NEW
STUFF
A SELECTION OF RECENT ARRIVALS
New for July 2025
Cornelius: The Merry Life of
a Wretched Dog by Marc Torices
Want to read some great comics? Look no further! This full color, 384 page, 8” x 11” hardcover is packed with them. Marc Torices knows his way around comics – and how to make them. The "wretched dog," Cornelius is a self-conscious, cowardly bumbler and deluded procrastinator who functions as an anti-superman everyman. These characteristics work to impede over-identification on the part of the reader, performing double-duty as a distanciation device to reinforce the readers' focus on the formal experimentation with representational strategies, which are the real story here. Torices takes a Warholian approach to visual variations on a theme that incorporates a wide variety of artistic disciplines from commercial design to graffiti and applies it to an approach to comics making that is in part derived from Chris Ware's work, especially his insights into classic Sunday page comics, and incorporates an all-star slate of historical styles from Floyd Gottfredson through Hergé to Michael DeForge, along with drawing in a host of styles that are extraneous to comics... and then uses all of that to inform his own specific goals of exploring the modes of signification and representation with the aim of deconstructing the cartooned anthropomorphization of animals – most notably dogs, and also cats, but plenty more besides (including an obvious nod to Matt Furie's Pepe the Frog). The comics are then followed by a detailed, 20-page, addendum which takes the form of a satirically ironic history of Cornelius that is beyond apocryphal, situating Cornelius in such a way that the character can be construed as a calculated construction of a cartooned corporate brand, and so also, by extension, of a world assembled from and by such structures. It's been well over a century since corporations were – at least legally – granted personhood. Ah, but what kind of person might a corporation be? Comics Makers of prior generations have offered us naively fantastic examples such as Batman® and Iron Man® – to name only two. In Cornelius, Torices may have provided us with a more realistic – and apt – answer. Here's what a couple of copacetic comics makers have to add: “It seems that Cornelius, like an archetype or a myth, has always existed. This is a comic beyond time in the eternity of dogs, where Italo Calvino rides through Gasoline Alley, in a trolley car. Torices cartoon magically as a shape shifter.” – Matthew Thurber | “Using the breadth of comic strip history, Marc Torices builds a monument of irrationality by way of his stooge, Cornelius the Dog. Like many of us, he can’t help but gnaw off his own leg time and time again in the face of life's perplexities. Thankfully – for us and Cornelius – the world still turns.” – Charles Forsman. >> D & Q has posted a hi-rez PDF preview HERE. Check it out! AND, we've posted a hefty gallery of pages and spreads from the book HERE!
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price - $33.75
Hidden Islands
Hidden
Islands has arrived! This 164-page,
magazine-size, squarebound volume collects four of
up-and-coming comics champ, Cameron Arthur's neo-classic
comics tales along with a new one created specifically for
this volume. Here's an excerpt from the
introduction:
Taking to heart some of the key approaches and primary
guidelines undergirding the method of his comics
mentor, Frank Santoro, Arthur builds his comics from
the ground up. Employing gutterless panels laid out in
a variety of tiered grids, each story’s layout is
designed to both set the narrative pace and provide
each aspect of the story with its proper weight.
These narratives often feel pervaded by a sense of
preordainment that can at times border on fatalism, and
the characters in these tales bear the marks of lives
emotionally flattened by the pressures of existence, yet
each of them remains propelled forward by their own
deliberate internal rhythm that moves to the beat
inscribed within their beings. These artfully constructed
comics work to æstheticize tales of adventure and
domesticity, effectively providing insights into the forms
as they are employing them. Within the vast ocean of
contemporary comics, they are indeed akin to hidden
islands and are well worth making the journey to
discover. And, we've posted a gallery of choice bits
from the book up on the Copacetic Tumblr, HERE.
retail
price - $22.99 copacetic price - $20.00
Raging Clouds
This 364 page
black & white hardcover volume is the (print)
graphic novel debut of Korean comic book artist,
Yudori. A period drama, Raging Clouds
is a tale set in the patriarchal society of 16th-century
Holland that centers on an impoverished noblewoman married
to an up and coming merchant who then further allies
himself to an Asian mistress. This unlikely pair of
women then in turn create an alliance through shared truth
telling, and so manage to carve our a space that they can
be for themselves within and despite the limitations
imposed upon them by the patriarchy, and then use that to
move history forward through science. These two
central women are further enmeshed with a pair of servant
women with whom they share household duties in a
surprisingly egalitarian manner and whose efforts are also
crucial to the drama. Yudori is a talented and
skilled drawer with special strengths in rendering faces
and figures. In Raging Clouds she plays to her
strengths in advancing the drama through imagery and by
doing so, embodies its central thesis that the power of
personality holds sway over historical forces. We've
posted a gallery of spreads on the Copacetic Tumblr, HERE, to give you a taste
of what's in store. And you can learn more about
Yudori and Raging Clouds by reading this short
interview with her at Publisher's Weekly, HERE.
retail
price - $34.99 copacetic price - $28.75
Ms. Understood
As capitalism
ever further expands its boundaries, manifesting itself in
ever more humanoid forms – AI / robots, et al – which are
assuming ever more the roles, power and significance of
human (re)production, our species' animal function feels
ever more diminished and the physical energies of humanity
ever more displaced. As these energies have to go
somewhere, they are being transferred elsewhere, with one
clearly evident destination that of being translated into
the symbolic realm. Here, in the pages of Ms.
Understood, Juliette Collet has chosen the
particular corner of the symbolic realm occupied by the
pornographic film industry, where it can be seen as a
synecdoche for contemporary America. This aspect also
serves to highlight and forefront the impact of the
inscription of gender roles on the young women – and, in
particular, on their bodies and body images – that
predominate in its pages. Ms. Understood and her
high spirited supporting cast of characters demonstrate
great resilience as they gamely try to make the most of it
– although not without sadness – here in these playful,
colorful comics that portray a dual displacement of sex
and work, with each becoming the other and neither
existing independently, in a manner that is hinted at
through its cleverly indeterminate, quantum-state title,
where what is being shown both is and isn’t what is being
said – and vice versa – until the arrival of a decisive
moment… which need not necessarily ever arrive. Ms.
Collet can be counted among the most productive young,
independent comics makers in America, and this 96 page
full color work amply demonstrates both her drive and
abilities.
retail price - $22.00 copacetic price - $19.75
Misery
of Love
This 232 page softcover from the creator
of The Yellow Negro and Other Imaginary Creatures
is hot off the press and now in stock at Copacetic.
It is entirely composed in a series of two
landscape-formatted panels per page – so, four per spread
– rendered in lush ink washes in a vast multiplicity of
tones from off white to black, showing just how much
variety – and complexity – it is possible to produce using
the opposition between black and white. Themes
include trauma, change, intergenerational trauma,
racism/colonialism, and, centrally, patriarchal attitudes
and the sexism so engendered – and then how these all
intersect and manifest in sexual relations. The work
is largely visual, with limited dialogue and minimal
textual interventions. The back cover blurb makes
reference to Richard McGuire's Here, due to the
narrative being constructed employing temporal shifts and
spatial juxtapositions that largely (but not solely)
transpire within a single structure. We would add
that some of the aspects/elements of the visual
presentation – the landscape panels, the uniform spread,
the lush, painterly rendering – also bring to mind the
work of Frank Santoro, particularly PIttsburgh
and Pompeii. Also, it could be argued that
the work is better served by it's original French title École
de la misère (School of Misery), given both its
thematic concerns and the strong focus on physical
place and space, but it's probably a safe bet to say that
books with "love" in the title sell better than those with
"school" (at least here in the USA). Regardless,
this is a rich work that will reward repearted readings
retail price - $12.00 copacetic price - $10.75
retail price - $34.99 copacetic price - $28.75
retail price - $25.00 copacetic price - $21.75
retail price - $45.00 copacetic price - $38.75
These items and more may also be found at our eCommerce site, HERE.
retail price - $22.00 copacetic price - $19.75
Misery
of Love
This 232 page softcover from the creator
of The Yellow Negro and Other Imaginary Creatures
is hot off the press and now in stock at Copacetic.
It is entirely composed in a series of two
landscape-formatted panels per page – so, four per spread
– rendered in lush ink washes in a vast multiplicity of
tones from off white to black, showing just how much
variety – and complexity – it is possible to produce using
the opposition between black and white. Themes
include trauma, change, intergenerational trauma,
racism/colonialism, and, centrally, patriarchal attitudes
and the sexism so engendered – and then how these all
intersect and manifest in sexual relations. The work
is largely visual, with limited dialogue and minimal
textual interventions. The back cover blurb makes
reference to Richard McGuire's Here, due to the
narrative being constructed employing temporal shifts and
spatial juxtapositions that largely (but not solely)
transpire within a single structure. We would add
that some of the aspects/elements of the visual
presentation – the landscape panels, the uniform spread,
the lush, painterly rendering – also bring to mind the
work of Frank Santoro, particularly PIttsburgh
and Pompeii. Also, it could be argued that
the work is better served by it's original French title École
de la misère (School of Misery), given both its
thematic concerns and the strong focus on physical
place and space, but it's probably a safe bet to say that
books with "love" in the title sell better than those with
"school" (at least here in the USA). Regardless,
this is a rich work that will reward repearted readings
retail
price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.75
Womb Rider
Here's the latest from Danish cartooning
powerhouse, Emil Friis Ernst: Womb Rider!
What is it that drives men to race one another, desperate
to get there first? Hmmm.... perhaps Ernst has
provided us with the answer in the pages of this 32 page,
magazine-size comic book, printed in fluorescent colors on
heavy duty newsprint and cardstock cover, that focuses on
one supremely focused "rider."retail price - $12.00 copacetic price - $10.75
Big Pool
Chris Harnan's Big Pool is
another European creation that too employs a metaphoric
theme, and one that can perhaps be seem as tangential to
that of the above. Encoding a double-helix of visual
information that is designed to evolve your consciousness
as you turn the pages. Anyone looking to get
out of their head for a bit – and away from linear
thinking and cost/benefit analyses – might want to
consider diving into this 224-page optical
blast. It's safer than drugs – and cheaper in the
long run, as a renewable resource that can be revisited as
often as liked. The work is almost
entirely textless; the minimal text present is employed
more for effect than narrative purposes and is primarily
in English, with the rest in French. We've posted a
generous gallery from the book up on the Copacetic Tumblr,
HERE.retail price - $34.99 copacetic price - $28.75
Sex Work
/ Working Dogs
Bridget Trout’s
Sex Work / Working Dogs is boldly cartooned
satire of the American workplace that posits work as sex
as work on the A-side, with a dogs as bosses role
reversal on the flipside. Published by Neoglyphic,
its double-sided, digest-sized, 69-format and color
saturated artwork printed on newsprint is highly
reminiscent – and a welcome revival – of the aesthetic
of Ben Jones & Jessica Ciocci’s Cartoon
Workshop / Pig Tales. This is a comic book
that makes a mockery of the corporate workplace and has
fun while doing it!
retail price - $14.00 copacetic price - $12.75
retail price - $14.00 copacetic price - $12.75
Belfaust #7
Break out the champagne! The
seventh issue of Belfaust, David Sandlin's
trans-Atlantic epic, the love, sex, booze and
drugs-fueled masterpiece of sin and salvation (or, as
it is here in the States "sell-vation), has arrived! As
with all previous issues, this one is a hand printed, four
color risograph by the hard working Cram Books – to whom
the publishing baton has now also passed; 24 pages +
16-page mini-comic insert. Belfaust!
| "In America, dreams become real." |
Another great issue!retail price - $25.00 copacetic price - $21.75
Existential Comics
Existential Comics: Selected
Stories 1979–2004 presents a collection of 25 of
R. Crumb's comics from the 25 year span that ended in 2004
– along with a new, one-page comics foreword created
specifically for this volume – that has been
insightfully curated and introduced by Crumb's
biographer, Dan Nadel. And what's more, this 180
page, full-size edition is both sturdy and handsome,
printed on a slightly heavier version of the same cream
colored paperstock chosen by Crumb for his Book of
Genesis, with stitched signatures quality
bound into a heavy duty hardcover designed for a lifetime
of reading enjoyment. We've posted the table of
contents along with a sneak preview of some choice panels
and pages on the Copacetic Tumblr, HERE.retail price - $45.00 copacetic price - $38.75
These items and more may also be found at our eCommerce site, HERE.
New for June 2025
Cloud Town: Friends in
Stormy Weather, Part One (Copacetic Exclusive
Limited Special Offer) Cloud Town:
Friends in Stormy Weather, Part One is a
self-published, 116-page (7 3/4” x 10”), spiral-bound,
“Teen +” graphic novel printed in black & white &
blue (and also, occasionally, in other tones as well, as
called for; most notably yellow and orange) that has been
released in a hand signed and numbered limited edition of
200 copies. It picks up – more or less – right after
the events of the Cloud Town graphic novel published by
Amulet Books in 2022 (more about which shortly). As
it is self-published, it is more adventuresome in both
form and content than its precursor, starting with the
decision to publish it in a spiral-bound edition (complete
with a pair of friendship bracelets and sticker sheet!) to
better evoke the up-close-and-personal diaristic
contents. The work itself also incorporates elements
of collage along with a collagist approach to
narrative. The drama on hand unfolds in the Cloud
Town Universe™ as before, with a focus on high school
life, friendships, and, in particular, the role of
bullying in the school ecosystem and the forging and
dissolving or relationships within it – albeit in an
alternative reality in which, “high above the Pacific
Ocean there’s a chunk of another world jutting from a tear
in the fabric of the universe” through which monsters
occasionally appear, and which are then battled by human
powered mega-roots a la Neon Genesis Evangelion
and Pacific Rim; so, a little different.
It’s adventure-filled comics fun! – And there’s a lot of
it in this Copacetic Exclusive Limited Special
Offer: Anyone purchasing a copy of Cloud
Town: Friends in Stormy Weather, Part One will also
receive, a copy of the hardcover edition of the original Cloud
Town graphic novel from Amulet – with a new,
limited edition alternative dust jacket AND a copy of the
24-page, digest-size, black & white & blue (&
orange) Cloud Town Prequel AND a copy of the
12-page, full color, digest-size autobio comic book, Failing
to Quit PLUS two full color Cloud Town postcards –
all by Daniel McCloskey and ALL AT NO EXTRA COST (aka
FREE!). And, yes, we realize that
some of those likely to be most interested in this offer
may already have the original Cloud Town graphic
novel – but this offer provides the opportunity to pay it
forward by gifting one of the surplus copies and so turn a
friend or family member onto Cloud Town! We've
posted of gallery of the items along with a few pages and
spreads from each book on the Copacetic Tumblr, HERE.
retail
price - $71.93 copacetic price - $35.00
Connor
Willumsen Hype*Pup Portfolio
Hype*Pup hook*up! We have a very
small number of the very small (but unnumbered) edition
of Connor Willumsen Hype*Pup Portfolio.
This portfolio reproduces 13 Hype*Pup
centerfolds on heavy, coated, glossy, 11" x 17"
stock. All are reproduced in full color, but
– important note – six of the originals are black
& white ink drawings, the color reproduction allowing
for the full subtlety of the drawing to come through; the
seven full color works are created in a variety of
media. Not something you see everyday. copacetic price - $22.50
Void Packer #3
retail price - $10.00 copacetic price - $9.50
Butterface
retail price - $8.00 copacetic price - $8.00
Weird Brain
retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $17.75
Kitz 'n'
Katz
Kitz 'n' Katz is a collection of
classic, old school style funny animal comics. The
formats of the work collected here includes the three and
four-panel strips that ran weekly in The Comics Buyer's
Guide from 1981 to 1985 as well as the comic book format
short stories that made up the six issues of the comic book
series, with the first issue published by Phantasy Press in
1984, then the next four by Eclipse Comics from 1985 to
1987, and with the final, sixth issue self-published.
Laughlin, who passed away in 2006, was already well into his
fifties when Kitz 'n'' Katz began, and the drawing is highly
polished. It's a classic comics concept: a black cat
and a white cat go through the pacves from gags to
adventures to send-ups and satires. The substance is largely
on the silly side, and feels a bit like a misguided mash up
of Krazy Kat and Garfield, but there's definitely a lot of
love for Herriman here, regardless. And, the
introduction of this volume is by none other than fellow
Herriman aficionado, Patrick McDonnell, who, it turns out,
had his comics debut in the pages of Kitz 'n' Katz! These
were three one-page comics featuring "Tik 'n' Tak", a pair
of ticks that lived on Kitz 'n' Katz, and they are included
here. McDonnell completists, please take note.
All in all, a worthy addition to any true blue old school
comics fan.
retail price - $17.99 copacetic price - $16.25
Late KIRBY Bargain
Bonanza! copacetic price - $12.50
Drawn to MoMA
retail price - $45.00 copacetic price - $38.75
These items and more may also be found at our eCommerce site, HERE.
New for May 2025
Spent retail price - $32.00 copacetic price - $25.75
Salt Green Death
retail price - $30.00 copacetic price - $25.75
How Comics Are Made
retail price - $40.00 copacetic price - $35.75
The Giant: Orson Welles, the Artist and the Shadow
retail price - $29.99 copacetic price - $25.75
Mineshaft #46
retail price - $15.00 copacetic price - $13.75
Arsène Schrauwen - softcover
Nancy Wears Hats
retail price - $24.99 copacetic price - $21.75
Krazy &
Ignatz 1928-1930
Here's the latest addition to
Fantagraphics' ongoing George Herriman Library: Krazy
& Ignatz, 1928-1930. It's another massive –
3 1/2 pounds – oversize – 11 1/2" x 14" – hardcover –
this time, embossed – volume. It collects the entirety of
the Krazy Kat Sunday pages from 1928, 19290 & 1930 –
thus, covering that pivotal era that marked the end of The
Jazz Age and the beginning of The Great Depression – runs
228 pages almost entirely in black & white – as befits
the work – but with a smattering of color where the work
requires it. It is also chock-a-block with informative
essays from Bill Blackbeard and other Herriman
scholars. And we can't resist tossing in this quote
from the Fantagraphics' website, as we wholeheartedly agree:
"One could argue the claim — confidently, persuasively,
and with an all-but-inexhaustible store of ever-fresh
evidence — that George Herriman was one of the very great
artists, in any medium, of the 20th century." —
Michael Chabon
retail price - $49.99 copacetic price - $42.75
These items and more may also be found at our eCommerce site, HERE.
New for April 2025
Ginseng Roots
retail price - $35.00 copacetic price - $29.75
Goes Like This
One Little Goat
retail price - $18.99 copacetic price - $17.00
Alien Disclosure
retail price - $10.00 copacetic price - $9.25
Broken Wires - Complete
Set Special #1 - 3 retail price - $20.00 copacetic price - $15.00
Grixly two-fer #69 & ...69? (Actually #70!)
retail price - $6.00 copacetic price - $5.00
You Are a Sacred Place: Visual Poems for Living in Climate Crisis
retail price - $21.99 copacetic price - $18.75
These items
and more may
also be found
at our
eCommerce
site, HERE.
