NEW STUFF ARCHIVES
New for June 2020
Paying the Land
by Joe Sacco
YES! Here at The Copacetic Comics Company, we are very excited to have a new full length work by Joe Sacco here in the shop. Paying the Land is Sacco's report back from his time spent in visiting with The Dene people, an indigenous group of First Nations who have inhabited "since time immemorial" the lands that make up what is currently referred to as the Mackenzie River Valley in the Canadian Northwest Territories; millenia before Europeans, Canadians, or Americans ever laid eyes upon them. As usual, Sacco reports primarily directly from the source, telling the stories of overlapping generations of members of the various tribes and bands that make up The Dene, among whom number hunters, fishers, trappers, chiefs, entrepreneurs, activists, political representatives and more. There are the stories of individual lives, the people's history, and at the center of it all, the collisions with Western Civilization, which takes many forms. While these collisions are clearly embodied in the form of extractive industries intent on plundering for profit the very land that, in the eyes of the Dene, "owns them, not the other way around, Paying the Land reveals that the deeper impacts have taken place in the minds, bodies and souls of The Dene, as they experienced the trauma of having their traditional ways of life taken away from them and replaced by the education, religion and social norms of the west. Today, these traumas are shown to be at the core of their struggles to regain their rightful agency over their lands, and, ultimately, their lives. As always, Sacco's approach to graphic storytelling fully immerses the reader in the unfolding saga from page one, while simultaneously embedding critical and emotional registers throughout the narrative with his sophisticated understanding of pacing, layout, juxtaposition and scale. In other words, this is a finely crafted work by an experienced practitioner of the comics form. We direct anyone looking for more details to Aida Edemariam's thoughtful (and somewhat combative) review at The Guardian. Need further convincing? Then take a moment to check out this very generous preview (click on right-pointing arrow on menu bar at top center to advance through preview). You'll be glad you did!
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $26.75
The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud
by Kuniko Tsurita; edited and translated by Ryan Holmberg
With the publication of The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud, Anglophone readers in North America are at long last given the opportunity to confront the work of Kuniko Tsurita and it is a revelation! The first woman contributor to Garo, debuting in 1965 at the age of eighteen(!), she went on to produce startlingly original manga for over twenty years. All of the eighteen uniquely powerful stories collected in this 380 page softcover volume are formally inventive and visually daring, each in its own way. They were originally published between 1966 and 1980, during which period Tsurita was the only regularly contributing woman in the pages of Garo. In addition, there is an invaluable 40 page illustrated essay, "The Life and Art of Kuniko Tsurita," by Ryan Holmberg and Mitsuhito Asakawa that provides a detailed overview of her career and development as an artist, as well as an appreciation of her achievement. Here's a brief PDF preview courtesy of the publisher, D & Q. Check it out! And, here is a sampling we posted on Instagram, that effectively communicates the "wow!" factor. Don't miss this one!
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $26.75
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $18.75Dr. Murder and the Island of Death
by Emil Friis Ernst
This work premiered in North America at SPX 2019, after which Emil who had traveled all the way from his native Denmark stopped in here at Copacetic and performed (it was more than just a reading) as Dr. Murder himself. As the book was a nearly complete sellout at SPX, the meagre remaining quantity he had available for sale at Copacetic was snapped up in no time, and we had been bereft of copies ever since... until now! Finally, we have got our hands on an additional supply of this super fun, full size, vibrantly (and then some!) colored graphic novel that has traveled to us all the way from Denmark (but is, don't worry, nonetheless in English). Dr. Murder and the Island of Death has at is center the thesis that the underlying structure of adult life is simply High School endlessly repeated. And, as that might seem at first to be a dispiriting notion, we will assure that Ernst has as much fun with this as you can imagine (more, actually; and therein lies its appeal). The linework and spectacular color scheme may put some readers in mind of Philippe Druillet's mind-bending work of the 1970s, but have no fear: Ernst's story telling chops are all in order, and the narrative that unfolds here is clear and, while multi-leveled, uncomplicated, easy to follow and, most of all, fun! You can take a deeper dive into this work by reading Greg Hunter's review on TCJ.com. But, you're most likely to be convinced by taking a look at the work itself, and, fortunately, you can! Emil has posted a nice chunk for your perusal on his own site, HERE.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist
by Adrian Tomine
Detail-oriented, perfectionist, highly-caffeinated, self-conscious (and self-critical) readers of Adrian Tomine's comics memoir will relate and laugh while absorbing every word, line and nuance of this work, especially his fellow cartoonists, as who more embodies these traits than them? This cleverly and attractively produced volume is a facsimile of the sketchbook complete with blueline grid in which it was produced, adding to the frisson again, especially for fellow cartoonists while providing at least a simulacrum of the vicarious pleasure of looking at the work in situ. As always, Tomine's cartooning is highly engaging and one is propelled through the pages; it really is hard to put down. Tomine's recollections begin nearly forty years ago with his first days at a new school and continue on from there, along the way strongly reinforcing the conclusion reached by many psychological studies, that negative incidents make stronger memories than positive ones and that these are also more often and more clearly recalled. Here in the pages of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist, humiliations loom larger than successes, and the sting of awkward moments continue to echo through the years long after the good vibrations have faded. But there are, to be sure, uplifting moments as well, and a case can be made and Tomine appears to be making it that, at the end of the day, these painful memories are what spur us on into our futures...
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $26.75
Bixretail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $26.75
by Scott Chantler
This 250 page, horizontally formatted, duo-tone hardcover delivers a nearly wordless comics biography of 1920s jazz pioneer, Bix Beiderbecke, who was among the first European-American musicians to grasp the revolutionary implications to music embodied in Louis Armstrong & Co.'s riffing improvisations. An early musical prodigy, Beiderbecke was the child of a strict and inflexible (some might say, stubborn and pig-headed) German-American father (and, of course, a more indulgent and flexible mother) with whom Bix found himself constantly at odds: Bix's desires and evident destiny were not what his father had in mind. This contentious relationship between son and father forms the backbone of the narrative upon which the body of the story told here depends. Significantly, while there is occasional text present in the form of letters and telegrams, the only dialogue in the work takes place in the sequence between Bix and his sweetheart, Ruth. The primary pleasure of this "text" is its wordlessness. Chantler's dexterous sequencing of images manages to make the sketching out of an entire life story almost entirely in pictures look easy. A rare treat. Aren't hep to Bix? Check out a solid sampling of his work, here.
Are You at Risk for "Empathy Myopia"?: A Thought Experiment for Privileged Readers
by Ezra Claytan Daniels
Measuring 4" x 5 1/2" and weighing in at 64 pages, this pint-sized pamphlet packs an outsized punch. Its five sections employ the Ezra Claytan Daniel's PictoRhetoricMethod to illuminate the mindset of unconsidered privilege, situate it within history and popular culture, and, finally, offer a path to correction. Full color; fully annotated!
retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - $5.00
Department of Mind-Blowing Theories
by Tom Gauld
Department of Mind-Blowing Theories is the latest collection of crisply drawn droll humor strips from Tom Gauld. This 160 page, horizontally formatted, hardcover collection brings together (all?) the one-pagers that (all?) originally appeared in the British magazine, New Scientist. These particular strips, as they were created specifically for a scientifically minded audience, have the feel of Gary Larson's scientist strips that appeared with regularity in his classic Far Side single-panel comics, only with a bit more actual and, of course, more up-to-date science and the considerably drier wit that Gauld is famous for. Enjoy!
retail price - $21.95 copacetic price - $19.75
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.75
These items and more may also be found at our eCommerce site, HERE.
New for May 2020
retail price - $4.99 copacetic price - $4.44
Love and Rockets, Volume IV #8
by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez
In this issue worlds collide, as Tonta meets Maggie! Jaime's genius for revealing character through action is in full effect here, along with its corollary, that social networks well, at least, real world, organic ones are forged through the same interactions that form character, in an endless feedback loop of people shaping and being shaped by each other which in turn creates societies and, ultimately, civilization. And, Gilbert's certainly no slouch in this department, as the complexities in the extended Fritz family saga take many a twist and turn throughout this issue, one of which leads to an extremely dark alley of the soul, one in which reader's could easily imagine a sign posted at its entrance reading, "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." Hold onto your hats, indeed.
Topp: Promoter Gary Topp Brought Us the World
by David Collier
An all-new, book-length work of historical/biographical reportage on the incipient days of the Toronto punk rock scene, and one of the key promoters who stood at the center of the whirlwind, Gary Topp, by a key founder of comics journalism, who has long focused on biographical reporting, David Collier! This book has a bit of an American Splendor vibe about it, with it's weaving of his own personal experiences throughout and with the work's focus on a (relatively) small-scale cultural scene and the individuals who took part. This volume is filled with stories and anecdotes of the sort that are usually ignored, missed and then forgotten by traditional historical journalism. Aging punk rockers, take note! BONUS: The book concludes with the issue length story from Colliers #1 that focuses on the PiL concert from this era, originally drawn way back in 1991, providing a real "flash-back"of sorts. While the concert depicted and described, along crucially with Dave's experiences thereof, took place in 1982, this piece is roughly thirty years closer to the experience than the rest of the book, and thus provides a look at not only how his art and storytelling evolved over that period, but also thusly a chance to see through the comics lens how the passage of time affects the perspective of memories; details and adjacent thoughts that took central stage at one point may move to the side at another, and vice versa.
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $17.75
No Romance in Hell
by Hyena Hell
A fun (well, in a hellish sort of way), woman-centered romance comic that focuses on some contemporary frustrations with dating and the search for romance that comes to a conclusion that maybe romance isn't really necessary... or maybe just needs to be redefined.
retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - $5.00
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $26.75
Ping Pong - Omnibus Edition, Volume One
by Taiyo Matsumoto
At last, the late 1990s manga series that first brought manga master Taiyo Matsumoto acclaim (and went on to become an even more popular anime series) is at long last available in English translation by Michael Arias in a pair of two 500+ page flexicover omnibus editions from Viz, of which this is the first. Ping Pong is here!
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $26.75
The Drifting Classroom: Perfect Edition
by Kazuo Umezz
Umezz Kazuo's classic horror manga epic was originally published in Japan during the early 1970s. It was then, belatedly issued in the US between 2006 and 2008, in a series of 11 softcover editions, all of which have long been out of print and difficult to find. Now, it has at last been re-collected, in this series of three massive hardcover "perfect editions" from Viz, each running well over 700 pages.
retail price - $34.99@ copacetic price - $30.00@
The Cage
by Martin Vaughn-James
When we learned that New York Review Comics was planning a new edition of two of Vaughn-James's other major works from the 1970s (Elephant and The Projector) later this year, we felt it was high time to bring this work, which we've been selling the shop for quite awhile (whenever we can get our hands on some copies!), to the attention of our online customers. Originally published in 1975, as a hardcover edition of 1500 copies by Toronto's Coach House Press, The Cage was reissued in 2013, again by Coach House, in a softcover edition. Vaughn-James had a unique approach to, as well as a clearly prescient vision of, long form visually-centered narrative. Among his peers working in the 1970s, only Moebius, along with, perhaps, (but to a lesser degree) Victor Moscoso and Rick Griffin, are comparable; and even then Vaughn-James is more or less in his own world. Here are some additional details from the publisher: Brief Description: First published in 1975, The Cage foreshadowed the rise of the graphic novel. While promoted by insiders in the years that followed, it is not well-known. Its relative obscurity may be due to the late Vaughn-James's devotion to his highly personal vision. Presented here are a series of black-and-white drawings, nearly clinical in their precision, detailing an enigmatic structure in an unspecified place and time. Accompanying the illustrations are bits of text, which are perhaps explicative in their unseen whole but as fragments offer only tantalizing hints of possible unity. Nonlinear in its approach to both space and time, the study mixes the banally familiar with the disturbingly alien. What emerges is not comprehensible in any mundane sense, but it presents enough of an illusion of a greater whole lurking just out of frame to be addictively engaging. It is a masterpiece, demonstrating a level of skill and insight very few have even aspired to in the nearly 40 years since its initial publication Biographical Note: Martin Vaughn-James (1943-2009) was a painter and groundbreaking comics artist who published three of his early works with Coach House Press: The Projector (1971), The Park (1972) and The Cage (1975). He was born in England and spent much of his youth in Australia, before moving to Canada to do his groundbreaking comics work in the 1970s. Vaughn-James is widely recognized as a pioneer in the development of the graphic novel. Later in life, Vaughn-James moved to Belgium, where he focused on painting. His works were the subject of several personal exhibitions in Brussels and Paris. Vaughn-James also published two works of prose fiction: Night Train (1989) and The Tomb of Zwaab (1991). Please take a moment to check out this preview provided by the publisher (you'll need to scroll through the title and credit pages to get to it).
retail price - $22.95 copacetic price - $21.75
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price - $16.19Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
by Ibram X. Kendi
While this book has been enthusiastically sold in our shop since shortly after its publication, now is the time to spotlight it here. The single most important work of American history to arrive at Copacetic during the course of its operation, Stamped from the Beginning is a tour de force that will forever alter our views of the history of race and racial relations in America, first and foremost, and, ultimately, throughout the entire world. Its author, Ibram X. Kendi has created a work that embodies a truly rare combination of abilities: that of the dedicated, focused, rigorous research needed to marshal historical facts; that of the intellectual strength necessary to recognize key patterns as they emerge from this research, and so make new, original connections that result in a new vision of history; and that of crafting the propulsive, engaging, jargon-free prose that can effectively communicate the insights and discoveries underpinning this new vision in such a way that pulls readers up the mountain of his thesis so they can stand where Kendi stands and see it all for themselves. Stamped from the Beginning's 582 pages are divided into five parts, each narratively organized around the life and times of a historical figure representative of their era: Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Angela Davis. Each of the five parts is sub-divided into multiple chapters focused on a specific aspect of the period(s) covered, and is in no way confined by its titular figure, but rather roves far and wide through its respective era(s) to bring the reader into contact with a great deal beyond what one might expect from such an organizational strategy. This approach allows a multitude of perspectives which are simultaneously unique and connected to that of the central figure, assisting in guiding the reader through the complexities of both evidence and argument. Kendi historically locates the invention of race, and reveals this invention to be at the root of the implementation of racial discrimination through racist policies, laws and regulations. He goes on to forcefully and irrefutably demonstrate that the institution of racism which we today confront has been deliberately constructed by the dominant, hegemonic class led largely by the wealthy and powerful among us with the aim of maintaining and extending their wealth and power through the ages. While a very different book, Kendis Stamped from the Beginning can be approached as a companion text to Howard Zinns epochal work, A Peoples History of the United States. As Zinn shifted the frame of history from the one which had traditionally been taught at school, as seen from the perspective of the culturally and politically hegemonic ruling class, to that of the common people, the working class, Kendi shifts the frame of history from that of the crafters and promulgators of the racist ideology which has been used to perpetuate the position of this ruling class, to that of the lived experience of those subjected to that ideology. Kendi goes further, however, in that his reframing involves an original synthesis that provides a framework for the deconstructing of a society based on racial discrimination and racist ideology, as well as the tools with which to take it apart and, crucially, to begin to build a new, more just and equitable one in its place. ESSENTIAL
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New for April 2020
Portrait of a Drunk
by Olivier Schrauwen, Florent Ruppert & Jerome Mulot
The Franco-Belgian alliance never looked so good (or been so bad) as in this lush new graphic novel by the Belgian cartoonist, Olivier Schrauwen working in tandem with the notorious French duo, Ruppert & Mulot. The mingling of their respective art styles and characterizations is seamless and represents quite a feat of collaboration. And now that it has been translated from the original French by Jenna Allen, and published by Fantagraphics Books, the Anglophone world can see (well, read) what they've been missing. This 184 page, full color, full size hardcover delivers exactly what the title promises and then some. For it might be more accurate to describe Portrait of a Drunk as a Portrait of an Age that of c. 17th century Europe. This portrait is one with a special focus on the life of the seas and sailors, raconteurs, adventurers and pirates. It is a portrait that we are guided through and so is primarily from the perspective of the said Drunk. And what a drunk he is! Guy is the apotheosis of the drunkard and can lay claim to being one of, if not the single greatest drunk in the history of comics. Guy! Guy! Guy! Guy is a man for whom the key to happiness is simple: to be drunk at all times. And he follows his bliss and pursues it with an enviable single-mindedness. For Guy, there is nothing else. He allows no distractions, and lets nothing stand between him and his goal of another drink, whether it be consumed via tankard or bottle or flagon, drink it is, drink it will be and drink it must be. However, as you might suspect, a person such as Guy is an agent of chaos, and entropy inevitably follows in his wake. And then theres Guy's tween sidekick of the seas, Clement who is the crucial supporting character of this tale, and in his relationship with Guy highlights the work's psychological dimension, through mirroring and developmental analogies. Batman and Robin redux in ancestral form. While the loathsomeness of much of Guys behavior may, for some, make this work impossible to get through, let alone enjoy, the spirit in which it was created is clearly one that is critically aware. Portrait of a Drunk pulls off that rare combination of being simultaneously wildly entertaining and genuinely disturbing. A big part of this achievement lies in the artwork itself, which is as beautiful as the scenes it depicts are horrible. The 17th century worldview it embodies still has distinctly European echoes in our own era. Yet while the relentless pursuit of self interest is with us yet, along with its unfortunate partnership of cynicism and naivetι, the sense of being along with the ability to be fully immersed in the moment, come what may, is shown here to be built on or at least concomitant with a fatalism guided by a sense of mortality that has not survived into our own times. It is this aspect, perhaps most of all, which renders it a portrait of an age, and yet, of course, it is also a child of our times...
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $26.75
Grip Complete Edition
by Lale Westvind
It's here! The complete Grip, by the one and only Lale Westvind. So, all of you who missed the gone-in-a-blink-of-eye risograph editions can now celebrate with this beautifully (offset) printed edition, which successfully captures the vibrant color scheme, and which, at 8" x 10" is slightly larger than the 6.5" x 8" riso editions. Grip! To quote our own, earlier listing for the riso, "Grip is Lale Westwind's comics constitution of cosmic energies in the service of manual creativity. Readers will be propelled through panel after panel filling page after page with imaginative delineations of a series of fantastic mergings of mind and hands with the materials of nature. These pages are overflowing with supercharged comics energy that will be directly transmitted through any eyes that are laid upon them, preparing their possessors to meet any challenge the world throws their way."
retail price - $30.00 copacetic price - $26.75
Pop Off #1
by Caleb Orecchio
This is the premiere issue of what is threatened to be an ongoing, single-creator, auteur anthology ΰ la Eightball, Dirty Plotte, Blammo, Grixly, et al wholly created, and published, in Dayton, OH by erstwhile Comics Workbook stalwart, Caleb Orecchio. Pop Off is, as the title suggests, pulsing with energy looking for release. Here in 48 standard comic book size pages, this energy is largely corralled into a series of stories entirely composed employing a six-panel grid in which black line borders have been dispensed with, replaced in their function by full bleed bright yellow gutters a substitution that works surprisingly well in conjunction with the slate blue line in which the artwork is reproduced, along with magenta highlighting and makes for a visually stimulating reading experience. Themes touched on in these stories include lust, compulsive behavior, frustration, deviance, despondence and self-recrimination occasionally all at once! These stories are interspersed with a handful of darkly comedic, black and white sequential gag strips, as well as several strategically placed full-page abstract/concrete illustrations of varying styles that meet with varying degrees of success. The design, printing and paper choices made in putting together this issue were all well conceived and together make for a comic book that stands out from the crowd with a very appealing look and feel. Pop Off #1 is a promising debut, one that will be of particular appeal to traditional comic book readers who are ready to explore something more personally self-expressive, and also to those who appreciate the degree of devotion to the form that is evinced here.
retail price - $6.00 copacetic price - $5.75
The Dairy Restaurant
4 Dead, 16 Wounded
by Nils Hanczar
While all eyes are, for the time being, on the coronavirus, there is an equally deadly American epidemic, one that was was well underway before covid-19, and is nearly certain to be with us after: gun violence. Close to one hundred men, women and children are killed with a gun every single day in America; day in, day out, year after year. While a clear majority of the victims are known to the killer, with the number one category of death by gun being suicide, the killings that make the largest psychic impact on the rest of us are those committed by deranged individuals that choose victims at random. And while these mass shootings are often presented as coming out of the blue and inexplicable, there is no question that they grow out of the larger gun culture of which they are they undeniably a part. Also, over time, it has become clear that these mass shootings are cultivated by our dysfunctional media environments in ways that are difficult to describe. In 4 Dead, 16 Wounded, Pittsburgh-based cartoonist and comics maker, Nils Hanczar (aka Nils Balls) works to depict the landscape out of which these shootings grow. Given its relative slightness, weighing in at 52, horizontally formatted 8 1/2 x 4 pages, it is surprisingly successful in doing so. He deftly creates a small set of solid, likeable characters in black and white with grey wash tones, and then proceeds to situate them in amidst their all-American lives family, schools, social gatherings, shopping, movies and television but does so through a non-linear temporality that circles back on itself, which works to provide that sharp sense of dιjΰ vu that shootings often inspire. The result is a very effective and affecting portrait of how gun culture has become woven into the very fabric of American culture, and the attendant costs.
retail price - $4.00 copacetic price - $4.00
These items and more may also be found at our eCommerce site, HERE.
