Blog

  • New Stuff This Week

     _________ by Lisa Carver $20.00 – Lisa (as in Suckdog, Rollerderby and so on) took up painting while at the same time exercising her sexual abuse demons and meditates on the long term effects, in this powerful, haunting self-published book, not currently available through very many distribution channels. This material is so raw that she didn’t even give the book a name.

    Zines & Zine-Related Books
    Doris #29 $2.00
    Bound to Struggle vol 5 Praxis Where Kink and Radical Politics Meet by Simon Strikeback $5.00
    Dwelling Portably #5 $4.00 – So packed with DIY health/sustainability (etc.) info that the articles start on the cover.
    Bamboozled: The Joey Torrey Story by Joey Torrey $5.00 – The story of a boxer on his way to success when he was recruited to “clean up” the boxing industry, whereupon he was “rewarded” with maximum security prison.
    Its Down to This #1 A Response to Sexual Violence Abuse and Accountability, Reflections Stories Experiences Critiques and Ideas on Community and Collective ed. by Claire Urb $3.00
    Entropy Zine by Peregrine $5.00
    Shotgun Seamstress #6 by Osa $3.00
    When Language Runs Dry #4: A Zine For People With Chonic Pain and Their Allies ed. by Meredith and Claire $4.00
    Nicey Hatey #1 by Dari $.50
    Get Fit for the Pit #1: A Zine on Taking Back Our Health and Fitness $2.00 – Zinesters share their adventures with attempting to stay fit and how it plays out in thier own indep publishing peer spheres. What hooked me? The subtitle of this piece: “An Aging Punk Slob Takes Up Running.” I will be buying this TONIGHT and reading it the minute I get home. -LM
    Joyland Retro vol 1 #1 Selections From Joyland Magazine 2012 $6.00
    Simple History Series: Nez Perce Indians by J. Gerlach $3.00
    MFB #1 by Francois Brunet $15.00
    Hip Mama #51 $5.95
    Bitch #54 $5.95
    Paper Houses #1 Essays and Elongated Patches of Syllables Pronouns Conjunctions by Kriss Stress $3.00
    Avocado #1 by Mellie Manfredi $2.00
    Remedy Quarterly #8 Adventure $7.50
    Prison Industrial Complex Is by The Chicago PIC Teaching Collective, Project NIA and Billy Dee $5.00

    Comics & Comix
    You Dont Get There From Here #22 by Carrie McNinch $2.00
    Kisses by Jason Wyatt Frederick $2.00
    Cheech Wizard vol 3 by Vaughn Bode (Last Gasp) $4.95
    Kim Gee Comics #6 by Kim Gee $5.00
    Dope Mouthfeel #1 by Steve Schaberg $3.00
    Anna Moriarty titles: Art Bitch vol 1 $3.00, Shelf Life issues #1-#3 $5.00 each

    Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks
    Glitz 2 Go Collected Comics by Diane Noomin (Fantagraphics) $19.99

    Art & Design Books
    Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present by Art Hazelwood (Freedom Press) $25.95
    Pages From Books vol 1 by Jay Howell $12.00
    How and Nosm -The Brazil Diaries (From Here to Fame) $14.95
    Zebster Aka Zeb Roc Ski by Zebster $14.95

    Fiction
    Chicago Stories: 40 Dramatic Fictions by Michael Czyzniejewski and Rob Funderburk $14.99
    Threats by Amelia Gray (FSG) $14.00
    Fires of Our Own Choosing by Eugene Cross (Dzanc) $15.95

    Mayhem, Miscreants, Memoirs & Misc
    Rub Out The Words: The Letters of William S Burroughs 1959-1974 ed. by Bill Morgan (Harper) $35.00
    UFOs: Myths Conspiracies and Realities by John B. Alexander PhD (Thomas Dunne) $16.99 – Now in soft cover.

    DIY
    Composting by Bob Flowerdew (Skyhorse) $14.95

    Politics & Revolution
    Administration of Fear by Paul Virilio (Semitexte) $12.95

    Magazines
    Maximumrocknroll #346 Mar 12 $4.00
    SteamPunk Magazine #8 Lifestyle Mad Science Theory and Fiction $8.00
    Purple Fashion vol 3 #17 $45.00
    Headmaster #3 $20.00
    Color Ink Book vol 14 DIY Art Periodical $10.00
    Infamous #6 $6.99
    HotShoe Feb Mar 12 $12.00
    Backwoodsman vol 33 #2 Mar Apr 12 $4.95
    Pop Magazine #26 Spr Sum 12 $14.95
    Gothic Beauty #35 $6.95
    Lovecat #4 $8.00
    Treating Yourself #33 $7.99
    Skunk vol 7 #6 $5.99
    Boneshaker Magazine #8 $10.00
    Pinstriping #30 Justom Graphics Magazine $9.95
    Skateboard Mag #97 $3.99
    Fangoria #311 $9.99
    Filter #47 $5.95
    Fader #78 Feb Mar 12 $5.99
    Monocle vol 6 #51 Mar 12 $10.00
    ASR #57 Win 12 Anarcho Syndicalist Review $5.00
    In These Times Mar 12 $3.50

    Literary Journals, Poetry & Chap Books
    Bad Version vol 1 #2 by The Icarus Project win 12 $9.00
    Rock and Sling vol 7 #1 Win Spr 12 $10.00
    Public Space #15 $12.00
    Camera Obscura vol 4 Spr 12 $12.95
    Hobart #13 $11.95
    American Short Fiction vol 15 #54 Spr 12 $10.00
    Skeptical Inquirer Mar Apr 12 vol 36 #2 $4.95

    Sex & Sexy
    Beneath Contempt and Happy To Be There: The Fighting Life of Porn King Al Goldstein (Headpress) $19.95
    Oh My Comix #3 $4.00
    RFD #149 Spr 12 $9.95
    Travel Naturally #82 $9.95
    Sleazy Slice #5 by Robin Bougie $6.00 – Holy Moly, this is for sure the most solid issue yet of Robin Bougie’s cum-drenched comics anthology/cesspool. Bougie and Maxine Frank follow up their absurdly amazing story in Maximum Superexcitement #3 with a sex control megabattle of giant naked ladies (there’s an abridged version of this in Oh My Comics #3, btw). Then Karl Wills dicks around with Jessica the junkie schoolgirl and the team of Steve Carter and Antoinette Ryder blow your mind to the Mad Maximum in a post-apocalyptic Down-Under hellhole orgy. Then John Howard does a smash bang job in “Leather Whore” of visualizing Andrea Dworkin’s writing on porn. Jason “Fukitor” Karns draws an expectedly nasty, surprisingly undersexed, corndog-fixated shortie called “Carnie Tramp” and the curtains close on a gallery of Tom Crites’ pinups for the demonically possessed. Nicely arranged and surely deranged, bang for yr buck, hun. -EF

    Other Stuff
    A bunch of different Field Notes blank books, a variety of sizes/colors/styles $9.95

    Everything we list on our blog is available at our brick and mortar store. But not everything we sell at the brick and mortar store is available from our webstore. Click here to see what is new in our webstore!

  • George R.R. Washington Presents A Game of Groans 3/27

    A GAME OF GROANS
    A Sonnet of Slush and Soot By George R.R. Washington

    It’s the story fans of George R.R. Martin’s series A Song of Fire and Ice know and love—well, sort of. In the wayward world of GEORGE R.R. WASHINGTON’s A GAME OF GROANS:  A Sonnet of Slush and Soot (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Griffin; 1-250-01126-4; March 27, 2012; Trade Paperback Original; $9.99) seasons can last decades. And trouble is brewing. The warmth is returning, and in the thawing tundra of the North of Summerseve, something wicked is coming. A GAME OF GROANS  is the story of the Barkers of Summerseve, headed by Lord Headcase Barker and Lady Gateway Bully Barker, and their children including Allbran, Bobb, Malia, Sasha, and of course, bastard Juan Nieve (all followed by their pet direpandas, natch).

    The Barkers are a family unit as hard and unforgiving as the pronunciation of “Daenerys Targaryen” and nothing will be the same after a visit from King Bobbert Baronme and the royal family. Swooping from this land of sweater weather to a balmy kingdom of equestrian delights and outdoor fornication, here is an epic of novella proportions. Amid plots and counterplots, wizards and warriors, poor reception and no wireless, the future of the Barkers, their BFFs, and their enemies dangles in the balance, as each strives to star in that funniest of concepts: a parody of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones

    GEORGE R.R. WASHINGTON is the author of many novels. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Outer Limits, Teen Wolf, and many other films and pilots that are currently stored in the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. He lives with the lovely Natalie in Chicago, Illinois.

    Tues, March 27th, 7pm

  • Call for Best American Comics

    A word from Jessica Abel and Matt Madden, the series editors of The Best American Comics for comics artists and publishers!

    Hi everyone,

    This is a note to remind you that we are, as always, collecting submissions for the Best American Comics. Great stuff comes out all year round and we want to get our hands on it as soon as possible. In addition, it makes our guest editors’ jobs much more manageable if we can supply them with a large batch of excellent booty by mid-summer.

    So please submit your books published since September 1 of 2011 for Best American Comics 2013. If you don’t publish books, we’ve put you on our reminder list because we know you know people who do, and we hope you’ll pass on this reminder to them. Especially when it comics to minis, webcomics, and very small press, we need your help to make sure we’re seeing what’s great out there in the comics world.

    How to submit:
    Mail one copy of each of your books to us at the address below. Please make sure to attach your contact information and the RELEASE DATE. If it’s not inside the book, stick a post-it on the cover with that info.

    For more details on the submissions process and rules, look here: http://www.hmhbooks.com/bestamerican/comics/contacts.html

    BAC11, under guest editor Alison Bechdel, has been one of our most popular volumes yet and I’m pleased to be able to announce to you “officially” the the guest editor for BAC12 is none other than Françoise Mouly! (As for BAC13, you’ll just have to wait and see…)

    Looking ahead, Jessica and Matt will both be at MoCCA Fest  and will have a table where you can drop books off if you don’t see us walking the floor. Matt will also be at TCAF the following weekend. We look forward to seeing you.

    thanks and get in touch if you have any questions,

    Jessica Abel and Matt Madden
    Series Editors
    The Best American Comics
    Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
    215 Park Avenue South
    New York, NY 10003

  • Weekly Top 10

    1. The Chicagoan #1 $19.95 – 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.

    2. Inside Pee-Wees Playhouse: The Untold Unauthorized and Unpredictable Story of a Pop Phenemenon by Caseen Gaines (ECW) $19.95 – Thanks to everybody that came out to this event this past Friday. We were told Large Marge sent them. The word of the day was AWESOME.

    3. Notes For A Peoples Atlas: People Making Maps of Their Cities (AREA Chicago) $8.00

    4. Truckface #15 $3.00 – Third year teaching high school English for CPS starts with LB hacking up a foreboding bloody clotball snotball. Truckface continues to be an annual report of both teaching and being taught- moving through all the drama, anger, goofiness and apathy and learning how to learn from it all. -EF

    5. Mono Kultur #30 Win 11/12: Chris Ware a Sense of Thereness –  Well, yes…..Surprising, compelling interview zine import with Mr. Ware. 24p, red and black ink, color cover, 6″x8″

    6. Gangsta Rap Posse #2 by Benjamin Marra (Traditional Comics) – You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.

    7. Chameleon #2 by Jesse Balmer and Jonny Negron $10.00 – Rage exercises and messy ends. Jesse Balmer gives us a dirty line to feline mind control, Jon Boam does a room study that reminds me of Luke Ramsey’s Islands’ Fold books, Patrick Kyle sends us to the trollverse and keeps us there, Uno Moralez keeps it pixelatin’, Roman Muradov works some stylish melancholy into his piece on sheltering umbrellas- it reminds me a little of Laura Park’s work for Mome- Jonny Negron drafts a great, gritty street fight and Zejian Shen takes the cake with a nocturnal mission – her drawing of a pool of virgin blood is maybe my favorite thing in this book that’s already all-thriller, no-filler. Look straight into these eyes, kiddies. -EF

    8. Hark a Vagrant by Kate Beaton (D&Q) $19.95

    9. Bust Feb Mar 12 $5.99

    10. Giant Robot #65 $4.99

  • New Stuff This Week

    Zingmagazine #22 $30.00 – WHAT? Five years after Zingmagazine #21, the 15th anniversary special, Zing #22 just decides to stroll in the door? One of the best art magazines -uh- ever, this issue is extra beefy, with an emphasis on curated collaboration and cross-reference, artists projects and over 300 pages it’s the magazine that reads like a show catalogue. 300+, 8.5″x11″ color. With CD!

    Zines and Zine-Related Books
    Brainscan #27 Ten Stories by Alex Wrekk $1.00
    East Village Inky #49 by Ayun Halliday $3.00
    Domesticated #1 $20.00
    Hell House by Nick Hoffman $7.00 – Grunge club monster drawings, haunted surfboards, amatuer hour bewitcheries, mummy maps and pyramid power with audio accompaniment for yer seance hangover. C’mon, everyday is Halloween, right? -EF

    Mental The Gorgeous Attitude Novel $5.00
    Circles Cycles Circuits by Dunja Jankovic $12.00
    Floating Thoughts and Other Miscellaneous Stuff $1.00
    Every Reason #8 $1.00
    Importance of Writing Things Down #1: Anti Dentities in Theory and Practice 95 04 by Matt Davis $3.00
    More zines by Carrie: I Made This Zine At Work, It’s No Secret You Are Beautiful, both $1.00 each
    Maximum Rad: The Iconic Covers of Thrasher Magazine by Thrasher Magazine $35.00
    Thirty years’ worth! Totally maximum rad. Not to be confused with totally minimum rad.
    Note and Bolts #2 A Programme of Pizza Pedantics $4.50 – Local food, art and culture zine.
    Zines by kids!: Compiled Thoughts of a Teenager by Faye Adams $1.50, Unlong This is Short I Bet You Have No Life This is Hard To Read by Ima Doof $1.00, Being A 13 Year Old Girl #1 by Liv Love $1.00, Cest La Vie #2 by Imogen R. Hansen $1.50

    Comics & Comix
    Demon Dust #8 win 12 by Bernie Mcgovern $2.00 – Formally known as Demongun. This issue, the cosmos as reflected in personal decisions.
    Naked Heroes #1 by Benjamin Marra $1.00
    Pocket Full of Coffee by Joe Decie $5.00
    Sodom by Susan Sarandon $4.00 – Life and death in the mousetroshpere from the the celebrity artists at Waxwing studios. -EF

    Unwelcome Guests 2 Stories by Brad Gottschalk $3.50
    Spuzz #2 Enter the Tube by Jack Mulkern $4.00
    You Are What You Sing by Alexis Vert $1.00

    Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks
    Lynda Barry: Girlhood through the Looking Glass by Susan E. Kirtley (UPressMiss) $25.00
    Nature of the Beast by Adam Mansbach et al. (Soft Skull) $23.95 – From author of Go the Fuck to Sleep.
    Downsized by Matt Howarth (Adhouse) $6.95
    Too Much Coffee Man: Cutie Island by Shannon Wheeler (Boom) $17.99
    Long Day of Mr James Teacher by Harvey James $7.99
    Black Dynamite #1 by Brian Ash $5.95

    Art & Design Books
    Tooth: Graphic Art of Dale Flattum (La Mano Press) $20.00 – Don’t miss Dale Flattum here with Zak Sally and John Porcellino on 3/23. showcases 25 years of his graphic art. It includes 250 page volume mixes posters, illustrations & propaganda into a semi autobiographical history, as told through a Xerox machine. *It also includes a CD of music pulled from the author’s shady nine year musical past in the bands Steel Pole Bath Tub, Milk Cult, The Nein, and Agent Nova. (The CD also includes the unreleased Novex second album.)
    Zoostalgia: Saudade of the Gigatherid by Manvir Singh $9.95 – Signh continues the exploration of genetic abberance begun in The Evolutionist’s Doodlebook, this time an adventure into extinction – the factual made pleasingly cartoon-ual for easy digestion.

    Fiction
    Taste of Penny by Jeff Parker (Dzanc) $16.95 – Don’t miss Jeff Parker here at Quimby’s on 3/1 with Eugene Cross, Kevin Chong and Megan Stielstra, presented by Hosted by Joyland co-founder Brian Joseph Davis and Dzanc co-publisher Dan Wickett. We also have Beauty Plus Pity by Kevin Cong (Arsenal) $16.95 who is reading.
    Hot Pink by Adam Levin (McSweeneys) $22.00 – New book of short stories from the Chicago-based author of The Instructions. It’s hilarious, tender, quirky and entertaining. He’ll be reading here at Quimby’s on 3/13 with Tim Kinsella, author of The Karaoke Singers Guide to Self Defense and member of such bands as Cap’n Jazz and Joan of Arc.
    Pandora 2011 Accounts of the Cursed Shopping Center by Ivan Borodin $9.00
    Haunting of Laurilee Inn by TrishAnn Williams $12.95
    The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier (Vintage) $15.00- Human wounds and suffering emit visible life. Now in soft cover!

    Literary Journals, Poetry & Chap Books
    Anobium vol 2 Win 12 $10.00 – Featuring new writing by R.A. Allen, David Applebaum, Annah Browning, Rance Denton, Vernon Frazer, Roxane Gay, Benjamin Goluboff, John Gosslee, Jonathan Greenhause, Jac Jemc, Jeffrey Maclachlan, Kristine Ong Muslim, D.E. Steward, Graham Tugwell. Also features a curatorial section with selections from Derek Sanchez-Hoeksema, Blaster “Al” Ackerman, Patrick Somerville, Jesse Ball. Cover by Jacob van Loon and artwork by Ivan de Monbrison.

    After Hours #24 Win 12 $8.00
    Brick #88 Win 12 $15.00
    Wax Poetics #50 $11.99
    Wilt/I Thought I Was Your Favorite by Emily Schikora and Elizabeth Lanell (Habit 2012) $10.00

    Mayhem, Miscreants, Memoirs & Misc
    Ritual America: Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on American Society: A Visual Guide by Craig Heimbichner and Adam Parfrey (Feral House) $29.95 – “Secret society historian Craig Heimbichner follows the Middle Path to wisdom. He stays awake when we are all asleep. He works the graveyard shift in the secret lodge. He break-dances with the skeletons in the closet. He does the hokey-pokey with his whole body in. He shakes it all about. He turns himself around. And he tells us what “IT” is all about.” – Joan d’Arc in Paranoia The Conspiracy Reader.

    The Supreme Team: The Birth of Crack and Hip-Hop, Prince’s Reign of Terror and the Supreme/50 Cent Beef Exposed (Gorilla Convict Publications) $19.95 – Seth Ferranti’s Street Legends series. Ferranti himself wound up at the wrong end of the DEA and has been incarcerated since 1993, so he’s met more than a few fat cat criminals and their associates.

    Music Books
    Madonna and Me Women Writers on the Queen of Pop ed. by Laura Barcella and Jessica Valenti (Soft Skull) $16.95
    The Sex Pistols: The Graphic Novel bY J. McCarthy and S. Parkhouse (Omnibus) $15.95
    Listen Whitey: The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975 by Pat Thomas (Fantagraphics) $39.99 – Noted music producer and scholar Pat Thomas spent five years researching this book. Featured: Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver, the forgotten history of  Motown’s Black Power subsidiary label, Black Forum and more.

    Childrens Books
    Chick and Chickie Play All Day a Toon Book by Claude Ponti $12.95
    Zig and Wikki in The Cow a Toon Book by Nadja Spiegelman and Trade Loeffler (Toon) $12.95

    Magazines
    Murder Most Foul #83 $9.99
    Paper Spr 12 vol 28 #5 $4.00
    Harpers Magazine Mar 12 $6.99
    Tattoo Society #32 $7.99

    Sex & Sexy
    Doktor Mentor – The Disturbingly Perverted Diary of the Jail Babe Surgeon – We just got issues of #3 thorugh #5. $9.95 each.
    Bettie Page In Danger #1 and #2 $9.95 each. Both come with 3D glasses!
    Hot Moms vol 2 TPB by Rebecca (Eros) $18.99
    House Wives At Play Kidnapped by Rebecca (Eros) $9.99

    Everything we list on our blog is available at our store. But not everything is available on our website. Click here to see what is new in our webstore!

  • Zak Sally, Dale Flattum and John Porcellino 3/23

    Quimby’s welcomes Zak Sally, Dale Flattum and John Porcellino!

    Sammy the Mouse: Volume 1 by Zak Sally (Colors throughout, 104 Pages) is the first collection of sammy the mouse comics, all in a beautifully bound, handmade package. This collection is the first three issues of Eisner Award Nominee Zak Sally’s comic Sammy the Mouse (previously serialized as part the international Ignatz line of comics published simultaneously by Fantagraphics Books in the United States and Coconino Press in Italy). For this collection, Sally printed each copy on his own AB Dick 9810 offset press and is releasing it under his La Mano publishing house. Sally is personally responsible for every step in the bookmaking process; from conception to execution to reproduction to delivery, making each hand-signed copy the product of one artist’s unique vision. Volume 1 introduces us to Sammy, his friends and frienemies, and a fantastical town that’s as elegantly drawn and viscerally alive as the characters themselves. Sammy is tugged and pulled about town against his own volition in this first part in the series; from a bar in the shape of a baby to the top of a giant staircase to a picnic on the beach with a mustachioed female stranger. Some characters are seemingly controlled by an unseen voice from above, others by the constant need to get drunk. Throughout the book, Sally offers glimpses of the epic tale ahead between the drinking, arguing, and vomiting. Meticulously drawn and printed using a sophisticated two-color process, Sammy the Mouse: Volume 1 is an extremely funny, weird and intense introduction to what will be a truly unique series.

    PRAISE FOR SAMMY THE MOUSE
    “A grimy, metaphysical malaise drips from every line of Sally’s lush yet unwholesome artwork, especially when he’s plundering the iconography of innocence and youth in the service of disorienting discomfort… A-” – The Onion AV Club

    “And then there’s Zak Sally’s Sammy The Mouse which for me has been a revelation…” – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

    “Nothing else I’ve seen in thirty years of self- enforced sobriety has made me want a drink more than Sammy the Mouse. Zak Sally grabs you by the eyes and drags you headlong into a vision of earnest struggle and serial revelation. It feels real. Hell, it is real.” –Jim Woodring

    “Sally is producing a real sharp, evocative and haunting work that manages to send a deli- cious chill up my spine upon reading it.” – Chris Mautner, Robot 6

    Zak Sally is an Eisner-nominated cartoonist whose work has appeared all over the place. He owns and operates La Mano, an award-winning “micro-publishing” house who has published work by John Porcellino, William Schaff, Nate Denver, Jason Miles, and Kim Deitch. He spent 12 years in the band Low.

    ——————-

    Dale Flattum creates posters, art forgeries, and other screen printed propaganda under the alias TOOTH. His book TOOTH: The Graphic Art of Dale Flattum showcases 25 years of his graphic art. It includes 250 page volume mixes posters, illustrations & propaganda into a semi autobiographical history, as told through a Xerox machine. *It also includes a CD of music pulled from the author’s shady nine year musical past in the bands Steel Pole Bath Tub, Milk Cult, The Nein, and Agent Nova. (The CD also includes the unreleased Novex second album.)

    “When I was 16 years old,” Dale explains, “I tore a weird looking poster off of a telephone pole near my house. It was crudely assembled, cheaply produced, and probably the greatest thing I’d ever seen. Later when I started to play music, the poster for the show became almost as important as the show itself. It was proof that something had happened. It was subversive propaganda. It was fun. It was addicting. And what did you need to do it? Scissors? Glue? A Xerox machine? An 8.5 x 11 piece of paper turned out to be a very powerful thing. The possibilities were endless.”

    “TOOTH makes needles out of haystacks.” Dirk Fowler

    “Blunt, in your face, yet abstract at the same time. Much of this book feels sticky to me for some reason. I’m glad Dale has kept this up and sharpened his art tongs over the years.” -Jello Biafra

    “TOOTH’s exquisite work looks so effortless. He can do in a moment what I have to STRUGGLE to do. I’m jealous!” -Art Chantry

    “Awesome!!!” -Wayne Coyne

    ——————-

    John Porcellino has been writing, drawing, and publishing minicomics, comics, and graphic novels for over twenty-five years. His celebrated self-published series King-Cat Comics, begun in 1989, has inspired a generation of cartoonists. Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man, a collection of King-Cat stories about Porcellino’s experiences as a pest control worker, won an Ignatz Award in 2005, and Perfect Example, first published in 2000, chronicles his struggles with depression as a teenager. King-Cat Classix and Map of My Heart, published in 2007/2009, offer a comprehensive overview of the zine’s first sixty-one issues, while Thoreau at Walden (2008) is a poetic expression of the great philosopher’s experience and ideals. According to cartoonist Chris Ware, “John Porcellino’s comics distill, in just a few lines and words, the feeling of simply being alive.”

    Event Details:
    Where and When: Here at Quimby’s, 3/23, 7pm, free
    Who & What new title they’re celebrating:
    Zak Sally Sammy the Mouse vol 1
    Dale “TOOTH” Flattum TOOTH: The Graphic Art of Dale Flattum
    John Porcellino “King-Cat Comics #72”

  • Quimby's at The Coffin Factory

    Thanks to the nice folks of The Coffin Factory, who did a really nice write up about Quimby’s.
    Click here to read the rest of the article.

  • Weekly Top 10

    1. The Chicagoan #1 $19.95 – 194p, color, no ads! 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. Serial Killers Unite #9 $2.00 – Another dose of letters from incarcerated serial killers: sex rants from The Clairemont Killer, Cleophus Prince Jr, biblical advice from The Zodiac Copycat Killer, Heriberto Seda, a holiday card from The Spokane Killer, Robert Lee Yates Jr, specifics from Roy Norris, more bonkers Disney sex art from Jeremy Jones. Yes, of course it’s creepy.

    3. Juxtapoz #134 Mar 12 $5.99

    4. Alone Forever by Liz Prince $4.00

    5. Monocle vol 5 #50 Feb 12 $10.00

    6. Exxxtinction: 1st Known Circle Jirk by Sy Loady $3.00 – Fuckasoreass Triceratopz.

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

    8. Call Of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by HP Lovecraft (Penguin) $17.00

    9. Dazed & Confused vol 3 #6 Feb 12 $9.99

    10. Super Friends #1 $3.00 – Beautiful assembly of found photos from a job at the thrift store. Butts, mutts and classic cuts!

  • New Stuff This Week

    The Chicagoan #1 $19.95 – This issue marks the public (re)launch of The Chicagoan, a 194-page magazine with articles, artwork and photographs, and no advertising, with arts, culture, innovators and history of Chicago and its surroundings. Originally it was a magazine modeled after the New Yorker, and was published from June 1926 until April 1935. Right now it’s only in a few locations in Chicago. We just got another stack of them after selling double digits in less than a week. Better hustle!

    Zines & Zine-Related Books
    19 Keep Hoping Machine Running by Julia #1 ($4.00), #2 ($5.00)
    Cloud Factory #1 by Ryan Homsley and Laura Walker $4.00
    One More For the People: A Somnambulist Collection by Martha Grover $16.00
    Paint and Prints Crafty and Thrifty Fashions by M. Miller $10.00
    KerBloom #94 Jan Feb 12 by Artnoose $2.00
    Good News #1 – Brick Wall Breaks Silence…$3.00
    Weirdo Du Jour by Krystle Ratticus $2.50 – A Chicago greasy spoon update, complete with coffee cup rim stain. Let’s hear it for diners!
    Rumlad #5 by Steve Larder $5.00

    Comics & Comix
    Eyeball Comix #3 $7.50
    Robbie and Bobby TPB #1 by Jason Poland $15.00
    various Caitlin Cass’ Great Moments in Western Civilization
    Art Appreciation vol 1 Old Guitarist by Kirsten Valentine $2.00
    Three Brews vol 1 Meet the Brews by Karen Tinney $5.00

    Graphic Novels & Trade Paperbacks
    Is That All There Is by Joost Swarte (Fantagraphics) $35.00
    Amazing Mysteries the Bill Everett Archives vol 1 by Bill Everett and Blake Bell (Fantagraphics) $39.99
    My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf (Abrams) $17.95 – A fancy reissue but now with extra material. Derf was sort of friends with Dahmer in high school. An intimate look. Edie wrote a nice review of it on our website which you can read here (and order the book too).

    Regular Man TPB by Dina Kelberman $15.00
    Goliath by Tom Gauld (D&Q) $19.95
    Shuteye: Six Tales of Dreams and Dreamers by Sarah Becan $20.00 – We backed this on Kickstarter. Now we are excited to show you what we spent our bucks on! It’s a beauty.
    Astonishing X-Men Ultimate Collection vol 1 by Joss Whedon et. al (Marvel) $29.99 – Collects issues #1-#12.
    Madwoman of the Sacred Heart by Jodorowsky and Moebius (Humanoids) $24.95
    Kolor Klimax Nordic Comics Now (Fantagraphics) $29.99

    Art & Design Books
    Madness by Anna Rae Landsman $45.00

    Fiction
    Stone Animals by Kelly Link (Madras Press) $9.00 – This special edition of Kelly Link’s ‘Stone Animals’ comes with a letterpressed cover (in blue or brown) and interior illustrations by a number of authors, artists, critics, and fans, including Lisa Brown, Lilli Carré, Anthony Doerr, Lev Grossman, Daniel Handler, Paul Hornschemeier, Ursula K. Le Guin, Laura Miller, Audrey Niffenegger, Tao Nyeu, Arthur Phillips, and Lane Smith.”

    Man Who Danced With Dolls by Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams $7.00
    Tales Told In Oz by Gregory Macguire (Madras) $8.00 – As in, from the guy who wrote the original book of Wicked, but this small 5″x5″ novella is a fundrasier, on a small independent publisher.

    Human Soul As a Rube Goldberg Device by Kevin Brockmeier (Madras) $8.00 – From the author of the amazing Brief History Of The Dead and View From The Seventh Layer.

    Mayhem, Miscreants, Memoirs & Misc
    Six Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm, with illustrations by David Hockney $25.00
    I Am The Market: How to Smuggle Cocaine by the Ton in Five Easy Lessons by Luca Rastello $13.00 – Perhaps this belongs in the DIY section? Har.
    Mammoth Book of Conspiracies by Jon E. Lewis $13.95
    Yeah No Totally by Lisa Wells $10.00
    Revolution: The Year I Fell In Love and Went to Join the Sandinistas by Deb Olin Unferth (SMP) $14.99 – When the hard cover of this book came out, Deb Olin Unferth did a reading here at Quimby’s. She was hilarious and poetic, and you can watch a short clip of it here on You Tube. Now this book is in soft cover.
    The End of Money: Counterfeiters, Preachers, Techies, Dreamers and the Coming Cashless Society by David Wolman (Da Capo) $25.00 – What would be awesome is if you came in right now and bought this book and paid with cash. But we will accept your so called “credit card” too.

    DIY
    Ageplay From Diapers to Diplomas by Paul Rulof $19.95

    Music Books
    Muses Go To School: Inspiring Stories About the Importance of Arts In Education by Herbert Kohl et. al (New Press) $26.95

    Magazines
    The Believer #87 Feb 12 Mouthcrop $8.00
    Bizarre #185 Mar 12 $10.50
    True Crime Feb 12 $8.99
    High Times Apr 12 $5.99
    ArtForum Feb 12 $10.00
    Art Es #47 International Contemporary Art $10.00
    Wire #336 Feb 12 $9.99
    Magnet #84 $4.99
    Tattoo Revolution Feb 12 #14 $11.75
    Inked Mar 12 #43 $6.99

    Literary Journals, Poetry & Chap Books
    Gigantic Sequins vol 3 #1 $5.00
    Closer to the Earth Poems by Lynn Fitzgerald $8.00
    Overtime Hour 23 – A Days Wages and the Old System and the New by Mark W. Jones $2.00
    Poems For Paper by Vincent O’Brien $5.00

    Other Stuff
    Everything Is Terrible Presents: Doggie Woggiez Poochie Woochiez DVD $20.00 – More edited found footage craziness from those weirdo WIT allstar kids, a group known for making piles of Jerry McGuire VHS tapes in the window of Odd Obsessions. We are SUPER EXCITED that they have something new. I know what I’m doing this weekend.

    Schizcago DVD $30 – The Chicago-based director dropped these DVDs off yesterday and recorded a special message that talks to you when you open the box, each box has a different recording…Because the box is a circuit bent instrument with a knob to control the pitch where can record whatever you want over it. And then there’s the DVD containing a romantic-comedyesque movie.

    Everything we list on our blog is available at our store. But not everything is available on our website. Click here to see what is new in our webstore!

  • Adam Levin & Tim Kinsella Read 3/13

    Adam Levin (The Instructions) Reads from Hot Pink with Tim Kinsella, author of The Karaoke Singers Guide to Self Defense

    Adam Levin’s debut novel The Instructions was one of the most buzzed-about books of 2010, a sprawling universe of “death-defying sentences, manic wit, exciting provocations and simple human warmth” (Rolling Stone). Now, in the stories of Hot Pink, Levin delivers ten smaller worlds, shaken snow-globes of overweight romantics, legless prodigies, quixotic dollmakers, Chicagoland thugs, dirty old men, protective fathers, balloon-laden dumptrucks, and walls that ooze gels. Told with lust and affection, karate and tenderness, slapstickery, ferocity, and heart, Hot Pink is already Flavorpill’s most anticipated books of 2012.

    Adam Levin’s novel The Instructions won the NYLP’s Young Lion’s Fiction Award. His stories have appeared in Tin House, McSweeney’s, and Esquire. Winner of the 2003 Summer Literary Seminars Fiction Contest and the 2004 Joyce Carol Oates Fiction Prize.

    In Tim Kinsella’s novel The Karaoke Singers Guide to Self Defense, a family reunites for a funeral, leery of one another, comparing splintered memories. Will bathes his grandmother. Mel gives her wig a haircut. Norman is not prepared to take over his father’s club. Jesse has never known how old he is. They each cope with limited options and murky desires. Long bus rides through a post-industrial Gothic Midwest, Classic Rock, and compulsive brawls hum a requiem for the late night life of Stone Claw Grove.

    Tim Kinsella has fronted such bands as Cap’n Jazz, Owls, Friend/Enemy and Joan of Arc. His writing has appeared in The Chicago Reader, Monsters & Dust, and Stop Smiling.

    For more info:

    Click here for info about Adam.

    Click here for info about Tim.