Because I love to share, here’s a quick rundown of some of the more new and notable books I picked up at SPX last weekend:
* A bunch of Ignatz books, including Baobab #3, Delphine #3, Interiorae #3, Grotesque #2 and Sammy the Mouse #2. I think a lot of folks tend to focus on the Ignatz books by the big-name artists like Gilbert Hernandez and ignore the rest, and that’s a shame, as there’s some really great work being done throughout this series, and it remains a fantastic way to expose yourself to some unfamiliar artists.
* A trio of Kevin Huizenga mini-comics, namely Fight or Run, New Construction #2 and The Factoids of Life . All three or good, though New Construction is decidedly aimed at those fascinated by craft and process, as it’s solely a collection of thumbnail sketches by Huizenga, Ted May and Dan Zettwoch.
* Welcome to the Dahl House and Monsters #3 by Ken Dahl. Dahl continues to impress me with each new comic. Dahl House is a collection of his early work, while Monsters continues the story of his battle with herpes.
* Look Out Monsters by Geoff Grogan. I’ve heard good things about this one.
* Fatal Faux-Pas by Samuel C. Gaskin and Capacity by Theo Ellsworth. Both picked up at the Secret Acres table. As with Monsters, Fatal Faux-Pas is a book I’ve seen recommended here and there across the blogosphere and wanted to check out. Capicity was more of a blind purchase, but I was struck by Ellsworth’s knotty, detailed art style.
* An Afrodisiac mini by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca. Gotta love Afrodisiac. Is anyone planning on collecting and publishing these stories any time soon?
* A groovy, oversize Golgol 13 mini comic by Ian Harker. I especially like that the panels turn into a 3-D cube midway through, a nice homage to Shintaro Kago.
* Travel by Yuichi Yokoyama. In addition to this new collection of Yokoyama’s work, PictureBox also had a nice coffee-table book of his paintings. That was $65, though. Perhaps next time, when I’ve won the lottery.
* Monster Men Bureiko Lullaby by Takashi Nemoto. More avant-garde manga, though this has a decidely more … scatalogical edge to it than Yokoyama’s work. Certainly not for the faint of heart or easily offended.
* The Quest for the Missing Girl by Jiro Taniquchi. More manga, though not quite so avant-garde. And can I just mention again how nice it was to see Fanfare at the show last weekend? I’m crossing my fingers that their new distributor gets books like this one out to a wider audience.
* Cryptic Wit #1 & 2 by Gerard Jablonski. Jog does a better job of explaining Jablonski’s unique aethetic viewpoint than I ever could.
* Powr Masters Vol. 2 by CF. Rather than sign my copy, CF just smeared a bit of his blood on the indicia page. I didn’t know whether to be disgusted or impressed. Assuming he didn’t have any communicable diseases, i’ll go with the latter.
* Jack in Box by John Kovaleski. Kovaleski (a Mad magazine contributor) did a really charming comic strip called Bo Nanas that unfortunately failed to catch on. This is apparently a new comic book he’s trying out involving sentient toys.
* Your Disease Spread Quick by Tom Neely. Neely salutes The Melvins with this surreal comic. I was impressed by The Blot enough to pick this up sight unseen.
