Reading Frenzy ~ An Independent Press Emporium

American Elf (softcover)

By James Kochalka

520 pages

$29.95

Big Plans #2

This is a 48 page mini comic

$5.00

Big Plans #3

This is a 49 page mini comic

$5.00

Blankets (softcover)

By Craig Thompson

592 pgs., 9.4 x 6.5

From the publisher: Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith. A profound and utterly beautiful work.

Winner of the Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Awards for BestGraphic Novel and Best Cartoonist.

"A rarity: a first-love story so well remembered and honest that it reminds you what falling in love feels like … achingly beautiful." --

"Blankets is a great American novel. --

"Thompson manages to explore adolescent social yearnings, the power of young love and the complexities of sexual attraction with a rare combination of sincerity, pictorial lyricism and taste." --

"I thought it was moving, tender, beautifully drawn, painfully honest, and probably the most important graphic novel since Jimmy Corrigan." --

"This is a genuine graphic novel, with a universal appeal." --

$29.95

Cry Yourself to Sleep

By Jesse Reklaw /jeremy tinder

88 pgs., 6.1 x 4.5

From the publisher: Cry Yourself to Sleep explores the disappointments of early adulthood by following the lives of three unique characters: Jim, a minimum wage rabbit struggling to pay his rent; Andy, an aspiring novelist dealing with rejection; and The Robot, a machine who just wants to be a better man. In this stellar debut graphic novel, Jeremy Tinder mixes sadness, sweetness and humor to tell a quirky little story of pride swallowing, fake moustaches, car crashes and friendship.

$7.00

Hutch Owen (Vol 1): The Collected

161 pgs, s/c,6"x9"

From the publisher: Hilarious, enraged, snotty, and smart! These acclaimed dregs-of-society farces skewer the multinational, mega-merging, corporate forces that control our lives. Tom Hart's popular vagrant/rebel, Hutch Owen, rages while the world around him builds, merges, attends marketing seminars and goes IPO. The streets and alleyways that are his bedroom and study are now invisible beneath a coat of crude and insulting ads. His may be the only dissenting voice left! When the first tale, "Hutch Owen's Working Hard," was released in 1994, it created an underground sensation and gained Tom Hart a die-hard following. Here are the two previously published tales, with two brand new, full-length stories, never before seen. Feel the Power! Catch the Wave! Join the Splurge!!

$14.95

I Want Everything to Be Okay

By Carrie McNinch

98 pgs.

From the publisher: Carrie McNinch, author of the long-running zine The Assassin and the Whiner and a pioneer of the autobiographic comics movement, returns to the genre she helped create. Tracing a year in her life, I Want Everything to be Okay is a funny, tender, honest and ultimately, hopeful story of a woman haunted by depression and alcoholism as she rebuilds her life from the inside out.

$12.00

Kramers Ergot #5

300pgs., 8.5"x11", color

From Publishers Weekly: Harkham's anthology series Kramer's Ergot has established itself as the center of the comics avant-garde, and the mammoth fifth volume is the most impressive to date -- a full-on plunge into the spot where contemporary visual art discovers narrative. (Some of its 20 contributors, like Souther Salazar and the Swiss duo Elvis Studio, present work that looks like it's drifted over from a particularly edgy gallery wall.) There are a few indulgent examples of druggy art brut, and a handful of artists who contribute stuff that was already on hand: Gary Panter offers a page apiece from 30 years' worth of sketchbooks, and Chris Ware's contribution, beautiful as it is, is yet another excerpt from his graphic novel in progress. But almost none of the pieces here look or read like conventional comics, and the collection's high points are extraordinary. Kevin Huizenga's "Jeepers Jacobs" is a simple-looking but ingenious piece about theological debates; Gabrielle Bell's painted "Cecil and Jordan in New York" is a splendid miniature that starts as a slice of urban life and becomes something entirely different; David Heatley's "My Sexual History (Slightly Abridged Version)" is exactly that: page after page of tiny, crudely rendered but wincingly remembered incidents. And Marc Bell's strips, drawings and doodles are the work of a very odd, very funny mind that likes to fill every bit of space on a page with hilariously inventive details.

$34.95

Minisulk

By Jeffrey Brown

97 pgs., mini, perfect bound, paperback, b&w

Gags and single panel comics from Jeffrey Brown. Will he ever stop being funny?

$8.00

Papercutter #5

32 pgs., comic

The action-packed fifth issue of the acclaimed anthology series dedicated to showcasing the best young, underexposed and emerging comic book artists. Kazimir Strzepek (Mourning Star) tells the featured story about a post-apocalypic world where two rival gangs battle for control of a war torn city. Liz Prince (Will Your Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed) and Bwana Spoons (Pencil Fight) complete the issue with tales of friendship, tea parties and the secret to finding true love. Additional art by Nate Beaty.

$3.00