CATALOG E-J


OLIVER EAST is an English artist and zine-maker, whose Trains Are... Mint series has understandably become a favorite of many on both sides of the pond.  In it, East walks, usually along trainlines, from one point to another, and records his observations and thoughts in a down-to-earth, sometimes self-deprecating tone.  Reading his stuff I constantly find myself jotting down little notes, and quotes from the writing.  Utterly unlike anything out there, East's comics are one of a kind.  I currently stock two of his lovingly made book collections, published by Blank Slate in the UK.  I kind of think fans of King-Cat will really enjoy these...

►NEW! - THE HOMESICK TRUANT'S CUMBRIAN YARN #1 by Oliver East.  In this new series, commissioned by the Lakes Festival and the Brewery Arts Centre, East documents one of his walks, this time between Arnside and Grange Over Sands, in his usual highly abstract yet expressive line.  In this episode Ollie meets a noisome hunting party and a tenacious dog.  Completely unique.  Review.  36 pages, approx. 8" x 12" (A4), b+w; $5.00.


►NEW! - THE HOMESICK TRUANT'S CUMBRIAN YARN #2 by Oliver East. In this installment, Ollie treks from Grange over Sands to Ulverston: rain, family, train stations, and more hunters. 36 pages, approx. 8" x 12" (A4), b+w; $5.00.


►NEW! - THE HOMESICK TRUANT'S CUMBRIAN YARN #3 by Oliver East.  Ulverston to Askam: Bright mornings, black sheep, and a near miss.  36 pages, approx. 8" x 12" (A4), b+w; $5.00.



PROPER GO WELL HIGH by Oliver East (Blank Slate).  Oliver travels from Manchester to Liverpool and documents the journey in his idiosyncratic watercolor/collage style. "It's cheap therapy all this walking. Love. Grass. Wall. Love. Bush. Wall."  176 pages, full-color covers and interiors, hardcover, 8.5" x 6"; $20.00.  BACKORDERED




BERLIN AND THAT by Oliver East (Blank Slate).  This time Ollie walks from Berlin to the Polish border.  "I realised as I sat semi-derelict on the concrete bench watching the pigeons flirt and the leaves get lost that I was, in actual fact, very lucky."  188 pages, full-color covers and interiors, hardcover, 8.5" x 6"; $20.00.  BACKORDERED




►NEW! - TRAINS ARE ... MINT by Oliver East:  I finally have Oliver East's debut collection in stock!  In full page drawings and panels, all watercolored, Ollie recounts his ramblings, both mental and physical, through British Town and Country.  Thoroughly unique.  126 pages, 9" x 6", full color throughout;  $25.00.



DENNIS P. EICHHORN is an icon of the alternative comics world.


►NEW! -- REAL GOOD STUFF # 1+2 (Poochie Press): Alt-comix readers of a certain age will remember with fondness Dennis Eichhorn's seminal comics series from the 80's and 90's, like Real Stuff, and Real Smut, in which the rowdy ranconteur told amazing, unpredictable true stories from his well-lived life, all illustrated by the best cartoonists alt-comics had to offer.  Now, Eichhorn is back, this time being illustrated by a new generation of great cartoonists, perfectly suited to his bawdy and violent tales: Noah Van Sciver, Tom Van Deusen, Max Clotfelter, Aaron Lange, plus old friends like Mary Fleener, Jim Blanchard and more!  I can't recommend this beautiful, gutsy book enough.  Two complete issues in one book, presented in a classic 69 format, with dual covers by Fleener and Lange.  68 pages, 8.5" x 11", full color covers, b+w interiors;  only $10.00.  FOR MATURE READERS.






Above: Five brilliant spreads from REAL GOOD STUFF 


THEO ELLSWORTH's dreamlike comics concern life and how to live it, and art and how to make it.  He's certainly one of the most interesting cartoonists to make the scene in recent years.

CAPACITY by Theo Ellsworth (Secret Acres).  In this amazing collection Ellsworth presents his remarkable (originally self-published) Capacity Comics, alongside new stories that present the reader with the circumstances, experiences, and experiments that surrounded them.  The net effect is to find yourself immersed into a dreamlike, sometimes dark, sometimes charming world that is utterly compelling and unique.  Coming outside the other end is akin to taking a real journey.  Might this book become a modern-day classic?  On the back cover Craig Thompson writes: "Exactly the kind of book you find in a dream."  I agree.  340 whopping pages, 8" x 6.5", color covers/b+w interiors;  $20.00.



►NEW! -- CAPACITY #8 by Theo Ellsworth (Secret Acres):  In the all-new issue of Capacity (issues 1-7 are collected in the book listed above), Theo invites you personally to enter his comic in an attempt toshare his received wisdom about our shared future.  By the end you will have received you Mind Vehicle Operation Badge.  No one makes comics like Theo Ellsworth.  Highly reommended.  44 pages, 6" x 9", color covers, b+w interiors; $7.00.



THE UNDERSTANDING MONSTER, BOOK ONE by Theo Ellsworth (Secret Acres):  While maintaining the intimate nature of his debut Capacity, Ellsworth has taken his personal experience to an entirely new reality, exploding with color and energy. Presented in an oversized, full color, hardcover edition that captures the beauty of his hand painted artwork at nearly full size, The Understanding Monster Book One is a wonder to behold.  72 pages, hardcover, 9" x 12", full color throughout!  $22.00.



Above, two pages from The Understanding Monster.

KILIAN ENG is a Swedish digital artist.

►NEW! -- OBJECT #10 by Kilian Eng (Floating World):  This lavishly produced hardcover volume reproduces Eng's gorgeous artwork in a European-sized album format.  Eng creates psychedelic sci-fi worlds of stunning complexity and beauty, that in many cases relay textless visual stories.  This volume includes work produced over the course of the past year, plus earlier pieces from before the release of his first monograph, Object 5.  Brilliant,  immersive, and impeccably produced.  Video Preview.  80 pages, 9.25" x 12.25", hardcover; full color thoughout; $30.00.






AUSTIN ENGLISH is a publisher, comics critic, and idiosyncratic cartoonist in his own right.


►NEW! - THE LIFE PROBLEM by Austin English (Drippy Bone Books): Includes two stories on the vague theme of familial and other relationships, drawn in English's unapologetically raw and personal style.  In My Friend Perry, we meet a group of vaguely odd characters who inhabit a detached world; in  Here I Am! a stranger off the streets enters a family home with disturbing and confusing effects. Recommended.  40 pages, full color throughout, 7" x 9";  $9.00.


Above: two spreads from The Life Problem.


EAMON ESPEY is one of the strongest, most unusual cartoonists working today.  Beautiful, weird comics about an alternative world of mayhem, violence, and absurdity, drawn in a precise, captivating style somewhere between Mike Roden and Mark Beyer.  I have his two beautiful Secret Acres collections in stock...

WORMDYE by Eamon Espey (Secret Acres).   Collected from Espey's acclaimed Wormdye zines, these surreal, interlocking stories are mesmerizing and potent.  "Bleak and darkly funny, Wormdye uses myths and iconographic visuals to evoke a world-view that is both absorbing and upsetting, tragic and triumphant."  132 pages, 6.5" 9.5", perfect-bound;  $13.00.



SONGS OF THE ABYSS by Eamon Espey (Secret Acres):  This new collection compiles three of Eamon's previously self-published comics:  Ishi's Brain, Death Deals, and Asbestos Wick, bookended by new stories -- The Land That Once Lived and Black Night In Diablo Crater.  Nearly wordless, these stories are eerie, primal tales of sex, death and rebirth, drawn in an immaculate black and white style that will bring you back to prehistory.  Includes cryptic and illuminating notes from the author on each of the stories.  Highly recommended!  170 pages, 7" x 9", color cover, b+w interiors;  18.00.




BRECHT EVENS is the newest wünderkind to hit the international scene, and boy can he draw.  I have in stock Top Shelf's release of his Night Animals, which is a great, affordable intro to this very talented artist.

NIGHT ANIMALS by Brecht Evens: This lush, gorgeous, wordless comic contains two mind-expanding stories-- in the first a rabbit-suited man goes on the blind date of a lifetime, and in the second, a girl enters the bizarre, intimidating, and ultimately liberating world of adulthood.  Brilliant penwork and color, an absolute joy to behold.  Highly recommended! 48 comic sized pages with french flaps, full color; $8.00.



Above: Two page spreads from Night Animals.


BRIAN EVENSON is a writer.


►NEW! - ED Vs YUMMY FUR by Brian Evenson (Uncivilized):  In this, the debut installment in Uncivilized's Critical Cartoons series, writer Brian Evenson tackles the way the serialized comic book has evolved into the "graphic novel" through the example of Chester Brown's groundbreaking "Ed the Happy Clown," originally serialized in Yummy Fur, and later edited into the "graphic-novel" form.  Evenson examines what got left in, what got left out, what got changed, and why.  Includes an all-new interview with Brown himself.  142 pages, 5" x 7.5", text with illustrations, including several full color plates; $13.00.




EDIE FAKE is a Chicago-based artist and zine-maker.  His "queer mytho-log" Gaylord Phoenix has been collected into one mindblowing volume from Secret Acres.

GAYLORD PHOENIX by Edie Fake (Secret Acres).   "Gaylord Phoenix follows the danger-fraught journeys of the gaylord phoenix, a creature willing to sacrifice anything for love and self-knowledge. Fake confronts the reader with violent and unexpected manifestations of sexual connection and romantic possession as the gaylord phoenix searches for his lost love, his origins and his place in the world...  Gaylord Phoenix portrays the most human, universal struggle in an epic, majestically rendered world where transformations, magic and sex are part of the everyday fabric of life."  This absolutely stunning book actually took my breath away.  Sexuality, Love, Myth, and Longing.  Highly recommended!  256 pages, color cover, two-color interior, 5.5" x 8.5"; $18.00.


►NEW! - MEMORY PALACES by Edie Fake (Secret Acres):  In this lovely, oversize book of full color paintings, Fake reimagines historic locations in Chicago's LGBT community: "bars, bathhouses, bookstores, clinics..." in luminous, abstracted paintings bristling with pattern, color, and light.  20 full color pages in a giant 11" x 14" format; $20.00.


Above: Two spreads from Memory Palaces.


MADÉLEINE FLORES is a cartoonist.

►NEW! - BIRD, BEAR AND STAG WERE ARGUING IN THE FOREST AND OTHER STORIES by Madéleine Flores (Retrofit/Big Planet):  A selection of several short stories dealing with animals, dreams, nature, and the mythology of human experience.  Charming and sweet.  44 pages, 6" x 9", two color cover, b+w interiors; $6.00.



CHARLES FORSMAN is a graduate of CCS in Vermont, and one of the most interesting and subtle cartoonists working.

►NEW! -- CELEBRATED SUMMER by Charles Forsman (Fantagraphics):  Beautiful and funny tales of two high school friends, Mike and Wolf, who drop acid and take a meadnering roadtrip in search of their futures.  Beautiful cross hatched yet simple artwork.  76 pages, 8" x 10", color covers, b+w interiors; $17.00.



►NEW! -- TEEN CREEPS #1 by Charles Forsman (Oily):  Hilary and Dawn are troublemaking teens in this first installment of Forsman's new series.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w; $1.00.


►NEW! -- TEEN CREEPS #2 by Charles Forsman (Oily):  Trouble at the Quickie Mart; and a locker room brawl.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w; $1.00.


►NEW! -- TEEN CREEPS #3 by Charles Forsman (Oily):  Dawn's dad hits on Hilary.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w; $1.00.


►NEW! -- TEEN CREEPS #4 by Charles Forsman (Oily):  Dawn makes a mistake and then makes plans to make a bigger mistake.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w; $1.00.


NEW! -- WORKING ON THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD by Charles Forsman (Oily): Sketches, notes and other ephemera generated during the creation of Chuck's series The End of the Fucking World, plus an interview conducted by Brad Soderberg.  24 pages, 5" x 7", two colors throughout; $5.00.



THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #1 by Charles Forsman:  The story of James and Alyssa, two teenagers.  James is disturbed and violent, Alyssa is his girlfriend.  In this issue, introductions are made.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w;  $1.00


THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #2:  Escape.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w;  $1.00



THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #3:  In this issue, things take an even darker turn.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w;  $1.00.



THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #4:  Dancing: the story continues. 12 mini-sized pages, b+w;  $1.00.



THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #5:  Love, trust, and then Forsman's story takes a shocking turn.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w;  $1.00.



THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #6:  On the run.  12 mini-sized pages, , b+w: $1.00.

THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #7:  Recent installment features Hitchhiking Danger...  12 mini-sized pages, b+w: $1.00.



►NEW! - THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #8:  Our troubled lovers on the run make it to a gas station in Tulsa.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w: $1.00.


►NEW! - THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #9:  An eerie, dream-like sequence in which our protagonist starts to really unravel.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w: $1.00.


THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #10:  Shoplifting and Security Guards.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w: $1.00.



THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #11:  Searching and gore.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w: $1.00.


THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #12:  Going home.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w: $1.00.


THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #13:  Living With Dad.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w: $1.00.


THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #14:  Shit Hits the Fan.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w: $1.00.


THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #15 by Chuck Forsman (Oily):  The brutal climax.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w, $1.00.
THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD #16 by Chuck Forsman (Oily):  The series concludes with this powerful final scene.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w, $1.00.








►NEW! -- TEOTFW by Charles Forsman (Fantagraphics):  The whole sordid story reprinted in a gorgeously sturdy paperback edition.  176 pages, 6.5" x 5", two color covers, b+w interiors; $20.00.






MATT FORSYTHE is a Canadian artist with a few books out now from D+Q.  I've got his latest, from Koyama Press:

COMICS CLASS.  Esteemed cartoonist Matt Forsythe teaches a comics class to kids, with hilarious results. Drawn in a simple but expressive brush style, with lots of zip-a-tone, this little book is brilliantly funny.  48 pages, 5" x 5", full color covers/b+w interiors;  $5.00.



RENEE FRENCH is one of our most talented and weird cartoonists.  Her mesmerizing black and white pencil drawings lure the reader into another, eerier world.

►NEW! -- CÉPHELÉES by Renee French (L' Apocalypse):  Renee's book from L'Association founder JC Menu's new imprint (published in America by Picturebox as "H Day"), traverses the wordless world of a being confined to bed with a growing and serious migraine headache (the character's head grows and distorts) with another story of a city gradually overtaken by ants which leads the surviving life, a small black dog, on a dreamlike journey.  Strange, eerie, and surreal, this is a book to linger over.  Lovingly produced on delicious, soft cream paper with sturdy, embossed hardcovers.  216 pages, 6" x 7", b+w interiors;  $38.00.



►NEW! -- HAGELBARGER AND THAT NIGHTMARE GOAT by Renee French (Yam Books): Aquatic wee beastie Hagelbarger and his friends attempt to install a glowing underwater stick in the Snake's nest, while that Nightmare Goat makes plans to spoil the whole operation by eating them. Action, adventure, and thrills abound in this typically surreal and exquisitely drawn new book from Renee French.  109 pages, 6" x 7", luscious black and white throughout; $18.00.



KELLY FROH is without a doubt one of my favorite cartoonists working today.  Her sweet-natured, but merciless comics and drawings lay modern life, in all its absurdity and poignance, on the line every time...

THE GREATEST by Kelly Froh:  Kelly works in assisted living homes and loves old people.  Her latest zine is a collection of full color portraits of some of the greatest ones she's met.  Charming!  24 full color digest pages;  $4.00.




TWO DAYS AWAY FROM STARING AT BIRDS FROM A PARK BENCH:  In a story ripped from today's headlines (!), in 2010 Kelly unexpectedly lost her job and made this comic about her experiences in the world of the desperately unemployed.  24 mini-sized pages, $2.00.




WEEKNIGHT CASSEROLE is a collection of odds and ends, sketches, drawings, and comics that appeared in anthologies and elsewhere.  Charming, funny, and biting, as usual.  Plus it includes the classic "Accidental Adventures in S&M."  Highly recommended.  24 digest pages, $2.00.


►NEW! -- WEEKNIGHT CASSEROLE #2 by Kelly Froh: More odds and ends from Ms. Froh, including comics, drawings, and illustrations that appeared recently in Not My Small Diary, Dog Walk Dog, Dune, Mutant and Bad Roommate Zine.  Includes Tuquoise Angel, Hippie Hugs, Game On, Senior Moments, and much more!  28 digest pages, b+w with full color fold-out (see photo); $2.00.



SAMSON:  MILWAUKEE'S BIGGEST CELEBRITY 1950-1981 by Kelly Froh:  Charming grey-tone washes tell the story of 600 lb Samson, the lonely gorilla that captured Milwaukee's heart, all in that fabulous Froh style we've all come to know and love.  20 mini-sized pages, b+w;  $2.00.



STEW BREW #3 by Kelly Froh and Max Clotfelter.  The TV Issue od Max and Kelly's tag-team comic covers the history of their love affair with the Tube, from childhood through post-adolescence. Charming, funny and a little sad, this was my favorite comic of 2009. (Cover image ripped from Profanity Hill.) 28 digest pages, $3.00.




DANIEL FROST is a London-based artist and illustrator.

►NEW! -- ATOP A HILL IN FROSTVILLE by Daniel Frost (Little Otsu):  In this charming and wordless storybook, a boy and his dog awake on a sunny day to find themselves in for the adventure of their lives!  Beautifully drawn in full-color, this lovely book will captivate readers of every age.  48 pages, 8.5" x 9.5", full color throughout, perfectbound; $16.00




GABRIELLE GAMBOA is a stalwart of the DIY comics scene, having been part of the 1990's Puppy Toss Collective.  It's nice to have her new book in stock.

MISS LONELYHEARTS #1 by Gabrielle Gamboa.  Based on the novel by Nathanael West, this first installment of Gabby's adaptation intersperses scenes of a young writer at work, answering letters for a newspaper "Miss Lonelyhearts" column (drawn in b+w washes), with depictions of the letter-writers' suffering, drawn in weird and loose cartoony lines, featuring skewed versions of classic comics characters.  A sad and compelling first issue.  44 digest pages, color cover, b+w interiors; OUT OF PRINT




►NEW! -- MISS LONELYHEARTS #2 by Gabrielle Gamboa:  In the latest installment, Miss Lonelyhearts discusses God with an abusive man and his girlfriend in a speakeasy, and then falls into fitful, tormented dreams.  52 digest pages, 3-color cover, b+w interiors; $5.00.



SAM GASKIN is a CCS graduate and one hell of a wildman.

►NEW! -- FATAL FAUX PAS by Sam Gaskin (Secret Acres):  "Samuel C. Gaskin's first book, a collection of gags, stories and drawings, is aimed directly at the adult reader who can appreciate his playful, often risqué riffs on pop culture. The stories and gags in Fatal Faux-Pasinvoke Black Sabbath, Klaus Kinski, the cast of Saved by the Bell, Dinosaur Jr., Sun Ra and Depeche Mode, among others. A delirious, ambitious mash-up of single-panel gags, strips and longer form stories, Fatal Faux-Pas is the definition of youthful exuberance."  96 pages, approx 5" x 6"; color and b+w; 10.00.


►NEW! -- GNOMES by Sam Gaskin (Oily):  The latest from Mr. Gas Can, Ganomes is a quick, scrappy look into the life of ...  Gnomes.  Sam Gas Can as only Gas Can can bring it.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w; $1.00.


►NEW! -- GOBLINS by Sam Gaskin (Oily):  The life, lore, and habits of the disgusting creatures known as Goblins, including Eating Poo, and People, Food, Tantrums and so on.  12 mini-sized pages, b+w; $1.00.


►NEW! - 2012 by Sam Gaskin (Secret Acres):  Gaskin examines chaos, catastrophe, and apocalyse in his usual goofy, droopeyed style-- with everyone from Nostradamus to Dracula chiming in.  28 pages, two colors throughout, 8" x 10"; $7.00.  LIMITED QUANTITIES




GAY GENIUS, edited by Annie Murphy (Sparkplug): this wide-ranging anthology of comics and art just begins to cover the spectrum of queer artists working today in narrative art.  With work from such talents as Edie Fake, Annie Murphy, Pam Cameron-Snyder, Lee Relvas, Silky Shoemaker, and many many more, this book has something for everyone.  Styles range from wildly scrawled comics to brilliantly colored paintings, all tied together by these artists' commitment to personal expression.  Read the TCJ review here.  148 pages, color and b+w, 7" x 9.5";  $20.00. 




(Above: pages from GAY GENIUS)

 GAZETA: COMICS FROM BANGKOK TO BELGRADE: Great international comics anthology IN ENGLISH! With high quality work by Ron Regé, Jr. (USA), Dunja Jankovic (CRO/USA), Amanda Vähämäki (FIN), Dylan Horrocks (NZ), and many others, including cartoonists/artists from Cuba, Portugal, Italy, Serbia, Thailand, and France. Beautiful three-color Regé cover. 6.5" x 7.75"; 136 oerfect-bound pages with b+w/spot color interiors; $15.00.










PASCAL GIRARD is the best.  His recent books from D+Q, Bigfoot, and Reunion, are classics.


APARTMENT NUMBER THREE by Pascal Girard:  An absolutely brilliant "24 hour comic," in this gem of a story, Pascal imagines his pretty neighbor's infatuation with the fat and lonely cartoonist in basement apartment #3.  Charming, witty, and highly recommended!  32 pages, 5.5" x 6", b+w; OUT OF STOCK! MORE COMING SOON!


DES ADOLESCENTS by Pascal Girard (Mille Putois):  This new, completely silk-screened little collection of drawings of teenagers is charming, sweet, and funny, and an absolute must for any fan of this remarkable cartoonist!  Highly recommended!  20 pages, 2.5" x2.5", four-color covers, two-color interiors, all hand-screened; $5.00.


►NEW! -- FANNY AND ROMEO by Pascal Girard and Yves Pelletier (Conundrum):  This new ALL-COLOR book by first-time author Pelletier is illustrated with Pascal's charming, loopy watercolored artwork.  "The story concerns a young couple-- Fanny wants to have children, and Fabien doesn’t feel ready. Then a cat called Romeo comes into their lives. She falls in love, but he’s allergic. Fanny becomes more and more attached to the cat, to the point where she actually rents a separate apartment for it. But it turns out her Romeo has actually been two-timing her. A perfect blend of Pelletier’s writing with Girard’s beautiful watercolors, this story will warm the hearts of cat lovers and people lovers alike!" 136 pages, full color throughout, 6.5" x9.25"; $20.00.


►NEW! - PETTY THEFT by Pascal Girard (D+Q):  In This new book from the master of self-effacing fake-autobio, "Pascal" is down and out-- dumped by his longtime girlfriend, couch surfing, and in pain from a bad back.  When he spies a beautiful young woman stealing one of his books from a local shop, he begins a quest to find her, with hilarious consequences.  A great story from one of my favorite contemporary cartoonists.  104 pages, 8.5" x 6", color covers, b+w interiors; $20.00




JULIA GFRÖRER is a Portland-based artist whose inky, dark comics have been some of the standouts of the last few years.  Her comics take her as an artist to places that scare her, and bring us along for the ride.  Creepy, sometimes horrific, but made with subtlety and restraint, and a leavening sense of humor...

►NEW! -- BLACK IS THE COLOR by Julia Gfrörer (Fantagraphics):  Absolutely brilliant tale of a sailor aboard a floundering ship who's set out to sea to fend for himself in a small dinghy.  This is a Julia Gfrörer comic, so it's not long before the beautiful mermaid shows up.  By turns staggeringly beautiful, dark, romantic, and funny, and printed with loving care, Black is the Color is one of the best releases of 2013.  Highly recommended.  76 pages with French flaps,6" x 9",  two-color covers, beautiful b+w interiors;  $15.00 well spent.  FOR MATURE READERS.




FLESH AND BONE (Sparkplug Books):  Julia's breakout book is a wickedly probing tale of a young man's quest to be reunited with his dead lover.  In doing so, he seeks the help of a cynical and murderous witch.  Dark, creepy, and powerful, with touches of humor.  44 pages, 6" x 9", full color cover, b+w interiors; $6.00.  FOR MATURE READERS.  BACKORDERED.



TOO DARK TO SEE:  This self-published comic depicts a crumbling, modern young couple, and the dark forces at work behind the scenes of their romantic life.  36 digest pages, 2 color silkscreened cover, b+w interiors;  $5.00.  FOR MATURE READERS.  BACKORDERED






TREVOR GRABILL:  One of the joys of running this distro is finding the little mysterious comics floating far below the radar.  I first picked up Trevor's comics at Quimby's -- I was immediately drawn to their charming, hand-hewn Midwestern simplicity.  Then a year or so later I met him at Twin Cities Zine Fest.  "Oh yeah -- you're that guy!"  These comics of his come highly recommended...

►NEW! -- JOURNAL OF HORIZONS by Trevor Grabill:  Lovely, poetic two page vignettes paint a lonesome picture of natural mystery and new beginnings.  Thoroughly unique.  28 mini-sized pages, two color covers and b+w interiors; $4.00.



FLAT MOUNTAIN CHRONICLE VOL. 1 by Trevor Grabill:  The 4th Street Bear makes an appearance, first installment of "Me and You," and a lovely, sad story about his parents' separation, plus a selection of lovely stand-alone drawings and hand-crafted patterns.  32 digest pages, gorgeous b+w;  $3.00.




FLAT MOUNTAIN CHRONICLE VOL. 2 by Trevor Grabill:  Spirit Mountain Portraits, It's Snowing, Wisconsin Is Boring, Me and You (They Build a Spacehip), Part One of Night Violin, and lots more.  Charming and well done.  32 digest pages, gorgeous b+w;  $3.00.



FLAT MOUNTAIN CHRONICLE VOL. 3 by Trevor Grabill:  Patterns, Man-Shaped Hole,  Forbidden Birds, Me and You (In the Woods), Night Volin Part Two, and a handful of lovely stand-alone drawings.  32 digest pages, gorgeous b+w;  $3.00.




FLAT MOUNTAIN CHRONICLE VOL. 4 by Trevor Grabill:  Secret Ocean, Roadside Attraction, Me and You (Strange Host), Moon's Bright, Sherman Road Portraits, and more.  32 digest pages, gorgeous b+w;  $3.00.




TRAVEL DRAWINGS '11 by Trevor Grabill:  Beautiful pen and ink drawings of Grandpas, cars, trees, water towers, doorways, and other Midwestern holy places.  Drawn on location in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Pittsburgh PA.  Beautiful.  28 mini-sized pages, b+w;  $4.00.


►NEW! -- TRAVEL DRAWINGS 2012 by Trevor Grabill: More journal drawings in Trevor's nice, down-to-earth style.  Drawn in Milwaukee, Duluth, and throughout Michigan.  Libraries, girls on the beach, landscapes, buildings.  Very Midwestern, and awesome.  44 mini-sized pages, b+w; $4.00.


►NEW! -- LISTEN by Trevor Grabill:  In this two part story, a man and his friend lie on a nighttime hilltop listening to the music of the spheres, until one of them returns home to his isolation.  In part two, the man's little sister provides some special insight into his experience.  Lyrical and lovely.  28 slightly small than digest-sized pages, b+w; $4.00.


ANNA HAIFISCH is an up and coming young German cartoonist.


THE BUDDIES #1 by Anna Haifisch (Oily):  Two greasy looking animals (a cat, a dog?) do whippets with unexpected consequences.  16 mini-sized pages, b+w; $1.00.



SIMON HANSELMANN draws comix.

►NEW -- LIFE ZONE by Simon Hanselmann (Space Face): Four new Megg, Mogg, and Owl stories, including "Jobs," "High School," "Owl's Date"," and "Altered Beasts."  All in full color.  Get to it!  62 digest pages, perfect-bound and full color throughout; $12.00.



►NEW! -- HAPPINESS #1 ed. by Leah Wishnia: This brash new anthology presents contemporary art-comics with all the energy and unrepentant murk of a classic punk zine.  Contributors include Zejian Shen, Leah Wishnia, Pat Aulisio, Amanda Konishi, Abraham Diaz, A. Degen, Lincoln Bostian, and many more!  72 full-size pages, b+w interiors with full color covers; $6.00.




►NEW! -- HAPPINESS #2 ed. by Leah Wishnia:  More mutated funnies including work by Lala Albert, Heather Benjamin, Anthony Meloro, Aaron Shunga, Hiromi Ueyoshi, and the usual gang of idiots.  80 full sized pages, color covers, b+w interiors; $6.00.





►NEW! -- HAPPINESS #3 ed. by Leah Wishnia:  Mongo sized perfectbound book of crazy comix and art including work by Alabaster, Conor Stechshulte, Andy Burkholder, Gabe Fowler, Inés Estrada, Joe Kessler, Krystal Difronzo, Max Clotfelter, Nate Doyle, Sarah Drake, and many, many more!  Includes a 36 page full color section of contemporary painting and art, columns, letters, recommended reading list and more!  Wow.  203 full-sized pages in color and b+w, perfectbound; $12.00.











MARYANNA HARDY has worked as an artist, illustrator and screen printer and has published her work in publications nationally and internationally.  Her nre collection of narrative drawings, So I've Been Told, was nominated for Montreal Expozine's 2010 Best Canadian Book and was also shortlisted for a Doug Wright award for Best Avant Garde Comic Book.

SO I'VE BEEN TOLD by Maryanna Hardy (Conundrum):  Influenced by nature books, children’s stories, her friends, ornamental art, prairie churches, Quaker Art, Pennsylvania Dutch Hex signs, and the art of the order of Ursuline Nuns of Quebec, this book collects a number of Hardy's recent book projects, including Jerry Springer Characters, So I’ve Been Told, At Night, and The Very Very Very Very Last Day. In So I'v Been Told, mythical lake creatures, games, bullies, house fires and drownings all become part of her personal folklore.  96 pages, 5.5" x 7.75", 80 illustrations (16 in color), silkscreened dust jacket;  $17.00.  ONLY ONE LEFT!





TOM HART is one of my oldest friends in comics.  The creator of the legendary Hutch Owens, he's been a comics educator for years, and recently opening the Sequential Artists Workshop school of comics in Gainesville, FL.

DADDY LIGHTNING by Tom Hart (Retrofit):  This manic story in classic Tom Hart fashion details a down-on-his-luck dad, and his infant child, as he scrambles through a surreal environment trying to catch a break while his baby poops and poops and poops.  The comic is funny, but made heartbreaking by Tom's opening statement that the comic was written in the early days of his own daughter, Rosalie Lightning's, childhood, and drawn shortly after she passed away unexpectedly at a little less than two years of age.  Haunting, and powerful, Daddy Lightning is highly recommended.  52 pages, 6" x 9"; two-color covers, b+w interiors;  $6.00.


►NEW! - RL by Tom Hart:  As is known in the comics community, Rosalie Lightning, the daughter of cartoonists Tom Hart and Leela Corman, passed away unexpectedly at an early age in November of 2011.  RL is the first in a series of Tom's attempts to come to grips with the loss through his comics.  It's at turns whimsical and heart-wrenching, as you might expect.  Highly recommended.  20 pages, 8.5" x 7", b+w interiors;  $4.00.

 Above:  Two spreads from RL.

►NEW! -- RL #2 by Tom Hart:  The second installment of Tom's memoir in which he grapples with the devastating loss of his child, Rosalie Lightning.  Very very sad, and very powerful.  28 half-legal pages, two color risograph covers, blue riso interiors;  $4.00.


►NEW! -- RL #3 by Tom Hart (SAW Books):  The latest installment of Tom's heartbreaking and beautiful tribute to his daughter, Rosalie Lightning.  20 half-legal pages, b+w, two-color covers; $3.00.



TIM HENSLEY is one of our most interesting contemporary cartoonists.


►NEW! -- TICKET STUB by Tim Hensley (Yam Books):  This new book collects all nine issues of the beloved mini-comic that Hensley drew while working as a close-caption editor in the nineties.  At work, he'd cue up his favorite scenes and draw them in his notebook, adding his trademark absurdist language.  Ticket Stub is a mixed-up, cut-up look at pop-culture through the lens of a new century.  128 pages, 6" x 8", 2-color covers, b+w interiors; diecut to resemble a movie ticket stub;  $14.00.





►NEW! - THE HIC AND HOC ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF HUMOR Vol. One (ed. by Lauren Barnett and Nathan Bulmer) (Hic + Hoc):  This nicely produced collection of funny comics features work from Noah Van Sciver, Box Brown, Dustin Harbin, Sam Henderson, Jane Mai, Maré Odomo, Alex Schubert, Sam Spina, Julia Wertz, and many more, including the editors.  68 pages, 7" x 11", color covers, b+w interiors; $10.00.





LIZZ HICKEY is a wild woman/cartoonist.

►NEW! - JAMMERS by Lizz Hickey (Hic + Hoc):  Extremely crude and hilarious and beautiful comics about Tim-Tam, a frog with a knife (based on Eugene Teal's famous frog), his buddy Carol, and their pals.  You will laugh.  36 pages, 9" x 11.5", color cover, b+w interiors; $6.00 well spent.


PABLO HOLMBERG is an Argentinan cartoonist, who publishes under the name of Kioskerman.  He posts new beautiful comics at his blog every week.  A few years back D+Q published his first book in English.  I'm proud to have it in stock now, at a reduced price--  One of my favorite comics of recent years!

►NEW! -- EDEN by Pablo Homberg (Kioskerman) (D+Q):  Consisting of the simplest of elements, Argentinian cartoonist Pablo Holmberg (AKA Kioskerman)'s beautiful comic makes its English language debut, and it's a revelation.  He's created a poetic, understated, and dreamy world all his own... but not so dreamy that it doesn't include the harder parts of being alive.  Amazing, and highly recommended.  124 pages, approx. 6" x 6.5", full color throughout; Cover Price: $16.95, you pay: $12.00.  ONLY THREE LEFT!  Please write first to reserve your copy.



ANTONY HUCHETTE is a cartoonist.

►NEW! - BROOKLYN QUESADILLAS by Antony Huchette (Conundrum): This book, the first in English by French cartoonist Antony Huchette, "follows a new father having a mid-life crisis as he navigates the surreal streetscapes of Brooklyn, trying to produce a tv show hosted by a coffeepot, and is then kidnapped by forgotten sitcom stars from the eighties who live on a “fantasy” island and want him to revive their careers."  72 pages, 6.5" x 9.5", color covers, b+w interiors; $15.00.



KEVIN HUIZENGA is one of the most accomplished and thoughtful cartoonists going today.  Starting out with his self-published Supermonster zine in the mid-90's, Kevin now works with publishers like D+Q and Fantagraphics to release his work, as well as, recently, returning to the self-publishing fold.  His comics, with their day-to-day ruminations, and brilliant cartoony linework, are quiet, funny, and smart.  It's an honor to carry his work at Spit and a Half.

►NEW! -- THE WILD KINGDOM by Kevin Huizenga (D+Q):  This beautiful book collects some of Kevin's greatest early self-published comics, like The Wild Kingdom (one of my all time favorite comics); plus: Our Biggest Sale of the Year, Do You Suffer From Any of These Symptoms, Uncle Animal, and many more.  Highly recommended.  120 pages, 5" x 6", in color and b+w; hardcover. $20.00.




►NEW! -- AMAZING FACTS AND BEYOND WITH LEON BEYOND by Kevin Huizenga and Dan Zettwoch (with Ted May and Ron Weaver) (Uncivilized Books):  This lavish hardcover book collects the acclaimed faux trivia column Kevin and Dan produced weekly for St. Louis' Riverfront Times newspaper (which were originally self-published as well in zine form).  All the facts and all the fun you've come to expect from Mr. Beyond, as well as a full color supplement and index.  240 pages, 8.5" x 9", b+w and color, hardcover.  $25.00.


►NEW! -- GLORIANA by Kevin Huizenga (D+Q): Masterful Glenn Ganges comics from Huizenga's self-publishing heyday, collected here in beautiful form by D+Q.  Includes the classics "The Groceries," "The Sunset," "The Moon Rose," and "Basketball."  These are the comics in which Kevin leapt ahead of the pack, and their impact still feels thoroughly fresh today.  Highly recommended.  96 page hardcover, 5" x 7", color covers, b+w interiors, with fold-out;  $20.00.



►NEW! - THE HALF MEN by Kevin Huizenga (USS Catastrophe):  The excellent new self-published release includes three stories-- "Second Attempt", "Bona Chapter One" (a redrawn Sam Glanzman Kona story) and "The Half Men" (another redrawn genre comic, from Kramer's Ergot #8).  Masterful.  5.5" x 7", b+w; $4.00.




THE BODY OF WORK:  This new self-published collection brings together two of Kevin's stories , "Postcard From Fielder," parts One and Two (originally published in the Italian magazine Internazionale), "The Body of Work" (a tongue-in-cheek contribution to the Cartoon Polymath exhibit), and a new story "First Try," drawn in his occasional video game influenced style.  The whole book is great, but "Postcards From Fielder" is up there with his finest moments, and that's saying something.  A must have.  32 pages, hand-colored covers, $4.00.


GANGES #1 (Fantagraphics):  Ganges is Kevin's contribution to the ill-fated, but much lauded Ignatz line of international comics.  In this premiere issue, Huizenga's everyman, Glenn Ganges, tries to decide what to do when confronted with "The Litterer"; gets into an argument with his wife Wendy about The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home"; indulges in some whimsical "Time Travelling" while on a walk around his neighborhood; and more! Huizenga's elegant neo-clear-line style brings a crispness and humor to these low-key slice-of-life stories, and the gray-blue duotone he has picked gives the art a new depth and complexity.  32 full-size pages, color covers with two-color inks throughout, OUT OF PRINT


GANGES #2 (Fantagraphics):  Ganges ruminates on the simple times of the dot-com era when the reality of business was propped up by the unreality of addictive technology and hope. Kevin Huizenga cleverly parallels that unreality with the unreality of addictive networked first-person shooter video games, and the attempts of people around him to genuinely connect with each other.  32 full-size pages, color covers with two-color inks throughout, $8.00.


GANGES #3 (Fantagraphics):  Glenn Ganges still can't fall asleep. In "Mind and Body" Glenn tries lying still, but his mind — The Wanderer — keeps thwarting his plans! In "Getting Things Done" he gives up trying to get to sleep and tries to get some things done... until the cops show up!  32 full-size pages, color covers with two-color inks throughout, $8.00.

►NEW! -- GANGES #4:  Kevin's latest look into the depths of the everyday features Glenn Ganges suffering a bout of insomnia.  If you think that sounds boring, you don't know how good Kevin is at this sort of thing! Ganges #4 was listed on many critics lists of Best of 2011, and with very good reason.  This is Kevin doing what he does best, at the height of his powers!  32 full-size pages, color covers with two-color inks throughout, $8.00. 

RUMBLING, CHAPTER TWO:  In this self-published mini-comic, Kevin's story "Rumbling" picks up where it left on in D+Q's Or Else #5.  Glenn Ganges navigates a corrupt and frightening future of religious civil war and authoritarian crackdowns with his trademark philosophical musing.  Excellent.  36 pages, mini-sized; $3.00. 
 

SEE ALSO:  "Leon Beyond"

JOHN AND LUKE HOLDEN are human beings.


►NEW! - DETRIMENTAL INFORMATION by John and Luke Holden (2D Cloud):  Are these two brothers or just soul brothers?  I don't know, but Detrimental Information collects their crude but brilliantly weird and funny comics.  "An odyssey of the everlasting nature of boyhood told via poems, short stories, crude scrawls and xeroxed doodles. 13 years worth of American tales are strung together in a fast and loose zig zag formation, leaving the reader out of breath and full of tearful laughter."  296 pages!  6" x 7", full color covers, b+w interiors; $19.99.



Preview video:


HUUDA HUUDA is a Finnish comics publisher run by Tommi Musturi and Jelle Hugaerts, who have both single-handedly and together been involved with the flowering of Finnish comics art over the last decade.  I'm proud to offer these beautiful, and basically otherwise impossible to find books over here!

FINNISH COMICS ANNUAL 2011 edited by Ville Hänninen:  Brilliant, oversized collection of Finnish comics (in English!), co-published with the Finnish Comics Society, gives a compelling overview of the work being done in that country.  Fans of international comics will be familiar with many of the names here -- Matti Hagelberg, Tommi Musturi, Aapo Rapi, Jenni Rope, Amanda Vähämäki -- but each one of the twenty artists represented is very much worth checking out.  This stunning volume will look great on the shelf of any comics fan.  310 pages, 10" x 13", in color and b+w, with introductory essays and artists' biographies.  Weighs nearly 4.5 pounds!  $52.50.  








Above: sample spreads from Finnish Comics Annual 2011

FINNISH COMICS ANNUAL 2012 edited by Reija Sann:  The second volume leans a little more toward longer narratives (all in English), with lengthy entries by Petteri Tikkanen, Matti Hagelberg, Terhi Ekebom, and Kallion and Lietzén, among others.  Includes a total of ten contributors, plus introductory essays and artists' biographies.  260 pages, 10" x 13", color and b+w;  $52.50.





Above: Sample spreads from Finnish Comics Annual 2012

KUTIKUTI GUIDE TO FINLAND (Various Artists):  Yes!  Beautiful collection of Finnish comics (published by the Milan Review) -- IN ENGLISH!  Including work from Aapo Rapi, Roope Eronen, Amanda Vähämäki  Tommi Musturi, Sami Aho, Heta Bilaletdin, Jari Vaara, and many more.  6" x 8.25", full color throughout, in English;  $17.50.






Above: Sample pages from Kutikuti Guide to Finland


STAR by Sami Aho:  Strange, wordless comic about a boy who becomes a worm and eats a pirate for dinner, with cosmic consequences!  24 pages, 5.75" x 8.25", two-color covers, b+w interior.  $8.75.



GARAGE by Roope Eronen:  Koo Koo Mouse runs a mechanic's shop and attends to his customers, a cat and a dog, in this loopy, goofy wordless comic.  36 small pages (2.5" x 2.5"), full color throughout;  $5.00.


LUST FOR MEAT by Olli Hietala:  Olli details his conversion to Veganism (though he doesn't use that word for himself) at the hands of a once-annoying roommate.  Very funny, and charmingly drawn, without any preachiness, just a lot of humanity...  36 pages, 6" x 9.5", two-color covers, colored ink inside;  in Finnish and English with English subtitles.  $15.00.





THE FIRST BOOK OF HOPE by Tommi Musturi (Published by Bries): Excellent full-color tale of a worn out man who retreats to the isolation of the woods, for contemplation, bemusement, and understanding.  Artwork reminiscent of Chris Ware, but with its own loopy and charming good-nature.  Excellent!  54 pages, in English, two-color covers, full-color interiors, 5.25" x 8.75";  SOLD OUT

THE SECOND BOOK OF HOPE by Tommi Musturi (Published by Bries):  In the second book, Old Man ponders Wild West fantasies, while ruminations on death and impermanence consume him.  Beautiful.  54 pages,  in English, two-color covers, full-color interiors, 5.25" x 8.75";  $20.00.



THE THIRD BOOK OF HOPE by Tommi Musturi (published by Bries):  More stunning, poetic echoes of death and time, as Jack the Invisible Avenger stalks the empty desert.  Brilliant.  54 pages,  in English, two-color covers, full-color interiors, 5.25" x 8.75";  $20.00.




THE SHEPHERD by Anna Sailamaa:  Dreamlike narrative with beautiful, pastoral inks, tells of a dead swan and its impact on a close-knit, multi-generational group of rural people.  A quiet and intriguing glimpse into another world.  88 pages, 8.25" x 9.5", hardcover in gorgeous b+w;  in Finnish with English subtitles;  recommended.  $32.50.


(This second Shepherd spread courtesy Zine Hamster)


MAESTRO by Amanda Vähämäki:  Two black-headed lads escape a giant bear figure by ducking into a streetside cafe in this strange and funny story.  28 pages, two color covers with b+w interiors, 4.5" x 5.75";  In Finnish with English subtitles;  $8.75. 



►NEW! - INSECT BATH #1 (Various artists, Profanity Hill):  New horror anthology out of Seattle features work by Max Clotfelter (Henry & Glenn Forever), Alex Delaney (Rapt In Fear), Eamon Espey (Wormdye and Songs of The Abyss), Noel Freibert (Weird Magazine), Sammy Harkham (The Simpsons' Tree House of Horror, Kramers Ergot and Everything Together), Juliacks (Swell and Rock That Never Sleeps), Jason T. Miles (Love Wins), Scott Roller (Rapt In Fear), Matthew Thurber (1-800 Mice and Infomaniacs), and Zach Hazard Vaupen (The Inflated Head Zone). Cover by Alex Degan (Area CC, Mighty Star and Soft Xray/Mindhunters). 32 comic sized pages, color covers, b+w interiors; $4.00.



Above: Three spreads from Insect Bath #1


JESSE JACOBS is a young Toronto cartoonist who is simply one of the best going today.

►NEW! - BY THIS SHALL YOU KNOW HIM by Jesse Jacobs (Koyama Press):  This amazing new book tells an epic, mythic Creation story in which three beings, each with their own personalities and foibles, create worlds, including our own, in attempts to vie for the approval of their Advisor and a more powerful, abstracted entity.  Jacobs' cartooning is absolutely top-notch, filling each page with glorious work, and his writing is at once funny, sad, vicious, and sweet.  By This Shall You Know Him instantly lands on my Best Books of 2012 list, and couldn't come more highly recommended!  84 softcover pages, 8" x 10", gorgeous multi-colored interiors;  $15.00.




EVEN THE GIANTS by Jesse Jacobs (Adhouse):  This excellent debut book from Canadian cartoonist Jesse Jacobs tells in gorgeous but simple words and colors, several intertwining stories of love, destruction, danger, and discovery.  Strange, funny, and moving.  One of my favorite comics of the year!  80 three-color pages, 5.5" x 8.5", softcover; $10.00.






Two pages from Even the Giants.


►NEW! SAFARI HONEYMOON by Jesse Jacobs (Koyama): "Join a pair of young newlyweds as they descend deep into a mysterious forest, encountering unknown creatures and unimaginable landscapes. Amongst the unusual flora and fauna, they discover within themselves something more strange and terrible than any sight their safari has to offer. Safari Honeymoon is a tale of jungle love and jungle madness."  80 pages, 7" x 10", three color covers and interiors; $15.00.


Above: Two spreads from Safari Honeymoon.


COLE JOHNSON is a longtime small-press cartoonist.

►NEW! -- EXES #1 by Dave Kiersh and Cole Johnson:  First issue of this amazing team-up between Dave and Cole.  In #1 we get three simple stories of teenage plus malaise: a grunge kid goes to a wedding, a chance encounter on the bike path, and getting old.  Kiersh's deadpan but poetic text is a perfect mesh with Johnson's minimalist art.  A great surprise!  Looking forward to #2.  28 mini-sized pages, green Riso cover, blue Riso interiors; $2.00.



MICHAEL JORDAN is a cartoonist.


►NEW! - THE CASE INSIDE by Michael Jordan (Space Face):  In this bizarre, surrealist tale, a man journeys into a subterranean bureaucratic realm, where he encounters the strange goings-on taking place in Room 18.  Nicely crafted.  20 pages, 5" x 7", two color covers, purple riso interior; $6.00.





RUSTY JORDAN is a cartoonist, and the editor of the acclaimed Shitbeams on the Loose.

►NEW! -- ALAMO VALUE PLUS #1 by Rusty Jordan (Revival House):  Jordan's ridiculous and well-crafted story concerns a couple youths working at the local Variety Store and their older co-worker, who shares with them a tale of wartime heroics, danger, and triumph...  which may be more short lived than anyone figured!  32 pages, 9" x 6", color covers, b+w interiors; $4.00.