SPX, Reich #9 and Some News

A couple things:
-Sparkplug will be at SPX in Bethesda, MD this weekend!  Katie Skelly, Tom Neely and Ben Marra will be running things, so be sure to stop by.  Get more info about SPX here.  We'll also be debuting the new issue of Reich.

-Reich #9 by Elijah Brubaker is now available in the shop!  We also found a box of Reich #1 in hiding, so it is available again.

-The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum has announced the establishment of the Dylan Williams Collection (specializing in small press and self published works).  Read the full announcement here.

-We are currently in the process of moving into a new space, so our response times are a little slower than usual.  Sorry if we haven't emailed you back or your order is taking a little longer than normal to reach you.  Don't worry, we've gotten your emails and orders and are getting to them as fast as we can.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me: virginia@sparkplugcomicbooks.com

-Mark your calendars!  We'll be at APE, Short Run and BCGF later this fall and are looking forward to seeing you!

Passage Nominated for 2 Ignatzes!

Tessa Brunton's Passage has been nominated for two Ignatz awards ("Promising New Talent" and "Outstanding Comic")!  We're really proud of this book and of Tessa for crafting such a beautiful, heartfelt story.  Congratulations to her and to all the other nominees!

Portland Zine Symposium

Hey all!  Please join us this weekend for the Portland Zine Symposium!  We'll be tabling with a lot of our distro stock, including some new zines.  PZS takes place at Refuge (116 SE Yamhill) and the hours are Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 10-5.  See you there!

A Couple New Titles in the Shop

We've added a couple minis we picked up at Olympia Comics Fest and CAKE to our shop!  Check out Swaying Gates by Naji, Viewotron #1 by Sam Sharpe and David Goodrich, and Daily Comics Volume 5 and Volume 6 by Chelsea Baker.
We also have The Natural World series (by Damien Jay) back in stock!

Sparkplug at CAKE!

Hello Chicago!  Sparkplug will have a table at CAKE this weekend, June 16th & 17th.  This is a new show and we're very excited about it!  There will be a ton of awesome artists and publishers there.  Click here for more info.

Also, Rob Clough has written a wonderful review of Nurse Nurse.  Please check it out!

New YDGTFH!

Hey all, we just added You Don't Get There From Here #22 to the store!  If you love diary comics, Carrie McNinch will totally be your jam.

Nurse Nurse reviewed on Thirteen Minutes!

Justin Giampaoli has written a lovely review of Nurse Nurse on his blog, Thirteen Minutes.  Check it out!

"There’s unexpected danger and unpredictability lurking around every corner that fuels the narrative and always keeps pushing it forward."

Optical Sloth Reviews The Heavy Hand

Kevin Bramer at Optical Sloth has posted a tantalizing review of The Heavy Hand, by Chris Cilla.

"Crikey, Chris has produced quite a show here. I don’t think I’ve ever referred to a graphic novel as a show before, but I’ll be damned if I know what else to call it."

Click here to read the full review!

PS Don't forget, Sparkplug will be at the Olympia Comics Fest on Saturday!

Olympia Comics Festival

So, Emily and I will be toting our books up to the Olympia Comics Fest this weekend!  This is a free festival, and there are a bunch of fun events scheduled around the con itself, including a reading by Jason Shiga (Fleep, Bookhunter).  Get more info on their webpage or facebook event page!

 Hey Portlanders, here's a fun activity for you to attend tonight!

Vortex #1 in the store!

Have you read William Cardini's Vortex yet?!  You should, and it's in our online store now!  Rob Clough (High-Low, TCJ) says: "I've enjoyed Cardini's development as an artist and the refinement of his heavily Mat Brinkman-influenced style. Cardini works big in this sci-fi/fantasy battle comic, but more interestingly, he uses a deliberately artificial-looking style of line. You can see the dots and pixels on the page, giving the whole thing a cold and digital quality that is trying to separate the reader from Brinkman's warm, organic and oozing imagery. That slight distance and primitiveness of the line quality (as opposed to the drawings themselves) adds a certain extra comical layer to a story that involves a wizard quite graphically and viscerally biting off the arm of a monster. The whole thing has a light-hearted feel, much like the rest of Cardini's work, odd as it may appear on the surface. Working bigger certainly suits him, and I enjoyed looking at the images as images."
 

 

Bitch Magazine reviews Nurse Nurse!

 

Our friends at Bitch Magazine have written a great review of our latest book Nurse Nurse, as well as Julia Gfrörer's latest, Too Dark To See.  Please give it a read!

CAKE needs your help!

Chicago Alternative Comics Expo is running an IndieGoGo campaign to cover some unexpected expenses.  It's the first year of this expo and we at Sparkplug are really looking forward to it.  Please consider donating; they have some pretty sweet prize packs as well!

(Poster by the inimitable Laura Park)

New Books in the Store!

We've got a couple new books in the store for you today: Zebediah Part 1 by IPRC Comics Certificate Program student Asher Craw, Two Eyes of the Beautiful by Ryan Cecil Smith, Nightlife 12:02 by Tom Lechner and a beautiful print of a Stellar Sea Lion by T. Edward Bak.  Please check them out!

New Books in the Shop: Nurse Nurse and Brad Trip

We've got our two latest publishing efforts in the store now!  Nurse Nurse, a sci-fi epic by Katie Skelly and Brad Trip, an anthology of Portland Artists we put together with three other small press publishers for Free Comic Book Day.  Please check them out!

TCAF!

Sparkplug is happy to be tabling at TCAF in Toronto this year!  TCAF is a free show that takes place in the Toronto Reference Library.  Tom and Emily will be there, please visit them and pick up a copy of our new book, Nurse Nurse!  Click here for more info.

Nurse Nurse Release Party at Desert Island!

Hey East Coasters!
Please join Nurse Nurse artist Katie Skelly at Desert Island in Brooklyn for a book release and signing! The event starts at 8 p.m. on May 3rd. Desert Island is located at 540 Metropolitan in Brooklyn.

Happy Birthday to Emily!

Today is Emily's birthday, and the best present we can give her is really sending our IndieGoGo campaign over the top!  Please click here to contribute to our next publishing ventures!  And happy birthday to a truly amazing person.

Nurse Nurse Release Party - West Coast Edition

We're teaming up with the Henry & Glenn Forever and Ever release party to release our latest book! The party will be from 6-8 p.m. on April 27th. Floating World Comics in lovely downtown Portland is hosting.
We'll have copies of Nurse Nurse and a limited number of bookmark printed and signed by artist Katie Skelly! Katie can't make it, but Henry & Glenn artists Tom Neely, Benjamin Marra and Ed Luce will be there. It's going to be a great time and we hope you can make it!

Other news:
Emily and I will be at Stumptown Comics Fest! It's this weekend, April 28th and 29th at the convention center in Portland. Click here for more info!
Katie Skelly will be at MoCCA in New York April 28th and 29th as well, with copies of Nurse Nurse for sale.

We've added a couple new minicomics to the store!


-Crime World #3: Another installment of David King's dark spirited crime comix.


-Dear Dear: More understated storytelling and precise line work from Eroyn Franklin.


-Galactic Breakdown #1 & 2: Keenan M. Keller's wild, weird and colorful scifi series!