Just In (Case You Missed It) - New Stuff Archives 2Q 2012

New for June 2012

Ed the Happy Clown
by Chester Brown
Yes, it has finally come to pass: Ed the Happy Clown is back in print in book form for the first time in decades, in what is likely to be the definitive edition. This is the ground breaking work that both put Chester Brown on the map and broadened the horizons of comics in the 1980s, causing a seismic shift in its landscape and charting a new direction away from heroic fantasy through a methodology that, in hindsight, can be seen to be – at least in some respects – a deconstruction of the psychological as well as epistemological underpinnings of that genre, which has since become dominated by corporate entertainment behemoths. Ed the Happy Clown is an epic saga of self-discovery that was simultaneously a saga of self-annihilation that originally ran in Chester's flagship title, Yummy Fur. Beginning life as a self-published mini-comic that lasted seven issues, it went on to run for 32 issues. Yummy Fur was a classic auteurist single-artist comic book series, written and drawn by a natural cartoonist, that was – along with Love and Rockets and Neat Stuff, and later Eightball, Hate, Dirty Plotte and Palookaville – one of the few essential comic book titles of its day. The first 24 issues were published by the now defunct Vortex Comics, before moving to Drawn and Quarterly, which has remained Chester's publisher ever since. Chester went on a journey to the center of his mind and found the secret hideout of his super ego, whereupon he burst in, knocked it out, tied it to a chair and then put a strip of duct tape over its mouth. Then he took its keys and let out all his own thoughts, impulses, drives and urges that the super ego had kept locked up since adolescence and let them run amok for eighteen consecutive issues of Yummy Fur. The end result is Ed the Happy Clown. You have been warned.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.22

Gloriana
by Kevin Huizenga

Here it is: the best selling work (when combining the sales of its two previous incarnations) in the history of The Copacetic Comics Company has finally been published in a richly deserved, shelf-worthy – and, more to the point, library friendly – permanent edition. This 120 page hardcover is printed on archival white stock and presents the complete original work along with bonus pages documenting its history. Originally self-published in 2001 as Super Monster #14, "Gloriana" was the culmination of Huizenga's development as an artist, knitting together all his strengths as a comics theoretician, cartoonist and graphic explicator to produce a startlingly original work that garnered considerable critical acclaim and eventually brought him to the attention of both Fantagraphics (who have to date published four issues of his Ignatz series, Ganges) and Drawn & Quarterly, who commissioned him to lead off their Drawn & Quarterly Showcase series, and have subsequently collected and repackaged the most significant portion of his self-published and anthologized work, including this, which was first reissued by D&Q as the second issue of Or Else. Huizenga has dedicated himself to advancing the formal capacities of comics, forging new syntheses by consistently applying fresh perspectives to comics from a wide variety of sources; perhaps most dramatically so here, in Gloriana. The fact that more Copacetic customers own this work than any other won't stop us from continuing to do our best to continue to bring it the attention of comics readers everywhere – this means you!
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $17.77

Birdseye Bristoe
by Dan Zettwoch
And what better to follow the latest Kevin H. with than the latest by his longtime associate and fellow St. Louisan, Dan. Z., whose long promised graphic novel debut has at last arrived! Birdseye Bristoe is 72 full color pages of pure Zettwoch: set in a fictional (but perhaps even more authentic for being so) midwestern locale somewhere between St. Louis and Louisville, and filled with cut-away drawings, explanatory diagrams, maps and, of course, page after page of fun-filled comics filled with down home midwestern characters of all ages and stripes, it tells a story of industrial development and technological change that for all it's impressiveness seems to make little impact on the locals, who just continue to carry on apparently impervious to it all. These characters, when combined with the story's narrative arc, give this work the feel of a fable; one in which "progress" is something of a conceit, and the eternal verities of a practically-minded, human-scale life of family, friends and useful work prevail. Anyone wondering where to find that self-sufficient, can-do, don't bother me American spirit of yesteryear now has an answer: the comics work of Dan Zettwoch. Never one to shy away from wearing his heart on his sleeve, Zettwoch has rendered the entire work in ballpoint pen, colored pencil and white-out pen on tan typing paper – and to great effect, as these PDF preview pages attest (but just barely; they don't do the printed work justice). Added bonus: end papers!
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $17.77

My Friend Dahmer
by Derf Backderf MFD

And then there's the dark side of the midwestern experience. When Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested for the murder of seventeen young men and teenage boys on July 22, 1991, Derf – along with the rest of the world – discovered that his high school classmate and friend (after a fashion) had transformed into a monster since graduating in 1978, and he knew almost immediately that he would have to share his story. Not wanting to partake in the media feeding frenzy that was precipitated in the wake of the startling revelations, Derf bided his time, taking copious notes and slowly putting his story together. He published a short excerpt in the Fantagraphics anthology ZeroZero in 1997, and then managed to self-publish a 24 page excerpt of this graphic novel as a stand alone comic book in 2002, which made quite an impact (we remember it well) at the time and was widely acclaimed – even being adapted for a stage play – but it took another ten years for the full graphic to finally be published, courtesy Abrams ComicArts. This 224 page graphic memoir of Derf's and Dahmer's days at Revere High School in Akron, Ohio in the mid 1970s gives both the big picture of high school life and the details of Derf and Dahmer's own days; how each blended in and how, specifically, Dahmer stood out. Imagine Black Hole instead done by Joe Sacco and you will begin to have a vague idea of what's in store. Sad and creepy in equal measure, My Friend Dahmer will haunt you long after putting in down.
retail price - $17.95 copacetic price - $16.75

Jou

Journalism
by Joe Sacco
And, speaking of Joe Sacco, his latest tome has just arrived! 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. American comics readers are, by and large, no less guilty of provincialism than the general citizenry, so we feel confident in prescribing Journalism as just the tonic to cure that particular ailment.
retail price - $29.00 copacetic price - $25.75
INc

Incinerator
by Michael DeForge
Yes, it's taken us awhile to get this one in, but now we have a good supply, so any and all Copacetic Michael DeForge fans may now stroll in – physically or virtually – at their leisure to pick up this new 16-page comic by the creator of Lose. DeForge is an idiosyncratic iconoclast, working to employ the building blocks of comics to forge (yes, sometimes a person's name is significant) a fresh comics language for today. Matt Seneca has hosted a preview accompanied by an interview with DeForge, here.
retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - $4.50

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.
retail price - $34.99 copacetic price - $29.75

Kolor Klimax: Nordic Comics Now
edited by Matthias Wivel
This 250 page, full-size, flexi-cover anthology of contemporary comics contains new, 21st century work of twenty five creators hailing from the Scandinavian nations of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. As editor Wivel makes plain in his introduction, there's fertile ground for comics in this part of the world, so it should come as now surprise that there's plenty happening on the comics front. Kolor Klimax is only the first of a projected series of English language anthologies of Nordic work; there's plenty more where this came from! On hand are some creators who will already be familiar to many Copacetic customers, most notably Amanda Vähämäki, whose "In the Night" is yet another standout work that is new to our shores. Tommi Musturi and Bendik Kaltenborn have also had works here, but there are twenty new creators to discover in these pages. Interested? Then don't miss our special "get acquainted" price!
retail price - $29.99 copacetic special price - $19.99

BoE

Best of Enemies – A History of US and Middle East Relations, Part One: 1783 - 1953
by Jean-Pierre Filiu & David B.
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

banga

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

BEACH BOOKS?

A Hologram for the King
by Dave Eggers
Eggers's new novel features an American businessman trying to make a go of it in... Saudi Arabia. A novel for our times?
retail price - $25.00 copacetic price - $22.75

IOP

In One Person
by John Irving
The latest from Irving has garnered quite a bit of attention.
retail price - $28.00 copacetic price - $25.00

Farther Away
by Jonathan Franzen
Farther Away contains a decade's worth of Franzen's essays arranged in reverse chronological order. Most are from that past five years since his 2006 collection, The Discomfort Zone. Take a moment to check out what that UK master of the essay, Geoff Dyer has to say about it.
retail price - $26.00 copacetic price - $23.75

Fear of Music
They Live
by Jonathan Lethem
Jonathan Lethem, he's our man / When cool stuff needs explained, he's the one that can! If there's anyone out there who can be said to have the back of copacetic culture, it's JL. While he is best known as an award-winning novelist (Motherless Brooklyn, Fortress of Solitude, etc.) he is also an intelligent and eloquent essayist and critic – especially in defense of works on the margins that other critics of his stature seem to have an inability to appreciate. His critiques clearly embody the author's personality and are often in themselves playfully creative, making them engagingly enjoyable in a way that is a rarity among works of cultural criticism. This is certainly the case with these two in-depth, pocket-size looks at two works that can, in hindsight, be seen as effectively (and affectingly) bookending the Reagan years: 1979's Fear of Music, an LP by The Talking Heads and 1988's They Live, a film by John Carpenter. Are you ready?
Fear of Music - retail price - $12.95 copacetic price - $11.75
They Live - retail price - $13.95 copacetic price - $12.75

Items from our June 2012 listings may now be purchased online at our eComerce site, HERE.

New for May 2012

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

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

Jerusalem
by Guy DeLisle
We can't resist following one city-based graphic memoir with another, and so here we have the 2012 winner of the Fauve d’Or, or Best Comic Book Award, at the prestigious Angouleme Comic Festival. Jerusalem is DeLisle's most ambitious work yet. In 336 pages he observes, explores, examines and reports from many locales to create a well rounded portrait in multiple perspectives on the many sides of days in the lives lived in this multi-faceted city of many intertwined meanings. To get up to speed, read this CBR interview with DeLisle.
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $22.22

Don't Come Back
by Nate McDonough
And, while we're on the subject of cities, here we have the latest graphic novel issuing from Copacetic's home town by one of Pittsburgh's own. Don't Come Back is the first extended work by fledgling cartoonist, Nate McDonough. Best known for his regularly published, digest-sized comic book, Grixly, McDonough goes long in Don't Come Back with a meditation on 'burgh life that takes many a flight into fancy and beyond.
retail price - $12.00 copacetic price - $12.00

non

Nonnonba
by Shigeru Mizuki
Heralded as Mizuki's "definitive work", Nonnonba is a "poetic memoir" chronicling his lifelong involvement with yokai (spirit monsters). Nonnonba is an essential manga masterwork that was awarded the top prize at Angouleme in 2007. It is finally making its English language, North American debut in this finely crafted 432 page edition. For a tiny teaser, take a gander at this PDF preview.
retail price - $26.99 copacetic price - $23.75

Fallen Words
by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Fallen Words is the seventy-five year old Tatsumi's follow up work to his epic memoir, A Drifting Life. Taking its title from the centuries-old tradition of rakugo, an interpretive and performative type of storytelling that has been handed down over many generations in Japan, with each performer providing his (or her?) own spin on the story through their respective manners of performance, Fallen Words offers a look at an art form that is a comics kin to the interpretive preformative tradition of jazz here in the USA, where each performer can put their own stamp on a tune, whether it is a timeless classic or a passing pop song.
retail price - $19.99 copacetic price - $17.77

Folly
by Hans Rickheit
Fans of the now out of print Squirrel Machine, as well as, of course, those who have been following Mr. Rickheit's deliberate and detailed dreamscapes since his Chrome Fetus days will be happy to see this 144 page, full-size, French-flapped soft cover volume collecting together his far flung recent works, gathered primarily from a host of anthologies. This work is uncategorizable, but does occupy comics territory that will also be familiar to readers of Jim Woodring's Frank comics. Like Woodring, Rickheit channels visions from his own personal dream planet, and has the artistic chops to pull it off and make you believe. And we encourage anyone unfamiliar with his work to check it out and get a feel for what we're talking about with this 14-page PDF excerpt.
retail price - $18.99 copacetic price - $17.00

Object 5
by Kilian Eng
Our pals at Floating Worlds in Portland, Oregon have published the first monograph of illustration and graphic design work by this Swedish artist. This pint-sized portfolio publication packs a wallop. It's diminutive dimensions – A5 (a tad over 5" x 8") – are more than made up for by the full flat color on all of it's 64 pages. It's a tad on the pricey side, but it's a limited edition of 1000 copies, so one day it may seem cheap at today's price (especially once the Copacetic discount is factored in). There's more than a hint of Moebius influence here, but to this we say, "Hurray!" This is a side of comics we haven't been seeing as much of as we'd like of late, and with Moebius gone, we sorely want to see his legacy live on. And, of course, there's plenty of other sources flowing into the work on display here, all of which are synthesized into a contemporary sensibility that is Mr. Eng's own. Here's hoping that he finds his way to producing (or at least inspiring) some comics in this same mold.
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $17.77

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, 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 - $37.75

And here are a few suggestions for some solid summer reading:

krug

End This Depression Now!
by Paul Krugman
Get the inside dope at: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/may/24/how-end-depression/
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $20.00

Rebuild the Dream
by Van Jones
Van's the man! Get hep at: http://rebuildthedream.com/ and http://www.theroot.com/views/van-jones-advisor-outsider
retail price - $25.99 copacetic price - $22.22

The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
by Jon Gertner
Learn more at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-22/book-review-the-idea-factory and http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/21/2887206/jon-gertner-idea-factory-bell-labs
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $26.95

The Great Animal Orchestra
by Bernie Krause
Curious? Here's the lowdown: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/books/review/the-great-animal-orchestra
retail price - $26.95 copacetic price - $25.00

wild

Wild
by Cheryl Strayed
A memoir of desperate self-invention that paid off. Looked at through a decade-plus worth of digestion that provides a mature perspective that proves that it was worth the wait. More at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/books/wild-by-cheryl-strayed
retail price - $25.95 copacetic price - $23.75

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir
by Jenny Lawson
Ms. Lawson, AKA "The Blogess" is a bit of an online phenomenon, and this book is a distillation of her unique voice. But you already knew this, right? If not, learn more here: http://thebloggess.com/lets-pretend-this-never-happened-a-mostly-true-memoir/
retail price - $25.95 copacetic price - $23.75

Items from our May 2012 listings may now be purchased online at our eComerce site, HERE.

New for April 2012

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

Krazy + Ignatz, 1922 - 1924: "At Last My Drim of Life Has Come True" kk22

by George Herriman
In a bit of fitting Fantagraphical synchronicity, this, the final volume of their series collecting the complete run of Krazy Kat Sunday pages in a single uniform edition, was published in tandem with their initial volume of Nancy dailies. While in most repsects the respective creations of Herriman and Bushmiller could not be more different, on the level of achievement they certainly have much in common, and taken together their work provides ample demonstration of the breadth and depth of the comics form. "At Last My Drim of Life Has Come True" is an apt title in more ways than one. First and foremost as it applies to series editor, Bill Blackbeard, in that it completes what may have been his own dearest "drim", to shepherd the complete run of this great work into a lasting posterity. Blackbeard died shortly before this item saw print, but not before he penned yet another joyfully enthusiastic introduction. Let us all give thanks to his life spent in the service of preserving and promoting the great legacy of the first half century of American comics and look to his example in going forward. This volume, weighing in at over 250 pages, is by far the heftiest in the series, and provides a wealth of bonus materials. Its highlight is the inclusion of the ten experimental color Sundays that ran in 1922, over a decade before the series switched over to color on a regular basis. These pieces are ¡el primo! Herriman and cannot be oversold. Also, just in the nick of time ("Better Late Than Never" declares the essay introducing them) this volume includes Herriman's very first comic strip, Mrs. Waitaminnut – The Woman Who Is Always Late, that originally ran way back in 1903! And, as if that weren't already enough, we are presented with the parting gift of the complete run of Herriman's Sunday-only series focusing on domestic life, Us Husbands that ran for fifty weeks in both full-color and duo-tone in 1926, and for which Jeet Heer provides an introduction to bring you up to speed. We all knew this series would have to end eventually, but at least it went out with a bang! (Now, if only we can persuade Gary and Kim to collect the dailies...)
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $22.22

ASHK

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

ambarb

American Barbarian
by Tom Scioli
Get ready for 256 pages of pulse pounding pencils – and inks and colors, not to mention the story and script as well - by the pandemonium producing Pittsburgh comics creator, Tom Scioli! Author and artist of the the Xeric-winning Myth of 8-Opus saga, and co-creator of Godland, Scioli has here brought the past and the future together in a post-apocalyptic fusion of all things adventurous. It's Devil Dinosaur and the Forever People meet Conan the Barbarian and Captain America, with a dash of The Mighty Thor and Star Wars thrown in for good measure. If you need more convincing, read this rave Robot 6 review. American Barbarian started out life as a web-comic, so feel free to dive right in (and while you're there, you can also check out Scioli's latest project, Final Frontier, which is just now getting underway). Yes, American Barbarian is a fun-filled romp that will scratch that comic book itch, but, like all the works by Scioli's patron saint, Jack Kirby, it also contains a good deal more. In its meshing and blending of ancient mythical archetypes and religious narrative tropes with pop culture iconography, Scioli provides cogent (if sometimes obscure) social and historical commentaries that can be reached by anyone willing to scratch (and sometimes dig) below its action-packed surface.
retail price - $19.99 copacetic price - $17.77

CLowes

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 - $37.50

Items from our April 2012 listings may now be purchased online at our eComerce site, HERE.