Category: top ten

  • 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

    Look at the awesome photos from Saturday’s Mildred Pierce #4 release event.

    1. Mildred Pierce #4 by Megan Milks and John Bylander, eds $8.00 – This issue is endless, like a bottomless well of great things. I’ve been reading it for days, and I’m nowhere close to being done with it. MP always features a great and unconventional range of art essays, this issue by Megan Milks (on bulemic writing), Vicky Lim (on Hothead Paisan), Leeyanne Moore (on Sean Samoheyl), John Bylander (on Jimmy Joe Roche) and Joyce Kuechler (on Wangechi Mutu). As if that weren’t enough, there’s also wild prose by Jake Hoestetter, Ellen Nielsen, James Tadd Adcox and Jim Joyce, an interview with Pippi Zornoza on the opulent charmed terror of her drawing and performance work, tons of comics by the likes of Eamon Espey, Zach Hazard, Ed Choy Moorman, Noel Firebert, Jason T Miles. There’s more too. That’s not even hardly everything that’s here. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, that’s the point, forever. -EF

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

    3. Boys Club #3 by Matt Furie $4.95

    4. Who Is Amy Amoeba by Jason Viola $3.00

    5. 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

    6. Crap Hound #5: Hands, Hearts and Eyes by Sean Tejaratchi, ed.(Show & Tell Press) $12.00 – BACK IN PRINT! 12 New Pages to seduce you! After the longest wait ever, THE BEST CLIP ART ZINE EVER HAS RETURNED. This picture book for discussion and activity features hands, hearts, and eyes. Get those tattoo guns ready, because you and your loved ones are going to need one once you get through looking through this issue. Amazing.

    7. 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

    8. AdBusters #94 vol 19 #2 Mar Apr 11 $8.95

    9. Thai Comic Horrors vol 1 by by Khun So and Krit $3.00 – Esteemed Quimby’s alumni/expat Logan just 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

    10. Your Guide to the Patron Saints of Regret by Michael Whittier and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler $5.00 – Saint Elspeth of the Remnant: Patroness of Ill-Chosen Relationships? Saint Bob the Reluctant: Patron of Introverts? Saint Tammy of Memphis: Patron of Unfortunate Hair Appointments? I tell you, it’s saints like these that really make me question papal infallibility. -EF
    With magnifying glass and embossed ink cover.

  • 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.

  • Weekly Top 10

    1. Cometbus #54 In China With Green Day by Aaron Cometbus $4.00 – It’s awesome, in case you needed us to tell you that.
    2. Brilliant Mistake #4 Your Secretary #8 by Carrie and Jami Sailor $3.00 – Valentine’s Day special!!
    3. Your Secretary #7 Playing Victim #4 by Jami Sailor $1.00
    4. Politics of Penetration $1.00
    5. Big Questions #15 the Sweet Taste of Victory by Anders Nilsen (D&Q) $7.95 – The most gorgeous, most finalest one… the Big Questions end times is disruptive, surreal and poetic. Nilsen’s draughtmanship is pure and stunning, where disarmingly simple forms are made perfectly right. If you’ve been keeping time with this series, you’ll certainly be excited by this chapter, and if you’re just catching up, you’ll be dazzled by this near-religious, cryptic conclusions you’ll be catching here. -EF
    6. 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.
    7. Believer #78 Feb 11 $8.00
    8. Gaylord Phoenix by Edie Fake (Secret Acres) $17.95 – All-Gaylord-All-Phoenix-All-In-One, Dr. Bronner’s Style.
    9. Proof I Exist #13 by Billy Da Bunny $8.00 – This issue includes perhaps the most proof that Billy exists in zine form EVER: sewn terrycloth Chuck E Cheez photobooth covers, handmade stickers, pasted photo inserts, miscellany, true tales from the depths of New Mexico, remenicins about those good ol’ Chicago days and a dime bag of chest hair. That’s what you call pulling out all the stops, kids. Wow, for reals. -EF
    10. First Line vol 12 #4 $3.00 – All submissions published have the same first line in every issue.

  • Weekly Top 10

    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. Cursed Pirate Girl TPB by Jeremy A. Bastian (Olympian) $20.00
    3. Coming Insurrection by The Invisible Committee (Semiotext[e]) $12.95 – This eloquent call to arms arising from the recent waves of social contestation in France and Europe is written by the anonymous Invisible Committee in the vein of Guy Debord—and with comparable elegance—it has been proclaimed a manual for terrorism by the French government (who recently arrested its alleged authors). One of its members more adequately described the group as “the name given to a collective voice bent on denouncing contemporary cynicism and reality.” The Coming Insurrection is a strategic prescription for an emergent war-machine to “spread anarchy and live communism.”

    4. Handbook vol 5 #1 2011 by by Darren Ackenbauer $6.00 – Super cruisy scene over here.

    5. Boneshaker #43-100: A Bicycling Almanac (Wolverine Farm Publishing) $8.00

    6. Uptown Problems #1 Win 10 11 $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

    7. Crap Hound #5: Hands, Hearts and Eyes by by Sean Tejaratchi (Show & Tell Press) $12.00

    8.    Maximumrocknroll #333 Feb 11 $4.00

    9.    Phase 7 #008 by Alec Longstreth $4.00

    10. Stolen Sharpie Revolution vol 2 A DIY Resource For Zines and Zine Culture by Alex Wrekk $6.00

  • Weekly Top 10

    1. Jin & Jam #1 by Hellen Jo (Sparkplug) $5.00 – Jin and Jam is a head-on collision of California 2 Cool 4 School and Tekkon Kinkreet. -Yeah, it really is that good. Hellen Jo’s drawings are perfect and her action-packed San Jose misfit tween girl rampage fights dirty the whole way through. It’s an impeccable tornado of an issue and if you come out with a black eye and gum in your hair, you’ll consider yourself lucky. -EF

    2. Spotting Deer by Michael DeForge (Koyama) $5.00 – Michael DeForge continues to wrangle an Elvis Studio sense of drippy design chaos into creepy and beautiful amorphous narratives. This is a comic that’s about a field guide that’s about an oil-skinned mollusc that’s really about cultural displacement, wikipedian information templates and the fetishization/exploitation/commodification of subcultures and identities. Heavy- but full of laffs, in bleedy full color, and with a great slug sex scene to boot. -EF

    3. Gothic Beauty #32 $5.95

    4. Ice Haven by Dan Clowes (Pantheon) $16.00 – Same ol’ Haven, now in softcover to match your old Garfield books.

    5. My Every Single Thought – What I Think About Being Single by by Corrine Mucha $5.00 – An exclusive Corrine made for Quimby’s! ‘Cause we’re awesome.

    6. Capacity by Theo Ellsworth (Secret Acres) $20.00 – By the artist who made a bookmark for us once! ‘Cause we’re awesome!

    7. Crickets #3 Sex Morons by Sammy Harkham $8.00

    8. Juxtapoz #121 Feb 11 $5.99

    9. Acme Novelty Library #20: Lint by Chris Ware (D+Q) $23.95 – Who has made signs for us! ‘Cause we’re awesome!

    10. Gaylord Phoenix by Edie Fake (Secret Acres) $ 17.95 – Edie works here! ‘Cause we’re awesome!

  • Weekly Top 10

    1. Fucussle Blecky Yuckerlla vol 4 A Comic Strip Collection by Johnny Ryan (Fantagraph) $11.99


    2. Brainscan #26 by Alex Wrekk $2.00 – Alex writes about “what the deal is” with her and Microcosm.


    3. Two Eyes of the Beautiful #2: A Grotesque Horror Manga by Ryan Cecil Smith $5.00 – The CCC diaspora is really doing a killer job of working and re-working different flavors of manga, classic horror, and classic horror manga. The results have been solid, and Ryan Cecil Smith’s Two Eyes of the Beautiful (which falls into the “reworked classic horror manga” category) is no exception. What’s it got that you want? Gore! Suspense! Psychic damage! Trust me, books about murdering innocent children for their beauty essence are rarely disappoint. -EF


    4. Spotting Deer by Michael DeForge (Koyama) $5.00 – Michael DeForge continues to wrangle an Elvis Studio sense of drippy design chaos into creepy and beautiful amorphous narratives. This is a comic that’s about a field guide that’s about an oil-skinned mollusc that’s really about cultural displacement, wikipedian information templates and the fetishization/exploitation/commodification of subcultures and identities. Heavy- but full of laffs, in bleedy full color, and with a great slug sex scene to boot. -EF


    5. Manifesti of Radical Literature by Anne Elizabeth Moore (Pressing Concern) $8.00 – This pocket-sized zine is a great introduction to the work of Anne Elizabeth Moore. The Manifesti of Radical Literaure condenses many ideas Moore has previously explored in other works — her critique of culture jamming, copyright laws, advertising, and why everyone should seriously consider self-publishing their own work. What saves this 50-paged effort from feeling redundant is Moore’s charming sense of humor. Grab a copy for yourself and another one to leave at your local library.
    6. I Want You #2 by Lisa Hanawalt (Pigeon Press) $6.95 – Well, I’ve been mourning the end of Gary Larson’s Far Side for fifteen years, but Lisa Hanawalt’s comics really do helluvalot towards easing that pain. Just as funny, just as bizzarro and as raunchy as she wants to be to boot. -EF
    7. Hi Fructose #18 $6.95
    8. Bust Feb Mar 11 $4.99
    9. Rise and Fall – A Concertina of Life by Micah Lidberg (Adhouse) $16.00
    10. Crap Hound #5: Hands, Hearts and Eyes $12.00 – BACK IN PRINT! 12 New Pages to seduce you! After the longest wait ever, THE BEST CLIP ART ZINE EVER HAS RETURNED. This picture book for discussion and activity features hands, hearts, and eyes. Get those tattoo guns ready, because you and your loved ones are going to need one once you get through looking through this issue. Amazing.