HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM SECRET HEADQUARTERS
It's that time of year again! Already! Somehow! Never fear, we are here to help you pick out the best gifts for everyone on your list. Part one: picks from Dave, your friendly neighborhood comic shop owner.
Desert Island
$10
A full issue of forty oversized James Jean images printed on newsprint. I have my issues with newsprint (basically hate it), but I gotta give it to the stuff. It makes for a more involved experience when you're turning the pages. The smell, the way it changes color and texture over time, how it feels like you're reaching back to an earlier time in printing. Either either, it's all JJ and his stuff is gorgeous no matter what it's on.
Desert Island
$22
This zine is so incredible. It's one hundred pages full of people telling you what not to do by showing you how to do it in the coolest way. I gotta believe every artist was way into getting high and taking money from the man to make the art. Meanwhile, do people really sniff glue? I know there's songs and books, and probably stuff in movies I'm not remembering, but it just seems so crazy. Drugs are bad.
Heavy Manners
$38
Ok. If you know me, you know I'm about as spiritual as an Apple IIe. When I read Jesse's tarot explanations I feel like I'm totally nuts. However, I love things that are way beyond me, and I think Jesse is one of the best writer/artists out there today. Not sure how this sells this box, but years ago we worked with a guy that carried his tarot set in a leather sheath on his belt.
Fantagraphics
$50
There's a perfect time in a person's life for certain comics (music, movies, etc). Eightball happens to be one of a handful of things that it's always the right time for. Never read it? Get ready for this! Read it a long time ago? It's like a visit from your funniest, craziest old friend that doesn't give a fuck about "off limits".
Editions Cornelius
$60
When Shigeru Mizuki finishes a drawing, he must be so satisfied, like "Yup, that's exactly what I see in my mind, nailed it again." Imagine doing that over two hundred times just for this book? Meanwhile, I'd buy it for the backgrounds alone.
Moebius - Alla Ricerca del Tempo (In Search Of Time)
Moebius Productions / Comicon Edizioni
$95
I almost feel silly about writing a description of a beautifully printed book of Moebius illustrations. It's a catalog of an Italian show of his work. Beauty on beauty! I mean, what more could you possibly say? You're either in or you're out. My way or the highway. It's flippin' Moebius, my dude.