Hello friends, It is with mixed feelings that I must announce that I will be shutting down Sparkplug this year. I appreciate the opportunities that running Sparkplug has given me and the wonderful people it has introduced me to. I know Sparkplug means a lot to many people and I want to...
Read moreSparkplug Highlight: Bird Girl and Fox Girl
This minicomic follows the threads of Bird Girl and Fox Girl’s lives after the dissolution of their friendship. Bird Girl moves from the desert to the city, where she works as a secretary, eventually saving up enough money for surgery to look like a human girl. Fox Girl becomes a daredevil...
Read moreReich review!
Daniel Elkin and Jason Sacks wrote an excellent review of Reich for Comics Bulletin. Read it here!
Read moreSparkplug Highlight: The Anthropologists
Wren and Miriam, two anthropology majors studying abroad in Australia, are selected for a trip to the Kimberley Desert to study aboriginal culture. While Miriam is overly enthusiastic and gung ho about the trip and meeting aboriginal people, Wren seems ambivalent about the trip and unsure of...
Read moreSparkplug Minis Series Set now in the store!
You can now get all five issues of the Sparkplug Minis Series at once, for the low price of $25 (plus shipping)! Check it out here. Quantities are pretty limited for the complete set since we are nearly out of Yumi Sakugawa’s Bird Girl and Fox Girl.
Read moreSparkplug Highlight: Hungry Summer
The inaugural title in the Sparkplug Minis series, Hungry Summer follows several characters’ interactions with Baba Yaga, a supernatural figure with roots in Slavic folklore. An ambiguous, witch-like character, Baba Yaga resides deep in the woods and has the ability to bless and curse in equal...
Read moreCe/Ze review!
Greg Hunter did a great, thorough review of Ce/Ze for The Comics Journal. Read the full review here!
Read moreEbin Lee interview!
“There’s just something awesome about seeing something, physically holding it, being able to sit with an image. That somebody can sit and look at it and interpret it anyway they want to. I think that’s pretty powerful.” Our friends at Bitch Magazine have interviewed...
Read moreA Wretch Like Me review!
“This is hard art. Unrelenting and necessary.” Daniel Elkin has written a wonderful review of Ebin Lee’s A Wretch Like Me, which debuted last month. Check out the full review here.
Read moreSparkplug Pop Up This Weekend!
We’ll be doing a pop up shop this weekend in Portland. Screaming Sky Gallery is a lovely little collectible toy shop and local art gallery and we’re honored to be hosted by them! Please stop by to check out the shop and pick up some books! The pop up is this Sunday...
Read moreSparkplug at Short Run! New book debut!
Sparkplug will be at Short Run this weekend! It’s on Saturday, October 31st (spooky!) from 11am-6pm at Fisher Pavilion at the Seattle Center. We’ll have kid-friendly postcard packs for trick-or-treaters and plenty of books, including the debut of our next book, A Wretch Like Me by...
Read moreThe Anthropologists in Best American Comics 2015 Notables List!
We’re so proud to tell you that Whit Taylor’s The Anthropologists was included in the 2015 Best American Comics notables list. If you haven’t checked out this excellent autobiographical examination of race and self, you can find it here in our webstore! There are so many...
Read moreA Wretch Like Me now available for PRE-ORDER
The next book in the Sparkplug Minis Series is now available for pre-order. A Wretch Like Me is a gorgeous visual journal by Portland artist Ebin Lee. Pre-ordered copies will ship out the week of November 2nd. The book will debut at Short Run in Seattle!
Read moreSPX Reminder!
Just a reminder! Sparkplug will be at SPX this year! It takes place September 19th and 20th at the Bethesda Marriott. More details here! William Cardini, author of Vortex, and Sparkplug superstar Jenny Flax will be at the table with postcards for free and plenty of books for you to check...
Read moreSparkplug at SPX!
Sparkplug will be at SPX this year! It takes place September 19 and 20th at the Bethesda Marriott. More details here! William Cardini, author of Vortex, and Sparkplug superstar Jenny Flax will be at the table with postcards for free and plenty of books for you to check out! In addition...
Read moreSALE CONTINUES!
Have you checked out our summer sale yet? Lots of great items like those shown above! Check out the full list here!
Read moreSparkplug Highlight: Hot Breath of War by Trevor Alixopulos
Sparkplug Highlight: Golem of Gabirol
Set in the Medieval Middle East, this minicomic tells the story of the love triangle between Zuleicha, her cousin Nusret, and Reb Solomon, a poet and scholar who is revealed to be a sorcerer. When Zuleicha and Nusret marry, Reb Solomon creates a golem with Zuleicha’s features, bringing it...
Read moreComing Soon: A Wretch Like Me: Sad/Black/Ugly/Queer by Ebin Lee
We are excited to announce the fifth book in the Sparkplug Minis Series! A Wretch Like Me: Sad/Black/Ugly/Queer is by Portland artist Ebin Lee. Lee describes the book as “A Wretch Like Me is my visual journal of Depression/Anxiety/ and Body Dysphoria.” The book will...
Read moreSparkplug Highlight: Fleep by Jason Shiga
Jimmy Yee awakes in a phone booth encased in concrete with no memory of how he got there. What follows is a slow unraveling of the truth as Jimmy puzzles out the preceding events based on his knowledge of scientific principles and the contents of his pockets. With its captivating, expertly paced...
Read moreOur Summer Sale Continues!
After a brief break to get our website fixed up, the summer sale continues! Select books, minis and zines are 50% off in the store, including both Sparkplug and distro titles. You can find the complete list here. There’s a lot of good stuff in there, please check it out...
Read moreSparkplug Highlight: Tales to Demolish #2 by Eric Haven
While driving around Oakland, ruminating on the history of underground comics in the Bay Area, the main character fatally hits Dan Clowes. After convincing his partner to help him hide the body, he immediately goes on to accidentally kill another indie comics darling. The two spirits meet in the...
Read moreSmall Press Payday features Vortex!
Vortex was recommended on Broken Frontier’s Small Press Payday last week, along with a bunch of other great small press titles. “Kirby in terms of concepts, Ditko in the sheer otherness of its confines, and yet quite unlike either in delivery, Vortex is a mesmerising...
Read moreSparkplug will be at Autoptic in Minneapolis this weekend! We’ll have a full stock of our titles, including a bunch of sale books! Autoptic takes place August 8th and 9th at Aria. More details here!
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