Blog

  • Comics Artists Alex Robinson, Jeremy Tinder and Josh Cotter

    Top Shelf Productions publishes contemporary graphic novels and comics by artists of singular vision. Dedicated to championing veteran creators as well as finding and developing emerging talent, the Top Shelf library is anchored by such masters of the craft as Alan Moore (From Hell, Lost Girls), Craig Thompson (Blankets), Jeffrey Brown (Clumsy), James Kochalka (American Elf, Johnny Boo), and many more. Top Shelf’s catalogue includes all-ages material and cutting-edge erotica, genre fiction and autobiography, and all that exists in-between, and has received dozens of awards. Quimby’s is proud to welcome Top Shelf artists Alex Robinson and Jeremy Tinder. Local alternative comics artist Josh Cotter will be joining the event, whose Skyscrapers of the Midwest is similar in feel, even though his publisher is Adhouse.

    After graduating from art school, Alex Robinson began doing mini comics (small print run comics xeroxed and stapled by himself). He soon started working on the story that would become his first graphic novel, Box Office Poison. In 1996, Antarctic Press started publishing the serialized version of Box Office Poison. The series ran for twenty-one issues, and once the story was complete, Top Shelf Productions published the entire thing in one 608 page book. Shortly after the book was published, Alex won the Eisner Award for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition. As a graphic novel, Box Office Poison was nominated for several awards (a Harvey, an Eisner, an Ignatz and the Firecracker book award). 2005 got off to a great start when the French translation of Box Office Poison won the prestigious Prix du Premier Album award in Angouleme, France. Top Shelf published Alex’s second book Tricked in 2005. In 2006, Tricked won a Harvey and Ignatz Award. The Spanish publisher Astiberri released both of his graphic novels in handsome, one volume editions. Alex has expanded his storytelling to include fantasy, with the release of Lower Regions (Top Shelf) in 2007, and time travel/high school in Too Cool to Be Forgotten (Top Shelf) published in summer 2008.

    Jeremy Tinder is an artist and cartoonist based in Chicago, IL. In 2007, he earned an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he now teaches classes in cartooning and self-publishing. Jeremy exhibits his artwork across the country both as a solo artist and as a member of the artist collective Paintallica. His first two books, Cry Yourself to Sleep and Black Ghost Apple Factory are published by Top Shelf Productions. New comics from Jeremy will soon appear in the fourth volume of Image Comic’s anthology series Popgun, Family Style’s Elfworld 2, and in the current volume of Black Warrior Review, published by the University of Alabama Press. Jeremy proudly contributes weekly to the jam comics of the Trubble Club.

    Joshua W. Cotter was born and raised in the vast farmy nothingness of northwest Missouri, as reflected in his Eisner-nominated Skyscrapers of the Midwest (Adhouse), filling sketchbooks and painting paintings. He now resides in Chicago where he recently finished up work on his “intuitive narrative,” Driven by Lemons.

    For more info: www.comicbookalex.com , www.jeremytinder.com , www.comicstripjoint.blogspot.com
    www.topshelfcomix.com

  • Archer Prewitt Signed Work On Paper at Quimby's!

    IMG_1499We were thrilled to have artist and musician Archer Prewitt at Quimby’s on June 20th. He signed copies of his new book Work On Paper.

  • Dave Reidy and Friends Host a Quaroke Reading

    CaptiveAudienceCoverLg

    Dave Reidy’s collection of fiction, entitled Captive Audience (IgPublishing) features, among other stories, the award-winning story “The Regular.” And that particular piece is about arty nerdy introverts doing karaoke. In Chicago. In a neighborhood that sounds suspiciously like Wicker Park.

    What better way to welcome this new collection of punchy literature with a night of Quimby’s Quaraoke? KJ (that’s karaoke disc jockey, folks) services will be provided by Shameless Karaoke, a husband-wife team composed of, well, arty nerdy introverts who met doing karaoke. In Chicago.

    Also appearing: Claire Zulkey, Megan Stielstra and Mark Bazer

    “Dave Reidy’s matchless reports from the heart of twenty-first century America, a landscape of technological obsession and performance anxiety (in many forms), are elegant, precise, cool, and funny. Here is a young writer from whom we can expect much in the future.” -David Leavitt, Author of The Indian Clerk

    Dave Reidy’s fiction has appeared in Pindeldyboz and The MacGuffin. In 2007, Charles D’Ambrosio chose Reidy’s story “The Regular” as winner of the Emerging Writers Network Short Story Competition. Captive Audience, a collection of short stories about performers, is his first book.

    For more info: http://www.davereidy.com

    FREE EVENT

  • Top 10 For the Past Week

    BobOdenkirkTotebagThis past Saturday was amazing! Bob Odenkirk (see above) was here in the afternoon, talking about the Comedy By the Numbers Book-On-Tape CD that he executive produced, and then Archer Prewitt was here at night siging his new book, Work On Paper . What a day!

    Here are the Top 10 For the past week:

    1. Comedy By the Numbers Book-On-Tape CD, Selections From the McSweeneys Book by Prof Eric Hoffman and Dr. Gary Rudoren (A Special Thing Records) $12.99

    2. Work On Paper by Archer Prewitt (PressPop) $20.00

    3. Mr Show: What Happened by Naomi Odenkirk $22.95

    4. Comedy By the Numbers: 169 Secrets of Humor and Popularity by Prof Eric Hoffman and Dr. Gary Rudoren (McSweeneys) $14.99

    5. Nine Ways to Disappear by Lilli Carre (Little Otsu) $12.95

    6. Rough Guide To Bicycle Maintenance (Microcosm) $2.00

    7. Furverts by Michael Cogliantry (Chronicle) $12.95

    8. The Point #1 Spr 09 $10.00

    9. It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken by Seth (Drawn+Quarterly) $24.95

    10. The Believer #63 $8.00

  • Jason Buhrmester Reads Black Dogs: The Possibly True Story of Classic Rock’s Greatest Robbery

    BlackDogs

    In Black Dogs: The Possibly True Story of Classic Rock’s Greatest Robbery, Inked magazine editor Jason Buhrmester tells the conceivably true tale of a group of small-time crooks who, against all odds, manage to pull off one of the most infamous fleeces in classic rock’s history.

    Hours before the final show of their 1973 U.S. tour, the members of Led Zeppelin find all the cash missing from their safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel in New York City. The $203,000 robbery was never solved. Now, in Black Dogs: The Possibly True Story of Classic Rock’s Greatest Robbery, Inked magazine editor Jason Buhrmester tells the story. In this book of fiction, slacker Patrick returns home with the plan for one last crazy scam. He gathers his slacker buddies—Alex, Frenchy, and Keith—and convinces them to take a break from their crappy jobs, getting high, and jacking car stereos to plot an improbable robbery of Led Zeppelin. Nothing quite goes as planned, and the guys find themselves mixed up with Backwoods Billy, the psychotic, born-again leader of the Holy Ghosts Christian motorcycle gang and various other adventures, in this tale that just might shed light on one of the biggest capers in rock and roll history.

    “Almost Famous meets Reservoir Dogs in Inked editor Buhrmester’s debut novel about a quartet of wannabe young criminals who probably should’ve stayed in school. Buhrmester demonstrates…a heartfelt affection for all that rocks. Casual music fans will enjoy the heck out of this hilarious and gritty tale; rock fanatics will adore it.” —Kirkus Reviews

    Former editor at Playboy and current editor at Inked, Jason Buhrmester has been published in Spin, Wired, the Village Voice, and other publications. He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he is working on his second novel and listening to Black Sabbath.

    A helpful review of the book is here.
    FREE EVENT

  • Gigposters.com Founder Clay Hayes Brings His Gig to Quimby’s With Artists Featured In the Book, Just In Time For Pitchfork Music Festival!

    GigPostersvol1Cover

    You’re used to seeing gig posters, flyers, and handbills displayed outside your favorite concert venue. Now, with Gig Posters Volume 1: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century (Quirk Books), artwork featuring your favorite musicians can be found in a lasting book format. Each of these posters originates from Gigposters.com, which has been the Internet’s first and best resource for concert art since 2001. Their massive online database showcases more than 100,000 posters from 8,000 different designers, including all of today’s top poster studios. Gig Posters Volume I highlights the best examples from that collection. Inside you’ll find artwork promoting shows by Radiohead, Kanye West, Wilco, the Decemberists, the Shins, the Beastie Boys, Arcade Fire, Sleater-Kinney, Cat Power, Joan Jett, Wu-Tan Clan, N.E.R.D., Diplo, and many, many, many more. Organized by designer, each page features an artist along with their insights on influences, methods and mediums, and why they do what they do. Author Clay Hayes is the founder of Gigposters.com. Read a helpful interview with him here.

    Specifics about the book follow:

    Gig Posters Volume 1: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century
    By Clay Hayes of Gigposters.com
    Paperback with perforated pages, $40.00
    11 x 14, 208 pages, in color
    700 full-color examples of unique concert art,
    including 101 perforated, 11-by-14 inch
    ready-to-hang posters!


    Like all events at Quimby’s, this event is free!

  • OFF SITE EVENT: Quimby's and the Alternative Press Center Welcome Paul Buhle at the Alternative Press Center Open House

    Paul Buhle has edited several books of comic art, including Studs Terkel’s Working: A Graphic Adaptation, Wobblies!, A Dangerous Woman, Students for a Democratic Society, A People’s History of American Empire and The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics. An active member of Champaign-Urbana, Storrs, and Madison SDS chapters during the late 1960s and founding editor of Radical America as well as co-author of The Encyclopedia of the American Left, Buhle will discuss the legacy of alternative media and underground papers as well as his contemporary work in graphic adaptation of left history at the newly expanded and relocated Alternative Press Center (APC).

    The APC is a periodicals library and nonprofit collective that promotes access to independent and critical sources of news and information. Founded in 1969, it remains one of the oldest self-sustaining alternative media institutions in the United States. The APC Library is located in Logan Square after more than 30 years in Baltimore, Maryland. The most recent five years of the collection is held at the APC Library and includes titles from around the world such as Colorlines, n+1, Souls, Gay & Lesbian Review, EarthFirst! Journal, Off Our Backs, Camera Obscura, Claridad, Historical Materialism, Canadian Dimension, Review of African Political Economy, Labor History, Hypatia, Red Pepper, El Viejo Topo, Le Monde Diplomatique, and hundreds more. In addition to the periodical collection, the APC Library has more than 1,800 books — classics of the Left with emphasis on the 1960s and 1970s.

    Buhle’s books and other merchandise will be on hand courtesy of Quimby’s and APC will celebrate the author’s presence and its move with free wine, beer and snacks.

    For more info: www.altpress.org

    FREE EVENT
    At The Alternative Press Center / 2040 N. Milwaukee, 2nd floor.
    Note: the location is not handicap accessible

  • Top 10 For the Week of 6/7/09-6/13/09

    SethHatCoat

    Of course, since last week Seth and Adrian Tomine were here, a number of the bestsellers last week were by them. So since Seth’s George Sprott 1894 – 1975 was #1, he gets the picture for this list. His jacket and coat are draped over one of our work station chairs. For you. You’re welcome.

    1. George Sprott 1894 – 1975 by Seth (Drawn+Quarterly) $24.95

    2. 32 Stories Complete Optic Nerve Mini-Comics by Adrian Tomine (Drawn+Quarterly) $19.95

    3. Uptight #3 by Jordan Crane (Fantagraphics) $2.75

    4. Sad Animals by Adam Meuse $4.00

    5. Optic Nerve #6 by Adrian Tomine (Fantagraphics) $2.95

    6.It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken by Seth (Drawn+Quarterly) $24.95

    7. Butt #26 Fantastic Magazine for Homosexuals $9.90

    8. Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine (Drawn+Quarterly) $14.95

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

    10. Proximity #4 $12.00

  • New Stuff 6/16/09

    SethAdrianTomineOnStage

    Drawn and Quarterly comics artists Seth and Adrian Tomine were here talking about their new releases on June 10th. For more awesome photos of the experience, go here.

    It’s crazy raining out right now, as we wait for filmmaker, writer, and artist Eames Demetrios to get here to do an event added late last week. He’ll be presenting Discover Kymerica Travel Guide, the first global work of three-dimensional fiction! (And yes, we have it here for $19.99.) Oh, and did we mention that he’s the grandson of Charles and Ray Eames?

    Zines:
    Letters From The Pen: Thoughts from the Inside $3.00
    Exact Change Only Vol 1 $8.00
    Signal Failed: Revolting Queers $3.00
    Pride Diary: True Stories From The Twin Cities Pride Fest 2008 $1.00
    Subversive Activity #2 $2.00
    Shoe of a Day $5.00
    Dads by Rachal Duggan $3.00 – Drawings of all sorts of dads! Come in and get one for your pops for his day on June 21st!
    Bound Struggles #7 Chicago Books to Women in Prison $5.00
    Instant Memories by Robert V $10.00

    Magazines and Journals:
    McSweeneys #31 $24.00
    The Point #1 Spr 09 $10.00 – New local philosophy mag, all the buzz!
    Yeti #7 $11.95
    Mouthpiece #7 $5.00 – New local thing from the minds of the former the local (defunct?) Pistil magazine.
    High Times Aug 09 $5.99
    Blood and Thunder #11 $5.99
    The Believer #63 $8.00
    Z Magazine Jun 09 $4.95
    Monster Mania #1 $8.00
    Opium #8 $12.00
    Tokion #69 $6.99
    Signal to Noise #54 Sum 09 $4.95
    Big Takeover #64 $5.99
    Adbusters #84 $8.95

    Mini Comix:
    From Dream to Dream/Capgras Delusion by Drew Panckeri $3.00
    Bad Breath Comics #2 by Josh Juresko $2.00
    Fish and the Monkey by Marion Runk $20.00

    Books:
    Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo by Annice Jacoby (Abrams) $35.00
    Time After by Doug Fogelson $55.00 – From the man behind the local Front Forty Press.
    Artist Music Journal vol 1 #1 A Curated Series From Soundscreen Design: The Light and Spaced Movement Performance Archives 2008-2009 by Jason Yates $16.99 – Quimby’s is one of the few stores in the country selling this. It must be seen to believed.
    Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture by Kaya Oakes (Henry Holt) $14.00
    Art of Touring by Sara Jaffe and Mia Clarke $19.95
    Brinkley Girls by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics) $29.99
    Art of Harvey Kurtzman by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle (Abrams) $40.00
    Miss Lonelyhearts and Day of the Locust by Nathanael West and Jonathan Lethem (New Directions) $11.95
    Depression 2.0 by Cletus Nelson (Process) $16.95
    This Will Kill You: A Guide to the Ways In Which We Go by HP Newquist and Rich Maloof (St Martins Press)$14.95

  • Rory Litwin Discusses Library Juice Press

    Quimby’s is always crawling with librarians during the ALA conference (American Library Association Annual Conference, July 9th-15th) every year, and we expect this year will be the same. And who better to have come speak during the conference at Quimby’s but some cool librarian who publishes stuff like Alternative Publishers of Books in North America or Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library: How Postmodern Consumer Capitalism Threatens Democracy, Civil Education, and the Public Good?

    Rory Litwin runs Library Juice Press, which specializes in books like the two listed above. Topics covered include library philosophy, information policy, libraries and politics, and in general anything that can be placed under the rubric of “critical studies in librarianship.”

    This event is, of course, of particular interest to librarians. But it will also appeal to anyone interested in going to libraries, curating and organizing book collections, or checking out hot librarians with or without sassy glasses. ‘Cause let’s face it: librarians are hot.