Copacetic Christmas 2012
In a hurry? Jump ahead to:
COMICS
• classics
BOOKS
MUSIC - CD
CINEMA - DVD
CRAZY DEALS!
God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls
by Jaime Hernandez
Yes, this volume does indeed collect Jaime's contribution to the first two issues of the latest incarnation of Love and Rockets: New Stories. BUT, God and Science is not just any old reprint. NO! It is an expanded edition with 30 (count 'em) new pages of material that expands several scenes, adds at least one new one, includes the covers to the apocryphal issues in which these stories are supposed to have originally appeared, and continues the story with an all new epilogue! Together this makes for a definitive revision of what is surely one of the most original takes on the superhero genre. Weaving the tropes and conventions of classic Silver Age and (although to a lesser extent) Golden Age superhero comics into the whole cloth of the "Locas Universe" featuring Maggie & Co. gives Jaime – and his readers – access to wholly unique perspectives from which to view, comment upon, and, ultimately, transform the genre. God and Science gives us a look at what is actually happenning when we read comics, specifically those containing a strong element of fantasy – but the insights here pertain to all. Aspects of our identities are forged in our imaginations. Which aspects? are they fixed or in flux? Reading comics triggers our imaginations and connects us to our identities. Jaime explores this process by collapsing and conflating the normally separate and distinct levels of "reality" and "fantasy" into a single integrated experience. THIS is a comic book: expert, entertaining, enriching and enlightening and fun!
retail price - $19.99 copacetic price - $15.95
Are You My Mother?
by Alison Bechdel
The long awaited and hotly anticipated follow up to Bechdel's mega-hit memoir, Fun Home, is here. While Fun Home concentrated on Bechdel's coming of age and her relationship with her father, this time around, as the title clearly declares, it is her relationship with her mother that is detailed. At 288 pages, this work is noticeably longer than its precursor. It is also more controlled in its structure. In fact, control – primarily of the self – and the lack thereof, is one of the themes running through this work; a thread that tethers the subject to its object as it is buffeted by the elemental forces of the psyche. Ms. Bechdel turns herself inside out to locate the exact nexus in her psyche where her mother continues to direct traffic, to extricate her own self from that of her mother's, and to finally define and manage her own subjectivity. Plenty of psychology is employed here, from Freud to D.W. Winnicott to Alice Miller. In fact, one of the most significant contributions made by this work is to familiarize the uninitiated with the processes and values of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, along with their theoretical underpinnings. These are additionally linked tangentially to the example of Virginia Woolf's life and work, from which much strength is derived. This is a thoroughly engaging work in which the author's personal struggles come alive on the page. Are You My Mother? is well worth the while of not only fans of Ms. Bechdel's previous work, but anyone who enjoys an engrossing story well told, and especially to those intrigued by the possibility of gaining insights into the psychological approach to attaining personal growth in the process. Alison Bechdel continues to to produce work that rises to the challenge of portraying a life of the mind in comics form.
retail price - $22.00 copacetic price - $20.00
Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller
by Joseph Lambert
This is the fifth volume in the series of young adult graphic biographies published by Hyperion under the ægis of The Center for Cartoon Studies, which reaches an important milestone here in that this volume is the first to be created by a graduate of their program, and as such provides proof positive that CCS is fulfilling its mission. Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller is the most substantial work yet in this series and represents its strongest artistic achievement. It runs for 86 full color pages, each of which works from a 16-panel grid in which all panels are either a single or a multiple of a uniform 1/16-page size. Lambert, who already has a solid body of self-published work under his belt (much of which has now been collected by Secret Acres in I Will Bite You!), amply demonstrates his artistic growth by forging an original approach to the challenge of visually communicating the process by which Helen Keller, a blind, deaf and dumb child, grasped the concept of language, while simultaneously presenting the heart-rending drama of the life of Helen's teacher, Annie Sullivan, who accomplished this still amazing feat. Lambert's skill and artistic insight in producing this work belie his youth and together provide a fitting testimony to the value of his CCS education. This book will make an impression on any reader, regardless of age, but should prove to be especially valuable in engaging the empathy of younger readers while simultaneously providing them with instruction in both visual concepts and moral precepts. Recommended!
retail price - $17.99 copacetic price - $16.75
Mastering Comics
by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden
"The definitive course in comics narrative" continues, as Mastering Comics ventures deeper into the wilderness of formal comics instruction, widening and extending the trail blazed by Drawing Words & Writing Pictures. This horizontally formatted volume follows the same textbookish format as its precursor; this time around divided into eleven lessons, rather than 15, and at 318 pages is a tad heftier. This works out to lessons that are on average 50% longer and more in depth. In other words, Mastering Comics is a 200 level class to DW&WP's 100 level (although the authors clearly state that DW&WP is not a prerequisite for MC). Covered here are: building stories with words and pictures; getting a handle on perspective and styles; mastering the basics of lettering, inking, tones and coloring – by hand and on computer; and a look at the business side of things with a crash-course in self-publishing. This book will surely be used in many a classroom, and the companion website – http://www.dw-wp.com – provides a host of support for all – especially those flying solo; which makes Mastering Comics all that much more of an outstanding value for anyone interested in gaining proficiency in comics. A no-brainer gift for the comics creator on your list.
retail price - $34.99 copacetic price - $29.75
The Cartoon Utopia
by Ron Regé, Jr.
Think of how much a better place the world would be if, when people heard the name Ron, instead of thinking of Ronald Reagan, Ronald McDonald or L. Ron Hubbard, they instead all thought of Ron Regé, Jr.! We can all now do our part to make this a reality by partaking in Ron's mega-masterwork of mental (re)mapping, The Cartoon Utopia, wherein Ron dives deep into the waters of theosophy, through which a peck of profound painters of the previous turn-of-the-century swam – most notably Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian, en route to their mature styles – and also ascends into the abstruse realms of alchemy that informed artworks of earlier European eras, but that, over the last century, has come to be seen more as a metaphorical language well-suited for matters of spiritual self-discovery. The Cartoon Utopia is an act of spiritual self-discovery. What we encounter in the pages of this fantastic tome is not a "graphic novel", a fiction or story – or even a non-fiction history – of a journey told in words and pictures. Rather, it is the journey itself: a direct communication of the spirit as it grows, in and through the art work before our eyes. Ron takes us along on his pen and ink journey to the palace of wisdom. Along the way we'll meet the writings and ideas of Theosophists such as H.P. Blavatsky, as well as luminaries of arts and letters such as William Blake and Alan Watts, to name but two. Regé follows Kandinsky in believing that "the artist must have something to say, for mastery over form is not his goal but rather the adapting of form to its inner meaning," and "that is beautiful which is produced by inner need, which springs from the soul." Each page of The Cartoon Utopia is a transmutation of the spirit through cartooning into a revolutionary state of mind. Hitch a ride on this PDF preview and start your journey today.
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $22.22
Heads or Tails
by Lilli Carré
Ms. Carré has been experiencing quite a bit of artistic growth herself over the years represented in this, her first major collection of work. Heads or Tails is a 200 page softcover volume crammed with comics of all shapes and stripes that have appeared in a wide variety of publications over the last decade, most notably MOME, as well as some excellent new pieces that appear here for the first time. Whether working in pen and ink, paint and brush or computer and software, the pieces collected here, both in color and black and white, demonstrate a considerable talent in the service of a unique sensibility, which combine to produce work that clearly shows the stamp of the creator's personality. Anyone who enjoys quirky, personal comics stand a good chance of being pleased by what they find here. Take the book for a test drive with this PDF preview, and see what you think.
retail price - $22.99 copacetic price - $19.75
The Understanding Monster, Book One
by Theo Ellsworth
Here's the gift for the introspective introvert on your list. The follow-up to Capacity, Ellsworth's phenomenal Secret Acres debut, The Understanding Monster is a full color, full size, hardcover filled with page after page of Ellsworth's trademarked, hyper-detailed, graphomaniacal renditions of psychological states that take the forms of animals, insects, monsters and ingenious, crypto-mechanical constructions that wander through a series of dreamscape interiors. Ellsworth's work will have a strong appeal to anyone who has had cause to feel shut out and so become shut in to worlds of thought and imagination – a state which a significant section of those within the comics culture must certainly have experienced at one time or another. The story of The Understanding Monster is told in a sequence of mirrorings, transformations, translations, inversions, subversions, diversions and confusions that veer from abreaction and self-sabotage to resolution and redemption. As the narrative gradually unfolds, it reveals a private internal code simultaneously to both the reader and the protagonist – a strategy which plants the protagonist's challenges navigating reality in the center of the reader's consciousness. This makes for a seriously disorienting experience which demands a large degree of empathy on the part of the reader, who is required to play a crucial part in the process of assembling the machinery of meaning as the narrative unfolds. Theo Ellsworth's comics create a fantastic fully formed world that readers will find themselves completely immersed in before they know it.
retail price - $21.95 copacetic price - $19.75
Building Stories
by Chris Ware
Here's the work guaranteed to knock the socks off just about anyone. Building Stories is a box set of fourteen separate comics pieces, including two hardcover books, pamphlet style comics, accordion fold-outs, newspapers, flip books, a gameboard-esque piece, and more (check out the accompanying illustrations to get an idea). In his relentless quest to up the ante of what comics are capable of pulling off, Mr. Ware has pulled out the stops, called in the reserves, and put the Acme Novelty Company on a wartime footing to forge this massive meditation on the parallelsbetween the three-dimensional interior spaces in which Americans of the comic-reading variety spend most of their lives and the two-dimensional spaces onto which our interior selves are projected in the form of comics characters. This colossal effort has, in turn, inspired the editors of The Comics Journal to go town in celebrating its release by assembling a high-powered coterie of critics to deconstruct this multifaceted architectural artifact. So, you have the option of also letting the giftee know that the experience continues online and that once they have spent some quality time with this massive project they can keep going by heading over to TCJ to compare notes. Either way, get ready for a comics experience like none other.
retail price - $50.00 copacetic price - $44.44 (almost gone...)
Journalism
by Joe Sacco
The latest from the don of comics journalism, Joe Sacco, Journalism is a collection of "most of the shorter reporting pieces (Sacco) has done over the years for magazines, newspapers, and book anthologies," such as Harper's, The Guardian, Time, The New York Times, The Virginia Quarterly, and the French magazine XXI. Sacco, ever the globe trotter, covers, fittingly, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the wars in Chechnya and Iraq, and revisits the Palestinian Territories. He enters new territory – figuratively and literally – with his pieces on migration and India that close out the book. Sacco has penned a new introduction for this volume, in which he argues for the place of comics in journalism, as well as providing end notes on the individual works. Sacco has the most global perspective of anyone working in comics. This is the ideal gift for the comics reader interested in gaining a global perspective on current events, and also the perfect entry point for the non-comics reader with a passion for news.
retail price - $29.00 copacetic price - $25.75
Best of Enemies – A History of US and Middle East Relations, Part One: 1783 - 1953
by Jean-Pierre Filiu & David B.
And, for the comics reading history buff – and/or student – on your list, the ever-fascinating David B. takes his readers on an unexpected voyage through the waters of history in this informative, educational and timely volume co-piloted by Jean-Pierre Filiu. As readers of B.'s breakthrough masterpiece, Epileptic already know, he is quite adept at depicting scenes of warfare, and, what's more, in doing so in a way that reveals otherwise hidden forces at work below the surface of the battlefield. David B. masterfully employs the language of comics to delve into the subconscious and the mythical archetypes that dwell there, and hint at how these guide historical events that are putatively governed by rational self interest. Great art, fascinating story, insights by the bucketful. It looks like a must-read to us...
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $22.75
The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song
by David Lasky and Frank M. Young
Five years in the making, The Carter Family comics bio, Don't Forget This Song, by David Lasky and Frank M Young is finally here – and it's a doozy! A great story well told. The Carter Family – and their times – really come alive on the page. This 192-page, full color graphic biography is beautifully produced, sporting an embossed hardcover and coming complete with a (18-minute) CD of rare Carter Family radio broadcast music. Lasky and Young have taken their time and done it right. This is a deeply researched and deeply felt account of the founders of American country music that sheds some much needed light on the subject and will help those who may feel alienated by most of what passes for "country music" these days gain an understanding of the nature of the core appeal of this musical tradition that grew from the tree planted by this family at the dawn of the age of recorded music. This book will make a great gift for young and old, for Carter Family fans to both give and receive. Recommended!
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.22
Cleveland
by Harvey Pekar and Joseph Remnant
introduction by Alan Moore
Harvey Pekar was perhaps the most significant chronicler of Cleveland life during his lifetime, so it is fitting that he devoted a book to his hometown. Just published by Top Shelf books as one of the raft of posthumous Pekar releases, Cleveland blends local history with Pekar's own personal relationship with the city to create a simultaneous self-portrait of person and place. Pekar was always one to reach out to new talent (as he did most notably with Pittsburgh-based artist, Ed Piskor when he was just getting started), and he has done so again in Cleveland, with great results. Joseph Remnant has done a fabulous job here, demonstrating a skill at storytelling and combining it with a disciplined research which provides a pictorial verisimilitude that gives a you-are-there feel to the tales told.
retail price - $21.99 copacetic price - $19.99
Collier's Popular Press: David Collier's 30 Year's on the Newsstand
by David Collier
A long time coming, Collier's Popular Press is a hefty softcover volume released by Conundrum Press. It starts off with an introduction by noted Canadian comics scholar, Jeet Heer, who situates Collier's work here squarely in the tradition of "observational cartooning," for which he provides a concise history before ushering in a whoppin' 200 pages of Collier comics, originally published over three decades in a variety of Canadian newspapers and magazines – few, if any, of which have previously reached the straining eyeballs of stateside comics readers. In addition, a series of Collier's essays and personal recollections are mixed in. All but one of these (the concluding essay from Comic Art Magazine #7) originally appeared in the Vancouver-based Geist magazine and are, in typical Collier fashion, self-reflective, free-association riffs on the creation of his "banner" landscape drawings for The Globe and Mail (which are also included in this volume) and not only provide both context and depth to the comics they are interspersed with, but demonstrate that Collier is fully able to translate his sensibility into prose; "The World's Best Chinese Food Delivery Driver" perfectly captures how person, time and place are situated in memory amidst a tangle of association, combines image and text in a perfectly complementary fashion, and is a true Collier classic! This hefty tome is a gem-packed treassure chest that is guaranteed to be welcomed with open arms into the collections of all Collier fans. More than that, is the fact that anyone who enjoys comics packed with personal observations of the realities of day-to-day living, of going places and meeting people, of the ins and outs of relationships, of going for a walk or going to the store, of piecing together the odds and ends of urban (and rural) living that combine to make an environment, of life on the road and life in the home – and especially those who would like to immerse themselves in a full, rich Canadian vibe – will dig this massive tome, rendered in a matter-of-fact manner that it is easy to imagine a less self-obsessed (more self-effacing?) R. Crumb doing. This is a great book that is sure to be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates the works of creators like Frank King, R. Crumb (especially his non-fiction work of the 1980s), Harvey Pekar, Joe Sacco, Seth and Dan Zettwoch, just for starters. There is simply no contemporary comics creator who is more down to earth than David Collier, and there is no better antidote to the feeling of being overwhelmed by the frentic pace of the non-stop electronic pseudo-connectivity of contemporary North American life, than Collier's Popular Press.
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $17.77
Bill Griffith: Lost and Found: Comics 1969-2003
by (yes) Bill Griffith
Has it really been forty years since Zippy the Pinhead made his debut in the pages of Tales of Toad #2? During a career that predates the creation of Zippy and has now entered its sixth (calendrical) decade, Bill Griffith has created what has to be at this point the most significant body of work among the original generation of underground caroonists, save for the almighty R. Crumb himself. In addition to producing 40 years of Zippy comics, Griffith created and edited – with Jay Kinney –Young Lust, the ground-breaking romance comic of the underground era, and with Art Spiegelman, created and edited Arcade Magazine, the crucial comics anthology of the 70s that linked Zap to Raw. This instantly definitive volume of Griffith's non-Zippy work is a treasure chest packed with rare gems that will appeal to comics fans of many stripes, from underground to new wave to old hat. Bill Griffith knows his comics.
retail price - $35.00 copacetic price - $29.75
The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist
edited by Alvin Buenaventura
This swellegant follow up volume to last year's The Art of Jaime Hernandez brings us up close and personal to the life and work of one of the most influential contemporary comics creators. High resolution reproductions of his comics work – original art as well as in published form illustrate an in-depth look at his life and appreciation of his work by an all-star line-up on contributors assembled by former art comics publishing magnate, Alvin Buenaventura. The ball starts rolling with an all-new interview conducted by Kristine McKenna. This is followed by a forty page gallery of work from the Eightball Years, 1989-2004. Next up is an appreciation of Clowes by fellow Chicagoan comics master, the one and only Chris Ware! Ray Pride then writes about the relationship between comics and movies in David Boring. Two critical appreciations of Clowes's 21st century work by Ken Parille and Susan Miller follow. Chip Kidd closes out the book with an analysis of how graphic design figures into Clowes's storytelling. Clearly, Clowes fans will be delighted by this hefty oversize hardcover designed by Jonathan Bennett and published by Abrams ComicArts. Here's hoping that its hefty footprint and eye catching cover will combine to lure casual browsers into the Clowesian perceptual plane, where they can then discover for themselves that unique combination of intellectual insight and comics craftsmanship which opens the mind onto fresh vistas where the world is revealed from new perspectives, unleashing reconceptualizations of reality and the inescapable conclusions that follow, leading ineluctably to an uneasy transition to a new sense of the workings of the machinery of civilization, and then, finally, to one's place in the scheme of things.
retail price - $40.00 copacetic price - $35.00
New York Drawings
by Adrian Tomine
We wouldn't have believed it possible that Adrian Tomine has been appearing in the pages of The New Yorker for a full decade now if not for the fact that the credit pages for this volume plainly state that this is so. It's all here, along with plenty more, including: other illustrations inspired by New York City, among which – album covers and book covers; rare and "never-before-seen" sketchbook drawings; a new, illustrated introduction as well as "extensive" notes and commentary. Who would've guessed when those first Optic Nerve minicomics showed up that the journey their appearance marked the beginning of would lead to a career at The New Yorker? Not us, that's for sure! This attractive, oversize, full color hardcover volume is a Tomine treasure trove and an ideal for any dedicated follower of his work.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.00
Dal Tokyo
by Gary Panter
Have a Gary Panter fan on your list? Well, look no further you're done! Dal Tokyo collects the entire 24 years of the sporadically published that first saw the publication in the L.A. Reader way back in 1983. This volume prints the strips in a luxurious 16" x 6" format that allows reader to absorb every nook and cranny of Panter's line as it meanders through the years. Whet your appetite with this 20 page PDF preview.
retail price - $35.00 copacetic price - $29.75
Aya: Life in Yop CIty
by Marguerite Abouet & Clément Ouberie
This ia a softcover 3-in-1 omnibus of the three hardback Aya graphic novels previously released by Drawn & Quarterly over the last five years or so: Aya, Aya of Yop City, and Aya, the Secrets Come Out. It also additionally contains a healthy portion (32 pages or so) of bonus support materials not found in the original volumes. Priced at barely more than one of the originals, this is a bargain! More than that, it is well over 300 pages of beautifully drawn and lushly colored comics depicting late 1970s life in the the west African republic, Côte d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast to us Anglophones). These comics will immerse readers in this far off land, and we're confident that all readers will be looking forward to the return visit promised by the follow-up volume, Love in Yop City, an all-new (to North American readers) omnibus, due in 2013! A great gift for comics readers who are interested in broadening their cultural outlook.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.22
No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics
edited by Justin Hall
This 300+ page survey represents the most substantial collection of this burgeoning branch of comics to date, and a made-to-order gift item. Starting off with a concise, eight page introduction providing some background and history (and noting his decision to include only comics from "the Western world", pleading the vastness of queer manga), editor Justin Hall then proceeds to provide a chronological celebration of LGBTQ comics that covers a wide swath of the work done under this banner, beginning with proto-gay cartoons by Joe Johnson and ranging from pioneering early efforts by Trina Robbins, Roberta Gregory, Lee Marrs, Joyce Farmer, through post-AIDS-era – but by no means AIDS-centric, the opposite in fact – strips by newbies and veterans including Howard Cruse, Tim Barela, David Wojnarowicz, Jerry Mills, Jennifer Camper, Dianne DiMassa, Alison Bechdel, Craig Bostick, and up to the 21st century with works by Joey Alison Sayers, Edie Fake, Maurice Vellekoop, Ellen Forney, Ariel Schrag, Tim Fish, Eric Shanower, Carrie McNinch, as well as editor Justin Hall himself – who is an accomplished and widely published comics practitioner himself – and many, many others. No Straight Lines covers all the bases. ADDED BONUS:we still have a few copies remaining that include a signed and numbered customized bookplate by Justin Hall indicating the book's being purchased from Copacetic Comics; this bookplate is inserted loose into the book and may be affixed or otherwise used (as a bookmark? gift card?) however the purchaser deems fit.
retail price - $34.99 copacetic price - $29.75
The Graphic Canon, Volume 1
edited by Russ Kick
This 500 page large format anthology is the first in a series that presents "the world's great literature as comics and visuals", "from the Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare to Dangerous Liaisons" in black & white and full color comics and illustration. The contributor list read's like a who's who from the past, present and future of comics, including the likes of Will Eisner, Robert Crumb, Rick Geary, Sharon Rudahl, Seymour Chwast, Hunt Emerson, Peter Kuper, Andrice Arp, Edie Fake, Matt Wiegle, Aidan Koch – whose adaptation of Shakespeare's Sonnet 20 is a revelation – and Rebecca Dart – whose twelve full page illustrations of Milton's Paradise Lost channels Charles Burchfield through Chuck Jones to create an epic synthesis that will knock your socks off. Some of the works in this collection have been seen before: notably, the Crumb, Chwast, Eisner and Emerson contributions are reprinted and/or excerpted from previously published works. Most – by a large majority – are new to this volume, however, and make it well worth a look. And this is only the first of three volumes (the second of which has just now arrived on Copacetic shelves). This is indeed a chance to mix business and pleasure, as it were, by giving a gift that provides both an introduction to the edifying effects of classical literature and the joys of comics, and so may perk the interest of parents, so we must duly note that there are some graphic depictions of sexuality contained within the pages of this volume. And while they are very modest in number, making up only a tiny minority of the pages (certainly less than 5%), they are there. The primary culprit here is Aristophanes's Lysistrata, which just about everyone read(s) in high school, and so should have some idea what to expect; it is adapted by a woman artist and is not prurient in its presentation, but is graphic. Only Noah Pfarr's adaptation of Donne's "The Flea" makes any attempt to heat things up. Even R. Crumb's take on Boswell's London Journal in quite tame by his standards, so there's little if anything to get incensed about here. It's more or less an issue of where to draw the line agewise. We'd recommend holding off on this to any readers under 14; it's probably too much for them in any case, regardless of sexual content.
retail price - $34.95 copacetic price - $29.75
Venus
by Gilbert Hernandez
Rejoice! A Beto Hernandez book for kids: Venus is a durable hardcover edition, built to stand up to multiple readings, yet still bearing a pint-sized price. This 96-page square-format volume collects all the original Venus strips that ran in that Fantagraphics foray into comics for kids, Measles, at the turn of the millennium (1999 - 2001). And, even more importantly, it starts off with an all-new 24-page story, "The World of Venus" done specifically for this volume. Anyone not already familiar with the adventure of Venus and her pals can check out this 9-page PDF preview. Comics fun for the entire family, from la casa de Hernandez to yours. At last, an opportunity to introduce the next generation to the Love and Rockets realm.
retail price - $9.99 copacetic price - $8.88
The Best American Comics 2012
edited by Françoise Mouly
There's plenty to like between these two covers, but much of it will already be in the collections of the dedicated comics reader. This annual collection is a great survey of the year's highlights and a perfect gift for someone who is interested in exploring – and/or who you would like to introduce to – the wide range of contemporary comics. Highlights for us are those works that are not readily available elsewhere on the shelves at Copacetic, and include: eight pages of new Jimbo comics by cover boy, Gary Panter; new, specially commissioned endpapers by Jesse Jacobs, whose AdHouse press debut, Even the Giants, is also featured; four Michael Kupperman strips from The Washington City Paper; Nora Krug's "Kamikaze", from A Public Space; six Jonathan Bennett one-pagers for The Believer Magazine; and House of Debt by David Sandlin. Also on hand are healthy excerpts from X-ed Out by Charles Burns, Big Questions by Anders Nilsen, Scenes from an Impending Marriage by Adrian Tomine, Paying for It by Chester Brown; H Day by René French, Crickets by Sammy Harkham, Love and Rockets by Jaime Hernandez, Chimo by David Collier, and plenty more. A great way to catch up with comics.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.75
and, for the æsthetes on your list:
Dockwood
by Jon McNaught
A fresh talent with an immediately recognizable style that Copacetic customers have gravitated towards, Jon McNaught continues to produce original, finely crafted work that will appeal to fans of Seth and Chris Ware, as well as – and perhaps more significantly – to those non-comics readers who appreciate an informed aesthetic sensibility but haven't yet been able to find what they are looking for in comics. McNaught came to comics from a print-making background and brings with him a well developed understanding of the strengths of a limited color palette. His solo works, Birchfield Close and Pebble Island, aswell as his standout contribution to Graphic Cosmogony (all from NoBrow), consistently provide a meditative reflection on the passage of time – as we experience it in the moment, and in memory. His unerring sense of the architecture of the comics page and disciplined employment of the grid has enabled him to generate visual rhythms that carry the reader along. Dockwood is McNaughts's most substantial work yet (at least, that we know of), employing both the largest page size and page count among his NoBrow releases, and doing so to excellent effect. Recommended!
retail price - $19.99 copacetic price - $18.88
••••••••••
The NoBrow series of concertina books:Each of these beautifully printed works "folds out to a stunning 139cm panorama." Rise & Fall "details the demise of some of our planet’s most dominant and long standing occupants and their later relacement by another group." High Times "details the history and mythology of flight, from the legendary attempts of Icarus, to the revolutionary innovations of the Jet Age! The wrap-around cover provides educational entries for each panel, detailing notable benchmarks in the history of aviation." Space Race "covers the USSR’s early triumphs of space exploration on one side the USA’s race to the moon on the other, all in beautifully illustrated style. Space Race is not just a stunning work of art though, as it includes an illustrated fact sheet detailing important breakthroughs in space travel on both sides of the Iron Curtain between 1957 and 1975." Needless to say, these make gifts that provide an immediate impact.
• Rise & Fall by Micah Lidberg • High Times by Golden Cosmos •
Space Race by Tom Clohosy Cole
retail price - $16.00@ copacetic price - $14.75@
Classic Comics Collections
Donald Duck: "A Christmas for Shacktown"
by Carl Barks
Christmas gifts just don't get any better than this stellar 234 page full color volume. "A Christmas for Shacktown" comfortably rests at, or very near, the pinnacle of holiday comics (Those unfamiliar with this classic tale, can get a foretaste, with this PDF preview that includes roughly the first half). The meaning and spirit of Christmas are told in this engaging, entertaining and edifying tale, that can be enjoyed in any era and by all ages. In addition, we have the under-rated masterpiece, "The Golden Helmet", which we feel is one of the very best long Duck tales of all, as well as "The Gilded Man." Add to this a decalogue of ten-pagers – featuring, in addition to Donald and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, Gladstone Gander, Gyro Gearloose, Daisy Duck, and, of course, Uncle Scrooge – practically every one of which is a priceless gem, and you have a book more jam-packed with enjoyment than any other! Give with confidence.
retail price - $28.99 copacetic price - $24.75
Spacehawk
by Basil Wolverton
And, yes, this too is an utterly fantastic collection. Finally, and for the first time ever, a complete collection of Basil Wolverton's Golden Age masterpiece of heroic fantasy comics, Spacehawk!!! This one was a long time in coming, as the production underwent a laborious fine-tuning, but when we took this massive flexi-cover book out of the box it arrived in, it took only an instant to realize that the finished product was WELL worth the wait. Designer, Tony Ong, with able production assists from Paul Baresh and Preston White (and, of course, their fabulous Hong Kong-based printer), have turned out a mighty fine tome, indeed. Spacehawk never looked better. The oversize, full color scans and their reproduction are both uniformly excellent throughout. This volume is absolutely going to be the definitive edition of this comics masterwork. Let's not mince words here: This book is amazing! You really probably should wait to experience this work in person, but anyone who is completely unfamiliar with Spacehawk should probably do themselves the favor of checking out this healthy-portioned PDF preview.
retail price - $39.99 copacetic price - $35.00
The Fantagraphics EC Auteur Series
Came the Dawn and Other Stories by Wallace Wood w/ the EC crew
Corpse on the Imjin and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman & Co.
Even today, sixty years on, many still consider the comic books published by EC to be the high-water mark of the form. While the entirety of the EC output has been previously reprinted in book and comic book form, these prior reprints have almost uniformly followed the original issue by issue sequencing. Having been granted a license to publish these classics, Fantagraphics, in keeping with their editorial mission, has broken from the pack here and is collecting these classic tales by artist. These two premiere releases in the series of hardcover volumes feature Wallace Wood and Harvey Kurtzman. Came the Dawn collects all 26 tales which Wood drew for EC's horror and crime titles, Tales From the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear and Crime SuspenStories. Corpse on the Imjin presents work Kurtzman – best know for his creation of Mad – produced for the EC war titles, Two Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, both of which he also edited. It contains eleven stories both written and drawn by Kurtzman (all?), as well as all 23 of his covers, which, unlike the stories, are reproduced in full color to allow readers to experience the impact of their attention grabbing display. Another dozen stories follow, written by Kurtzman and illustrated by some of the top journeymen artists of the day, including Alex Toth – whose two stories are widely lauded classics – Joe Kubert – the artist whose later work on DC comics war comics made him the artist most associated with the genre – Reed Crandall, Johnny Craig, Ric Estrada and Gene Colan. Each of these volumes "features extensive essays and notes on these classic stories by EC experts," as will all future volumes in the series. Anyone needing further encouragement is hereby directed to these to PDF previews of Came the Dawn and Corpse on the Imjin.
retail price - $28.99@ copacetic price - $25.00@
Give the gift of the king of comics, and you can't go wrong:
Jack Kirby DC Omnibuses:
Challengers of the Unknown
Fourth World, Vols. 1, 2 , 3 & 4
Kamandi, Vol. 1 & 2
OMAC
by Jack Kirby w/ (for the most part) Mike Royer, inks
DC – or at least a core cadre consisting, primarily, of designers Robbin Brosterman and Louis Prandi along with their associate editors and production managers – has really done a commendable job of presenting their classic Kirby comics properties. These are, finally, editions worthy of the work they present, so there's no need to wait any longer now that this material is being treated with the respect it deserves. We can only hope that the corporate powers that be at DC / Time Warner (whose fortunes, it must be said, are currently far less tied to Kirby's contributions than those of Marvel / Disney) are being appropriately generous in the sharing of the revenue via royalty payments with the Kirby Estate.
retail prices - $24.99 - $39.99 copacetic prices - $22.22 - $35.00
Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics
by Jack Kirby, with Joe Simon
It should go without saying that putting the label "Best of" on any substantial body of work is sure to lead to disagreement, especially when it comes to someone with as much work as Kirby! So, while we respectfully disagree that this collection constitutes the best of Kirby Romance, it is nevertheless an excellent collection that is easily the best available. The selection is an intelligent survey of the dozen years of Kirby romance comics produced forYoung Romance and its ancillary titles – Young Love, Young Brides (which was overlooked here) & Real West Romances – published by Prize Comics in the post-war years under the guidence of Simon & Kirby. The production is all that you could wish for: high resolution scans of original comics that have been "restored" for superior reproduction and printed on flat, off-white paper stock. Also included are an afterword by editor Michael Gagné and a cover gallery that focuses on photo covers. We've said it before and we'll say it again: Romance comics, from their inception in 1947 with Young Romance and running through to the introduction of the Comics Code in 1955, were extremely popular and included in their number some of the finest comics ever produced. Some of these gems are collected here. These are truly great comics that deserve the appellation, "classic." We say: a must for all devotees of the form!
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.00
Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby
by Charles Hatfield
While we are on the subject of the King of Comics (you can't knock Stan [for bestowing this title on Jack] on this one), we would be remiss if we failed to mention this long-in-the-works tome by the widely respected comics scholar, Charles Hatfield, whose previous work of comics scholarship, Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature, is a widely used academic text in the emerging academic discipline of comics studies, and whose online writings on comics have been widely followed and commented upon. We have yet to do more than dip into this book, so it looks like it's up to Grant Morrison to let you know what he thought of it: "I've been waiting a long time for a book like this about Jack Kirby, and Hand of Fire rewards with an engrossing page-turner to be read and re-read. Kirby fans like me will be delighted by the smart and detailed analyses of everything from his personal influences to his pencil technique. But anyone with a keen interest in the human creative process, the fruits of the American working class postwar imagination, and the life and times of a genuine pop art visionary will find inspiration here, too. Mixing his scholarship with a lively and engaging turn of phrase and page after page of fresh insight, Charles Hatfield explores the highs and lows of 'King' Kirby's career, as well as his often turbulent relationships with collaborators like Stan Lee, and his ever-growing legacy. Hand of Fire is radiant with the 'Kirby Krackle' of energy and enthusiasm, a fitting tribute to a unique creative genius." 'Nuff said?
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.00
And, when all else fails, there's always Nancy...
Nancy: Nancy Is Happy
by Ernie Bushmiller
foreword by Daniel Clowes
Well. At long last, after all these years, it's finally here. This one's been in the works for what seems like forever (it was originally scheduled for Spring 2010 release), but the wait is finally over. Nancy and Sluggo are the sine qua non of comics archetypes. As rendered by the inimitable (though many have tried!) Ernie Bushmiller, they have entertained, mesmerized and fascinated generations of comics readers, from the most humble of lonely lunchers to the most erudite of intellectual aficionados. Nancy collapses the cultural divide in a work that is a multiverse unto itself, existing simultaneously on as many planes as there are perspectives; in the process rendering meaningless much of what purportedly distinguishes "high" and "low" art. Nancy by Ernie Bushmiller is an essential achievement in American art. Nancy Is Happy is published by Fantagraphics Books and is the first of a series of volumes that will cover at least the years 1938 through 1961 (more may follow, depending on the success of the these volumes and the solvency of Fantagraphics at the conclusion of their publication). It is a hefty, square-formatted, flexi-cover volume which is yet another design triumph by Jacob Covey and offers up three full years – 1943, 1944 & 1945 – of Nancy dailies. Daniel Clowes provides a perfect start to the volume (and the series as a whole) with his witty and perceptive foreword, one that will – together with the following information packed introduction by "the editors" that provides background and historical context – put readers in an enhanced state of expectancy: after all these years, alone together with Nancy at last! Can't wait? Get started now with this 20-page PDF preview.
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $22.22
JUST IN! Nancy Likes Christmas:
Complete Dailies 1946-1948
retail price - $26.99 copacetic price - $23.75
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Web customers may now purchase these items – and more – directly, from our online gift catalogue at Copacetic 3.0, our new 24/7 eCommerce site.
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BOOKS
The Best of Punk Magazine
edited by John Holmstrom and Bridget Holm
Five years in the making, this massive tome runs for 372 9" x 12" pages and weighs in at 4 1/2 pounds. This volume assembles "the best" (and they are!) features, articles, interviews (Lou Reed! Patti Smith! Iggy Pop! and many more...), photos and comics (by Holmstrom himself, and others), as well as the amazing fumetti dramas, "The Legend of Nick Detroit," starring Richard Hell, and featuring Lenny Kaye, Bob Quine, all of the Talking Heads, Robert Gordon, Cyrinda Fox and too many more to list; and "Mutant Monster Beach Party," with Joey Ramone and Deborah Harry as star crossed lovers, and a massive supporting cast including Andy Warhol, Peter Wolf, Edith Massey, Joan Jett and more! In addition, Holmstrom (we presume) provides a personal memoir/history of the days of Punk, organized on an issue by issue basis. We say: "A treasure!"
retail price - $30.00 copacetic price - $27.00
Electrical Banana: Masters of Psychedelic Art
by Norman Hathaway and Dan Nadel
Before Punk there was Psychedelia, and this lushly designed and printed volume celebrates seven artists from, literally, around the world who were most closely associated with the movement: Martin Sharp, the Australian who is best remembered for his Cream LP covers; Marijke Koger, the Dutch artist who "dressed The Beatles;" Heinz Edelmann, The German illustrator and designer of The Yellow Submarine; Japanese psych-masters Keiichi Tanaami and Tadanori Yokoo; London scenester, Dudley Edwards; and the mind-blowing Mati Klarwein, among whose indeible images are the covers for Miles Davis's Bitches Brew and Santana's Abraxas.
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $35.00
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story
by Sean Howe
Close to 500 pages in length, this entertaining account of Marvel Comics, from its 1930s inception through its 1960s heyday and up to its 21st century rise into a massive, muscle-bound multimedia powerhouse is ure to be a hit with any longtime Marvel Comics reader. It's a breezily told, anecdote filled account that puts together people and places and situates them in a comprehensive chronology. While this work is far from the last word on the subject, and makes little in the way of critical analysis, the story of Marvel Comics is a great story, and here it is given the most detailed account yet.
retail price - $26.99 copacetic price - $24.75
Telegraph Avenue
by Michael Chabon
A tale of husbands and wives, father and (unacknowledged) son, business and pleasure, this "intimate epic" that the Harper publicist declares to be a "NoCal Middlemarch" is centered on a used all-vinyl record store in the heart of Berkeley, CA. This is sure to be on somebody's wish list...
retail price - $27.99 copacetic price - $24.75
Plenty more giftable books may be found by clicking on the "online gift catalogue" link immediately below...
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Web customers may now purchase these items – and more – directly, from our online gift catalogue at Copacetic 3.0, our new 24/7 eCommerce site.
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Banga (CD)
by Patti Smith
Patti & Co.'s first album of originals since 2004's Trampin', is a mix elegiac tributes, informative history and ecstatic invocations, spoken, chanted and sung to melodious rock 'n' roll. Any and every Patti Smith listener, devotee and aficionado will find what they are looking for here, and true believers will passionately embrace it. And, as always, we hope that this will be the first Patti Smith record for some, and that casual listeners will take this opportunity to step a little closer to music and pay that critical bit of extra attention that will allow them to reap disproportionately large rewards. Banga is a finely woven tapestry of rock history beautifully played. Surprising hints of The Beatles and Bowie and more (even a throw away Zeppelin quote) intertwine with Tom Verlaine licks and classic Patti Smith Group riffs and stylings, making for a great listening experience that just keeps getting better each time through. And it is, of course, what Patti is saying in the songs that takes everything to the next level. For our money, the next to last track, Constantine's Dream is as heavy as it gets and is well worth the price of admission all on its own. You won't find a song like this anywhere else. Patti Smith is the high priestess of Rock – as if there were ever any doubt. Then, exit to the dark lullaby of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush".
copacetic price - $12.99
Eight new Proper Boxes!
Just in time for the holidays, a whoppin' nine new boxes of the best in music. Finally, Bill Evans gets the Proper treatment (as does Lightnin' Hopkins), and Miles gets his second Proper Box (as do Edith Piaf and John Lee Hooker), and this one is jammed with classics. Proper is perhaps best known for its great anthology boxes, and this time around we have genre anthologies featuring big bands and roots & folk along with themed anthologies featuring drinking songs and – our favorite – railroad songs (don't mix!). Each of these Proper Boxes contains over five hours of music, with the anthology titles each containing 100 or more tracks. They also come with excellent booklets, ranging from 24 - 60 pages that are filled with career biographies, genre histories and exhaustive track by track discographical information containing recording dates, original release info and complete listings of all players on all tracks (with the rare exception where no or limited info could be dug up); click on the cover images for more details. copacetic price - $29.75@
You really should know all your options before making up your mind, however, so be sure to check out the rest of the Proper Boxes, where you'll find the best music, in the best package, at the best price. Over 140 amazing boxes to choose from!
The BIG 3 Collection
THE best value for great popular music. The BIG 3 collection is the no-frills value line of the Proper Records label that brings us the great Proper Box series. These three CD sets contain over 3 hours of music on average, and what music it is! It's simply amazing what they have on offer. We have over twenty different sets in stock. copacetic price - $12.75@
Here are our top three picks (click on the cover images for more details):
The Primo Collection
Runner up for the best value in popular music. These two CD sets contain over two hours of great music, tastefully chosen and remastered for great sound. We have over twenty sets in stock. copacetic price - $9.99@
Here's our top pick (click on the image for details):
Web customers may now purchase these items – and more – directly, from our online gift catalogue at Copacetic 3.0, our new 24/7 eCommerce site.
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Studio Ghibli Movie Collection
Believe it or not, this 6 DVD box set contains 16 (yes, sixteen - here's the list) animated classics from Studio Ghibli, including all of Hayao Miyazaki's masterworks. All of the films can be viewed in the original Japanese, with (or without) English Subtitles, and/or, if preferred, and can also be viewed with the dialogue dubbed in English as well. All films are in NTSC & 16:9 format. How is the set priced so reasonably? This box set is an official Malaysian release - not a bootleg. The transfers are high quality in both sound and image, but do NOT have "chapter breaks", which some may find inconvenient (you can still, of course, fast forward/reverse), nor do they come with any "DVD extras"; just the films themselves and nothing more – but with films as good as these, isn't that enough? Also, the physical packaging is minimal, with the six DVDs simply stacked on a single deep spindle (although this seems to make for secure shipping, as none have fallen off during transit as so often happens with DVDs). The set is Region 0 / "Region Free" (meaning that it can be played anywhere, including the USA and Canada). That the US DVD editions of these films are normally so expensive here is due in large part to the fact that Disney owns the US rights.
copacetic price - $59.95
Eclipse Series 33: Up All Night With Robert Downey Sr.
Five feature films by the inimitable Robert Downey Sr., all in a single box set for the same price Criterion charges for a single film! Long unavailable in any form (with the exception of the cult classic, Putney Swope), these films, originally produced during the decade spanning 1964 to 1974, are in a league of their own. Get all the details of this set here.
retail price - $39.98 copacetic price - $35.95
gifts for less: our massive SALE selection of classic DVDs (in store only)
We have ranged far and wide over the past year to bring our customers the biggest and best selection of bargain priced DVDs in the history of the store: we currently have in stock over 150 different movies that are all priced at $5.99@ or 2/$9.98. There are TONS of classics here! CHECK OUT THIS (far from complete) LIST. ALL these great films – and more – are now on sale (in, need we add, limited quantities) for the amazing copacetic price of $5.99@ or 2/$9.98!
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Web customers may now purchase these items – and more – directly, from our online gift catalogue at Copacetic 3.0, our new 24/7 eCommerce site.
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Crazy Deals
Yes, we've snuck this one in yet again! It's just such a great value on such a great book, that we can't help but feel morally obliged to offer it again this year as there are plenty of people out there who would be bowled over to receive this and it is just so affordable at this price... While we certainly had some sympathy for those who felt that this amazing volume was simply too dear, there's no longer any excuse not to own this stunning two-volume box set. The definitive career-spanning collection of the one and only Gary Panter is now available for a price so low that the mind simply boggles. Now's your chance to experience the first and foremost fomenter of the fine-art/comics nexus in all his glory in this massive, oversized, two-volume hardcover – over 700 10" x 12" (and 12" x 10", as one volume is horizontally formatted) pages weighing in at over ten pounds! – for less than the price of a standard Marvel or DC trade collection. This book is so well designed that it is practically a work of art in itself! And, needless to say, as a gift, this will impress the pants off just about anyone.Gary Panter (The Book)
Foreword by Mike Kelley. Text by Robert Storr, Doug Harvey, Edwin Pouncey, Richard Gehr, Dan Nadel, Karrie Jacobs, Byron Coley
retail price - $95.00 copacetic crazy deal price - $29.75
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Can't make up your mind? Afraid they might already have it? Not to worry, we offer a full complement of deluxe instore gift certificates: currently available in $10, $20, $25, $50 & $100 denominations...
and, now, finally: online gift certificates that can be redeemed at www.copaceticcomics.com, so that you may spread Copacetic cheer worldwide.
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And, yes, we do third-party shipments (i.e. we will ship direct to a recipient at a different address from the purchaser), and we will gift wrap for a nominal charge (it's free for in-store purchases).
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Web customers may now purchase these items – and more – directly, from our online gift catalogue at Copacetic 3.0, our new 24/7 eCommerce site (payments through PayPal, now with no membership required – any credit card will do).
Tried and true gift ideas may be found at:
Copacetic Gifts
If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind classic collectible comic book, may we suggest perusing:Many bargain priced books may be found at:
To learn more about some Copacetic favorites check out:
Copacetic Select
Here's the latest:
And of course there's all the rest of the Copacetic Comics Company offerings to choose from:And, finally: Can't find what you're looking for anywhere on the site, but aren't ready to give up? Send an email listing the item or items you're looking for, or any other question you may have, to: query@copacetic.biz
Also, if you already have certain items and/or creators in mind and you want to see if we have it and/or what we have, just enter the appropriate info into Copacetic Search and go from there.
Thanks for looking,
and a Happy Holidays to all!
prices and availability current as of 17 December 2012
