Monthly Archive for December, 2010

1. Slingshot Small Organizer $6.00 – Get your rad self organized!

2. Slingshot Large Organizer $12.00

3. Acme Novelty Library #20 Lint (D&Q) $23.95 – A completely wrenching tale of Jordan Lint’s awful life, rendered with Ware’s perfectly rendered tangential velocities that vault us back and forth through memory, fixation, anticipation and communication.

4. Best American Comics HC 2010 ed. by Abel, Madden and Gaiman (HM) $23.00

5. The Unsinkable Walker Bean by Aaron Renier (First Second) $13.99 – Does it sound cheesy if I say this book is perfect for kids age 5 to 105? Cause it really is!  The Unsinkable Walker Bean is an unstoppable, rollicking high seas adventure full of codes, inventions, antediluvian intrigues and funny names. There’s this “pure joy of drawing” in Aaron’s work which loads the panels with sly little details and charming gestures -but nothing feels superfulous- even the silliest elements weave themselves into the plot. The story itself, about returning a cursed skull to two giant sea-hag sisters, champions scrapper ingenuity, resourcefulness and teamwork in a way that’s never heavy-handed, it’s just plain cool. Refreshing in a similar way is how Walker Bean’s world escapes simple hero vs. villain dichotomies, giving every character a heart to the point that you’ll even find the fierce, giant mer-witches endearing. The exceptional storytelling is emphasized by Alec Longstreth’s (Phase 7) beautiful color work full of crisp ocean blues, kelp-y ochres and my favorite sorts of pale, sea-sick greens. The book is also completely and solidly kid-friendly and that’s a big part of it’s magic: reading it as an adult stirs up all the youthful thrills and adventures of creative problem-solving. SO GOOD! -EF

6. Big Questions #15 The Sweet Taste of Victory by Anders Nilsen (D&Q) $7.95 – The most gorgeous, most finalest one… the Big Questions end times is disruptive, surreal and poetic. Nilsen’s draughtmanship is pure and stunning, where disarmingly simple forms are made perfectly right. If you’ve been keeping time with this series, you’ll certainly be excited by this chapter, and if you’re just catching up, you’ll be dazzled by this near-religious, cryptic conclusions you’ll be catching here. -EF

7. Proximity #8 Education As Art $12.00 – Writing the book on learning as art and the art of learning: Proximity #8 comes from all angles, focuses, builds, supports. Weighing in at 232 pages, this volume does an exceptional job with a wide variety of profiles, interviews and portfolios and essays, staying both solidly local and vitally connected, you’d be hard pressed to find a smarter art magazine. Contributors include: Eve Ewing, Christa Donner, Chris Kennedy and Cassie Thornton, Michelle Grabner, Antonio Collados and Javier Rodrigo, Michael Piazza, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Lavie Raven, Lisa Junkin, Jazmen McKinnor, Louise Dreier, Elizabeth Knafo, Caroline Liebman, Alexander Keefe, Daniel Fuller, Dara Greenwald, Jesse Senechal, Rebecca Zorach, Jorge Lucero, Huong Ngo, Paul Mack, Andrew Oesch, InCUBATE, Noah Berlatsky, Sara Black and John Preus, Katie Hargrave, Susannah Kite Strang, Emmy Bright, Zach Cahill, Chris Cronin, Bert Stabler, Erin Elder, and Paul Sargent.

8 Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris & Ian Falconer (LB) $21.99

9. Celebrate Peoples History: The Poster Book of Resistance and Revolution by Josh MacPhee (Feminist Press) $24.95 – A beautiful and inspiring book collecting the Justseeds Celebrate Peoples History Posters to date, overwhelming and fantastic! -EF

10. Manifesti of Radical Literature by Anne Elizabeth Moore (Pressing Concern) $8.00 – This pocket-sized zine is a great introduction to the work of Anne Elizabeth Moore. The Manifesti of Radical Literaure condenses many ideas Moore has previously explored in other works–her critique of culture jamming, copyright laws, advertising, and why everyone should seriously consider self-publishing their own work. What saves this new 50-paged effort from feeling redundant is Moore’s charming sense of humor. Grab a copy for yourself and another one to leave at your local library.

1. Gaylord Phoenix by Edie Fake (Secret Acres) $17.95 – All-Gaylord-All-Phoenix-All-In-One, Dr. Bronner’s Style.

2. Slingshot 2011 Large Organizer (Slingshot) $12.00 – Get your rad self organized!

3. 100 Posters 134 Squirrels, Revised & Updated by Jay Ryan (Akashic) $22.95 – 100 POSTERS 134 SQUIRRELS showcases one of underground poster art’s most prolific and talented practitioners. Featuring an all-new interview with Ryan and an introduction by Chicago Tribune rock critic Greg Kot, and framed by essays from underground luminaries–recording engineer and Shellac guitarist Steve Albini, graphic design iconoclast Art Chantry, and distinguished art and design historian Debra Parr–100 POSTERS 134 SQUIRRELS offers a unique look into Ryan’s approach to poster art.

4. Slingshot 2011 Small Organizer (Slingshot) $6.00

5. Endeavour 2011 Nikki McClure Calendar $16.00

6. Bust Dec 10 Jan 11 $4.99

7. Tel Tales #1 Cut Lines and Intricate Minds by Don Toots Zettwoch & Dan Zettwoch (Sparkplug) $3.00 – They don’t make ’em like they used to, that’s for certain. Papa Zettwoch takes us on an exacting tour of life in midcentury Louisville telephone operations, in particular the oracle operators who fiddled with antiquated 8-board switchpanels. Dan lovingly arts up the exacting craft, attention to detail and squirrely diagnostic techniques that existed before everything got replaced with plastic and no one could remember a phone number. -EF

8. Farm Together Now: A Portrait of People Places and Ideas for a New Food Movement by Amy Franceschini, Daniel Tucker etc. (Chronicle) $27.50 – “With interest in home gardening at an all-time high and concerns about food production and safety making headlines, Farm Together Now explores the current state of grassroots farming in the U.S. Part oral history and part treatise on food politics, this fascinating project is an introduction to the many individuals who are producing sustainable food, challenging public policy, and developing community organizing efforts. With hundreds of photographs and a foreword from New York Times columnist Mark Bittman, Farm Together Now will educate, inspire, and cultivate a new wave of modern agrarians.”

9. Monocle vol 4 #39 Dec 10 Jan 11 $10.00

10. Best American Comics HC 2010 ed. by Jessica Abel, Matt Madden & Neil Gaiman (HM) $23.00