Just In (Case You Missed It) - New Stuff Archives 1Q 2011

New for March 2011

CBV

The Cardboard Valise
by Ben Katchor
Sound the trumpets and roll out the red carpet: a new and long-awaited work – the first in almost eight years! – by MacArthur genius grant award-winning cartoonist, Ben Katchor is now on the Copacetic shelves. Don your tux and come on down to participate in the gala unveiling of this hardcover volume that comes equipped with its own set of cardboard handles that make for both a witty Duchampian visual pun and an extension of Katchor's own aesthetic technique. Despite his long absence form the realm of book publication, Katchor has not ceased producing his deeply personal weekly strips that employ his patented combination of brusquely penned ink-lines and lushly brushed ink-washes, and The Cardboard Valise is simply the fruition of one of these. Katchor's work has as its aim to combat the alienating tendencies of contemporary urban life. Towards this end, he has developed a strategy of defamiliarizing the urban environment by projecting our quotidian surroundings through a psychological medium – one that engages comics' combination of image and text to guide and mutually reinforce readers' perceptions – to filter out the incessant demands placed on us by the interfering objects of capitalist consumerism that incessantly obscure the true nature of our own creations. This provides his readers with an unobstructed view that reveals the heretofore hidden humanity that fills our surroundings to overflowing but which we had been prevented from previously grasping. Paradoxically, these newly revealed vistas appear at first unfamiliar and strange – everything seems slightly off-kilter: where are we, exactly? It is only gradually, after long immersion in Katchor's world, that their meaning and significance becomes clear, and we are able, however fleetingly, to enter into communion with our own artifice. Those interested in obtaining some specifics as to how this is realized in The Cardboard Valise are hereby reffered to Sean T. Collins's review at the new and improved Comics Journal, here; while those who just can't wait to get their hands on it, can plunge right in and start reading it now, here.
retail price - $25.95 copacetic price - $23.75

tomine marriage

Scenes from an Impending Marriage
by Adrian Tomine
Only Adriane Tomine would dare to turn his own wedding into a comic book, hawk it to the public, and hope to get away with it. And get away with he does, in this cute, little 56 page hardcover that is quite a pleasure (perhaps a guilty one) to read. He tells his tale in an expertly prepared formal blend that is composed of a series of vignettes – all executed employing a standard nine-panel grid – that are punctuated with single-panel gag cartoons that are part New Yorker, part Family Circus. Tomine's art here is as expert as ever, but is rendered in a slightly less polished manner that stands in regard to his previously published work in a way that is somewhat analagous to how Seth's "sketchbook" graphic novel Wimbledon Green stands to his previously published work.
retail price - $9.95 copacetic price - $8.88

AGDatNF

Another Glorious Day at the Nothing Factory
by Eroyn Franklin
Here's a truly unique graphic novel in which the visual component is rendered entirely in cut paper silhouettes. The recipient of a Xeric grant, this horizontally formatted hardcover has been produced in a hand numbered edition of 1000, each of which copies is accompanied by a hand cut and printed dust jacket. Eroyn Franklin is a Seattle-based artist who works in a variety of mediums. Visit her website to learn more, where, if you are so inclined, you can read the entirety of Another Glorious Day at the Nothing Factory, here.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $23.75

KK19-21

Krazy and Ignatz – 1919-1921: "A Kind, Benevolent and Amiable Brick"
by George Herriman
Three complete years of Sunday pages of the most copacetic comic strip of all time. Only one more volume to go until Fantagraphics has collected the complete run in one uniform edition designed and with covers by Chris Ware (although with this volume and the last, the actual design has been ably executed by Alexa Koenings, employing Ware's template). Treat yourself to an ample PDF preview, here. Comics readers of all stripes will be transported to a parallel universe where the mysterious workings of the heart are revealed through the magic of Herriman's pen as it graces the pages of this volume.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $21.25

POP5

Popeye, Volume 5: "Wha's a Jeep?"
by E.C. Segar
The penultimate volume in the series of massive and wonderful oversize hardcover volumes collecting the complete E.C. Segar run of both the daily strips and the Sunday pages (in full color!) of the one and only Popeye, is here! One of the few, true archetypes of comics and cartooning, a member in clear standing of the Comics Pantheon, everyman and superman, man of the sea and salt of the earth, friend of the lost and downtrodden, enemy of the mean and greedy, Popeye is an American icon, and this Fantagraphics edition is likely to be the definitive collection. It's not too late to jump on board as the first four volumes remain in print. Check out what you're missing, with this PDF preview.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.00

PV3

Prince Valiant, Volume 3 - 1941-1942
by Hal Foster
This volume contains the years considered by many Prince Valiant connoisseurs to feature Foster's best work. In other words, the best of the best. Regardless of where you stand in this debate, you'll find yourself gazing at page after page of truly superb comics. Foster's work on Prince Valiant set the bar for illustrative quality in comics and it has held ever since. Lou Fine, Al WIlliamson, Roy Krenkel, Frank Frazetta, Wallace Wood, Neal Adams, Mark Schulz and countless others looked to Foster for inspiration. And, as if this weren't already enough, another highlight of this volume is the erudite introduction by PictureBox publisher – and newly installed co-editor of The Comics Journal – Dan Nadel. Once you've feasted your eyes on this PDF preview (which also includes Nadel's intro), you'll begin (but only begin, mind you, as a computer screen simply is NOT the way to view this work) to understand why.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.00

Orc Stain, Volume One
by James Stokoe
The far out fantasies reminiscent of 1980s 2000AD are spiced up with the colors and visions of Metal Hurlant era Mobius and the high energy irreverence of Jamie Hewlett's Tank Girl in this unique work, created, written, drawn, lettered and colored in a frenzy of auteurism by James Stokoe. Anyone looking for a good, strong comics buzz should consider checking out this premiere collection of the series published (surprisingly) by Image Comics.
retail price - $17.99 copacetic price - $16.75

City-Hunter Magazine #1
by C.F.
Providence-based artist, C.F.'s latest zine is a fusion of comics, painting, photography, abstract imagery, prose and "advertisements." These disparate elements are loosely connected by the exploration of urban tropes from genre fiction. The protagonist of sorts, Main Dice, interacts with these environments and their inhabitants, but is only shown from a distance, adding further prominence and mystique to these settings. Coming in at 28 pages (8 in full color) plus covers, City-Hunter is the most complete encapsulation of C.F.'s aesthetic sensibility to date and an engaging treatment of the zine format.
retail price - $8.00 copacetic price - $7.25

2eyes2

Two Eyes of the Beautiful Part II
by Ryan Cecil Smith
Described by its author as "a grotesque horror manga," this is the second installment of the series by Closed Caption Comics contributor, Ryan Cecil Smith. All the gruesome hallmarks of the body horror genre are present, but tempered by Smith's loose, cartoony drawing style. Dynamic page layouts and well-executed half-tones abound in this jam-packed mini-comic, which includes 3 color Goccu screen-printed covers. Edition of 250.
retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - $5.00

ms26

Mineshaft #26
The old folks' fanzine is back, with one of the best issues yet. Starting off with the latest installment of R. Crumb's dream diary along with a pair of R. Crumb sketches, this issue features a great lineup of comics, including two by Copacetic fave, David Collier (one of which is written by auto-bio comics champ, Dennis Eichhorn), J.R. Helton and Pat Moriarity (who also contributed this issue's cover), Aleksandar Zograf, and a truly fine tale by Nina Bunjevac, along with some mighty nice illustrations by Christoph Mueller and William Crook, Jr. (who also offers his thoughts on the subject of his drawings), poetry by Diane DiPrima and more! Added bonus: an R. Crumb portrait of Wallace Wood adorns the back cover.
retail price - $9.00 copacetic price - $9.00

Lomax Bio

Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World
by John Szwed
At last! Here it is, the definitive biography of Alan Lomax, America's foremost renegade anthropologist and musicologist. Through his field recordings, archiving work, lectures, and writing, Lomax did more than anyone in history to bring folk music from around the world to the general public. Drawing upon a wealth of Lomax's diaries and personal correspondences, John Szwed provides an extensive account of the man's work, struggles, political views, and personal relationships. The breadth of Lomax's accomplishments and scope of his vision are truly inspiring. Spanning most of the 20th century, the book reads as a sociopolitical history of the Unites States during this period as much as a biography, featuring prominent historical figures such as Leadbelly, Zora Neale Hurston, Woody Guthrie, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many more. Essential for folk music enthusiasts and anyone interested in traditional culture from around the world. For the uninitiated, get acquainted with a true visionary! Tune in to www.culturalequity.org to get hep.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $27.50

Foxfire

The Foxfire Book
Edited by Eliot Wigginton
Here's an item that we've had on the shelves for awhile now, but felt that it was long overdue to bring to the notice of those of our customers that may not be familiar with it. Since the publication of its first issue in 1966, the Foxfire magazine series has become the definitive encyclopedia of Southern Appalachian life, spawning a series of books of the same name. Originally published in 1972, this is the first book of the series. The articles included are based on extensive interviews with locals from the Appalachian Mountains of Northern Georgia and provide a comprehensive portrait of centuries-old traditions. The subjects include practical how-to's (woodworking, fruit and vegetable preservation, soapmaking), historical and cultural pieces (moonshining as a fine art, faith healing, folk tales), and general human interest in the form of numerous personal accounts of mountain life. Gorgeous black and white photographs and hand-drawn diagrams illustrate the text, so simply skimming through the book is a pleasurable experience. Taken as a whole, Foxfire reads as a meandering meditation on the virtues of simplicity and closeness with the natural world. A valuable resource for both the connoisseur and the curious. Learn more at www.foxfire.org.
retail price - $18.95 copacetic price - $17.00

Heatwaves

Heat Waves in a Swamp: The Paintings of Charles Burchfield
edited by Cynthia Burlingham and Robert Gober
Charles Burchfield is an artist whom Copacetic customers, as a population, have a strong likelihood of connecting with. He spent a fifty-year career – first in his native Ohio, after studying at the Cleveland Institue of Art, and then in upstate New York – forging a startlingly original visual language. Working primarily in watercolors, Burchfield picked up where Van Gogh left off in creating artworks that manage to visually communicate non-visual perceptions. Heat Waves In a Swamp is the catalogue of an exhibition held at the Hammer in LA, the Whitney in NYC and the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, NY in 2009 and 2010 that was put together by independent curator, Robert Gober along with the Hammer's Cynthia Burlingham. This 184 page hardcover is edited by Burlingham and Gober, who both contribute essays along with a host of other Burchfield scholars that together work to heighten our appreciation and understanding of the artist and his work. And, it is, of course, the sterling reproductions of Burchfield's works that are the feature attraction here. The selection and its presentation are both excellent. One of the standout features of this catalogue is its inclusion of never before published notes and sketches taken from the voluminous Burchfield archives housed at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. This catalogue is far and away the best single-volume introduction to Burchfield currently available and we heartily encourage all to explore the wonders within – especially practicing artists, comics and otherwise, who stand the most to gain. Meanwhile, take a moment to explore a sample of his wide-ranging work online.
retail price - $49.95 copacetic price - $44.44

Items from our March 2011 listings may now be purchased online at our new site, HERE.

New for February 2011

Ivy

Ivy
by Sarah Oleksyk
This work, the first full length graphic novel by Sarah Oleksyk, was years in the making – and it shows. A rite of passage set in the high school years that has the look and feel of being a fictionalized memoir – akin to Craig Thompson's wildly popular Blankets – Ivy is a hard won work of lasting value. Yes: sex, drugs, angst, body-issues, parental conflict, high school hatin' – it's all here; but there's more. The unfolding narrative demonstrates a rare understanding of the adolescent development of character through peer to peer interaction in the crucible of the quotidian; how character imperfections can be magnified, drawn out, examined, and, with diligent application – and a little luck – be alloyed to inner strengths to forge an enduring adult persona. We'll stack this 218 page hardcover up against Blankets anyday. Recommended!
retail price - $19.99 copacetic price - $17.77

Stigmata
by Lorenzo Mattotti & Claudio Piersanti
Well – it's about time! At last this 1999 pen and ink masterpiece by the fabulously talented Lorenzo Mattotti receives its long sought after English language translation in this smartly packaged hardcover edition just released by Fantagraphics. Mattotti is best known for his stunning pioneering pastel rendering style in works such as Fires, Murmur and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In Stigmata we are shown another side of his prodigious talent: his pen and ink work. We received what now amounts to a preview of this in his contribution to the Ignatz series, Chimera, but with Stigmata we have Mattotti's most sustained narrative to date.
retail price - $19.99 copacetic price - $17.77

ayako

Ayako
by Osamu Tezuka
Ayako is another massive – over 700 pages – work from Tezuka's fertile late '60 early '70s period that includes Ode to Kirihito, MW and Apollo's Song (all excellent graphic novels also introduced to US readers by Vertical Publications over the last few years). It is an ambitious epic spanning the quarter century following Japan's defeat in the Second World War. This work contains many mature themes and employs sexual behaviors – including rape – as metaphors in making points about the psychology of post-war Japan. It's certainly humbling to read these Tezuka epics that were produced long before the term "graphic novel" had even been conceived of in the west. Here are two in-depth reviews from The Comics Journal and Mangacritic that interested readers will find worth their while.
retail price - $26.95 copacetic price - $25.00

KoF2

King of the Flies 2: The Origin of the World
bu Mezzo & Pirus
Here's another volume of German comics for the jaded palette. Schadenfreude, angst, ennui and more inhabit these tales of suburban Deutschland. This 64 page, oversize, full color graphic album continues and extends the themes of last year's initial album. As with the first volume, this one is organized around a series of vignettes, each opening a window on a sordid suburban scene of lust, betrayal, disappointment, dissolution, deceit and more, all fueled by copious consumption of drugs and alcohol, the entirety of which is finely rendered in a hallucinatory Charles Burns inflected style with an added boost of a truly garish color scheme that really accentuates the feelings of vertigo and nausea that accompany being adrift in a sea of the senses bereft of any moral compass.
retail price - $19.99 copacetic price - $17.77

The Heavy Hand
by Chris C. Cilla
Biology, folklore, science fiction, mystery, and slacker culture blend seamlessly in The Heavy Hand the first graphic novel from Chris Cilla, an artist known for his contributions to Kramers Ergot and Paper Rodeo. The loose narrative follows Alvin Crabshank as he seeks out an eccentric, cave-dwelling professor for employment and drifts through a series of dreamlike vignettes. Mundane scenes of everyday life are mixed with fantastic sci-fi imagery in a manner that somehow makes perfect sense in Cilla's world, a cartoony pastiche that recalls the work of Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Robert Crumb, and David Sandlin. Weirdness boiled down to its gooey comics essence; a superb debut.
retail price - $14.00 copacetic price - $12.75

Uptight #4
by Jordan Crane
36 pages (that's 50% more than previous issues) of hi-octane comics from the renowned graphic arts triple-threat (comics, prints & design) all-star, Jordan Crane! This issue picks up where the last left off: the cover and both stories pick right up where the last issue left off. The relationship blues are sung in "Trash Night," the second chapter of the yet-to-be-titled major narrative, in which the animal impulses always lurking in human nature are released through a combination of stresses and poor self control; while in "Dark Days," we have the continuation of last issue's "Freeze Out," in which readers are taken on another journey through the symbol-laden dream world of school days that was first introduced in Jordan's magnum opus, The Clouds Above.
retail price - $3.95 copacetic price - $3.55

Buz 1

Buz Sawyer Vol. 1: The War in the Pacific
by Roy Crane
It all starts here: Roy Crane's WW II era follow up to Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy. Roy Crane was the one who could do it all and make it seem effortless: lengthy story arcs deftly divided into four-panel bites, dynamic intra-panel layout, expert inter-panel transitions, humorous dialogue, archetypal characterizations, and, most of all, fabulously fluid cartooning (and Craftint!) – all wrapped together in one great package. A book to read, savor and enjoy.
retail price - $35.00 copacetic price - $31.50

Reid!

Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman
by David Boswell
Speaking of classics, here's another sui generis masterwork that belongs in every library. When Reid Fleming first arrived on the scene, lo these thirty years ago (thirty years? how is that possible!?!), it existed at the cusp of the waning underground comix scene and the nascent direct market for alternative comics that was just starting to gain some traction. It was just right there at the crossroads; if any comic book can be said to capture that moment, it's that first issue. With Reid Fleming, David Boswell created a cartoon archetype that served – and continues to serve – as an anger fueled eulogy for the vanished world embodied by the figure of the milkman. This massive hardcover volume collects the initial 1980 stand alone comic book – which was all that there was for the first five years of his existence, and that really says something about the character's staying power – along with what is arguably Boswell's masterpiece, Heartbreak Comics, which, naturally, stars Reid Fleming, and then the entirety of the Reid Fleming mini-series published by Eclipse Comics in the late '80s. 224 pages in all! And there is a second volume in the works which will collect the remainder. So, rejoice!
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $27.50

monkey

Monkey Portraits
by Jill Greenberg
What is there to say about a book like this? You either get it, or you don't. Here at Copacetic, we feel that it would behoove one and all to get it, so, as a result of a special purchase, we're doing what we can to help by offering Monkey Portraits at 2/3 off its original price. Looking at these full blown studio portraits of our fellow primates will open your eyes to the human condition in more ways than one; they're really quite amazing. This hardcover collection of photographs documenting approximately two dozen species, with a special focus on orangutans – now evidently considered our closest relation, with their DNA having been shown through complete sequencing to be slightly closer to that of humans than that of chimpanzees, who were previously thought to be our closest kin – is quite well produced and the reproduction of the images are of uniformly excellent quality, providing you with a look at these simian souls which is of a different category altogether from that which you get at a zoo or even a wildlife preserve. Our sole complaint about it is that the captions that accompany the photos are unnecessary and risk trivializing the images themselves, which are quite potent enough to stand on their own without any textual assistance. Thus, to most completely reap the rewards that this amazing collection of images provides, it is best to simply ignore the captions entirely and focus on the faces, which are eloquent enough.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $11.77

CB54

Cometbus 54: In China with Green Day
by Aaron Cometbus
Other writers would take this exact same piece of writing we find here, blow up the font a couple notches, scatter a bunch of concert and "behind-the-scenes" photos throughout it, shop around for a big name publisher, and put it out as a $30 or $40 coffee table book - but not Aaron Cometbus! No! Instead, what we have here is "only" the latest issue of Cometbus. No one gives you your money's worth like Aaron. This time around it's a just-shy-of-100-page issue filled cover to cover with the highly engaging tale of life on tour with a bunch of friends who happen to be a world famous rock band. Here, we'll even help you get started: "What happens when friends grow up together but make choices that lead them down different paths? Can they still travel together, despite their differences? That's what I wondered as I boarded the plane bound for Thailand, and, for the first time in my life, took a seat in first class..."
retail price - $4.00 copacetic price - $4.00

kus 7

Kus: The Baltic Comics Magazine #4 - 8
by various interior

Ever wondered what comics might look like if they had the backing of a national government along with a few private foundations? Well, wonder no more! Kus receives support from the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation as well as a rotating group of foundations, and it shows. These anthologies are fabulously produced in full color on nice, heavy, off white newsprint. They look and feel great, and they're modestly priced, even though they've had to travel here to Copacetic all the way from the Baltic state of Latvia. Most of the work in these issues is by European artists that we are not familiar with, but there are also a few familiar faces, such as John Porcellino, who gets a chance to strut his stuff in full color in #7, as does Matthew Thurber. Check these out when you get the chance. Oh yeah: despite the fact that these are published in Latvia, all the comics are in English, the language of global commerce.
#4 & #5 (80 pages; 4 1/2" x 6")   copacetic price - $6.00@
#6 (60 pages; 4 1/2" x 6")            copacetic price - $4.50
#7 (96 pages; 6" x 9")                  copacetic price - $8.00
#8 (112 pages; 6" x 9")                copacetic price - $8.00

NMSD13

Not My Small Diary #13 - #15 NMSD13

by various
Not My Small Diary is a unique anthology title that has been running strong since its founding in 1996 by Delaine Derry Green, who continues as its editor and publisher. Each issue is composed of two 64-80 page volumes, and features approximately 50 different cartoonists – making for a lot of comics for your money! Beginning with #11, each issue has been dedicated to a specific theme (listed below). These issues feature a truly great variety of comics work, most of it by creators that will be unfamiliar to most readers, but much of it is nonetheless quite worthy. Each issue also features work by seasoned comics pros such as Dan Zettwoch (#13), Dave Kiersh (#13, 14 & 15), Alec Longstreth (#14), Sarah Oleksyk (#14), Julia Wertz (#14), John Porcellino (#14 & 15), and many, many more!
#13: The Lucky/Unlucky Issue (158 pages)
#14: The Dating Issue (138 pages)
#15: Brushes with Celebrity (140 pages)
copacetic price - $6.00@

Us in a box

Us In a Box
by Spovatar W.B. Phlecender
Believe it or not, this is an all-new mini-comic collaboration between the one-and-only Chester Brown and fellow Canadian, Dave Lapp (whose combined names are anagrammed in the pseudonym). It's only 12 pages + cover, but it's a hand-signed (by Lapp) and numbered (by Brown) edition of 100 copies. Chester and Dave step out for a brief bit of goofy fun that, naturally, veers uncontrollably into the weird.
copacetic price - $4.00

gort

Gort
by Chris Cornwell
Format fans will get a kick out of this self-published, limited edition, 12 page, horizontally formatted mini comic that comes complete with its own double-sided, hand-screened, two-color cover and was created and produced right here in Pittsburgh, PA. The horizontal format endows each page with the pace and feel of a three-panel daily comic strip, which in turn gives this book a unique flavor. Read Gort and discover that the wages of self-absorption is... donuts.
copacetic price - $2.00 (DEAL!)

Items from our February 2011 listings may now be purchased online at our new site, HERE.

New for January 2011

Chimo

Chimo
by David Collier
Woohoo! A brand new work by Copacetic fave David Collier is sizzling hot off the press and waiting for you. We haven't had the chance to do more than crack it open, but even a cursory glance is enough to see that this is classic Collier through and through. As we can't wait to announce this book's arrival, we're going to step aside for a moment to let someone who has read it, and knows a little something about comics, share their opinion: "Chimo is an idiosyncratic, compelling and hilarious musing-in-comics that I couldn't put down. Seemingly a quirky memoir about soldiering, it's really a quest for survival – both basic and artistic – and a meditation on aging, family and the fight to simply try and understand oneself, all told by one of the most unpretentious cartoonists in North American. There's an eye for mundane detail and a sort of animal fear running through it all that leaves one shaken yet oddly refreshed. It's unlike anything I've read before. I loved it." - Chris Ware. Since premiering in R. Crumb's Weirdo over twenty years ago, Collier can be credited with pioneering a wide swath of non-fiction comics, including comics biography, comics history, sketchbook comics, autobio comics, anecdotal comics and more. Working out of humble Hamilton, Ontario, David Collier has quietly been building one of the most significant bodies of work in comics.
retail price - $17.00 copacetic price - $15.25

Suddenly

Suddenly Something Happened
by Jimmy Beaulieu
Here's the first English language edition (translation by Kerryann Cochrane) of any work by the esteemed Francophone Canadian comics creator, Jimmy Beualieu. Founder of the publishing house, Mecanique Générale and the author of eight books in French, Beaulieu was long overdue for being introduced to Anglophone readers. The work contained in this meaty 252 page volume originally appeared in French in 2004 and 2005 and was awarded the 2005 Prix de l'Esoir Québécois. Rendered in pencils occasionally bolstered by ink washes, Suddenly Something Happened chronicles the life and loves of its laid-back artist-protagonist set against the backdrop of Quebec, both urban and rural. There's a bit of Dupuy and Berberian here, a touch of Posy Simmonds, and fans of Alex Robinson might find what they're looking for in these pages. Beaulieu is a natural and fluid visual storyteller and this is a book to be savored.
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $17.77

inkstuds

Inkstuds: Interviews with Cartoonists
conducted, edited and compiled by Robin McConnell; introduction by Jeet Heer
Here we have an print edition collection of interviews culled from the unparalleled archives that Robin McConnell has amassed over the last five years of his Vancouver-based radio show. McConnell has been universally praised as both a sensitive and responsive interviewer and as a knowledgeable and tasteful comics connoisseur. The interview subjects included in this volume span a wide swath of the (North American) comics universe. In addition, it is worth noting that Inkstuds not only includes many of our finest contemporary comics practitioners, but also important non-creator members of the comics community as well: Kate Beaton, Gabrielle Bell, Marc Bell, Jonathan Bennett, Chester Brown, David Collier, Jordan Crane, Rebecca Dart, Kim Deitch, Mary Fleener, Sammy Harkham, Jeet Heer, Jaime Hernandez, Jeff Lemire, Jason Lutes, Billy Mavreas, Françoise Mouly, Dan Nadel, Marv Newland, Anders Nilsen, Joe Ollmann, Gary Panter, Joe Sacco, Seth, Tom Spurgeon, Ted Stearn, Barron Storey, Jillian Tamaki, and Carol Tyler.
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $17.77

CCC9

Closed Caption Comics 9
Here's the latest anthology from the loose-knit collective of comics crafters that coalesced a few years back in and around the arts community centered on MICA. CCC9 is by far the most substantial volume yet and comes to us in a squarebound 6" x 9" tradeback format and weighs in at close to 200 pages! All the usual suspects are on hand: Ryan Cecil Smith, Molly O'Connell, Lane Milburn, Noel Freibert, Conor Stechschulte, Molly Goldstrom and Erin Womack; and, there are as well the works of new-to-us contributors of Andrew Neyer, Chris Day, Pete Razon Zach Hazard Vaupen. This is a vital group producing work that is not only well worth paying attention to, but, for the most part, also quite enjoyable as well. CCC9 is limited to a mere 500 copies, so you might want to consider prioritizing this one.
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $20.00

Mcs36

McSweeney's 36 McS36B

What tha!? Yes, it's the big square head issue of McSweeney's. A literal (commodified) concretization of various figures of speech, such as, "what's on your mind?" "what are you thinking?" and "you are what you read," as well as a possible retort to "you've got nothing but sawdust between your ears!" The highlight of this issue is something we thought would never see the light of day: an annotated excerpt of Michael Chabon's failed second novel, the experience of writing which formed a theme of what became his successfully completed second novel, Wonder Boys. Also on hand are a two-act play about a modern Muslim Pakistani American family by Wajahat Ali, the oral history of Ma Su Mon, a student protester in Burma, a 1961 abridgment of the 1914 adventure tale, Jungle Geronimo in Gay Paree by Jack Pendarvis, new stories and letters by John Brandon, Colm Toibin, Jesse Eisenberg, an excerpt of Adam Levine's massive 1000+ pages The Instructions, giving you the chance to sample it without any commitment, and plenty more besides, all packed inside a cube-head. What more do you want?
retail price - $26.00 copacetic price - $23.75

PeB

Pebble Island
by Jon McNaught
Here it is: another precise yet elegiac evocation of the quotidian in comics form from the surprising Jon McNaught. This quiet controlled volume follows his masterful Birchfield Close (as well as what is, in our opinion, his most singularly impressive work, his seven-page contribution to Graphic Cosmogony, "Pilgrims."), also published by the London-based NoBrow Publications. Pebble Island, as its title suggests, presents us with the quiet rhythms of island life. First off is a simple childhood memory, the presentation of which says so much more than just, "this is what happened." Next up is a small series of single images that form a guided tour of island sites that combines the whimsy of early Rick Geary with the melancholy of Seth. The volume closes with a dense, rhythmic meditation on the intersection of artificial and natural spectacle. McNaught is a master of employing the page layout grid to weight each image with its proper proportion of time and space, as well as its proper location within the series, to create the ideal balance between the elements of each piece and so create the sense of a natural unfolding.
retail price - £10.00 copacetic price - $18.00

SoG2

Summit of the Gods 2
by Jiro Taniguchi (art) & Yumemakura Baku (script)
All right! It may have taken longer than expected, but the second volume of the massive five volume epic that is destined to be the last word in mountaineering manga is now out at the front of the Copacetic table of new arrivals. Jiro Taniguchi is simply one of the best visual story-tellers out there, and this is his longest sustained narrative. Thrills, suspense, intrigue – it's all here. Read more about this work in our listing for the first volume.
retail price - $25.00 copacetic price - $22.75

The Incredibly Fantastic Adventures of Maureen Dowd
by Benjamin Marra
Any comics reader who is also a regular reader of Maureen Dowd's New York Times columns (which appear regularly in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and many other papers as well) is sure to have all their buttons pushed in this mash-up of the conventions of action-adventure heroic-fantasy comics and the conceits of inside-the-beltway journalism that is simultaneously a send-up of both. A comic book for our times.
retail price - $3.00 copacetic price - $2.75

KC71

King-Cat Comics & Stories #71
by John Porcellino
Now's your chance to catch up with Mr. P! While this issue was drawn during his sojurn in the sunshine state – Gainesville, FL, to be exact – the events chronicled primarily predate this move and bring readers up to speed. As always, Porcellino delivers his trademarked style to bear on those key quotidian moments in life that prompt reflection and meditation on meaning and significance, as he moves through life accompanied by pen, ink and paper.
retail price - $3.00 copacetic price - $3.00

Big Questions #15
by Anders Nilsen
We sometimes questioned whether this day would ever arrive; but it has. The final, concluding issue of Big Questions, Anders Nilsen's long running series, upon which the bulk of his reputation rests, is now on sale here at The Copacetic Comics Company.
retail price - $7.95 copacetic price - $7.25

Crickets #3
by Sammy Harkham
Finally! A new issue of Crickets by the one and only Sammy Harkham. Sub-titled, "Sex Morons," this issue explores relationship issues and more, all in Harkham's highly informed, finely honed and intensely personal comics. This issue is printed biggest yet, both in length – it runs 48 pages – and in size – this time it comes to us in the 8 1/2" x 11" magazine format. As always, this issue is jam packed, cover-to-cover, with comics! This issue's feature length piece provides evidence that Mr. Harkham has – to our eyes, at least – studied and successfully absorbed a healthy helping of Jaime Hernandez's approach to comics story-telling. This is no mean feat and a very good thing. Harkham was already a master of nuance and now he has incorporated the rare ability to integrate character and environment in such a way that each simultaneously reflects and constructs the other. Pittsburgh readers receive a special bonus in the form of the one-pager related to an evening spent in our fair city. Now out of print; only a few remaining.
retail price - $8.00 copacetic price - sold out

Items from our January 2011 listings may now be purchased online at our new site, HERE.