Blog

  • What Zinester Do You Have a Crush On?


    A zinester who went to Chicago Zine Fest was so inspired by the experience that they’re accepting submissions for a compilation called Zine Crush, like a Missed Connections exclusively for zinesters. Do you have one or more zine crushes you’d like to confess? The deadline for submitting to Issue #1 is July 1st. Send letters, comics, or whatever format you prefer. Payment will be a free issue of the zine, and just maybe that special someone you write about will feel the same way. You can live happily ever after. That’s the fantasy, right?

    More info:
    ZineCrush.com

    Zine Crush
    PO Box 936
    Portland, OR 97207

  • New Stuff This Week


    Grantland Quarterly vol 2 (McSweeneys) $25.00 – Issue 2 has a dust jacket that unfolds to reveal a double-sided poster with an intricate, gorgeous piece of original art on one side, and, on the reverse, a reprint of the rare 1970s poster of George “The Ice Man” Gervin. Issue 2 also includes: Bill Simmons writing about the career of Eddie Murphy, an interview with Don DeLillo about Underworld on the 60th anniversary of the Shot Heard ‘Round the World, and more.

    Zines
    Kriss Stress cranks out zines a mile a minute! And they’re always awesome. Where does he find the time? Two new titles: Paper Houses #3: Southern Subcultural Snippets and Horror Rock Rookies Pt II $3.00 and Margin Walker #1 $2.00 – Stay tuned, Kriss will probably be here in the next three minutes with another zine.
    Junk Drawer #6 Landscape by Eric Bartholomew $3.00 – Eric is a Chicago gem on the independent publishing circuit, and he’s often seen slithering into zine readings and events. His zine is like Cabinet meets Infiltration. This issue (sub)subtitled “Parts of Old Buildings Abandoned Train Lines and Other Odds and Ends in the City.”
    Moon Tour Zine #1 2012 by Brad Westcott & Jeremy Tubbs, with Moontour DVD Mark It Dude $15.00
    Vitals – Feast of Violet by Allen Taylor $5.00
    Bookstores and Baseball 3rd Inning $4.00 -From the folks who publish The First Line.
    Alamo Igloo #3 by Keith Herzik $5.00 – Keith H. is one of the energizer bunnies of the local screenprinting scene, still cranking out his zine-comic fountains of weirdo-ness.
    Childhood Consent and Commercial Sex – Straddling the Line, White Slaves, Trafficked Women and Other Victims Border by Robin Hustle $2.00

    Comics and Comix
    Suspect Device #2 by Josh Bayer and Edwin Vazquez $13.00 – Where do you go once you’ve riffed Nancy into oblivion? How about grafting on some early era-Garfield to your frankenstein monster? That’s what Suspect Device has done and, trust me, the carnage is extreme. Two or three times as big as issue #1, with color and hella roidal muscles, this is one drawing game that’s developed rabies and is having babies. -EF

    Reset #1 of 4 by Peter Baggue (Dark Horse) $3.50
    Castle Waiting #16 by Linda Medley (Fantagraphics) $3.95
    Dogcrime by Belxbolex (Nobrow) $11.00
    I Wanna Be Your Dog by Cassie J. Sneider $1.50 – Cassie has a pug! And she made a hilarious comic about it!
    Boyfriend Comics #1 the Movie Issue and #2 The Issues Issue by Thom Jay $2.00 each

    Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks
    Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown (Chronicle) $14.95 – Don’t miss Jeffrey Brown here at Quimby’s on Free Comic Book Day, May 5th!
    Cleveland by Harvey Pekar and Joseph Remnant (Top Shelf) $21.99
    Folly: The Consequences of Indiscretion by Hans Rickheit (Fantagraphics) $18.99 – Hans’ Giger-esque weirdo mini-comics are compiled here. Some in black and white, some in color. All biotechfreaky, and sort of Victorian. What time is tea? With the robots? -LM

    Cruisin’ With the Hound the Life and Times of Fred Toote by Spain Rodriguez (Fantagraphics) $19.99
    Popeye vol 5 Me Lil Sweepea by EC Segar (Fantagraphics) $29.99
    Dunwich Horror TPB by HP Lovecraft (IDW) $17.99

    DIY
    Heart of Darkness: Underground Botanists Outlaw Farmers and the Race for the Cannabis Cup by Mark Haskell Smith (Broadway) $14.00 – “Witty, civilized and intelligent narcotourism.” -Kirkus Reviews
    Get Your Pitchfork On: The Real Dirt on Country Living by Kristy Athens $19.95 – The next book in the Process Self-Reliance Series.
    Tiny World Terrariums: Step by Step Guide to Easily Contained Life by Michelle Inciarrano et al. $19.95
    How to Reimagine the World: A Pocket Guide for Practicle Visionaries by Anthony Weston (New Society) $11.95

    Mayhem, Miscreants, Memoirs & Misc
    Dads Are the Original Hipsters by Brad Getty (Chronicle) $12.95
    This Means War! A Zombies Vs Robots Anthology $17.99 – Bolts Bullets Brains! This anthology takes IDW’s splatterific Zombie vs Robots comic book series, created by writer Chris Ryall and artist Ashley Wood, and expands it in ways that will redefine both zombie and robot fiction. A shambling cohort of top horror and fantasy writers including Jesse Bullington, Nancy Collins, Lincoln Crisler, Brea Grant and more. For fans of WW Z and Robopocalypse.
    Steampunk Coloring and Activity Book by Phoebe Longhi (Manic D) $11.95 – With a distinctly manga-angle. Includes a word search too. Can you find the monocle? Har.
    Revolutionary Founders: Rebels, Radicals, and Reformers in the Making of the Nation, ed. by Alfred F. Young et al. (Vintage) $16.95 – Stories of individuals and groups who exemplified the radical ideals of the American Revolution more in keeping with our own values today.
    Young Lovecraft vol 2 by Jose Oliver and Bartolo Torres (Kettle Drummer) $19.95 – The web comic that took Spain by storm makes its English language debut in this hilarious graphic novel. Oliver and Torres explore the childhood of H.P. Lovecraft, the great genius of literary terror who gave us the cycle of the Myths of Cthulu, and forever changed the landscape modern horror. Join the young Lovecraft on his macabre and comical adventures.

    Music Books
    Letters to Kurt by Eric Erlandson (Akashic) $17.95 – A poetic elegy for Kurt Cobain from a guy that was in Hole. I’m curious to hear from someone who reads this to tell me this: shall I read this cynically or not? -LM
    Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ by Mark Katz (Oxford U) $24.95 – Based on extensive interviews with practicing DJs, historical research, and his own personal experience, Katz presents a history of hip-hop from the point of view of the people who invented the genre. Here, DJs step up to discuss a wide range of topics, including the transformation of the turntable from a playback device to an instrument in its own right, the highly charged competitive DJ battles, the game-changing introduction of digital technology, and the complex politics of race and gender in the DJ scene.

    Fiction
    Finding the Moon in Sugar by Gint Aras $14.95
    2 JG Ballard titles: High Rise and Drought
    Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson (Vintage) $15.95 – Now in soft cover.
    Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson $9.99 – Now in cheaper mass market paperback.
    Titles by Helen Bradley Hall: Baby Robbers, Chocolate Mama

    Literary Journals, Poetry & Chap Books
    Snowflake New Poems Different Streets Newer Poems by Eileen Myles (Wave) $20.00
    Iowa Review vol 42 #1 Spr 12 $9.95
    Distance #1 Concerns Beginnings $20.00
    Criminal Class Review vol 5 $12.00 – Work by Flynn O’Brien, Hugh Fox, Ryan Mattern, Joseph M. Gant, Brett Spencer, George Moore and more.

    Sex & Sexy
    Tom Poulton: Secret Art of an English Gentleman by Dian Hanson (Taschen) $17.99 – 25 Anniversary Edition with Reversible Panic Jacket

    Politics & Revolution
    The Case For Sanctions Against Israel ed. by Audrea Lim. (Verso) $14.95 – With contributions from Naomi Klein, Slavoj Žižek, Rebecca O’Brien and more.
    Mobilizing the Green Imagination: An Exuberant Manifesto by Weston Anthony (New Society) $14.95
    Remembering Che: My Life with Che Guevara, The Story of a Great Legend and Love by Aleida March (Ocean) $18.95 – by Che’s widow.
    Time to Die: The Attica Prison Revolt by Tom Wicker (Haymarket) $18.00

    Magazines
    Dwell May 12 $5.99
    True Crime Apr 12 $8.99
    Make vol 30 $14.99
    Another Man #14 Spr Sum 12 $14.99
    High Times Jun 12 $5.99
    Dazed & Confused vol 3 #8 Apr12 $9.99
    Big Cheese #142 Jan 12 $7.99
    Magnet #86 $4.99
    Wire #338 Apr 12 $9.99
    Black Velvet #72 $7.00
    Signal to Noise #63 Spr 12 $4.95
    Adbusters May Jun 12 #101 vol 20 #3 $8.95
    Harpers Magazine May 12 $6.99
    Inked May 12 #45 $6.99

    Childrens Books
    Shark King by R. Kikuo Johnson (Toon) $12.95
    Seriously Just Go To Sleep by Adam Mansbach et al. (Akashic) $15.95 – The clean version of the parody of the, oh whatever. It’s meta.

    Other Stuff
    Black Metal Greeting Cards (Dark Somber Greetings) $3.00 – To be seen to be believed.

    The things listed in this list are at our brick and mortar store at 1854 W. North Ave. Occassionally we make some of it available for mail order on our website, but we curate what we put up there. To see which new items are on our website, see quimbys.com/store

  • Offsite: Quimby's Opens Pop Up Shop In Bridgeport on May 11th & 12th as Part of Version 12: Bridgeport: The Community of the Future


    Version Festival     is an annual arts festival produced by the Public Media Institute, makers of Lumpen magazine, Proximity magazine and producers of the MDW Fair and other events and festivals. This year Version festival is opening or remixing twelve different Pop Up enterprises in the neighborhood of Bridgeport throughout the month of May. Quimby’s Bridgeport pops up along side cultural workers ,community developers, urban entrepreneurs, artists, designers, foodies, public space hackers, urban planners, cultural geographers, and dreamers.

    Quimby’s was part of the first pop up experiments that the Public Media Institute introduced to the neighborhood back in 2006. This year Quimby’s return to bring the denizens of the neighborhood a taste of Quimbys Bookstore. A selection of the finest independent zines, periodicals and books will be available.

    Quimby’s Bridgeport pop-up will be open May 11th and 12th, from 11AM to 6PM. The shop is located at  755 W 32nd Street, right behind the Blue City Bike shop on Halsted Street.

    More info: www.versionfest.org

    Quimbys Bridgeport temporary pop up shop
    At  755 W 32nd St, Chicago, IL 60616
    May 11th and 12th, from 11AM to 6PM

    Please note this event is NOT at Quimby’s in Wicker Park.

  • Australian Cartoonists' Caravan of Comics 5/9

    Australia’s premier independent  comic creators are hitting the road for three weeks in three small cars, stopping at Quimby’s on May 9th! Join us in welcoming:

    Pat  Grant – artist-writer­surfer  whose debut  graphic novel  Blue (published by Top Shelf, scroll down to see a picture of it resting on his the coffee table near his bed) about localism and  racism  may  turn  out  to  be  the Great  Australian   Graphic  Novel  Ben Hutchings – a  cartoonist  whose  softly  spoken  manner  belies  a  surprisingly  cheeky streak  that   informs  some  of  the funniest comics in the world Andrew Fulton – a quiet and  unassuming  cartoonist  whose  wordless  action  comics  are breathtaking  in  their  inventiveness  and  sense  of  play  with  the  form Mandy Ord – whose   autobiographical  comics  about  life  in  suburban  Melbourne  (including the  recent  “Sensitive  Creatures”)  are consistently  some  of  Australia’s most   accomplished sequential storytelling Douglas Holgate  – part  Viking,  all  cartoonist – is  the  Caravan’s  most  established  member having   published  numerous  children’s  titles both  in  Australia  and overseas.  His  lively style  speaks  to  an   enormous  enthusiasm  for  comics. Sarah Howell – best  known  as  2009-2010  Co-Director  of  the  National  Young  Writers’ Festival, is an accomplished  illustrator whose  style  is  sometimes  whimsical, sometimes grounded, and always stunning. David Blumenstein – the  cartoonist  behind  the  long-running comedy series  The  Bret Braddock  Adventures  a  comic  that  mines  humor  from  the  guts-­tearing feeling  you  get when  you’re  being  taken   advantage  of  by  a  boss  who  hasn’t  paid  you  in two  months. Gregory Mackay – makes  award-­winning  comics  about  a  strange  kind  of everyday­ness that  are   both  quietly  desperate  and  charmingly  beautiful.  His  long running  Francis  Bear is  published  in   French  through  The  Hoochie  Coochie. Michael Hawkins – tells  stories  of  teen  dramas  and  suburban  explorers  told  in  a  visual style  that  drips  and  bleeds  from  one  panel  into  the  next  through  Hawkin’s  amazing  ink and  watercolours.  Hawkin’s  style  is  completely  unique. Jen Breach – a  short,  bespectacled Australian based  in  New  York  City,  writes  comics about  ordinary   children  in extraordinary circumstances,  collaborating  with  a  number  of talented  cartoonists  (including  some  on the Caravan).and special  guest star  Roadie,  the  Caravan  is  delighted  to  include  John Retallick,  presenter  of  3CR   radio’s  long-running  “The  Comic  Spot.”

    More info: caravanofcomics.com

    facebook.com/caravanofcomics

    twitter.com/caravanofcomics

    Wed, May 9th, 7pm

  • Weekly Top 10

    Michael Deforge rules the Top 10 this week! And a new issue of Burn Collector!

    1. Burn Collector #16 by Al Burian (Paquita Press) $5.00

    2.   The Chicagoan #1 $19.95 – Joining the literary-minded ranks of n+1, The Paris Review, The Believer and Lapham’s Quarterly, and doing it with Midwestern flair, The Chicagoan ressurects a long defunct jazz-age magazine and focuses in on non-profit production, local distribution and general excellence in writing and design. The debut issue is a stunner, a cohesive and relevant blend of fiction, history, innovation, interviews and a 50-page oral history of Siskel and Ebert. -EF

    3. Hoody #1 A Hip Hop Comic Graph Novel by Joel CRAVE Maxime Jr $5.00 – Bouncing through a chromosplash cityscape of graffitipsychedelia, Hoody’s an all-blue Vaughn Bodian anti-hero on a trail of pig roasting secret clues. Wild motions that sometimes remind me of Bernie McGovern’s “Army of Lovers” comics. -EF

    4.  Thickness #2 by Angie Wang et al. $10.00 – Hot ‘n slimey crypto-beast on humanoid-beast action. Eagerly anticipated sophmore release for this sexy anthological comic. Works from Lisa Hanawalt, Michael DeForge, Jilian Tamaki and more.
    5. Proximity #9 Grassroots Planning and Placemaking Objects Spr 12 vol 4 #1 $11.99
    6. Field Guide to the Aliens of Star Trek The Next Generation Season Three by Joshua Chapman $1.00 – Although the “school project” alibi is wearing a little thin on this educational zine series, the nerdery aboard this enterprise holds strong and is remarkably entertaining. Makes me wish I knew more Star Trek things to crack puns about.-EF
    7. Colors #83 Win 12 $8.95
    8. Incinerator by Michael Deforge (Secret Headquarters) $5.00

    9. Kid Mafia #1 by Michael Deforge $3.00 – “That special time between the end of high school and the beginning of college… depicted by Michael DeForge, so it’s a complete fucking nightmare, OK?! With bonus skateboard action. Part one of an ongoing series. Features 2 bonus “Military Prison” strips.” – from wowcool.com

    10. Open Country #2 by Michael Deforge $3.00

  • New Stuff This Week

    Typeforce 2 The Annual Show of Emerging Typographic Allstars $20.00 – A veritable font of design wizardry -EF

    Miss me last week? Well that’s because I went out of town. But now I’m back, to tell you about TWO WEEKS worth of new stuff! Spend your tax refund here, perhaps on -LM

    Zines
    Burn Collector #16 by Al Burian (Paquita Press) $5.00 – It’s always a joy to see another installment of Al’s adventures, especially since we see him less and less in Chicago due to his relocation in Berlin. There’s plenty of flash rant-style review pieces (an Iron Maiden concert for one), books he’s read (a YA novel!), and also his comics. Like the last issue of BC there’s also some interviews too, like Tim Remis from Sweet Cobra (and of lesser-known Soviet folk singer fame), as well as Sascha Scatter of The Icarus Project. Published by Caroline Pequita’s art-freaker publishing house Pegacorn Press in Brooklyn.
    Zines 101 An Intro to Zines by Carrie $1.00 – As in the Carrie of My Aim Is True and Brilliant Mistake. Carrie is also responsible for getting a variety of her students to sell their zines here. Passing it along to the next zinester generation!
    The Match #110 Spr 12 $3.00
    Roam #3 2012 for the Life of Little Things $1.00
    9 to 5 #1 by Tom Callahan $8.00
    Infect With Intellect #1 Apr 12 $2.00
    Anarchist Panther vol 1 #3 Good Readings Zine Spring into Summer 01 by Firestarter Press $3.00
    Skulk #1 by Your Secretary $1.00 – Made during the Quimby’s 24 Hour Zine Challenge this past January.
    Interview Clothes a Paper Doll Zine by Jami Sailor and Jenna B. $1.00
    These Boots by KE Bleier $3.00
    Seesaw Fidgets by Evah Fan $5.00
    Ugly  No 1 #4 Apr 12 a Collection of Stuff and Stuff by Matt Soria $4.00
    Gems #1 Interview Zine Featuring Sic Alps Kraftwerk and Geneva Jacuzzi by Mike S and Byron Browne $4.00
    Cloud Factory #2 by Ryan Homsley and Laura Walker $3.00
    Field Guide to the Aliens of Star Trek The Next Generation, Season Three by Joshua Chapman $1.00
    Collection of Jars #1 by Zach Hamilton et al. $4.00
    Railroad Semantics #1 Eugene Protland Pocatello and Back by Aaron Dactyl $7.95
    Anarchism Marxism and Hope for the Future by Noam Chomsky and the Red and Black Revolution (Microcosm) $1.65
    Taking the Lane vol  5 Our Bodies Our Bikes by Elly Blue (Microcosm) $3.00
    Hurt Notes on Torture in a Modern Democracy by Kristian Williams (Microcosm) $6.95
    Fireweed: A Zine of Grassroots Radical Herbalism and Wild Foods Connecting with Kids and Family Life by Jess (Microcosm) $3.80
    KerBloom #95 Mar Apr 12 by Artnoose $2.00 – Comepelling reading about the author’s story to finding the right baby daddy for her fading fertility.
    Number 4 Privet Drive by Paul Schwartz $1.00
    Fag School #4 New Fiction Johnny, Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger, Join the Professionals by Brontez (Pegacorn Press) $5.00 – One half fiction, the other half interviews with activists, photographers, Michelle Tea, Tobi Vail, the DJ Robot Hustle and more.

    Comics and Comix
    Wigstaff by Ruby Thorkelson $2.00 – Hairy trickster born of bakers!

    Spitting Anorexic by Eamon Espey and Andrew Liang $2.00
    SF Supplementary File #2C by Ryan Cecil Smith $6.00
    Has Anyone Ever Told You That You Look Like Buddy Holly? by Lee Bretschneider $4.00
    More Comics by Michael Deforge, various prices: Kid Mafia #1 (of moles and bullies!), Incinerator (a beagle’s offspring!), Open Country #1 and #2 (psychic travel!).
    Sky In Stereo by Mardou $5.00
    Archer by Nate Doyle $5.00
    Bicycle Propaganda by Tom Lechner $2.00
    Tales of Inertia #1-#3 by Tom Lechner $4.00 each
    Wuvable Oaf Gory Details – Official Handbook to the Oafiverse by Ed Luce $6.00
    Mad Soul #1 by Bobby Madness (Sparkplug) $3.50
    Crass Sophisticate #28 by Josh Reinwald and Justin Rosenberg $2.00
    Xerox Candy Bar #19 XCB Newspaper Edition Mar 12 $3.00
    Reeds In The Wind Cambodian Life Under the Khmer Rouge by Danielle Chenette $4.00
    Spinadoodles #2 The Second Year May 1 2010 to June 24 2011 Daily Sketchbook comic by Sam Spina $7.00
    Grandma Stories a sort of 24 Hour Comic by Sam Spina $3.00
    Stranger Two Stranger #3 Apr 12 – Actual Stories of Craigslist Missed Connections by R. Hendricks $2.00
    Natural World #3 by Damien Jay $4.00
    Teenaged Terror issues #4-#6 $4.00 each
    Here Comic by Eroyn Franklin (Sparkplug) $7.00
    Survivalist by Box Brown $7.99
    1999  by Box Brown $5.00
    Bellanova Redstar Space Girl 4199 #379 at the Edge of the Universe by Lee Bretchneider et al. $3.99
    Howdy Pardner Small Activity Comic by Andrew Brandou (Robot) $2.00
    Grump Toast #1 and #2 by Ben Horak $5.00 each
    End of The Fucking World Parts 4 and 5 by Charles Forsman $1.00 each
    Eat To Survive Spr 12 by Jeff Mahannah $3.00
    Lou #1 by Melissa Mendes $1.00
    Bonnie N Collide Nine to Five #1-#5 Even Rollergrils Have Day Jobs by Monica Gallagher (various different prices)
    Fugue #1 and #2 a Family in Three Parts by Beth Hetland $6.00 each
    Comics by Nils Balls: Now Playing In Hell $1.50, Sketchbook Drawings Sketchball $4.00, Joseph UPMC a Production of SkeletonBalls Comics $6.00

    Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks
    Unterzakhn by Leela Corman (Schocken) $24.95
    Books by Monica Gallagher: Gods and Undergrads Books 1 and 2 and Boobage (various prices)
    Fight a Chapter Book by San Spina $5.00
    Curse of the Masking Tape Mummy Basic Instructions by Scott Meyer (Dark Horse) $14.95
    Joe Golem and the Drowning City – An Illustrated Novel by Mike Mignola et al. (SMP) $25.99
    Saga of the Swamp Thing Book 1 TPB by Alan Moore et al. (Vertigo) $19.99
    American Barbarian HC by Tom Scioli (Adhouse) $19.95
    100 Bullets HC Book 2 by Brian Azzarello (Vertigo) $49.99
    Pete and Miriam and Rich Tommaso (Boom) $14.99
    Lovecraft Anthology vol 1 Graphic Collection of Short Stories by HP Lovecraft (Self Made Hero) $19.95
    Holiday Funeral by Nick Mullins $10.95

    Art & Design Books
    Mark Whalen: Human Development (Zero) $45.00
    Amalgamate: The Art Design and Exploration of Blaine Fontana (Zero) $45.00
    Now and Then: The Cabinet Card Paintings by Alex Gross (Gingko) $14.95
    De Nada: The Art of Jeral Tidwell (Presto) $34.99
    Physical Impossibility of Remembering Last New Years for Ross Turning Us…by Gregg Evans $5.00
    Abstract City HC by Christoph Niemann (Abrams) $24.95
    Fuse Collection #1 through 20 From Invention to Antimatter Twenty Years of Fuse by Neville Brody et al. (Taschen) $59.99
    Making Wet the Magazine of Gourmet Bathing by Leonard Koren (Imperfect) $39.00

    Fiction
    Kingdom Come by JG Ballard (Norton) $24.95
    Cambridge Street by John Michael Manship $8.99
    Ataraxia Boom Boom by Michael Nolan $12.00

    Mayhem, Miscreants, Memoirs & Misc
    How to Sharpen Pencils: A Practical & Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening for Writers, Artists, Contractors, Flange Turners, Anglesmiths, & Civil Servants by David Rees (Melville) $19.95 – Remember Get Your War On and My Fighting Technique is Unstoppable? This is his new John-Hodgmanish book, about sharpening pencils.

    All My Friends Are Still Dead by Avery Monsen et al. (Chronicle) $9.95 – Second book  in the series of a top selling humor book about punnishly showing angst over dead comrads.
    Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (Knopf) $25.95
    Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure (Riverhead) $16.00 – Now in soft cover.
    New Literary History of America ed by Greil Marcus et al. (Harvard) $24.95 – Now in soft cover.
    So You Created a Wormhole: The Time Travelers Guide to Time Travel by Phil Hornshaw et al. (Berkley) $15.00 – All wibbly wobbly timey wimey.

    Magazines
    Proximity #9 Grassroots Planning and Placemaking Objects Spr 12 vol 4 #1 $11.99
    Juxtapoz #136 May 12 $5.99
    ArtForum Apr 12 $10.00
    Koshka #2 Homesick and Hungry by Kaitlin Kostus $4.00
    True Crime Mar 12 $8.99
    True Crime Spring Special 12 20 All True Murder Stories $6.99
    Dot Connector #15 $7.95
    2600 Hacker Quarterly vol 29 #1 $6.25
    Pinstriping #31 Kustom Graphics Magazine $9.95
    various older Lumpens!
    BlackBook #90 Mar 12 $4.95
    Acne Paper Spr 12 $17.99
    Tiki Magazine vol 8 #1 Spr Sum 12 $6.99
    Ghetto Blaster #31 $7.00
    Tattoo Flash #113 May 12 $7.99
    Make Shift #11 Spr Sum 12 $6.95
    Makeshift #2 Win 12 Journal of Hidden Creativity $10.00 (2 different mags with the same name, for real. When thinking up a name for your mag, how about do a simple google search? Just musing…)
    Paleo Magazine Apr May 12 $5.99 – For those leading a paleo lifestyle. Are you into digesting your food with rocks in a gizzard? Perhaps this is the magazine for you.

    Literary Journals, Poetry & Chap Books
    Pageboy Magazine 4 12 $10.00
    Ecotone #13 $12.95
    Slake Los Angeles #4 2012 Dirt $18.00
    Ghetto Blaster #31 $3.95
    Pocho Love by Pablo Ramirez $10.00
    D: A Novella Deluxe Collectors Edition by Ronald Jones $19.95

    Childrens & Radical Parenting Books
    Monster Within: The Hidden Side of Motherhood by Barbara Almond (U of Calif) $19.95
    Piranha Pancakes: A Buncha Silly Comics and Stories by Ray Fresen $9.95
    Adventures of Tintin Young Readers Editions by Herge: Shooting Star (with 20 extra bonus pages), Crab with the Golden Claws $8.99 each

    Sex & Sexy
    Thickness #2 by Angie Wang et al. $10.00 – Hot ‘n slimey crypto-beast on humanoid-beast action. Eagerly anticipated sophmore release for this sexy anthological comic. Works from Lisa Hanawalt, Michael DeForge, Jilian Tamaki and more.
    Fukitor #7 $10.00
    OP Original Plumbing #9 Trans Male Quarterly $8.00 – The Entertainment Issue. Features with Silas Howard, trans on film, Black Cracker, Schmekel, Geo Wyeth and more.
    Handbook vol 6 #2 2012 $6.00 – Starring three previously featured nude guys from past issues.

    DIY
    Homesweet Homegrown How to Grow Make and Store Food No Matter Where You Live by Robyn Jasko et al. (Microcosm) $9.95
    Cannibal Kitchen: A Horror Lovers Cookbook Over 90 Amazing Recipes Each With a Horrific Twist by Shannon Rullo $25.00
    Cats Claw Herbal #1 DIY Medicinal Skin Care Stories Instructions…(Micorcosm) $1.10

    Other Stuff
    Skate Boarding Coloring Book by Magnus Frederiksen (Dokument) $9.95
    Steampunk Tarot Card Set by Barbara Moore (Llewellyn) $28.95

  • Jeffrey Brown Celebrates Free Comic Book Day Here on 5/5

    Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown explores, What if Darth Vader actively raised his son? What if “I am your father” was just a stern admonishment from an annoyed dad? In this hilarious and sweet comic reimagining, Darth Vader is a dad like any other—except with all the baggage of being the Dark Lord of the Sith. Celebrated artist Jeffrey Brown’s delightful illustrations give classic Star Wars moments a fresh twist, showing that the trials and joys of parenting are universal, even in a galaxy far, far away. Life lessons include lightsaber battling practice, using the Force to raid a cookie jar, Take Your Child to Work Day on the Death Star, and the special bonding moments shared between any father and son. Humorous and touching, Darth Vader and Son is the perfect gift for dads of the Star Wars generation.

    And guess what? For Free Comic Book Day Jeffrey Brown is debuting a free comic book specifically for folks who come to this event at Quimby’s!

    Jeffrey Brown is the author of numerous graphic novels and comics, including Cat Getting Out of a Bag, Cats Are Weird, Clumsy, Unlikely and other titles. Jeffrey also co-wrote and created artwork for the film Save The Date, which was selected for Dramatic Film Competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. A lifelong Star Wars fan, he lives in Chicago with his wife and five-year-old son.

  • Weekly Top 10

    Proximity #9 is at #3 this week.

    1. The Chicagoan #1 $19.95 – Joining the literary-minded ranks of n+1, The Paris Review, The Believer and Lapham’s Quarterly, and doing it with Midwestern flair, The Chicagoan ressurects a long defunct jazz-age magazine and focuses in on non-profit production, local distribution and general excellence in writing and design. The debut issue is a stunner, a cohesive and relevant blend of fiction, history, innovation, interviews and a 50-page oral history of Siskel and Ebert. -EF

    2. Hi-Fructose #23 $6.95 – Showcasing an eclectic mix of underground artists, pop surrealists, emerging and rediscovered counter cultures, and awe inspiring art.

    3. Proximity #9 Grassroots Planning and Placemaking Objects Spr 12 vol 4 #1 $11.99

    4. Lucky Peach #3 Cooks and Chefs Issue (McSweeney’s) $12.00 – Dave Chang of the Momofuku restaurant empire alternates between griping about everything being done already and the kids having no motivation these days in this new issue which I thought was themed “The Death of Integrity” but instead seems to be about, uh, “Cooks and Chefs”. I’m still up in the air about how self-referential this magazine is – it’s sort of like a chef perzine with a big magazine budget, which sometimes makes it’s cavalier attitude feel like chef crony-ism and empty trash talk. All the same, I’m interested in eating and the Matt Furie centerfold is sooper cute. Food is dead, long live food. -EF

    5. Cave Girl by Ireal $1.00 Unfoldable stories of Cave Girl living, a lot about mushroom hunting, musings on bears and beasts, spiders too. -EF

    6. Trubble Club #5 by Everybody – Mi Familia! The cartoonist cabal is back for more with this deluxxx edition full color comics offering, silkscreen print and possibly stickers (Thanks Post Family!)! Trubble from: Nate Beaty, Grant Reynolds, Laura Park, Jeremy Tinder, Aaron Renier, Rachel Niffenegger, Bernie McGovern, Lilli Carré, Corinne Mucha, Jeffrey Brown, Lucy Knisley, Becca Taylor, Jose Garibaldi, Joshua Cotter, Joe Tallarico, Onsmith, Lyra Hill, Sam Sharpe and Carrie Vinarsky with assists from Ezra Claytan Daniels, Craig Thompson, Thorne Brandt, Erika Moen, Antoine Dode and Alec Longstreth. KAPOW! -EF
    (P.S. Edie is far too modest to write that he himself is also in it! -LM)

    7. Judas Goat #53 by Grant Schreiber $1.50

    8. My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf (Abrams ComicArts) $17.95 – Backderf puts together a memoir of high school in the washed out suburban seventies when he was classmates and comrades with grisly serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. My Friend Dahmer is a compelling read in the way it maps the social environment and reflects on Dahmer’s self-awareness. Backderf focuses in with a too-close-for-comfort look at Dahmer’s disturbed adolescence and also his humanity, and this is the most shocking and intriguing part of this book, the separation -for a minute- of the man from the monster. It doesn’t attempt to tackle the truly gruesome part of Dahmer’s biography, the part we all know, and so the portrait the book produces is both intimate and casual – a bit like Gus VanSant’s Elephant, a character study where we are looking at some trecherous moral precipices, and trying to understand what makes someone leap from them. -EF

    9. Lucky Peach #2 The Sweet Spot $12.00

    10. Cat & Gnome by Graham Roumieu (Blue Q) $7.99

  • Radical Librarians to Host a Midwest Zine Festival April 28th in Urbana, IL


    Do you make zines? Do you DIY? Do you run a distro/make art/like to hang out with other folks that do these things? Well this event is for you. The Radical Librarians are pleased to announce the second annual Midwest Zine Festival (MWZF). The Fest take place from 11 AM to 11:30 PM on April 28th at the Independent Media Center (IMC) at 202 S. Broadway, Urbana, IL 61801. The Fest will be a gathering of zine-makers, authors, speakers, musicians and other rad people for the purpose of celebrating zines and zine-culture. MWZF will include interactive events, food, speakers, music and plenty of zines. The festival is open to the public and admission is free. Organizers are now taking registrations from artists, zine-makers, activists, authors or groups interested in having a table, presenting talks, or purposing interactive events as part of the festival. It will also feature an evening concert sponsored by the C-U Collective.

    The Radical Librarians group at the Independent Media Center is headed up by Chris Ritzo, Jeanie Austin and Maggie Taylor, all Graduates of the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science. The IMC has had a zine library since about 2001. The library was originally started in the living room of volunteers interested in sharing zines and other materials. The library is volunteer run and takes donations from the public.

    The 2012 MWZF is co-sponsored by Common Ground Food Coop, Weiskamp screenprinting, and an arts grant from the City of Urbana.

    More info:
    midwestzinefest.ucimc.org
    ucimc.org
    Click here to register to table.
    facebook.com/events/335167909850531

  • Weekly Top 10

    1. The Chicagoan #1 $19.95 – Joining the literary-minded ranks of n+1, The Paris Review, The Believer and Lapham’s Quarterly, and doing it with Midwestern flair, The Chicagoan ressurects a long defunct jazz-age magazine and focuses in on non-profit production, local distribution and general excellence in writing and design. The debut issue is a stunner, a cohesive and relevant blend of fiction, history, innovation, interviews and a 50-page oral history of Siskel and Ebert. -EF

    2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins $8.99

    3. Roctober #50 $5.00 – Roctober is 20 years old! This is issue #50! I love this magazine!!!!! LOVE THIS MAGAZINE! Let’s have a party.  -EF P.S. Thanks to everybody that came out for this event last week.

    4. The Avocado #1 by Mellie Manfredi- Winter writing about feelin’ chilly and eating chili! -EF

    5. Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace (33 1/3 Series) by Aaron Cohen (Continuum) $12.95

    6. Doris #29 by Cindy Crabb $2.00 – More mini horse adventures(!), tales of life, grandparents and Girls Rock Camp plus half the issue devoted to a longer personal essay, charmingly titled “How I learned to stop worrying and love being queer.” It’s a new issue of Doris, of course you should read it. -EF

    7. DIY Magic (Floating World Comics) $13.95 – Magical practice for the roving tripper, sloppy scrapper, intuitive lifesprout, beligerent believer, permanent vacationer and dirty weirdo. Illustrated by a dream team of visual power – Ron Rege, Pippi Zornoza, Aiden Koch, Tommi Musturi, Inés Estrada, Dunja Jankovic, Christian DiFilippo and Lala Albert amongst much others! Call these corners, pronto! -EF

    8. The Baffler #19 $10.00 – What?! A new issue of THE BAFFLER?! For reals.

    9. Crap Hound #8 Superstition by Sean Tejaratchi (Show & Tell Press) $12.00 – A new issue of Crap Hound! This issue meditates on such things as black cats, butterflies, knots, candles…All with a wonderful “Fair Use” collage-y awesomeness. “One of my favorite zines of all time” –Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

    10. Bust Apr May 12 $5.99