Sparkplug Highlight: Golem of Gabirol

Set in the Medieval Middle East, this minicomic tells the story of the love triangle between Zuleicha, her cousin Nusret, and Reb Solomon, a poet and scholar who is revealed to be a sorcerer.  When Zuleicha and Nusret marry, Reb Solomon creates a golem with Zuleicha’s features, bringing it to life by inscribing certain Hebrew letters on its forehead. Each page of the comic is entirely filled with drawing; ink washes, doodles, geometric designs. Panels are either nonexistent or bleed together organically. In retelling the legends surrounding an 11^th century scholar and kabbalist, Volozova creates a compelling story about the life-giving and transformative powers of language.

Buy The Golem of Gabirol here!

Coming Soon: A Wretch Like Me: Sad/Black/Ugly/Queer by Ebin Lee

We are excited to announce the fifth book in the Sparkplug Minis Series!  A Wretch Like Me: Sad/Black/Ugly/Queer is by Portland artist Ebin Lee.  Lee describes the book as "A Wretch Like Me is my visual journal of Depression/Anxiety/ and Body Dysphoria."  The book will debut Short Run in October but will be available for pre-order sometime in September, so keep an eye out!

Sparkplug Highlight: Fleep by Jason Shiga

Jimmy Yee awakes in a phone booth encased in concrete with no memory of how he got there. What follows is a slow unraveling of the truth as Jimmy puzzles out the preceding events based on his knowledge of scientific principles and the contents of his pockets. With its captivating, expertly paced plot and genuinely surprising revelations, Fleep is a mystery comic that should not be missed.

(44 interior pgs, 9″ x 6″, black and white, Sparkplug Books)

Buy it here!

Jason's website

Our Summer Sale Continues!

After a brief break to get our website fixed up, the summer sale continues!  Select books, minis and zines are 50% off in the store, including both Sparkplug and distro titles.  You can find the complete list here.  There's a lot of good stuff in there, please check it out.

(If you are a buyer for a store, a bunch of the wholesale list has been marked down as well.  Check out the details here!)

Sparkplug Highlight: Tales to Demolish #2 by Eric Haven

While driving around Oakland, ruminating on the history of underground comics in the Bay Area, the main character fatally hits Dan Clowes. After convincing his partner to help him hide the body, he immediately goes on to accidentally kill another indie comics darling. The two spirits meet in the afterlife and, because God likes their comics, are able to return to Earth to exact revenge. “I Killed Dan Clowes” is Haven’s hilarious, self-reflexive (and superbly rendered) jab at himself and the independent comics scene.

(24 pages, black and white with color cover, Sparkplug Comics, 2003)

Buy it here!

Eric's Website

Small Press Payday features Vortex!

Vortex was recommended on Broken Frontier's Small Press Payday last week, along with a bunch of other great small press titles.   
"Kirby in terms of concepts, Ditko in the sheer otherness of its confines, and yet quite unlike either in delivery, Vortex is a mesmerising conceptual triumph. This is a book that will buckle and warp your perceptions.”

Read the full article here.  Also, this isn't the first time Broken Frontier has reviewed Vortex!

Sparkplug will be at Autoptic in Minneapolis this weekend!  We'll have a full stock of our titles, including a bunch of sale books!  Autoptic takes place August 8th and 9th at Aria.  More details here!