In a
hurry?
Jump ahead to:
COMICS
• for kids
BOOKS
MUSIC
- CD
CINEMA
- DVD
LOW
PRICE
>> and, for
the latest in gifts, check out our 2007 Year-in-Review
ordering
info
•
find us on the map
And, yes, we do
third-party
shipments (i.e. we will ship direct to a recipient at a different
address
from the purchaser), and we will gift wrap for a nominal charge.
COMICS
Locas
by Jaime Hernandez
Here it is, the book that is our
lead
contender for greatest comics collection of all time. It places
between
two covers the entirety of the adventures of Maggie and Hopey that
transpired
during the original fifty-issue run of Love
and Rockets. Reña Titanion, Rand Race, Penny Century,
H.R. Costigan, Terry, Daffy, Izzy, Speedy, Ray D., Doyle, Danita and
all
the rest: they're all here. It's big: over 700 pages in
all!
It's an embossed hardcover edition that's got a swell
dust-jacket!
Change someone's life, open their eyes with Locas. And
don't
forget Gilbert's Palomar, we haven't:
it's our lead contender for second greatest comics collection
of
all time (and it's next on the list; see below).
retail price - $49.95
copacetic price -
$39.95
Palomar
by
Gilbert Hernandez
Well,
this is a real heavy one here (in more ways than one). All
together
in one volume for the first time, one of the indisputable masterpieces
of comics: the Heartbreak Soup stories by Gilbert Hernandez from the
pages
of Love and Rockets. Palomar,
the
mythical Mexican village that is at the center of all the tales,
represents
many things to many people, but at the core of all these meanings is
the
a place where character is king. Nowhere in the total output of
the
history of comics throughout the world are there a cast of characters
more
real than those that populate Palomar. These are characters that
once met will not soon be forgotten.
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price -
$31.95
One
Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry
Believe us when we say,
“Anyone alive to the world and themselves will treasure this.” No
one has ever done a better job of conveying the bittersweetness of
growing
up than Lynda Barry. No one has more fully employed the medium of
comics to portray childhood and adolescence than Lynda Barry. No
one has bored more deeply into personal pain to find the joy that is
buried
hidden within. One Hundred Demons is a masterpiece that
anyone
who remembers what it was like to be a child growing up will
instantly
appreciate and anyone who has forgotten will find themselves grateful
to have been
reminded.
retail price - $24.95 copacetic price -
$21.20
Now also available
in a softcover edition:
retail price - $17.95
copacetic price -
$16.15
Epileptic
by David B.
A stunning achievement and clearly one of the
most important comics works so far this century, Epileptic is, on the one hand, a
moving tale of one family's painful experience of raising an epileptic
child -- the brother of the author -- and, on the other, is
a brilliant parable of the history of Europe, in which tribal, ethnic
and national obsessions periodically erupt into the violent seizures
known as war. In crafting this work, David B. -- who was the winner of the 2005 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Artist -- created a rich and dense visual
vocabulary that is truly unique and quite amazing to behold. This attractive
hardcover edition
makes a great gift for the discerning comics reader, or for an
adventurous reader of contemporary literature who you'd like to
introduce to the pleasures of comics. This book prompted Joe
Sacco (Palestine) to
state that "David B. is clearly one of the best storytellers in the
medium of comics," and inspired Jason Lutes (Berlin) to rave, "David B.
works a real kind of deeply human magic on the page – something forged
from black ink and a soul's struggle that marks Epileptic as
one of the first truly great narrative artworks of the new millennium."
softcover
- Pantheon Books • 360 pages • B
& W
retail
price - $17.95 copacetic price -
$16.00
Curses
by Kevin Huizenga
The much anticipated first collection by
up-and-coming-new-comics-champ, Kevin Huizenga is at last on our
shelves. Its arrival may, however, signal the end of Huizenga's
status as an up-and-comer, and initiate his ensconsement in the ranks
of established contemporary masters of comics. This volume brings
together a wide range of Huizenga's work from a wide variety of
sources. It starts off with a little known (well, not to long
time Copacetic customers) gem from the Orchid anthology published by Sparkplug
Comics, titled, "Green Tea." It is adapted from a classic
Victorian horror story
of the same name by
Sheridan Le Fanu, but is given the inimitable Huizenga treatment and
stands as an original work. Following this there is the trilogy
that first appeared in Drawn
and Quarterly Showcase #1, several selections from the now out of
print first issue of Huizenga's ongoing solo title, Or Else, a 2-pager originally done
for Time Magazine, and the full color story, "Jeepers Jacobs,"
originally executed for Kramers
Ergot 5. Anyone not already familiar with these works is
heartily encouraged to consider this a great opportunity to read some
excellent comics delivered in a fine package for a reasonable
price. And, it should go without saying (but, of course, we can't
help but say it anyway) that this is makes for a swell gift.
Learn more about the works of Kevin Huizenga here.
retail
price - $21.95
copacetic price - $17.95
Ninja
by Brian Chippendale
Here's
one for the crazed art comics fiend on your list. This mega-blast
of comics and more by Fort Thunder co-founder, Brian Chippendale is
book that stands out from the rest.
Five years in the making, it's Chippendale's first book publication,
and he's gone all out to make it a debut to remember. It's
a giant oversize (11" x 17") 144 page hardcover volume printed in black
and white and full
color where it counts. 80 pages are devoted to the titular
graphic novel that
is both an epic -- and deranged -- fantasy and an urban allegory.
The
remaining 64 pages are chock-a-block with drawings, collages, posters
and more. While much is simply pen and ink and/or pencil, this is
reproduced with full attention to all details and subtleties.
Ninja is
a sensual onslaught that will stagger your brain as it ttries to take
it all. We found ourselves going back again and again to soak up
the
richness of his imagery while simultaneously working to crack the
riddles of his narratives. Published by the design wizards at
Picture
Box.
retail
price - $34.95
copacetic price - $29.75
Asthma
by John Hankiewicz
We've been big fans of the
work of Mr. Hankiewicz for quite some time,
and are thrilled to be able to offer Sparkplug Comic Books' massive new
108-page, 8 1/2" x 11" collection of his totally unique, perplexingly
obscure, abstrusely enigmatic, elegantly rendered pen and ink parables
and small tales. This work is frustratingly difficult to
describe, and we're not going to try at this juncture. (OK, we'll
give it a lame whirl: think of a blend of David Lynch,
René Magritte and Franz Kafka dropped into the middle of the
American midwest and perhaps you'll have an inkling) Suffice it to say
that this is truly
one-of-a-kind work on display here, and that we offer it as our number
one gift choice for the adventurous comics reader. This is the ideal gift choice for anyone on your list who is frustrated by the
plethora of commonplace comics offerings and is constantly on the look
out for new and challenging work. Check out these
sample pages to get an idea of what we're talking about.
Recommended for all adventurous comics
readers everywhere!
retail
price - $17.00
copacetic price - $14.44
Wimbledon Green
by Seth
Sub-titled,
"The Greatest Comic Book Collector in the
World," this is a book that will be as appealing to
long time comic
fans for its endearing portrait of the obsessive collector mindset as
it will be
to the general reader with its entertaining story and cast of
characters. And the production of this
book is a delight for the senses. You really have to pick it up
and
hold it in your hands to fully appreceiate what a fine job they did
with this one. Seth has clearly been absorbing the work of his peers
as well as his precursors and is finally moving beyond his trademark
schtick of melancholy loners -- although he's certainly not
abandoning it, as it permeates this work as well, only now it's moved
below the surface. The dense repetitive layouts of Chris Ware are
here combined with the device pioneered by Dan Clowes in the last two
issues of Eightball of creating a crazy quilt narrative of a series of
sequentially juxtaposed short pieces. Within this structural
framework Seth has built an entertaining narrative that is highly
reminiscent of some of the classic Uncle Scrooge tales by Carl Barks as
well as the longer Little Lulu and Tubby adventures by John
Stanley. In other words: If you know someone who really
likes comics, it's a good bet that they'll really like Wimbledon Green.
retail
price - $19.95 copacetic price - $16.95
Gemma Bovery
by Posy
Simmonds
Long known to
readers of the British newspapers, The Guardian (which, by the
way, awarded their 2001 literary prize to Jimmy Corrigan, the
Smartest Kid on Earth, by Chris Ware) and The Independent, which serialized
this work, Posy Simmonds brings a sophisticated literary sensibility to
the world of Comics. In Gemma Bovery, she reimagines
Flaubert's Madame Bovary
as it might be, should it unfold at the close of the twentieth
century. It's also a piece of meta-fiction as well, with its own
unique twist on the literary fashion set in motion by A.S. Byatt's Possession of having twentieth
century lives intertwine with those of eighteenth century literary
characters. In Gemma
Bovery, Ms. Simmonds shows us how life can seem to be imitating art in the
mind of one obsessed with a particular work -- in this case Madame Bovary -- and that,
perhaps, it is possible that such an obesssion can lead, in actuality,
to life being
molded after art; and, then again, perhaps not. She's definitely
studied the late work of comics master
Will Eisner's later work, and this study has reaped substantial
dividends for the reader. Simmonds' has concocted a unique blend
of text, illustration and comics that manages to retain the best of
both worlds and communicates a wealth of emotional terrain.
Students of comics will be intrigued to discover which aspects of the
storytelling process are parcelled out to the visuals and which to the
text. This piece
is quite worth a look, and we encourage you to seek it out. Gemma
Bovery stands right at the intersection of the broad boulevard of
purely
prose literature and the freshly laid tar on the side street of comics
lit and stands to appeal to adventurous readers going both ways.
hardcover
retail
price -
$19.95 copacetic price -
$17.95
The Walking Man
by Jiro Taniguchi
This
160-page french-flapped softcover volume collects eighteen zen-like
tales of the "man who walks." Reflective, insightful meditations
on the modern, suburban condition, these stories embody the
soul of manga. While the
landscape through which our hero walks
is undeniably Japanese, the stories told and the lessons learned on
his brief treks are indisputably universal. Taniguchi has managed a unique feat here. The comics work in The Walking Man is stripped of
all extraneous elements. There
is a near total absence of narrative in the pieces collected in this
volume. With these distractions removed, we are left face to face
with the pure essence of comics that remains. Here we have comics
that dig deep into the mind and trigger a panoply of sensations: the
heat of the sun on one's back, a cool breeze along the side of one's
face, the texture of a tree's bark on the palm of the hand, the smell
of flowers, the cold, creamy taste of ice-cream, the
hard exertions of a fast run, the overall feel of the encroaching
darkness, the sounds of children laughing, water flowing, a passing
train... all these sensations and more are triggered by the series of
images that the reader is presented with as the pages are turned and
the walking man goes on his way. To get a better idea, check out this preview. Recommended.
retail
price -
$16.99 copacetic price -
$15.29
Birth
of A Nation
by
Aaron McGruder, Reginald
Hudlin & Kyle Baker!
softcover
This volume is arguably the
single most clever and sophisticated political satire in the history of
graphic novels. In classic vernacular fashion, the title of this
work appropriates that of D.W. Griffith's outrageously racist early masterwork and completely turns it on it's
head in an act of complete and utter subversion. No single work, in any medium, provides so
successful a catharsis of the truama inflicted by the 2000 presidential
election. There's some real serious food for thought here,
along with a love story, whacky antics, male bonding and more laughs
than you've had in long time!
Highly recommended.
retail
price -
$13.95 copacetic price -
$11.85
Buddy Does Seattle
by Peter Bagge
Collecting the first fifteen
issues of Hate, P. Bagge's
misanthropic masterpiece -- all of which
were set in Seattle -- this 336 page volume defines an era. It's
a
true classic of comics and it's a bargain: this edition
prices out to less than a dollar a comic, less than half the cost of
the original comics; a third
of the price of the previous cost of purchasing these issues in
collected form!
retail
price -
$14.95 copacetic price -
$12.70
The
Contract with God Trilogy
by Will Eisner
Here they are, three
of Will Eisner's
greatest works -- A Contract with
God, Life Force and Dropsie
Avenue
-- all together in one handsome hardcover volume, rounded out with a
dozen new illustrations executed by Eisner specifically for this
volume shortly before his death earlier this year. Originally
published in 1978, A Contract with
God
is considered the first American graphic novel, making this work a must
read on historical grounds alone. This work -- not technically a
novel, but rather a collection of related short pieces taking place in
"the neighborhood" of Eisner's youth that is the setting for all the
pieces in this volume -- is, however, much more than just a first, it
is also one of the most emotionally moving works comics has yet
produced, one that went a long way toward demonstrating the latent
capacities of the medium, capacities that Life Force and Dropsie Avenue
further extended. This new edition from the veritable literary
publisher W.W. Norton -- which prints all three works in the sepia tone
that was the trademark of Eisner's mature work -- presents these unique cultural creations
in a manner befitting their stature. It is a volume that will be
treasured by every lover of the form.
retail
price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.47
Understanding
Comics: The Invisible Art
by Scott McCloud
Now, most comics fans
already
have this firmly secured in special place on their shelves, but for
anyone
just getting into comics, or, even better, for someone you’re trying to
introduce to its pleasures and/or initiate into its mysteries, this is
the gift, without any doubt whatsoever. For a long list of
recommendations for and endorsements of this book from the who's who of
comics, click here.
retail price - $22.95 copacetic price -
$19.50
Making Comics:
Storytelling
Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels
by Scott McCloud
The author of the much heralded (and deservedly so!) Understanding
Comics (see above)
returns with a much anticipated new work designed for those who are
ready to move beyond
simply understanding and are ready, willing and able to take the
plunge into actually making comics. McCloud states, "If
you’ve ever felt there must be something more to making comics than
just copying drawing styles then this is the book for you.
In Making Comics, I’ll do my
best
to cover the storytelling secrets I don’t see any other books talking
about."
retail
price - $22.95
copacetic price - $19.50
Graphic Novels: Everything You Need To Know
by Paul Gravett
Finally,
the perfect gift book for that person you've been dying to turn on to
graphic novels. Mr. Gravett manages to say just about everything
you're trying to get across and, best of all, he backs it up with
plenty of great examples. The book's unique organizing principle of
choosing thirty
standard
bearers of specific sub-categories of the form and then grouping
together other works perceived as related makes for an efficient way to
get acquainted with the medium and what it has to offer. And we
must
say that we admire the taste on display here as there are so many
points at which it coincides with the Copacetic Canon. This
book is the best
single volume introduction to the world of graphic novels yet
produced. Give with confidence.
retail price - $29.95
copacetic price - $26.95
99
Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises
in Style
by Matt Madden
Inspired by Raymond Queneau's 1947 opus, Exercises in Style, reigning
comics formalist Madden undertook to transliterate this deconstructive
approach to the practice of storytelling into the language of
comics. Six years in the making, 99 Ways has accomplished exactly
that. Taking the most mundane of events so as not distract from
the formal elements, each of the 99 ways meticulously illustrated in
this volume tell the story of Matt's journey from his drawing table to
the refrigerator. Absurd? Yes, but that's the idea.
It's all about how, not about what. It may sound like a crazy
idea, but we're pretty sure that this volume will be used in classrooms
for years to come as it opens the mind to possibilities inherent in
conception at the same time as it focuses the concentration on the
realities of execution. This is a great gift for pepople who like
feeeling engaged as readers can't help but start thinking of their
approaches to storytelling: it's clear upon conclusion that,
surely, there are
another 99 ways still waiting to be told!
retail price - $16.95
copacetic price - $15.25
Whatcha
Mean What's a Zine?
: The Art of Making
Zines and Mini-Comics
by Mark Todd & Esther
Pearl Watson
This is a nifty guide to
zinemaking and zinestering that is a great
primer for anyone who is getting started -- or even thinking of
getting started -- down the road of making a zine, and it's a perfect
companion piece to Scott McCloud's aforementioned Making Comics. It's
purposefully designed to be exactly the kind of guide that the authors
wished they had when they started out. In covers the practical
ins and outs such as formats and print-marriage set ups, the pros and
cons of various drawing tools and printing methods, and a wide array of
binding methods that one might never think of on one's own. But there's
much more as the authors bring in a bevy of talented cartoonists,
zinesters and self-publishers to offer their artistic, poetic,
historical and technical perspectives, encouragements and
insights. Among those creators featured are John Porcellino, Ron
Regé, Jr., Souther Salazar, Dan Zettwoch, Martin Cendreda, Dave
Kiersh, Allison Cole and Raina Lee. All in all this book has a
great feel and is sure to be enjoyed even by those who are well on
their way down Zinester Avenue. And it's bargain priced to boot!
retail
price - $12.95
copacetic price - $11.69
In the
Studio: Visits with Contemporary
Cartoonists
by Todd Hignite
WOW!!! It's here and it's a
dream come true. Founding editor of Comic Art
magazine, Todd Hignite has given us an elegant, oversize, beautifully
produced, 320 page hardcover
book that takes you into the studio and collections of today's top
independent cartoonists. Featuring tons (499! - to be
exact) of reproductions of the highest
quality, depicting the original art and collections and physical
environs of R. Crumb, D. Clowes, J. Hernandez, C. Ware and more, side
by side with extensive interviews with the creators themselves, this is
a book to savor. Recommended!
retail
price - $29.95
copacetic price - $26.95
Also
now available in softcover
retail
price - $19.95
copacetic price - $17.95
McSweeney's
13 - The Comics Issue
edited by Chris Ware
This book is without
question
the best available work to introduce the non-comics reader to the
wonderful
world of contemporary comics. So, if there are any people on your list
that you'd like to turn on to comics, this is your best chance.
Featuring work by the who's who of progressive comics: Lynda Barry, Jeffrey Brown, Ivan Brunetti, Charles Burns,
Chester Brown, Dan Clowes,
David Collier, R. Crumb, Kim Deitch, Julie Doucet, Debbie Drechsler, David Heatly, Jaime and Gilberto Hernandez, Ben Katchor,
Joe Matt, Richard McGuire, Mark Newgarden, Gary Panter,John Porcellino,
Archer Prewitt, Ron Rege, Joe Sacco, Richard Sala, Seth, Art Spiegelman, Adrian Tomine and, of course,
Chris Ware, himself. In addition to all
this contemporary work, there are selections of classic and archival
work
sprinkled throughout: Rodolphe Töpfler, Bud Fisher, George Herriman and Charles
Schulz. In addition there is a critical appreciation of comics from
John Updike,
and nostalgiac/elegiac remembrances of comics related experiences by
Glen
David Gold, Malachi Cohen, and Chip Kidd.
retail price - $24.00
copacetic price -
$20.00
An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and
True Stories
edited by Ivan Brunetti
Published by Yale University Press, this awesome anthology is a worthy
successor to McSweeney's
13
as the must have -- and, therefore, must give -- comics
collection of the foreseeable
future. This volume, bearing the imprimatur of Yale and possessed
of an admirable heft, both intellectual and æsthetic as well as
physical, is the ideal
gift to give to that person (or those persons) who you've always wanted
to convert to The Way of Comics. Editor, Brunetti goes all out to
offer us a canonical assemblage with the 400 pages of comics here on
display. One where it is the form
itself that is always at the heart of the
work represented. The work we find here -- while, of course, being
comics -- is also, at some level, telling us something about
comics, and this latter value-added feature can be attributed in no
small part to Brunetti's editorial approach in assembling this work,
which he clearly views as an organic whole. Each artist
represented in this collection has a distinct and original approach to
the medium that embodies their personal interaction with the comics
form as well
as with -- and this is where this anthology is unique -- each other
piece in the book. This book is organized around the principal
of association. The pieces are grouped in clusters that are
related in a
wide variety of ways, from the form and content of the work to the
geographic region and ethnicity of the creators. Brunetti tips
his hand right at the outset by starting with the raw, unbridled,
free-associative works of Marc Bell, Sam Henderson, Mark Newgarden,
Kaz, Tony Millionaire and Bill Griffith (who all, with the exception of
Bell, have NYC connections as well). This approach yields many
surprising and unexpected connections as well as much that that
proceeds in due course.
retail price - $28.00 copacetic price - $25.00
Art Out of Time
by Dan Nadel
This is an awesome new book of amazing, little seen and hard to find
classic comics. These are high quality reproductions of complete stories here,
taken right from the original sources; not single page "examples"
followed by lots of text "explaining" them. No! Author Dan
Nadel employs his vast knowledge of the outer reaches of comics to
introduce and put in context the pieces this volume contains, and then
steps aside and lets the work speak for itself. This is the real
deal and sure to be appreciated by any and all explorers of the comics
world.
retail
price - $40.00 copacetic price - $35.00
Wobblies!:
A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World
edited by Paul Buhle and
Nicole
Schulman
The ideal item for the leftist
on your list! Featuring the graphic work of
Peter Kuper, Harvey Pekar, Seth Tobocman,
Trina Robbins, Spain Rodriguez, Sabrina Jones, Sue Coe, Mike Alewitz
and many others, this volume provides a wide variety of perspectives on
one of the most important labor movements of the 20th century.
Topics covered include: individual heroes of the movement like
Mother Jones, Joe Hill and "Big Bill" Haywood; specific historical
events like the big strikes of 1912 and 1913 in
Lawrence, Massachusetts and Paterson, New Jersey; general histories of
the IWW and personal recollections of IWW related activities and
events. The nearly 300 pages of comics combine to go a long way
toward filling a large gap in the historical record while
simultaneously providing an engaging read.
retail
price -
$25.00 copacetic price - $21.25
American
Elf: The Collected Sketchbook Diaries of James Kochalka, October
26, 1998 to December 31, 2003
By James Kochalka
with an introduction by
Moby (in comics form!)
THUD! That's the
sound
this book makes when dropped under the tree. It's a big, fat
book,
and it will take awhile to go through it. This volume collects all four
of the original sketchbook diaries, PLUS a whole extra year, AND has a
bonus 32 page (16 in the front, and 16 in the back) color supplement of
all new material. The Sketchbook Diaries are a unique
work
and this collection is a great value. To learn more, visit our Kochalka
Sketchbook Diary Page. Over the past five years James
Kochalka's
Sketchbook Diary -- apearing as American Elf on the web -- has
been
quietly creating a revolution in the daily comic strip form every bit
as
important as that of Schulz's Peanuts fifty years
earlier.
Really.
retail price - $29.95
copacetic price -
$23.95
And,
speaking of Peanuts...
The
following items originated in the pages of our nation's newspapers,
both
new and old :
The
Complete Peanuts Gift Box: 1950 - 1954
What this is, exactly, is an
illustrated
and quite sturdy slip-cover containing both volume one and volume two
of
the Fantagraphics
edition
of The Complete Peanuts. Make no mistake: these are the exact
same books that you would purchase
indivudually
and that are priced at $28.95 each. Now you can get the first two
volumes and a snazzy slipcase and save on the bargain, to boot.
This
item is pretty much a guaranteed success story as a holiday gift -- as
it is obviously intended to be. If, however, you already
purchased
the first volume, and are now experiencing angst-ridden envy at the
thought
of missing out on this cool slipcase -- don't! You can still buy
this, place your original copy of the first volume in the
slipcase,
and then give the first volume as a gift; thereby creating a win-win
situation.
retail price - $49.95
copacetic price -
$39.95
Also Available:
The
Complete Peanuts Box Set 2:
1955-1958
by
Charles M. Schulz
The Complete Peanuts Box Set 3:
1959-1962
by
Charles M. Schulz
retail
price - $49.95@ copacetic price -
$39.95@
We
do, of course, also have the
first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth volumes of The
Complete Peanuts available
on
their own.
retail price -
$28.95@
copacetic price -
$23.15@
Walt and Skeezix
The
Complete Daily Comic Strips, Volume One: 1921 - 1922
by Frank King
Well, first there was the Complete
Peanuts, and now there's the Complete Gasoline Alley. This
volume collects only the dailes, due to
the fact that the Sundays were gigantic and designed as an organic
whole and so not suitable to be broken down and squeezed into this
book's format (Many fine examples of the early Gasoline Alley
Sunday
pages are available in Drawn & Quarterly
Volume Three and Volume Four,
and one Sunday is reproduced here, just to give you a taste.)
That
said, this book, lovingly designed by Chris Ware -- think McSweeney's
#13, only not quite as elaborate -- is, from a production standpoint, a
true work of art. The book begins on January 1, 1921, several
years
into the the strip's continuity, but just before baby Skeezix is
discovered
on Walt's doorstep and so a perfect place to start the generational
saga that Gasoline Alley was to become. The introductory notes and
appendix are expansive, illustrated and accompanied by many, many rare
photographs heretofore unseen by just about anyone outside the King
clan. This
volume -- like those in the Complete Peanuts -- contains two
complete
years, 1921 & 1922 in this case, but with the difference that there
are only two
strips per page, instead of three, accurately reflecting the significantly
larger size that comic strips were printed at during the time these
strips originally appeared, compared to the Peanuts strips that
began
almost exactly thirty years later. While it's pretty safe
to say that Gasoline Alley fans will be in seventh heaven while
working their way
through this volume, we believe that anyone interested in the early
days of American comics strips will greatly enjoy it.
retail
price -
$29.95 copacetic price -
$25.47
Also, now available:
Walt and Skeezix: The Complete Daily
Comic Strips, Volume Two: 1923 - 1924
retail
price -
$29.95 copacetic price -
$25.47
Krazy
Kat: The Comics Art of George Herriman - Yes, it’s true-- we
are
relentless in our plugging of this particular book; but hey, it's our
favorite,
so we can't help it; and anyway, it deserves it. Anyone who
appreciates
and enjoys comics will appreciate and enjoy this book and not only
that--
will find their overall appreciation and enjoyment of comics increased
and enhanced! What other gift can promise the same? This
book may now be out of print -- at least we're having trouble tracking
it down. Please read our full length paen to this item, here.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price -
$17.95
Mutts
by Patrick McDonnell
Dogs! Cats! Fish!
Squirrels!
Crabs! Humans! All rendered with such a witty, joyful ebullience that
is
actually capable of making you look forward to getting out of bed just
so you can read it in the paper. The greatest known antidote to
the
grim spectacle spelled out by the headlines and driven in by the grisly
photos. Is it sentimental? Yes! Is it goofy?
Yes!
Will it lighten your load? Yes! There are ten Mutts
collections
to choose from: ten black and white volumes that retail for $10.95@ (copacetic price -
$9.85@), and four volumes in the oversize horizontal format
collecting the Sunday pages in all their full-color glory for either
$14.95
(copacetic price
-
$13.45) for the first, Sundays, or a mere $12.95@ (copacetic price -
$11.65@)for the next three, Sunday Mornings, Sunday
Afternoons and Sunday Evenings.
Mutts is indisputibly the most copacetic
comic
strip in the world today.
And, now in a new format that combines the black and white
dailies -- now printed oversize -- with the full color Sundays:
Everyday
Mutts
by Patrick McDonnell
This, the fifteenth Mutts collection, is a large format volume
like the four Sunday-only collections, but is the first to contain both
the dailies in black and white together with the full size Sundays in
full color. Not
only that, but this volume contains 12 extra pages of rough sketches
and watercolors and other neat stuff. As
a result it's a jumbo size book -- the largest Mutts collection yet,
208 pages in all. What can we say: Mutts is good;
more Mutts is better!
retail
price - $16.95
copacetic price - $15.25
Mutts: Animal Friendly
by Patrick McDonnell
Animal Friendly
is, by our count, the sixteenth Mutts
collection. Mutts,
already the best pure comics strip in the
business, just keeps getting better! This volume, the second,
after last year's Everyday Mutts, in the new, all-in-one
format, contains pretty much all the Mutts that appeared in 2006.
The Sundays are all reproduced here in full color, as they originally
appeared in the Sunday comics sections all over America, while the
dailies get the deluxe treatment, appearing full size, enabling the
devotee to admire the subtleties of McDonnell's dynamic yet elegant
brush work. As an added treat, three
Sunday strips and one daily are hand-colored! Printed entirely on
flat, bright white, recycled paper stock, Animal Friendly is
filled with miniature masterworks each of which will make your day.
retail
price - $16.95 copacetic price - $15.25
The Great Big Book
of
Tomorrow:
A Treasury of
Cartoons
by Tom Tomorrow
This compendium covers
the
entire span of Tom Tomorow's agit-prop career. It’s all here:
spanning
twenty years, starting out with brief examples of Dan Perkins’
prototypical
work in his self-published zine, Writings on the Wall --
before
he assumed the persona of Tom Tomorrow -- moving on to the humble
beginnings
of This Modern World, and then providing a very healthy
selection
of This Modern World’s triumphant march to its omnipotent
present.
236 8” x 11” pages (including 32 in full color!) document the
history
of Sparky and company as the poke holes in the inflated poitical
figures
of our times.
retail price - $17.95 copacetic price -
$15.25
A Right to Be
Hostile:
The Boondocks
Treasury
by Aaron McGruder
Over 800 strips make up
this, the first, Boondocks treasury. The selection dates from
the
earliest days up through to the waning days of 2002. Sundays are
in color, dailies in B & W. The observations on America as
perceived
by media-drenched, suburban-dwelling African-Americans provide an
unique
-- to comics -- perspective on our times. Plus, they’re funny.
retail price - $16.95 copacetic price -
$15.25
Little
Nemo: The Complete Collection
by Winsor McCay
edited and with an introduction by Bill Blackbeard
Wait, there's still more! Yes, it's back at last, the super
value-priced Evergreen edition of Little Nemo that contains the entire
run of Winsor McCay's crowning achievement. While nothing
beats
the experience of reading these in their magnificent full-size glory
(see below), this book
still has a lot going for it. Namely: it contains the
entire run of Little Nemo in Slumberland,
including the final two years of the strip after McCay had been hired
by Hearst and it had been retitled "In the Land of Wonderful
Dreams." ALL 420
full-page strips appear here in glorious full
color, except for the last 15 strips executed for The New York
Herald, which are printed in duotone, as they originally
appeared. This book is an amazing value.
retail
price - $39.95
copacetic price - $35.00 DEAL!
And, for the extravagant among
you, the ultimate in classic comics reproduction:
Little Nemo in
Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays
by Winsor McKay
The biggest of 2005 and, physically at least, the biggest book we
carry. The last word in comics
presentation. This book has received perhaps
the greatest accolades we've ever seen. Read them at our feature listing.
retail price - $120.00
copacetic price - $100.00
Fantastic
Four: Unstable Molecules
by
James Sturm, Guy Davis, R. Sikoryak, Michael Vrána & Craig
Thompson
Do
you have someone on your list who is a long time Marvel fan, but who is
-- or whom you think should be -- looking to expand their
horizons?
Well, this book perfectly fits the bill, as it is -- in our humble
opinion
-- the best graphic novel Marvel has produced in... well, possibly,
ever,
but, to hedge our bets, let’s say, "in quite awhile." In any
event,
it is like nothing Marvel has ever produced in the past. It is a
textual analysis of comics done in comics, and it is one of the finest
ever produced -- certainly the finest ever produced by Marvel! It
should be considered in the context of Understanding Comics and
Hicksville
as much as the Fantastic Four. Telling the "true" story
of
the "real people" that the Fantastic Four were based on, this
book
is a dream come true for students of narrative theory. It
explodes
the text rather than simply deconstructing it. This book collects
the hard to find four-issue limited series that was released earlier
this
year, and all of the bonus tidbits are included here. It’s a one
of kind feat that will probably not be duplicated any time soon.
retail price - $13.99 copacetic price - $12.59
DC:
The New Frontier - Volumes One & Two
by Darwyn Cooke with Dave Stewart
What was the best superhero comic book series
of 2004 is now the best superhero collection of 2005. DC: The New Frontier has our vote
for best DC superhero collection so far this century. Technically, a piece of historical fiction,
as it takes place primarily during
the decade long gap between the Golden Age and Silver Age of superhero
comics -- roughly 1946 to 1956 -- before bringing us to the edge of the
"new frontier" as defined by President Kennedy, this work presents a flawlessly executed vision of a
classic American heroic ideal
(while this ideal errs on the side of masculinity, it certainly is not
without a strong feminine component) that completely delivers
the
goods. This is the ideal
gift for the reader and collector of Silver Age comics who says,
"Comics aren't what they used to be. I can't find anything I'm
interested in." This,
he or she will be interested in.
retail
price -
$19.99@ copacetic price -
$17.99@
SPECIAL: Both volumes for the
copacetic price of
$33.88
ESPECIALLY
SUITABLE
FOR YOUNGER READERS:
The Clouds Above
by Jordan Crane
This is the rare book that can be equaly enjoyed by all ages at
multiple levels of appreciation. One of the most finely crafted
books in recent memory, it presents a simple yet highly engaging story
of a young child's adventure on the way to (avoiding) school. Each page contains
only a single panel. While others have emlployed this format
before, none have achieved the level of success that this work
has. Each image commands the page with detailed compositions and
truly inspired coloring: The
Clouds Above
has raised the bar when it comes quality color comics work: It is
simply sumptuous! A great book for an adult and child to
share.
retail price -
$18.95
copacetic price - $18.95
Owly
by Andy Runton
Owly finally finds a
permanent
home in the first Owly trade paperback from Top Shelf. This 160
page
volume offers newcomers a chance to find out what buyers of the
self-published
(and Top Shelf distributed) Owly minis have been discovering over the
last
year: Owly is one of the cutest and most endearing characters
existing
in that ephemeral reality constructed in lines on paper. The two
Owly adventures herein collected -- The Way Home and The
Bittersweet
Summer -- are related entirely in pictures; but while the
characters
that populate the similarly pantomimic work of Jason and Kriek (see
below)
tend to delve a bit into the shadows of the human psyche, Runton's Owly
-- ironically, considering the animal that is his name sake -- is of an
indefatigably bright disposition and never fails to direct his feet to
the sunny side of the street. This is one strip that is
guaranteed
to chase those blues away. It's only a matter of time until the
Owly
plush dolls start rolling off the production lines.
Hmm,
wonder where we'll put ours...
retail price - $10.00
copacetic price -
$9.00
Owly: Just a Little Blue
by Andy Runton
Owly's second
full-length graphic outing. Just
a Little Bit Blue is basically a parable of Christian charity in the guise of a cute
funny animal comic, and it successfully accomplishes its task. As
with all Owly
comics, there is no dialogue or narration. The only text appears
in a sign that's tacked on the wall of a shop visited by Owly during
the course of the narrative; for the remainder of the story, the
visuals alone are relied upon to carry the story forward -- although
there is an occasional recourse to communication through symbols and
eidetic recollection. Many comics claim to be "suitable for all
ages," but Owly really and truly is: any child old enough
to hold a book can get something out of this, and we'd be hard pressed
to imagine any parent anywhere on the planet who could find something
to object to in this comic book.
retail
price -
$10.00 copacetic price -
$8.50
The
Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
by Don Rosa
Weighing in at over 240 pages, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
is, to the best of our knowledge, the longest single continuous comics
story featuring a Disney character ever produced (if we're wrong,
please let us know). Authored by Don Rosa, the primary American
(there are others in Europe) heir to the legacy of Carl Barks, the
series was originally produced in the early 1990s for Gladstone Comics
and is here collected in a single volume for the first time for the
American market.
Based on the hints dropped by Barks during his seventy-issue tenure on
Uncle Scrooge, and inspired by SF author Jack Chalker's Informal
Biography of Scrooge McDuck (which was similarly based on the Barks
legacy), The Life and Times is a
loving tribute to Barks's most famous creation.
retail
price - $16.99 copacetic price - $15.29
Beginning
in the fall of 2004, Dark Horse initiated the mammoth undertaking of
representing the complete run of Little
Lulu comics, at the rate of one new volume every other
month. They have so far admirably maintained their publication
schedule and we now have the first twelve volumes on our shelves.
Each
volume in this series is between 200 and
240 pages long and presents an average
of six complete issues of Marge's Little Lulu (the full title,
as the character
of Little Lulu was created by Marjorie "Marge" Henderson Buell in 1935
for The Saturday Evening Post;
despite the fact that she had nothing to do with the comic book series,
it nevertheless kept her name), originally published by Dell
Comics.
The actual number of issues per volume varies with the page count of
the originals, but every volume is cover to cover Little Lulu.
Dark
Horse has done a fine job here: the reproduction is uniformly
excellent and all volumes are printed on a decent quality, flat, bright
white, 6"
x 9" stock. John Stanley's Little
Lulu,
while
long enjoying the ardent support of a core group of readers, is still
under appreciated given the quality of his work. These volumes
offer an ideal
way to introduce younger reader -- as well as readers of any age, for
that
matter -- to the joys of comics. Sixteen volumes so far, plus the
Color Special.
Learn more at our full page
Little Lulu listing.
retail
price -
$9.95@ copacetic price -
$8.95@
ordering
info
back to top
BOOKS
Fruits
by Shoichi Aoki
Want to give someone a
book
that no one can put down once they’ve picked it up regardless of age,
gender,
ethnicity, native language, or interest constellation? A book
that
is perhaps the sine qua non of coffee table books? A book
that can fill many an idle moment; that just has that je ne sais
quoi?
A book that is guaranteed to relieve any sort of angst,
regardless
of its source? In other words do you want a real sure thing? Fruits
is the answer. A perfect size book that's halfway between
hardcover
and softcover, it's filled with nothing but photos of those crazy kids
dressing up like there’s no tomorrow. Shot entirely on the
streets
of Tokyo, Japan, Fruits is the apotheosis of eye candy. No
long-winded
texts deconstructing the semiotics of fashion here! Just
photographs:
272 pages, 272 full-page full-color photos. If there is any
single
book that allows its readers to instantly apprehend the reality of the
global marketplace, this is it. The grateful recipient of this
book
will be sure to say, "Arigato!"
Check out the Salon.com
review.
retail price - $29.95 copacetic price -
$25.47
and now, at
long last, there's also...
Fresh
Fruits
by Shoichi Aoki
Four years in the making, this is a terrific follow-up/companion volume
to Fruits,
the best-selling gift book in Copacetic history. Like its
forerunner,
this volume is cover to cover photographs of gals and guys gone wild on
fashion, creating their own unique blend of haute couture,
hand-me-downs and home made fashions to create a look found nowhere
else in such abundance as on these particular byways of Tokyo where
author, photographer Aoki points her unerring lens.
retail
price - $29.95 copacetic price - $25.47
wait,
there's more! to wit:
Fruits Postcards
Instead of your standard
gift cards, consider these Fruits postcards, featuring images
from
the aforementioned Fruits book. Oversize (5" x 8") postcards.
copacetic
price
- Only 75¢ each, or 2/$1.00.
On the other hand,
a
whole
box full of
45 cards (all different) makes
a gift in itself. There are two different boxes available, one from each of the
books listed above; each comes in a way-snazzy translucent flourescent
lucite
container
that's a keeper copacetic price
- $13.50
The
Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions: The Art of Chindogu
by Kenji Kawakami
OK, we're not going to mince
words here. This is it: your fail-safe gift item, the book that
is a perfect fit for everyone. There's just something about the
ideas embodied in these whacky inventions that are irresistible to
everyone from the youngest to the oldest. Hand someone this book
open to any page, and they will find it next to impossible to hand it
back to you without at least looking at few more examples of the
prodigious creativity held on its pages. This
book presents a tradition that is... not a parody, not a satire, but
something else: In a word, chindogu. It's a reflection on mankind's
relationship with
the material world, it's meta-materialism; and -- it's fun. Author
Kawakami in the founder
of the 10,000-member International Chindogu Society, so he should
know. Want another opinion? Here's the NY Times review. To learn more visit www.chindogu.com
(make sure to learn the
ten tenents of chindogu). But be forewarned: you may
have trouble letting go of the copy you intended as a gift!
retail
price -
$12.95 copacetic price -
$11.65 (back in stock!)
Her
Smoke Rose Up Forever
by James Tiptree, Jr.
There has to be someone else out
there besides us who will be excited to learn of this volume's recent
(12/1/04) arrival. In our opinion, the least appreciated and most
misunderstood science fiction
writer of modern times, James Tiptree, Jr. (the nom de plume of
Alice Sheldon) is a writer of breathtaking originality who is still
ahead of her time, nearly twenty years after her death. That all
of her
work -- with the exception of a single "loose ends" collection that was
published three years ago -- has been out of print for years is, in our
opinion, a negligence that borders on the criminal. Thankfully, this
situation has now come to an end with the release of this 508 page
volume, a
paperback re-issue of the posthumous Arkham House collection which has
to stand as
the best single-volume edition of her work ever released, putting
together eighteen of her most penetrating and insightful stories, all
of which were
originally published between 1969 and 1981.
retail
price - $15.95 copacetic price -
$13.55
And,
the companion piece, her life story:
James Tiptree,
Jr.: The Double Life of Alice
B. Sheldon
by Julie Phillips
We've
been waiting for this one for a long, long time. Alice Sheldon --
more widely known under her nom
de plume, James
Tiptree, Jr.
-- is, in our opinion, the most
significant science fiction writer since Philip K Dick (and then some),
but is still far from gaining the wide readership and critical
acceptance that her writings warrant. More than this, she may
very well have led the most intriguing life of any science fiction
writer in history, and now, with this biography, her life story has at
last been told in what is an amazingly thorough and fully fleshed out
account, one that draws on the biographer's unprecedented access to not
only the author's archives but that of her mother -- a well known
author in her own right -- as well. Carter
Scholz has written a detailed review
containing a capsule summary of the biography that we encourage
interested parties to
read.
retail
price - $17.95
copacetic price - $16.00
Who
Needs Donuts
by
Mark Alan Stamaty
Yes, this is it -- the
one-of-a-kind
item that you are looking for. Stamaty’s cult masterpiece is now
back in print after a thirty year hiatus, in a beautifully produced
hardcover
edition. The appeal of this book lies in the neural connections
between
the eyes and the brain and the hand that draws. It’s pretty hard
to explain, but those who are already familiar with Stamaty’s work from
his many-year run of his comics-strip Washingtoons in the
Village
Voice, and, more recently, his endpage strip in the New York Times Book
Review, Boox, will know what we’re talking about. This is
technically a kids’ book -- and kids will dig it, especially those
hyper-brainy
types (this is the perfect book to save them from a life of video-game
addiction, before it’s too late), and was more than likely an
inspiration
to Martin Handford, the creator of the Where’s Waldo series as
well
as the team responsilbe for the I Spy book series -- but it
will,
perhaps, be most appreciated by obsessive-compulsive comics aficianados
-- you can be sure that Ben Katchor has this book in his personal
library.
The level of detail in the drawings that fill this book has to be seen
to be believed. Furthermore, it is not just detail, but detail
with
an agenda, and that agenda can perhaps best be summed up in the phrase,
"reality is what you make it." Reality as Stamaty makes it, is,
more
than likely, not reality as seen by you or I, but Who Needs Donuts
makes us realize that it doesn't have to be that way, that the
possibilities
are only limited by our imaginations. We really recommend this
one!
retail price - $16.95 copaceticprice -
$15.25
Men of
Tomorrow:
Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book
by Gerard Jones
Years in the making, this engrossing history of the dawn of the comic
book era is here. It's a 384 page softcover with a swell Chip
Kidd
designed dustjacket. Here's what some notables are saying:
"The
fascinating and heartbreaking true story of the goniffs, shmendricks,
and shlemiels who gave birth to the superhero comics -- written with
all the verve and velocity of a golden age comic book." -- Art
Spiegelman
"This book has brought me immense pleasure. Jones offers amazing
new
insights into how girlie pulp publishers and mob-related printers got
to the top of the comics business. Men of Tomorrow is an
extraordinary read." -- Bud Plant 'Nuff said.
retail
price - $15.00 copacetic price -
$13.50
The Ganzfeld No. 4: Art History?
Two years in the making, the latest issue of The Ganzfeld is the perfect gift
for adventurous, eclectic, artistic souls. It starts out with a
wraparound cover and end papers
by the high priestess of Canadian comics, Julie Doucet, and doesn't let
up . After the lead off introductions by editor, Dan Nadel and
artist extraordinaire, Peter Blegvad, the book is divided up into four
sections of approximately equal length. In the first, Art 
History, you'll discover a lot that you hadn't know that
you needed to
know but will be glad to learn, including the secret history of the
enigmatic cover art for Led Zeppelin's Presence that's always been a
nagging question mark lurking in a back alley of your consciousness
ever since you first saw it back in 1976. Next up is Drawings, by
the recognized hepsters Gary Panter and Mark Newgarden, as well as
others whose art you are far less likely to have previously come into
contact with; but now will! Artists on Art is an intriguing,
highly engaging and fairly unique feature which presents artists on art
in art: David Sandlin's 18-page, lushly colored piece on H.C.
Westermann is a tour de force
of admiration, while Marc Bell's
Ph.D.-thesis-in-comics-form provides a fresh, delightful and direct
access to the work of Philip Guston that will be much appreciated by
many. And then, finally, there's the Comics. This section
starts off, semi-miraculously, with a six-page walking tour of
Pittsburgh, both real and dreamed -- as a place on the map and as a
state of mind -- by peripatetic former resident, Frank Santoro, and
continues with fine work by Paper Rad, Leif Goldberg, Ted Stearn,
Matthew Thurber, Jim Drain, Mark Newgarden, and a wild and wooly
journey to the center of the mind by "C.F." The feature
attraction is
the amazing 22-page, "Ganmodoki," a piece from the late, surrealist
period of Japanese manga legend, Shigeru Sugiura. And there you
have it.
retail price - $29.95
copacetic price - $26.95
Masters of
American Comics
edited by John Carlin
Here it is, the mammoth catalogue (it weighs over 2 kilos -- almost 5
pounds) for the first major retrospective on American Comics organized
by a major American museum, or, in this case, museums -- the Museum of
Contemporary Art and the Hammer Museum, both located in Los
Angeles. This beautifully produced book published by Yale
University Press covers the entire twentieth century -- the century of
comics. Starting off with Winsor McKay who defined the terms of
American comics, the survey continues through George Herriman, Frank
King, Milton Canniff, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby, Robert
Crumb, Art Spiegelman, and concludes with Chris Ware, with many side
trips covering their contemporaries. The central text is a
175-page essay by editor John Carlin, which is a general history of
American comics that focuses on the artists represented in the
exhibition. It is followed by a series of short essays on
individual artists by the likes of Stanley Crouch, Tom DeHaven, Jules
Feiffer, Matt Groening, Patrick McDonnell and Raymond Pettibone.
The volume is, of course, heavily illustrated in both black and white
and full color and features many examples of both original art and the
comics as they appeared in printed form. The reproductions are
uniformly excellent, with perhaps one or two exceptions out of the
hundreds presented. This book is a gift equally suited to those
who already take their comics seriously and those who you'd like to see
take their comics seriously.
retail price - $45.00
copacetic price - $40.00
Comic
Book Nation
by Bradford W Wright
An excellent choice for
the comics intellectual on your list, this extremely insightful look at
comic books’ place in twentieth century American cultural history is
now
available in a durable softcover edition that includes a new chapter on
the post-9/11 comic book reality.
retail price - $19.95 copacetic price -
$17.95
Rebel
Visions:
The Underground Comix
Revolution 1963 - 1975
by Patrick Rosenkranz
And while we're on the
subject
of critical studies of comics, Rebel Visions is the only in-depth study
of the history of Underground Comics in America. It is a lavishly
illustrated oversize hardcover that cover the entire period, from its
obscure
beginnings, through its high-tide during the "psychedelic sixties," to
its mid-seventies decline, and finally, its seeding of the next
generation.
Indespensible for anyone truly interested in this branch of Comics
history.
While it is probably prudent to note that there are some explicit
graphics
contained in this book, one can only presume that anyone with an
interest
in this category of Comics is already well acquainted with this type of
imagery.
retail price - $39.95 copacetic price -
$31.95
The
Book of Changes
Know
a pop culture maven that digs interviews? Well then, The Book
of Changes is the way to go. It's a one of a kind compilation
of interviews by Kristine McKenna. How did she manage to corner
all
these great talents? From Iggy Pop to David Lynch, from Tom Waits
to R. Crumb, from Brian Eno to Artie Shaw, from Robert Rauschenberg to
George Clinton, from Patti Smith to Kenneth Anger, the list goes on and
on. She asks good questions and gets good answers. The
interviews
in this volume are in the tradtional format yet they do offer a unique
visual component in that each interview is accompanied by a swell
illustration
by a hep cat cartoonist.
retail price - $14.95 copacetic price -
$12.70
And now, for those who already have Book of Changes,
there's Ms. McKenna's follow-up volume:
Talk To Her
This
time around the interviewees incluse, Robert Altman, Edie Beale, Exene
Cervenka, Elvis Costello, Dick Dale, Jacques Derrida, Ralph Gibson,
Allen Ginsberg, Richard Hell, Walter Hopps, Chrissie Hynde, Ticki Lere
Jones, John Lydon, Guy Maddin, Russ Meyer, Joni Mitchell, Iggy Pop,
Hoey Ramone, Lou Reed (who gives what may be the crankiest interview
ever published), Joe Sacco, Eve Marie Saint, Hoe Strummer, Tom Verlaine
and...Orson Welles!
retail
price - $16.95 copacetic
price -
$14.40
ordering
info
back to top
MUSIC
- CD
Well, in the music
department,
we can't help but feature what is without a doubt the greatest value in
recorded music today: the Proper Box
Set Series. This series offers the best music in the best
package at the best price. We can't recommend it enough!
All
the titles in this series are uniformly excellent, but we will
nevertheless
highlight three of our favorites:
Proper Box 93: Louis
Armstrong - King Louis
99 Tracks of absolute greatness. This is the music that defines
the twentieth century, that once and for all distinguished the unique
and original culture of The New World from that of its Old World
forebears. Louis Armstrong changed the face of music and the
music he created changed history. His career is nothing short of miraculous. No self-respecting American can be
ignorant of the music contained on this set: it's the real declaration
of independence. Finally, this music gets the Proper Box
treatment: Five hours of music on four discs, each enclosed in
their own LP-style jacket, accompanied by an informative 40-page
illustrated booklet, all packed in a stylish, compact box for the copacetic price of only
$26.75!
Proper
Box 71: "Fats" Waller - Handful of Keys
YES!!!
At last it has come to pass: Fats Waller gets the Proper
treatment.
One of the all time great personalities in the history of jazz, Fats
would
be a legend just for his mastery of the keyboard with which he launched
his career, but he has so much more to offer. He crafted a
true persona which he then donned for each and every performance.
And what performances! Fats was the very embodiment of
entertainment.
And finally, there's the songs themselves. Fats Waller is one of
the greatest song writers of all times. He brought a jazz
sensibility
to show tunes and a show tune sensibility to jazz. Some, like Ain't
Misbehavin', have become standards, interpreted over and over
again by cats of all colors, able to be made fresh each time.
Others,
like My Very Good Friend the Milkman, belong to Fats
alone.
The people of Proper Records really had their work cut out for them
with
this one: how do you bring the whole of Fats when you have a mere
four CDs? It's painful to leave out even one timeless classic! Handful
of Keys proves once again why Proper Records is the reigning
champion
of classic jazz packages: They jammed this box full with 95
tracks and Fats is here in all his glory, from his
early days as keyboard prodigy to his final blazing days of
songmanship.
This is a set that will bring a lifetime of enjoyment. If
Fats
isn't part of your life, then, man, you ain't livin'! Here's the complete
track listing and discography.
copacetic
price - $26.75
The
Duke Ellington Proper Box -- The best of the best, the
créme
de la créme, the Duke Ellington Proper Box is 98 tracks on four
CDs filling five hours of the digital time/space continuum with the
greatest
jazz there ever was. It simply doesn’t get any better than
this.
Really. This is music that can't be outgrown. No on can be
disappointed
with this music. It can be listened to over and over again for a
lifetime, and will renew the listener's spirits each time without
fail.
But while you’re at it, there may be another one of the over 60
extant Proper Boxes that is more appropriate for who you have in
mind;
so take your time and check out what's avaiilable.
copacetic
price -
$26.75
Proper
Box 62 - Slim Gaillard: Laughing in Rhythm
This is it: The
ideal
antidote to these trying times. Slim’s wit, style, charm, and
grace
will make the world vout oroonee in no time. As
with
all Proper Boxes, this one includes 4 CDs
packed to the limit (102 tracks total!) for over 5 hours of music, and
a 44 page booklet containing a comprehensive history of Slim's career
along
with fab photos, old ads, record labels, and, best of all, complete
track
by track annotation -- where you’ll note the appearances of Slam
Stewart,
Ben Webster, Zutty Singleton, Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker
among
many others -- along with a bountiful biographical career history by
the
all-knowing Joop Visser. All this for the copacetic price of
only $26.75! How!?!?!
Don't think Slim is
the ticket? Check
out the rest of the Proper Boxes, where you'll find the best music,
in the best package, at the best price.
Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones
If ever there was a CD that defies a capsule summary, that simply has
to be heard, this is it. It is subtitled, "Experimental Musical
Instruments," and, while this will certainly point your expectations in
the right direction, chances are your imagination will have to work
overtime to even come close to creating an approximate presentiment of
what's in store here. Among the instruments you'll hear are the
trigon incanter, the aquavina, the photon clarinet, the wiffle flute,
the buchla 400 and, of course, the theremin. Among the musicians and
composers you'll experience are Leon Theremin (yes, that Theremin), Robert Moog (inventor of the
synthesizer), Harry
Partch, Michel Moglia, Hans Reichel, Ken Butler, Don Buchla and our
favorite, whirly master, Sara Hopkins. This is a full-length CD
(19 tracks, running 73:54) that comes packaged in a 96-page
hardcover
book chock full of illustrations in color and B & W, with a
chapter
devoted to each of the artists represented on the CD, along with their instruments, and
a forward by Tom Waits. It's a truly unique item at a really great
price. Come in and ask us to put it on for you and see what you
think.
copacetic price -
$17.77 (almost gone!)
ordering
info
back to top
CINEMA
- DVD
Avant-garde:
Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 30s
This great new 2-disc DVD release
from Kino has really performed a singlular service. Before this
was released, your
chance of seeing any of the films it contains outside of a university
film history class or a rare special screening at a major metropolitan
musem were slim to none. But now anyone anywhere can feast their
eyes
on these gems from the Raymond Rohauer collection in Los Angeles.
See
what artists working towards self-expression rather than a paycheck did
with film while it was still a young and fresh medium. Check out
the contents.
copacetic
price -
$28.88
Spirited
Away DVD
Spirited Away is
simply one of the greatest animated films ever made. It is a
timeless
classic that can be enjoyed again and again, and appreciated on an
entire
spectrum of levels by viewers of all ages. It is available on DVD
in this special 2-Disc package loaded with extras.
retail price - $29.98 copacetic price -
$25.47
La
Dolce Vita (DVD)
by Federico Fellini (1960)
w/ Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk
Aimee,
Anita Ekberg & Roma
Give someone what is indisputably
one of the greatest films of all time, the film that captured what was
sup
