The Small Press Comics Expo (SPX ) 2008

Wow, we're sorry: this year's SPX listing is the lamest ever. It was a combination of being busy and selling out before we had a time to list. However, this was the year that Theo Ellsworth's Capacity (see below) premiered, so that helps make up for our lame-itude.

Here are the 2008 Ignatz Award winners. With the exception of Laura Park's Do Not Disturb (yes, we're working on it) we have all these in stock:

    •     Outstanding Artist
Laura Park, Do Not Disturb My Waking Dream (self-published)
    •     Outstanding Anthology or Collection
Papercutter #7, edited by Greg Means (Tugboat Press)
    •     Outstanding Graphic Novel
Skim, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood Books)
    •     Outstanding Story
The Thing About Madeleine, Lilli Carre (self-published)*
    •     Promising New Talent
Blue Fuzz

Sarah Glidden, How To Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less (self-published)
    •     Outstanding Series
Snake Oil, Chuck Forsman (self-published)
    •     Outstanding Comic
Snake Oil #1, Chuck Forsman (self-published)
    •     Outstanding Mini-Comic
Bluefuzz, Jesse Reklaw (self-published) pictured at right ==>>
    •     Outstanding Online Comic
Achewood by Chris Onstad
    •     Outstanding Debut Award
Swallow Me Whole, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions)

*This is included in this year's Best American Comics, and that's where we have it.

Capacity by Theo Ellsworth

Capacity
by Theo Ellsworth
If you ask us what was the highlight of this year's SPX, we won't hesitate to answer that it was the premiere of Theo Ellsworth's collection, Capacity. This hefty 336 page tome collects all seven issues of Mr. Ellsworth's fantastic self-published series of comics of the same name, (these have been big sellers here at Copacetic, but most -- if not all -- of them are now out of print) PLUS well over 100 pages of new -- and amazing -- material. This is a veritable jackpot of a book, and we commend the fine folks at Secret Acres for taking the chance on Theo and publishing it. It is packed with page after page of the most energetically imaginative pen and ink drawings we've ever seen. There's a hint of Moebius here, but really, when you get right down to it, this book makes us think that Ellsworth's body, despite residing in the northwest of the USA, has been occcupied by a spirit from gothic Europe; probably that of a monkish scribe who produced illuminated manuscripts that contained detailed architectural renderings... and this spirit is pushing itself into our world through Theo's skillful hands, manifesting itself here in these fantastic pages of comics, which, the more you look at them the more they really do seem to start to come alive and enter into the mind and spirit of the reader. We strongly encourage you to visit www.artcapacity.com to help prepare yourself for the experience. Theo Ellsworth's talent is clearly working at maximum capacity.
retail price - $15.00 copacetic price - $12.75

Cold Heat Special 8

Cold Heat Special #8
by Frank Santoro & Lane Milburn
No, we didn't make a mistake: Cold Heat Special #8, another SPX 2008 highlight, is already here, despite the fact that #6 & #7 have yet to see print. That's the world of Cold Heat: time is non-linear here; temporal warps, shifts and bounces are the norm, so hold on tight. This time around we have an amazing magazine size (8 1/2" x 11") special with a double silk-screen wrap printed in three colors on heavy duty stock by Pittsburgh's own ace printer, Budai. Castle travels through a dream-vision to a world of mythological archetypes that sheds an insightful light on our own. Santoro has found another fine collaborator in Milburn, as their respective strengths forge to create a swirling sense of the porous and shifting border between interior psychological states and the sensory experience of external reality. This special is a special value, so don't delay. Limited to a mere 100 copies.
copacetic price - sold out!

See, we weren't kidding when we said this year's listing was lame.

>>However, if you're in the mood to keep exploring the wonderful world of small press and self-published comics, we especially recommend our 2005 SPX page, along with those for 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003 and our original small press and self-published comics page from way back in 2002. And now you can also check out our SPX pages from 2009 as well. We hope this helps...