All Good Things: A Treasury of Images to Uplift the Spirits and Reawaken Wonder


Stephen Ellcock - 2019
    Five years and 300,000 followers later, Ellcock has an international following who avidly await his daily uploads and his carefully curated and sequenced albums of images. His selections of little known and public domain imagery regularly attain thousands or shares or comments from all around the world. All give thanks for the uplifting nature of his selections. Taking his title from the first ever Encyclopedia in the English language, All Good Things (Omne Bonum) this new compendium of art and photography inspired by both the natural world and human endeavour will appeal both to his digital followers and our image-focused, solace-seeking times. Providing meditative focus and visual exhilaration - Ellcock celebrates our humanity and inspires us to wonder once more. All Good Things is structured to evoke the medieval tradition of exquisite, illuminated books - beginning with the universal and travelling through the realms of sky, sea, earth, science and humanity before ending amongst the angels and monsters that have so preoccupied artists over the centuries. Using found artwork from archives, libraries and little known collections of art, illustration, photography and textiles this is a glorious adventure; one that can be appreciated on many levels. There will be introductions to each chapter as well as recommended image lists for enjoyment, restoration, inspiration. Carefully selected quotes from poets from thinkers, writers and scientists will counterpoint images perfectly and add to the richness of this beautifully produced book.

A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection


Steve Martin - 2020
    I have done stand-up, sketches, movies, monologues, awards show introductions, sound bites, blurbs, talk show appearances, and tweets, but the idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me. I felt like, yeah, sometimes I'm funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny. You can understand that I was deeply suspicious of these people who are actually funny." So writes the multitalented comedian Steve Martin in his introduction to A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection. In order to venture into this lauded territory of cartooning, he partnered with the heralded New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss. Steve shared caption and cartoon ideas, Harry provided impeccable artwork, and together they created this collection of humorous cartoons and comic strips, with amusing commentary about their collaboration throughout. The result: this gorgeous, funny, singular book, perfect to give as a gift or to buy for yourself.

Peter Bagge's Other Stuff


Peter Bagge - 2013
    Peter Bagge’s Other Stuff includes a few lesser-known Bagge characters, including the wacky modern party girl “Lovey” and the aging bobo “Shut-Ins” — not to mention the self-explanatory “Rock ’N’ Roll Dad” starring Murry Wilson and the Beach Boys. But many of the strips are one-off gags or short stories, often with a contemporary satirical slant, including on-site reportage like “So Much Comedy, So Little Time” (from a comedy festival) and more. Also: Dick Cheney, The Matrix, and Alien! Other Stuff also includes a series of Bagge=written stories drawn by other cartoonists, including “Life in these United States” with Daniel Clowes, “Shamrock Squid” with Adrian Tomine, and the one-two parody punch of “Caffy” (with art by R. Crumb) and “Dildobert” (with art by Prison Pit’s Johnny Ryan)... plus a highlight of the book, the hilarious, literate and intricate exposé of “Kool-Aid Man” written by Alan Moore and drawn by Bagge. (Other collaborators include the Hernandez Brothers and Danny Hellman.) Bagge is one of the funniest cartoonists of the century (20th or 21st), and this collection shows him at his most free-wheeling and craziest... 50 times over.

Big Questions


Anders Nilsen - 2011
    This beautiful minimalist story, collected here for the first time, is the culmination of ten years and more than six hundred pages of work that details the metaphysical quandaries of the occupants of an endless plain, existing somewhere between a dream and a Russian steppe. A downed plane is thought to be a bird and the unexploded bomb that came from it is mistaken for a giant egg by the group of birds whose lives the story follows. The indifferent, stranded pilot is of great interest to the birds—some doggedly seek his approval, while others do quite the opposite, leading to tensions in the group. Nilsen seamlessly moves from humor to heartbreak. His distinctive, detailed line work is paired with plentiful white space and large, often frameless panels, conveying an ineffable sense of vulnerability and openness.Big Questions has roots in classic fables—the birds and snakes have more to say than their human counterparts, and there are hints of the hero’s journey, but here the easy moral that closes most fables is left open and ambiguous. Rather than lending its world meaning, Nilsen’s parable lets the questions wander where they will.

Add Toner: A Cometbus Collection


Aaron Cometbus - 1993
    The text is lovingly handwritten, interspersed with bold graphics and illustrations. Includes never-before-published material. Add Toner is the follow-up to Despite Everything, the best-of collection from the first two decades of Cometbus, called "a classic in the subterranean world" by Time, and "the best loved zine ever" by the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Asterios Polyp


David Mazzucchelli - 2009
    An epic story long awaited, and well worth the wait. Meet Asterios Polyp: middle-aged, meagerly successful architect and teacher, aesthete and womanizer, whose life is wholly upended when his New York City apartment goes up in flames. In a tenacious daze, he leaves the city and relocates to a small town in the American heartland. But what is this “escape” really about? As the story unfolds, moving between the present and the past, we begin to understand this confounding yet fascinating character, and how he’s gotten to where he is. And isn’t. And we meet Hana: a sweet, smart, first-generation Japanese American artist with whom he had made a blissful life. But now she’s gone. Did Asterios do something to drive her away? What has happened to her? Is she even alive? All the questions will be answered, eventually.In the meantime, we are enthralled by Mazzucchelli’s extraordinarily imagined world of brilliantly conceived eccentrics, sharply observed social mores, and deftly depicted asides on everything from design theory to the nature of human perception.Asterios Polyp is David Mazzucchelli’s masterpiece: a great American graphic novel.