Sparkplug Books

New Website

2012-01-31T13:31:00.000-08:00

So, our new website is up! We are still working out a few kinks, so please let me know if you have any trouble navigating or purchasing anything. virginia (at) sparkplugcomicbooks (dot) com

Electoral Surge

2012-01-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

Friend of Sparkplug Gwenaëlle has been posting a page a day of her new graphic novel, Electoral Surge, over on tumblr. If you've enjoyed her work in the past or if you enjoy quiet, beautiful comics, please check it out!

Rock That Never Sleeps Animation!

2012-01-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

Rock That Never Sleeps from Juliacks on Vimeo.

Juliacks was kind enough to send us a link to the animation she and Amy Johnson made, based on Rock That Never Sleeps. The book itself was written by Juliacks and Olga Volozova and is available in our online store.

Julia Gfrörer interview at TCJ

2012-01-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

Sean T. Collins has done a wonderful, in-depth interview with Julia Gfrörer over at The Comics Journal. Julia and Sean cover a lot of topics, from the depiction of sexuality in her work to Game of Thrones. Well worth a read!

Windy Corner #2 Reviewed!

2012-01-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

For our French-speaking readers: the tumblr blog 1 Fanzine Par Jour has posted a review of Windy Corner #2. Thanks JJM!

Coming Soon: NURSE NURSE by Katie Skelly

2012-01-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact: Virginia Paine

virginia (at) sparkplugcomicbooks (dot) com

Nurse Nurse, a graphic novel by Katie Skelly, is slated to come out April 2012 in time for a debut at Stumptown Comics Fest and MoCCA.

If you are not familiar with Katie Skelly’s Nurse Nurse minicomics series, you are in for a double treat. Not only will this epic space adventure thrill you, Sparkplug is collecting all eight issues into one compact and easy-to-carry graphic novel! (180 pgs, black and white with color cover, paperback, $15 USD,ISBN 978097974654351500)

The story starts out with the main character Gemma traveling to her new assignment on Venus. She soon discovers a mysterious substance that is having an amorous effect on the Venusians, but is it a conspiracy, or just … science? And what’s with the butterflies? Sarah Morean of The Daily Crosshatch says: “The plot is smart and innocent and the panels are well-designed and full of gorgeous detail. Skelly’s a wonderful comic artist.”

Author Katie Skelly has been creating minicomics since 2003 and her work has appeared recently in Thickness#1. She holds a B.A. in Art History from Syracuse University and currently resides in Astoria, New York.

Please stop by our table at Stumptown Comics Fest or MoCCA to pick up your copy or visit our online store at sparkplugcomicbooks.com. Wholesale orders, please contact Tony Shenton: shenton4sales (at) aol (dot) com

J.T. Dockery's Top 5

2012-01-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

J.T. Dockery has named Reich and Habitat #2 as two of the top 5 books of the year! Also included on the list are Tom Neely's The Wolf and Julia Gfrorer's Too Dark to See. Read the complete list here.

Best Ofs

2011-12-22T14:07:00.001-08:00

Several Sparkplug titles and distro books have made it on Best Of 2011 lists - including one by Rob Kirby and Best American Comics Notable Titles. Congrats to all the authors! We will be posting our own Top 10 lists soon.

Also, Tom, Emily and I were interviewed by Tom Spurgeon at the Comics Reporter about the future of Sparkplug. You can read the interview here.

Our website update has had a few setbacks, but should be up soon!

Happy holidays!

End of Year Lists!

2011-12-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

Virginia Paine's Top 10:
(Eleven, actually!)

1. Gay Genius Anthology

2. Passage by Tessa Brunton

3. Amy Kuttab's story in Dan Quayl

4. Papercutter #17 Anthology

5. The Wolf by Tom Neely

6. Mundane Fortunes for the Next Ten Billion Years and Other Stories by Yumi Sakugawa

7. 20 Girls in 20 Days by Greer Lawson

8. Outta This Comes the Crazy by Rina Ayuyang

9. Big Plans #5 by Aron Nels Steinke

10. Ignition Zero (webcomic) by Noel Heimpel

11. I Think You're Sauceome (webcomic) by Sarah Becan

Emily Nilsson's Top 10 (in no particular order):

1. Love and Rockets: New Stories #4 by Jaime Hernandez. I haven't even read this one yet, but I know I'm going to love it, because I've loved Jaime for the last 20 years and more.
2. Play Overlord by Theo Ellsworth, Sean Christensen and Amy Kuttab. Three geniuses, or is it genii?
3. Habitat #2 by Dunja Jankovic.
4. American Gun Culture Report edited and published by Ross Eliot. I'm anti-gun, and yet I find this zine engrossing. It's made by and for liberals, spanning issues such as politics, feminism, and LGBT.
5. Face Man by Clara Bessijelle. I got a preview copy at BCGF!
6. Big Plans #5 by Aron Nels Steinke
7. Shenzhen by Guy DeLisle. I know this is a couple years old. But I read it over the holidays and I really enjoyed it and learned a lot! Travelogue comics are among my favorites.
8. The Holy Ghost Guide to The Stars by ??? - A mystery lady in bird/ghost costume handed this to me at BCGF. Did you know that the Septagram is the "star of Babalon and the SFPD"? You will know that and more if you read this. See her blog here.
9. Have You Seen the DOG Lately? edited by Serena Lafler. A great comic/zine anthology including the likes of Steve Lafler and Carrie McNinch.
10. Manifesto Items by David Lasky. A collection of poems, comics, and thoughts. David's been a great inspiration and support to me in my own work over many years!

Tom Neely's Top 10 (that isn't a "Top 10" at all)

I can't call mine a "Top 10 of 2011" because I haven't read everything that came out in 2011 (I'm still catching up on the last couple of years of books). Maybe I'm just excited about comics in general, and lately I'm in a mood to lean more towards entertaining comics than heavy literary tomes, but it seems like I've found a lot of really amazing stuff this Fall. I got some good stuff earlier this year at Stumptown and TCAF, too, but that seems like a lifetime ago. After several years of the comics industry at large proclaiming the end of everything from comic books and comic shops to the end of all print media, finding so many good comics coming out of the small presses and self publishers fills me with inspiration.

So, this is more of a "best of the comics I acquired on my Fall tour." In no particular order:
1) JOSH BAYER! Man, is he some kind of unstoppable force?! His new Raw Power is really amazing. Get it from Retro Fit Comics. While you're at it, subscribe to Retro Fit Comics! Who doesn't like getting comics in the mail?
2) Rub The Blood by Various. This book is a psychotic art attack on all things Rob Liefield and awful '90s comics that all nerds my age have a special soft-spot for. "Only available in person"
3) Gagged by Dan Wiekin. This is a ridiculous book of really dirty, somewhat evil, and really offensive "gags." Uncivilized Books.
4) I'm really excited by everything I've read from Domino Books.
5) Sammy the Mouse Vol 1 by Zak Sally. This collects the first three issues of the series in one book. All hand printed by the artist on his own printing press. Amazing. Even if you have the 3 individual issues, I think the story reads even better in this format. Get it from Zak Sally's La Mano 21.
6) Things You Carry by Vincent Stall. A beautiful, wordless, dreamlike book that seems to be about loss. Get it from 2D Cloud
7) Mother Lover Anthology from 2D Cloud. A couple of really good short stories by a few good Minnesotans.
8) BENJAMIN MARRA! Getting a new Marra comic makes me as giddy as when I went to the comic shop on new comic book day when i was 12 years old and still liked superhero comics. Get Night Business and Gangsta Rap Posse from his own Traditional Comics.
9) King Cat # 72 by John Porcellino. What can I say? John P. is a national treasure. Everyone should be reading this series.
10) Andros by Max Clottfelter. This guys a genius! So funny. So surreal. I wish I could draw like this guy.
11) 3 Short Stories by Clara Bessijelle - Clara's drawings are mesmerizing. Domino Books
12) The Greatest by Kelly Froh. This simple little book makes me really happy.
13) Sad Sex minis by Heather Benjamin. The drawings in these things scare me. This girl is sick. I like it.
14) WEIRD Magazine #1 by various artists - Imagine if all the weirdest art comix stars were running things at the old Warren Publishing house in the '60s and '70s. Yeah... that woulda been awesome. And it is. From E. T. Press
15) Keenan Marshall Keller! I love his super-stoopid-sci-fi-drugged-out-EPIC Galatctic Breakdown series (not pictured above)
16) The Disgusting Room by Austin English (not pictured above) - I wasn't sure if I should promote a Sparkplug book on this list since I'm now a partner, but it came out before I was officially part of Sparkplug Books, so... This is probably my favorite book of the year. Austin English continues to blow my mind with his merging of art into the narrative comics form. This work deserves to be hanging in museums. I can't wait to see what he does next. I told Austin it was like if "DeKooning had made comics" and he frowned and said "I've never really been a fan of his work..." Which makes me like Austin's work even more.

I would also like to mention that I really enjoyed new minis from my partners Emily and Virginia.

Sparkplug's Website is Updating!

2011-12-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

Big news! We are changing the Sparkplug website - making it a little more streamlined and easier to use. The address will remain the same, but expect a slightly different look and ordering system. The redesign is being done by Aaron Amstutz. The change should take place sometime within the next week; I'll post again when everything is finalized and the new site is up.

Thanks for supporting Sparkplug and happy holidays!

-Virginia

Gay Genius on Autostraddle!

2011-12-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Our fantastic anthology of queer artists and comic folks, Gay Genius, made it onto a gift guide on Autostraddle! Check out the full list here!

Poopsheet's Best of 2011

2011-12-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Austin English's The Disgusting Room has made it on Poopsheet Foundations' Best Mini-Comics and Small Press Titles of 2011 list! Also on the list: Sparkplug artist Julia Gfrorer's Too Dark to See and Sparkplug co-owner Tom Neely's The Wolf. A bunch of the honorable mentions are Sparkplug titles as well! You can read the full list here.

If you are planning on doing any of your holiday shopping at Sparkplug, now would be a great time to order! Please check out our store; a lot of our books would make great gifts. If you need some suggestions, please feel free to contact me - virginia (at) sparkplugcomicbooks (dot) com.

Have a great week!

Passage, Reviewed!

2011-12-01T14:58:00.001-08:00

Justin Giampaoli has written a wonderful review of Tessa Brunton's Passage on his blog Thirteen Minutes:

... Her note perfect details in the pencils lend a sense of authenticity to her quirky upbringing. When you start cataloguing the shading technique, the rampant crosshatching, and the variable line weights, you realize her self-taught style is highly accomplished, culminating with a glorious two page spread that’s a cutaway diagram of her parents’ house. It comes with a penchant for creating rich panels that hum with a lived-in feeling evident in the clothing, the hair, the backgrounds, and the general sense of diversity in all of the figure work. ...

Good stuff!

Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest

2011-11-29T11:21:00.000-08:00

Emily and Tom will be in charge of the Sparkplug table this weekend at Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest. Our special guest star will be Katie Skelly, author of the Nurse Nurse series! Please join us for this super awesome fest!

Here's the scoop, from the BCGF website:

BROOKLYN COMICS AND GRAPHICS FESTIVAL 2011

WHAT: Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival
WHEN: December 3, 2011 12- 9 pm
Free and open to the public

WHERE: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church
275 North 8th Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
and
Union Pool
484 Union Avenue # A
New York, NY 11211-3440

We are pleased to announce the third Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival, a festival of comics and graphic art featuring artists and publishers displaying and selling publications; lectures and conversations on comics; and associated exhibits and satellite events. Over 75 of the very best artists and publishers will gather on December 3rd to display and sell their work and engage in discussions and exhibitions.

In order to accommodate overwhelming demand, this year’s Festival expands its exhibition space to both floors of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church’s facilities, with a full weekend of programs and events taking place at an array of independent Brooklyn-area arts and culture institutions.

Our 2011 featured guests are: Jack Davis, Phoebe Gloeckner, CF, Lisa Hanawalt, David Mazzucchelli, Chip Kidd, John Porcellino and Brian Ralph. These guests are joined by an international array of publishers including Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics, Adhouse, Nobrow, Pantheon Books, Last Gasp, Akashic, Top Shelf, PictureBox, and Koyama Press, who in turn will host artists including Adrian Tomine, Jordan Crane, Michael Deforge, Gabrielle Bell, Dash Shaw, Gary Panter, Frank Santoro, and Leslie Stein.

For our third edition we have partnered with like-minded organizations in the borough. Union Pool will host a cartoonist-studded rock show on Friday night, as well as our full slate of Festival panels all day Saturday. Scott Eder Gallery is the site of the exhibition Drawing Pop Culture: The Art of Jack Davis, while four days of comics-related films will screen at The Spectacle Theater, and a graphics and theater performance event will be presented on Sunday at the Brick Theater.

Full programming and Festival information will continue to be posted to our website: comicsandgraphicsfest.com

The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival is an ongoing project by Desert Island, PictureBox and Bill Kartalopoulos.

Thanks to Some Extra-Special People

2011-11-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

We here at Sparkplug have so many people to thank for their kindness and generosity to us in this transitional period. At this time, we want especially to thank Jason Leivian of Floating World Comics, Jason T. Miles of Profanity Hill, comic artist Jim Rugg. These awesome guys organized and promoted a series of eBay auctions of original art and collectible books to help support Sparkplug as we realize our goals.

We also owe a debt of gratitude to the dozens of artists who gave their creations and books to be sold in the auctions, as well as friends and colleagues who made other generous donations. Here are the names of those who contributed:

Adam Hines

Adrian Tomine

Aleks Sennwald

Allie & Jeremy Tiedeman

Annie Koyama

Art Spiegelman

Ben Dewey

Bill Boichel

Bill Kartolopuolos

Charles Brownstein

Chris Pitzer

Dan Clowes

Dan Nadel

David Lasky

Dunja Jankovic

Eric Reynolds

Eroyn Franklin

Ethan Rilly

Gabe Fowler

Greg Stump

Ian MacEwan

James Romberger

Jason T. Miles

Jeff Lemire

Jenny Gialenes

Jeremy Eaton

Jim Rugg

John Porcellino

Jonathan Case

Jordan Crane

Jordan Shively

Julia Wertz

Karn Piana

Katy Ellis O’Brien

Kelly Froh

Ken Dahl (Gabby Schulz)

Kevin Huizenga

Levon Jihanian

Luke Ramsey

Malachi Ward

Marc Palm

Martine Workman

Matt Fraction

Matthew Sheean

Max Clotfelter

Megan Kelso

Micheal Deforge

Michel Fiffe

Natalie Nourigat

Nate Powell

Nick Abadzis

Paul Hornschemeier

Pete Toms

Peter Bagge

Peter @ The Beguiling Books

Rebecca Artemisia

Renee French

Rich Tommaso

Ryan Standfest

Sarah Morean

Sean Ford

Skinner

Stephen DeStefano

Steve Lieber

Tom Scioli

Victor Kerlow

Warren Bernard

Review of Flesh and Bone

2011-11-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

Attention Deficit Disorderly has done a great review of Flesh and Bone by Julia Gfrorer:

"Gfrörer’s intelligence shines through in virtually every particular, from pacing (the excruciatingly interminable sequence in which the bereaved man writhes first in agony then in resigned masturbatory ecstasy on his beloved’s grave) to dialogue (a devastating exchange between witch and demon in which love is dismissed as “mutual masturbation,” a form of slavery that prevents humankind from pulling itself out of the muck) to strategic absences of dialogue (a harrowing silent sequence in which an owl is sent to blind a young witness to a horrible crime) to character design (the man’s Byronic good looks, the demon’s disembodied lion head) to facial expression and body language (the witch’s arched back and closed lids as she copulates with a screeching mandrake creature) to a cover that nails the appeal of her wiry, frail characters and line."

You can read the review in its entirety here.

Rina Ayuyang and Lark Pien at Komiks Expo 2011

2011-11-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

Rina Ayuyang and Lark Pien, both good friends of Sparkplug, will be tabling at the Komiks Expo in San Francisco this Saturday! Details below:

Komiks Expo 2011

Saturday, November 19, 1pm-5pm

It's going to be our own local version of Comic Con! Komiks Expo 2011 is a comic book convention to showcase Filipino and API artists in cartoon, comic book, and graphic novel media. Come out to see artwork from aspiring local artists/groups in the SF Bay Area and beyond!

Special Guest: Whilce Portacio!

About Whilce Portacio:
Whilce Portacio started as an inker before launching his career as a penciller over two decades ago. He has been a leading comic book talent ever since his big break through on Marvel titles X-Factor and Uncanny X Men in the early '90s. Whilce has worked on titles Iron Man: Heroes Reborn, Punisher, Wetworks, Stormwatch, Batman Confidential, and Superman/Batman.

Admission: FREE!

Come in a comic book character costume for a chance to win a prize pack worth $100!

ALSO:
Curating Komiks exhibit for I-Hotel Manilatown Center. Opening September 17, 4-6 PM at 868 Kearny Street, SF. A tribute to Filipino & Filipino American Comic Book Artists, featuring the work of Alfredo Alcala, Alex Niño, Ed Badajos, Vidda Chan, Dino Ignacio, Whilce Portacio, and Nestor Redondo..

Location:
I-Hotel Manilatown Center
868 Kearny St.
San Francisco, CA 94108

Manilatown Homepage

www.manilatown.org
Non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and fostering the rich cultural and artistic traditions of San Francisco's Filipino American community.

Back in Stock: Play Overlord, Death Deals & Ishi's Brain

2011-11-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

We got a couple excellent books back in stock: Death Deals and Ishi's Brain by Eamon Espey and Play Overlord by Theo Ellsworth, Sean Christensen and Amy Kuttab! Take a look at them in our shop if you like!

Short Run Small Press Fest!

2011-11-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Join us this weekend in Seattle! I can already tell that Short Run is going to be a super fun fest, with lots of other great presses and artists involved. Emily and I look forward to seeing you there!

Short Run Small Press Fest
@ the Seattle Center
Saturday, Nov. 12th from 10:30 t0 4:30
Free Admission

Elijah Brubaker interview at Exquisite Things

2011-11-08T13:36:00.000-08:00

Kevin from Exquisite Things has done a wonderful, in-depth interview with Elijah Brubaker, creator of the Reich series for Sparkplug. Please give it a read!

Small Press Love Fest!

2011-11-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

Emily and I will be tabling for Sparkplug this Tuesday at Multnomah County Library's Small Press Love Fest! This will be a really fun event, with food, raffles and a chance to get a jump on your holiday shopping. It's free too!
The fest is on Tuesday, November 8th, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the beautiful Central Library in downtown Portland. Hope to see you there!

MIX reminder!

2011-11-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder to come visit Sparkplug at the Minneapolis Indie Expo this weekend! It's from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday at The Soap Factory. Free admission, hope to see you there!

New Books in the Store: Ditko and YDGTFH #20!

2011-10-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Today we've brought you the newest Steve Ditko books, A Ditko #14. It's a whirlwind story from this venerated artist, including a new character, The Distorter!

And Carrie McNinch has sent us another issue of her endlessly entertaining meditation on her life, You Don't Get There From Here #20. Carrie gets a new kitten (really, the highlight of the issue!), goes for runs in the summer weather and enjoys 'carmageddon'.

Sparkplug at MIX!

2011-10-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

I'm posting this now because I will be in rural Wisconsin for most of next week, haha. Julia Wertz and I will be behind the Sparkplug table at the Minneapolis Indie Expo next weekend. It's November 5th and 6th, 10am to 5pm both days, at the Soap Factory. Come out to say hi, chat and support indie publishing!

Restock: Blammo 7

2011-10-19T13:34:00.001-07:00

We once again have Noah Van Sciver's amazing and surprisingly dark Blammo 7 in stock! Please check it out; you can click through several interior pages for every book in our online store!

New Papercutter, Jason Overby Restock!

2011-10-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

We've just added Papercutter #17 to the store; it is awesome and you should definitely check it out!

Also, we've got Jason Overby's strange and complex minis back in stock: Exploding Head Man, Obligatory Artifact and Solipsist's Doodles.

The Future of Sparkplug

2011-10-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends:

Some of you have been asking what will happen to Sparkplug now that my husband, Dylan Williams, is no longer with us. This is to let you know that Virginia Paine, Tom Neely and I will be continuing to run things as best we can. Our immediate plans are to continue online sales, and to get through the conventions for this Fall and Winter. We've just been to A.P.E. in San Francisco, and we'll be present at MIX in Minneapolis next month, as well as the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival in December.

We need your support now as much as ever. We are grieving at the same time as we are trying to keep business afloat, and trying not to overstrain ourselves. We want to publish again soon but that is a step we will consider more once we get through the next few months.

Thank you for all of the kindness you have given us in these recent weeks.

Emily Nilsson

Shipping and Orders Update

2011-10-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

I've been emailing people today whose orders are still waiting to be filled. If you haven't heard from me, it's because I'm expecting your books within the next week! Please feel free to contact me with any questions - virginia (at) sparkplugcomicbooks (dot) com. Thanks for your continued patience and support!

Sparkplug at APE!

2011-09-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sparkplug will be at APE in San Francisco this weekend! Please stop by to say hi, buy books and chat with our artists! APE takes place at the Concourse Exhibition Center on Saturday, October 1st and Sunday October 2nd.

Also, Tom Neely, Landry Walker and others will be participating in the panel "Remembering Dylan Williams" on Sunday at 12:45. Please join us in celebrating Dylan's life and work.
Here is the panel description:
12:45 Remembering Dylan Williams—The indie comics world lost one of our own on September 10 when Dylan Williams passed away. Dylan was a tireless champion of creators with unique visions, and promoted their work through his career, starting with the mini-comics coop Puppy Toss and a stint behind the counter at Comic Relief. He is best known as the publisher of Sparkplug Comic Books. Artists, publishers, and friends who were touched by Dylan's influence -- including Tom Devlin, Todd Martinez, Tom Neely, Virginia Paine, Landry Walker, and others -- join together to remember Dylan and his passion for comics in this special tribute panel. Please attend and share your memories.

Thanks for your continued patience.

2011-09-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

Hello friends of Sparkplug,

I am just writing to check in, and thank everyone who has ordered something for their continued patience. Sparkplug has always been a small company - I have been Dylan's only employee for the last year. I have a lot of help right now, but things are still going slowly with order processing. I'm waiting on many titles to be restocked in order to ship several dozen orders. Again, if you have any questions about your order, please contact me (virginia (at) sparkplugcomicbooks (dot) com) and I will do my best to help.

I'd also like to confirm that there WILL be a Sparkplug table at APE, the Minneapolis Indie Expo and Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest. We look forward to seeing you there!

Thanks again for your continued support of Sparkplug and Dylan.

-Virginia

Dylan

2011-09-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

I have been having a lot of trouble articulating what I've been feeling the last couple days, but I'm going to try. Many, many people have written beautiful things about Dylan's passing. I urge you to read their loving tributes; everyone's perspective is slightly different, but all agree that there wasn't a kinder, more passionate soul than Dylan.

I don't know what to say about him. I feel like I didn't know him as well as I could have, even though I was his student and his employee. He means a lot to the comics community, as does Sparkplug. I'm going to miss talking to him about feminism, veganism and queer issues. I'm going to miss listening to late 90s emo with him. I'm going to miss him disrupting my work so we could talk, because he cared more about talking to me than he did about squeezing every last bit of work out of me. I'm going to miss him apologizing when I complained about being tired, and apologizing about everything else.

I was so, so grateful when he gave me this job. I hope he knew how thankful I am, and how honored I am to be his employee and friend.

I think that's all I have to say for now. My heart goes out to everyone who loved Dylan. Please let me know if you need anything.

I do feel like I should mention to folks who have ordered things from us that I am doing my best to get us back on track, but filling orders is going rather slowly. I've got some people coming to help this week and I'm going to try to get a lot done this week. Thank you for your continued patience. If you have any questions about your order, please contact me: virginia (at) sparkplugcomicbooks (dot) com

We are welcoming new orders as well, if you don't mind the wait. I'm not sure what the costs are looking like for Emily, but I think this is a good way to contribute.

Thank you everyone for supporting Dylan and Sparkplug.

Sparkplug at SPX!

2011-09-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

Tom Neely will be covering his own I Will Destroy You table as well as Sparkplug's this weekend at SPX. Please stop and say hi if you are there! He'll have have plenty of copies of our Ignatz-nominated books!

Repost: An Additional Thank You, and a Note

2011-09-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

I'm reposting this, because I wanted to say thank you to everyone again, and also to say, if you have any questions about your order and its status, please feel free to contact me: virginia (at) sparkplugcomicbooks (dot) com.

Thanks again. I appreciate your patience!

An Additional Thank You, and a Note

Hey All, Virginia here.

First of all, thank you everyone for your support! I'm so gratified at the response and obviously Dylan appreciates it enormously. Y'all are wonderful.

Second, a little note about your orders.
Again, thank you SO much! It's amazing to see so much support. I've been plugging away at orders as fast as I can, but we have been running out of stock of several books. They have been ordered, but it may add a little delay to some orders while we wait for the books to come in. I want to thank you so much for your patience and understanding as we work our way through your orders! <3

SF Zine Fest!

2011-09-02T20:54:00.001-07:00

Sparkplug will be tabling (thanks to the wonderful Annie Murphy) at SF Zine Fest tomorrow and Sunday. Please stop by if you are in the Bay Area and check out our books!

An Additional Thank You, and a Note

2011-09-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much.

2011-09-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

I figure I should check in and let people know I'm doing okay. I've got more treatments ahead but I'm doing well. And me and Sparkplug owe a giant thank you for all the help everyone has given us during me being conked out. I'm a lot less worried about the way things will go now.
Dylan

Big Plans 5 on Kickstarter

2011-08-21T08:41:00.001-07:00

Hey everybody, I just launched this Kickstarter project to fund issue five in my autobiographical comic series, Big Plans. You can check out my video, and then watch and laugh with friends. Ho, ho. But seriously, it's a fun book. Plus, my wolfman character makes several more appearances than before. I've also thought up some rewards that include original artwork from the book. Just click here.

For reals!

Lewis, Cagle, Ellsworth and Gin Palace, in the store today!

2011-08-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

A couple new books for y'all to check out today. First: Minty Lewis' PS Comics, which is chock-full of stories of betrayed yorkie dog friendships and disgruntled fruit office workers.

In a slightly more serious vein, but still hilarious, we have Susie Cagle's Notes on Conflict, which documents her trip to Israel and the conflicted feelings the journey provoked.

Also new today is Theo Ellsworth's Sleeper Car, which collects several short stories from this (deservedly) acclaimed comics artist.

And finally, the British comics anthology Gin Palace #1. Though not all alcohol-related, the stories are entertaining and the variety of artistic styles make an entertaining read.

Sparkplug in the Ignatz Nominees!

2011-08-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sparkplug is well-represented in 2011's Ignatz Awards nominees! Gay Genius, The Heavy Hand, Habitat #2 and the Reich series have all been nominated along with a bunch of other great artists and books. Read the full list of nominees here.

Newness in the store today!

2011-08-13T13:27:00.001-07:00

Sparkplug has several new titles for you to peruse today! First, Matthew Thurber's enthralling, complex, surreal series 1-800-Mice. We've got all five issues.

Also new today is Dave Kiersh's Neverland, a poetic examination of having to grow up, with densely textured panels and heavy lines. A beautiful book!

And finally, Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man by John Porcellino. The author's love of nature is rendered profound with simple, graceful linework and perfectly paced text.

Reich #8 reviewed on Exquisite Things!

2011-08-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

Matt over at Exquisite Things has written a scintillating review of Reich #8! Please check it out.

The Heavy Hand, Reviewed on Attentiondeficitdisorderly

2011-08-10T16:06:00.001-07:00

Sean T. Collins has written a great review of The Heavy Hand by Chris Cilla. Check out the full article here.

"Fascinating book, this. It combines the textural, noise-based visual aesthetic of caves and monsters and melty stuff that you may have seen from many of Chris Cilla’s fellow contributors to the Paper Rodeo and Kramers Ergot anthologies with the down’n'out beer-swillin’ shit-talkin’ big-schnozzed characters of ’90s altcomix (big noses are to alternative what big feet were to the underground), so right off the top it’s doing something unexpected. And in the same way that the art is both densely intense and breezily funny, the story somehow coheres from jokey banter, grand-guignol monster attacks, and surreal non sequitur splash pages into an utterly convincing world." -Sean T. Collins, Attentiondeficitdisorderly.

Sparkplug at PZS!

2011-08-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

Sparkplug will have a (small) table at the Portland Zine Symposium this weekend! It's happening Saturday and Sunday at Refuge in SE Portland. Click on the link for more details!

New review of Lemon Styles

2011-08-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

Paul Houston at Coverless has posted a good but confused review of David King's Lemon Styles:
http://www.renderwrx.net/apps/blog/show/7912197-review-lemon-styles

Tom Lechner in the store!

2011-07-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today we've added seven (seven!) of Tom Lechner's dream-themed, darkly strange comics to the Sparkplug store. Take a look at Cold Fusion, Consumption #11 and #12, Nightlife, Nightlife 12:01 and Tales of Inertia #2 and #3.

New Books in the Store!

2011-07-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

Many new comics for y'all to check out today! Above is Ariyana Suvarnasuddhi's Tales of Tiger Balm. It's gorgeously detailed, full of exuberant energy and hilarious.

Next are two of Eamon Espey's minis: Death Deals and Ishi's Brain. Espey's art is dense, dark and heavy (literally and figuratively). I especially enjoy his use of symbolism and Mayan-art-reminiscent pictography.

Then we have Eroyn Franklin's Sorry Sheets. Eroyn's drawing is stunning in this apparently simple story about a woman trying to take a bath.

And finally, another deconstructionist comic from Jason Overby: Exploding Head Man. Jason takes on the superhero mythos as the titular character comes to terms with his new identity and abilities.

That's all I got for ya today! Have a good one.

Sparkplug in your Inbox!

2011-07-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

If you'll peek to the right you'll notice we now have an email sign-up! Just enter your email address (we won't spam you/flood your inbox, we promise!) and you'll get updates about events, conventions, newly released books and more.

And don't forget to check out our latest book, Passage by Tessa Brunton!

Two new reviews: Flesh & Bone and Reich #8

2011-07-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

Paul D. Houston, at his new blog Coverless, has new reviews up for Reich #8 by Elijah Brubaker and Flesh&Bone by Julia Gfrörer. Take a look:
http://www.renderwrx.net/apps/blog/show/7774038-review-reich-8
http://www.renderwrx.net/apps/blog/show/7773867-review-flesh-and-bone

Passage out now!

2011-07-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

Sparkplug's newest book is this gorgeous thing by Tessa Brunton! Passage is a moving tale of awkward adolescence and even more awkward parenting. The storytelling is a perfect blend of funny and honest and Tessa's heavily textured art compliments the quirkiness of the characters very well. Get your copy today!

Rob Clough reviews Reich #8!

2011-07-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

Rob Clough has reviewed Reich #8 over at his blog, High-Low. Check it out! "...Brubaker's moody and angular drawings throw the character's emotions into sharp relief; his use of shadow in particular evokes despondency and uncertainty, while a careful use of cross-hatching and naturalistic drawing in places and objects anchors his pages and gives them weight."

Gay Genius reviewed at the Gay Comics List

2011-07-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

A completely interesting and complicated review of Gay Genius over at Gay Comics List. It is actually really well written and self-aware.
http://gaycomicslist.free.fr/blog/index.php/2011/07/gay-genius.html

New in the Store Today: You Don't Get There From Here #19, Labanotation, The Monsters Make a Stew and Food Stamp Foodie #1

2011-07-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

I really love quarter-size zines, so when Dylan told me to put whatever I wanted in the store, obviously I picked all smaller size comics. First up is Carrie McNinch's latest: You Don't Get There From Here #19. Entertaining as always, with a clean and comfortable-to-read style, Carrie's strips turn the mundane, magical.

Labanotation, by Sean Christensen and Amy Kuttab, is another great book...and it's huge! 96 pages! Both Sean and Amy are masters of fantasy/fantastical realism/folk tale sort of stories and I love anything set in Sean's "Church of Awesome Thought" universe. So you should probably check it out.

Next up is Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg's The Monsters Make a Stew. Lisa is mostly known for her journal comics (I Cut My Hair) but she is a great storyteller in general, and her ligne claire style suits this cute tale perfectly.

And finally, one of mine. Food Stamp Foodie #1 is a recipe zine (we've got a little collection going) with 10 cheap vegan recipes and some doodles. It's pretty cute.

Sparkplug at Derby City Comic Con!

2011-07-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

I will be tabling for Sparkplug at Derby City Comic Con next week! The con is taking place on Saturday, July 16th at the Kentucky International Convention Center in lovely Louisville, Kentucky. I'll be bringing copies of Gay Genius, Reich #8, Bookhunter, Whirlwind Wonderland, Lemon Styles and lots more.

Please be sure to stop by. The con is from 10am to 5pm and only $7! There's more information about guests and panels and so on on the Derby City website.

In the Store: Jason T. Miles' Pines

2011-07-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

For your reading pleasure: I just added Pines #3 and #4 to the Sparkplug store. Jason T. Miles' artistic versatility is on display in these two minicomics; they are both very different and both very good. Check them out!

GeekWeek reviews The Heavy Hand!

2011-07-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

There is a great review of The Heavy Hand over at GeekWeek, check it out!

New in the Store: Foie Gras #1 and #3!

2011-06-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough week for Sparkplug but we are surviving! Getting great books like Edie Fake's Foie Gras #1 and #3 in helps. Each page has unsettlingly funny illustrations of cooking techniques accompanied by seemingly unrelated phrases. On the surface, it might appear simple, but these onions have layers for sure. Check them out in our store today!

Gay Genius Reviewed!

2011-06-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

Kristin Russo of everyoneisgay.com has done a lovely lil write-up about Gay Genius on her tumblr! Check it out and then check out Everyone is Gay, because it is great as well.

Now in the store: Doodle Daze by Rina Ayuyang

2011-06-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

Just a lil tidbit to start off your weekend: Doodle Daze, a collection of autobiographical sketches and free-form comics by Sparkplug artist Rina Ayuyang. With a whopping 56 pages, it's a steal for only $3!

Annie Murphy Interview!

2011-06-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

Kjerstin Johnson over at Bitch Magazine has posted a great interview with Gay Genius editor/all-around comics genius Annie Murphy. Check it out!

J.T. Dockery Book Sale, get on it!

2011-06-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

J.T. Dockery is having a bit of a summer sale, offering both of his books, In Tongues Illustrated and Spud Crazy, together as a package deal and also separately at a reduced rate.

Go, check out the page for this "event," and pass on the word to anyone you think might be interested:
http://jtdockery.com/summersale2011.html

His comics are awesome, his art is awesome and his writing, Yes, you guessed it: Awesome.

Whirlwind Wonderland, Bookhunter and others, reviewed!

2011-06-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

Stephen Sohn has written reviews of five (five!) of our books for the website Asian American Literature Fans. Read the reviews here: http://asianamlitfans.livejournal.com/2011/06/21/

The Latest Papercutter, Dream Grant and Play Overlord!

2011-06-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

I've just added Papercutter #16 to the store! It has stories by Joey Alison Sayers, Liz Prince and Alexis Frederick-Frost, so it is as fantastic as you might imagine.

And we've added a mini-comic by Portland artist Sean Christensen called Dream Grant. Set in his Church of Awesome Thought world, it is super cute and entertaining.

And finally, Play Overlord, a collaborative comic created by Amy Kuttab, Sean Christensen and Theo Ellsworth!

COMICS ON THE RISE

2011-06-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

Box Brown is starting a publishing house specifically to publish short, cheap, stapled ALTERNATIVE comics a la Drawn and Quarterly in the 90's. It's called Retrofit and they'll be publishing a new monthly comic for 17 straight months! To kick off funding they are running a kickstarter that you kind find here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1154777626/retrofit-comics-the-return-of-the-alt-comic-floppy

All the info is at the kickstarter site or here: retrofitcomics.com

Here is the line-up of artists:

James Kochalka
Colleen Frakes
Pat Aulisio
Josh Bayer
Corinne Mucha
Joe Decie
Tom Hart
Liz Baillie
Chuck Forsman
John Martz
L. Nichols
Nathan Schreiber
Noah Van Sciver
Ian Harker
Jason Turner
Sally Madden
Brendan Leach

Tom Neely releases New Graphic Novel

2011-06-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

“An assaultive, erotic riot of sex and combat and horror and sheer image-making power. There’s great beauty in The Wolf’s blackness.”
– Sean T. Collins, critic (The Comics Journal, Robot 6)

The Wolf is a new graphic novel by Los Angeles-based painter-cartoonist Tom Neely. The book tells a simple love story, but one woven with surrealist horror, werewolf lore and its own brand of nightmare logic. With The Wolf, Neely progresses from the traditional cartooning style he showed off in his previous books, The Blot and Brilliantly Ham-Fisted, to a form that blends comics-style storytelling with a fine arts approach to imagery. The ultimate effect is equal parts touching and chilling.

Neely’s paintings and illustrations have been featured in galleries all over the U.S., in magazines and literary journals, and on records, posters and CDs for bands like The Melvins, ISIS and Wolves in the Throne Room, Groovie Ghoulies, among others. Earlier this year, he garnered a flurry of attention as one of the authors of the cult hit mini-comic Henry & Glenn Forever. Neely’s debut self-published novel, The Blot, won an Ignatz Award in 2007 and made it onto several of the industry’s “best of” lists that year, including “Best Comics of the Decade” in The Comics Journal.

228 Pages, Black & White and Full Color, Paperback, $25.00 (US)
Available now from I Will Destroy You
P.O. Box 39963, Los Angeles, CA 90039
www.iwilldestroyyou.com

Book Release and Signing
July 8th, 2011 at Secret Headquarters Comic Shop
3817 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Some early praise for The Wolf:

"The book talks about a progression, and an inner struggle, but I was most impressed with how Tom masterfully articulates the sentiment of love."
--Trenton Doyle Hancock, artist.

“The Wolf is drawn with skill and heart … It is thrilling to see Neely work this way, and to know that this dedicated artist is in it for the long haul.”
--Austin English, comics author/publisher (The Disgusting Room, Domino Books)

"The Wolf veers from frightening and expressionistic to cartoony at the drop of a hat, sometimes in the same drawing. But Tom pulls it all together beautifully.
--Zak Sally, cartoonist (Sammy the Mouse, Recidivist)

"Tom's work has the unusual ability to provoke anxiety, uncertainty, horror and uncomfortable laughter in equal measure … Mr. Neely has done so here with grace and a crafty precision.
-- Aaron Turner, musician-artist (Isis, Mammifer)

Pre-order the book from the IWDY store now!

Watch a preview video of part one of The Wolf here.

Possessed by the Rise of Magik: Chris Cilla's Heavy Hand reviewed on The Comics Journal

2011-06-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Over at the Comics Journal they have a thorough and thoughtful review of Chris Cilla's the Heavy Hand, in which Rob Clough compares Chris to a turntablist: "Cilla finds every kind of storytelling convention totally interchangeable and mixes them with the elegance of a DJ or a producer creating new sounds from old. Cilla plays with the reader’s reified understanding of genre conventions to allow the text involved in such conventions to create that immersive environment that allows the reader to experience the comic in a hermeneutic fashion."

http://www.tcj.com/reviews/the-heavy-hand/

If you are able...

2011-06-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

It's getting down to the last couple days of our friend's Kickstarter campaign! She is raising funds for another season of her excellent radio show Destination DIY. The rewards are awesome, of course, and if you donate $20 right now, you can get a grab bag of Sparkplug Comics in addition to the satisfaction of funding this program.

Habitat #2 on Bookgasm

2011-06-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

Dunja Jankovic's Habitat #2 got reviewed yesterday on Bookgasm. Check it out!

Too Dark To See, Blammo 7 and More!

2011-05-26T15:09:00.001-07:00

A bunch of new, awesome things in the store today. First is Julia Gfrörer's newest, Too Dark To See. It's seriously good and pretty disturbing; her artwork is spectacular as always.

Next up is the latest installment of Katie Skelly's retro space adventure, Nurse Nurse #7. What trouble will Gemma find herself in next?!

And from Noah Van Sciver, the darkest installment of Blammo yet! Short stories about morality, halloween, scams and Joseph Smith.

Finally, a Toots La Rue zine about Cyndi Lauper called She's So Unusual. It's a fun read, with facts, anecdotes and recipes.

This Saturday in Olympia Washington

2011-05-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, in the sleepy town of Olympia, WA there will be an amazing collection of artists that rarely all end up at such a good show. Check out their exhibitor list:
http://olympiacomicsfestival.org/?page_id=386
We'll be at the Expo part of the Olympia Comics Fest and all around town:
http://olympiacomicsfestival.org/

Edie Fake interviewed!

2011-05-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

A great interview with the inimitable Edie Fake:
http://therumpus.net/2011/05/the-rumpus-interview-with-edie-fake/
Edie did the cover and a story in the new Gay Genius. And, if you don't already have it, you should check out Gaylord Phoeni x by Secret Acres

TCAF and comic conventions.

2011-05-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival

Last month I wrote a short piece about my thoughts on the MoCCA festival, the Stumptown Comics Festival and other shows. In it I mentioned how much I've liked the Toronto Comic Art Festival, TCAF. And last week was this year's TCAF. I went up there with Tom Neely. As usual we had fun at the border. Every year something nuts happens. This year, two of our books were confiscated. Not much to speak about really, but somehow it made more drama than the premiere of Gay Genius.

This year TCAF was just as amazing as the last time we went two years ago. I think I'd like to go every year. The reasons are many. But before I get to them, I'd like to go back in time and talk about the last article I wrote. Most people's reactions were positive, some people wanted to know "how we can improve the comic convention situation" or why I am not advocating the combination of all worlds of comics into one all inclusive comics show. I need to answer some questions.

My biggest concern is the reaction to the idea of art comix being separate from indy or mainstream comics. Indigo Keleigh said something in his interview with Tom Spurgeon at the Comics Reporter, which really stuck with me: "We've got the seasoned pros who make most of their living doing work-for-hire for the big publishers, there's the indie-comics crowd wanting to work with Oni and Top Shelf, there's art comix creators, 'zinesters, webcomics artists, minicomics artists. So many people looking at comics from completely different directions and through different lenses, and it all just boils down to making lines on paper, using words and pictures to tell a story. But these communities are always so fractured here, there's a terrible lack of crossover among these groups." One of the hardest things for me to understand when I was younger was why all comics weren't unified, but as I've gotten older it seems clear to me that the kind of comix I'm interested in making and those of a bookstore focused company like Drawn & Quarterly are really different. The difference between Sparkplug and a company like Oni is even further. Not good/bad just different. I still collect John Romita Jr. comics from Marvel. But I'm not a normal comics reader, and I don't think that the rest of the world should understand why both Roy Crane and Amy Kuttab are geniuses. "Fractured" is more of "many-faceted" and complex, from my point of view. And like the many sections of a good bookstore, I think it is a good thing.

The idea of a show appealing to everyone is something that has been around a long time. Since before the days of APE and SPX. The older shows like Wondercon used to be more inclusive, and so did shows like San Diego Comic Con. The idea of a indy exclusive show is only about a decade or two old. Before that there were some Underground shows. But really, comics shows used to want to include everything. And then APE started. SPX started. It sounds like I'm going to say that was a bad thing. But, for me, it wasn't. I mean, selfishly I love longboxes. I've been going to comics shows since the 70s but yeah, I like old comics a lot. But I've never seen the combination as a good thing. Old comics culture is insular, isolationist and exclusive. It isn't going to ever grow the audience of comics.

I could spend a book arguing this point, and I'm sure there will be disagreement. But, for me I believe it is inarguable that the world of Diamond Comics, Comics Shops and collecting has only served to alienate the general public from comics. Comics movies and tv have opened up the doors, since they are more accessible to the public at large. It has increased a nerd world of comics/pop culture fans. As one friend put it, there are 90,000 comic book readers (a guess) in the world and 7 billion people. Anyway, I digress. I don't think classic comic shows are a bad idea, and just like in the classic comic shows of yore, I don't think that shows that mix old, new, art, web, small press, and zine are bad either. I think that was the biggest misinterpretation in the reading of my last piece.

For the kinds of comix that Sparkplug publishes, I feel like things are pretty different nowadays. They are changing. And, there are three shows we regularly go to where I've seen the change. At the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival, San Francisco Zine Fest and the Toronto Comic Arts Festival things are really different shows. It isn't that the other shows are bad. The first thing a bunch of people have assumed is that money is what I'm talking about. Making money at a show is important for any comics business or artist. You don't do shows wanting to lose money. But it isn't what I'm talking about here. Over the past three shows (TCAF, Stumptown, and MoCCA), all told, Sparkplug has made about the same amount. This is after you factor in travel costs. So, local shows are usually more financially rewarding. If that is what you are going for.

Money wasn't what I was talking about though. I am talking about shows that reach a wider audience outside of the regular comics 90,000. Of course the next thing I think about is the wide audience that shows like San Diego Comic Con or Emerald City, New York City Comic Con or Wondercon are bringing in. They are doing quite well, financially. They have thousands and thousands of attendees but even my indy comics friends like the wonderful Lisa Eisenberg talks about the real reason for all these people. The William Shatner effect. The mix of pop-culture and comics brings in fans of Dr. Who, Buffy and Zombies (among others). Not bad, especially if making money and lots of foot traffic is the goal. But, I've been going to these shows since Wondercon 1987 in Oakland, CA. I've exhibited since 1990 or so at them. And, there is a common problem. It is why I've decided to quit going to San Diego this year. Getting a wider audience once a year from people who aren't there to buy comics isn't as interesting to me as it used to be. Especially when those people aren't returning the next year. It used to be more interesting because I was happy to get comics into the hands of anyone and make money doing it. But lately, I'm realizing a lot of things.

Sparkplug makes a relatively unique kind of comic. But lately, there is an audience for them. More and more every day. Because of more and more like minded comics being made. I've always believed that this would increase the audience for art comics and it seems to be working. I know, this is another digression, I'll get back to TCAF in a minute. When we started in 2002 there were a handful of small comics publishers, mostly just Alternative Comics, Fort Thunder and Highwater Comics. Drawn and Quarterly had their classic line-up of art/alternative comics. Fantagraphics had been forced to dump many of their best art comics by financial forces. Since 2002 Picture Box started publishing art comics in earnest. Lamano 21, Buenaventura/Pigeon Press, Secret Acres, Bodega, Teenage Dinosaur, Hidden Agenda, Conundrum, Tugboat Press, Revival House Press, Anne Koyama, Ad House and countless other small publishers have all started publishing (and some stopped) publishing books that would qualify as art comix. Even Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly have gone after art comix again. This doesn't even include the rising amount of self-publishers and collectives in art comix. It seems like the more people make art comix the larger the audience is. It is the opposite of the conventional logic in comics. The logic that the audience is finite and that comics fans don't like experimental bullshit isn't sound. The truth is that more people from outside comics are reading unconventional comix.

As a fan, publisher, retailer, distributor and artist of unconventional comix I've always felt that the rest of comics gave anything that had pretensions of art the short shrift. It isn't intentional sometimes, it is just that people who like action or humor are often annoyed by shit where they have to figure out what is going on constantly. It makes sense. I don't always like to read complex stuff. I'm watching a Diehard movie as I write this. But the problem is, I love making art comix. I love everything about them. And it hurts when they get written off over an over again by the wider comics world. And lately, things seem to be really different. There is a growing audience for art comix. But they aren't the ones who are going to shows like Emerald City, San Diego or Stumptown. People buy them there but it is regular comic audience (at Stumptown) or the pop-culture fans (at San Diego). When I wrote my last piece on conventions I was talking about how I want to do more shows where I'm getting at the art comix audience and less where art comix are all stuck staring at a cement wall next to the bathroom all day. I don't want to stop doing all shows like Stumptown or SPX, just the ones that cost a lot to get to and are held in hotels or expensive cities. I see encouraging a general young arty public to come to comic shows as increasing the audience for art comix. This isn't the same audience that goes to the comic book store every wednesday or downloads full sets of Being Human.

I want to really focus on going to shows like MIX in Minneapolis where there seems to be a focus on increasing the attendance by fans of art comix. I need to be clear again though, this isn't the future of all comics shows and doesn't need to be where everyone goes. It is where I think art comix should go though, supporting like-minded businesses. It is the same problem I have with small comics stores only buying from Diamond. If you are running a small business you should try to support other businesses like yourself. As a publisher I prefer to work with small stores that support art comix and distributors that carry art comix. Of course, I think it would be stupid not to try and make our business self-sustaining so if we have time we deal with bigger distros and chains. I would never advocate that you should shoot yourself in the foot over values like that. But if you have a chance to support somebody in your same spot, hell yes you should do it.

The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival

Shows like MIX, STAPLE, SPACE, The Olympia Comics Festival (next week!) and the like aren't going to make you rich but going there supports local scenes and these shows are much more open to art comix than many of the bigger shows. Of course, they still don't fully reach the wider art comix audience. And that is where TCAF, Brooklyn, and SF Zine Fest come in. Each of these amazing shows has figured out a way to reach the art comix audience. As well as reaching a general public that is interested in art and not pop culture. I rarely get into deep conversations about Jack Kirby or Dr. Who at these shows, unless it is with the exhibitors. More often than not, I end up talking about watercolor techniques, what is going on in town or what it is like to live in Portland, OR.

The crowd at TCAF last weekend was amazing, like it has been since the first time we went four years ago. They are doing something to bring in a group of people who are looking for art. The biggest indicator of this is that at TCAF or SF Zinefest, for me, is a minor thing. People don't stay in the center of the isle when walking around. People go down the whole row looking at everything. At shows like Stumptown or MoCCA most people are there for specific things, things they know about and know they like. It is almost a badge of honor to avoid looking at "comics I wouldn't like". Another big factor is that those shows are free. I don't think this means that people are coming in with more money and so they are spending more. I do think it broadens the gene pool.

If I lived in Toronoto, we'd be doing amazing at TCAF. Brooklyn wasn't a big money show for us this year. SF Zine Fest has always been great. I think the audience is just more open to unconventional comics. I also don't believe in curated shows being better than non-curated. I don't think there is any actual factual evidence that they are. All of it is just perception. The only show that switched from non to curated is Stumptown and the attendance was about the same as last year (in spite of what official numbers may have been). It didn't make the show better, just more complicated and more alienating to a bunch of great creators.

TCAF was packed to the gills with amazing comics of all kinds. Stuff I'd never heard of and even a print room that had tons of amazing hipster multi-colored freak outs. Even zines about bicycles. And of course indy comics like Becky Cloonan and Brandon Graham, loads of different stuff. There wasn't a Marvel, DC or Darkhorse table. But from my point of view the show brought in tons of new readers and people who were open to all kinds of different comics, most importantly, art comix. If I worked for Darkhorse or thought that Marvel's survival had anything to do with the future of comics I might be mad. But I don't.

Tom Neely wrote a much better description of the virtues of TCAF at his blog, I suggest you read it for a real feel of the positive flavor of the show. Tom and I talked a little about the negative aspects of the show, and neither of us really experienced any first hand. I did hear from a friend that the placement of artists wasn't all that great, and this is a side effect of the curatorial approach of the show. Her table was in between to un-like minded artists who are both really popular and had their fans blocking my friends table. And because it is curated, we don't really have an idea of who wasn't at the show. But besides that, a great show was had by all.

The future of comics, for me, is important. And in that, the future of art comix and small business are the most important. Shows like TCAF offer an established venue for personal art comix. This culture is just beginning but the fact that there are three established shows with consistent interest in art comix is pretty amazing, considering 10 years ago there were only two shows in the country for Indy Comics in general. Things are changing. Shows like Olympia Comics Festival and Minneapolis Indy Expo are trying to break new ground and support local scenes. This is a change. Indy shows used to be focused on getting big names to come to their small towns. This doesn't really work for getting people who don't know comics, but that is another story.

For now, I just want to say that if you make art comix, you need to try and get a table at TCAF. If you are a fan like me, and want to find the coolest stuff like Zach Hazard or Anne Koyama Press then make sure you go to TCAF next year. You may even find something you've never seen or heard of. And if you are in San Francisco on September 3 & 4th, make sure you go to the SF Zine Fest. I don't think there is some quick fix solution for getting out of the old and into the new. It is more that if you have a vision of what you'd like to see in comics and work for it by doing it yourself and supporting others doing it, it is completely possible. 20 years ago I never would have thought that John Porcellino would have a film crew following him around TCAF, a film crew that was different than the one that is making the documentary about him. Or that there would be a art comix friendly show that was in the downtown Toronoto, Ontario public library.

The San Francisco Zine Fest

Habitat #2 reviewed by the one and only Rob Clough at TCJ

2011-05-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

An incredible review of Dunja Jankovic's Habitat #2 over at the Comics Journal. As usual Clough has insight rare among today's comic reviewers.

http://www.tcj.com/reviews/habitat-2/

Profanity Hill Update is full of comics you'll want to order.

2011-05-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

Jason T. Miles brings you a giant update of new books at Profanity Hill distribution. You'll like them, I know:
PROFANITY HILL

new titles

SACRED AND PROFANE by Justin Green $5

MR. CELLER'S ATTIC by Noel Freibert $6
DEEP SEED by Max Clotfelter & Tim Miller $2
CLOSED CAPTION COMICS #9 by various $20
CRYPTIC WIT #1 by Gerald Jablonski $6
PINES #4 by Jason T. Miles $3
THE LEGEND OF THE WOLFMAN by Armando & Joanna Zegri #1.50
SORRY SHEETS by Eroyn Franklin $5
GO NAKED #1 ed by Gary Panter $8
MY BEST PET / FEEBLE MINDED FUNNIES by Noel Freibert & Lane Milburn $7.50
MILDRED PIERCE #4 ed by John Bylander & Megan Milks $8
INNER CITY ROMANCE #5 by Guy Colwell $3
THE HERE by Eroyn Franklin $7
ET VARIETY MAGAZINE #1 by Noel Freibert & Chip Hughes $10
DANGEROUS PUSSY #1 by Eve Gilbert $3
DANGEROUS PUSSY #2 by Eve Gilbert $3
DANGEROUS PUSSY #3 by Eve Gilbert $3

back catalog

COMICAL FUNNIES ed by Peter Bagge $10 (one left)
DONNA'S DAY by Peter Bagge $2
BAD MEAT #3 by Jim Blanchard $3
CRUEL WORLD by Jim Blanchard $3.50
FLAM ed by Jim Blanchard $3
GODS & DOGS by Jim Blanchard $3.50
KIDS by Jim Blanchard $2
PEOPLE by Jim Blanchard $1
RETINA DAMAGE by Jim Blanchard $5
ROUGH GROCERY by Max Clotfelter $2
STEW BREW #3 by Max Clotfelter & Kelly Froh $3
VITTLE CHIN by Max Clotfelter $2
LISTENER by Garek Druss $8
JACKASS by Jeremy Eaton $3
FLUNG #4 by G. Fling $4
SMALLER #1 by G. Fling $3
ANOTHER GLORIOUS DAY AT THE NOTHING FACTORY by Eroyn Franklin $25
THE FORMER ROOM-MATES OF GARY JONES by Kelly Froh $2
NORMAN: TALES FROM AMAZON by Kelly Froh $0.50
SLITHER #2 by Kelly Froh $1
SLITHER #6 by Kelly Froh $1
WET SANDWICH by Kelly Froh $0.50
2010-03/04 MINI by Adam Grano $8
SUBLIM8 THE LITER8 by Adam Grano $2
JOKE STAMP COLLECTOR by Stefan Gruber $9
SHRUB & BIRD by Stefan Gruber $9
VIKING SATELLITE SITTER by Stefan Gruber $9
LUCAS THE CLUMSY NINJA by Kailynn H. $1
IT'S A MIRACLE (IN LOW DEFINITION ANALOG) by Gretta Harley $2
ZINE CITY #7 by Kinoko $3.50
PINES #2 by Jason T. Miles $3 (back in stock new cover)
PINES #3 by Jason T. Miles $4
WET PAINT #1 by Jason T. Miles $2
WET PAINT #2 ed by Jason T. Miles $5
YOKO ONO IN "MY FAVORITE BEETLE" STARRING JASON T. MILES by Jason T. Miles $2 (back in stock)
SAD SACK by Tim Miller $1
LETTERS TO AN ABSENT FATHER by Maré Odomo $3
THICK MUTT by Tony Remple & Jason T. Miles $5
FLOATING MOATS by Tony Remple $2
SURFIN' by Eric Reynolds $2
REMIXSPONSE CATEGORIARRAY ed by Nico Vassilakis $5
THE CATHOLICS by Martine Workman $2
CONVERSATING by Martin Workman $3.50
HUNKS by Martin Workman $2.50
LEDGER BOOK by Martine Workman $4
PRAYER by Martine Workman $2.50

Destination DIY!

2011-05-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

Destination DIY is an independent radio show about all things DIY. Right now they are doing a Kickstarter campaign for raise funds for their next season aaaaaandd....if you donate $20 you can get a grab bag of great Sparkplug books! It's an amazing show and deserves support.

Big Plans Four and a Half

2011-05-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hello people. I just posted a long story online that you can read if you wish RIGHT HERE. I know it's been a long time since the last issue of Big Plans, so hopefully this will do for now. Thanks!

You Don't Get There From Here #18

2011-05-04T13:22:00.001-07:00

We now have Carrie McNinch's latest: You Don't Get There From Here #18! Carrie's daily three panels never fail to be entertaining, and this mini is a steal at just $2!

IPRC Comics Program

2011-04-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

We are about to start the production semester of the Comics Program at the IPRC, there is still room for last minute enrollment and a few special classes are open to individual class enrollment:

Minicomics and Paste-Up with John Isaacson
Image Science with Jesse Reklaw
Prepress and Indesign with Dylan Williams
Readings and Tours with Nicole Georges

If you're interested in classes or the program, write to: info@iprc.org

As a student enrolled in the full program you get to pick twelve evenings from this list:

BINDING COMICS BT Livermore
(1 Evening) (May18th) (Wednesday)

CONVENTIONS AND NOMINATIONS Dylan Williams
(1 Evening)(June 29th)(Wednesday)

DAY JOBS Nicole Georges
(1 Evening) (July 6th)(Wednesday)

IMAGE SCIENCE Jesse Reklaw
(4 Evenings)(May 8nd, 15th, 22nd, & 29th)(Sunday)

MAINTAINING YOUR TOOLS: BODY, MIND & CREATIVE ENERGY James Lusk
(1 Evening)(July 13th)(Wednesday)

MINI COMICS AND PASTE-UP John Isaacson
(2 Evenings)(May4th & 11th)(Wednesday)

PANEL OF PUBLISHERS by Nicole Georges & Friends
(1 Evening) (June 22nd) (Wednesday)

PRE-PRESS AND INDESIGN Dylan Williams
(3 Evenings)(June 5th, June 12th &19th)(Sunday)

PRINTERS Dylan Williams & Friends
(2 Evenings) (June 20th & June 27th) (Monday)

READINGS AND TOURS Nicole Georges
(1 Evening) (June 8th) (Wednesday)

SCREENPRINTING John Isaacson
(2 Evening)(May 25th & June 1st)(Wednesday)

SELF-PROMOTION Nicole Georges
(1 Evening) (June 15th) (Wednesday)

WEB COMICS Dylan Meconis
(2 Evenings) (July 5th & 11th) (Tuesday and Monday)

For more information on the certificate program:
http://www.iprc.org/certificates/certificate-program-2#more-750

Gay Genius Released! Free Comic Book in Stores!

2011-04-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

We've got great news!

After a brief hold-up Gay Genius will see its official release this weekend and next.

In Portland there will be a release/dance party tomorrow night! Lots of artists and excitement.
Saturday, April 30 · 7:30pm - 11:30pm
In Other Words

14 Killingsworth St.

Portland, OR
The party is FREE.

I'll be in Canada at the Toronto Comics Arts Festival next weekend and (customs willing) I'll have a supply of Gay Genius with me there too, as well as the other new books: The Disgusting Room and Reich #8. Toronto, Ontario is a great city and well worth the trip for love of comics.

Saturday May 7th is Free Comic Book Day and select stores will be carrying Dan Quayl, a free book published by Sparkplug, Teenage Dinosaur, Revival House Press and Gazeta Comics. It has art by Amy Kuttab, Jesse McManus, Jason Overby and Blaise Larmee. Also it is a tribute to Portland's one and only John Callahan. I should have some in Toronto too.

Dan Quayl will be available on May 7th, Free Comic Book Day at these wonderful stores, please check them out:

Atomic Books (Baltimore, MD)
Big Planet (Bethesda, MD)
Bridge City Comics (Portland, OR)
Chapel Hill Comics (Chapel Hill, NC)
Chicago Comics (Chicago)
Comix Revolution (Evanston, IL)
Copacetic Comics Company (Pittsburgh, PA)
Cosmic Monkey Comics (Portland, OR)
Danger Room Comics (Oly, WA)
Desert Island (Brooklyn, NY)
The Escapist (Berkeley, CA)
Fantastic Comics (Berkeley, CA)
Floating World Comics (Portland, OR)
Forbidden Planet (New York, NY)
Guapo Comics & Coffee (Portland, OR)
Hi De Ho Comics (Santa Monica)
Mission Comics and Art (SF)
Phantom of the Attic (Pittsburgh, PA)
Quimby's (Chicago)
Showcase Comics (Bryn Mawr, PA)
Titan Comics (Dallas)
Zanadu Comics (Seattle)

AND if you are in Portland on Free Comic Book Day and would like to meet the artists and publishers of Dan Quayl, they will be at Guapo Comics and Coffee during the day, signing books and talking comics. Guapo is located at 6350 SE Foster road in Portland.

Thanks,

Dylan

More Yumi!

2011-04-28T16:28:00.001-07:00

Rounding out our Yumi Sakugawa catalog, we've added An Unfilled Circle and There is No Right Way to Meditate to the store. Hooray! Both really gorgeous books with a meditative quality, from an under-appreciated artist who is totally worth your time.

Bill Blackbeard

2011-04-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

I got some sad news this weekend. An old friend died last month. Bill Blackbeard was a guy like no other I've ever met. In this era of trendy books on old comics, second rate scholarship and a sense that the love has gone out of old comics, Bill was and will always abe a shining star. He wasn't the first guy to be a fan of comics and turn it into a life long pursuit. But in so many ways, for me, he was the greatest. I love almost all of the first generation of comics fans, the ones who did it because they liked it, not because they wanted to make a buck or get a publishing deal. From Jerry Bails to Ron Goulart, those guys were my teachers. Bill was the principle at the school.

Bill first entered my life like he did almost everyone's, through the Smithsonian Book of Comic Strips. I was 8, my grandfather and grandmother knew I loved comics and were pretty high-minded so they figured that a book like this from the Smithsonian would be just the thing to get my head out of the comic shop and smarten me up. It worked, almost too well. And like for almost everyone from my generation (70s kids) the book opened up vistas beyond imagination. Everyone had their favorites. Mine were Wash Tubbs, Jimmy Swinnerton, and Milt Gross. Maybe most of all, two White Boy strips that would haunt me forever. My family had already got me hooked on Barnaby, Krazy Kat and Katzenjammer Kids. The book was like a bible for comics, is exactly still a bible for comics. If you don't own it, you should.

So, it was shocking years later when I started reading collections of books like Terry & the Pirates, Wash Tubbs, Polly & Her Pals, and Krazy Kat and saw his name everywhere. Besides Rick Marshall he seemed to be the guy who knew everything about old comics. And then I found out he lived in San Francisco across the bay and ran a library/museum that I could go to. I figured it out in 1993. And I showed up. The museum was in its last days. All the work had been done and I could just sit their and reap the bennifits. To me, Bill was the nicest guy in the world, he was a classic comics, movie, pulp and old pop culture fan in exactly the same way I felt like I was. Of course, what he knew was so far beyond what I was understanding at the time. Still is, most likely. But he always shared. From the minute I went there I felt like this was a guy who wanted to help me find anything I was looking for. I read stacks of Scorchy Smith, Barney Google, and even White Boy. I kept on coming back, bringing friends. Every weekend I could. Eventually Bill turned my on to The Bungle Family. He had the patience of a saint and the wisdom of a true guru. And he was no bullshit. No highminded trying to legitamize comics. I think he taught me that comics are inherrently legitmate.

And then he started explaining newspaper history to me. I'd never really understood what had gone on at newspapers. It is a complex story but the gist of it is that newspaper editors hated comics and chased them out of the paper, shrinking them at every turn. Dumbing them down whenever possible. If you read the interview below, you can see this in his love for the comic strip Ernie, as one of the last really intelligent comics at the time. He gets into this in the interview.

So, I moved away from the Bay Area at the end of 1997 and stopped going to Bill's. I would visit and we wrote a few times. He moved to Santa Cruz and gave a giant amount of the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art to the Ohio State library. Watching him work, talking with him and learning from him I'd realized a lot of things about life had never been clear to me. Life wasn't about being the most well known, making the most money or showing off. It was about enjoying what you do and sharing it. And for a collector, like me, I was realizing that it wasn't about having everything and knowing the most. It was about enjoying what you could and sharing it.

In the second part of the 90s there would be a boom in old timey influenced comics. Chris Ware, Seth, Joe Matt, Dan Clowes, Ivan Brunetti and all of their descendants would fall under the spell of old comics all based on the work of Bill. They'd be the first to acknowledge it. It may seem like just the way the world is, with everyone being into old comics, but in the 80s and early 90s most every alternative comics artist was headed as far away from comics history as they could. Just by sharing what he liked, tirelessly Bill hadn't just changed the past of comics, he'd changed the future. In the 2000s a whole new crop of comics historians would pop up. Ones who owed everything to Bill (and the people who'd been working for so little for so long). So, when you read a collection of Buzz Sawyer, Gasoline Alley or Popeye think about Bill, even if he didn't write the introduction, much of the research was done by him and a handful of others.

One last thing to add about Bill. He always spoke truth to power. He wasn't a thorn in the side of authority or anything but he always spoke up. He knew so much about the way newspapers were run, the way libraries dealt with papers and the way comics at large worked. For example, he was the man behind the facts of Libraries' abandonment of paper in favor of microfilm. Kristy Valenti (another great writer) wrote an article on it here. As Bill once told me, "Paper only yellows and gets brittle if you leave it out in the sun." Bill never stopped at promoting his view on comics and all the inaccuracies in the way they had been interpreted. As I get older I understand this more and more. Little things like "yellowing paper" mean nothing to people but they change the way you see comics from the past. Saying that things aren't working, that goes much deeper. Only Bill Blackbeard and Bill Waterson ever had the guts to explain how newspaper editors killed comics, in spite of an ever giant audience for them. And years later, in the day of the vanishing newspaper, killed one of the few things that may have kept people reading comics. His complaining pissed off a lot of librarians and I'm sure a lot of newspaper editors. He wasn't always right and RC Harvey points out some contested points in his piece over at the TCJ.

I've missed talking with Bill every weekend for years. And now, I miss everything about the guy. He will always be my teacher, my inspiration, my doorway and my friend. Thank you Bill for everything you've done for all of us. Comics owes you more than it will ever know.

(I should note that I was 24 when I did this interview and pretty silly about a lot of things. I think, in a lot of ways, my ignorance helps the reader. But, for me it is embarassing to re-read the bold text. Bill's part is still sage-like. Jeff LeVine was nice enough to print this in his visionary Destroy All Comics magazine, and if I remember right he did all the layout and some/all of the transcribing?)

Gwenaelle! Yumi Sakugawa!

2011-04-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

We picked up Yumi Sakugawa's new mini, Goodbye Turtle, at Stumptown last weekend. Another fantastic story from this comics artist!

And also new in the store today is our Gwenaelle catalog, a total of six zines. I love her two recipe zines, Little Book of Recipes Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. And the rest of her work is wonderful too - from the fanciful (Island Bestiary) to the playful (Inventez Des Nouvelles Positions Sexuelles).

A Brief Bit About Comic Book Shows

2011-04-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Last year I didn't go to MoCCA, Brooklyn Comics Art, TCAF or SPX for Sparkplug. Other people did those shows for Sparkplug. This was noted by a few people as Sparkplug not being at the shows. This year, I've gone to MoCCA and will be doing TCAF. But the truth is I'm only looking forward to TCAF and maybe Brooklyn. We just did the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland. And after MoCCA and Stumptown in a row, all I can think about is why in God's name Sparkplug is still going to the conventional comic conventions. I'm worried about comics becoming more and more insular, under the pretense of becoming more and more accessible. And I'm worried about the strange exclusion art-comix get from the conventional comics culture.

Shows like Stumptown, MoCCA and the venerable SPX all have this vibe of a shrinking audience for art comics and a growing crowd of young upwardly mobile comics people who are all buying each other's stuff. SPX is off our plate for the foreseeable future (for many reasons) but the chief one is that it isn't about growing comics into the "real world". It is a solid "industry" show. It is strange to think that there is an industry for Independent Comic Books. More and more, a regular person audience seems like the future audience for actually growing comics. By regular audience I mean one outside of the Wednesday comics crowd (which includes me). TCAF has been a show unlike so many others. It takes place in publicly accessible buildings that don't feel like caves. It is free. It is truly a show about art and comics as an art form. Or it has been and, fingers crossed, will continue to be. Tons of just regular people have come to the show. While at Stumptown I got approached by a person from Wordstock (a local bookfair put on by Powell's and Target) and I started thinking about why it is that those sort of shows bug me. It isn't the money, we usually do fine at the more slick shows. It is is a show that only has bookstore owners, librarians and industry people. But I think it is that slickness that really gets me. They all feel YUPPIE to me.

I grew up around Berkeley, CA in the 80s and YUPPIE was the thing you hated more than anything. I realize that is jaded. I want to make a living too. I want people to like what Sparkplug makes. I appreciate any person who picks up our books and looks at them. But I'm heart broken by these shows. I come back feeling beat up, in a bad way. There are tons of parties and lots of fun to be had and sense that everyone is getting 10% closer to their goals at each show. And along with all this a sense of legitimizing comics is happening. The organizer of Stumptown talks about it in this interview. It isn't a bad thing to want to be appreciated by the more accepted larger culture. But in the case of comics I'd argue that this accepted larger culture (of comics) actually chases away regular people, a much wider audience. The move of Stumptown from a easily publicly accessible building with outside light and easy parking to a large prison bunker like building with no outside light, parking that was a 15 minute walk and confusing public transportation access, all for the sake of professionalism, it didn't work in my mind and compared to Stumptowns glory days of 3 years ago, the show was a real let down. Perhaps, worst of all, it is now in the same place as Wordstock. But, I'm sure I'm in the minority.

Most of the people walking around a show like Wordstock, Stumptown or SPX are "industry people". Some outside audience but mostly inside. People who go to comic shops and people who want to get into comics. A great group of people, but a shrinking audience that places themselves at the center of a shrinking book trade. Great for your career if you are trying to get one in comics, where layoffs, consolidations and shut downs are a daily occurrence. I was really struck by the declining attendance at Stumptown this year. It was in a place that only trade people would go to. Admittedly, MoCCA still gets a good vibe of people outside the "norm". Teenagers read books like Jin&Jam in New York City. MoCCA is in a unique city and has a really arty history. The Brooklyn show seems like it is courting a wider or at least different audience. I know, to a lot of comics people courting the hipster or art audience is annoying, but for me it makes sense.

Comics as they were is a dying or extremely changing medium. Pretty soon no (or substantially less) floppy Marvel or DC books will be on shelves, once they figure out digital distribution. I'm interested in continuing to make and sell good comics after that. I want to support stores and shows that look for a wider audience outside of the comic shop regular. And I'm feeling more and more like I want to go to shows like TCAF, Brooklyn, SFZine Fest, Olympia Comics Fest, Minneapolis Indie Xpo, Anarchist Book Fairs, and small local shows that are courting this larger audience. My thesis is that by trying to be professional and upwardly mobile comics people are ignoring a natural growth that is happening all around them of regular everyday people being interested in comics. And that it feels like that is route I'd much rather pursue, people who don't just buy comics because they have a habit, but ones who are interested in it as an art form. I know, I'm not thinking rationally, but honestly sometimes the best choices I've made have been with my heart and not my head.

Library Talk with Julia Gfrörer, Diana Schutz, Cris Paschild and Dylan Williams

2011-04-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

You can now listen to the library talk with Julia Gfrörer, Diana Schutz, Cris Paschild and Dylan Williams on their podcast: http://multcolib.libsyn.com/srsly-big-deal-making-being-comics-in-portland
Lots of talking and funny stuff, including a couple great audience members.

An Error at the Printing Plant.

2011-04-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

We just found out that there was an error in the printing of Gay Genius and so, it won't be out this weekend. The party will be moved to later in the month (the 30th) and the official release of the book will be at the party/TCAF in Toronto. Keep your eyes out. The book itself, it looks Gorgeous.

Stumptown and Events this Week in Portland

2011-04-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

Sparkplug will be involved in a few local events surrounding the Stumptown Comics Festival this weekend. And we'll be a the show itself too.

Thursday: "Learn about the cultural and economic significance of comics with:

PSU Special Collections Librarian and Archivist Cris Paschild
Dylan Williams from SparkPlug Comics
Diana Schultz from Dark Horse Comics
Independent comics creator Julia Gfrörer

Also experience the unique live performance of mini-comics with Julia Gfrörer and guest.
Space at programs is limited. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Thursday, April 14, 4–5:45 p.m.
Central Library, U.S. Bank Room
801 S.W. 10th Ave.

http://www.theportlandegotist.com/news/local/2011/march/23/srsly-big-deal-portland-comics

Friday: "Make sure you don’t miss the Stumptown Comics Fest Friday Night Party at my favorite comic shop, Guapo. There will be drinks, snacks, and readings from the lovely Jon Lewis, Karen Sneider, Chris Cilla, Jonas Madden-Connor, Daria Tessler, and the Play Overlord Crew (Theo Ellsworth, Amy Kuttab, and Sean Christensen). They will also be debuting the art show, The Haunted Cartoon Vaults."

Guapo Comics & Coffee
6350 SE Foster Rd
8pm-12:30am Free!

Sunday: April 17, 7:00pm – 7:30pm Release party for Gay Genius. Gay Genius is a comics anthology illuminating the past, present and future of queer history makers. It is a labor of love, a celebration of possibility, an offering to the ancestors.

Conceived and edited by Annie Murphy, Gay Genius is a showcase of contemporary radical queer visionaries-to-watch-out-for Come out and get down, shake off the Stumptown Comics Fest and celebrate!! Book reading, DJs, dancing, magic, genius, nerding out.

In Other Words Bookstore 14 Killingsworth St.
http://inotherwords.org/

_____________________________
Sparkplug'll be at Stumptown Comics Fest too. Virginia Paine and I will be at table D-17 Saturday and Sunday, between Tom Neely and Theo Ellsworth.

http://www.stumptowncomics.com/

I'll be on this panel on Saturday: 12:00-12:45pm
IPRC Comics Program Info Meeting — Now entering its third year, the Independent Publishing Resource Center's Certificate Program in Comics is one of the most innovative and affordable programs of its kind. During the course of three semesters, students hone their comics craft in creative workshops led by seasoned professionals from the local community, with a strong focus on DIY publishing techniques, hands-on binding skills and digital media. Join us for an informative Q & A session with current IPRC instructors and alumni.

Portland Comics This Thursday at 4pm

2011-04-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.multcolib.org/events/comics.html

Srsly Big Deal: Living and Breathing Comics in PDX (April 14 at 4:00pm)

Cris Paschild; Dylan Williams; Diana Schultz; Julia Gfrörer

From self-published mini-comic zines to traditional comic books, manga and lengthy graphic novels, comics are a seriously big deal in our community, home to big-time publishers, small presses and many independent artists. Learn about the cultural and economic significance of comics with: PSU Special ... (more)Collections Librarian and Archivist Cris Paschild, Dylan Williams from SparkPlug Comics, Diana Schultz from Dark Horse Comics, and independent comics creator Julia Gfrörer. Also experience the unique live performance of mini-comics with Julia Gfrörer and guest. In the U.S. Bank Room. Space at library programs is limited. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Conventions with New Books!

2011-04-07T20:21:00.001-07:00

Sparkplug Comic Books is going to both MoCCA Fest and Stumptown Comics Fest and we'll be premiering new books at each show.

The MoCCA Festival is this weekend in Manhattan, NYC Saturday April 9th and Sunday April 10th 11am-6pm. It will be at the Lexington Avenue Armory
68 Lexington Ave (Between 25th &26th Streets). I'll be there.

http://www.moccany.org/content/mocca-festival

Then Portland OR's own Stumptown Comics Fest is the next weekend. Saturday and Sunday April 16th and 17th (10-6 Sat and 12-6 Sun). Virginia Paine and I will be there with all kinds of great comics.

http://www.stumptowncomics.com/

MoCCA will mark the premiere of two long awaited Sparkplug books: Austin English's long awaited The Disgusting Room and Elijah Brubaker's Reich #8. Supplies will be limited so get them early.

Stumptown will mark the premiere two amazing anthologies. First, this year's free comic book: Dan Quayl. Co-published by Gazeta Comics, Teenage Dinosaur, Revival House Press and Sparkplug, this free comic book includes stories by Jesse McManus, Amy Kuttab, Jason Overby and Blaise Larmee. The issue is dedicated to John Callahan.

And then premiering at Stumptown Fest will be one of the biggest projects Sparkplug has ever been involved in: Gay Genius edited by Annie Murphy. And at 7pm Sunday night after Stumptown over at In Other Words (14 Killingsworth St.) Annie will be hosting a party for Gay Genius!

All our new books are available at the website:

http://www.sparkplugcomicbooks.com/

Busy couple weeks!

Thanks,

Dylan

Hello, Gay Genius and Dan Quayl!

2011-04-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

We are busy at Sparkplug today! Two more just-printed books for you - the completely amazing anthology Gay Genius (edited by superstar Annie Murphy) and a multi-publisher, Portland-centric collaboration called Dan Quayl (a steal at just $.01 from our website!). Gay Genius includes work by Edie Fake, Elisha Lim, Cleo Reese Sady and a plethora of others. Dan Quayl has work by Amy Kuttab, Jason Overby, Blaise Larmee and Jesse McManus.

Yeah, it's been a good day.

Indie Street Radio on Sausage Hand and Windy Corner #3

2011-04-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

Indie Street Radio posted two great reviews, one of Sausage Hand and the other of Windy Corner #3.
Take a look:
Sausage Hand:http://indiestreetradio.com/news/indie-street-reads-65
WC#3: http://indiestreetradio.com/news/indie-street-reads-63

The Disgusting Room and Reich #8 out today!

2011-04-06T14:14:00.001-07:00

Yes! Today we have two brand new books in the shop! The newest issue of Elijah Brubaker's fascinating Reich series, Reich #8 and Austin English's The Disgusting Room.
Reich #8 tackles the beginning of Wilhelm Reich's new life in America as well as explaining the origin of the mysterious orgone energy.
The Disgusting Room deals with a couple's relationship to their living space; a new, larger-size format showcases Austin's dark, expressive artwork impressively.
Check them out, both are fantastic (of course).

13 Minutes on Habitat #2

2011-03-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

Habitat #2 by Dunja Jankovic just got a great review at 13 Minutes by Justin Giampaoli:
http://thirteenminutes.blogspot.com/2011/03/surveying-habitat.html

Family Store on Heavy Hand

2011-03-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

The Family Store in LA is carrying The Heavy Hand by Chris Cilla and they've written a really thorough discussion of the book on their blog:
http://blog.familylosangeles.com/2011/03/heavy-hand.html

Everything is coming up Tessa Brunton!

2011-03-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Tessa Brunton (creator of In the Tall Grass) has a gallery show opening in 3 days at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, CA. http://cartoonart.org/2011/03/small-press-spotlight-on-tessa-brunton/
The show will be up March 26th through June 19th this year, so make a point of checking it out. Her art is great!

In fact, Sparkplug likes her comics so much that we are going to be publishing her new book Passage this Summer. Tessa talks about the book and much more in a new interview:
http://www.sfstation.com/tessa-brunton-a34701

For more on Tessa Brunton, check out her site: http://tessab.net/

Milk and Moo, Service Industry and more!

2011-03-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

I just added four books to our online store: Milk and Moo by Yumi Sakugawa, Service Industry by T. Edward Bak, I Was Born, But...#2 by Emily Nilsson and Drip by Chris C. Cilla. There are descriptions of each if you click through the link, but you can trust me: they are all four fantastic reads.

The Heavy Hand, Neptune and Whirlwind Wonderland are released by Diamond!

2011-03-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

Diamond Comics stores will be putting The Heavy Hand, Neptune and Whirlwind Wonderland on their shelves this Wednesday. Make sure to stop by and take a look.

And if that weren't enough Joe Mcculloch wrote a great piece on the Heavy Hand at the TCJ:
http://www.tcj.com/this-week-in-comics-32311-multifarious-chills/

Papercutter #15 & Mel Stringer

2011-03-16T15:09:00.001-07:00

We got the new Papercutter in! Issue #15 is for sale in the store now and includes three excellent stories by Jonas Madden-Connor, Melinda Boyce, MK Reed and Drew Weing. And we also added Goodness, by Australian artist Mel Stringer. If you haven't seen her stuff before, you should check it out. She is fantastic and hilarious.

New in the Store Today! Tessa Brunton and Jason Overby

2011-03-11T17:34:00.000-08:00

I know it's now the weekend for y'all, but we here at Sparkplug are still adding stuff to the store! Today we have minis by two very different autobio artists: Tessa Brunton's dense, funny In the Tall Grass #3 and #4 and Jason Overby's sparse, deconstructed Obligatory Artifact and Solipsist's Doodles.

Have a great weekend! And don't forget to go to the Jose Alaniz talk tomorrow!

Our founder.

2011-03-09T05:23:00.000-08:00

José Alaniz talk in Portland at the IPRC.

2011-03-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

Hello, Portland Comics People!

This upcoming Saturday, Dr. Jose Alaniz is coming to the IPRC to give a presentation about comics in Russia as part of the IPRC's class in World Comics. Dr. Alaniz is a professor of Slavic languages and literature at the University of Washington in Seattle where he teaches comics and Russian literature. Last year he published the book "Komiks: Comic Art in Russia" (University Press of Mississippi, 2010). He is a walking encyclopedia about comics in general, and Russian comics in particular.

Join us, and spread the word!

About the book:
José Alaniz explores the problematic publication history of komiks--an art form much-maligned as "bourgeois" mass diversion before, during, and after the collapse of the USSR--with an emphasis on the last twenty years. Using archival research, interviews with major artists and publishers, and close readings of several works, Komiks: Comic Art in Russia provides heretofore unavailable access to the country's rich--but unknown--comics heritage. The study examines the dizzying experimental comics of the late Czarist and early revolutionary era, caricature from the satirical journal Krokodil, and the postwar series Petia Ryzhik (the "Russian Tintin"). Detailed case studies include the Perestroika-era KOM studio, the first devoted to comics in the Soviet Union; post-Soviet comics in contemporary art; autobiography and the work of Nikolai Maslov; and women's comics by such artists as Lena Uzhinova, Namida, and Re-I. Alaniz examines such issues as anti-Americanism, censorship, the rise of consumerism, globalization (e.g., in Russian manga), the impact of the internet, and the hard-won establishment of a comics subculture in Russia.
Komiks have often borne the brunt of ideological change--thriving in summers of relative freedom, freezing in hard winters of official disdain. This volume covers the art form's origins in religious icon-making and book illustration, and later the immensely popular lubok or woodblock print. Alaniz reveals comics' vilification and marginalization under the Communists, the art form's economic struggles, and its eventual internet "migration" in the post-Soviet era. This book shows that Russian comics, as with the people who made them, never had a "normal life."

AUSTIN STAPLE THIS WEEKEND

2011-03-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

Virginia Paine, Chris Cilla, Tim Goodyear and I are all going to Austin, Texas this weekend (March 5th and 6th, 2011) for our own chainsaw massacre. It will be amazing. Also exhibiting at the show will be Top Shelf Productions, Melinda Tracy Boyce, Aaron Whitaker, James O'Barr and tons more.

ALSO, at this show, you are in for a real treat:

Saturday, March 5th
2:30pm - 3:30pm — Texas Rangers: Austin Underground Comix. Q&A with
Mack White and Al Frank, moderated by Tim Goodyear & Dylan Williams.

We may also get Chris Cilla to ask some questions. If you've ever needed a reason to go to a comic book show in Texas this is it. Mack and Al are two of the best comic artists in the world who both happen to live in the same historical comix town.

http://www.staple-austin.org/