New for March 2023
We're All Just Fine is a graphic memoir cum requiem for the generation of women who came of age and lived the main portion of their lives under the dictatorial Franco regime in Spain. The narrative takes the form of the interweaving of recollections of the author's pair of grandmothers that moves back and forth through time from the present day to and from various temporal stops, largely between 1946 and 1980. These temporal excursions are grounded in the present, and bracketed by insertions of Penyas herself – usually interviewing them in person or over the phone – and other family members. The book takes the physical form of a horizontally formatted, 100+ page hardcover. Penyas's artwork appears to have been largely rendered in pencils of various degrees of hardness and the color scheme is entirely in various shades of a wide admixture of the color red – from scarlet, pink and orange through to an umber and sepia rainbow, which works well to convey the general aridity of the Franco years. The visuals also incorporate a variety of collage techniques including a deliberate use of flattening of the spatial plane, serial repetitions, overworked photographs and pages resembling photo albums, making for page after page of visually engaging comics. Want to learn more? HERE is a review by Rachel Cooke in The Guardian, and HERE is an interview with Penyas conducted by Esther Claudio-Moreno in The Comics Journal.We're All Just Fine
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $21.75
Pee Pee Poo Poo #420Caroline Cash has gone "deep in the shit" of the (largely masculine) traditional tropes of underground and classic alternative comics and has forged her own highly irreverent synthesis. Here in the pages of – > good lord, choke! < – Pee Pee Poo Poo are comics that operate in the formal mode – and attitude – of classic underground/alt comics to present content that is apt for and aimed at Ms. Cash's own generation, the gals and guys of today. It's a win/win proposition for those who enjoy this mode of comics and as a result her comics have quickly won an appreciative audience. This is the second issue in the series and runs 32 magazine-size (8 1/2" x 11") pages, printed in duo-tone and full color, in a limited edition of 3,000. The publisher, Silver Sprocket, has provided a healthy preview at their page for it HERE (just scroll down and click on the thumbnails). When in doubt, check it out.
retail price - $9.99 copacetic price - $8.99
And, while we're on the topic of women working in the underground/alt comics field, here's an all-woman-created work with attitude to spare (and also sporting a provocative title) that worked to carve out a space for women in the man's world of underground comics, beginning fifty years ago. This massive, oversize hardcover collects the complete run of the underground comix series, Tits & Clits. Conceived and edited by Joyce Farmer and Lyn Chevli – who together created the entirety of the first two issues – the series was originally published between 1972 and 1987 and served to push the boundaries of Feminism and the Women's Liberation Movement into the comics world. This collection also includes, in their entirety, Pandora's Box and Abortion Eve, two early stand alone undergrounds, also both written and drawn by Joyce Farmer and Lyn Chevli. Given the title, it's no surprise that women's bodies and sexuality were the focus of Tits & Clits, and that no topic was off limits. Birth control, abortion, menstruation, masturbation, a wide sampling of consensual sexual encounters – real and fantasy – and plenty more are covered in these pages. While the tone here is largely satiric – think a Mad Magazine take on Our Bodies, Ourselves for the underground comix reader – there was still plenty of room for earnest (comics) discussions and real feelings. Readers can get up to speed with historical context and more by reading the introductory essay by the book’s editor, Samantha Meier. Fantagraphics has provided a brief preview HERE.Tits & Clits
retail price - $59.99 copacetic price - $51.75
NonproseA new Kevin Huizenga zine! This one departs from KH-zine norms in that it is full magazine size (8 1/2" x 11"). It runs 16 black & white pages and is printed on cream colored stock. These pages are filled with notebook musings, doodles and digressions, graphic experiments, logo and lettering trials, conceptual meta-zine covers... and various combinations of all of the above. In other words, it's something difficult to label or define, other than by saying, "it's a new Kevin Huizenga zine!"
retail price - $7.00 copacetic price - $6.00
Rise of the OceansYes, it's true; your eyes do not deceive you: It's an all new publication from the one and only David Sandlin. Rise of the Ocean is a 24-page risograph edition (printed in the same format as the most recent issues of Belfaust); hand signed and numbered in an edition of (a mere) 100 copies. In it's fulsomely rendered pages, ocean dwelling denizens of the deep are revealed to be the puppet masters of our current global political situation (more or less). Don't miss it!
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $18.75
The Flowers of BuffooneryThe publisher's back cover blurb pretty much says all that you need to know – "For the first time in English, Osamu Dazai's hilariously comic and deeply moving prequel to No Longer Human" – but we'll throw these in for good measure: "What I despise about Dazai is that he exposes precisely those things in myself that I most want to hide." – Yukio Mishima "Dazai was an aristocratic tramp, a self-described delinquent, yet he wrote with the forbearance of a fasting scribe." – Patti Smith This book is perhaps closer to a novella than a novel in length. Opening line: "Welcome to Sadness. Population one."
retail price - $14.95 copacetic price - $13.75
These items and more may also be found at our eCommerce site, HERE.
New for February 2023
Copacetic David Collier fans rejoice! His latest, all new, full-length work – this time published by new-to-us Spare Parts Press (great name!) – has finally made it to our new arrivals table. This volume shows us that David Collier kept busy during the pandemic – busy making comics! Winter of Our Pandemic is packed with dense comics excursions that weave through Canadian history, current events, and local (Hamilton, Ontario) observations – including those directly affecting him and his family – all presented in his trademarked informal, conversational style. The stories themselves are all bracketed by depictions of himself and his wife, Jen ice skating in a public outdoor rink. They are presented in such a (self-deprecating) way as to seem as though these stories arise out of a compulsive storytelling urge that he can't help but unleash on his wife, who good-naturedly humors him. Starting with the acknowledgment that he and his family are living and working on the traditional territories of the Mississauga and Hauenosawnee nations, Collier goes on to explore the very earliest days of Europeans in what later became Canada before leaping into the early days of the 20th century when industrial growth yielded the beginnings and early development of ice hockey, most of which occurred in Canada. Amidst all this history are plenty of digressions into Collier's own personal life and career, along with interactions with the world of comics and cartooning in which much of it takes place – including a momentous meeting with Charles Schulz(!). Also, plenty of observational sketchbook drawings, portraits and more. And, of course, there's the pandemic, with all it's related fallout, including homelessness, business closings, political polarization, biking, public transportation, and more. All in all, Winter of Our Pandemic, with its digressive interweaving of observations, recollections and suppositions, forms a portrait of an identity in a moment of time; serving up a slice of Collier consciousness.Winter of Our Pandemic
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $18.75
Detention No. 2 follows Hensley's earlier limited edition Sir Alfred #3 (yes, it appears he's going backwards... certainly toying with convention) that was published several years ago by Pigeon Press (and was also reissued more recently by Fantagraphics). Both are printed extra-large in a saddlestitched Treasury Edition format, on extra-heavy white stock. Detention is an antidote to the Classics Illustrated formula. Adapting Maggie, a Girl fo the Streets by Steven Crane (along with a few bonus pieces) it draws on the irreverent tone of the early comic strips (and includes a cameo appearance by The Yellow Kid, no less!) that were read by the descendants of the very tenement dwellers that populate the pages of Crane's novel. Matching the formal qualities of his comics – not least of which is the coloring, to which special attention has been paid – to the formal literary qualities of Crane's novel, Hensley provides readers with a true comics translation.
Detention No. 2
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $18.75
In LimboThis much anticipated debut graphic memoir of growing up Korean in America has arrived. Some great talents have already sung its praises, so we're going to pass the mike: "In Limbo is a tour de force. Stunning from the first page to the last, and totally unforgettable." – Tillie Walden "In Limbo feels like it tells life as it is, cutting through the stillness and silence between people, without pulling any punches, without varnish, and yet all beautifully observant. It reminded me of many things from my own life, especially early artistic struggle and uncertainty, and issues of Asian displacement and self-image. I'm sure other readers will respond to this deeply; it may well even save a few lives (especially the ones you never hear about) seeing their own feelings so well illuminated." – Shaun Tan
retail price - $17.99 copacetic price - $16.25
It's here! This massive, Treasury Edition of Pittsburgh ace artist, Jim Rugg's Hulk: Grand Design is a Hulk-sized 9" x 13" and runs 120 full color pages. THIS is the was these pulse-pounding, Hulk smashing comics are meant to be read. And, rather than the bonus pages being filled with the reprint of a single classic issue as with the other Grand Design Collectors Editions, this time around, Jim Rugg strapped on his miner's helmet and dug deep into the mountain of Hulk archives, coming back with a variety of intriguing – and graphically arresting – ephemera, including a guess-the-artist pin-up page from an Incredible Hulk Annual(?), Steranko-designed (we're pretty sure) pages from Foom, plenty of classic covers featuring Hulk x-overs to other titles, and a compendium of 30 years of the circulation figures of the the Incredible Hulk (1968 - 1998) – which add up to a great finish for this smashing tome! And, we're offering it at a special Made-in-Pittsburgh price!
HULK: Grand Design - Marvel Collectors Special
retail price - $34.99 copacetic price - $28.75
The Re-Up #1 & #2
Tales of Old Snake CreekTales of Old Snake Creek is 36 pages of cover to cover comics. Printed in full color on heavy white stock, it presents four short stories along with two one-pagers, all rendered in pen & ink with watercolors, and each – to varying degrees – filled with Lerman's trademarked wordplay and puns à la George Herriman's Krazy Kat. Only a few copies available!
retail price - $10.00 copacetic price - $10.00
The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1925-1927And, speaking of George Herriman's Krazy Kat... Here's another three full years worth – 1925, 1926 & 1927 – of Krazy Kat Sunday pages from the pen of the one and only George Herriman, himself. This time around the added special bonus – on top of the now standard scholarly and historical essays – is the most complete collection of Herriman's long-lost Book of Magic pages ever assembled. As with all the volumes thus far in the ongoing Fantagraphics series of The George Herriman Library, this volume is a massive, oversize (11 1/2" x 14") hardcover edition.
retail price - $49.99 copacetic price - $43.75
These items and more may also be found at our eCommerce site, HERE.
New for January 2023
Now Let Me Fly is a 322 page hardcover that presents the story of Eugene Bullard, who started out life in the Jim Crow south here in the USA at the turn of the twentieth century, and then, through a combination of striving, daring and skill crossed the Atlantic, where, when the First World War broke out, he fought in the French army before going on to become the first African American fighter pilot in history. Ronald Wimberly's story is expertly crafted with a genius framing sequence that simultaneously drives multiple points across to any attentive reader. The story that unfolds in these pages is dramatic and gripping, by turns horrifying and uplifting, and always engaging. Brahm Revel's artwork here is energetic and expressive, clear and concise – we'd say the best of his career thus far – working to both propel the story forward and carry the reader along until the very last page – this is a book that's tough to put down (you can answer those texts later)! Wimberly and Revel mesh together seamlessly to bring Bullard's adventures and travails alive on the page. During the course of the work readers are provided with a series of up close and personal experiences, which in turn engenders the kind of "you are there" feeling that only good comics can. Here in the pages of Now Let Me Fly, there are Action and Adventure Comics that put to shame those found in the pages of the comics bearing those titles today. And, when it comes to the war, the battle sequences here are among the most direct, forceful and visceral depictions ever put to paper. This is war at human scale, revealing its full horror and giving a sense of what constitutes real bravery and daring in the face of terror. It also makes a point of demonstrating war's dehumanizing effects; the difficulty, if not outright impossibility, of mercy in battle. It should be noted that these war comics are not sanitized: there are images here that contain extremely graphic violence – which some readers may find disturbing (and which also rules out this work for the youngest readers) – yet it is also important to state that Revel's renderings wholly refrain from either fetishizing or glorifying the violence. The comics on the page are there to tell you that war is hell, indeed. Now Let Me Fly creates a stunning portrait of both a man and an era, one which provides enlightening contrasts between the societies of The United States, Great Britain and France, and even more, is a pen and ink portrait of the flesh and blood nature of the inequality experienced by African Americans, one which, further, works to reveal the constructed and artificial character of that inequality.Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.75
Where I'm Coming From is a beautifully produced 180 page, square-format hardcover that brings together a selection of this trailblazing strip that was curated by the creator herself. As the abundant supporting materials included with this volume inform us, Brandon-Croft's creation began life in The Detroit Free Press in 1989 and within less than two years went on to become the first nationally syndicated comic strip produced by an African American woman when it was picked up by the Universal Press Syndicate in 1991. You can read the whole story of the strip's genesis, impact, influence and more in the essays that accompany the strips themselves, in this thoughtfully edited collection. And, what strips they are! Brandon-Croft (then just Barbara Brandon) had – and still has! as testified by the more recent internet posted strips – a strong, clean, highly expressive and visually appealing line. Her figures were minimal – limited almost entirely to head and hands – and entirely female, but each of the nine adult characters has a distinct personality that shines through in these witty, insightful and important strips. Get an in-depth take on this volume by checking out Robert Ito's excellent piece in The New York Times, HERE.
Where I'm Coming From
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.75
It's about time... for the new Now. The twelfth issue is a mind bender with perhaps the widest ranging material yet. From the rhythmic abstractions of Cynthia Alfonso's "untitled" to the old school satire, "The Cartoonist" by Matt Lawton and Peter Bagge, this issue spans the generations and the form itself. The æsthetic center on which the issue pivots is Kayla E.'s "Precious Rubbish", a series of post-modern mash-ups that bring together a variety of texts ranging from personal reminiscences to the Old and New Testaments and combining them with her personal, signature-style comics, here largely derived from a selection of old school comic book pages, including several from Matt Baker's Canteen Kate (!). Many readers will get their first look at the piercingly acute and dizzyingly strange artwork of Bhanu Pratap in his story, "Big Head Pointy Nose" which is the first work of his we've seen in color. Francois Vigneault's "The Bird Is Gone" is a moving tale of the passing of the Passenger Pigeon. No matter how many times you hear, see or read the facts that are related in this story, it always boggles the mind. For us here at Copacetic, #12's highlight is Tim Lane's "Li'l Stevie", a hybrid work that seems to synthesize Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan and Peter Blegvad’s Leviathan – with a dash of Al Columbia’s Pim & Francie – and then graft it all onto Ernie Bushmiller’s early period Fritzy Ritz and Nancy in order to create a dark, drunken and twisted, but pathos laden – and still very Tim Lane – Golden Age comics take on... Steve McQueen's childhood. This work won't appeal to everyone, but those who think this sounds up their alley won't want to miss it. Another great issue of Now!Now #12
retail price - $12.99 copacetic price - $11.75
BoringHere's 44 pages of all new Noah Van Sciver comics. Featuring the thrill-a-minute title-track, "Boring", that depicts a typical day in the life of the homebody cartoonist, along with another classic tale of Noah's childhood escapades, "My Own Jurassic Park," featuring Li'l Noah™. Limited print run; limited quantity.
retail price - $10.00 copacetic price - $9.25
And here's a rare John Porcellino double-header:Welcome 2023 with the latest issue of King-Cat Comics and Stories (this time, "Comix & Stories"), hot off the press. It's all here: one-page observational strips; two-page reminiscences; the latest installment of "Dreams" (III, for those who are counting); the "Cat Calls" letters pages; the King Cat Top 40 (here titled, "Gluckparade fur 82")... and a two page memoriam for Michi Moonbeam.
King-Cat Comix & Stories #82
retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - $5.00
The Stoneware JugIn the 28 pages of The Stoneware Jug, John Porcellino illuminates 13 short poems by Stefan Lorenzutti. The pair is well matched, and John P. is in his element here. A solid King-Cat vibe pervades throughout.
retail price - $8.00 copacetic price - $7.25
And what better to follow a double-header, than a double-feature?
Grixly Double-Feature: #57 & 58Apologies to Copacetic Grixly fans for the long delay in posting these two issues here! #57 is the ALL Longboxes™ issue, and includes a number of speculative pieces that extrapolate on the realities of the present LongboxesUniverse™, including "Nate McDonough's Legacy." #58 is, apparently, the Body Issue, with short pieces focusing on the brain, the ears (as they connect through the audio circuits in the brain to memory), the stomach (as it manifests in hunger), musculature and armature, views on and of the penis, and several bits on hair and haircuts. PLUS, a bonus Longboxes™ !
retail price - $6.00 copacetic price - $5.00
These items and more may also be found at our eCommerce site, HERE.
Want to keep going? There's tons more great stuff here, most of which is still in stock. Check out our New Arrivals Archives:
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Copacetic Commoditieslast updated 31 March 2023