Your cart is currently empty!
Category: books
-
Dame Darcy Celebrates The Meat Cake Bible 10/14
Dame Darcy is one of the sui generis artistic talents of the past two decades — musician, actress, fortune teller, dollmaker, Gen X/feminist icon, and last but not least, cartoonist to the core — and has been bewitching readers for more than 20 years with her neo-Victorian horror/humor/romance comic Meat Cake. Alternating between one-off (often cruelly tragic) fairy tales and ongoing romps starring her eclectic cast of characters, including Effluvia the Mermaid, the roguish rou. Wax Wolf, Igpay the Pig-Latin pig, Stregapez (a women who speaks by dispensing Pez-like tablets through a bloody hole in her throat), the mischievous Siamese twins Hindrance and Perfidia, Scampi the Selfish Shellfish, the stalwart Friend the Girl, and the blonde bombshell Richard Dirt, all delineated in her inimitable luxurious scrawl, Meat Cake is like a peek into the most creative, deranged dollhouse you ever saw. The Meat Cake Bible is the definitive collection of the series, collecting every story from all 17 issues (1993-2008) — including “Hungry is the Heart,” Darcy’s legendary collaboration with Alan Moore — as well as new stories from the unpublished 18th issue. A gorgeous, unjacketed hardcover edition replete with cloth deboss, gold foil stamping, and a die-cut cover.
About Dame Darcy:
Renaissance woman Dame Darcy won a scholarship to the San Francisco Art institute at the age of 17 in 1989. There she majored in film and animation, studying under George Kuchar and Larry Jordan. During this time, she self-published Meat Cake Comix; joined the band Caroliner with Lisa Carver, where she performed, released albums and toured; and illustrated Lisa’s magazine Rollerderby, as well as other Bay Area magazines and papers.
Darcy moved to New York in 1992. Her Meat Cake comic-book series began publication with Fantagraphics Books Inc., who publishes Meat Cake and its compilations, which are distributed internationally, to this day.
When not working on her comics, illustration, and fine art, Renaissance woman Dame Darcy also works as a touring musician, dollmaker, animator, fashion model and designer, celebrity interior designer, art teacher, and reality TV star.
For more info:
-
Chicago Alternative Comics Expo presents Kramers Ergot 9 Signing 6/10
CAKE is excited to present a signing event for Kramers Ergot 9, with CAKE Special Guest Sammy Harkham. Joining the signing will be contributors Andy Burkholder, Anya Davidson, Kevin Huizenga, Patrick Kyle, John Pham, and Lale Westvind.
“I think this is the best issue yet and I couldn’t be happier doing it with any other publisher. Fantagraphics is the place where the best of the low brow and the literary strands of comics are equally represented and cherished on their own terms, and that’s something I have always strived for with Kramers, as well. So it’s a great fit.” – Sammy Harkam
Since Kramers Ergot ‘s inception in 2000, it has introduced new talents and solidified aesthetics; each volume is an of-the-moment, state-of-the-medium manifesto. This anthology has always been a reflection of creator/editor Sammy Harkham’s comics passions, both past and future. Kramers Ergot 9 gathers many of the best and brightest together in one giant, oversized collection.
Quimby’s is proud to co-sponsor The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo [CAKE], a weekend-long celebration of independent comics, inspired by Chicago’s rich legacy as home to many of underground and alternative comics’ most talented artists– past, present and future. Featuring comics for sale, workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions and more, CAKE is dedicated to fostering community and dialogue amongst independent artists, small presses, publishers and readers. The Fifth Annual CAKE will take place on Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12, 2016, at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N Halsted Ave. in Chicago. For more info about CAKE: cakechicago.com & Max Morris cakeexpo(at)gmail(dot)com.
This event is sponsored by Revolution Brewery, and will have refreshments provided while supplies last.
Friday, June 10th, 7pm – Free Event
Click here to see the Facebook event to invite your friends!
-
Mike Edison Brings Music & Mayhem to Quimby's for You Are a Complete Disappointment 6/3
Author, musician, and raconteur Mike Edison brings his unique blend of mayhem to Quimby’s to read and perform from his new book You Are a Complete Disappointment: A Triumphant Memoir of Failed Expectations. Joining him will be “World’s Greatest Piano Player” Mickey Finn, and his own Rocket Tone Theremin!
For anyone who has ever suffered from parental bullying, this often-hilarious yet intensely heartbreaking memoir from the former High Times publisher will provide both solace and laughter.
YOU ARE A COMPLETE DISAPPOINTMENT is a warped suburban odyssey that pulls no punches when it comes to the adversity and adventures of growing up in the 1970s. His story is a potent, positive lesson in growing up to be the person you want to be, not the person you were told to be.
SUBURBAN DYSFUNCTION! THRILLS! FREE ATOMIC FIREBALLS!!
An excerpt is available here:
http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2016/04/excerpt_mike_ed.html
“Smart, filthy, and funny, Mike Edison is no ordinary author… Edison brings the stories from his book to life with the performance chops of a seasoned rock’n’roller.” — Spin Magazine
The COMPLETELY DISAPPOINTING AFTER PARTY will be at Dimo’s Pizza. Edison and Finn will perform a very special set of dirty blues and stories featuring very special guests and lots of surprises. MIKE EDISON DIRTY PIZZA – named after Edison’s book Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! — will be on the menu.
MIKE EDISON is the former editor and publisher of High Times magazine. His books include the celebrated memoir I Have Fun Everywhere I Go, the sprawling social history of sex on the newsstand, Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! and the deliciously filthy political satire Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie. More recently he collaborated with Joe Bastianich on his New York Times bestselling memoir, Restaurant Man, of which writer Bret Easton Ellis has said, “The directness and energy have a cinematic rush . . . not a single boring sentence.”
Edison has worked as a foreign correspondent for Hustler and was a high-paid gun-for-hire of the legendary Penthouse letters. He has contributed to numerous magazines and websites, including Huffington Post, the Daily Beast, the New York Observer, Spin, Interview, and New York Press, for which he covered classical music and professional wrestling. In addition, he is an internationally known musician and ferociously dedicated storyteller, and can be heard every Sunday on his show Arts & Seizures on the Heritage Radio Network. Edison lives and works in Brooklyn.
Invite your friends! Here’s the Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/1020491838032105/
-
Larry Livermore Brings How To Ru(i)n A Record Label to Quimby’s 3/26
In How To Ru(i)n A Record Label (Don Giovanni Records), Larry Livermore describes the spectacular rise and ignominious collapse of Lookout Records, the iconic label he co-founded in 1987 and which helped launch the careers of Green Day, Operation Ivy, Screeching Weasel, and a host of other artists.Paying due homage to his Detroit roots, the author recounts his personal journey, from Berkeley, California to Bialystok, Poland, as he built the label from the ground up, only to walk away abruptly from what had grown into a multi-million company when it was at the peak of its success.
“[An] engrossing account of being in the epicenter of the East Bay punk scene when it exploded, told from the perspective of the man holding the detonator.” – Liz Prince, author of Tomboy
“A great book by a true veteran. Well told, funny and entertainingly opinionated.” – Jesse Michaels, Operation Ivy
Larry Livermore was co-founder of Lookout Records, editor and publisher of Lookout magazine, and a longtime columnist for Maximum Rocknroll and Punk Planet. His first book, Spy Rock Memories, was published in 2013 by Don Giovanni Records.
More info:
Here’s the Facebook event invite for this event! Invite your friends!
Sat, March 26th, 7pm – Free Event
-
Bill Kartalopoulos joins Gina Wynbrandt and Anya Davidson to discuss THE BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2015 on 10/16
Now in its tenth year, THE BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2015 (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), guest edited by Jonathan Lethem with series editor Bill Kartalopoulos, showcases the work of both established and up-and-coming contributors, and pulls from graphic novels, pamphlet comics, newspapers, magazines, minicomics, and the Web to create a unique and stunning collection. This year’s edition is a stirring journey into the world of comics, featuring pieces by Chicago contributors Gina Wynbrandt and Anya Davidson. Yes, you can preorder Best American Comics 2015 from Quimazon!
BILL KARTALOPOULOS is a Brooklyn-based comics critic, educator, curator, and editor. He teaches comics history at the School of Visual Arts. More information may be found at on-panel.com.
GINA WYNBRANDT was born in Chicago in 1990. She writes comics about personal humiliations, sexual disappointment, and popular culture. Her favorite food is ice cream. www.ginawynbrandt.com
ANYA DAVIDSON was born in Sarasota, Florida, in 1983. She graduated with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004. She is a cartoonist, musician, teaching artist, and printmaker whose work appeared in many ‘zines and anthologies, including Kramers Ergot, before her debut graphic novel, School Spirits, was published by PictureBox Inc. Her current project, the Ignatz Award-nominated comic Band for Life, will be available in print from Fantagraphics Books in the not-too-distant future. She lives and shreds in Chicago. www.anyadavidson.com
“As I know well from my own field, true vitality consists of stuff that’s further off the radar of general acclaim. The influx of raw arrivals. The deep cuts.” —Jonathan Lethem, from the Introduction
This years Best American Comics features: Gabrielle Bell, Mat Brinkman, Roz Chast, Anya Davidson, Eleanor Davis, Jules Feiffer, Blaise Larmee, Raymond Pettibon, Ed Piskor, Joe Sacco, Esther Pearl Watson, and others.
For more info:
The website of Bill Kartalopoulos.
The website of Gina Wynbrandt.
Facebook invite for this event to tell the world you’re coming and invite people.
Preordering this book from Quimazon.
This event is on Friday, October 16th, 7pm at Quimby’s!
-
8/1: Caseen Gaines presents We Don’t Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy!
Great Scott! Come celebrate the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future along with award-winning author Caseen Gaines. He is returning to Quimby’s Bookstore to discuss and sign copies of his brand-new book, We Don’t Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy, which has been featured in Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter, People Magazine, Vulture, and positively reviewed by NPR and Library Journal.
We Don’t Need Roads includes original interviews with Zemeckis, Gale, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Huey Lewis, and over fifty others who contributed to one of the most popular and profitable film trilogies of all time. It’s the ultimate read for anyone who has ever wanted to ride a hoverboard, hang from the top of a clock tower, travel through the space-time continuum, or find out what really happened to Eric Stoltz after the first six weeks of filming.
Complete with rare and previously unreleased photographs, fans of the timeless can learn all they didn’t know about Back to the Future – by those who caught lightning 30 years ago.
“Caseen Gaines has written a very compelling and enjoyable history of our trilogy. Reading it was like going back in time. And – Great Scott – there were even a few anecdotes that I’d never heard!” – Bob Gale, co-creator, co-producer, and co-writer of the Back to the Future trilogy
“The most enlightening and informative book I’ve read since Grays Sports Almanac. Every true fan of the Holy Trilogy should own a copy. It’s your density.” – Ernest Cline, bestselling author of Ready Player One
Invite your friends with the Facebook post for this event!
For press inquiries, contact Mary Pomponio, mpomponio(at)penguinrandomhouse(dot)com
Saturday, August 1, 2015 at 7:00pm
-
Jessica Hopper Reads From The First Collection of Criticism By a Living Female Rock Critic 5/29
Featherproof is proud to announce the publication of legendary rock critic Jessica Hopper’s newest book, The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic, in Spring 2015.
Jessica Hopper’s music criticism has earned her a reputation as one of the firebrands of the form, a keen observer and fearless critic not just of music, but the culture around it, revealing new truths that often challenge us to consider what it is to be a fan.
With this premiere volume, spanning from her punk fanzine roots to her landmark piece on R. Kelly’s past, The First Collection leaves no doubt why the New York Times has called Hopper’s work “influential.” Not merely a selection of two decades of Hopper’s most engaging, thoughtful and humorous writing, this book serves as a document of the last 20 years of American music making and the shifting landscape of music consumption.
Through this vast range of album reviews, essays, columns, interviews, and oral histories, Hopper chronicles what it is to be truly obsessed with music, the ideas in songs and albums, how fantasies of artists become complicated by real life, and just what happens when you follow that obsession into muddy festival fields, dank basements, corporate offices or court records.
PRAISE FOR THE FIRST COLLECTION OF CRITICISM BY A LIVING FEMALE ROCK CRITIC BY JESSICA HOPPER
“Jessica Hopper’s criticsm is a trenchant and necessary counterpoint not just on music, but on our culture at large.” —Annie Clark, St. Vincent
“In this crucial book, Hopper schools us all on the art of criticism. You’ll be reminded, as I was, why you care to read and write about (and listen to!) music to begin with. Hopper’s relationship with music is a joy to behold.” —Tavi Gevinson, Editor-in-Chief, Rookie
“I read Hopper’s book with a sense of bewildered gratitude. She concedes nothing to the idea that it is dumb to care so much. The excitement in her work is that these things are worth scrapping about.” —Rob Sheffield, author of Love is a Mixtape
About Jessica Hopper:
Jessica Hopper’s music criticism has been included in Best Music Writing 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2011. Her first book, The Girls Guide to Rocking, was named one of 2009’s Notable Books for Young Readers by the American Library Associa- tion. She is Senior Editor at Pitchfork and the Editor-in-Chief of The Pitchfork Review. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two young sons.
Click here for the Facebook invite for this event.
For press inquiries: Dana Meyerson dana(at)biz3(dot)net
-
Last Minute Hasty Valentine Gift Guide
Need to drop a few shekels on someone special this Heart Day? Fear not, dear Quimby’s shopper. We are here to guide your wayward soul.
FOR THE ON THE FENCE FRIEND… OR IF YOU’RE ON THE FENCE AND CARE TO SEND A POINTED MESSAGE?
–I Swallowed the Key to My Heart #3 Truer Than True Tales of Strange Romance by Liz Prince, $5
Not everyone is the right one. Let them down easy with a comic all about being in a relationship and falling for someone else who scores you gratis concert tickets. You could even bake a cake with a sea creature to really bring the point home. (You’ll get it if you do end up getting this poignant yet adorable comic).
FOR THE NOSTALGIC BGFF (best grrlfriend foreverrrr)
-Dude Diligence Unsolicited Messages via an Electronic Matchmaker by Marissa, $4
Bring it back to the days of M.A.S.H and Miss Suzy and her steamboat with this treat of a cootie catcher. Kristin/Ashlee/Jennipher/Kimberli will, like, totally love you if you buy this for herrrr. She may even share her Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker with you and give you the left half of her friendship necklace from Claire’s.
FOR THE PERV WITH CLASSY TASTE
-Tasteful Vintage Nude Photograph (Grab Bag), $5
Spice things up with a partner or make someone in your family very uncomfortable with a black and white nudie photo of a sexy lady, probably long dead. Much like a box of Valentine’s chocolates, you never know which vintage buxom goddess you’re gonna get when you order one of these babies. Yoyza, USSR, watch out for those land-attack missiles. Pow, pow, pow!
FOR THE TRIXIE THAT YOU CAN’T HELP BUT LOVE
-Chicago Girls by Molly Hills, $10
Fill their condo with love this year when you buy them this Second-City spin on “Intercourse and the Municipality,” or whatever that HBO show was called. Hot cocktails, lipstick, buff dudes, ladypal hijinks and steamy hookups pepper this novella. If you’re enamored with someone whose secret dream is having their diary turned into a major motion picture, jump on this on the immediate. We guarantee sparkly, fuchsia, freesia-scented fireworks!FOR THE BRASH, BOLD BOSS BITCH IN YOUR LIFE
-Meaty by Samantha Irby, $15.95
Bitches Gotta Eat blogger Samantha Irby attacks love, relationships, sex and contemporary life with a golden fondue skewer of brutally honest snarkitude. Her uproarious candor in this collection of essays is sure to be just the gift for any fan of witty takedowns, real talk and reality checks. You’ll score major points with bae if you wrap it in either faux or real bacon.
FOR YOUR FAVORITE QUEER GEOLOGIST
-Pinups #16 Jeff by Christopher Schulz, $14
It’s not every day a naked dude takes a bare-ass stroll among some boulders. But, hey, we bet your partner/husband/boyfriend/buddy/local park ranger would get def down with this rad pictorial spread for V-Day. Ooh, Jeff, be careful on all those sharp, pointy rocks. Or, hey, go ahead and sit down and make yourself comfortable. We couldn’t “bear” the thought of leaving.
FOR THE ASPIRING, LOVELORN GUITARIST
-Love Song by Drew Brockington, $3
The age old way to bag any babe is by slamming a spine-tingling chord on your gee-tair. But what if, instead of a hottie, you’re up against the devil and, whoa, you’re not in Georgia but your name sure is George. And nary is there a violin to be found, just your rad-a-Stratocaster. Warm the cockles of your pining yet crushworthy musician with Brockington’s ode to the purest form of love – groupie and rocker.
FOR THE LOVER WHO MAY OR MAY NOT LOVE FOOD MORE THAN YOU
-My Complicated Relationship With Food by Zach, $1
Much like seeking the perfect partner in a sea of duds on a dating website, our protagonist Zach seems to have a hard time finding foods he actually wants to really “be” with. And why should he settle? He has discerning tastes. If this sounds at all like your giftee in question, picking through the blueberries, onions and “pointless” brie of life, give this one a go.-Nicki Yowell
-
Lane Milburn Talks About Twelve Gems 8/30
The sci-fi epic Twelve Gems by Lane Milburn takes place somewhere in the outer cosmos, beyond reckoning or observation. The mysterious Dr. Z has enlisted three space heroes to search the galaxy for the fabled Twelve Gems of Power: the hulking alien-brawn Furz; the beautiful and deadly sabre-wielding Venus; and the soft-spoken canine technician, Dogstar. They meet many strange and storied characters on their journey, but none so strange or sinister as their dear benefactor himself. With a heavy dose of humor and wall-to-wall action, this is one of the most action-packed and funny books of the year.“It’s ’80s-indie black-and-white space-opera action as you like it!” – Robot 6
Lane Milburn was born and raised in Lexington, KY. He graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2008 with a degree in Painting. While living in Baltimore, Milburn self published several minicomics with the underground art collective, Closed Caption Comics. The Xeric Foundation awarded him a grant in 2009 for his book Death Trap which he self published in 2010. Milburn currently lives and works in Chicago, IL where he is an active member of the alternative comics community.
-
Edie Fake presents Memory Palaces at Quimby’s 5/17
Edie Fake’s first art book, Memory Palaces, has just arrived from Secret Acres in bold, oversize color. Cataloging Fake’s suite of meticulous drawings that re-imagine the queer landscape of Chicago, Memory Palaces blends striking visuals and ecstatic architecture with excavated history and unlocked potential.
To celebrate the launch of this new publication, Fake is delighted to host a book release party at Quimby’s. Attendees can count on snacks, drinks and souvenir ephemera as well as a sweet and squirrely lecture on the triumph and folly of architectural repurposing. It will be a night of funny photographs, strange ideas and lovely new books, not to be missed!
Edie Fake is an artist and zinemaker from Chicago. He works as a minicomics sommelier for Quimby’s Books and was one of the founding organizers of the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE). His comic, Gaylord Phoenix, won the 2011 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel and he was one of the first recipients of Printed Matter’s Awards for Artists. The work in Memory Palaces was originally presented at Fake’s first solo exhibition at Thomas Robertello Gallery in 2013. He is currently working on a series of comics collages and collecting photos of anthropomorphic characters.
For more info and images: ediefake.tumblr.com
Or contact: ediefake(at)gmail(dot)com
