2.75 ($3.00 list)
Read more and comment...	#5 features a Kazimir Strzepek ("Mourning Star") story about a post-apocalypic world where two rival gangs battle for control of a war torn city along with new work by Liz Prince ("Will Your Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed") and Bwana Spoons ("Pencil Fight").
Papercutter #6	Alec Longstreth, Ken Dahl, Julia Wertz, Laura Park and more ...	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$3.50 ($4.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Tugboat Press has this to say: "The special sixth issue of the acclaimed anthology series dedicated to showcasing the best young, underexposed and emerging comic book artists. Alec Longstreth (Phase 7) steps in as guest editor and tells the featured story about an intense summer spent working in Vermont for an upstart theater troupe. Ken Dahl (Monsters) presents a harrowing tale of a lonely man's quest for the legacy of modern America. And webcomic superstars Julia Wertz (The Fart Party) and Laura Park (Do Not Disturb My Waking Dream) team up for a lovely story about a group of kids who find a dirty magazine in the woods. Additional art by Nate Beaty."
Papercutter #8	Corinne Mucha, Elijah Brubaker, Jeremy Tinder	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$3.50 ($4.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue features a wide range of material. The cover and lead feature are by Corinne Mucha (My Alaskan Summer) who tells the story about a time in her life when she was haunted by a coven of traveling witches. Jeremy Tinder (Black Apple Ghost Factory) cuts loose with a story about a man embarking on the craziest night of his life. Elijah Brubaker (Reich) returns to Papercutter to share a glimpse at the coolest kids in high school. Additional art by Nate Beaty.
I Saw You	Austin English, Keith Knight, Kazimir Strzepek, Joey Sayers and more ...	Three Rivers Press		$11.75 ($12.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Yes, it's a comics anthology entirely consisting of comics inspired by "real-life" missed connection ads posted on Craigslist. These short tales range from sad to pathetic to depressing to funny to deranged to impossible-to-describe. An astonishing 98 artists contributed to this anthology, including – but not limited to – Sarah Oleksyk, Jesse Reklaw, Sam Henderson, Peter Bagge, Liz Prince, Shannon Wheeler, Laura Park, Jeffrey Brown, Keith Knight, Elijah Brubaker, Greg Means, Gabrielle Bell, Alec Longstreth and Aaron Renier. If nothing else, this massive array of talent testifies to the universality of Craigslist. This book probably has something important to say about interpersonal relationships in the internet era, if we can only figure out what it is...
Papercutter #1	Sean Aaberg, Nate Beaty, JP Coovert, Aaron Renier and more ...	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$2.75 ($3.00 list)
Read more and comment...	The first issue of our favorite ongoing, regularly published, standard comic book format comics anthology features a compelling love story from Aaron Renier (Spiral Bound) set in the streets of Brooklyn and the halls of New York's famed Natural History Museum. Also Sean Aaberg (The Adventures of Pipu) introduces us to SALT, a punk kid with a nose for adventure, and JP Coovert (Driving South) runs his car into a tree. With additional art by Nate Beaty. Cover art by Aaron Renier.
Papercutter #2	Colleen Coover, Paul Tobin, Liz Prince, Becca Taylor and more ...	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$2.75 ($3.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Tugboat Press has this to say about the second issue of their flagship anthology title: "The second issue of the exciting new anthology series dedicated to showcasing the best young, underexposed and emerging comic book artist working today. This issue features a powerhouse story from Becca Taylor (The Wonderful Year) about an ambitious actress who stars in a controversial movie and the real life woman she portrays. Also Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover (Banana Sunday) present the tale of a mysterious cat burglar who steals more than just money and jewels. And Liz Prince (Will You Still Love Me if I Wet the Bed?) goes undercover into the secret world of indie rock ghosts. With additional art by Nate Beaty. Cover by Becca Taylor." We here at Copacetic especially dug Colleen Coover's art this time around, which manages to be both cute and sexy.
Rosetta 2: A Comics Anthology	Paul Pope, Craig Thompson, Jason Lutes, R. Sikoryak and more ...			$14.95 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	For readers of McSweeney's 13 looking to cast a wider net, this great 264-page anthology (with 48 pages in full color) might be the ticket. There are some exceptional new works premiering here, including a beautifully rendered mythological fable by Craig Thompson; a very interesting (think early Spiegelman) Matt Madden that is quite probably his most challenging work to date; a Jason Lutes piece that is his first non-Berlin work in quite awhile (and it's quite good); R. Sikoryak's take on the funny pages (which is very, very funny); two short pieces by Paul Pope; a nifty Jason; and a truly amazing breakthrough piece from Michael Kupperman. In addition to this, there's a great deal of work from Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. All between covers by Peter Kuper and Megan Kelso. Check it out!
Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology	Jeff Yang, Jef Castro, Hellen Jo, Gene Yang and more ...	The New Press		$19.75 ($21.95 list)
Read more and comment...	• edited by Jeff Yang, Parry Shen, Keith Chow and Jerry Ma • 200 pages of original superhero comics by and about Asian-American characters. Published by The New Press, SI was years in the making and presents an amazing array of talent displaying an impressive diversity of artistic approaches and techniques. Here's a review worth reading, from Reappropriate, "a personal & political blog by an angry Asian American woman."
Glömp X	Tommi Musteri, Amanda Vähämäki, Jelle Hugaerts	Huuda Huuda	Glömp	$39.95 OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Straight outta Finland, and now in stock and available for shipping here in the USA. This is a full color 200+ page hardcover collection of comics that were on display in an accompanying exhibition and that were originally produced, to varying degrees, in three dimensions. It comes complete with an audio CD that includes an "exclusive soundtrack" composed by Fricara Pacchu, Amon Düde & The Hoop, Kiiskinen and Nuslux. It's definitely a bit of a cop out to describe Glomp is as "the Finnish Kramers Ergot," but we're going to throw that out there just to help give those who have never heard of it some sort of idea of where to place it in the comics continuum. The best way to get a better idea is to check out this preview page. This is the tenth volume of Glömp, and the last to be edited by Tommi Masturi. The anthology has been presenting adventurous comics for 12 years now, publishing over 1500 pages of work in the process. This time around their goal seems to have been to push comics off the page and into the world of three-dimensions and this book is the 2-D record of that attempt. This volume starts off with a helpful and well thought out introduction by Jelle Hugaerts that traces the history of comics anthologies, situates anthologies within the history of comics, and analyzes what works and what doesn't in making a successful anthology. Here's the contributor list: the amazing Amanda Vähämäki, Anna Sailamaa, Hanneriina Moisseinen, Jan Anderzén, Jarno Ltva-Nikkola, Pauliina Mäkelä, Roope Eronen, Jyrki Heikkinen, Aapo Rapi & Songa Salomäki, Ami Aho, Kaaatri Sipiläinen, Tommi Musturi, Janne Tervamäki, Reijo Kärkkäinen, and Anna Sailamaa.
Kramers Ergot #5	Chris Ware, Kevin Huizenga, Gabrielle Bell	Buenaventura Press	Kramers Ergot	$29.75 ($34.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Well, it's here. And what is the verdict? Success! KE5 is, in every way, a suitable successor to KE4. We feel quite confident in stating that everyone who enjoyed and/or appreciated KE4 will get at least as much out of KE5. Not only that, we'll go a step further and proclaim that many of those readers who were intrigued by KE4, but found it a bit "too out there" for their tastes, have an excellent chance of finding that KE5 -- with its addition of stand-out work by Gabrielle Bell, Kevin Huizenga, Chris Ware, and Dan Zettwoch -- has much to offer them, and represents a broader spectrum of comics than its predecessor. In addition, any fans of autobiographical comics may find that they have finally met their match in David Heatley's massive/micro magnum opus.
Papercutter #9	Hellen Jo, Aron Nels Steinke, Elijah Brubaker	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$3.50 ($4.00 list)
Read more and comment...	TUGBOAT SEZ: "The hauntingly beautiful ninth issue of the acclaimed anthology series dedicated to showcasing the best young, underexposed and emerging comic book artists is here. Aron Nels Steinke (Big Plans) presents the featured story about a young couple living in a haunted house and the strange dreams that plague the owners. Elijah Brubaker (Reich) tries to find hope while in line for the ATM. And Hellen Jo (Jin and Jam) tells the tale of the spookiest back street in San Francisco." Inside front and back covers by stalwart Tugboater, Nate Beaty.
Papercutter #10	Dominic Jay, Jesse Reklaw, Minty Lewis	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$3.50 ($4.00 list)
Read more and comment...	While perhaps not in quite the rarefied Olympian strata as Uptight, Papercutter nonetheless continues to get our vote as the best ongoing, regularly published (here is where it trounces Uptight - five issues of Papercutter have been published in the interregnum between the last two issues of Uptight), anthology comic book title currently on the market. High quality production and simple, spot-on design showcase uniformly excellent work by many of today's top independent comics creators (with a special focus on those in and around Papercutter-publisher, Tugboat Press's stomping grounds, Portland, OR). All for a quite reasonable price. And it's regular publication schedule (Well, they may miss a deadline once in a while, but the key fact is that they have a deadline in the first place, and that they actually care if they miss it; this sets them apart in the relatively lackadaisical world of indy comics publishing. #10 is a family affair of sorts in that it is primarily composed of two stories by the comics couple of Jay and Lewis, who are kept at arms length from one another by the centerfold executed by the one and only Jesse Reklaw.
The Comics Journal Special Edition: Volume Two - Summer 2002	Bill Griffith, R. Crumb, Jaime Hernandez, Chris Ware and more ...	Fantagraphics		$7.47 ($22.95 list)
Read more and comment...	What's so great about this book? Well, just for starters, it was the 2003 Harvey Award Winner for the Best Anthology. It's 180 pages in all. The cover feature spotlight shines on master cartoonist Jim Woodring who turns in the fab cover painting you see here and who is the subject of two essays by Donald Phelps and Kenneth Smith respectively, as well as a new interview. Text-and-art features include an appreciation of the cartoonist W.E. Hill by Zippy creator Bill Griffith (with many examples of Hill's unique tabloid-sized Sunday pages in full color); "All Hail Jack Kent," an appreciation of King Aroo's creator written by indy comincs maven, Tom Devlin, that includes a rare look at the strip itself, in the form of a dozen full page, full color, high resolution scans of Sunday comics full-pagers; Timothy Kreider probes deeper into the cat cartoons of B. Kliban; an essay on French comics artist, Louis Trondheim by British comics critic, Paul Gravett; a bit of comics history by Robert Fiore wherein he explores "how Harvey Kurtzman and Al Capp succumbed to the 1960s;" and "Between Borders," a who's who in Mexican alternative graphic narrative, by Ernesto Priego. And then there's the comics. Hold onto your hats and check out the contributor list: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Chris Ware, Michael Kupperman, James Sturm, Mary Fleener, P. Craig Russell (w/ Lovern Kindzierski), Penny Van Horn, Spain Rodriguez, Ron Regé, Jr., John Porcellino, Jordan Crane, David Collier, Peter Blegvad, Rick Geary, Rick Altergott, Johnny Ryan, Steven Weissman, Megan Kelso, Gerald Jablonski, Ted Jouflas, Roger Langridge, Tim Hensley, Justin Green, Mark Kalesniko, Carol Lay, Sam Henderson, Ho Che Anderson, Phoebe Gloeckner, Tony Millionaire, Frank Stack, Bill Griffith, Arnold Roth, Mark Martin, Ivan Brunetti, John Kerschbaum, Wilfred Santiago, Sherri Flenniken, Mack White, Carol Tyler, Victor Moscoso, and, yes, even R. Crumb, whose submission is an instant classic! But, most amazing of all is the price, of this, our first Depression Buster Bargain™!
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.
Flight #6	Kazu Kibuishi, JP Ahonen, Graham Annable, Bannister and more ...	Villard		$22.22 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	<•> edited by Kazu Kibuishi <•> The latest in this successful series of full color fantasy comics. Contributors this time around include: JP Ahonen, Graham Annable, Bannister, Phil Craven, Mike Dutton, Michael Gagne, Cory Godbey, Rodolphe Guenoden, Steve Hamaker, Kazu Kibuishi, Andrea Offermann, Dik Pose, Justin Ridge, Rad Sechrist and Kean Soo.
MOME: Fall 2006 #5	Jeffrey Brown, Andrice Arp, Anders Nilsen, Zak Sally and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue welcomes new talents Tim Hensley -- whose ongoing character, Wally Gropius, Teen Millionaire graces the front cover -- Robert Goodin, whose amazing ink brush technique powers a quirky, kinky vision that pops up when you least expect, and artist/publisher, Zak Sally (The Recidivist). Also beginning this issue is "Lucid Night-mare, part 1," an ongoing saga by Sophie Crumb. THey are joined by MOME regulars, Martin Cendreda, Anders Nilsen, Jeffrey Brown (who turns in a intriguing and atypical work this time around), Paul Hornschemeier, Andrice Arp -- who is also this issue's interviewee -- Kurt Wolfgang and Gabrielle Bell.
MOME #1	Gary Groth, Eric Reynolds	Fantagraphics	MOME	$14.95 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	It's here, the leading contender for best new comics anthology of 2005. Filled with swell new comics by the likes of Andrice Arp, Gabrielle Bell, Jeffrey Brown, Sophie Crumb, David Heatly, Paul Hornschemeier, John Pham, Kurt Wolfgang and more. Solid, engaging work by many of the best of the latest generation of comics creators, nicely packaged in a well printed edition that is currently scheduled to continue on a semi-annual basis. Looks like it's off to an excellent start! To learn more, read our detailed review.
MOME #2	John Pham, Paul Hornschemeier, Jeffrey Brown, David Heatley and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$13.50 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	It's finally here, after a regrettable delay: the second issue of the most engaging regularly published comics anthology currently on the market. This issue continues to meet the high standards set by the first issue and includes the entire roster of contributors. Highlight: Jeffrey Brown redeems his shallow submission to the first issue by turning in one of his best pieces to date. Recommended! To learn more about MOME, please visit our MOME 1 page.
MOME: Summer 2009 #15	Nathan Neal, Robert Goodin, Conor O'Keefe, Sara Edward-Corbett and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.99 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue is a mix of oldtimers and newcomers: rugged MOME veterans, Andrice Arp, Paul Hornschemeier, Ray Fenwick, and Tim Hensley deliver a basket full of tales, each in their own inimitable manner, and, in Hensley's case, his last (at least for the time being) as his triptych concludes the long running (since MOME #5) saga of Wally Gropius; medium-term MOMErs, Dash Shaw, Sara Edward-Corbett, Conor O'Keefe, Robert Goodin and Nathan Neal each provide readers with memorable reads, with Neal turning in his strongest narrative yet; and Gilbert Shelton and Pic conclude their tale of rock 'n' roll at the world's edge. And then we have the newcomers: T. Edward Bak debuts here with the first chapter of his work in progress, Steller, as do Noah Van Scriver and noted Spanish cartoonist, Max, whose contribution is a nice, neat 16-page mini-comic that is precisely positioned (and presumably removable – although it's readable while in place) after the last page. All in all, another fine issue.
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.
Papercutter #3	Graham Annable, Lilli Carre, Elijah Brubaker	Tugboat	Papercutter	$2.75 ($3.00 list)
Read more and comment...	The highlight of this issue has to be the cover feature, Graham Annable's twisted tale. It is the only work we can think of that comes close to clothing the corpus of the classic EC tradition in the garb of contemporary comics sensibilities. It delivers a compelling theme with an extreme economy that is simply only possible in comics. It's pretty much an instant classic (apparently, Lynda Barry agrees, as she selected this tale for inclusion the 2008 America's Best Comics Anthology). And that's just the highlight! We also have on hand Elijah J. Brubaker (Reich), whose contribution tells the story of a pair of artists who wander a rainy city looking for beauty, inspiration... and doughnuts. And then there's the one and only Lilli Carré (Tales of Woodsman Pete), who presents a short piece about a man born with a mandolin for a head.
From Wonderland With Love: Danish Comics in the Third Millenium	Steffen Maarup	Fantagraphics		$25.00 ($29.95 list)
Read more and comment...	This is a flexi-bound collection of 178 pages of comics from Denmark: black and white, duotone and full color. There's an amazing variety of work on display here, from three-panel pen and ink dailies to full color graphic novellas. Satire, sarcasm, cuddly cuteness, potentially discomfiting explorations of the unconscious, and much more are packed in side-by-side and executed in a dazzling variety of styles. Take a look at this 14-page PDF preview and see what you think.
The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics	Art Siegelman, Francoise Mouly, Carl Barks, Basil Wolverton and more ...	Abrams ComicArts		$35.00 ($40.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Art Spiegelman and Francois Mouly If the amazing kids' comics from the halycon days of yore are your thing, then you've hit the jackopot with this one! Well over 300 pages of classics, all scanned from the original comics themselves, and printed at approximately 120% of the originals. These scans have been digitally cleaned up a bit, so there's no newsprint background tones, just the flat white paper that they're printed on. While this might upset some purists, it was probably a good call as this book is clearly going to be marketed as a gift for children as well as for older fans, and lay people will have difficulty appreciating the nuances of newsprint; and they did a more than decent job of balancing the tones. The book is, somewhat arbitrarily, divided into five sections: Hey, Kids; Funny Animals; Fantasyland; Storytime; and Weird and Wacky. The book successfully draws across the spectrum of children's comics from the twenty years following the close of the second world war – the golden age of kids' comics that fed the baby boomers' imaginations before television took over. While certainly no one is going to agree with every choice, the editors – along with the board of advisors – picked a good crop of comics that is certain to contain favorites of every fan as well as win the hearts of every reader and, more importantly, is sure to capture the imagination of the next generation. Includes work by all-time greats Carl Barks, Basil Wolverton, Harvey Kurtzman, John Stanley, Bob Bolling, Walt Kelly, and many, many more (even Dr. Seuss, who started out in comics). Get a sneak peek, here (just click on the image of the open book at the top right, under "Sample Toon Treasury").
Kramers Ergot #6	Sammy Harkham, C.F., Paper Rad, Marc Bell and more ...	Buenaventura Press	Kramers Ergot	$34.95 ($34.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Edited, as always, by Sammy Harkham -- this time around with an assist by co-publisher Alvin Buenaventura -- this now seemingly biennial publication continues to live up to the promise made with the fourth and fifth volumes. The format follows that of the last volume: a flat matte finish (this time sans texture) flexi cover fixed to a sturdy Smythe sewn binding that holds the contents firmly in place. And what contents! Many of those talents that readers have come to associate with Kramers Ergot are here again, and have submitted work that is as engaging as ever. Sammy Harkham, C.F., Paper Rad, Marc Bell, Souther Salazar, Ron Regé, Jr., Matthew Thurber, Dan Zettwoch and Elvis Studio are joined by Vanessa Davis, Tom Gaud, Martin Cendreda, Bald Eagles and a handful of others. Also, KE Alum Gary Panter finds himself under the same covers as former fellow Raw artist, Jerry Moriarty, who is given plenty of space to present his idiosyncratic Hopperesque visions for the first time (we've seen) in many years. In addition, with this issue Kramers Ergot adds a curatorial component to its offerings for the first time, as readers are given a rare look at two great historical figures of the comics world: we get a healthy sampling of a late sketchbook by the Dutch comics artist, Marc Smeets, which is preceded by "an incomplete appreciation" by Chris Ware; and an amazing reproduction of the early and highly influential manga, Norakuro by Suiho Tagawa. All in all, it seems once again to be an essential read for anyone involved in the contemporary comics scene. Here is a preview of the front cover along with 10 sample pages.
The Best American Comics 2009	Doug Allen, Peter Bagge, Gabrielle Bell, Matt Broersma 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.
Papercutter #4	Sarah Oleksyk, Vanessa Davis, John Porcellino	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$3.50 ($3.00 list)
Read more and comment...	#4 is probably our favorite issue here at Copacetic. The lead story by Sarah Oleksyk ("Roadside," "Ivy"), of a pair of lovestruck misfits who meet at an all-night copy shop is a small, quiet classic that is also the subject of the wraparound cover (and it was selected by Lynda Barry for inclusion in the 2008 America's Best Comics anthology, so there). Vanessa Davis ("Spaniel Rage") and John Porcellino ("King-Cat") complete the issue with tales of friendship, club-hopping, and snowstorms. If you want to give Papercutter a try and aren't sure which issue to choose, we say start with this one. THIS ONE IS NOW OUT OF PRINT, BUT WE STILL HAVE A FEW LEFT.
Funny Aminals	Joe Lambert, Bryan Stone, Colleen Frakes, Penina and more ...	Self-published		$6.75 ($8.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Long suffering fans of the funny animal genre of comic books, one of the classic standard bearers of the comics tradition that has fallen by the wayside as of late, have much to rejoice with the release of this magical magazine size comic book that is clearly a labor of love. Full color front and back covers, printed on heavy stock, contain 68 pages of comics and stories by the likes of Joe Lambert, Bryan Stone, Colleen Frakes, Penina and more, all entirely devoted to animal fun, and includes a lengthy essay on the history of the genre by none other than Mr. Steve "Swamp Thing" Bissette! Learn more about the Funny Aminal gang, here. Recommended (and, on special)!
Abstract Comics	Andrei Molotiu	Fantagraphics		$29.99 ($39.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Andrei Molotiu, college professor, art historian, and all-star poster to the TCJ message board, has pulled together a wide ranging assortment of works under the banner of "abstract comics." Molotiu well understands the vagaries that will attach themselves to an overly broad designation such as this and has penned a cogent introduction to give readers as idea of his thoughts about what areas this label could assist in classifying. Importantly, he is well aware that this primary purpose of this collection is to get the conversation started. And this it has already accomplished, as the numerous posts to the Abstract Comics Blog firmly attest. Artists represented in this volume range from celebrated masters such as R. Crumb, Gary Panter and Patrick McDonnell, to accomplished practitioners of the comics arts such as James Kochalka, Lewis Trondheim, J.R. Williams and John Hankiewicz, to marginally known art comics figures like Richard Hahn, Jason T. Miles, Blaise Larmee and Warren Craghead III, but the majority of contributors are obscure figures working on the margins that few readers of these pages will be familiar with – at least in the context of producing comics – such as editor Molotiu himself, who turned in eight pages of free floating abstractions, and Copacetic's own Bill Boichel whose entry is a 24-page mini-comic that has been reformatted as a two-page spread. Yet lack of renown should not be conflated with lack of artistic vision as some of the most engaging works on display here are by the least recognized artists. In recognition of the fact that the purchase of this volume represents a bit of a risk for most comics readers due to the largely unfamiliar terrain, we have decided to shoulder some of that risk by offering an introductory special price of 25% below retail, which works out to a savings of $10.00 that you can either pocket... or spend on more comics!
Papercutter #11	Nate Beaty, Rosalie Eisenberg, Dustin Harbin, Jon Sukarangsan and more ...	Tugboat Press	Papercutter	$3.50 ($4.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Papercutter #11 The latest issue of our favorite regularly published comics anthology debuted at SPX, and it's another issue that no indy comics fan will want to miss. The bulk of the issue – 26 pages and one front cover worth, to be exact – are devoted to "Lululand," a slice of life vignette of the life of Lulu a wondering and wandering washer of dishes and dreamer of dreams trying to figure it out that is imagined by writer Amy Adoyzie and diligently delineated by Jon Sukarangsan. Backing this up is "Duperman," a snappy one-pager by your friend and mine, Dustin Harbin, and "Letter Home," a story of schoolwork vs. artwork by someone who should know, the Portland, OR artist and educator, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg, who takes us through to the back cover. Inside covers by Nate Beaty. Edited by Greg Means
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.
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.)
Supermen	Greg Sandowski, Jonathan Lethem, Jack Kirby, Will Eisner and more ...	Fantagraphics		$22.22 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	>> edited and designed by Greg Sadowski >> introduction by Jonathan Lethem >> Ladies and gentlemen! Step right up and see the wonders of the ages! This is where it all began: the protoplasmic early days of the superhero comic book -- wild & heady, zany & crazy, fantastic & non-sensical, rough around the edges; all this and more. Reading these stories is like witnessing history in the making, it is being present at the birth. Sure, we've all read those original Superman and Batman stories along with other DC classics, as well as a those old Captain America, Submariner, Human Torch tales, and maybe a few other Golden Age Marvels (well, Timelys, actually), but these are usually presented in a self-promoting fashion by their corporate owners which mitigates and obscures the historical context in which these works need to be read to fully appreciate their novelty. The work here spans the years 1936 to 1941, with the bulk of it originating in 1939 and 1940. It is divided by publisher and includes the Comics Magazine Company, Chesler, Centaur, Fox, MLJ, Fiction House, Columbia, Your Guide/Rhoda and Novelty Press, Some of the earliest work by the brightest stars of the Golden Age are collected here: Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Lou Fine, Jack Cole, Basil Wolverton, Bill Everett, Ogden Whitney, Dick Briefer, Fred Guardineer, and, yes, Fletcher Hanks. It appears that this volume has been put together employing high quality scans of the original comic books which were then digitally restored and and enhanced and then crisply printed on flat (non-glossy) bright paper stock, and the results are excellent, A minor quibble is that, for our money, we would have preferred an off-white paper that more closely matches the newsprint upon which these comics were originally printed, but this is negligible when stacked next to all that is right with the production. While it should go without saying that no self-respecting comics scholar can pass this up, we hasten to add that anyone who misses the plain old fun that we associate with the term comic book, who wants a jolt of that good ol' four-color energy from back in the day, need look no further than this fine volume.
Closed Caption Comics #8	Lane Milburn, Mollie O'Connell, Ryan Cecil Smith, Conor Stechschulte and more ...	Closed Caption Comics	Closed Caption Comics	$6.00 ($8.00 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	by the Closed Caption Posse We usually pick this up every year in the fall, at SPX, but CCC is way ahead of schedule this year and the Copacetic shelves have already been graced with this hand-embossed-cover-sporting 80-Page Giant packed with brand new comics the likes of which you won't be finding anywhere else. The gang's all here, including – among others – Lane Milburn, Mollie O'Connell, Ryan Cecil Smith, Conor Stechschulte, Molly Goldstrom, and cover artist Erin Womak. The comics from Closed Caption Comics that we pick up every year at SPX have pretty much all been hits here at Copacetic, most of all this, the flagship title. While we believe that it's fair to say that CCC is working with some of the tropes established by Fort Thunder, there is quite a bit of original work here, and anyone interested in deeply personal, artistically informed comics work should be checking this out.
The Drama #7				$5.35 ($5.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	First introduced to Copacetic Customers as part of our 2005 SPX haul, The Drama is a quarterly arts magazine with a major focus on comics, that is one of the best values out there. The artists featured will be familiar to readers of Kramers Ergot, The Ganzfeld and MOME, who will be on largely familiar territory here -- but not completely: The Drama has its own vision and it is decidedly informed by the independent gallery milieu, and as it is based in Richmond, Virginia, it offers a unique regional perspective as well. This 104 page issue -- the biggest yet -- offers a 72 page full color magazine section followed by "This It," a 32-page duo-tone comics (mostly) & columns section. The cover feature is a heavily illustrated interview with the Swiss artists known as Elvis Studio, conducted by Alvin Buenaventura. In addition, Julie Doucet is featured in her own profusely illustrated interview with Dan "Ganzfeld" Nadel. The comics section features the work of Mark Bell, Mark Burrier,Tom Gauld, Brian Ralph, and many others; plus, David Heatly illustrates the dreams of Erika Clowes!
The Drama #8				$5.35 ($5.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Another swell issue of the art and comics magazine that leaves the competition in the dust when it comes to the combination of contents, production and price. To learn more visit their online preview of this issue.
MOME #17	Paul Hornschemeier, Dash Shaw, Tom Kaczynski, T. Edward Bak and more ...	Fantagraphics	MOME	$12.75 ($14.95 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Gary Groth and Eric Reynolds There's no question that the highlight of this issue is the thirty page conclusion to Paul Hornschemeier's Life with Mr. Dangerous, which began its serialization in MOME all the way back in the first issue! Next up in the list is the first ever (to our knowledge, anyway) collaboration between the mighty Dash Shaw and Tom Kaczynski, the aptly titled, "Resolution." Also on hand are the second parts of both T. Edward Bak's "Wild Man" and Ted Stearn's new Fuzz and Pluck adventure, "The Moolah Tree," as well as the first two parts of Oliver Schrauwen's latest, "Congo Chromo." Laura Park, Sara Edward-Corbet, Rick Froberg, Kurt Wolfgang, Derek Van Gieson, Renée French, Josh Simmons and Michael Jada round out the issue. MOME continues to deliver on its promise.
The Act-I-Vate Primer	Nick Bertozzi, Michael Fife, Roger Langridge			$22.22 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Scott Dunbier and Dean Haspiel <<•>> forward by Warren Ellis <<•>> This horizontally formatted (think laptop screen) hardcover volume sporting a nifty Nick Bertozzi cover illo contains sixteen original stories produced under the aegis of the popular eponymous comix website. Stand-outs for us were the leadoff tale by Michael Fiffe, "Cactus," "Persimmon Cup" by Nick Bertozzi, and "The Boy Who Came to Stay" by the one and only Roger Langridge. There's a nice variety of styles on display here and you can check many of them out at the aforementioned website, so go ahead and take a look.... So, what'd you think?
Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s	Mary Fleener, Wayno	Fantagraphics		$22.22 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	<<•>> by everyone and your uncle <<•>> 888 pages!!! No holds are barred here in this anything goes blast of the first wave of self-published mini-comics. Scatology and sexuality, perversion and punk rock, fantasy and fabulation, and general kicking out the jams were the order of the day back when the cathartic capacities of small scale self publishing were first embraced by a generation of comics creators. While the majority of the work on display here is by artists and writers that are not widely known today, there are some gems scattered throughout the book, including the rookie outings of Mary Fleener and Pittsburgh's Wayno, to name but two.
Hotwire #3	Glenn Head, Tim Lane, R. Sikoryak, Daid Sandlin and more ...	Fantagraphics	Hotwire	$19.99 ($22.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Hotwire 3 edited by Glenn Head If ever the third time is the charm, this is it. Hotwire, the king-size comic book anthology of all new work marches forward in its unique, self-established tradition of wacky hi-jinx pieces designed to frazzle and freak. Highlights include a career high for Rick Altergott, an amazing new piece by Tim Lane, a rare full color Mack White work, a classic Mary Fleener tale, and the first new "masterpiece comic" by R. Sikoryak since his 2009 anthology of the same name – this one engaging Dennis the Menace to fill the shoes of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark – new pieces by Michael Kupperman, Max Andersson, Johnny Ryan, and editor Glenn Head, as well as a brand spankin' new David Sandlin story, "Infernal Combustion," that continues in the vein of his fabulous Swamp Preacher one-shot comic book of a couple years back.
Project: Romantic	Ash Wood, Hope Larson, Jim Rugg, Nick Craine and more ...	AdHouse Books		$25.00 ($40.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This is the final installment of the "Project Trilogy" which provides the up-and-coming generation of cartoonists to work with traditional comics themes. Inititated by Project: Telstar, which dealt with science fiction themes with a focus on robots, and continued by Project: Superior, which had super heroics as its unifying theme, this time around, as the title suggests, the same generation of cartoonists is given a chance to tackle the romance comics genre. As with the first two anthologies, the works assembled here bear little semblance to their generic progentiors in the mainstream comics of yore, a guided tour of which we are given in the introductory essay by Bill Boichel (which is currently available online as a downloadable .pdf). "True" romance seems mostly a thing of the past in the stories that follow, which here primarily focus on -- at best -- snatching a moment of happiness with a fellow being. Many of the pieces center on unrequited love, heartbreak, romantic disaster, murder, mayhem and confusion. Sometimes it's played for laughs and sometimes for tears. Exceptions include Aaron Renier's "Reflectors and Rutabegas," which comes closest to being a traditional romance, and McGovern & Leandri's Dr. Id story, which employs a 1960s-Dr.-Strange-as-sex-therapist narrative that is certainly traditional in its form, if not in its content. As with all AdHouse Books, the production values are excellent and the quality of the artwork is uniformly high. Stand-outs for us include the contributions of Paul Rivoche, Hope Larson, Roger Petersen and Junko Mizuno, but doubtless every reader of this anthology will find their own favorites. And there's no way we can avoid singling out Robert Goodin's contribution: if there were an award for excellence in the service of perversion, this one would have the comics category all wrapped up. PLEASE NOTE: This is the limited edition hardcover edition that we are offering here. Limited to 500 individually numbered copies, it features front and back covers, as well as endpapers that consist of four apocryphal romance comic book covers featuring Afrodisiac, all by Pittsburgh's own megatalent, Jim Rugg! We are offering this at half off it's original price – need we say it? – while supplies last! (LIMIT: ONE PER CUSTOMER)

books

Title	Author	Publisher	Price
Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006	David Eggers	Houghton Mifflin	$11.90 ($14.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by David Eggers While we're on the topic of best-of anthologies, we might as well hep you to this year's installment of McSweeney's editor, David Eggars ongoing anthology selecting work from his corner of the world. This year's edition is more comics laden than is typical, from the cover by Art Spiegelman and introdcution by Matt Groening, to an excerpt from Pyongyang by Guy Delisle, a short piece of political reporting by comics journalist Joe Sacco, that is, we believe, receciving its first US appearence here, to a full-length graphic novella by Italian cartoonist, Gipi that first apeared as part of the Coconino-Fantagraphics Ignatz line of comics. In addition to all this comics work there is, of course, plenty of what readers have come to expect from this series, including contributions by Kurt Vonnegut, Haruki Murakami, Rick Moody, Judy Bunitz, Sam Shaw, Julia Sweeney, George Saunders, a discussion between Jon Stewert and Stephen Colbert, headlines from The Onion, and much, much more.
McSweeney's 15	Steven Millhauser, Roddy Doyle	McSweeney's	$20.00 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	official hype - "Issue 15 is also known as The "Icelandic Issue". Printed in Iceland, half of the stories are written by actual Icelandic writers. And the kicker? It also comes with a Icelandic tabloid mini-mag filled with words you won't understand and images that speak for themselves. Included in this issue are new stories from Roddy Doyle, Steven Millhauser and many exceptional newcomers. Hardcover, bound in fine cloth. This issue makes us want to sit by a fireplace on a snowy day."
McSweeney's 21	Roddy Doyle, Stephen Elliott, Peter Orner, Joyce Carol Oates and more ...	McSweeney's	$14.40 ($16.00 list)
Read more and comment...	McSweeney's sez: "With work by Roddy Doyle, Stephen Elliott, Peter Orner, Joyce Carol Oates, Yannick Murphy, and Miranda July, as well as the triumphant return of Arthur Bradford and stories concerning fistfighting Mormons, New Zealand police malfeasance, and a man named Trang, and with all of those works interspersed with heartfelt letters to Ray Charles and storyboards by some of the finest pen-and-ink artists of our day, our twenty-first issue is sure to be one of our best assemblages yet."
McSweeney's 24	Christopher Howard, Justin Taylor, Donald Barthelme, Robert Coover and more ...	McSweeney's	$19.95 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue comes in the form of a "Siamese Twin" book jacket in which two separate books share the same back cover (can't visualize it? well then, you'll have to come in and see it for yourself). Stories in the first of the "twins" include: "How to Make Millions in the Oil Market," by Chritopher Howard, "Bored to Death," by Jonathan Ames, "The Death of Nick Carter," by Philippe Soupault -- which was originally written in French in 1926 and was only translated this year by Robin Walz -- and several others. The special highlight, and the entire contents of the second twin is a symposium entitled, "Come Home, Donald Barthelme," which is edited and curated by Justin Taylor, starts off with his introduction "for the belated and immediate beatification of Donald Barthelme," includes a host of participants among whom are Ann Beattie, Robert Coover, and includes two uncollected and long out of print Barthelme stories.
McSweeney's 23	Chris Bachelder, Ann Beattie, Roddy Doyle, Clancy Martin and more ...	McSweeney's	$17.77 ($20.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Well, what do you know? This time around, McSweeney's is a plain old book, containing a nice and neat ten tales by writers known -- such as Chris Bachelder, Ann Beattie and Roddy Doyle -- and, at least to us, unknown -- such as Clancy Martin, Christopher Stokes and Wells Tower. Well, upon closer inspection, we notice that the cover folds out into a gigantic poster on one side, while on the other is a brain scrambling piece that involves a complicated division of two-dimensional space that is too elaborate to elaborate on here. And, oh wait, what have we here attached to the inside back cover? It's a special "trial-size edition" of Comedy by Numbers, a "new manual (that) makes the secrets of comedy accessible..." It is to laugh.
McSweeney's No. 22	Michelle Orange	McSweeney's	$21.50 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This issue's design, with its slipcase containing three separate softcovers, harkens all the way back to issue No. 8; but there's a twist -- this time around the books are held together with magnets rather than the industrial strength rubber band of yore. And, you rightly ask, what is there about these books that they need magnets to keep them together? Well, our guess is that their contents are so disparate that this was the only way. The first book writes the unwritten stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. "Come again?" you say: Fitzgerald left notebooks at the time of his death and in these notebooks were 32 story ideas that he never realized. Michelle Orange has assembled 17 writers -- including herself -- to take upon themselves the task of writing 16 of these stories (one twice); this book bears the fruit of this undertaking. The second book is titled, The State of Constraint, and presents 17 new works from the Oulipo group. The third and fattest of the books is The Poetry Chains of Dominic Luxford, which assembles, "one hundred favorite works of some of the best poets writing today" selected by a novel and ingenious method too involved to relate here but which is succinctly explained in Mr. Luxford's introduction. All in all, this issue of McSweeney's looks very much like a winner.
McSweeney's 16	Roddy Doyle, Dave Eggers, Denis Johnson, Robert Coover and more ...	McSweeney's	$21.60 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This is one of the craziest designs yet -- a sort of cloth covered fold-out folio in which the contents are then inserted. You'll have to see it for yourself to understand. Here's what McSweeney's has to say: "Issue 16 presents new stories from McSweeney's regulars like Roddy Doyle and Denis Johnson, and exploits a never-before-seen tripartite format to bring you a hilarious Ann Beattie novella and a special deck-of-cards story from Robert Coover, one of the great masters of American experimental fiction. This issue uses more cloth than any issue to date. Also, it comes with a comb."
McSweeney's 18	Roddy Doyle, Dave Eggers, Joyce Carol Oates, Edmund White and more ...	McSweeney's	$19.80 ($22.00 list)
Read more and comment...	It's here. Here's what they have to say about it: "Even beyond Edmund White's youthful hustler, Joyce Carol Oates's fatherly killer, and Roddy Doyle's Rwandan refugee, Issue 18 will not stay at home. Bears, clouds, assassinations, and demons lurk in a high-concept labyrinth of stories." In addition, this issue comes complete with a deluxe slip-cased edition of the first issue of Wholphin, the new DVD quarterly, about which you can learn more at http://www.wholphindvd.com/. (Please note that this is the same issue of Wholphin -- albeit with deluxe packaging -- that comes with Believer #30 -- see below.)
Encyclopedia Destructica, Volume Two (aka Volume Bumba) #1			$7.00 ($8.00 list)
Read more and comment...	If you're looking for unique, hand-made, one-of-a-kind artistic, literary magazines that defy definition, AND are made right here in Pittsburgh, PA, well then, there's only one place to look and that's right here. Recently funded by the ever active Sprout Fund, three new editions are currently on display.
Encyclopedia Destructica, Volume Two (aka Volume Bumba) # 2			$5.00 ($5.00 list)
Read more and comment...	If you're looking for unique, hand-made, one-of-a-kind artistic, literary magazines that defy definition, AND are made right here in Pittsburgh, PA, well then, there's only one place to look and that's right here. Recently funded by the ever active Sprout Fund, three new editions are currently on display.
Encyclopedia Destructica, Volume Two (aka Volume Bumba) # 3			$8.00 ($10.00 list)
Read more and comment...	If you're looking for unique, hand-made, one-of-a-kind artistic, literary magazines that defy definition, AND are made right here in Pittsburgh, PA, well then, there's only one place to look and that's right here. Recently funded by the ever active Sprout Fund, three new editions are currently on display.
Encyclopedia Destructica: Volume Coatlicue 2	Ed Steck, Karl Hendricks, Wayne Wise	Encyclopedia Destructica	$10.00 ($10.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Jerome Crooks Yes, believe it or not, it's yet another handmade-in-Pittsburgh comopendium of culture from the folks at E.D. This time around we have a fat post-bound volume with (approximately) 80 different covers -- collect them all! (or not) This book contains work by 29 (count 'em) writers and 18 artists. In our opinion, this is one of E.D.'s most solid outings. Editor Crooks has assembled some great local talent including Karl Hendricks, whose story, "Less Than Mick Jagger," has to be considered one of the collection stand-outs. Other contributors on board who should be familiar to many a Copacetic customer include writers Ed Steck and Wayne Wise, along with artists Tom Scioli and Nils Balls. This collection runs a whopping 241 pages, is chock-a-block with work by talented people some of whom many of you will doubtless know, is handmade here in Pittsburgh in a limited edition of between 200 and 300 copies (sorry, forgot the exact copy count...240?), and is bargain priced. How can you say no?
Dirt: More Stories from the New Yinzer	Michael Byers, Karl Elder, Sherrie Flick		$11.35 ($11.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Their latest softcover collection, this 188 page sophomore effort features Michael Byers, Karl Elder, Sherrie Flick and eleven other writers from Pittsburgh's past and present. The editors have this to say: "Dirt is a place to explore what's hiding under the couch, shut tight in the upstairs cupboard and locked away in the dark parts of a person, place, or thing, It's fourteen dirty little secrets straight from us to you."
McSweeney's 14	Joshuah Bearman, T.C. Boyle, Denis Johnson	McSweeney's	$12.75 ($15.00 list)
Read more and comment...	The usual susupects are back in this plain vanilla issue of McSweeney's. Joshuah Bearman, T.C. Boyle, Denis Johnson, Susan Straight, Lawrence Weschler and many others fill out 306 high quality pages.
Murdaland #1	Palo Leandri, Anthony Neil Smith, Daniel Woodrell, Paolo Madrigal and more ...	Mug Shot Press	$10.00 ($12.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Will wonders never cease? This new book format, semi-annually published periodical that aims to revive the values of classic pulp fiction -- think Jim Thompson and David Goodis (whose long lost novella, "Professional Man," graces these pages) -- is edited right here in Pittsburgh, PA, practically in our own back yard! Here's what they have to say for themselves: "Included are fifteen original stories from such masters of the form as Daniel Woodrell, Ireland's Ken Bruen and Latin America's new prince of noir, Rolo Diez. Adding an air of utter veracity are an ex-con's autobiographical lament of botched stick-ups and lustful romance in the heartland and a former Sandinista rebel's tale of jealousy and fatal ambush. Topping the debut off are an excerpt from Tom Franklin's new novel, Smonk, the picaresque tale of a murderous riverboat whore in the early 1900s and an unnerving work-in progress by literary icon, Mary Gaitskill. Expect visceral scenes of violence, repercussion, mayhem and dread. Dark moments offering an array of ugly insights you never asked for."
Murdaland 1 & 2 - SPECIAL SALE		Mug Shot Press	$15.00 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Here's an official COPACETIC BARGAIN on the complete run of Murdaland! See the individual listings for contents.
Murdaland #2	Scott Phillips, Harry Hunsicker, Henry Chang, Vicki Hendricks and more ...	Mug Shot Press	$10.00 ($12.00 list)
Read more and comment...	It's here, the second issue of the magazine that peels back America's facade to reveal what's going on in the darkness within. Issue #2 Table of Contents STORIES \| Click for previews Notes on Contributors The Emerson, 1950 Scott Phillips Roachkiller R. Narvaez Vivian and Bobby Ray Harry Hunsicker Bo Sau (Vengeance) Henry Chang Sinny and the Prince: A Fairy Tale Vicki Hendricks Larry the Swollen and Manny the Art Gimp Rupert Wondolowski NOVEL EXCERPT Zebulon (from The Drop Edge of Yonder, Two Dollar Radio, 2008) Rudolph Wurlitzer Termite Makes the Shape (from Termite, Knopf Publishers, 2008) Jayne Anne Phillips CLASSIC REPRINT From Hard Rain Falling Don Carpenter NON FICTION Chuck and Bob: A Letter from Kuwait Anonymous
McSweeney's 32	Chris Adrian, Wells Tower, Heidi Julavits, Anthony Doerr and more ...	McSweeney's	$12.95 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	We're offering a special price on some McSweeney's publications this month, so if you've been thinking about checking in with them, sow's your chance. Here's the official word from Eggar's & Co.: "Because it seemed important to know in advance, we've dedicated Issue 32 to an investigation of the world to come—near-future stories written by the likes of Anthony Doerr, Heidi Julavits, Wells Tower, Chris Adrian, and Salvador Plascencia, each of 'em unearthing a different corner of life in the year 2024. This will be, we are sure, way more entertaining than waiting fifteen years for the real thing." SPECIAL WEB ONLY SALE PRICE!!!
Read Hard	Jonathan Lethem, William T. Vollmann, Ben Ehrenreich, Paul La Farge and more ...	McSweeney's	$9.95 ($18.00 list)
Read more and comment...	We're offering a special price on some McSweeney's publications this month, so if you've been thinking about checking in with them, sow's your chance. Here's the publisher's official word: "This volume collects the finest essays and articles from the four-time National Magazine Award–nominated Believer magazine. The book combines all the erudition and wit readers have come to expect from its pages: Jonathan Lethem on Nathanael West, William T. Vollmann on W. G. Sebald, Ben Ehrenreich on Brian Evenson, Paul La Farge on Dungeons & Dragons, and much, much more. It’s an essential anthology, collecting the best in creative nonfiction, the best in literary journalism, and the best writing in English from the beginning of the twenty-first century, from one of the smartest, weirdest, and funniest magazines in the country. SPECIAL WEB ONLY SALE!!!
The Believer Magazine 67	Peter Blegvad, Jerry Moriarty, Chris Ware, Aline Kominsky-Crumb and more ...	McSweeney's	$9.00 ($10.00 list)
Read more and comment...	We haven't written about The Believer in a while, but there was no way we could let this go without throwing it your way. This is by far the most comics-centric issue yet, and it's a must! First off, there is the amazing Charles Burns cover that celebrates Chris Ware's interview of Jerry Moriarty, the latter of whom, in turn, contributes a gigantic, removable, fold-out poster of a Jack Survives page. Then there are the additional interviews with Aline Kominsky-Crumb, and the one-and-only Peter Blegvad! On top of this add a historical overview of the life and career of Morrie Turner, the creator of Wee Pals, the first nationally syndicated "comic strip of color." And, if that weren't already enough, this issue features the debut of the all-new Comics page, edited by Alvin Buenaventura and featuring full color comics by the likes of Anders Nilsen, Ron Regé, Jr., Tom Gauld, Leif Goldberg, Lisa Hanawalt, Charles Burns, Lilli Carré and Al Columbia. A keeper, we'd say.
2008 Flying Destructicate: Jonathan Brodsky - Make Your Own Truth	Jonathan Brodsky	Encyclopedia Destructica	$25.00 ($25.00 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Limited to 200 handmade copies, this item pretty much has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Put together by Jonathan Brodsky and the folks at Encyclopedia Destructica, it's a hand assembled slipcase containing: a hand bound hardcover book containing work by Brodsky, Alberto Almarza, Josh Atlas, Juliacks, Rick Gribenas and Paus Akid; eight file-folder-art-zines (for lack of a better term) that are hard copy manifestations of power point presentations made by eight different Pittsburgh artists (among them Unicorn Mountain's Curt Gettman) on a wide variety of topics; and a DVD that contains several pieces by Brodsky along with pieces by Almarza and Gribenas. A limited edition, hand crafted work of multiple media art from Pittsburgh, PA. Need we say more?
McSweeney's 31	Douglas Coupland, Joy Williams, John Brandon, Shelley Jackson and more ...	McSweeney's	$12.95 ($24.00 list)
Read more and comment...	We're offering a special price on some McSweeney's publications this month, so if you've been thinking about checking in with them, sow's your chance. Here's the official word from Eggar's & Co.: "Barthelme said that "The Novel of the Soil is dead, as are Expressionism, Impressionism, Futurism, Imagism, Vorticism, Regionalism, Realism, the Kitchen Sink School of Drama, the Theatre of the Absurd, the Theatre of Cruelty, Black Humor, and Gongorism." But he left out, pointedly, the Biji, the Nivola, the Graustarkian Romance, the Consuetudinary, the Whore's Dialogue, the Fornaldarsaga, and the eighties, which are not dead; they are all in McSweeney's 31, as rendered by Douglas Coupland, Joy Williams, John Brandon, Shelley Jackson, Mary Miller, and Will Sheff, along with other fugitive genres recaptured by our finest writers, as part of a project to bring them back alive (except for the eighties, there is actually nothing about the eighties). In an oversized format, with annotations, illustrations, and pantoums, Issue 31 aims to introduce you to all the genres you never knew you loved."
McSweeney's 33: San Francisco Panorama	David Eggers, Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes, Junot Diaz and more ...	McSweeney's	$14.44 ($16.00 list)
Read more and comment...	I'm sure that we were not alone in thinking that the last few issues of McSweeney's had not been living up to the high design and content standards that they had set for themselves over the years. We were beginning to wonder if, perhaps, the enterprise had run out of gas, and that Eggers & Co. had set their priorities elsewhere. And while the latter may very well have been the case, we are happy to announce that, with, at least, it's thirty-third issue, all those concerned have put McSweeney's back front and center. This is a knock-your-socks-off issue that asks – and boldly answers – the question, "What's so good about a newspaper, anyway?" McSweeney's 33 is, more or less, a what-if? fantasy of what the San Francisco Sunday paper could be like in an alternative universe where profit-driven capitalism did not govern all enterprise-related decisions. Originally published and distributed in San Franciso on December 9, 2009, it is now available to the rest of us. More or less patterned after the Sunday New York Times (only bigger – a whoppin' 15" x 22"!), this hefty newspaper edition of McSweeney's is filled with engaging, well written articles on all sorts of topics and at all lengths from (rough guess, here) 100 to 10,000 words. The graphics department has taken full advantage of the oversize "canvas" offered by these large broadsheets, and the printing and paper are excellent for full visual impact. There is a 96-page book review insert printed on extra high quality paper stock that is not only filled with reviews but also: interviews with the likes of Junot Diaz, Miranda July and James Franco; new, original short works of fiction by George Saunders, Deb Olin Unferth, Roddy Doyle and others; a gigantic feature on the work of J.G. Ballard by Geoff Nicholson; pages of letters; and more! There is an oversize 112-page magazine insert that is printed on an even higher grade of paper stock that is overflowing with in-depth essays on all and sundry as well as columns by Michael Chabon, Chip Kidd and others. And, of course, we have saved the best for last: there is an honest-to-God, good-old-fashioned, 16-page, full color comics section, filled with all new work by Dan Clowes, Chris Ware, Alison Bechdel, Adrian Tomine, and plenty more. And, as if this weren't already enough, there's a bonus Acme Novelty Library, Rocket Sam cut-out by Chris Ware to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon. Don't miss this vibrant, full-blooded testimonial to the power and glory of newspapers.

dvds

Title	Director	Publisher	Price
Encyclopdedia Destructica: Volume Bumba, Issue the Fourth	Gordon Nelson	Encyclopedia Destructica	$15.00 ($15.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This, the final installment of "Volume Bumba," is the film and video issue. It comes with its own DVD containing a whopping 38 original film and video works running a mind-bending three and a half hours ensconced in a 118-page illustrated catalogue that is hand bound in a hand-silk-screened hardcover. Produced in a limited edition of only 500 copies, this is an excellent survey of the great variety of talent working in film and video in Pittsburgh, and an amazing value that you won't want to miss. While, yes, some of the works here are amateurish and some are obviously student films, others are totally amazing. We are still reeling from the experience of watching Gordon Nelson's 15-minute and 48-second "Sixties Teen Dance Party," which contains what is quite possibly The Greatest Found Footage of All Time, footage which has, in turn, been artfully optically printed by Mr. Nelson, who has also added an original soundtrack which itself was recorded live (although, you might find yourself unable to resist the temptation to turn down the volume on your TV and put some classic '60s dance music on the hi-fi and crank it up while you watch this amazing film). "Sixties Teen Dance Party" alone is, in our humble opinion, easily worth the price of the entire package. But there's so much more. Other highlights include Suzie Silver's "Peggy Love 101," in which the lyric "love" has been excised from the catalogue of Peggy Lee songs and rhythmically edited along with found footage (yes, we seem to have a predilection for this...) of her performances to create an abstraction of pop love. "Sports and Diversions" by Bum Lee, a series of black and white animations inspired by Eric Satie's Sports et Diveritissements, a series of short piano pieces that are performed (and quite well, too!) here by Pei Wei Lin, is quite a marvel and might very well be the single most original piece you'll see this year. Watching Jessica Fenlon's "Crossroads" provides a meditative three and a half minutes that will lower your blood pressure. And, we can't leave off without mentioning John Allen Gibel's "Pleromadromadhatu (trailer)" which is either a parody of or an homage to -- or both -- the films of Dusan Makavejev and Alejandro Jodorowsky. We could go on and on here as there are still over thirty pieces we haven't even mentioned yet, many of which we'd like to tell you about. Suffice it to say that this is something that you'll kick yourself (hard) if you miss out on it. So don't!
Wholphin #8		McSweeney's	$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Well, a new Wholphin already! Here's what the editors have to say about it: "Wholphin No 8 features Lauren Greenfield’s deeply disturbing, hilarious, and timely documentary, kids + money, the 2009 Sundance Short Award winner, Short Term 12, Carlos D from Interpol’s gorgeously-shot, surrealist dreamscape, My Friends Told Me About You, Sam Taylor-Woods’ film adaptation of a Patrick Marber short story produced by the late Anthony Minghella, a series of bedroom-trashing menu films starring James Franco, Creed Bratton and Maria Bamford, films from Sweden, England and North Korea, and much more." Liner Notes, Actor and director bios and clips for all the films on the disc are avaiable on line, here.
Wholphin No. 3 (DVD)		McSweeney's	$15.95 ($15.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Starting off 2007 with a bang, the much delayed (and much asked after) third issue of this great, theoretically quarterly, DVD "magazine" is the first new item to hit our shelves in the new year. The highlight of this disc for us was the revelation of Funky Forest First Contact, from which there is a 15 minute excerpt here which is one of the most seriously weird things we have EVER seen. Included are "The Russian Suicide Chair," a piece of explosive performance art by the one and only Dennis Hopper, an almost-feature-length film, The Passion of Martin, by Alexander Payne, director of Sideways, which reveals him to be stranger than you might have thought; a Yemeni documentary, A Stranger in Her Own City by Khadija Al-Salami, short films by Bob Odenkirk ( A Bee and a Cigarette - funny in a painful, awkward way), Alice Winocour, and more, including an original Wholphin Short, "Yeah Yeah, We Speak English, Just Serve." Also included is a bonus disc containing the the second part of Adam Curtis's powerful documentary, The Power of Nightmares. This installment, "The Phantom Victory," continues where part one, included with Wholphin No. 2, left off. NOW OUT OF PRINT, but we have a few left...
Wholphin #7		McSweeney's	$17.77 ($19.99 list)
Read more and comment...	It would be hard to improve on their own blurb: "Wholphin No. 7 features a short film by Gus Van Sant based on a William S. Burroughs short story; a face off between American gray squirrels and British red squirrels; a hallucinogenic post-Katrina New Orleans masterpiece; a documentary exploring autism from the animators of Waking Life; an incredibly close look at the sun in its most inactive and gorgeous state; Field Notes from Dimension X, bumper cars, UFOs and more. Issue 7 also includes a special bonus disc containing a highly controversial interactive scientific experiment in retroactive causality, in which the Wholphin audience, just by watching, will help to determine the role of consciousness in the establishment of a physical reality." Yes, it's another great issue of the "DVD Magazine of Rare and Unseen Short Films." Wholphin has yet to let us down. Every issue has been a winner. We heartily encourage anyone who enjoys intelligent, adventurous, independent films and has yet to check it out, to do so as soon as opportunity and finances permit. We have all seven issues in stock for our regular discount.
Wholphin No. 5		McSweeney's	$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The fifth issue of the "DVD Magazine of Rare and Unseen Short FIlms" has arrived. Documentaries, short fiction films and animations from Africa, Spain, Canada, the UK and (primarily) right here in the USA. Spend a day with the Sudanese Liberation Army, see drunk bees, watch Spanish science fiction, experience a herion addicted carnival monkey (don't worry, it's an animation), be outraged at the treatment of American Indians and enjoy the 20 minute adaptation of Michael Chabon's short story, "House Hunting," directed by Amy Lippman and featuring Paul Rudd & Zooey Deschanel; along with much more -- all of which you won't be seeing anywhere else (at least for now). Get the whole story -- and the chance to watch tons of web-only short films -- here.
Wholphin #6		McSweeney's	$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Here's what's on deck this time around: "Lizards, John Cleese, Lee Harvey Oswald, freat white sharks, Toddy Doyle, sasquatch hunters, Daniel Handler, cockroaches, intolerable guy next door, surreal dating with Michael Cera, Chinese third graders dabbling in American style democracy" and more! Lucky, a six-minute Australian film that is the cinematic equivalent of Vaughn Bodé's one-page comics masterpiece, "A Nickel Ride," is, for our money, the most profound short-film ever made. Please Vote for Me, a 32-minute excerpt from a documentary film of the same name that covers an elementary school election in China, should be seen by everyone in this election year, as it provides the most intimate portrait of an election we've ever seen, and, for those viewers who are paying attention, offers many insights into the democratic system, and, especially, the problems facing any transition from an autocratic system to a democratic one. 13 films, 141 minutes. Preview it here.
Wholphin #4		McSweeney's	$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	The wait is over, the fourth issue of Wholphin, The DVD Magazine of Rare and Unseen Short Films, is here! Eight short, and not-so-short -- the running times span from 2 to 48 minutes in length -- films that you won't see anywhere else; a re-scripted Russian sitcom; a 13 minute preview of the forthcoming Strange Culture, a feature film documenting the Kafka-esque adventures of a CMU art prof mistaken for a bio-terrorist); and the third and final installment of the BBC documentary, Power of Nightmares, that focuses on the shared behaviors of Islamic Fundamentalists in the Middle East and Neocon Fundamentalists in the USA (the first two installments are contained in Wholphin 2 & 3, which we still have in stock!) Read all about it (and watch some previews and some cool, web-only short films) HERE.
Wholphin #2		McSweeney's	$15.95 ($15.95 list)
Read more and comment...	It's here, the second issue of the new DVD quarterly brought to you by the fine folks at McSweeney's. Many of you obtained the first issue as a bounus with The Believer Magazine end -of-2005 special issue or McSweeney's #18. This issue is chock-a-block with new material from around the world. Here's the official blurb: "The second issue of Wholphin includes Steven Soderbergh's intense sci-fi homage to Godard. The Japanese "Bewitched" re-scripted by Daniel Handler and writers of the Daily Show. A hallucinogenic tale of murder and absolution, featuring Boris Karloff's melting head. Donald Trump channeling Citizen Kane. Two Oscar-nominated shorts. A miraculous, scientific discovery 7000 feet below sea. A gothic horror mystery about an aeronautical navigator, his plague-ridden home and the blood-sucking beast with the antiserum. "American Storage:" a short that is soon to become a feature. An instructional video on "poke-poling a monkey-faced eel." And a special moment with Andy Ritcher. This issue will also include a free bonus disc containing Part One of Adam Curtis's highly acclaimed documentary, The Power of Nightmares, which follows the simultaneous rise of Islamic fundamentalism and American neoconservative thought." NOW OUT OF PRINT - but we have a few left...
The Believer Magazine - March/April 09 (#61): The 2009 Film Issue	Jean Luc Godard	The Believer	$9.00 ($10.00 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	It's been awhile since we went out of our way to mention The Believer in this space. It seems as though we've begun to take it for granted: another month (or two), another Believer. But this time around we were compelled to sit up and take notice. The DVD that accompanies this issue would, in all likelihood, under normal circumstances command a price higher than that being charged for this entire issue. Titled JLG in USA, this 3+ hour disc contains what may possibly be the entirety of extant work documenting French filmmamker, Jean-Luc Godard's stateside forays. It contains 2 not-quite-full-length documentaries – Two American Audiences (Mark Woodcock, 1968, 40 minutes) and Godard in America (Ralph Tranhauser, 1970, 50 minutes); Two 30-minute episodes of The Dick Cavett Show devoted to Godard that were taped on the occasion (circa 1980) of Godard's "come-back" film, Sauve qui peut (la vie); an eight-minute romp with Godard and friends at Del Mar Beach near San Diego – A Weekend at the Beacch with Jean-Luc Godard (Ira Schneider, 1979, 8 minutes, video); and a slideshow by Jeffrey Blankfort of Godard's visit to San Francisco and Oakland during Huey Newton's trial. And that's just the DVD! The issue itself is overflowing with film related contents, most notably interviews with key independent filmmakers Michael Leigh (a Copacetic fave), John Sayles, Julie Delpy and Sam Mendes; an illustrated feature on the wonder of Polish film posters; The Believer Book Award (always worth reading) and plenty more. All for one amazinzgly low price! WELL, THIS IS NOW OUT OF STOCK - BUT WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING IT BACK IN - SO CHECK BACK!
Wholphin 9	Spike Jonze, Isabel Vega, Amanda Micheli, Joseph Gordon-Levitt	McSweeney's	$17.77 ($19.95 list)
Read more and comment...	It seems like some of you have forgotten about the wholesome goodness that is Wholphin, The DVD magazine of rare and unseen short films. Seeing as how we like all things related to the number nine, we've chosen this issue to offer a special "let's-get-reacquainted" price on. It's a packed disc – over three hours worth of material. It's an especially good issue, filled with all sorts of films from around the world. The official hype states: "Wholphin No. 9 features three, hilarious, never-before-seen short films by Spike Jonze; Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s short story, "Sparks," starring Carla Gugino and Eric Stoltz; the Academy Award-nominated documentary, "La Corona," about a high-stakes beauty pageant in a Colombian women’s prison; an incredibly rare and candid glimpse into the life of a Mormon fundamentalist who shares a husband with her younger biological sister; the Jury Prize-winning short from Cannes; Caveh Zahedi; meteorites; motordromes; acting lesson orgasms; films from Belgium, France, Germany, Australia and Japan, and much more." Preview it here. SPECIAL WEB ONLY PRICE FOR A LIMITED TIME!!!

cds

Title	Artist	Publisher	Price
Proper Box 76: The Arranger's Touch - A History of Jazz Arrangements from Jelly Roll Morton to Quincy Jones	Various	Proper Records	$26.75
Read more and comment...	This one's made to order for the true jazzophile. 90 tracks put together by 87 different arrangers. Pretty much every major big and mid-size band that recorded during the 1930s and 1940s is here, and then some! Includes a 68 page booklet to guide you through the history of this vastly underappreciated art. Amazing!!!
Chattanooga Gal	Bessie Smith	Proper Records	$26.75
Read more and comment...	95 tracks of the Queen of the Blues! Prepare to be knocked out!
Doo Wop Delights	Various	Proper Records	$26.75
Read more and comment...	100 classic tracks by The Five Keys, The Vocaleers, The Drifters, The Orioles, The Ravens, The Dominoes, The Swallows, The Flamingos, The Spaniels, and many more!
OHM+ \| : The Early Gurus of Electronic Music \| : 1948 - 1980	Various Artists	Ellipsis Arts	$22.22 ($44.98 list)
Read more and comment...	This is a pretty fab box set. It consists of 3 CDs containing 42 tracks that total close to four hours of material that charts the origin and development of electronic music through its first four decades; and a 2 1/2 hour DVD that contains 20 tracks presenting short pieces, excerpts, performances and interviews, all of which serve to supplement the documention of the early history of electronic music; plus a 112 page, photo-packed booklet that discusses each work and comes with a forward by none other than Brian Eno. This is going to be pretty hard to pass up at the super special price below. Needless to say, but, of course, we will: this is a one time offer and the supply is limited (and now it's almost depleted). A complete listing of its contents may be had in the full page listing.
The Believer #64: The 2009 Music Issue	Various	The Believer	$9.00 ($10.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Yes, believe it or not it has been a year since the last music issue. This issue's CD includes 14 new songs – all performed acoustically – from 14 "masters of the form" that are "available here and only here." Plus you'll get plenty of musically oriented essays and interviews. Check out the contents and get the chance to peruse some of it, here