Bill Kartalopoulos joins Gina Wynbrandt and Anya Davidson to discuss THE BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2015 on 10/16

Oct ’15
16
7:00 pm

BAC 2015 Cvr Bggr

Now in its tenth year, THE BEST AMERICAN COMICS 2015 (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), guest edited by Jonathan Lethem with series editor Bill Kartalopoulos, showcases the work of both established and up-and-coming contributors, and pulls from graphic novels, pamphlet comics, newspapers, magazines, minicomics, and the Web to create a unique and stunning collection. This year’s edition is a stirring journey into the world of comics, featuring pieces by Chicago contributors Gina Wynbrandt and Anya Davidson. Yes, you can preorder Best American Comics 2015 from Quimazon!

BILL KARTALOPOULOS is a Brooklyn-based comics critic, educator, curator, and editor. He teaches comics history at the School of Visual Arts. More information may be found at on-panel.com.

GINA WYNBRANDT was born in Chicago in 1990. She writes comics about personal humiliations, sexual disappointment, and popular culture. Her favorite food is ice cream. www.ginawynbrandt.com

ANYA DAVIDSON was born in Sarasota, Florida, in 1983. She graduated with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004. She is a cartoonist, musician, teaching artist, and printmaker whose work appeared in many ‘zines and anthologies, including Kramers Ergot, before her debut graphic novel, School Spirits, was published by PictureBox Inc. Her current project, the Ignatz Award-nominated comic Band for Life, will be available in print from Fantagraphics Books in the not-too-distant future. She lives and shreds in Chicago. www.anyadavidson.com

“As I know well from my own field, true vitality consists of stuff that’s further off the radar of general acclaim. The influx of raw arrivals. The deep cuts.” —Jonathan Lethem, from the Introduction

This years Best American Comics features: Gabrielle Bell, Mat Brinkman, Roz Chast, Anya Davidson, Eleanor Davis, Jules Feiffer, Blaise Larmee, Raymond Pettibon, Ed Piskor, Joe Sacco, Esther Pearl Watson, and others.

For more info:

The website of Bill Kartalopoulos.

The website of Gina Wynbrandt.

The website of Anya Davidson

Best American Comics Series.

Facebook invite for this event to tell the world you’re coming and invite people.

Preordering this book from Quimazon.

This event is on Friday, October 16th, 7pm at Quimby’s!

New Stuff This Week

Cheap poster sale at #quimbys! Many prints $5! #QuimbysBookstore

A photo posted by Quimbys Bookstore (@quimbysbookstore) on

Quimby’s Cheap Poster Sale! Many prints and posters $5.00!

ZINES

Kiernan Dunn zines that all look awesome:
YOBO: You Only Butch Once Queer Reactions to Gender Presentation,
Joy of Missing Out: A Self Care Zine To Reduce FOMO
They Call Him Spooky: X-Files Fan Zine
We Are Not Alone: A Collection of Extraterrestrials by Kiernan Dunn $16.00
…and more!

Mountains Sound Like $2.50

Oh the Places Youll Float Oregon Part 1 by Jillian Barthold $4.00

Mug Shot: A Coloring Book $5.00

Blood on the Floor by Nolan Hirsley $20.00

Cards of Ingratitude by Jay Krevens $12.00

Employee of the Month by Raziel Puma $3.00

Proof I Exist #22 31 Days of International Zine Month by Billy Roberts $2.00

COMICS & MINIS

Cherry Tomatoes by Natalie Walser $6.00

Bright Nights by Jason Martin $4.00

Super Sikh #1 Takeoff and Landing and Super Sikh #1 Takeoff and Landing $3.99 each

GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS

Step Aside Pops: A Hark a Vagrant Collection by Kate Beaton (D&Q) $19.95

Pleasure: A Sexual Memoir $6.66

Marvels: You Either See it or You Don’t by Brian Selznick $32.99

Island #3 $7.99 – Comics anthology

AAMA HC VOL 4 You Will Be Glorious My Daughter by Frederik Peeters (Self Made Hero) $19.95

ART & DESIGN

New Old School: Exploring the Modern Renaissance Of Old School and Neo Traditional Tattooing by Jakob Schulz $34.99

Little Book of Typographic Ornament by David Jury (Laurence King) $19.95

Cover Art: 20 Hanagable Prints For Book Nerds by Liz Emirzian $15.95

Walter Chandoha: Cat Photographer (Aperture) $29.95

Soviet Bus Stops by Christopher Herwig (Fuel) $32.50 – Photographer Christopher Herwig has covered more than 30,000 km by car, bike, bus and taxi in 14 former Soviet countries discovering and documenting these unexpected treasures of modern art.

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Graffiti Murals Exploring the Impacts Of Street Art by Patrick Verel $29.99

Street Art Santiago by Lord K2 $34.99

FICTION

The Emerald Light in the Air: Stories by Donald Antrim $16.00 – Artists, writers, lawyers, teachers, and actors make fools of themselves, have delusions of grandeur, talk and look for communion in a city. All stories that were published in The New Yorker.

Only the Animals: Stories by Ceridwen Dovey $25.00 – Short stories narrated by animals who have experienced atrocities from history.

onlytheanimals

Purity by Jonathan Franzen $28.00

My Wet Hot Drone Summer – New Lovers #4 by Lex Brown (Badlands Unlimited) $12.95 – Doom Generation-esque sci-fi sex romp.

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Little Sister Death: A Novel by William Gay (Dzanc) $26.95

Shark by Will Self (Grove Press) $16.00

Tale of the Teller of Tales: A Novel by Joshua Landsman $9.95

New and Improved Romie Futch by Julia Elliott (Tin House Books) $15.95

OUTER LIMITS & MAYHEM

Most Evil II Zodiac Case Solved by Steve Hodel (Rare Bird Books) $16.00 – The San Francisco Zodiac Serial Killer reveals his true identity. P.S. WRITTEN BY HIS SON.

Ghostly Encounters: Confessions of a Paranormal Investigator by Jeff Scott Cole and Jonathon Robson $24.99

John Wayne Gacy, Defending a Monster: The True Story of the Lawyer Who Defended One of the Most Evil Serial Killers In History by Judge Sam L. Amirante and Danny Broderick $14.99

UFO Dossier: 100 Years of Government Secrets Conspiracies and Cover Ups by Kevin D. Randle (Visible Ink Press) $19.95

Psychic Workbook Tools and Techniques To Develop Reliable Insight by Karen Fox (Schiffer) $24.99

Campfire Tales Great Lakes by Christopher Larson $16.99

Vampire Evolution From Myth To Modern Day by E.R. Guiley $24.99

Seeking Bigfoot by Michael Newton $24.99

ESSAYS

High Holiday Porn: A Memoir by Eytan Bayme $25.99 – Confessions of an adolescence even more awkward than yours.

Gamelife: A Memoir by Michael C. Clune $25.00 – A portrait Of the writer as a young role-player.

Mysteries of the Mall: And Other Essays by Witold Rybczynski $27.00 – 34 essays about topics as varied as shopping malls, the rise of college towns, our fascination with vacation homes, Disney’s planned community of Celebration and more.

Tiny Taste Of Freedom by Gerd Dembowski $8.50

POLITICS & REVOLUTION

Understanding Mass Incarceration: A Peoples Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time by James Kilgore (New Pres) $17.95

Constitutional Myths: What We Get Wrong and How to Get It Right by Ray Raphael (New Press) $17.95

Eleanor Marx: A Life by Rachel Holmes $35.00

Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle $35.00

FOOD & DIY BOOKS

CCCP COOK BOOK: True Stories of Soviet Cuisine by Olga and Pavel Syutkin (FUEL) $32.50 – 60 recipes with anecdotes and images sourced from original Cold War era Soviet recipe books.

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cccpcookbook2

Yummy Kawaii Bento: Preparing Adorable Meals For Adorable Kids by Li Ming Lee $19.95

Beautiful You: A Daily Guide to Radical Self-Acceptance by Rosie Molinary $16.95

Brewers Tale: A History of the World According to Beer $16.95

MUSIC BOOKS

From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry by Justin Pearson (Soft Skull/Counterpoint) $14.95 – West Coast noise and punk scene musician Justin Pearson runs the independent record label Three One G. He writes about such adventures as outsmarting skinheads, getting beat up on Springer, playing in bands (The Locust, Swing Kids, Some Girls and others) and getting chased out of town by angry audiences. From the author of
How to Lose Friends and Irritate People. Don’t miss this!

fromthegraveyard

Three Songs, Three Singers, Three Nations by Greil Marcus (Harvard U Press) $19.95

Different Every Time: The Authorised Biography of Robert Wyatt by Marcus O’Dair (Soft Skull) $19.95 – As in the founding member of Soft Machine.

Tour Sucks Breakdowns, Break-Ups, Bellyaches, Bankrupts, Bringdowns, Blowouts, Bandits and Boozed-Up Berserkers by John A. Cahill $8.50

Free Pizza For Life Or, the Early Days of Plan-It-X Records by Chris Clavin $12.00

Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook $26.95

FILM BOOKS

National Treasure, Nicolas Cage: ECW Pop Classics vol 5 by Lindsay Gibb $12.95

SEXY

Elska #1 Local Boys Local Stories LVIV Ukraine $18.50

MAGAZINES

Filmme Fatales #6 One More Shot $16.00 – A quarterly zine about the places where film and feminism intersect.

Offscreen #12 People Behind Bits and Pixels $22.00 – With Zendesk co-founder Alexander Aghassipour; co-creator of digital product company ustwo, Matt ‘Mills’ Miller; travelling photographer and designer Dan Rubin; science and space geek Ariel Waldman; co-founder of SaaS company Basecamp, Jason Fried; and the one and only ‘Godfather of the Web’, Jeffrey Zeldman.

Tape Op #109 Sep Oct 15 $4.95

Modern Farmer #9 Fall 15 $7.99

Harpers Magazine Oct 15 $6.99

Far Ride vol 2 Documenting Cycling Journeys Around the World $18.00

Wire #379 Sep 15 $9.99

Make vol 47 $9.99

LIT JOURNALS

Parody vol 4 #1 $5.00

 

KIDS BOOKS

Flop to the Top by Eleanor Davis and Drew Weing (Toon) $12.95

Written and Drawn by Henrietta by Liniers (Toon) $12.95

Quimby’s & Friends Co-Sponsor Wicker Park & West Town Lit Day, Sat, 9/26

Sep ’15
26
11:00 am

westtown_lit_posterWicker Park & West Town Lit Day is Saturday, September 26th. A group of local organizations and businesses got together to promote all things literary in the West Town and Wicker Park neighborhoods.

Read Local + Shop Small!
Support these partnering organizations during their open hours and for special events during the day!

Invite your friends! Here’s the Facebook event post for it.

Quimby’s Bookstore
1854 W. North Ave, Open Saturday from 11am-10pm. quimbys.com
Shop for independent publications, comics, zines and books from local authors as well as writers from around the world. Plus shoppers, get a secret surprise adult refreshment with purchase! And whatever other surprises we feel like! While supplies last!

Chicago Public Library West Town Branch Library
1625 W. Chicago Ave.
Stop by these Mini-Maker Lab Classes (ages 14+) today!
10am-1pm and 3-5pm Make a 3D Fridge Magnet
1-2pm Maker Lab Drop-in and Q&A
And Register/Renew your Library Card too!

Chicago Publishers Resource Center (Chi Prc)
858 N. Ashland
CHIPRC is a workspace for literary and arts projects. Stop in today for:
12-5pm Proud Moments Art Show
6pm Figure Drawing w/ New Mediums

Revolution Books Chicago
1103 N Ashland Ave, 11am-5pm
Visit them at:
11am—Book club discussing God Help the Child, Toni Morrison’s latest book
and
2 pm—Author event with Christopher Benson: Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime that Changed America, on the murder of Emmett Till, co-written with Mamie Till-Mobley.

826CHI
1276 N Milwaukee Ave., is open Saturday from 11am-6pm.
This creative writing non-profit is fronted by the Secret Agent Supply Co., which sells gadgets of espionage and books written by their students.

Volumes Bookcafe
1474 N. Milwaukee Ave.
New kid on the block, this book café is coming soon! Make sure you note their presence and follow them for grand opening updates on fb, instagram and twitter at @volumesbooks

Event day poster designed by Susie Kirkwood.

New Stuff This Week

Kelsey Brookes: Psychedelic Space (Gingko Press) $60.00 – Kelsey Brookes is a trained biochemist, and this book consists of pieces based on the molecular structure of subatomic particles of, you guessed it, hallucinogenic drugs. Guess what else that will blow your mind? HE HAS THOSE MOLECULAR STRUCTURES MEMORIZED. My brain is falling out of my head just thinking about this. Oh! And! It has gatefold spreads, a sticker sheet, and a clear molecular overlay on one of the LSD pieces so you can see how the molecules match up with the painting. There’s another booklet bound within (books inside of books, like a fucking fractal). There’s even some glow-in-the-dark business here. If this isn’t all enough to melt your mind, there are essays by Hamilton Morris, Leoni Bradbury, Richard M. Doyle, and a visual essay by Ryan McGinness, as well as a dialogue with Kelsey Brookes by Anthony Kiedis. 

kelseybrookespsychadelicspace

Check out them stickers!!!!

Zines

Proof I Exist #21 by Billy McCall $3.00

Self Care Zine Food $10.00

Solo #1 $5.00

Born Dead: The Artwork of Adam Niemara $10.00

Comics & Minis

Lauren Ipsum #5 by Roman Muradov $5.00

Snail Comix Presents Snail Bro #0 $4.00

Graphic Novels & Trade Paperbacks

Saga TPB vol 5 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples $14.99

Terror Assaulter (O.M.W.O.T.) by Benjamin Marrs (Fantagraphics) $14.99 – Terror Assaulter must defeat Terror at all costs, as long as it leaves time for steamy dates with hot chicks. The man’s codename is O.M.W.O.T. (One Man War On Terror) and he is the world’s greatest protector, and a villain’s worst nightmare. This is a hilarious satire of American foreign policy over the last decade, neocon philosophy, the state of American masculinity and sexuality, and male power fantasy in escapist entertainment.

OMWOT

Intro to Alien Invasion by Owen King, Mark Jude Poirier, Nancy Ahn $17.99 – Aliens on campus during spring break!

Crossed + One Hundred vol 1 by Alan Moore & Gabriel Andrade $19.99

Darth Vader and Son Vader’s Little Princess Deluxe Box Set by Jeffrey Brown $35.00

Descender vol 1 Tin Stars by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen $9.99

Zombies vs Robots vol 1 Inherit the Earth $19.99 – Collects issues #1–6.

Art Books

Freeman’s The 100 Helmets of The Vader Project by by Dov Kelemer & Sarah Jo Marks (Gingko Press) – A bunch of different lowbrow artists painted Darth Vador masks and then auctioned them off. Work by Shag, Gary Baseman, Ron English, Mitch O’Connell, The Pizz (R.I.P.) and more.

vaderproject

Urban Scrawl Notebook by Bianca Dyroff (Publikat) $12.95 – Plan out your next graffiti piece by drawing and working it out on these blank walls, boards and real-life-y backgrounds, like the one below. How did nobody think of this until now? Genius:

urbanscrawlnotebook

Danish Tattooing: Director’s Cut by Jon Nordstrom (Gingko) $59.95 – A look at the beginning of the scene in the early 1900s and following it into the 1980s with photography, profiles of artists throughout Scandinavia, characters, tattooing hotspots, flash books, custom tattooing machines, and ribald stories, all in the Danish tattooing tradition.

I Am 1UP One United Power (Gingko Press) – The work of 1UP (aka One United Power) has appeared all over Berlin in small subway tags as well as large-scale blockbusters and pieces on walls, skyscrapers and trains; nothing has been safe from this crew since! The public demanded a reprint of this 140 page self-published book.

In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist’s Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector by Jessica Hische (Chronicle) $29.95

Film Book

The Modern Japanese Movie Poster For American and European Films by Karlheinz Borchert (Gingko Press) $35.00 – Includes over 400 posters dating from 1960 to modern day.

modernjapanesemovie

japanmov post2Cruising the Movies: A Sexual Guide to Oldies on TV by Boyd McDonald ((Semiotext(e) / Active Agents) $17.95 – A newly updated version of this classic 1985 text, reviews of movies by the the editor of the Straight to Hell paperback series, originally published in the Christopher Street series. Writing against the bleak backdrop of Reagan-era America, McDonald never ceases to find subversive, arousing delights in the comically chaste aesthetics imposed by the censorious Motion Picture Production Code of 1930-1968.

cruisingthemovies

Politics & Revolution

Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the Twenty-first Century by Nato Thompson $23.95

Humor

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars Part the Third: Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge by Ian Doescher (Quirk) $14.95

Magazines

Hello Mr #6 About Men Who Date Men $20.00

Purple Fashion vol 3 #24 Fall Win 15 16 $40.00

V Magazine #97 Fall 15 $8.50 – This issue: Lana del Rey

Heed Magazine Sep Oct 15 $5.99

Design Anthology #6 $9.95

Fashionable Lampoon #2 $24.99

Man of the World #13 $20.00

Upping The Anti  #17 Journal of Theory and Action $13.00

Other Stuff

Green: A Marijuana Journal by Dan Michaels $10.95 – Designed for a new generation of pot connoisseurs, the Green journal allows the momentarily forgetful to keep track of marijuana strains sampled and enjoyed. This handy journal features a primer on pot basics, fill-in diary pages, and “top ten” lists to inspire new experiences. Smorgasbord!

Native Trees of Canada Postcards box by Leanne Sharpton (D&Q) $14.95

Cartoonist Glenn Head Presents Chicago 10/10

Oct ’15
10
7:00 pm

chicago bigr

From Harvey and Eisner-nominated cartoonist and editor Glenn Head comes Chicago (from Fantagraphics Books), the hilarious and harrowing tale of a nineteen-year-old virgin who drops out of everything and into the unknown. Abandoning suburbia for art school and then the gritty streets of Chicago, young Glenn finds himself fending off street predators and fighting depression. Like Scorsese circa Mean Streets crossed with revealing autobiography like Jim Carroll’s The Basketball Diaries, Chicago is an unforgettable tale of losing one’s mind, finding one’s identity, and discovering love where it’s least expected.

 

“In Chicago, Head’s graphic memoir, he nakedly airs out his struggles as a teen living on the street, his insecurities, and his transition into adulthood. It’s a blunt take on growing up and finding one’s identity.” (Andrea Towers – Entertainment Weekly)

 

Glenn Head is a cartoonist living in Brooklyn, New York. He edited and contributed to the comix anthology Hotwire from 2006-2009. He will be at Quimby’s to read selections from his graphic memoir, and to speak about his creative experiences. A signing of the book will follow.

 

For more info:

For Excerpts from the book and more: fantagraphics.com/chicago

email pederson(at)fantagraphics(dot)com

Facebook event invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/403384009856931/

Saturday, October 10th, 7pm – Free Event

Press:

“Unflinching” (John Porcellino (King-Cat, The Hospital Suite))

Chicago by Glenn Head is a true rarity: a modern graphic novel that could hold its own with many titles from the heyday of the Underground. With unsparing honesty and sometimes disturbing imagery, Head charts a trajectory spanning three decades. The work is cut from whole cloth, in that his intense  visual style owes zilch to the abundant style books and polemics that inform much contemporary work. His writing is obviously informed by authentic experience, so it has a consistent verve. That live current throbs through the whole panorama: it’s a coming of age story; a dangerous psychic battle; a love story; a scary urban survival saga; a career overview and a reflection on fatherhood. At least, I know it’s about those things. The elusive author/artist voice outside of all this varied experience is the true subject. It’s well worth hearing!” (Justin Green (Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary))

“Glenn has at last found his voice, found the way to tell his own truth, and has produced a very fine graphic novel, strange, unique, deeply personal, a very rewarding comic book reading experience.” (R. Crumb)

“Mr. Head’s work as an editor and creator has earned him well-deserved Harvey and Eisner-award nominations and it’s easy to see why. His time contributing to Weirdo magazine and Bad News was at times funny, entertaining, and enlightening?but always worked to make the reader experience something.” (Jed W. Harris-Keith – FreakSugar)

“…Glenn Head [uses] a flowing, sometimes loopy style to accent works grounded in austere reality. … [Chicago] provides an entertaining autobiographical ride…” (Hillary Brown – Paste)

“Glenn Head is one of the strongest artists I relate to later-period underground comix… He has style to burn, and his comics are always a highlight wherever they appear. In Chicago, …the art is a joy and the voice appealing, but Head gets at some ideas and states of mind that aren’t the common fodder of issue- or event-oriented memoir writing. I was most impressed with how he wrote about the growing realization you have as a young man that life is mostly arbitrary and the result of an accumulation of decisions from those you can’t remember to the most recent.” (Tom Spurgeon – The Comics Reporter)

“Glenn Head’s work is cut from the fabric of his being with a rusty straight razor, he knows that you can’t be open and exposed without a little blood. His honesty is nearly unappreciated in a culture built on lies and social Darwinism, but is as vital and necessary to remind us of the freedoms we lost in the past two decades as anything penned by Orwell. His work is a wail of freedom; not the bumper sticker shrink wrapped kind that always falls out of the mouth of millionaire politicians, but the freedom that comes only when you have sacrificed everything.” (Johnny ‘Thief’ Di Donna (Seppuku Tattoo))

“Glenn’s story is crazy and delightful and his work masterfully done.  His combination of old school comics and adult retrospective is a rare and impressive thing, and makes for an incredibly satisfying read.” (Julia Wertz (Drinking at the Movies))

“Head’s comics style ties right into the Underground setting of the late 1970’s that he’s exploring, and with innovative stylistic choices, Head manages to take us inside the psychological perceptions and reactions of the youthful protagonist to create an emotional and unfailingly truthful narrative.” (Hannah Means Shannon – Bleeding Cool)