We just got a short stack of the January & February issues of the excellent tabloid Mother’s News. They’ll be going out FREE with all orders from WowCool.com that are sent by Priority or Media Mail (while supplies last). Features comic strips by C.F., Brian Chippendale, Michael DeForge, Mickey Z and much more. Wow Cool is proud to be a Mother’s News advertiser and a supporter of this fine publication. Catch the glow.

Simon Gane shares a preview of the the cover for the upcoming Halloween Classics edition of the Graphic Classics series. More deets in this article from last week.

Sam Henderson doodles constantly. He has generated thousands of sheets of paper that are jam packed with his characters. Sometimes these get left behind… Here’s one that re-surfaced over a decade after he did it.

The debut issue of the new Adventure Time comic book series from KaBOOM! is in stores today*, and Toronto’s The Beguiling will be celebrating with an event this Saturday, featuring series writer Ryan North (of Dinosaur Comics fame) and AT artist Steve Wolfhard (creator of Cat Rackham Loses It). Many comic artists work on Adventure Time – check out our survey here.

Gary Panter and Joshua White are opening a massive light show/trip city/living sculpture in a 22,000 square foot museum in Detroit. It’s at MoCAD, opening February 10th with a performance.

Sam McPheeters (of Born Against/Vermiform Records/Men’s Recovery Project/etc.) has written a novel – The Loom of Ruin – it is to be released on April 1st, 2012. He will be doing an extensive book tour and needs help filling in a few dates. Anyone seriously interested in helping me put an event together for Sam in the South Bay on May 3rd., can you please get in touch via the contact form. Thanks.

The Center For PostNatural History will be opening a storefront location on March 2nd 2012, at 4913 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh, PA. Congrats to Rich Pell and crew! Hopefully we will have more details before the grand opening.

*Sorry, folks… Wow Cool will not be carrying the floppy issues of Adventure Time, as they are distributed exclusively through Diamond and we do not and have never done business with them. Stay tuned for news about the collected editions, which Wow Cool intends to offer for sale. So, hey, support your local comic shop!

If you can click on only one, please check out “The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World” by Emily Temple, on FlavorWire. The ultimate in shelf porn. I think I’ve been to only one of these, Shakespeare & Company in Paris.

As you may have heard, the artist Mike Kelley is dead. The above video of the unholy trinity of art hooligans Mike, Gary Panter and Matt Groening is a great romp to lift your spirits.

The Magic Band (as in Captain Beefheart’s) has been touring recently – with original members John “Drumbo” French, Mark “Rockette Morton” Boston and Denny “Feelers Rebo” Walley. This tour report from Drumbo is much more interesting than you might guess. His history of the band Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic is well worth tracking down.

Sold out of its first printing well before it actually goes on sale this Monday, the new comic book of Adventure Time looks like it might actually be ‘all that’. The many alternate covers of issue three – including one by Michael DeForge – are previewed on the Frederator site. Read Wow Cool’s roundup of the Artists of Adventure Time.

You may have heard of 24-Hour Comic Day, there appears to also be something called Hourly Comic Day – “On February first a bunch of people make a journal comic every hour they are awake. and then they show these journal comics to other people on the internet.” Bad Machinery‘s John Allison participated. I’m sure others did, but there are only so many hours in the day…

Apparently Too Much Coffee Man shows up as an NPC in some strange incarnation of Half-Life.

Frank Santoro is on tour preaching his comics gospel. I managed to miss him in the bay area (sick kid). Hey, Pacific North West! Don’t you pass up this opportunity! He’s been posting tour diaries too: Part One | Part Two

Lynda Barry delights in coloring book misuse and abuse and many other wondrous sights on her tumblr.

Didn’t hear much noise about this elsewhere, but it seems that the “Monty Python team set for film reunion with Absolutely Anything” It’s animated, yes.

I’m currently in the process of reading this interview with and exploring the sounds and software of Richard Devine. I’m a particular fan of Graincube. Richard’s DEVSND blog.

Wow Cool crucial guy Joshua Baker has recently returned to Portland after a long sojourn up in Maine. He and partner Eli have a blog of their trip up that you may enjoy. So… does this mean a chapter three in the God Hates Computers/Chased and Smashed Saga (or is that a chapter four in the Things I Hate/God Hates Computers/Chased and Smashed Saga? Or wait, are there more?… goddamn punk bands…)

Simon Gane draws cathedrals. Sure, mummies and Rodan are cool, but these big ass churchy things could probably kick your ass too!

Simon Gane brings us a preview of several panels from his 28 page adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 41 page* horror story from 1892, “Lot No. 249“. The comic will run in Graphic Classics Volume 23: Halloween Classics, due for release this August. The book will also feature adaptations of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, H.P. Lovecraft’s “Cool Air”, Mark Twain’s “A Curious Dream’, and an interpretation of the silent film classic “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, with art by Matt Howarth. The story was the first bit of lit to introduce the character of the vengeful bad ass mummy — later much popularized by hollywood — right during the height of Egyptomania in Victorian England. Simon also steps out in a co-adaptation of The Strange Case of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde in the revised Graphic Classics edition to be released in April.

* It’s that long in “The Best Horror Stories of Arthur Conan Doyle“, where I have it… a few pages less in “Round the Red Lamp“, where it usually shows up.

Tom Hart will be opening the Sequential Artists Workshop (SAW) to the world this Friday, January 27 from 7 to 10PM. The Grand Opening is also a book launch party/gallery show for Derek Ballard’s Cartoon Show.

SAW is proud to open its doors to the public and showcase Gainesville comix artist Derek Ballard.
Derek Ballard has worked extensively as a illustrator and t-shirt designer and has had comics published in Vice, Juxtapoz & Beautiful/Decay, Faesthetic, Typhon, and The Drama. Cartoon Show is his first book collection. Ballard’s comics are a combination of intense imagery rooted in visionary science fiction, 80s style and modern street art, drawn with bold, angular brush strokes and vivid colors. Cartoon Show is a genre comic of futuristic originality.

SAW, is located at 17 SE 5th Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601 (behind Citizen’s Co-Op.)

SAW is a non-profit organization dedicated to the prosperity and promotion of sequential art and artists, offering comprehensive instruction in comics, graphic novels and sequential art. In vibrant Gainesville, Florida.

Among Tom Hart’s many achievements, he co-founded Wow Cool 24 years ago this month.

Kramers Ergot #8 will be having itself a release party at Family in Los Angeles at 7pm on Thursday, January 19, 2012. Contributors Ben Jones, Johnny Ryan & Tim Hensley and editor Sammy Harkham will be in attendance. Can’t make it? The book is now in stock at Wow Cool.

Read Sean T. Collins review of Kramers 8 at The Comics Journal.

Welcome to the linkdown and shop update for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend. My five-year-old told a very curious tale about King Luther, whose ‘last name is Junior’, when he came home from school the other day. He also executed the assemblage above out of junk we gathered by the train tracks near the Wow Cool office in Cupertino. Note the wooden train track. We found several of these. If you follow Wow Cool on Twitter, you might have noticed there was a fire near those same tracks last week. We’re fine, the office is fine, but it sure stunk like smoke that afternoon.

I managed to skip doing any kind of best of 2011 lists for music, comics or anything else, but I did note several others. The best rundown you could want of those for comics is provided by Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter. On the music side of things, you should welcome Kid Kameleon to the lineup at Peter Kirn’s excellent Create Digital Music, and spend a few hours with his The (electronic) Music of 2011 list. Of special note is the Kid Kameleon mix of Om Unit further down in the post. You will also want to check out Om Unit’s end-of-year mix for XLR8R from a month ago. We ran a little piece on Kid Kameleon here just a few weeks ago. He knows his stuff.

In other news:
On the ‘How Mid-Westerners See The North East’ side of things, you should check out John Porcellino’s King Cat Winter Tour Diary posts on Maybe Blogging Will Help.

Jeffrey Lewis talks about Bob Dylan on American Songwriter.

Steve Ditko’s cover to his new book Sixteen is previewed.

Alan Moore gets the ‘comics aren’t for kids anymore treatment’, but worse, and also better, in the following:

OK. New in the Wow Cool shop.
The big stars this week are two solid hardcovers that are much less than a million miles apart.

Although originally seen at some shows and available some places back in October, due to a distributor switch it has not been until now that we are able to offer the excellent collection of Jesse Moynihan’s Forming from NoBrow Press. We also have his previous book Follow Me available.

And then there is Kramers Ergot #8. The book made it’s debut at December’s BCGF in Brooklyn, but is only just now on general release. It is a package seemingly designed to encourage discussion (or argument of plate throwing). Few reviews have surfaced yet, but this short write-up and interview with editor Sammy Harkham by the very knowledgeable James Romberger on Publisher’s Weekly is well worth your time.

In the meanwhile, there is not much NEW new stuff in the shop this week, but a number of older titles of interest have been floating in. You may have missed these: Funny (Not Funny), edited by Ryan Standfest who also gave us Black Eye; several books by David King, including his recent Lemon Styles and a stellar contribution to the new Study Group Magazine; the serious gem of a jamcomic Play Overlord by Sean Christensen, Amy Kuttab & Theo Ellsworth; we got some of the last available Wowee Zonk #3 in; one we’ve had for a while that deserves another look is the Stalagmite anthology with Kevin Scalzo and Brian Ralph; and, then there’s Grendel Tales: Homecoming by Dave Cooper, Pat McEown & Matt Wagner… about the oddest thing Dave Cooper worked on, but a real classic.

Thanks for giving!

Yes, it is I. The irregular Wow Cool link dump. Usually posted on a Monday or Tuesday, often in two parts, often skipping many weeks. We are well back from the holidays, and therefore it is time to obliterate every open tab and share the good bits that emerge.

We open with the fight song from of the original St. Trinnian’s films. As you may have heard, St. Trinnian’s creator Ronald Searle passed away a few days ago. He has been remembered far and wide. I tried and failed to find what I thought would be the perfect image to present, so I went with the video instead. If you are going to read only one obituary of the late British cartoonist, you should read the one by Steven Heller in the New York Times. And, hey, I actually liked the newer St. Trinnian’s films.

If you have a couple days to spare you really should take the time to read this interview with amigo Steve Bissette – part of the Comics Reporter holiday interview series. I could list about half of the rest as must reads too, but I’ll let you pick your own favorites.

I was hit totally from left field to see that the Comics Journal had run this astoundingly comprehensive profile of the great Motorbooty zine assembled by Frank Santoro. Mark Dancey is the man and make no doubt.

Our late friend and inspiration Dylan Williams, of Sparkplug Comics, is being chronicled in bloggy fashion at the DYLAN WILLIAMS ARCHIVES – The life and work of Dylan F. Williams 1970 – 2011. “We are attempting to archive the life and work of Dylan Williams: Collected writings, comics, artwork, sketches, letters, stories, photos and tributes. This is an ongoing project compiled by Dylan’s friends and family. If you have something you would like to contribute, please write to tom (at) iwilldestroyyou (dot) com” If you knew Dylan, then the Amazon reviews will make you chuckle and miss him all the more. I lied a couple paragraphs ago, you also must read this Comics Reporter holiday interview with the current proprietors of Sparkplug.

I would be amiss to not give a shout-out to Sean T. Collins for giving us a Shout-out in this post-holiday roundup of amazing comics stuff. It’s part three of… how many? Does this guy ever sleep? So much goodness out there.

In related news, CBR’s Robot 6 has gone into overdrive the last few days (while most of us were relaxing) with great news, bits, previews and more. Seriously, too much to mention, just start digging.

And give special attention to this Robot 6 exclusive preview of titles coming from Koyama Press in 2012. We’ve just added a couple more Koyama titles to the shop here at Wow Cool. Snatch those up, because they are low in quantity and not likely to be reprinted.

OK… in more related news, just one more specific Robot 6 link, and another Koyama-related bit, even… you should really read their recent interview with Michael DeForge, who is also one of the featured artists at Wow Cool.

I’m not sure if Wednesday or Thursday is new comics day where you are. All I know is Paul Grist’s Mudman issue 2 is out from Image. Go get that!

I’m sure I could go on… but I refuse. Carry on… single file, begone with you!

Link dumpage composed while listening to Tom Ravenscroft sitting in for Gideon Coe on BBC 6Music.

There’s a new gang in town… the Press Gang - made up of Jason Leivian’s Floating World Comics imprint, cartoonist and editor Zack Soto’s Study Group Comic Books and Elfworld editor François Vigneault’s publishing house Family Style. Press Gang is described on its website simply as “like-minded publishers/packagers banding together.” Wow Cool has carried their many titles for a while now and we’re pleased to see them ganged up and have now grouped them together in the shop. Get the full scoop on this small press PDX hookup in this informative interview with Sean T. Collins on Robot 6.

In the meanwhile. Many, many new items (and a bunch more old ones) have been floated into the Wow Cool shop since we last mentioned such things here on the blog. Of special note are: Josh Bayer’s ROM & Raw Power; John Porcellino’s King-Cat #72; three issues of Press Ganger Zack Soto’s Ghost Attack; Study Group Magazine #1 (Zack & those Press guys again!); oversized Image Comics in the 90s love letter Rub the Blood; Nancy & Sluggo hate mail Suspect Device; and, we finally have Michael Kupperman’s Tales Designed to Thrizzle #7 in stock.

We look forward to your custom, true believer. May your eyeballs bleed and your spleen splinter at these wondrous delights.

Now in stock at Wow Cool is Sam Henderson’s “Free Ice Cream” comics that debuted a couple weeks ago at BCGF. It’s Sam’s first solo publication since 2008′s Magic Whistle #11 Body Armor for Your Dignity. Subtitled “And other cartoons you could have drawn”, it collects Sam Henderson’s gag cartoons from 2009 and 2010 (148 of them, by our count). Sam has been posting these online and in Smoke Signal for the last couple of years. Also included is a 2-page “Jerrold K. Footlick” adventure. It’s 40 pages and a little bigger than comic-book sized. You can get yours here on Wow Cool at three dollars a pop. If you are feeling adventurous you can grab them up at one of the many wholesale options: It’s a three for the price of two (actually 3-5 copies for two dollars each), 6-19 copies at $1.50 each (50% off!) or, if you want to buy 20 or more copies it’s a full 60% off, or $1.20 per copy. Go jump on that!

Hey comic book shops! You can also get your copies of Free Ice Cream through our distributor Last Gasp, or, if you order through Tony Shenton, please do!

In the east bay this weekend? You like some alternative press? Get on over to this! The East Bay Alternative Press Book Fair is going on at Berkeley City College, 2050 Center Street in Berkeley, CA on Saturday, December 10, from 10-4. Dig it.

Hey! Peoples in Brooklyn and nearby! Be on the lookout for the eleventh issue of Smoke Signal! You can grab them from Desert Island, 540 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn NY 11211 and elsewhere nearby. They should be showing up soon online exclusively in the Desert Island web store. This issues features a lovely cover by Charles Burns and a strip by Benjamin Marra and Michael DeForge. Also inside is an ad for Wow Cool, designed for us by Steven Cerio. We will have copies available for bay area peeps just as soon as our new shop in Cupertino opens. Still picking out displays and matching doilies and whatnot.

The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival 2011 is happening this Saturday, December third in Brooklyn, New York. The event has become the go-to show for the type of art comics/comics art that we peddle here at Wow Cool, and a great many of the artists whose works we distribute will be at the show (Full exhibitor list). Many excellent new books will be making their debut, and we will be featuring several of them in the Wow Cool shop as soon as we can. Among the titles to look out for: Sam Henderson’s new book Free Ice Cream, š! #9 ‘Female Secrets’, guest edited by Ryan Sands from kuš! komiksi, Smoke Signal 11 with a Charles Burns cover and six pages of goodness by Michael DeForge and Benjamin Marra (also, look for the Steven Cerio designed Wow Cool ad in this issue), DeForge himself will have two new digests available, Zack Soto’s anthology title Study Group Magazine #1 (also with DeForge!), and the much anticipated Chameleon #2.

The guest list this year is simply stunning and includes appearances by Al Columbia, Gary Panter, Phoebe Gloeckner, Brian Ralph, Jack Davis, Lisa Hanawalt, David Mazzucchelli, John Porcellino, and Michael Kupperman.

Keep up-to-date on BCGF goings-on via their blog and on Twitter #BCGF or #BCGF2011 (can we get an official hashtag?)

BCGF 2011
Saturday, 12/3/2011

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, 275 North 8th Street, Brooklyn, NY
12-9 pm Free and open to the public

AND

Union Pool, 484 Union Avenue #A, Brooklyn, NY
1-8 pm Free and open to the public

Dig deep into this roundup of classic video game magazines that are archived online. Via Rock Paper Shotgun

Printrbot: Your First 3D Printer by Brook Drumm — Comfy couch not included on Kickstarter. Also via RPS, same link as above.

Two games I’ve been exploring today that are well worth checking out are Kairo (available as a very affordable pre-order with an alpha download) and English Country Tune, which is in full release, but you might want to wait to see if your mind survives the experience of playing the demo first before making the plunge. Again, both via RPS.

Alan Moore on how the mask of “V” became the face of a global movement in the Guardian.

The shocking truth about the crackdown on Occupy “The violent police assaults across the US are no coincidence. Occupy has touched the third rail of our political class’s venality.” Also in the Guardian.

The archives of Anthony Burgess reveal many gems on the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of his notorious Clockwork Orange. I had a great book-nerd conversation with the clerk at Shakespeare & Co. in Paris a few years ago about Burgess. He totally hard sold me on one of his later books. Sly bastard.

Giving comics for the holidays? Tom Spurgeon’s “The Comics Reporter’s Black Friday Holiday Shopping Guide 2011” is the definitive guide. It appears to be possibly still a work in progress.

Washington D.C.’s Emo-Punk über-dudes Fugazi are launching an online archive of 800-odd live show recordings, as first reported in the New York Times, and last reported here.

You can stare at this for hours… Michael DeForge’s concept art for one of the best Adventure Time episodes ever, Beautopia. And, wait, there’s more. And much more on the Frederator blog.

Beautiful Decay did a lovely post on Derek M. Ballard a few days ago that you should check out. A bit NSFW in most districts.

I could probably add tons more, but it’s late. Sorry, not much in the way of images or videos this time… click on for that. In case you missed it, Image Comics is having an SF Bay Area shindig this coming February. We haven’t signed off on anything yet, but Wow Cool will likely have a presence there. So, hope to see you at the Image Expo in late February in Oakland, CA.

Be the next person to order any of these three items from the Wow Cool shop and you will receive a custom heavy duty canvas totebag at no additional charge:

Offset Needle Radius Vs. nickname: Rebel CD (this tote is also available to purchase separately)

These are 6 oz. cotton canvas totes. Size: 15″ x 16″. Natural color. Screenprinted. This offer will remain open until completed.

We also have a selection of lovely items that are on sale, including several graphic novels.

The new shop is forever growing, so keep watch on the new items page. Recent highlights include Bowman by Pat Aulisio, Ganges #4 by Kevin Huizenga, Never Learn Anything From History The first collection of Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton, R.A.V. #5 by Mickey Z, the much acclaimed Pope Hats #2 by Ethan Rilly and the 30 page monster minicomic Stay Away From Other People by Lisa Hanawalt – a 2009 Ignatz Award Winner now back in print.

Do you know the Press Gang? They are the rag tag fugitive coalition of Family Style, Floating World Comics and Zack Soto’s Study Group Comic Books. They have a tumblr and a Facebook page and they are going to BCGF. The slightly re-branded Study Group Magazine #1 will debut at the show. Wow Cool carries just about every book this trio has put out and we’re eager to see more. Diamond Comics #7? Is that in the works?

There is going to be an Adventure Time comic series debuting in February from Boom! Studios’ all-ages imprint Kaboom! in February 2012. The book will be written by Dinosaur Comics creator Ryan North. Get up close and personal with the artists behind Adventure Time in this report we posted last month.

Watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes while I work on this. Somewhat more disturbing during the current occupied climate.

š! #9 ‘female secrets’ is out! It contains stories by 27 international female cartoonists on 164 pages! Guest editor Ryan Sands. You know you need some of that! See the big preview. Be getting some of those here soon.

Salvador Dalí does Alice in Wonderland

Sam Henderson talks about working on Spongebob Squarepants

How do you feel about a third installment of Puzzle Agent?

Gang of Four’s Dave Allen digs through old notebooks and posts thoughts on Damien Hirst, Johnny Rotten, JG Ballard, Brian Eno and the American suburbs.

“If you could see the world the way I see it” Spend two hours hearing Philip K. Dick Ramble.

I could post many, many more, but am oh so very tired. These were the big ones. Check this space for Black Friday deals and other such nonsense later in the week.

I’ve been pretty terrible about posting new books in the Wow Cool Shop here on the blog, but, I was pretty excited by today’s arrival, and, since I can barely walk after today’s big move to new offices on the other side of town, here’s a brief rundown…

As seen above, we’ve got the very limited (numbered edition of 300, and all the ones we currently have are in the first 50) brand new this week issue of Mickey Z’s R.A.V. #5 in stock for a meager six bucks. Includes a guest appearance from Michael DeForge.

Other new stuff in the shop well worth a look:

The new Nedroid Collection Beartato and the Incredible Event Book by Anthony Clark

Bowman by Pat Aulisio – Number three in the Retrofit series gets all 2001

Kevin Huizenga’s Ganges #4 – already widely regarded as one of the best comics of the year. We carry many other books by Kevin that are hard to get otherwise, including the Curses Collection and Fight or Run.

Brian Ralph’s Daybreak collection is an absolute must have. Brian Ralph… zombies. What more do you need to know.

And, the sleeper hit of the summer (um, are we past that season now?) is the first issue of Holli Hoxxx, A sci-fi comic like you wish Heavy Metal would print more of. Kevin, are you listening?! Don’t make me start a campaign or something!

I’ve been finding the strangest stuff while unpacking and stuffing filing cabinets. Today, the long-missing “Mark Martin” folder was uncovered, also a xerox collection of very early strips that Mike Kupperman sent to me to use in the old Tuna Casserole anthology. Wondering now why we never said, ‘hey Mike, we should print a whole book of this stuff’. Many, many other gems… Once the scanner gets moved I’ll scan a few and share them here. I’ve been planning on digitizing and posting massive chunks of the Wow Cool archive over the course of the next year or so. More on that when it starts happening. (illustration above is a scan from a memo by Mark Martin to the Hyena artists)

In other exciting news there is once again a Pee Dog publication available from Wow Cool. We did a printing of Pee Dog #1 back in the early 90′s and were working with Jocko & Eddie to get a Pee Dog Collection into print for about five years at three different publishers until when – literally the week that production was starting on the book – they pulled the plug on the project, presumably to spare their poor mothers the worry. Now, Picture Box has printed a new edition of Pee Dog #2 and we have that available to you here along with a dozen other fine PB publications.

There’s about a hundred more books and other stuff in the shop since last mentioned here in the engineroom, so, please do some browsing. Highlights include Kate Beaton’s first Hark! A Vagrant collection and the Nedroid collections from Topatoco, a large selection of books by the artists behind Adventure Time, Caroline Paquita’s 2012 Calendar, Mickey Z.’s R.A.V. books (expecting #5 to show up any day now), A very nice and very affordable print and also a very nice and very thick minicomic by Lisa Hanawalt, and the very strange event of when Michael Kupperman (him again!) worked for Timely Comics – All Select Comics #1 featuring The Blonde Phantom and Marvex!

OK. Now for the Tweetdown. The best and brightest bits of news from the Twitterzone from the last few days (follow Wow Cool, already). Usually posted on a Monday.

Liz Suburbia posted five new pages of Sacred Heart late on Wednesday, November 16th. She swears she’ll be getting some of the printed editions to us soon.

Bill Moyers is returning to television, and he has a personal letter to YOU about it.



Jeffrey Lewis will be playing at Pat Aulisio’s studio in Philly on November 23rd. Read the recent write up here on Jeffrey.

Ron Regé Jr. is taking your money and doing you drawings. I can think of worse ways to spend 75 bucks.

The must read item of this list is this interview with the awesome Annie Koyama of the press of the same name on CBR. And, no, I didn’t know she worked for the National Film Board of Canada either. No joke, we get plenty of those productions this side of the border too.

Gary Panter’s skateboard design for Pharmacy is a joy and a wonder to behold.

Dan Clowes’ Wilson may become a film. Slightly more information at the very end of this interview with director Alexander Payne.

Wow Cool is officially the last place on the interwebs to post a link to this video of Alan Moore talking about Harvey Pekar.



Oh… and though we teased it within minutes of everyone else, if not much earlier, and through the burnt sage grapevine of the Comic Relief Alumni psychic friends network knew all about it at least a few hours earlier, we are now about the last to report that, yes, there will be a big fat fucking book of King City finally. Creator Brandon Graham has the most enjoyable report of this impending publication. The book, will, of course, be available from Wow Cool. M. Graham will also be writing the new Prophet series for Image. Oh, the news of the new complete edition of King City was first announced in USA Today, of all places. The complete King City is to be a 424 page book from Image Comics, released on February 22, 2012 for a meager $19.99 at the ‘Golden Age’ size. Uh Huh. Yup. As mentioned before… we’d like to see an expanded Escalator collection with a special color section.

You like some J. Church? My much missed fellow MRR shitworker Lance Hahn’s unreleased demos have been digitized and unleashed for you to download. I will be re-hosting these here soon, so that you don’t have to deal with the idiocy of Sendspace. Um… remind me if I forget. Seriously. Busy damn week.

OK. That’s probably it until next Tuesday or so. We’ll see how the move goes. As mentioned before, there are many, many books that are in stock at Wow Cool that are not yet listed online. The goal is to get the vast bulk of it ready by good ole’ Black Friday, including the staggering amount of Robert Crumb titles we have. Otherwise, when the new place in Cupertino is open to the public, announcements will be made prominently in all the likely locations. Local pick-up will also be added as a shipping option in the store checkout. You can get in touch through the Contact Us form to make an appointment if you like until then. Thanks for reading.

This teaser image has just been released to the world by Image Comics. What does it mean? More King City, perhaps? A collection? Hmmm. We’ll just have to wait to find out. In the meanwhile, will someone please bring Escalator
back into print?! In other B.G. news you should check out his drawing-rich post from a few days ago with a preview of his “The Speaker” comic for Dark Horse Presents #7 and much more tasty goodness.

Family Circus is an easy target for subversive alteration (quite often mashed with HP Lovecraft), but it managed to be pretty weird on its own and often genuinely funny. The classic “Can I cut things out of People” is one of the best, then there was the crossovers between Family Circus and Zippy The Pinhead in 1994-1995. Billy spent a week under the gaze of the Bill Griffith Observatory in December 1994. Viewable much larger (but harder to navigate) on Zippy’s home site: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

AP Obituary.

The Mac iOS app of Jason Shiga’s Meanwhile is now available for the iPad and The iPhone. More information is available on App developer Andrew Plotkin’s site, including a link to a great photo of Jason with his five foot square story map for Meanwhile. The physical hardcover book Meanwhile: Pick Any Path. 3,856 Story Possibilities is still available as well.

MEANWHILE: an interactive comic by Jason Shiga

On the way home from the ice cream store, little Jimmy discovers a mad scientist’s wonderland: an experimental mind-reading helmet, a time machine, and a doomsday device that can annihilate the human race. Which one would you like to test out first?

MEANWHILE is not an ordinary comic. YOU make the choices that determine how the story unfolds. MEANWHILE splits off into thousands of different adventures. Most will end in DOOM and DISASTER. Only one path will lead you to happiness and success.

- A thrilling adventure of quantum physics, self-discovery, and kids getting into trouble. (We mentioned the doomsday device, right?)
- Completely redesigned by the author for an infinite scrollable canvas.
- Full audio accessibility with VoiceOver; every panel and choice can be spoken.

OK. To get started. This game looks fun and gruesome. Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole is free to download and play. It’s Windows only, but may run fine on Mac and Linux through Wine. Read the write up on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

Serious funnyman Michael Kupperman is the subject of the latest Gweek podcast over in Boingerland. We just recently got a stack of Mike’s bit of awesomeness he did for Timely Comics a couple years back in the shop – All Select Comics #1 featuring MARVEX!

Theo Ellsworth gives strange interview over at Don’t Panic. In further related, ‘hey go buy stuff from the Wow Cool Shop’ news, there is now a page of Theo art on there. Yup, Capacity, Sleeper Car and two anthologies with bonus Ellsworth are on sale now.

The guests and exhibitors for the 2011 Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival have been announced. Wow Cool won’t be there in person, but, about sixth tenths of the artists whose books we carry will.

You must go watch this wild Salvador Dalí documentary narrated by Orson Welles! “A Soft Self Portrait” from 1967 on Ubu Web.

Paul Pope talks about teaming up with Legendary Comics (publishing arm of the film studio that produced Inception, The Dark Knight and others) to finally get some more books out, over on CBR.

Susie Cagle has posted a report on AlterNet about her experiences with the Oakland Police Department while trying to cover Occupy Oakland as a journalist. “Oakland has spent more than $1 million on Occupy policing, but nearly all of that overwhelming force has been used against innocent people.”

I’ve been wanting to write something here about Susie Cagle’s coverage of Occupy Oakland for a couple weeks now. But, given the occupation’s escalating nature and Susie’s work on it being ongoing observation and documentation for an eventual full report, there was not an easy way in to hang a post on. Recent events and the press attention given them makes this seem like a good time to jump in. Occupy Oakland has been a strange story to try to follow, from the reports that make it all sound like a raging riot in the Guardian to the feel good piece in the LA Times on Thursday morning about protesters grabbing breakfast burritos from a food truck with the dockworkers Union boss. Add to this the such mindblowing events as solidarity protests in Tahrir Square and it’s all just a bit much to take in. One thing is certain, however, The Oakland Police Department is deeply fucked up. That’s not a big surprise to anyone, but it is shocking that the press has repeatedly been on the direct receiving end of their repressive measures — from their dusting off the riot playbook last Tuesday to this weeks imprisonment and intimidation exercises. Susie Cagle has been one of the most visible targets of their insane anti-journalist campaign — catching an exploding can of teargas right in front of her face (video above) to her arrest, imprisonment and the holding of her personal belongings by the police over the last few hours. As of this writing they are still holding her stuff, including her apartment keys. Yet, she is determined to follow this story until the end despite all of this. That level of commitment is a true inspiration. Just be safe out there, Susie. I don’t ever want to see you added to this roster at CPJ.

Follow Susie’s regular updates from the occupation on Twitter.

Susie’s homepage “This Is What Concerns Me“. You will want to also check out her Copyright Explained cartoon and her investigation of Bay Area faith-based ‘pregnancy centers’ What Every Woman Should Know and the accompanying Behind The Scenes report.

UPDATE: Posted late today on YouTube, Susie’s video from the plaza raid right before she was arrested. Yes, the footage is a bit rough. If I was ever in a situation where a large group of people were being told “Get on the ground, you’re under arrest”, I would probably try to run, break into a building, something–all Gordon Freeman style–because I would assume the alternative was far worse…

If you are near the twin cities this weekend – November 5-6, 2011 – you should get down to MIX, the Minneapolis Indie Xpo. Wow Cool distributed artists and publishers Dale Flattum, Koyama Press, Tom Neely, John Porcellino, Sparkplug, Top Shelf, and Anthony Clark, creator of Nedroid will all be exhibiting at the show.

All the additional info you could possibly want about the show can be found in Tom Spurgeon’s interview with MIX director Sarah Morean on the Comics Reporter.

You can also follow the action live on Twitter.

And much else as well. At least seven titles by Kevin Huizenga and a few hundred other fairly awesome comics, zines and records. Many more on the way. Do come explore.

Just 4 hours to go as I write this. Great rewards for backing. Get over there and pitch in!

UPDATE: Project funded successfully by 76 backers. Congratulations!

RUB THE BLOOD is an Art Comix tabloid that explores the lasting influence (for better or worse) of the Early 90′s Collector Boom comics of Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, etc. on today’s most fringe underground cartoonists. RUB THE BLOOD features never-seen-before comix and artwork by: PAT AULISIO (BOWMAN), JOSH BAYER (RAW POWER), WILLIAM CARDINI (HYPERCASTLE), VICTOR CAYRO (KRAMERS ERGOT 6), IAN HARKER (SECRET PRISON), PB KAIN (PEELING GLASS), KEENAN MARSHALL KELLER (DRIPPY BONES), PETER LAZARSKI (IMAGINARY MONSTERS), BENJAMIN MARRA (NIGHT BUSINESS), JIM RUGG (AFRODISIAC), THOMAS TOYE (COLLECTIVE STENCH), MICKEY Z (RAV). Pledge packages include, among many other fine incentives, a VHS ‘behind the scenes’ tape and copies of Secret Prison.

RUB THE BLOOD will debut at the 2011 BROOKLYN COMICS & GRAPHICS FEST and will only be available in person, or from backing the project on Kickstarter.

WARNING: Some NSFWish penis drawings and f-bombs in the second half of the video.

A few days ago Tom Spurgeon asked the comics world to name five cartoonists who were still in an ‘establishing themselves‘ phase of their career. I threw Jeffrey Lewis in my list, despite his many years of putting comic books out. I claimed he was virtually unknown in the comics community. This was based on a straw pole I took of people in comics I knew*. Today, I open up the front page of the Guardian; and, right there in the center column, right below Gaddafi, is, that’s right: Jeffrey Lewis. His new album A Turn In The Dream-Songs has just been released on the Rough Trade label. I think it’s been a little while since an issue of Fuff was released, but I think you’ll really enjoy what Jeffrey has done with ROM: Spaceknight.

*I asked Frank Santoro… and maybe one other guy.

Hmmm. Guardian video embed wouldn’t work, so, it’s been replaced with ROM. Enjoy.

…and you’ll just have to go find that comic when it hits the streets December 28 to see his art. No preview images available right now. Godzilla Legends #2 was written by Jonathin Vankin and illustrated by Simon Gane. Two covers are available, one by Chris Scalf, the other by Arthur Adams. 32 pages. Color. IDW Comics. $3.99.

The spotlights on Godzilla’s greatest foes and allies continue! This issue focuses on the master of the skies— the mighty Rodan! When Rodan’s egg is stolen and kept at military research facility, the winged beast is tireless in its attempts to retrieve it. However, the human intrigue and betrayal inside the facility will ultimately hold the key to whether Rodan and child will be reunited again!

Also be on the lookout for Nelson from Blank Slate Books which features a hefty contribution from Simon.

Bonus feature. Simon recently moved and he shared a picture of his freshly-shelved comics on Twitter:

At Wow Cool central in Cupertino, CA, we will be celebrating All Hallow’s Read next week, by giving scary books to family and friends and offering it as an option to trick-or-treaters that come to the door on Monday, October 31. A big thanks to TopShelf publishing for providing many copies of their latest Free Comic Book Day tome for kids. We’re getting the jump on the plan for 2012 to offer FCBD twice a year.

Tom Hart writes about spending some time with the talented Derek Ballard, and about about this whole fusion comics business. Many illustrations.

Sean T. Collins has coined the word “Hanawaltian” is his glowing in-depth review of Thickness #2.

Today is a second monday, which means that Michael DeForge has posted the fourth installment of Ant Comic.

Brian Ralph is interviewed by the National Post about the new hardcover collection of his brilliant Daybreak comic. Daybreak is now in stock at Wow Cool and available in the shop.

Box Brown spotted this one: Mars is a romantic comedy in space that counts James Kolchaka, Kinky Friedman and Cynthia Watros among it’s cast members and has a soundtrack that features Kristin Hersh and Neko Case. All you need to know is on the Swerve Pictures site.

And lastly, on my old on-air stomping grounds WSVA (Where I hosted Grunion Radio with Ben Jackson, Sam Henderson and many others back in 1988-89), Sam Weber is interviewing Lisa Hanawalt Wednesday, October 19, and they need your questions. We just got copies of a thick mini comic and a limited edition letterpress print by Lisa in the shop. You really should check those out.

This photo set of Michael Kupperman at New York Comic Con 2011 promoting his new book “Mark Twain’s Autobiography 1910-2010” is utterly bonkers. “Twain” is pictured here with Sam Henderson. Me and Sam published some of Michael’s earliest strips in the late 80′s in the last couple of issues of our comics anthology Tuna Casserole. His work then was just as developed and funny as it is now. How does he do it?

Comics’ Master of The Mystic Arts Paul Pope is “Really digging these lurid, grotesque vintage Matt Fox comics” And you will too.

With six days to go, this benefit auction to have lunch with Neil Gaiman, is already up to $416. So I imagine it’s to be at somewhere nicer than, say, a Johnny Rockets.* It’s all for a very good cause. The influential horror and science fiction writer Ed Bryant is having some rough times, and the Friends of Ed Bryant are helping him out (Facebook group). There is a benefit auction taking place at the MileHiCon in Denver Colorado next weekend. I think I talked to Ed a bit at the 2009 World Fantasy Convention when it was in San Jose; but, I could be completely crazy. Either way, it is all much muddled by the insane food and booze that was on hand at the event.

As recommended by just about everyone, Dustin Harbin’s tribute to the late Dylan Williams of Sparkplug and Puppy Toss, though brief, is well worth the quick, but deep, read. When I made my first tentative steps back into the comics industry in 2008, Dustin and Dylan were two of the first people there to welcome me into it with open arms.

Sean T. Collins gives much love to J. G. Ballard, Lisa Hanawalt and Phoebe Gloeckner on Robot 6; thereby confusing most of it’s readers, but making me very happy.

I’m seriously looking forward to John Allison’s next ‘break strip’ from his usual Bad Machinery storyline. It appears that Shelley Winters will be making her first major return to comics since the end of Scary Go ‘Round, two years ago, in the ‘Murder She Writes‘ comic – appearing first in an online serialization and later in printed form. Meanwhile… WTF with onion boy!?!?

UPDATE! Graham Annable has done a new Hidden People (printed) comic, and it’s out now. Here’s a preview. Hurry, there’s a limited quantity.

We end, as we began, with Michael Kupperman… who has gotten in bed with the world’s favorite mutants, the X-Men…

*Hopefully a few people who were ever involved in any signings or other events at a certain Melrose Ave. Comic Book shop know what I’m talking about.

APE 2011 – The Alternative Press Expo – took place on October 1-2, 2011 at the Concourse in San Francisco. Five of the artists who work on Adventure Time with Finn & Jake were in attendance: Thomas Herpich, Andy Ristaino, Rebecca Sugar, Ian Jones-Quartey, and Jesse Moynihan. Another A.T. artist who was not in attendance was conspicious by the presence of his many works at the show – Canadian contributor Michael DeForge.

Table sign from the 2011 Alternative Press Expo – APE - in San Francisco, CA.

Thomas Herpich

Thomas Herpich is a character designer and storyboard artist for many Adventure Time episodes. He is also credited with writing six episodes so far, including “Her Parents”, a personal favorite. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts (SVA), Thomas has been getting his comics and illustration out there for about a decade. He’s done two solo books and appeared in Meathaüs and Nickelodeon Magazine.

Thomas created two books for Alternative Comics - Gongwanadon and Cusp.

From the great collection of art by Adventure Time staff on the AT Wiki.

ThomasHerpich.com | Herpich Brothers Blog | Interview on MeatHaüs | Interview on Vice

Andy Ristaino

”

Andy Ristaino is the lead character designer on Adventure Time with Finn & Jake. He also designs many of the title cards on the show. When not drawing crazy creatures for work he can be found drawing comics and playing the theremin. Two collections of his comics were published by SLG: The Babysitter and Escape from Dullsville. His work has also appeared in numerous anthologies, including Popgun, Meathaus, Nickelodeon Magazine, and Spectrum, and he has been featured in the magazines Coilhouse and Hi Fructose.

Andy’s blog Skronked! | Follow Andy on Twitter

Rebecca Sugar & Ian Jones-Quartey

I had no idea that a whole crew from Frederator Studios had made the trip up to APE. I stopped by the table specifically looking for Andy Ristaino, who I knew was there… somewhere. Each time I came by, he was nowhere to be seen. By the time I caught up with him it was nearly the end of the show on Sunday. I quickly discovered that the guy I talked to each time I’d visited was Thomas Herpich (I had him sign a copy of Cusp that I picked up at the show), and that they were with two other artists from the series. I managed to say hi to them and snap their picture. I had to run off a talk to someone else at the show then, and when I came back they had left. I imagine everyone thought I was just being rude.

Ian Jones-Quartey has also worked on The Venture Bros. as animation director. He recently worked as a storyboard artist on “Secret Mountain Fort Awesome” for Cartoon Network and is currently the Storyboard Supervisor on Adventure Time. He has also created the comics Tent Sale and Beta Temple. Beta Temple was sold out when I got to the table.

Beta Temple

Rebecca Sugar is a storyboard artist on Adventure Time and the creator of the graphic novel Pug Davis. She is credited with writing nine episodes of Adventure Time to date, including  Susan Strong, which I’m watching right now. She has also composed many songs for the show. Her impressive animated short “Singles” is considered a bit of a classic.

Jesse Moynihan

I took two blurry photos of Jesse Moynihan. He is a writer and storyboard artist on Adventure Time. His newest book is Forming from Nobrow Press. His earlier books are available from Wow Cool. Everything you need to know about Jesse can be found in this recent interview with the Comics Journal.

Michael DeForge

Michael DeForge was not present at APE 2011, but his presence was felt. As the headlines say, Michael DeForge is making the most exciting work in comics today. Michael is a character designer on Adventure Time. He has released three issues of his solo comic Lose through Koyama Press, co-edits the anthologies Root Rot and Thickness (adults only!), and has appeared in seemingly a hundred comics anthologies in just the last couple of years.

There have been several in-depth interviews with and profiles of the artist in recent days. Frank Santoro describes him as being at the vanguard of what he calls fusion comics along with Brandon Graham and Dash Shaw. Michael lives in Toronto, so he probably is celebrating Thanksgiving today. His work is well worth seeking out. A large selection of it is available direct from Wow Cool.

Michael DeForge Home Page | The King Trash Blog | Michael DeForge on What Things Do

Profile by Rob Clough on TCJ.com | Interview with Squidface & The Meddler | DTU Interview with Matt Seneca

Interview with Avoid The Future | Interview with Spraygraphic | Interview with the(excerpt)

Michael DeForge’s Cartoonist Diary for The Comics Journal

UPDATE: Notably absent from this list was Ron Russel, who does the painting on the amazing title cards for each episode.
He has worked on many other classic shows including Futurama, Invader Zim and The Mighty B!

Adventure Time with Finn & Jake airs Monday’s at 8pm/7pm Central on Cartoon Network.

More goodness: Adventure Time with Finn & Jake | Frederator Studios | Official YouTube |  Adventure Time Wiki 

AT creator Pendleton Ward’s Home Page | Get the Adventure Time DVD

Fred Seibert’s Adventure Time collection on flickr

Go make these papercraft cut and fold AT Characters. I made Beemo. Tonight, my son made Mr. Cupcake.

Retrofit Comics is throwing down and putting it’s money where the presses are on the good old fashioned business of publishing floppy 32-page comic books. Ignatz Award winner Box Brown is the human behind this mad effort. It’s a program of 12 comics by 12 artists in 12 months. Installment Number Two is Drag Bandits by Xeric Grant recipient Colleen Frakes with Betsy Swardlick in tow for a rip-roaring adventure, dedicated to Ru Paul. Get in on the action here.

Back in 1994, while on zine tour for Andy’s Chair #3, I crashed on John Porcellino’s couch when he was living in Denver, Colorado. Shortly after that, while still on the road, I did this strip, in a crude imitation of the King Cat style. It was printed in my tour zine puppydoglove.

Anyway, the real reason I’m dredging up this bit of history is to let you know that – after a 13 year gap – Wow Cool is once again offering King Cat Comics and Stories to the world. All currently in-print issues of King Cat that do not have their contents collected (or are about to be) will be available from Wow Cool. So, that means we have issues 69-71 in stock. John will be putting out King Cat #72 very soon. That, and the previously published King Cat collections will be available from Wow Cool very soon. The book he illustrated for the National Film Board of Canada about skipping out on suicide – The Next Day – is also available right now.

John is currently on tour. Go see him if you can:

October 4-7
IOWA CITY, IA
Comics, Creativity and Culture:
Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives

With Phoebe Gloeckner, Jessica Abel, The Hernandez Brothers, James Sturm, and Joe Sacco, plus a host of comics scholars and educators!
Saturday Oct. 8 – Sunday Oct. 9
PITTSBURGH, PA
Pittsburgh Indie Expo

Saturday Oct. 22
MADISON, WI
Madison Zinefest‘

King Cat Home | John’s Blog: Maybe Blogging Will Help

Wow Cool has relaunched it’s comics, zines and music mail order shop. All the fun is at: http://wowcool.com/. There are still at least a hundred books in stock that have not yet been posted to the store, but will be very soon. That includes all the in-print issues of Zap, Weirdo and Hi-Fructose; a couple dozen Top Shelf titles and many more. A few things haven’t shown up yet that we’re very excited about, including recent issues of King Cat (and the nearly completed issue 72), Jason Martin’s latest record, and a book and CD set from Dale Flattum (AKA Tooth/Agent Nova) of Steel Pole Bath Tub and Milk Cult Fame.

Are you going to be at APE 2011 in San Francisco this weekend? If so I look forward to seeing you there. I’ll be wandering around, talking to people, buying books and generally promoting Wow Cool.

Make sure you stop by the Sparkplug Booth – #121 – to pay your respects and support the Dylan Williams Memorial Scholarship Fund at Portland’s Independent Publishing Resource Center by purchasing a copy of Skim Lizard #5. Dylan did the cover art. It’s a really great anthology. A box of classic Puppy Toss publications was unearthed last weekend and we’re selling them for a good cause. You can also buy three issues of Skim Lizard online from Wow Cool. All proceeds go straight to the IPRC.

Following the jump is the full text of our press release. Which is also viewable with logos, photos and in different formats elsewhere on this site.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wow Cool Returns to Comic Book And Zine Retailing

Veteran Indie Publisher And Record Label Resumes Mail Order
Business After Thirteen Year Hiatus

Cupertino, California; October 1, 2011: Once a premier destination for fans of many photocopied pamphlets, including Cometbus, Dishwasher and Optic Nerve, during the 1990’s Zine Explosion, Wow Cool faded from view for many years. Now, after over a year of preparation, and six months of development, the long-running DIY clearinghouse has once again thrown it’s hat into the ring of Small Press Bookselling. The new WowCool.com store is being officially launched at 11am Pacific Time on Saturday, October First, 2011, marking the start of San Francisco’s APE, the Alternative Press Expo.

This new web store offers hundreds of titles by nearly as many artists, from comic book legends Alan Moore and Steve Ditko to the fresh talents of Hellen Jo and Michael DeForge. Books from over 20 publishing houses are represented, and new product is added weekly. The site is built on the robust X-Cart e-commerce platform and features SSL – Secured Socket Layer – protection; and, full integration with USPS and PayPal for a smooth and secure shopping experience. Wow Cool is committed to following what founder Marc Arsenault describes as “A greatly improved set of best practices for marketing, stocking and shipping these unique works of art”.

Wow Cool was founded in January 1988 by Marc Arsenault and cartoonists Tom Hart and Sam Henderson, while still students at New York City’s School of Visual Arts. Starting out as the label under which their various solo publications and the anthology Tuna Casserole were published, Wow Cool quickly started adding works by many other artists. The sole constant person through Wow Cool’s over 23 year history has been Marc Arsenault. The label emerged as a proper company and the largest American distributor of self-published comics and zines for much of the 1990s after its move to the San Francisco Bay area in February 1993. After surviving the media attention given to the zine explosion, Arsenault chose to return Wow Cool to it’s East Coast home and focus on the core artists associated with the label. Wow Cool returned to California in May, 2009.

About Wow Cool

Wow Cool is a multiple media studio, record label, publisher and mail order house based in Cupertino, California. Wow Cool operates a full photography studio; audio recording and video production facilities; and, has a range of graphic design and publishing capabilities–from desktop publishing to screen printing and custom manufacture of buttons and guitar picks. Wow Cool has released work in various media by Steven Cerio, Simon Gane, Sam Henderson, Mark Martin, Brown Cuts Neighbors, Evidence, Offset Needle Radius, nickname: Rebel, and many other artists. WowCool.com offers printed and recorded media in a range of styles and formats by artists both obscure and renowned.

Logos, press photos and a copy of this release in RTF and PDF formats can be found at: https://wowcool.com/Press.html

A detailed company history is at: https://wowcool.com/history.html

More information about Wow Cool’s mail order practices can be found here: https://wowcool.com/FAQ.html

Contact:
Marc Arsenault
Wow Cool
6378 Blackwood Drive
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 813-5919
marc@wowcool.com

I don’t get it either. I have no idea when this was done. Maybe it was started in the 90′s and completed now. Maybe it’s old, maybe it’s new. I have no idea when it was posted (although I’m pretty sure it was in the last couple of weeks) I do know that Mark Martin and Scott McCloud lived near each other in the early 90s. Maybe it was all a dream. Maybe it is real and happening right now!

In the meanwhile, we are holding a one week beta test of the shop. There are currently 157 items. More are being added every day. All your old favorites are in there from the likes of Steven Cerio, Brown Cuts Neighbors, God Hates Computers, Sam Henderson, Cometbus and many more. Yes, Wow Cool has basically gone and picked up where we left off when the old Berkeley warehouse closed way back at the end of 1998. But, you know, much better.

PLEASE NOTE: The shop will not be staying in it’s current location. This is a one week test that will end early on Tuesday, August 23. Please ignore the ugliness of the current layout. Most of the work on the site has been focussed on developing the product pages and making the integration with the post office and PayPal rock solid. The shop is also fully HTTPS/SSL secured and certified, as guaranteed by Comodo. The whole ordering process should work smoothly. Shipping is now based on size and weight. The old flat priority weight for everything is long gone; you may now select the shipping method that meets your needs. Any orders placed during this period will be shipped with as many extra goodies that will fit in the box.

Please enjoy The Wow Cool Shop.
Please send all problems, suggestions, bon mots, etc. through the contact page or use the comments function on this post.

OK, now some random interesting stuff out on the interwebs…

As has been reported just about everywhere else first, Hedi Slimane has posted photos of Frances Bean Cobain in which she is clearly sporting a lovely tattoo of Al Columbia’s Seymour Sunshine. I like to imagine that when she sleeps, Seymour leaps off her arm – Out of The Inkwell style – to go make out with Quentin Crisp on her right shoulder.

Gary Panter has been posting many great links and articles on the artists that influenced him through the Gary Panter Fans Facebook group and elsewhere. Two recent ones you will want to be sure to check out are the website of Bob Zoell and this article by Gary on Peter Saul on HiLowBrow.

This story by John ‘King Cat’ Porcellino, to celebrate 20 years of German small press Reprodukt, is pretty great. Via Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter.

A whole slew of upcoming shows have been announced involving Joshua Baker/Offset Needle Radius and Jason Martin. If you are in the Northeast you should check some of these out.

Like most sane people, I would prefer to see the upcoming reboot, renumbering, digital same-timeness from the DC Comics division of Warner’s Military-Industrial Entertainment Complex designed by the more capable level heads available from the ranks of their core of Vertigo and Wildstorm (um, they’re gone now? Is that right?) freelancers like Mr. Simon Gane. He shares some examples here. Simon’s original art for his Batman and Batgirl visions are for sale.