New for December 2012


The Nao of Brown
by Glyn Dillon
Glyn Dillon is a journeyman UK comics artist who will be familiar to many US comics readers from his work on comics published by Vertigo, most notably Sandman.  Those readers, along with anyone else who takes the time to explore The Nao of Brown, are in for a pleasant surprise when they open the covers of this beautifully produced hardcover volume and feast their eyes on what awaits inside.  Freed from the corporate shackles of conglomerate entertainment, Dillon has been transformed into an artist inspired by life.  Deftly employing a combination of pencil, pen and watercolor in a manner that has, technically, a bit in common with Milo Manara's later work – while being employed to very different ends – Dillon's work here is easily the best of his career.  Every page is a visual treat that pleases the eye.  The play between the delineation of depth within each panel and the architecture of the page are integrated by the compositional use of color;  together making for a stimulating reading experience.  While it is clear that Dillon is an artist first and a writer second, The Nao of Brown is nevertheless quite engaging in its relating of the story of a young, artistically inclined woman of half-Japanese, half-British heritage, living in London and working at a "kidult" toy store specializing in Japanese products, who is also learning and practicing Buddhism is her spare time, enjoying time spent chatting with her roommate, and trying to find love – all while doing her best to overcome her OCD-related intrusive thought syndrome (or something like that...).  With The Nao of Brown, Glyn Dillon has proven himself a master comics craftsman.  We're very much looking forward to future works to emerge from his studio.
retail price - $24.99  copacetic price - $22.22


A Chinese Life
by Li Kunwu & P. Ôtié
Here it is:  the first major graphic novel from The People's Republic of China to make it to our shores.  Actually a graphic autobiography (and a completed trilogy, at that) it tells the life story of Chinese artist – and Communist Party member – Li Kunwu, that takes readers from the dawn of the Republic in 1949 all the way up to the present day.  Originally published as three volumes in France (with support from the Institut Français) this 691 page work was the result of a close collaboration between the artist of the work, whose story is being told, Li Kunwu, and French Far East expert, writer, Philippe Ôtié, who helped organize and present the story in a form that western readers can both appreciate and understand.  Don't miss this opportunity to explore the history of communist China from the groundlevel view of an "everyman" participant whose artistic skills have enabled him to convey the story in graphic novel form.
retail price - $27.50 copacetic price - $24.75


The Cavalier Mr. Thompson
A Sam Hill Novel: Sam's Early Days: 1924
by Rich Tommaso
Here's another hard-fought work from someone who has spent years in the comics trenches.  Rich Tommaso has been working in comics for quite a while now, in a variety of guises.  He has done several interesting one shot comics, among them 8 1/2 Ghosts, Perverso and Miriam, the last of which was recently expanded into a graphic novel of sorts, titled Pete and Miriam; he teamed up with James Sturm to produce the excellent Satchel Paige,  a comics bio cum Jim Crow critique; and he recently has been keeping busy as the colorist on the Carl Barks Library project, and doing a bang-up job holding up his end in producing what is sure to be the definitive edition of one of the most important bodies of work in the history of comics.  Here, in The Cavalier Mr. Thompson, Mr. Tommoso at last gets to stretch out his not inconsiderable talents in producing what promises to be the first of a series of graphic novels released under his own imprint, Recoil, and distributed by Fantagraphics.  What we have here is a fast-paced bit of Americana filled with dusty small town main streets, greasy spoon diners, midnight train trestles, fist fights and pretty girls in cute hats that immediately made us think of Frank Santoro's Storeyville, both for its content and with it's mustard yellow palette and fairly regular grid.  Anyone looking for some good ol' time adventure comics set in America's ruggedly innocent days should give this one the once over.
retail price - $16.99 copacetic price - $15.00


Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me
by Harvey Pekar and JT Waldman; with an epilogue by Joyce Brabner
According to the publisher's remarks accompanying this work, "Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me (is) the final graphic memoir" from Pekar.  Structured as a sort of variant of the Socratic dialogue, this work presents Pekar and Waldman spending a day in Pekar's hometown (Cleveland, OH, for the uninitiated among you) hashing out the "mythologies and realities surrounding the Jewish homeland," during which "Pekar interweaves his increasing disillusionment with the modern state of Israel with a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from the biblical times to the present."   Harvey has always been someone who speaks his mind and what he has had to say has been worth listening to; it should be no different this time around.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.75




Economix
by Michael Goodwin and Dan E. Burr
Following on the success of Logicomix, which told an engaging tale of how the late nineteenth and early twentieth century developments in logic and philosophy and their growing relation to mathematics led to the discovery and implementation of machine language by Alan Turing and others, the similarly titled Economix has a larger mandate relative to its field:  it aims to give readers a basic understanding of the entire field of economics and so covers the developments in the field from its inception in the fog shrouded past all the way up to the present day world of globalization, financial derivatives and financial crises, all through that magic mix of words and pictures known as comics (or, perhaps, given the title – "comix")!  This volume goes some way to providing further evidence that when it comes to learning, comix is the medium that takes out the tedium!  So, whether it's you that's interested in learning more about the dismal science, or you're hoping to inculcate its arcana in an unsuspecting family member, Economix is your ticket.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $17.77



Philosophy, a Discovery in Comics
by Margreet de Heer
While we're on the topic of learning through comics, we should hep you to this just translated work from The Netherlands.  Here's a quick sprint through the millennia of (western) philosophical thought, from Socrates to Nietzsche in just over a hundred entertaining and edifying pages. 
retail price - $16.99 copacetic price - $15.75




The Sigh
by Marjane Satrapi
The author of Persepolis is back with this 56 page illustrated – in color – all ages tale of  a wealthy merchant and his three daughters, their search for a blue bean, disappointment, resignation, then a sigh... leading to an adventure, a secret, a handsome young prince, and love.
retail price - $10.95 copacetic price - $9.99







Matt Baker: The Art of Glamor
edited by Jim Amash and Eric Nolan-Weathington
Yes!  Matt Baker is one of the all-time greats of Golden Age and Atom Age comics.  His lack of greater fame is largely due to the fact that he eschewed delineating superheroes – at least of the masculine variety – instead choosing to focus largely on employing his prodigious talents in the service of bringing a long line of feisty fighting female firebrands to the comics page.  While Baker made a mark with his minor foray into the world of caped crusaders with the infamous Phantom Lady (singled out by Dr. Frederic Wertham in Seduction of the Innocent for her heady "headlights"), he is best known for his down to earth women.  Some of these were serially recurring characters like the military-based, Canteen Kate, and, especially, the more exotic types like South Sea Gal, Vooda, Tiger Girl and, of course, Sheena, which were Baker's forte.  The core of Baker's oeuvre, however, was the parade of women who populated the pages of Crime and, especially, Romance comics published by St. John's Comics during the late '40s and early '50s in titles like Authentic Police Cases, Diary Secrets, Pictorial Romances and Teen-Age Temptations.  And he did plenty more besides, managing to produce an immense body of work in his all-too-brief 38 years of life, which ended in 1959.  Local Copacetic customers will be interested in learning that, shortly after his North Carolina nativity, Baker's family moved to Pittsburgh, and he grew up right here in Homewood.  In addition, it is worth pondering a moment the fact that Matt Baker was one of the few – and by far the most successful – black men to work in comic books during their formative, pre-code years.  Matt Baker is a comics figure worthy of attention, and with this volume we have a good place to start.
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $35.00

Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus, Volume Four
by Jack Kirby
Here it is, the stunning conclusion to Kirby's massive meditation on the superhero mythos as religious system.  This volume contains the less well known two-part conclusion to this epic saga that appeared in 1984 ("Armagetto", tacked onto the end of the 6 issue Baxter reprint of New Gods) and 1985 (as DC Graphic Novel #4: The Hunger Dogs) – a decade after the 1974 termination of the original series.  Taken together these two stories provide over one hundred additional pages, produced at a distance of time from the original series, allowing Kirby a chance to reflect upon his creation.  The result is dark and violent conclusion informed by the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, but one in which hope nevertheless remains alive.  These stories are Kirby's last word on the superhero, and as such are required reading for anyone who is in any way invested – be it intellectually, emotionally and/or spiritually – in this twentieth century mythological form.  In other words, it's essential reading.
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $26.99

Nancy Likes Christmas
by Ernie Bushmiller; introduction by Bill Griffith
At the opposite end of the comics spectrum from Kirby's epic we have the second volume in the Fantagraphics project to collect the complete run of Nancy daily strips by Ernie Bushmiller.  As with the first, this volume presents three full years worth of the definitive newspaper comic strip meditation on the quotidian.  Nancy Like Christmas collects the entirety of the dailies published in 1946, 1947 & 1948 – save for two strips, which they were unable to track down!  This volume also features an introduction by Zippy the Pinhead creator, Bill Griffith.  A staunch defender of Bushmiller's value as a cartoonist, Griffith has repeatedly ridden to his defense bearing Nancy's standard.  After reading his eloquent introduction to this volume a renewed (or newfound) respect and admiration for Bushmiller will blossom in every reader.  While we don't know – but can certainly hope – whether or not Bushmiller would be able to appreciate the manner in which Zippy embodies and articulates the absurd, it is nonetheless certain that Zippy is informed by insights Griffith has gleaned from Nancy.  So, get ready for another three years of archetypal continuities featuring those pen and ink paradigms, Nancy and Sluggo, written and drawn by that master of panelogical rhythm, Ernie Bushmiller.
retail price - $26.99 copacetic price - $23.75

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

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 here at the shop, so take a look next time you're in.  copacetic price - $12.75@ 

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.  The music of Fats Waller is the ultimate picker-upper; there's no need to be down if you've got some Fats Waller tunes around (click on the image for details):

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


New for November 2012


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




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, as well 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





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.
retail price - $16.00@  copacetic price - $14.75@





Future Shock #1
edited by Josh Burg Graf
This 40-page full color comic book anthology is a real treat.  Eight pieces are presented here by up and coming comickers including Pat Aulisio, Victor Kerlow, William Cardini, Sungyoon Choi and Anuj Shresth, but most notably by editor Graf himself, whose piece, "The Electric Unconscious" is the clear highlight.  With more issues on the way, this looks like a series to watch.
retail price - $6.00  copacetic price - $6.00





King-Cat Comics and Stories #73
by John Porcellino
The latest from the one and only John P. opens with a cartoon of sorts, "Mr. Bowser and his Little Cat Friends in: 'At the Movies'" before segueing into the main feature, "In Search of the Cuckoo Bird,"  a wholesome tale of birding.  Rounding out this issue is the requisite King-Cat Top 40, along with a "Comix Dream", "Unusual! Ground Hog Behavior", and a "Spotlight On: Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel". 
retail price - $3.00  copacetic price - $3.00


A Film About Billy
by Daniel McCloskey
Cyberpunk Apocalypse head honcho and man about town, Daniel McCloskey has at last delivered his long-in-progess "hybrid novel".  A Film About Billy splices together straight-up comics and straight-up prose in roughly equal measure, filling 240 engrossing pages that go flying by.  Divided into 65 concise, action-packed chapters the novel forges an engaging Akira-esque science fiction adventure yarn concerning an ominously looming threa, and that takes place reight here is Pittsburgh (or, at least, a fictional approximation thereof) and the surrounding environs.  But that's not all.  A Film About Billy is also:  a psychological portrait of youth in crisis; an exposé of the power of technology to alienate, as well as the rituals of drug use – legal, socially acceptable, and other – to bring kids together; a look back at small town closed-mindedness and family dysfunction; and, oh yeah – the end of the world (or not).  All while simultaneously managing to sneak in, a bit below the surface, a humorous update of the portrait of the artist as a young man.  Support the home team and get a solid bang for your entertainment buck while you're at it.  What's not to like?
retail price - $11.95  copacetic price - $10.00


July Diary
by Gabrielle Bell
The hits keep coming.  Spend a New York month with GB.  Experience her ups and downs, share in her highs and lows, learn the ins and outs of the life of a contemporary cartoonist living in New York City.  This time around we are presented with a 40 page perfect-bound digest that comes complete with bonues extras of a party poster and original pencil roughs.
retail price - $6.00  copacetic price - $5.40



Neon Super Gladiator
by Andy K.
Battling spacemen duke it out in an arcade machine, but – the stakes are real.  Page after page of action-packed detailed pen and ink comics fill this 28 page magazine format comic book printed on heavy cream stock.  The work falls somewhere between a hommage à Moebius and Brandon Graham's work on Multiple Warheads.  Take a gander at it on Andykart.com and see what you think.
retail price - $6.00  copacetic price - $6.00





Titus and the Cyber Sun
by Lale Westvind
Here's another magazine size comic book packed with great art and something of a science fiction bent.  Titus and the Cyber Sun was actually first released several years ago – way back in 2009 – but then went out of print.  We only now managed to score some copies for the shop at this year's SPX.  It's worth the wait.  This 38 page work is pantomime/silent (aka wordless/texteless) tour de force of picture writing comics. The story and art strongly echo the early 70s underground ethos in both story and art and will be a real treat for anyone so inclined.
retail price - $7.00  copacetic price - $6.00




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@



Donald Duck: "A Christmas for Shacktown"
by Carl Barks
While we're on the topic of classics, it really doesn't get any better than the comics contained in 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!  ANyone interested in delving deeper in the world of Carl Barks is invited to read our in-depth review of the first volume in this series.
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!  What can we say, Fantagraphics (the publisher of this and the previous three volumes of classic comics) is on a roll!  Kudos to all.  You really probably should wait to experience this work in person, but anyone who is completely unfamiliar with Spacehawk will probably be doing themselves a favor by checking out this healthy-portioned PDF preview.
retail price - $39.99  copacetic price - $35.00




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) .   copacetic price - $29.75@





And here's a fresh batch of books released by independent small presses that were brought to our attention by Polish Hill's own literary sage, Karen Lillis.  Each title is followed by a link to learn more about it.


Train to Pokipse by Rami Shamir
http://www.evergreenreview.com/b/current-issue-number-130/review-train-to-pokipse/
retail price - $15.00  copacetic price - $13.75

Nine Months by Paula Bomer
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781616951467
retail price - $15.00  copacetic price - $13.75

The Prophet of Tenth Street by Tsipi Keller
http://www.sunypress.edu/p-5512-the-prophet-of-tenth-street.aspx
retail price - $18.95  copacetic price - $17.50

Office Girl by Joe Meno
http://www.spdbooks.org/Producte/9781617750762/office-girl.aspx
retail price - $15.95copacetic price - $14.75

Legs Get Led Astray by Chloe Caldwell (essays)
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781892061423
retail price - $13.50  copacetic price - $12.50

The Madonna of the Sleeping Cars by Maurice Dekobra (lost classic)
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781612190587
retail price - $15.00  copacetic price - $13.75


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


••>> "Made in Pittsburgh" X-Mas!


New for October 2012


Building Stories
by Chris Ware
Well, if you're only going to read one comic book this year... then you are going to have to steer clear of this one!  That's because 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 parallels between 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 heading straight there to start digging in, or (the Copacetic recommendation) waiting until you yourself have spent some quality time of your own with this massive project before 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




The Hive
by Charles Burns
The hotly awaited sequel to the opus that began two years ago with X-ed Out is here!  Imagine TinTin growing up, moving to the east coast of the USA and evolving into a drug-taking, punk rock slacker with "issues" who then discovers a fantastic alternative reality and you'll have some – but only some – idea of what to expect between these covers.  All Charles Burns fans will rightly consider this volume filled with page after page of meticulously penciled and obsessively inked images architecturally arranged in sequences that pull the reader along on hallucinatory explorations of heretofore hidden recesses of the American popular unconscious a must; the uninitiated may enter at their own risk.
retail price - $21.95  copacetic price - $19.75




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




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.
retail price - $29.95  copacetic price - $25.00




No Man's Land
by Blexbolex
This is the most extended narrative by the standard bearer of the articulation of space through overlapping and interlocking planes of color.  This 140 page hardcover volume matches form with content in relating a multilayered tale of international intrigue in which the shallow surface paradoxically reveals hidden depths of illusion, hallucination and self-deception. 
retail price - $21.95    copacetic price - $19.75






Monster SPX 2012
by Heather Benjamin, Thomas Toye, Edie Fake, Brittany Hague, Jon Vermilyea, Leif Goldberg & Mike Taylor
Wrapped in a hand printed silk-screened cover, Monster SPX brings the comics spirit of Providence, RI to life and print by delivering a solid, artistically strong anthology of original comics by creators who are passionate about their work. 
retail price - $14.00  copacetic price - $12.00





Andromeda Quarterly 1
edited by Andy Scott
As those who made it to the relaunch of this steadfast anthology of Pittsburgh comics here at Copacetic already know, the new and improved Andromeda is here.  The new quarterly format is a perfect bound digest filled with comics in color and black and white created in the Pittsburgh region.  Beginning with a fabulous mythological themed cover illustration by editor Scott, this issue contains work by over a dozen artists.  This issue's highlights are "Bears in Space," a comic about comics that is a collaboration between Cyberpunk Apocalypse house mates, "Dashing" Dan McCloskey and "Notorious" Nate McDonough and an eight page info comic about CMU's radio station, WRCT-FM by Juan Fernandez.  Support the home team and give Andromeda a try!  Who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to produce some comics of your own; if so, the submissions deadline for the next issue is the first of December...
retail price - $5.00  copacetic price - $4.50



Arcadia
edited by Jeremy Baum
This 64 page magazine format comics anthology was produced right here in Pittsburgh and is filled with new* comics work with a heavy Pittsburgh presence.  Nate McDonough, Dan McCloskey, Nils Skeletonballs and Nick Marino join editor Jeremy Baum in representing tha' 'burgh.  They are joined by a global cast of comics creators including Box Brown, Josh Bayer, Diego Tripodi, Daniele Piardini, Eduardo Savid, Tom Aresto and Danny Hellman in this attractive, and attractively priced, comic book.  (*with the exception of an excerpt from the currently out of print graphic novel, Squirrel Machine by Hans Rickheit)
retail price - $6.00  copacetic price - $5.00




Secret Prison 7
edited by Ian Harker & Box Brown
This, the most ambitious issue yet of the anthology comic Secret Prison is massive and meaty tribute/homage to Garo manga.  This super-sized (10" x 13") right-to-left reading comic contains well over 100 pages of comics by the likes of Ryan Cecil Smith, Katie Skelly, Pat Aulisio, Noel Freibert, Charles Forsman, Luke Pearson, Tom Hart and Angie Wang, as well as editors Box Brown and Ian Harker.  The volume ends with a classic Masahiko Matsumoto reprint that originally appeared in 1973. 
retail price - $15.00  copacetic price - $13.75




Puppyteeth #3
edited by Kevin Czapiewski
What we have here is a very nicely produced, full color, perfectbound comics anthology out of Cleveland, OH that features work by midwest creators, many of whom will be familiar to anyone who has attended PIX and/or the Pittsburgh Zine Fair:  Kevin and Matt Czapiewski; Liz Suburbia; Alex Martin; Brandon B; Cherry Au; Eric Kubli; Jessi Zabarsky; Jory Griffis; Katherine Verhoeven; Keith Pakiz; L. Nichols; Liz Valasco; Mandy Sampson; and Niki Smith.  As much as we like this anthology, we have to go on record as being mystified by the choice of cover art, as not only is it the opposite of eye-catching, it does not represent the contents well either.  So, our advice is:  Please ignore the cover.  There's a lot of nice work showcased here, much of which can be previewed on the editor's Tumblr.   Definitely worth a look.
retail price - $20.00  copacetic price - $18.88



Pope Hats #3
by Ethan Rilly
Wow!  Ethan Rilly just keeps getting better.  Anyone interested in deftly delineated character driven narratives in the tradition founded by Xaime and Beto Hernandez needs to be aware of this series.  Rilly is a relative youngster and his work – set in what we are assuming is Toronto (Rilly is a native), but could be Seattle, or any other major north American metropolis, for that matter – is closer in register to the work of Adrian Tomine, as it is largely set in a world of office towers and upward striving.  Anyone unfamiliar with this series can get some idea of what's in store by checking out the short 2010 piece, "Ex Montreal", hosted in its entirety on Rilly's site, here.  Each issue of Pope Hats proceeds from the previous issue, but can be enjoyed on its own.  This is a good thing in more ways than one:  as the series has been clocking in at a rate of less than one issue per year, it's difficult to remember all that has come before; but you can't rush quality, and we're glad to wait for something as good as this. 
retail price - $6.95  copacetic price - $6.25




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!
retail price - $24.95  copacetic price - $22.22



The Best American Comics 2012
edited by Françoise Mouly
There's plenty to like between these two covers.  The only questions is:  How much of it do you already have? 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



other Best American® titles now in stock:
Best American Non Required Reading edited by Dave Eggers  retail price - $14.95  copacetic price - $13.75
Best American Short Stories edited by Tom Perrotta  retail price - $14.95  copacetic price - $13.75
Best American Essays edited by David Brooks  retail price - $14.95  copacetic price - $13.75
Best American Science and Nature Writing edited by Dan Ariely  retail price - $14.95  copacetic price - $13.75
Best American Travel Writing edited by William Vollman (!)  retail price - $14.95  copacetic price - $13.75
and also (not part of the Best American® series, but surely worthy nonetheless)
Best American Poetry edited by Mark Doty  retail price - $16.00  copacetic price - $14.75




Marvel Comics: The Untold Story
by Sean Howe
Any comics fan with a Tumblr account is probably well aware of this book, as Mr. Howe has been ceaselessly posting images related to this work for the past several months, but for the rest of you we want to make sure you know that this close to 500 page 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 finally out on the new arrival table here at Copacetic.  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 this volume is sure to be of interest to any longtime Marvel Comics reader.
retail price - $26.99  copacetic price - $22.75



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