The Reich Bundle is here!

You can now purchase all 12 issues of Reich at once, and save $6 off the total cost of the collection!  It's a steal for this great series.  Order here!

Hungry Summer on the High-Low Best of 2014!

 Rob Clough gave a nice little write-up of Asher Craw's Hungry Summer for The Comics Journal.  Clough says:
"Craw updates the myth of Baba Yaga and puts it in a feminist, modern context without removing an ounce of her capricious and sometimes menacing nature. Those who cross her are literally made to lose all corporeal substance. Those fascinated by her do so at their own peril, even when they do her a favor. Transformation, blurred gender, and other forms of identification and the power of everyday magic continue to be Craw’s main themes, but the oblique way they play out here makes them all the more fascinating."

Check out the complete list here!

Sparkplug at LA Zine Fest this weekend!

Sparkplug is going to LA!  We'll see you this Sunday, February 15th.  LA Zine Fest is free, open to the public, and one of our favorite conventions!  More info here.

Sparkplug's 2015 Publishing Schedule Announcement!

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Sparkplug Books is pleased to announce the addition of 5 new titles to the Sparkplug Minis Series in 2015.  The Sparkplug Minis Series (SMS) is a collection of short run, limited addition mini comics by up-and-coming and outstanding artists.  So far the series has included books by Asher Craw, Whit Taylor and Yumi Sakugawa.  In 2015, five more excellent artists will join the roster.

·      Ce Ze (SMS #4) by Suzette Smith will debut in April.  Smith is a graduate of the IPRC comics certificate program.  Her work has appeared in Comics Workbook, Bitch Magazine and the Portland Mercury.  Description of Ce Ze: “Honey Czarny and Amelia Smith are 7th graders who share fragmented memories of past lives in which they were powerful beings named Ce and Ze. A rival king’s plot to murder Ze forced her to flee her kingdom. Ce and Ze study and emulate human behavior but wish to return to their realm. “

·      SMS #5 will be by O Horvath and is slated to come out in June.  Horvath is a printmaker, comic artist and Xeric Grant recipient from Providence, RI.

·      SMS #6 by is by Nalleli Sierra, a.k.a. Naji and is coming out in September. Naji is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago. Her work has appeared in Linework comics anthology.

·      SMS #7 is by Portlander Ebin Lee. The release of this comic will coincide with Short Run Comics Festival in Seattle, WA this coming October. Lee is a graduate of PNCA and an accomplished illustrator and self-publisher.

·      SMS #8 is slated for February 2016 and will be by Solomon Fletcher.  Fletcher is a comics artist from Minneapolis.  They are the author of many minicomics and the sex positive webcomic Goldy and the Bears.

We hope you are looking forward to these new books as much as we are!

Attention Reviewers!

My list of reviewers is woefully outdated, so I am putting out the call!  If you would like copies of Sparkplug titles (pdf or otherwise) please let me know!  You can email me at virginia (at) sparkplugcomicbooks (dot) com.  We put out some great titles last year and want to spread the word.

Sparkplug at Write to Publish in Portland!

Our friends at PSU's Ooligan Press throw a yearly publishing conference here in Portland, and this year, Sparkplug will be tabling at their book fair!  Write to Publish takes place on Saturday, January 31st at Smith Memorial Student Union - there is info about registering for the conference here.  We hope to see you there!

Sparkplug Tentative Convention Schedule, 2015!

Hello, friends! It looks like 2015 is going to be a pretty busy year. We have a convention planned nearly every month from now until September. Here is the schedule so far:

Jan. 31: Write to Publish, Portland, OR (confirmed)
Feb. 15: LA Zine Fest, Los Angeles, CA (confirmed)
March 28-29: RIPE, Providence, RI (confirmed)
April 19: Linework, Portland, OR (confirmed)
June 6-7: CAKE, Chicago, IL (confirmed)
July 18-19: Portland Zine Symposium, Portland, OR
Aug. 8-9: Autoptic, Minneapolis, MN
Sept. 19-20: SPX, Bethesda, MD
And more to come!

Hope to see you at one or more of these shows!

Happy New Year!

Hey all!  I hope you had safe and fun holidays!  I getting back into my rhythm here at Sparkplug, wrapping up our Kickstarter rewards, adding new distro books to the store and getting together our travel and publishing schedule for 2015.

I wanted to remind everyone in case it was overlooked during the hectic month that is December - Sparkplug put out the last of our Kickstartered books, Bird Girl and Fox Girl by Yumi Sakugawa.  Bird Girl and Fox Girl is the story of the end of a friendship and how it echoes forward through the main character's lives.  It is, like so much of Sakugawa's work, a phenomenal example of minimalist storytelling with maximum emotional impact.  Her linework is loose, simple and ragged-edged; the tale it weaves is heartbreaking.

Be sure to pick up your copy of this limited edition book soon!

A Couple Reminders

Just a reminder: Sparkplug has put out three books this fall!  The trippy space epic Vortex, by William Cardini, and the final chapter in the Reich series, Reich #12 by Elijah Brubaker are both up for sale in the store.  The third book, Bird Girl and Fox Girl by Yumi Sakugawa, is debuting this weekend at Comic Arts Los Angeles.  You can pick it up at the show or pre-order here.
Sparkplug has a table at CALA this Saturday as well!  Please stop by and say hi to Bangs and Beard, who are covering for Virginia.

And one final thing: Sparkplug has a lot of books that make great gifts!  Please check out our store - you'll be sure to find something special for someone you care about.

Sparkplug at CALA and the debut of Bird Girl and Fox Girl by Yumi Sakugawa!

Sparkplug will have a table at Comic Arts Los Angeles this weekend!  The fest is Saturday, December 6th from 10am-6pm at Think Tank Gallery.  It's free and open to the public.  More info here.  Our friends Aaron Whitaker and Melinda Boyce will be covering the table and selling some of their work as well, so be sure to stop by!
CALA also marks the debut of the next book in the Sparkplug Minis Series, Bird Girl and Fox Girl by Yumi Sakugawa.  You can pick the book up from Yumi at the fest, or you can pre-order at the link!  This book is amazing, beautiful and sad - and it has a limited run.  Be sure to pick up your copy soon!

Short Run this weekend! Book Release party Friday!

Hey friends!  Sparkplug will be at Short Run in Seattle THIS WEEKEND!  Vortex artist William Cardini and I will be holding it down at C12 in the main hall.  We'll have new books Vortex and Reich #12, plus lots of other great books!

Aaaaaaaand, don't forget!  We're having a release party on Friday at Floating World Comics in Portland!  Please join William and Elijah in celebrating their new books!

Book Release/Signing this Friday!

Vortex and Reich #12 both come out this Friday, November 14th!  Please join us for the release party and signing from 5-7pm at Floating World Comics in downtown Portland.  More details here!

Sparkplug at CAB!

Just a reminder ~ the Domino Books table will be host to a small selection of books at Comic Arts Brooklyn this weekend!  The festival is November 8th and 9th at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Brooklyn.  There's ton of great guests this year and it's free.  Please stop by, say hi to Austin and pick up some books!

Reich #12 and Vortex PRE-ORDER

In case you missed the Kickstarter - Reich #12 and Vortex are now available for pre-order.  I'm planning to have them shipped by the end of the month (hopefully sooner).

New books in the store!

Hey friends!  We've added a couple new books to the store this week, check them out!

"The immediacy of the pacing drives home Emond’s unique spin on the Inferno: it’s shocking, and demands that you open your eyes immediately and assess your situation. The Inferno happens to someone else, but Debbie’s Inferno is happening to you—you don’t need Debbie-info when Debbie is you, and you’re learning the ropes of the dream-game along with her." -Andrew Tran, 8CN

Debbie's Inferno available here!

"Like a comedic collaboration between Zoroaster and Freud, the comics of Meghan Turbitt portray the eternal forces of id and superego locked in never-ending battle, using spit-takes and dick jokes as weapons, with nary a negotiated ego in sight. There’s a deceptive crudeness to the art of the 31-year-old Rhode Island native, currently living in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, though it’s a crudeness comes with a great deal of grotesque comedic power packed in." -Sean T. Collins, The Comic Journal

Get #foodporn here and RIPMeghan here!

End of the Year Schedule!

Hello! 
Thanks again for your support/patience last month while we were doing our Kickstarter!  We made our goal and a bit beyond!  I am working on contacting all of our backers, so if you donated please keep an eye on your inbox.  Vortex and Reich are at the printers as I write this, and I'll be spending the next couple weeks getting the rest of the rewards together.

We also have a very busy couple months coming up, which means lots of chances for you to catch us at a show!

Here we go:

Oct. 25th: WOLFMAN'S CARAVAN 9pm-midnight at the East Portland Eagles Lodge, Portland, OR.
This is a new minicomics event, in conjunction with Frankenstein's Comic Book Swap.  Emily will be tabling with a bunch of our minis.  Stop by, say hi, buy her a drink!

Nov. 8th & 9th: COMIC ARTS BROOKLYN (aka CAB) 11am-7pm at Mt. Carmel Church, Brooklyn, NY.
Our friend Austin English (Domino Books) will have a small selection of Sparkplug titles at his table.  Check out his excellent, excellent books as well!

Nov. 14th: VORTEX AND REICH SIGNING & RELEASE PARTY 5-7pm at Floating World Comics, Portland, OR.
The official release date of our next two books!  You'll be able to purchase the collected Vortex graphic novel and Reich #12 and have them signed by the authors, William Cardini and Elijah Brubaker. 

Nov. 15th: SHORT RUN SMALL PRESS FEST 11-6pm at Washington Hall, Seattle, WA.
One of our favorite comics conventions.  If you missed the signing on Friday, William Cardini will be tabling with Virginia.  Say hi, bring us frybread tacos, pick up our new books!

Dec. 6th COMIC ARTS LOS ANGELES (aka CALA) at Think Tank Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
Awesome cartoonists Bangs and Beard will be covering the Sparkplug table for this NEW convention.  We are hoping (fingers crossed!) that this will also be the release day for Yumi Sakugawa's Fox Girl and Bird Girl!

Sparkplug on the Best American Comics Notables list!

Reich #10 and #11 by Elijah Brubaker and Golem of Gabirol by Olga Volozova ended up on the Best American Comics Notables list for 2014!  Read the complete list here.

Sparkplug + Retrofit

Sparkplug and Retrofit, together at last!  We're pleased to announce Sparkplug has begun distroing a small selection of Retrofit books in our store.  Hopefully we'll be adding more in the future, but for now please check out and enjoy:
Theth by Josh Bayer

Bear, Bird and Stag by Madeleine Flores

The Ignatz Award winning Wicked Chicken Queen by Sam Alden

Keep Fresh by Zejian Shen

2 hours left to go in our Fall Books Kickstarter!

Only two more hours for you to pledge to our Fall Books Project and sign up for one of our awesome rewards tiers! 

We have been fully funded for the initial two books for this project, Reich #12 by Elijah Brubaker and Vortex by William Cardini.  Both books are available as rewards, plus awesome extras like original art, prints and Sparkplug t-shirts.

Our stretch goal is $8450 - that's $2000 more than our original goal - which will allow us to print the next book in the Sparkplug Minis Series, Bird Girl and Fox Girl by Yumi Sakugawa.
We would like to thank everyone who has already contributed or shared our project - you have made an amazing contribution to Sparkplug's legacy.  Let's push through these last two hours and see if we can't make that stretch goal!

19 hours left to go!

Our Kickstarter is funded, but there is still time to help us meet our stretch goal!  Our stretch goal will get the third of the Sparkplug Minis Series printed.  The Sparkplug Minis Series is a series of short run (500 copies) mini comics by new and/or under-appreciated artists.  The next artist in our line up for this series is Bird Girl and Fox Girl by Yumi Sakugawa. 
We are asking for $2000 over our initial funding goal - that's $8450 to publish this book and pay our videographer and t-shirt designer.  Any amount we raise now will go to these things, but it would be AMAZING if we could hit that $8450 goal.  So please share/reblog/tweet and/or consider pledging.  We can't do it without your support.
And please enjoy these preview images from Bird Girl and Fox Girl!