RINA AYUYANG's charming and lowkey comics have been a staple of the Bay Area scene for many years, and now two of Portland's best comix publishers, Sparkplug and Tugboat, have teamed up to release her first book-form collection, Whirlwind Wonderland.
EDD BALDRY et al. On our recent West Coast tour, Noah and I kept running into this gang of crazy UK zinesters who were also on tour, following us (or were we following THEM?!?!) around the country. We met up with them in Minneapolis, Portland, San Francisco, and finally, back in Denver! Edd was their charming anarchist spokesperson, and I picked up several interesting UK comic-zines from him...
THE WALL #1 by Edd Baldry. In this wordless Wind in the Willows inspired allegory, Rat and Mole wake up one morning to find their homes walled-in and sharpshooters waiting outside to pick them off. Together they plan an escape into the Wild Wood. The story is arresting and the art is cartoony and nice. 6.25" x 6.25"; 36 pages with two-color covers; $5.00.
JOSH BAYER is a wild genius of cartooning. His scratchy and gestural comics reveal a complexity and subtlety that mightn't be noticed at first glance. Funny, angry and smart, we could use more comix like these!
JIMMY BEAULIEU is a stalwart Montréal cartoonist and publisher. He has published dozens of comics and books, both of his own and for others, under his various imprints (currently, Colosse).
GABRIELLE BELL is one of my favorite contemporary cartoonists. Her quietly detached views of modern life are sweet and smart. I can't recommend highly enough her recent book collections from Drawn & Quarterly... meanwhile, we have this small-press release in stock:
L.A. Diary is a collection of Gabrielle Bell's acclaimed autobiographical comics published in conjunction with the Minneapolis Rain Taxi Festival. In a rare glimpse behind Gabrielle's creative process, the book also contains several strips taken directly from her real comics diary. 20 pages with two-color covers, and an introduction by cartoonist/publisher Tom K. $4.00 BACKORDERED
LA Diary
From Diary by Gabrielle Bell
►NEW! -- SAN DIEGO DIARY: Gabrielle's latest from Uncivilized Bookstells of her trip to the San Diego Comic Con. Amazing as usual. 28 pages, 2 color covers, $5.00.
San Diego Diary
MARC BELL is one of my favorite cartoonists of all time. His loopy, giddy comics are populated with some of the strangest and most lovable characters you'll ever meet. Absurd, with a delicious sense of wit and an openhearted gentleness, these are the kind of comics you read over and over, and savor every time.
►NEW! -- MOJO ACTION COMPANION UNIT #1 by Marc Bell (Exclaim! Comics): Whoa! When this title first came out, in the mid-90's, and I picked it up for the catalog, I felt like I was in the big leagues. Things were changing. Black Eye was publishing Tom Hart's The Sands, Exclaim was publishing Marc Bell, and Tom Devlin's Highwater Books was just around the corner. So it was with great delight that Marc let me know he still had a few boxes of these lying around! MACU contains tons of crazy cool old comix, including early Shrimpy and Paul, the classics "Oh Happy Day" and "Stupid Goddamn Shitty Day," Where Is The Love, and much more. 32 comic-sized pages, full color cover, guts on good old newsprint; $4.00.
►NEW! -- NOG A DOD: Prehistoric Canadian Psychedooolia edited by Marc Bell. As Marc writes in his introduction, "Nog a Dod is the filtering down of material that originally appeared in self-published booklets created by a loosely affiliated group of Canadian artists between approximately 1995 and 2005." These artists were at the forefront of what was briefly known as "Doodle-Art," but that appellation doesn't do justice to the genius and variety of detourned photos, collage, zine art, painting, drawings and collaborations collected here. This beautifully printed book from Conundrum gathers the cream of that crop, with extra notes and historical information provided by editor Bell. Artists include: Jason McLean, Peter Thompson, Marc Bell, Owen Plummer, Mark Connery, Maura Doyle, Julie Voyce, Tara Azzopardi, Amy Lockhart, Robert Dayton, Keith Jones, and many more. This is a must have for people interested in the history of zines, comix, and/or underground art. 288 whopping pages (96 is full color!), 6.25" x 8"; $25.00. BACKORDERED
Above: Various pages from Nog a Dod
►NEW! -- SHRIMPY AND PAUL AND FRIENDS is Marc's first, classic, collection, from Highwater Books way back in the day. I've managed to snag a bunch for you. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone who loves cartooning. 212 6" x 9" pages, b+w with spot colors and full color segments; $17.00.
►NEW! -- BELLY WOT LEAFLET! 2011 (SOBEY'S) by Marc Bell: Lovely self-published pamphlet of collage art, sculptures, and absurdist texts, photos, and drawings. 16 pages, full color throughout, approx 6" x 8"; numbered edition of 150; $7.00.
Above: Sobey's
MIKE BERTINO's Trigger is a "one-man-anthology," published by Revival House. Well written and nicely drawn, it runs the gamut from quiet fiction to out-of-control raunch. I have the first two issues in stock:
►NEW! -- TRIGGER #1 by Mike Bertino: Features the stories "Grown-ups Part One," about a young, idealistic high school teacher as he navigates his new world of academic politics and intrigue; "Flannels Are Cool Again," a ridiculous barroom tale of bathroom sex, ex-lax cookies, and losers; and "Below Us," a harrowing short story about hallucinating. 28 pages, color covers/b+w interiors, 6" x 8"; $5.00.
►NEW! -- TRIGGER #2 by Mike Bertino: Latest issue has "Grown-ups Part Two"; the surreal "Goo Pants"; and a cool, short sci-fi story. Great. 28 pages, color covers/b+w interiors, 6" x 8"; $5.00. 
For more Joseph Remnant see HARVEY PEKAR's Cleveland
THE BLOBBY BOYS by Alex Schubert. Wait, who is this guy? He's from Kansas City? I love Kansas City! Blobby Boys is Schubert's perfectly-formed and withering look at hipsterism, drawn in a deadpan, modern style with eye-blazing color. Destined to be a classic. Before you balk at the price, I heard through the grapevine that these things cost him six bucks each to make. Help a brother out, won't you? 16 digest pages, full color on glossy paper; $7.00. BACKORDERED
BOUND AND GAGGED #1 edited by Tom Neely. This catalog/comic book commemorates a Gag Cartoon art show held at Secret Headquarters in LA, curated by Tom Neely. includes cartoons and art by Andrice Arp, Marc Bell, Elijah Brubaker, Shawn Cheng, Chris Cilla, Michael Deforge, Kim Deitch, J.T. Dockery, Theo Ellsworth, Austin English, Eamon Espey, Julia Gfrorer, Robert Goodin, Levon Juhanian, Julaicks, Kaz, David King, Tom Neely, Anders Nilsen, Scot Nobles, Jason Overby, John Porcellino, Jesse Reklaw, Tim Root, Zak Sally, Gabby Schulz, Josh Simmons, Ryan Standfest, Kaz Strzepek, Matthew Thurber, Noah Van Sciver, Dylan Williams, and Chris Wright. Whew! 5" x 6.5"; 76 perfect-bound pages, with full color covers by Chris Cilla, and b+w/full color interiors; $10.00.
MELINDA BOYCE I met Melinda at the 2010 Portland Zine Symposium, and wow-- her comics blew me away! She has a really distinctive voice, and a riveting color gouache style that is scrumptious to look at. One of my favorite discoveries in years, these comics are completely awesome!
AOA #1 - Wonderful collection of Melind'as daily diary comics, covering March-August of 2009, all in gorgeous full collor! If you are into autobio stuff, you will NOT be disappointed, these are some of the best comics to come down the pike in awhile! 5.5" x 6"; 180 full color perfect-bound pages with color covers; $18.00. BACKORDERED
OKAY? OKAY! by Melinda Boyce and Aaron Whitaker. This beautiful book tells a love story from two different perspectives. The rules were they each wrote out the story of their romance independently, as honest as possible, and neither one got to see the other's story until they both were done. The result is one of the best comics I've read in ages. Both Melinda and Aaron's artwork is excellent, and the story is engrossing, funny, and down to earth. Highly recommended! 5.25" x 8.5"; 64 b+w pages, full color covers; only $5.00. BACKORDERED.
►NEW! -- CURIO CABINET COLLECTION by John Brodowski (Secret Acres): Weird-ass and lovely comics with a crooked-eye towards heavy metal, horror movies and D&D, these exquisite pencil-rendered stories evoke the contemporary surrealism of John Hankiewicz, but have an absurdity and focus all their own. 144 pages, color cover, $15.00.
►NEW! -- CURIO CABINET #5: The latest release (from Secret Acres) gives us four short, wordless stories based on poems, featuring Classic Action Movie characters base on the Terminator, Rambo, Steven Seagall, and more. "Can four action icons find peace? What the hell would that peace even look like? There's plenty of guns and ammo in John Brodowski's infrared vision of our best, and bloodiest, heroes on the high octane path to redemption." Dreamlike. 32 pages, two-color interiors, 8" x 12"; $8.00.
LISA CARVER has been one of the anchors of the American underground scene for decades. Her performance art as a member of SUCKDOG is legendary, and her 90's zine Rollerderby has long stood as one of the high points of that decade's small press movement. In her new self-published book, "________________", Lisa tells a powerful, personal story of childhood sexual abuse.
►NEW! -- "________________" by Lisa Carver. This book hurt my heart, and opened my eyes to a world I barely knew existed. A few years back, Lisa began painting, not to make pretty pictures, but to explore her subconscious, and what she found there was devastating-- memories of systemized sexual abuse at the hands of her father, who forced her into prostitution at the age of four. Lisa's story is presented in brutally honest prose, alongside the paintings themselves, and she concludes with a withering attack on the institutions that allow such abuse to go unnoticed and unpunished. This is not a fun book to read, but I think it's a necessary one. Read a recent interview with Lisa about the book here. 84 full color pages, 8.5" x 11"; $20.00.
CLUTCH #19 ("The Lost Years") by Clutch McBastard. Greg "Clutch" Means, besides running the great Tugboat Press, has also quietly been inspiring legions of daily cartoon diarists with this long-running strip. Simply drawn and impeccably paced, Greg's comix are standouts in this genre. This book collects daily strips from 2003-2006, including Blazers games, Zine Symposiums, friends and flat tires. You can't go wrong with Clutch! 320 perfect-bound mini-sized pages, $8.00.
CLUTCH #22/INVINCIBLE SUMMER #19 by Clutch and Nicole Georges. Every once in awhile, Greg and Nicole team up for an amazing split diary zine, and this is one of them! It's very cool to see how they each spend the same days, sometimes 1000's of miles apart. In this issue Greg bites his lip and Nicole goes on tour. So good! 7" x 7"; 32 pages in maroon ink; $2.00
►NEW! -- CLUTCH #23/INVINCIBLE SUMMER #20, by Clutch and Nicole Georges. Their latest split zine gives you daily strips that cover May 1 - 14, 2011, and features such thrillers as: Toronto Trip, Expensive Vet Bill, and Raccoon Infestation, plus more. This one is a lot of fun. 32 pages in blue ink, 7" x 7"; a steal at only $2.00.
JO DERY is an artist who experiments with storytelling. Her works include animated films and videos, drawings, prints, illustration, installation projects, and artist/small-press book publications. The great Little Otsu of Portland has published a number of titles with her.
BOUND AND GAGGED #1 edited by Tom Neely. This catalog/comic book commemorates a Gag Cartoon art show held at Secret Headquarters in LA, curated by Tom Neely. includes cartoons and art by Andrice Arp, Marc Bell, Elijah Brubaker, Shawn Cheng, Chris Cilla, Michael Deforge, Kim Deitch, J.T. Dockery, Theo Ellsworth, Austin English, Eamon Espey, Julia Gfrorer, Robert Goodin, Levon Juhanian, Julaicks, Kaz, David King, Tom Neely, Anders Nilsen, Scot Nobles, Jason Overby, John Porcellino, Jesse Reklaw, Tim Root, Zak Sally, Gabby Schulz, Josh Simmons, Ryan Standfest, Kaz Strzepek, Matthew Thurber, Noah Van Sciver, Dylan Williams, and Chris Wright. Whew! 5" x 6.5"; 76 perfect-bound pages, with full color covers by Chris Cilla, and b+w/full color interiors; $10.00.MELINDA BOYCE I met Melinda at the 2010 Portland Zine Symposium, and wow-- her comics blew me away! She has a really distinctive voice, and a riveting color gouache style that is scrumptious to look at. One of my favorite discoveries in years, these comics are completely awesome!
AOA #1 - Wonderful collection of Melind'as daily diary comics, covering March-August of 2009, all in gorgeous full collor! If you are into autobio stuff, you will NOT be disappointed, these are some of the best comics to come down the pike in awhile! 5.5" x 6"; 180 full color perfect-bound pages with color covers; $18.00. BACKORDERED 
OKAY? OKAY! by Melinda Boyce and Aaron Whitaker. This beautiful book tells a love story from two different perspectives. The rules were they each wrote out the story of their romance independently, as honest as possible, and neither one got to see the other's story until they both were done. The result is one of the best comics I've read in ages. Both Melinda and Aaron's artwork is excellent, and the story is engrossing, funny, and down to earth. Highly recommended! 5.25" x 8.5"; 64 b+w pages, full color covers; only $5.00. BACKORDERED. Melinda's art (above)
Aaron's art (above)
Aaron's art (above)JOHN BRODOWSKI's comic Curio Cabinet features pop culture tropes run through the surrealist wringer. Drawn in a milky, smeared style, with graphite, and, lately, woozy digital effects, his comics are one of a kind tales of violence and transcendence.
LILLI CARRÉ has been self-releasing beautiful little comics for some time now, as well as having her work published by companies like Fantagraphics and Top Shelf. Everything she does is worth looking into-- have you seen her beautiful animations? I carry the following titles:
►NEW! -- The Lagoon (Fantagraphics): A family is seduced by a mysterious creature's siren song that can be heard emanating from the lagoon after dark in Lilli Carré’s first long-form work, and how each member reacts to the song in The Lagoon is the crux of the story. For the wise — or pixilated — Grandpa, the song reminds him that, in the time he has left, he must pause to respect, appreciate, and fear nature. The song hints at something that Zoey, the daughter, is too young to fully grasp. And the song lures the sexually frustrated mother, and eventually, her husband, into danger... 80 pages, B+W, 7.5" x 9", hardcover with lovely full color cover; $15.00.
Nine Ways to Disappear (Little Otsu): The charmingly peculiar short stories collected in Nine Ways to Disappear revolve loosely around the theme of disappearance and mark a new form for Lilli Carré. Skillfully drawn single panels explore a rich imagined world where actions have unexpected consequences and loneliness pervades, but not without a sense of the absurd. Each story unfolds quickly and features characters that run the gamut: joke-writing sisters gone awry, a wandering sleepwalker, a pearl with curious properties, an elusive coughing neighbor, a wide-eyed girl of questionable appeal, even a storm drain. Whether animate or inanimate, sweet or monstrous, Lilli has the ability to infuse them all with pathos, humanity, and humor. 192 pages, blue ink; 5" x 5.25"; $13.00.
►NEW! -- TALES OF WOODSMAN PETE by Lilli Carré (Top Shelf). Tales of Woodsman Pete is a collection of vignettes and stories about a solitary albeit gregarious woodsman with a loose grasp on his own personal history and that of the outside world. He forms relationships with his inanimate surroundings and muses to a dead audience, specifically his bear rug, Philippe. His own tales eventually become entangled with that of the legendary Paul Bunyan, and the two become indirectly intertwined, illuminating the discrepancy between the character of the storyteller and the character within his stories. 80 pages, $7.00.
BACKORDERED.
BACKORDERED.
LISA CARVER has been one of the anchors of the American underground scene for decades. Her performance art as a member of SUCKDOG is legendary, and her 90's zine Rollerderby has long stood as one of the high points of that decade's small press movement. In her new self-published book, "________________", Lisa tells a powerful, personal story of childhood sexual abuse.
CLUTCH McBASTARD's long-running diary comic (it's in its tenth year!) is one of the classics of the genre. His loopy, lovable characters and deadpan look at daily life make Clutch always a joy to read.
CLUTCH #19 ("The Lost Years") by Clutch McBastard. Greg "Clutch" Means, besides running the great Tugboat Press, has also quietly been inspiring legions of daily cartoon diarists with this long-running strip. Simply drawn and impeccably paced, Greg's comix are standouts in this genre. This book collects daily strips from 2003-2006, including Blazers games, Zine Symposiums, friends and flat tires. You can't go wrong with Clutch! 320 perfect-bound mini-sized pages, $8.00.
CLUTCH #22/INVINCIBLE SUMMER #19 by Clutch and Nicole Georges. Every once in awhile, Greg and Nicole team up for an amazing split diary zine, and this is one of them! It's very cool to see how they each spend the same days, sometimes 1000's of miles apart. In this issue Greg bites his lip and Nicole goes on tour. So good! 7" x 7"; 32 pages in maroon ink; $2.00 
►NEW! -- CLUTCH #23/INVINCIBLE SUMMER #20, by Clutch and Nicole Georges. Their latest split zine gives you daily strips that cover May 1 - 14, 2011, and features such thrillers as: Toronto Trip, Expensive Vet Bill, and Raccoon Infestation, plus more. This one is a lot of fun. 32 pages in blue ink, 7" x 7"; a steal at only $2.00.
COLIBRI #3: Recent edition of this Spanish language comix anthology features work from Ivan Brunetti, Giovanna Lopalco, Soju Tanaka, Grant Snider, Elisa Riera, Clara Artigas, Jessica Boston, Judit Armengol, Cristina Daura, María Corte, Mirena Ossorno, and many many more. (26 contributors in total!) Some works are in English, and many are wordless or nearly so. 68 pages, 4.75" x 6.25", full color covers... a great collection for only $6.00.
Ivan Brunetti
►NEW! -- COLIBRI #4: The new issue of this Spanish anthology features all work IN ENGLISH or subtitled, so don't be afraid to check it out! Cool new work by international artists such as Sergi Puyol, Martin Romero, Alexis Nolla, Chema Peral, John Broadley, Albert Aromir, Martin Erusten, and many more! 64 pages, 4.75" x 6.25", full color covers and interiors, only $6.00!
MARK CONNERY is a longtime Canadian zine artist. He's been producing his strange little books at least since the early 90's. His Rudy series is a zine/comix classic. Marc Bell's Half World Books imprint is now publishing some of his work. The first volume is listed below:
MELAMINE CAR BOMB by Mark Connery (Half World Books): Wild, scattered doodle art and word salad imagery fill this new collection of Mark's work; with a lovely afterword by editor Marc Bell. "... a punk rock hippy-dippy mellow nightmare made of words and weirdoes and warnings..." 48 pages, 5.25 x 7.25 inches, color covers/b+w interiors; numbered edition of 350; $10.00.
For more MARK CONNERY, see also NOG A DOD (Marc Bell, above)
CYCLOPS is a fantastic anthology from Conundrum Press, covering the diversity of the Montreal underground comics scene. It features such great artists as Michel Rabagliati, Billy Mavreas, Bernie Mireault, Hélène Brosseau, Jimmy Beaulieu, Marc Bell, Peter Thompson, Line Gamache, and many more. All in English, many for the first time! 224 pages, $17.00 -- NOW: $12.75!
Line Gamache, from Cyclops.
DABENPORT SELF-TITLED CD
12 song debut CD of spacy, lovely, psychedelic Americana by this Ann Arbor based outfit. Includes cover artwork and lettering by King-Cat's John Porcellino. Released in 2004 (?) by Fall Theory Records; limited quantities, $10.00.
KEN DAHL is the pseudonym of Gabby Schulz, which is the pseudonym of.... ???? In any case Gabby makes amazing, funny, angry and heartfelt comics that belie his punk rock soul. One of the best cartoonists going.
MONSTERS by Ken Dahl (Gabby Schulz): This amazing book delves into the personal side of a disease few people want to discuss-- Herpes-- in a brutally honest, yet side-splittingly funny way. While accurately rendering the emotional swings of dealing with chronic illness-- its profound effect on the individual as well as all those around them, their relationships, self-confidence, and self-perception-- Schulz has pulled off the seemingly-impossible: this book had me laughing out loud. "Part fiction, part deranged educational film strip, Monsters explores the physical and emotional traumas of an STD that affects no two people the same. Dahl cements his status among the best cartoonists of his generation with this brutally sincere account of disease and self-acceptance." (Secret Acres). One of the best books of recent years. 212 pages, 7" x 7", perfect-bound; $18.00.
►NEW! -- WELCOME TO THE DAHL HOUSE by Ken Dahl (Microcosm): "Alienation, Incarceration, and Inebriation in the new American Rome." The collected 1997-2007 comics of Ken Dahl include such stories as airport security, the demeaning experience of being arrested, having to sell off his earthly possessions at a yard sale to pay the slumlord, the creative process of trying to write comics about "important" subjects, and much more. Additionally, we are treated to helpful guides to putting bananas in your cereal, peeing in the shower, and swinging at night. Savagely funny, and a 2006 Ignatz Winner! 128 pages, 5.5" x 7", b+w with color covers; $9.00.
►NEW! -- DARK TOMATO #1 by Sakura Maku (Domino Books). "'Prince Tamlin Tomato is a unionized subway driver for the MTA. She drives the Irifune Machi line, the local, from Jamaica Queens, to the LES to Coney Island....' So begins Sakura Makus mini-epic DARK TOMATO." Hallucinogenic urban tales told in a frenetic painted/collage-based style. 24 oversized pages, color covers, b+w interiors; $5.00.
JOE DECIE is a newer British cartoonist whose charming and slightly twisted takes on everyday life are brilliantly drawn and inkwashed. I've got his new Retrofit release in stock, and hope to have his excellent Blank Slate title, The Accidental Salad, in stock soon! (He's also a regular contributor to Not My Small Diary...)
►NEW! -- POCKET FULL OF COFFEE (Retrofit): This delightful look at everyday domestic life is autobiographical except when it's lying. Rendered in Decie's hand-drawn but detailed, photographic greywash style, Pocket Full of Coffee is a great introduction to his work. 32 digest pages, color covers, b+w interiors; $5.00.
MICHAEL DEFORGE is one of the most talented young cartoonists around. His artwork evokes shades of Harkham and Huizenga, but his voice is distinctly his own. Funny, weird, and sad.
MICHAEL DEFORGE is one of the most talented young cartoonists around. His artwork evokes shades of Harkham and Huizenga, but his voice is distinctly his own. Funny, weird, and sad.
►NEW! -- LOSE #2 by Michael DeForge (Koyama Press). A strange, brilliant story of two kids in the forest who stumble onto extreme weirdness. Perfect! 24 comic-sized pages, b+w interiors with full color cover, glossy paper; $5.00.
►NEW! -- LOSE #3 by Michael DeForge (Koyama Press). The latest issue of Deforge's one-man anthology features Tongue Fads, the surreal "Improv Night," and the lengthy heart-tugging "Dog 2070." Plus: awesome ant comix and LOTS more. 36 comic-sized pages, color cover/b+w interior; $5.00. BACKORDERED
SPOTTING DEER by Michael DeForge (Koyama Press). Told in an absurdist mock-documentary style, this lovely, full-color, oversize comic tells of the bizarre habits of the Spotting Deer, one of your stranger creatures to be sure. Amazing. 10" x 10", full color covers and throughout, 16 pages; OUT OF PRINT :(
JO DERY is an artist who experiments with storytelling. Her works include animated films and videos, drawings, prints, illustration, installation projects, and artist/small-press book publications. The great Little Otsu of Portland has published a number of titles with her.
►NEW! -- QUIETLY SURE, LIKE THE KEEPER OF A GREAT SECRET by Jo Dery: A series of designerly stories weave an interconnected tale of Nature mysticism, featuring the moon, a spider, spectavled bears, and a curious hunter. 94 pages, full color covers, blue ink interiors, 4" x 6"; $11.00.
For more JO DERY, see also LIVING THINGS
