It’s actually a little difficult to express in words how wonderful and affecting Asher’s Zebadiah is. It’s not just the art, though it is breathtaking. Asher’s artistic style recalls rough-but-intricate woodblock etchings and works equally well at...
Read moreWarriors Come Out and Play
In the fear that you might miss this, I just want to point you to the latest post from the very popular BLDGBLOG that features a previously unpublished interview with the late Sol Yurick, the screenwriter of the enormously influential film The Warriors. As you might have suspected there was much...
Read moreSparkplug Highlights: Reich #1 and #2, by Elijah Brubaker
We hope that you’ve had a chance to see our awesome presale for Reich #11, which is the penultimate issue in Elijah Brubaker’s comic biography of Wilhelm Reich. However, if you’re just now coming to the series, you should definitely pick up the first issues! The biography does...
Read moreThe Radiophonic Workshop Reunion on BBC 6Music
The seemingly comprehensive coverage here a few weeks ago on the legacy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was woefully incomplete… because the story is still being told. Original BBC Radiophonic Workshop composers Dick Mills, Paddy Kingsland, Peter Howell, Roger Limb, and Mark Ayres have...
Read moreSea Sounds of the Golden Eternity by Steven Cerio
Steven Cerio has launched a Vimeo page with a few shorts including this homage to Jack Kerouac shot in California’s Big Sur region. Cease-Hounds uv thuh Gold-Tin Eat-Turn-It-Tea (Sea Sounds of the Golden Eternity) by Steven Cerio from Steven Cerio on Vimeo. I (Steven Cerio) created this...
Read moreNew In the Store: Vantage!
Everyone, listen up, and listen like crazy: we have a new Eroyn Franklin book in the store! Vantage is an incredible addition to both her creative oeuvre and your personal comics collection. This fold-out book documents The Long Walk, a socially engaged project in which Susan Robb...
Read moreReich #11 Preorders and a Year End Announcement
Sugar Booger Thanksgiving Special
Hello… What’s this? Thanksgiving was last week! That may well be, but Kevin Scalzo’s Sugar Booger #1 didn’t get here until now! But, wait, you say, I thought that came out like ten years ago. Nope this is the new 32 page 5×7″ color glossy edition from...
Read moreSupport SAW The Sequential Artists Workshop in 2014
Tom Hart has put all the call. SAW, The Sequential Artists Workshop, needs your support in 2014. All is explained in the video above. Get over to indiegogo and help them out. The rewards are truly...
Read moreNew in the Store: Other Worlds!
Portland’s comics performance collective, Gridlords, has seen fit to grace us with a second anthology, and it’s bigger, slicker, and weirder than we could have hoped for! Other Worlds explores the myriad other dimensions, other places, and other experiences that exist alongside...
Read moreA Whole Day Wasted – Sequential Crush
I don’t remember exactly what I was searching for when I stumbled across Jacque Nodell’s excellent Sequential Crush blog… and I don’t care anymore, my heart was swept away for the love of this glorious collection of lush images from 1960s and 1970s romance comics. There...
Read moreSparkplug at Short Run This Weekend!
We are so excited for our upcoming attendance at Short Run in Seattle! Held on Saturday, November 30, from 11:00am to 6:00pm, Short Run is a one-day free event that showcases makers of art books, zines, comics, and animation. It was founded to strengthen and celebrate the Pacific...
Read more50 Years in Time and Space – The Music of Doctor Who
Now that the dust has settled a little from Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary celebrations this past Saturday, November 23, I want to point you toward some coverage of the many types of music and sounds that were featured on the show during its long history. First up is “50 Years in Time...
Read moreSparkplug Highlights: The Natural World, by Damien Jay
If you love stories about witch trials, medieval small-town politics, and religious hypocrisy, THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING RIGHT NOW NOT READING THE NATURAL WORLD?! Seriously — do yourself a favor and pick up the first four issues as soon as you’re done reading this blog. An entertaining...
Read moreNew in the Store: Making Tide and Just Noise!
We have two new additions to the store today from the incomparable Eroyn Franklin: Making Tide and Just Noise. Vastly different in execution, they are both amazing works of art and storytelling. Just Noise is a tiny marvel of intricacy. A dialogue between a couple whose actions speak louder than...
Read moreNew in the Store: Cavities Sampler!
Please join me in welcoming cartoonist Erin Griffin to Sparkplug’s shop! Her comic, Cavities Sampler, is too cute for words. Showcasing glimpses of Griffin’s life, her round and cheery style is adorable, even if her stories sometimes hint at a sadness below the surface. Though...
Read moreSparkplug Highlights: Crooked Teeth, by Nate Doyle
Nate Doyle has a style and a life that makes for great comics — the stories in Crooked Teeth are fast, engrossing, and heartfelt, and his art manages to come across brilliantly whether it leans more towards classic cartoon or dashed-off sketch. The issues we have in stock...
Read moreThe Urban Exploration Endless Slideshow
I’ve been homebound nursing a sore throat all weekend and in a reduced state of mental facility barely capable of scrolling through facebook walls and first person shooters. Anyway, on Veteran’s Day in the U.S. yesterday there was clearly something in the air as people seemed to keep...
Read moreSteven Cerio Talks About The Residents
Steve Cerio-Theory of Obscurity from Don Hardy on Vimeo. An excerpt from Theory of Obscurity – A Film About The Residents featuring their long-time art collaborator Steven Cerio. Release date not yet announced. Expect it in early 2014. The teaser trailer is below. Residents official site...
Read moreSparkplug Highlights: The Would-Be Bridegrooms, by Shawn Cheng
The first thing that catches your eye about The Would-Be Bridegrooms is the fact that it’s hand bound. How often do you see that anymore? The red thread binding is set off by the intensely yellow cover and striking single cover image; these things, combined with the book’s slightly...
Read moreIntroducing ‘Get Introduced’ Dollar Books From Alternative Comics
We have marked down a selection of books by various artists and from several series that are great ‘jumping on’ or ‘get introduced to’ points.., most of them from Alternative Comics. So, now, for a mere dollar, you can get many great comics that previously cost three to...
Read moreNew in the Shop Stink Helmet by Otto Splotch
Stink Helmet is Otto Splotch’s brand new 80 page full color graphic novel. True life, SiFi future, people exercising… Real Fun. Dysfunctional people living in a psychedelic world of slime and slime and fart jokes. A classic to share with your grandkids. Go get it.
Read moreNew in the Store: You Don’t Get There From Here #26 and In Situ #2!
We’ve got two awesome new comics in the shop this week! First up, the long-awaited next installment in Carrie McNinch’s bittersweet zine series, You Don’t Get There From Here #26. In this issue, Carrie goes to Oaxaca to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, sightsee, and spend time...
Read moreLou Reed and Ren GuangYi Chen Tai Chi
As you have probably heard by now, writer and musician Lou Reed has passed away at age 71. I’d listened to his music for years, but there was a side to him I had not heard about that I became very familiar with through my work for Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine. Lou was a committed practitioner...
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