SPX 2003 stuff Here's a list of what we picked up:
Typewriter #6
edited and published by David Youngblood
One of the highlights of the show, and one of the best anthologies of the year, this160 page squarebound volume features a lot of great work by a lot of great people like Souther Salazar, Sammy Harkham, Josh Simmons, Kurt Wolfgang, Farel Dalrymple, Dylan Williams, Marc Bell, Paul Hornschemeir, Nick Bertozzi, and Pittsburgher, Jim Rugg, among many others! The concept with this issue is that each story must begin with the sentence that the previous story ended with.
retail price - $10.00 copacetic price - $8.50We also picked up more Typewriter #5, with its unique format that’s too hard to explain here, so you’ll just have to check it out yourself. copacetic price - $5.00
Happy Town
by Justin Madson
This is a very ambitious series that answers the question, “What if James Kochalka was hired to do a comics adaptation of the best selling Left Behind series of books?" Sort of. Well, not really, but this series is hard to describe. So far there are seven issues of the comic, an anthology called Happy Town Tales, and The Waiting Sun, a 136 page graphic novel. All produced during the last three years. Impressive! The comics are all 5” x 7” saddle-stapled digests, while the graphic novel is a 5” x 8” velo-binded book. All are black and white throughout. Each sports the idiosyncratic feature of having a full-color panel hand pasted onto the cover. The characters are all rendered in manner that leaves little douobt that Kochalka’s comics were the template, but Madson uses a finer line and shows -- especially as the series progresses -- a greater control than Kochalka,and shows much improvement as the series progresses. The storyline is definitely a bit on the odd side, but there is clearly much effort being expended here, and anyone who is simpatico will be sure to find themselves really getting into it.
#1 - 3 (collection of all three) - copacetic price - $4.00
#4 (36 pages) - copacetic price - $3.00
#5 (36 pages) - copacetic price - $3.00
#6 (72 pages) - copacetic price - $4.00
#7 (52 pages) - copacetic price - $3.00
Happytown Tales (78 pages) - copacetic price - $5.00
The Waiting Sun (136 pages) - copacetic price - $8.00
Tepid: Summer 2003
by John Hankiewicz
8” x 11” B & W w/ 2-color cover
This book feaatures extremely labored artwork produced to exacting standards. It presents a disjointed narrative of a suburban existence, that, while not exactly sterile, is nevertheless bereft of some necessary ingredient that seems to hover always just out of reach of the chracters that inhabit the oppresive environs that Hankiewicz so obsessively delineates. A book that demands to be read more than once. If ever there was a comic book to read while listening to Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Man,” this is it.
retail price - $4.00 copacetic price - $3.60
We picked up pretty much the entire Sparkplug Comic Books Catalog:
Reporter
by Dylan Williams
#1 + 2 - 5” x 8” - 24 pages - B&W w/stiff color covers - copacetic price - $2.25@
#3 + 4 - 6” x 9” - 24 pages - B&W w/stiff color covers - copacetic price - $2.70@
Little Black - square(ish) squarebound collection (not a reprint collection) - 80 pages - B&W w/stiff color covers - copacetic price - $7.20Tales to Demolish
by Eric Haven
#1 + 2 - comic-size - 24 pages - B&W w/stiff color covers - copacetic price - $2.70@Watching Days Become Years
by Jeff Levine
7” x 10” - 40 pages - B&W w/stiff color cover
copacetic price - $3.85FLEEP
by Jason Shiga
9” x 6” (horizontal format) 44 pages - B&W w/stiff color covers - This one-of-a-kind descent into paranoid delusion won this year’s Eisner Award for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition.
copacetic price - $4.25PLUS
we still have plenty of Orchid from last year.
Next: If cute is your bag, well, then, it doesn’t get any cuter than these books by Dan Moynihan from Mreow!
Why I Like Bugs - 4” x 5”, 40pgs, B&W photocopied w/nice full-color cover on textured paper - copacetic price - $3.00
The Origami Pet - 7” x 4”, 60 pgs, B&W photocopied w/minimaist color cover on textured paper - copacetic price - $4.00
The Moon Catching - 2 x (4” x 5”) -- This is a uniquely formatted accordian book with two interconnected minis in one. There are twelve pages in luscious full-color and 20 in B&W. We presume that costs prohibited the entire book being printed in color, as the sumptuous watercolors are a joy to behold. Here’s hoping this one gets a full color outing in the future. copacetic price - $5.00More at http://www.mreow.com
Panel #1
A nice digest size anthology zine feturing the work of eight different artists.
44 pages. copacetic price - $2.00
Neil Jam
by Neil Fitzpatrick
These are all digest-sized photocopied comics with cardstock covers. Mr. Fitzpatrick has forged a consistent personal style which finds its home towards the extreme right-hand corner of Scott McCloud’s comics-pyramid; i.e. -- it is a highly simplified and abstract style that tends towards language rather than illustration. The material itself falls in the comics continuum somewhere betweem the Kochalka Sketchbook Diaries and Garfield.
#5 - #7 - (24 pgs.) - copacetic price - $2.00@
#8 (40 pgs.) - copacetic price - $2.50
Go-Go Girl #1 (12 pgs.) - copacetic price - $2.00
Go-Go Girl #2 + #3 (24 pgs.) - copacetic price - $3.00@
Fuchsia Galactica (24 pgs.) - copacetic price - $3.00
Crash: The Life and Death of a Germ (12 pgs.) - copacetic price - $2.00
all by Craig Bostick
A close neighbor to Mr. Fitzpatrick on the McCloud pyramid, but worlds away in the content department, Mr. Bostic has a fine-tuned camp sensibility that he deftly employs to address contemporary mores and behaviors in a style that appears to involve an unholy alliance between John Stanley and Jaime Hernandez. The eye-catching covers reveal a nice graphic sensibility. Fun!
Owly #2
by Andy Runton
A 54 page comic about... Yes, you guessed it! -- an owl. But what you probably didn’t guess is that his partner in adventure is a worm. Charmingly told entirely in pictures. Suitable for all ages! Owly!
Preview Owly here.
retail price - $5.00 copacetic price - SOLD OUT!Owly #1
32 pages. More Owly!
retail price - $3.00 copacetic price - SOLD OUT!
But don't despair, Owly is now being published by Top Shelf in a new series of Trades.
Dreamtoons
by Jesse Reklaw
This book was actually released by a book publisher (Shambala) three years ago, but we discovered it at this year’s SPX so here it is. Contains over 100 four-panel strips each of which is a concise transcription of someone’s dream. These strips were originally published by selected North American newsweeklies under the title Slow Wave and this is the collection. Among the dreams transcribed are many classic archetypes (anxiety, guilt, yearning, etc.) as well as a bunch of your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine dreams, along with a few real lulus.
retail price - $10.95 copacetic price - $5.95 ¡SALE!Legba: Three Short Stories
by Chris Wright
A nicely done 36 page digest worth checking out.
copacetic price - $3.00La Gartija #1 - 3
by Romeo Burreal
These are all magazine-sized editions. The #1 apears to be a reissue as it contains part of #2. #2 and #3 are numbered editions of 50 and 25 respectively. #3 is signed as well. The pen and ink interior art is unpolished but shows promise. The covers, however, are excellent, with the painting that graces #1 showing real talent.
copacetic price - $2.50@Crash Comics #5 - 7 are a steal at a mere the copacetic price of $2.00@
as is Hades’ Indecision
Misa was $3, but now has the copacetic price of $4, reflecting the harsh realities
All by Tom Williams
These are all magazine-sized editions of 28 or 32 pages each. Covers are either B&W on cardstock or color xerox on standard stock. The interiors are all very professionally rendered in a strong pen & ink style that appears to be rendered using nib pens rather than technical pens. It’s a personal and fairly original style with many nice flourishes. It’s a unique combination of traditional illustrative techniques mixed with nearly equal parts with techniques associated with kids humor comics. You sort of have to see it to get it.
These comics are solid values, but many of the characters herein delineated display seriously bad attitudes; so they may not be for everyone.
Now, let’s take a look at what our friends in Great Britain are up to, shall we?
First up, we have a special offer from that stalwart of UK comics, Nick Abadzis:
These deluxe standard-comic-book-size, 64-page, B & W on heavy glossy stock, with stiff, full-color covers, that are suitable-for-all-ages graphic novels are all 50% off the original retail!
Pleebus Planet 1: The Amazing Mr. Pleebus
Pleebus Planet 2: The Freaky Beastie of Hill Road School
Pleebus Planet 3: The Magic Skateboard
Follow the adventures of Mr. Pleebus and his kid sidekicks, Joey and Pandora, on their, whacky, hi-jinx, fantasy-filled adventures that -- believe it or not -- are actually suitable for all ages!
Retail price: $8.50 copacetic price - $7.65and Nick is also the editor of this interesting anthology:
Sentence
A professionally produces squarebound anthology from the UK, featuring eight different stories by eight different artists each of which contains a single sentence. Fun and clever.
retail price - $12.50 copacetic price - $10.00Next up, Matthew Abbiss, with:
Fidget #3 - 48 pages - copacetic price - sold out
Fidget #4 - 56 pages - copacetic price - sold out
These are professionally printed. Both are a bit on the nihilistic and depressed side, but it gets a bit more interesting with #4, so he’s moving in the right direction.Then we have:
3 Very Small Comics
by Tom Gauld
A tiny folio of, yes, 3 very small comics. Nicely done.
copacetic price - sold outfrom Gary Northfield, we have:
Stupid Monsters No. 2 - Hillmonster and Dave - copacetic price - sold out
Stupid Monsters No. 3 - The Little Eyeball - copacetic price - sold out
Stupid Monsters No. 4 - The Monster Who Enjoyed His Dreams (color!) - copacetic price - sold out
Bad Dog - copacetic price - $2.50
These are all minis, with SM3 being a micro. All are photocopied on a variety of interesting (some hand-made)paper stocks and hand-assembled. Bad Dog is funny!And from Dave Shelton, there are these professionally printed offerings:
Oswald
The story of a very angry and destructive house cat.
copacetic price - $1.75This Is What Happens When You Don’t Pay Attention
Distracted kid grows up into a 30-ft. Tall, lonely super-hero.
copacetic price - $1.75Janek Waveckyj: Piktograf
It may be impossible to figure out what this one’s about, but then, that may very well be the point. Intriguing.
copacetic price - $1.75Of possible interest to anyone whose followed this UK bit so far is that we also stock the handy “pocko” book, Lost Weekend by Paul McDevitt, who certainly seems to fit right in here, if a bit more flash.
And while we’re across the pond, let’s take a look at the series of Louis books; all products of an unusual Scotch-French alliance, Metaphrog.
Louis: Red Letter Day $15.95 copacetic price - $9.95 ¡SALE!
Louis: Lying to Clive $14.95 copacetic price - $8.95 ¡SALE!
Louis: The Clown’s Last Words $19.95 copacetic price - $9.95 ¡SALE!
These books were produced between 2000 and 2002 and are all deluxe, full-colour packages, produced in a square 8” x 8” format,with page-counts of 72, 60, and 92 respectively. As one would guess, they all feature a protagonist named Louis, but beyond that they are anything but predictable. Louis is an inhabitant of a “simple hamlet” which is populated by a wide variety of short, squat, anthropomorphic creatures that clearly exists on a fantasy world. We'll add more details when we get a chance.For now, you can learn more at http://www.metaphrog.com
And while we were at the show, we also stocked up on some of this years big books. In case you need reminding, or you missed out when they were first released, here they are again:
Drawn & Quarterly Showcase: Book One
Well, it’s finally here! Anders Nilsen, however, bowed out of this issue as his story ended up being too long (!); so we still have something more to look forward to. What is here is well worth the wait. Kevin Huizenga has turned in his most polished and professional work yet in a triiptych of tales, all featuring his fictional stand-in, Glenn Ganges. The first and last stories are in the realistic vein and serve to bookend the central, longer work, 28th Street, which is represented in a unique sort of fabulous-realism, as is the companion piece by Swiss-Canadian artist, Nicolas Robel, 87 Blvd des Capucines (interestingly, also named after an address). This subtle-yet-sumptuously colored (think Debbie Dreschler’s Summer of Love) story works hard to both imagine and visualize the interior life of of a young woman living a not-so-lush life in a harsh climate.
retail price - $14.95 copacetic price - $11.95
Blankets by Craig Thompson
The Big Book -- comics-wise -- of 2003? Probably. One thing is for certain: Blankets is a job well done. It is a work that can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of the degree of their familiarity with the comics medium. This is a great book to share with people who aren't familiar with and/or don't understand the appeal of comics, as well as those who still associate comics only with superheroes. That said, it is nevertheless true that appreciation of this work will be heightened by those whose intimacy with comics is greater as Thompson really demonstrates a studied mastery of the medium. All in all, Blankets is a tresure, and worthy of its nomination as the most significant major work of comics since Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.47
Kramers Ergot 4
The Ultimate Art-meets-Comics-meets-Art Anthology? Perhaps. A must see piece!
Check it out and decide for yourself.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - SOLD OUT!ACME Novelty Date Book
By Chris Ware
Beautiful production! Lot's of color! "Art" sketches! Cartoons! Doodles! Ideas! Rants! Self-Deprecation! Self-Laceration! Irony! Girl's phone numbers! It's all here!
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $33.95+>Quimby Collection
By Chris Ware
The mondo-sized collection of Ware's groundbreaking earlier work.
Available in both hardcover and softcover editions.
hardcover - retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $22.45
softcover - retail price - $14.95 copacetic price - $12.70
Top Shelf Asks the Big Questions
This 336 page anthology has a little bit of everything. Highlights include a Peanuts tribute featuring Ivan Brunetti, Chris Ware, and Seth, among others; a 40-page supplement of Swiss comics; a full-color story by Alan Moore and Melinda Gibbee that was originally done for one of the ABC titles, but DC refused to run it; and our personal favorite, the 22-page mini-epic, “The Screen Door Slams” by Kevin Quigley. Also included is work by James Kochalka, Renee French, Jason, Mack White (this one is a lot of fun!), and many, many others. Full color French-fold covers by Tomer Hanuka.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price - $19.95
And, finally, here are the 2003 Ignatz Award winners:
Outstanding Artist:
Jason Little, Shutterbug Follies (Doubleday Graphic Novels) copacetic price -$21.20Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection:
Three Fingers, Rich Koslowski (Top Shelf Productions) copacetic price -$11.95Outstanding Story:
Fleep, Jason Shiga (Sparkplug Comic Books) copacetic price -$4.25Promising New Talent:
Derek Kirk Kim, Same Difference and Other Stories (self-published)copacetic price -$10.80Outstanding Series:
Black Hole, Charles Burns (Fantagraphics Books) copacetic price -$3.85@Outstanding Comic:
Rubber Necker #2, Nick Bertozzi (Alternative Comics) copacetic price - $3.55Outstanding Minicomic:
I Am Going to Be Small, Jeffrey Brown (self-published) copacetic price - $4.50Outstanding Online Comic:
<>Outstanding Debut Comic:
American Elf, James Kochalka, www.americanelf.com
Studygroup12 #3, edited by Zack Soto (self-published) sold out
More SPX:
SPX 2004
SPX 2005
Copacetic Commodities
prices and availability current as of 20 October 2004
