Category: bestsellers

  • Weekly Top 10

    Thanks to Jerianne Thompson of Zine World for these Revenge of Print stamps!

    1. Paying For It: A Comic Strip Memoir About Being a John by Chester Brown (D&Q) $24.95 – Chester Brown did a pretty great thing with this book, one of the most anticipated graphic novels pretty much ever. I think it’s about time more johns speak out publicly about their involvement and investment in sex economies. In Paying For It, Brown presents an especially crisp libertarian-flavor case in favor of decriminalized sex work. There’s also sort of a nice journey of personal growth in here too where, through the course of the book, he goes from completely trashing and dismissing the idea of “romantic love” to finding his own weird and wonderful variation of it (thanks to his john-dom).Here in Chicago, aldermen are currently trying to get batshit-crazy anti-prostitution laws on the books, so, you know, speaking up about the destigmatizing and decriminalizing of sex work truly matters. Brown’s frank and shame-free stance is loud and clear and his cartooning style is built primarily around building his case. At times, the dialogue gets so loaded it’s almost polemic but the characters are all fleshed out enough that it sways more toward Fun Home-style self-analytical autobio. Also, there’s this tricky issue where he draws all the women he pays with the same faceless anonymity. Initially, this seemed troublesome, but I think that here Brown is showing us physical anonymity while letting the dialogue convey some of the subtler levels of involvement that make each of his encounters unique. When I think of great writing and art by sex workers, johns are often afforded a similar style of anonymity, making Brown’s approach just seem like common courtesy from the other side of the coin. -EF

    2.The Believer #80 May 11 $8.00

    3. Diamond Comics #6 (Floating World) $4.00

    4. Kus #5 Baltic Comics Magazine

    5. Rigor Mortis vol 4 by Davida Gypsy Breier $3.50 – The classic horror review zine with MAD drawing chops! Much like Robin Bougie’s Cinema Sewer, Rigor Mortis is oozing outrageous content out every orifice. Built on an open artery of monster flick reviews with special features on sexual subversion and queer subtext in early horror cinema, this is like sweetened condensed homebrew Fangoria . -EF

    6. Ultraviolet Catastrophe by Andrea Walls $5.00 – “Ultraviolet Catastrophe is a chapbook excerpted from a larger work-in-progress, The Black Body Curve, a full-length collection of poetry in which the author considers the events of May 13, 1985, the day the city of Philadelphia, under the leadership of its first Black Mayor, dropped a C-4 explosive into the roof of 6221 Osage Avenue, a row-home known to be occupied by men, women and children, ultimately killing 11 people including 5 children and destroying 61 homes leaving 250 citizens homeless. The author tries to answer the question, how did this happen? How did issues of race, rhetoric and geography collide with the city’s history to inform the catastrophic conflict with the MOVE Organization and the residents of Osage Avenue?”

    7. Boneshaker Magazine #4 $9.00

    8. Boys Club #4 by Matt Furie (Pigeon Press) $6.00

    9. Monocle vol 5 #43 May 11 $10.00

    10. List #12: Goodbye Baltimore $3.00

  • Weekly Top 10

    Peel back the lid! It’s so nice out, so you should totally take your classes outside. Or ditch work early and come to Quimby’s and play with some of our toys and read some zines.

    1. Paying For It: A Comic Strip Memoir About Being a John by Chester Brown (D&Q) $24.95 – Don’t miss Chester Brown this comiong Wednesday (May 11th) at 7pm!
    2. Black Eye #1 ed. by Ryan Standfest $14.95 – Crazy comics anthology that provoked a reaction from authorities at the U.S. Canada border!
    3. Mojo #211 June 11 $9.99
    4. Bizarre #175 May 11 $10.50
    5. Monocle vol 5 #43 May 11 $10.00
    6. Believer #80 May 11 $8.00
    7. Uptown Problems #1 Win 10 $4.00 – From the tender side of twenty comes a tell-it-like-it’s-been “aborted journal of radical self help” ladelled out in snippets with the bitterness and bravado of a washed up child actor. -EF
    8. Nurse Nurse #6 by Katie Skelly (Sparkplug) $3.00
    9. Doris #28 by Cindy C. $2.00 – This issue of Doris talks about rural living, defining collective goals, miniature horses, the impact “Roots” had on conversations about racism in the predominantly white suburb she grew up in, as well as a personal account of her own awareness of racism. Cindy also spends some time here reflecting on her memories of Samantha Jane Dorsett and punk sobriety.
    10. When the Crash Meets Something Solid #7 Widowmaker by Gabrielle Congrave $3.00

  • Weekly Top 10

    One of us little mice went out of town last week. Did you miss us nibbling at you about the weekly top 10 or new stuff? Well, we’re back in full force! Will you be here this Thursday (April 7th) to see  J. Bradley read from The Serial Rapist Sitting Behind You is a Robot? Or perhaps you’ll be here this Saturday (April 7th) for Free Comic Book Day? See you then!

    1. Maximumrocknroll #336 May 11 $4.00
    2. Hi Fructose #19 $6.95
    3. The Pale King by David Foster Wallace (Little Brown) $27.99
    4. Do Not Disturb My Waking Dream #2 by Laura Park $3.00 – At SBX 2008, Ms Park received the “Outstanding Artist” Ignatz award… read this comic and find out why!
    5. If You Knew Then What I Know Now by Ryan Van Meter (Sarabande) $15.95
    6. So This Is What It’s Come To: A Comic Zine About the Trials and Tribulations of OK A by Liz Prince $3.00
    7.  Doris #28 by Cindy C. $2.00 – This issue of Doris talks about rural living, defining collective goals, miniature horses, the impact “Roots” had on conversations about racism in the predominantly white suburb she grew up in, as well as a personal account of her own awareness of racism. Cindy also spends some time here reflecting on her memories of Samantha Jane Dorsett and punk sobriety.
    8. Ugly Things #31 $8.95
    9. Mister Wonderful: A Love Story Daniel Clowes (Pantheon) $19.95 – Just down the block from Enid Coleslaw’s house, abrasive middle-aged losers are attempting to blind date each other. Mister Wonderful collects Clowes’ New York Times serial plus 40 pages of new material, driving the Wilson bus further down Pathetic Reality Road straight toward the glimmer of hope in our watery blue eyes…
    10. Proximity #8 Education As Art $12.00 – Writing the book on learning as art and the art of learning: Proximity #8 comes from all angles, focuses, builds, supports. Weighing in at 232 pages, this volume does an exceptional job with a wide variety of profiles, interviews and portfolios and essays, staying both solidly local and vitally connected, you’d be hard pressed to find a smarter art magazine.

  • Weekly Top 10 and an Attempt to Play A Portion of All Four Discs of The Flaming Lips' Zaireeka at Once

    A children’s book made #1 this week?! That’s crazy. But true.

    Also! Here’s footage from an event here at Quimby’s for the Continuum’s 33 1/3 series about albums of the past 40 years. This event on 9/17/11 featured NIU prof Joe Bonomo who did a book about AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, Editor-in-Chief of Pitchfork Media Scott Plagenhoef who did a book about Belle and Sebastian’s If You’re Feeling Sinister, and managing editor of Pitchfork Mark Richardson who did a book about the Flaming Lips’ Zaireeka. The footage below is of Mark Richardson reading from his book and then attempt to sequence the four CDs of the album to play simultaneously. Click on the image below and go watch it on YouTube.

    Mark Richardson reads from his book The Flaming Lips' Zaireeka
    Click on the picture to watch Mark Richardson discuss and play part of The Flaming Lips' Zaireeka

     

    1. Counting In The Studio by Cecilia Pinto and Megan Williamson  $10.00 – This attempt to show the process of creative expression to young readers. A dog lives with an artist who has also depicted her own studio in the book. Inside the studio it is possible to stare out windows just like those in the book. The studio, at the back of the artist’s home, is nestled on a side street in a Chicago neighborhood. The artist and the writer met at the studio to talk about the project before and after making their own separate work. The dog was always present and lent his inestimable support even when napping on the comfy, pillow-strewn chaise lounge which is up against a wall with drawings on it, just like in the book.

    2. Spoken Nerd Revolution by Shappy Seasholtz (Penmanship) $15.00

    3. Mister Wonderful: A Love Story by Daniel Clowes (Pantheon) $19.95

    4. Gentlewoman #3 Spr Sum 11 $10.95

    5. Burn Collector #15 by Al Burian (Microcosm) $3.00 – Al Burian takes on his new home town, Berlin with a little help from a Chicago All-Star team of Anne Elizabeth “Unmarketable” Moore and Liam “Secret Beach” Warfield.

    6. Archiving the Underground #1 by Jenna Brager and Jami Sailor $2.00

    7. OP Original Plumbing #6 Trans Male Quarterly $8.00 – The theme this round is “Schooled”, highlighting a twin commitment to both the “It Gets Better” and the “Make It Better” campaigns targeted at queer youth.

    8. Cartooning Philosophy and Practice by Ivan Brunetti (Yale) $13.00 – This is about as close you are going to get to having Ivan Brunetti come to your house and teach you how to make great comics. Turns out, it’s pretty damn close – Philosophy and Practice serves up a concise and well-honed crash course on finding and fine tuning your comics voice. -EF

    9. Hi Fructose #19 $6.95

    10. Hot Teen Slut by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz (Write Bloody) $15.00

  • Weekly Top 10 and Video Footage of Deb Olin Unferth

    Here’s your Top 10 for the last week. No real surprises in what made the list of bestsellers, since most of it is stuff that’s made it on there before. However, COG Magazine is a title we just started carrying, a nice biking mag, about city biking, bike messengering and the like, from all around the world.

    Also! Footage from the Deb Olin Unferth event is up. She was here at Quimby’s on 3/7/11 reading from her memoir Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War. The piece we put up is a super funny bit about how religion got worked into her expereince, and how her Jewish family reacted to her short bout with Christianity. No matter how you feel about religion, this bit will crack you up. Click on the picture of Deb below, and it will take you to where you can watch it at You Tube.

    1.    OK OK You Smote Me Stories by Al Burian (Quimby’s Exclusive) $3.00 – Al takes us around the corner to his mayhem-prone stint on Wicker Park’s Dean Street, unhexing his way-too-hexed apartment and watching the tumult as Old Chicago takes a scraggly, low-level “stand” against encroaching yuppie “neighborhood improvement.”

    2.    Laphams Quarterly vol 4 #2 Spr 11 $15.00

    3.    Cartooning Philosophy and Practice by Ivan Brunetti (Yale) $13.00 – This is about as close you are going to get to having Ivan Brunetti come to your house and teach you how to make great comics. Turns out, it’s pretty damn close – Philosophy and Practice serves up a concise and well-honed crash course on finding and fine tuning your comics voice. -EF

    4. Proximity #8 Education As Art $12.00 – Writing the book on learning as art and the art of learning: Proximity #8 comes from all angles, focuses, builds, supports. Weighing in at 232 pages, this volume does an exceptional job with a wide variety of profiles, interviews and portfolios and essays, staying both solidly local and vitally connected, you’d be hard pressed to find a smarter art magazine.

    5. Monocle vol 5 #42 Apr 11
    6. Brilliant Mistake #1 by Carrie $1.00 – What a gem of a debut zine! Beautifully quilted together from bits of a questioning heart, Brilliant Mistake #1 pares down the aches of the social games we play. -EF

    7.  Acme Novelty Library #20: Lint by Chris Ware (D&Q) $23.95

    8. Cometbus #54 In China With Green Day by Aaron Cometbus $4.00

    9. N Plus 1 #11 Spr 11 $13.95

    10. COG Magazine #10 $6.00

  • Top 10

    Thanks to everybody that’s been coming out to all the events lately, both here and off-site. Check out the Quimby’s Bookstore group on Flickr, including Chicago Zine Fest Karaoke!

    1. Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boys Tale by Cheetah Chrome (Voyageur Press) $24.00 – Lordy, Lordy: How is Cheetah Chrome even still alive? Punks are apparently related to cockroaches in that they can really take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. Cheetah makes us grateful he’s survived by unleashing this dishy, druggy and unmodest memoir of his thrashings in the high-trash-era CBGBs New York punk scene. Light a candle for Stiv, crack open a case of beer, and curl up with this one. -EF

    2. I’m In The Band: Backstage Notes from the Chick in White Zombie by Sean Yseult (Soft Skull Press) $22.95 – Come see Sean Yseult DJ and the Metal Shop tonight at Delilah’s!

    3. Diary of a Punk by Mike Hudson (Tuscarora Books) $19.95

    4. Bust apr may 2011 $4.99

    5. Cometbus #54 In China With Green Day by Aaron Cometbus $4.00

    6. OK OK You Smote Me Stories by Al Burian $3.00

    7. Crap Hound #5: Hands , Hearts & Eyes $12.00

    8. Black Cracker by Josh Alan Friedman (New Texture) $19.95

    9. Rough Guide To Bicycle Maintenance $2.5010. Herbal First Aid Assembling a Natural First-Aid Kit DIY by Raleigh (Microcosm) $1.00

  • Weekly Top 10

    Thanks to everybody who planned, attended, ran and supported Chicago Zine Fest last weekend. It was super fun! Tonight Josh Alan Friedman will be here at 7pm to celebrate the release of his book Black Cracker.

    1. OK OK You Smote Me Stories by Al Burian $3.00 – Quimby’s alum and international zine curmudgeon Al Burian has crafted a new zine exclusively for the store, the second in our “Quimby’s Exclusive” line of periodicals. In OK OK You Smote Me, Al takes us around the corner to his mayhem-prone stint on Wicker Park’s Dean Street, unhexing his way-too-hexed apartment and watching the tumult as Old Chicago takes a scraggly, low-level “stand” against encroaching yuppie “neighborhood improvement”. Compelling, humorous and wistful, with that trademark Burn Collector balance of heart and snark. -EF

    2. Burn Collector #15 by Al Burian (Microcosm) $3.00 – With contributions from Anne Elizabeth Moore and Liam Warfield.

    3. Cometbus #54 In China With Green Day by Aaron Cometbus $4.00

    4. Bitch #50 $5.95

    5. Cinema Sewer #24 by Robin Bougie $4.00 – Robin Bougie once again goes in and digs up the dirt behind the sleaze. This issue has a lot of interviews taking on the history and legalization of porn, muderous scandals, scandalous scoundrels and a review of Hausu, perhaps the best Japanese film ever made. Cinema Sewer is pure smut in the butt, the sort of zine that somehow delivers on all of it’s craziest promises. -EF

    6. Filling the Void: Interviews About Quitting Drinking and Using (Doris Press) $4.00 – This zine is so solid it’s like it’s made out of rocks. Cindy from Doris Zine has collected seven interviews here that discuss sobering up from DIY and non-religious perspectives. A great and resourceful thing to have if you or someone you know is trying to clean up their act and is maybe feeling frustrated with traditional modes of support and process. Just a great and resourceful zine to have in general. -EF

    7. Too Far (mini comic) $6.00

    8. Boobs by Sam Sharpe $3.00

    9. Cartooning Philosophy and Practice by Ivan Brunetti (Yale University Press) $13.00 – Don’t miss Ivan Brunetti at our sister store, Chicago Comics, on 4/1.

    10. Juxtapoz #123 Apr 11 $5.99

  • Weekly Top 10

    1. OK OK You Smote Me Stories by Al Burian (Quimby’s Exclusive) $3.00 – Quimby’s alum and international zine curmudgeon Al Burian has crafted a new zine exclusively for the store, the second in our Quimby’s Exclusive line of periodicals, AVAILABLE ONLY AT QUIMBY’S. In OK OK You Smote Me, Al takes us around the corner to his mayhem-prone stint on Wicker Park’s Dean Street, unhexing his way-too-hexed apartment and watching the tumult as Old Chicago takes a scraggly, low-level “stand” against encroaching yuppie “neighborhood improvement”. Compelling, humorous and wistful, with that trademark Burn Collector balance of heart and snark. -EF

    And don’t miss Al here at Quimby’s on Tues, March 22nd! He’ll be celebrating the release of Burn Collector #15 and this Quimby’s Exclusive edition. In attendance will also be BC #15 contributors Anne Elizabeth Moore and Liam Warfield. Al will also be at the Chicago Zine Fest starting March 25th.

    2. Your Wildest Dreams Within Reason by Mike Sacks (Tin House) $13.95 – “Your Wildest Dreams, Within Reason collects Mike Sacks’s unique humor pieces into one handsome, convenient volume. Originally published in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Esquire, and McSweeney’s, among other venerable publications, Sacks’s writing is original and sharp, yet broadly funny. Whether it’s a groom tweeting his wedding and honeymoon in real time, or a publisher offering editorial suggestions for The Diary of Anne Frank, Sacks’s work tangles contemporary social satire with his absurdist sensibilities.”

    3. Juxtapoz #123 Apr 11 $5.99

    4. Is It the Future Yet by Corinne Mucha (Quimby’s Exclusive) $3.00 – Who said print is dead? Well they are wrong, wrong, wrong. Another Quimby’s exclusive topping our bestseller list this week, made ‘specially for us by the lovely and talented Ms. Mucha! The future of print looks very bright indeed!

    5. Make Your Place – Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills by Raleigh Briggs (Microcosm) $7.00

    6. Mojo #209 Apr 11 $9.00

    7. Brainscan #26 by Alex Wrekk $2.00 – Alex writes about “what the deal is” with her and Joe Biel of Microcosm. This zine takes it to the point – talking about some serious issues wrapped up in unresolved emotional abuse and failed mediation. -EF

    8. Pinups #13 Chuck by Christopher Schulz $14.00 – This issue delivers 56 tantalizing pages of hanging out (nude) in a backwoods cabin, fiddling with the transistor radio (nude), crunching some granola (nude) and “frolicing” in the forest (nude). Featuring Chuck (who, in my humble opinion, is Pinups hottest model yet), these quiet moments with this strapping young (nude) woodsman ooze superhottt rustic autonomy not to be missed. Be sure to take the staples out and assemble your giant wall-size Chuck poster from the backside of the pages.

    9. Believer #79 Mar Apr 11 2011 Film Issue $10.00

    10. Cometbus #54 In China With Green Day by Aaron Cometbus $4.00

  • Weekly Top 10

    Poster artist Keith Herzik stopped by with his dog Herzog.

    1. Cometbus #54 In China With Green Day by Aaron Cometbus $4.00

    2. Boys Club #4 by Matt Furie (Pigeon Press) $6.00 – More boners, more pizza, more roommates, more stoney-baloney plus also some barfing. I’m not going to tell you twice: zit’s awesome. -EF

    3. Thai Comic Horrors vol 1, by Khun So and Krit, ed. by Logan $3.00 – Esteemed Quimby’s alumni/expat Logan sent us this double-header of Thai pulp comics translated to English for the first time! This issue is comprised of two stories, “The Ghost That Comes to Steal Your Heart” and “Hunt For the Hell Drugs”. Hell yes, those titles are great- and would you believe the actual comics are EVEN BETTER? They are! Classic carnage with visual flair, packed full of jungle ghouls, beautiful babes and poor moral judgement. -EF

    4. Proximity #8 Education As Art $12.00 – Writing the book on learning as art and the art of learning: Proximity #8 comes from all angles, focuses, builds, supports. Weighing in at 232 pages, this volume does an exceptional job with a wide variety of profiles, interviews and portfolios and essays, staying both solidly local and vitally connected, you’d be hard pressed to find a smarter art magazine.

    5. Quimby’s Exclusive: Is It THE FUTURE Yet? by Corinne Mucha $3.00 – What does the future hold for you? Well, I predict you will fall madly in love with Corinne’s amazing new mini-comic, Is It the Future Yet?, which she made ‘specially for Quimby’s! I see you laughing out loud at the fresh psychic hijinx and time-travel schemes that grace every delightful page. I can see your love for this comic growing rich, deep, and strong and you will find it brings you much good luck and happiness as years go by…Yes, my friend, the future looks very bright indeed!

    6. Revolution: The Year I Fell In Love And Went To Join The War by Deb Olin Unferth (Holt) $24.00

    7. Anarchist Bicycle Rally Confidential – Mad Libs Critical Mass by Joe Biel (Micorcosm) $4.50 – “It’s the second issue of the Expozine Award Winning Bipedal, By Pedal. Last time around we got a social history and tactics lesson about the Critical Mass bicycle activist movement. For this issue BPBP2 editor-dude Joe Biel collected legal documents pertaining to the Portland Police Department’s nefarious, illegal crackdown campaign on the local Critical Mass movement. Obtained by Freedom of Information Requests, Biel shows through once-secret police and court documents that Portland Critical Mass did not in fact die out, it was brutally torn down by the cops in an organized campaign of intimidation and spy work. The Portland Police broke the law and Critical Mass was the causality. Portland is, of course, one of the best North American cities for cycling and Critical Mass is gone. This zine is a rally call for bike activists. Don’t let this happen in your hometown! If that isn’t interesting enough, the documents are redone as Mad Libs. This is a companion piece to Biel’s upcoming documentary, Aftermass: A Post Critical Mass Portland.”

    8. New Character Parade by Johnny Ryan (Pigeon Press) $12.00 – Oh Gross.

    9. Henry and Glenn Forever Perfect Bound Deluxe New Edition by Igloo Tornado (Micorcosm) $6.00 – The gay love of Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig? I’d get in that van.-EF

    10. Neighbourhood Sacrifice $2.00 – Drawings of altars, egos, and dimensional portals to comics hell by Michael DeForge, Jesjit Gill and Steph Davidson. Basically all the news thats fit to print. -EF

  • Weekly Top 10

    Jacqueline Bovit used our photobooth to make a cute valentine’s card with her little Sadie. And we couldn’t resist begging her to scan them and send them to post on our blog.  Have you taken pictures of yourself in our store? Or used our photobooth? Send them as digital images and we’ll post ’em here on our blog.

    1. Cometbus #54 In China With Green Day by Aaron Cometbus $4.00 – Okay, mister, so you’re old friends with Green Day and they ask you to join them on their bonkers tour of China. Of course you’re going to do that. Don’t tell me you’re too punk for your old friends, cause that sounds pretty fucking pretentious. Just join them for a little piece of their crazy-ass ride and see what happens, ‘kay? Oh, wait….you’re not old friends with Green Day? Well, Aaron-Fucking-Cometbus is and was in this very situation and not only did he go on tour with Green Day, he also wrote this huge, funny, frought and generally terrific issue of his zine about corporate tour mayhem and sorting it all out. It’s awesome, in case you needed me to tell you that. -EF
    2. Bust Feb Mar 11 $4.99
    3. Guide to Picking Locks #2 by CrimethInc $4.50
    4. Juxtapoz #122 Mar 11 $5.99
    5. Johnny America #8 $3.00
    6. Muse the News the Noose #7 Endless Escalators Megabus Split – Gets Megabusted Hell Bus by John Wawrzaszek and Monica Anderson $1.00 – What do you mean I can get a Megabus bus ticket from Chicago to Detroit for two dollars on the internet? Is there some kinda catch – like enduring 10 hours of sleepless septic hell bus leaky bathroom fast food breakdown with 50 other drunks, thieves and collicky babies? Ah well, at least people aren’t being beheaded, like if I was riding Greyhound or something. -EF
    7. Paper Spr 11 $4.00
    8. Slingshot 2011 Large Organizer $12.00
    9. Squid Pro Quo by Jason Duarte $2.00
    10. Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Life #2 by Kisha $2.00 – Ai! If issue one wasn’t enough AWKWARD for you, here’s the next THNGVBL that takes us from 3rd-7th grade, encompassing puberty, fatness, misunderstood DIY fashions, queer crushes and early exposure to punk rock.