Sparkplug at CAKE!

Sparkplug will be at CAKE this weekend!  This show was really enjoyable last year and I'm looking forward to it.  We'll be at table 2 right near the entrance.  There's no admission fee and a ton of great artists.  Hope to see you there!

Olympia Comics Fest this weekend!

Hey all!  Emily will be manning the Sparkplug table at Olympia Comics Fest this weekend.  The festival takes place at the Olympia Center on Saturday June 8th.  Please join us, we'll have a ton of books including some new distro stock!

New Books in the Store!

We've picked up a bunch of new distro books in the last couple weeks and put them in the store!  First up, we've restocked Ed Luce's Wuvable Oaf #0-2 and added Wuvable Oaf #3 and #4.

The Portland comics performance group Gridlords released an anthology this spring called I'm Not Afraid To Love.  It includes work from Julia Gfrörer, Eroyn Franklin, Theo Ellsworth, Daria Tessler and many others!

We got the new issue of Eschew from Robert Sergel.  Sergel's precise style provides a great counterpoint to the everyday weirdness of the stories he tells.

Also fresh off the presses:  Tom Lechner has done another issue of his quiet series of graphic dream journal, Nightlife 12:03.

And finally, Asher Craw's Zebadiah, Part 2.  I have trouble describing how great this series is!  This book shifts focus from Zebadiah and Eula-Lee to an autobiographical story of a young person growing up in small-town Midwest and their struggles with gender, suicide and love.  Absolutely stunning!

Stumptown Comics Fest and Beyond!

Hey folks!  We are gearing up for Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend and hope to see you there!  It takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Oregon Convention Center here in Portland.  We also hope you will join moderator Milo George for the Dylan Williams Tribute panel on Saturday from 5-5:45.  Here is a brief description:
Everyone's invited to share some time with the friends and colleagues of comics' best friend as we all recount our favorite stories about the late Sparkplug publisher's life and celebrate his philosophy and work as an artist, scholar and publisher. Time permitting, we will also attempt to make sense of his passion for unsettling any and everyone who dared point a camera at him at festivals like this one.

We are planning a pretty busy schedule this summer, and hope to catch you at one of these shows:

June 8 - Olympia Comics Fest
June 15 & 16 - CAKE (Chicago)
Aug. 10 & 11 - Portland Zine Symposium
Aug. 18 - Autoptic (Minneapolis)
Aug. 31 & Sept. 1 - SF Zine Fest
Sept. 14 & 15 - SPX (Maryland)

Some Sparkplug Changes for 2013

Dear Friends of Sparkplug:

2012 was a huge year for us.  As many of you know, we moved our central location of business, which has led to a more recent development.  As of the beginning of February, I have transferred ownership of Sparkplug Books to Virginia Paine, formerly my employee and business partner.  Tom Neely and I plan to continue helping in many of the same ways as we have been, but Virginia will be in charge.  This was a decision I made many months ago and that we've finally made for real.  I knew that this was the right thing to do, as I have other goals I want to reach.  Virginia has been a dedicated partner in Sparkplug for three years and a close friend to the comics and zine community.  Business will continue much as it has been, and we're looking forward to our new projects and seeing what else the future holds.

Emily Nilsson

Hello friends,

Emily handed ownership of Sparkplug to me at the beginning of February, a few days before I turned 32.  I think there is kind of a neat symmetry to that: a new year for me, and a new adventure for Sparkplug.  We've gone through a lot of changes in the past year and a half and had a lot of obstacles to overcome.  I'm proud of the work Emily, Tom and I have done, and I am proud to be taking the reins of Sparkplug with two wonderful people to advise and help me.  I am looking forward to smoother sailing and am excited about finishing up many of Dylan's projects, including Elijah Brubaker's Reich series and (finally!) Orchid 2.

Virginia Paine

Feel free to contact Virginia, Tom or Emily if you have any questions.  We'll see you at Stumptown on April 27th & 28th!!

Free Comic, "Master P's Theatre", available to stores now!

Sparkplug Books is pleased to announce a brand new Free Comic Book Day comic, Master P's Theatre.  The publishing and editing job was split among Portland small press wizards Teenage Dinosaur, Floating World Comics, Snake Bomb Comix, and Sparkplug.  

We are currently seeking stores that want to pre-order copies for their May 4th Free Comic in-store events.  This issue is fantastic, and as is usual in this yearly co-publishing partnership, we have selected all local artists who have never yet appeared in a free comic:

Front cover: August Lipp

Inside cover: Tony Remple

Stories by:

John Isaacson

Amriel Simpson

Alex Chiu 

Ryan Iverson

Pat Keck

Jason "JFish" Fischer

 

24 pages (not incl. covers), black and white interior, color cover exterior.  Newsprint stock. For mature readers.

Please contact virginia(at)sparkplugcomicbooks(dot)com to place orders, and prepay shipping to the same email via Paypal.

Domestic mail prices:

$4.00 for 1-30 units (media mail)

$10.00 for 100 (media mail

$12.35 for medium flat rate box Priority mail (about 50 copies)

Email us about shipping rates to Canada or overseas.

 

Order now - we need to send them as soon as possible to get them there on time!

New Books: Small Noises #3 and For The Record...

Couple new minicomics in the store today!  A collection of Sarah Glidden's autobio comics, Small Noises #3, and Eroyn Franklin's bizarre menagerie of short stories For The Record I Know This is a Bad Idea.  Please give them a gander!

Drawn Words reviews Golem of Gabirol

Kevin over at Drawn Words has written a lovely review of Olga Volozova's Golem of Gabirol.  Please click here to read it!