www.86thfloor.com     PREVIEWS VOL. XVII #7 July 2007  

Independent Comic Publishers
(Companies beginning with F)

FANFARE / PONENT MON

AWABI GN
by Kan Takahama
Love takes many forms: sometimes sweet but often cruel, sometimes simple but mostly complicated, sometimes blind but always inevitable. Kan Takahama takes us through a myriad of emotions as we strive to understand this love. She leads us to the edge but whether we look over is up to us. "Awabi" is Japanese for abalone, a dish best served cold. But in a unique play on kanji, Takahama turns it around to reveal a hotter meaning of "fragile days, volatile as the foam." Her work has twice appeared in The Comics Journal Winter Special who voted her first collection Kinderbook in the "Best Short Stories of the Year for 2004." This, her second collection, will resound even more than the first. (C: 0-1-2)
MATURE THEMES
RES. from Previews Vol. XVI #9 (SEP063292)
SC, 6x8, 144pgs, PC SRP: $19.99

ICE WANDERER GN
by Jiro Taniguchi
Lost in the Great North, two men are saved by the appearance of an old hunter who divulges a strange legend to them: Surrounded by wolves and fighting for their survival, two explorers head for Alaska to bury their companion. In 1920's Japan a man sets out to find the bear that killed his son. A marine biologist begins a quest to find the mythical graveyard of whales. Six shorts with as many stories of men confronted with a savage nature which is sometime cruel, sometimes forgiving but always vast. Through tales filled with respect for animal life, this splendid collection, which lies at the crossroads of poetry and adventure, shows master story-imager Taniguchi at his award-winning best. (C: 0-1-2)
RES. from Previews Vol. XVI #8 (AUG063288)
SC, 6x9, 240pgs, B&W SRP: $21.99

STAR OF THE MONTH

JAPAN AS VIEWED BY 17 CREATORS TP
by Various
Ever thought about how you really picture Japan? Is it from her history advancement? From the teaming day-to-day life of her booming metropolises? Or from the tranquility of her mountain shrines and temples? Well, we asked 17 creators to give us their view, and so they did, each in their own individual hallmark manner. This massive gathering of talent from Europe and Japan has given rise to this anthology of incredibly different stories which will keep you enthralled from beginning to end. (SEP052929)
MATURE THEMES
SC, 256pgs, B&W SRP: $25.00

**********************************************************************

OFFERED AGAIN

O/A MONOKURO KINDERBOOK GN (NEW PRINTING)
by Kan Takahama
Kan Takahama's scripts are very clever and very subtle, even when her words are very direct. These are complemented by a range of art that twists and turns with the dialogue, adding an extra dimension to the stories. She tackles subjects as diverse as suicide pacts, mermaids, and barroom chat with a robust-yet-delicate grace. This collection of 10 stories was taken from this productive opening period in the creator's career and has been adapted by Kan herself to read in the western style of left-to-right. (C: 0-1-2)
MATURE THEMES
SC, 6x8, 212pgs, B&W SRP: $19.99

O/A WALKING MAN GN
by Jiro Taniguchi
Who recalls the simple pleasures of stopping to watch a bird fly by? Climbing a tree in bare feet? Or the cool of the shade on a really hot day? Join The Walking Man as he strolls through life in modern Japan, often silent and alone, and share his vivid dreams that let time stand still. Jiro Taniguchi most recently completed the two-volume epic adventure Icaro, scripted by Mobius. Witness Taniguchi's versatility creativity with The Walking Man!
MATURE THEMES
SC, 6x9, 156pgs, B&W SRP: $16.99
 


FANGORIA COMICS

BUMP #4
by Mark Kidwell & Jay Fotos
It’s the terror-filled finale to the first ever Fangoria Comics series! The slaughterfest reaches it’s bloody climax as the resurrected serial killer Eddie Dill and his growing legion of flesh-eating Tree Huggers move in for the final kill. Will Sheriff Lundy and the surviving kids find some way to escape? Or will Eddie “clean” the girls and feed Lundy to his “angels”?
MATURE THEMES
32pgs, FC (4 of 4) SRP: $3.99

ROBERT KURTZMAN'S BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE RAGE #4
by Robert Kurtzman, John Bisson, Stephen Thompson & Jason Jensen
The prequel to From Dusk 'Til Dawn creator Robert Kurtzman’s grindhouse horror film rages to a savage conclusion! Dr. V and his cohorts have found the hellborn plant whose sap turns men into murderous mutants, and now plan to use it to create a serum with which to infect the world! But can they escape both the jungle, and the KGB agents that hunt them?
MATURE THEMES
32pgs, FC (4 of 4) SRP: $3.99

FOURTH HORSEMAN #2
by Jeffrey Nodelman, Tommy Castillo & Milen Parvanov
The beautifully rendered prequel to the upcoming animated horror movie from Fangoria Films continues! This issue focuses on Magog, the Red Rider, from his life as a Chinese slave to his bloodthirsty role in the approaching apocalypse. This is a savage tale of how the righteous become the wicked, and how intoxicating true evil can be. Cover by John Van Fleet.
MATURE THEMES
32pgs, FC (2 of 4) SRP: $3.99

DEE SNIDER'S STRANGELAND: SEVEN SINS #2
by Jesse Blaze Snider, Stephen Mooney & Jason Jensen
The prequel to the Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider's cult classic film Strangeland continues! His transformation is almost complete, and soon Carleton Hendricks will be no more! It’s the true birth of Captain Howdy, as he begins his campaign of horrific vengeance against the seven individuals who left him a bloody, broken mess last issue!
MATURE THEMES
32pgs, FC (2 of 4) SRP: $3.99

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

ACKROYD GN
by Jules Feiffer
He solved the case of the missing parakeets. Now if he could only figure out who he was! Jules Feiffer works his easy-going wit and biting social satire into his second novel Ackroyd, which begins as a parody of the Raymond Chandler school of detective fiction, but ultimately asks the age-old question: Is identity merely a metaphysical conceit? Originally published in 1977, and out of print for over 25 years, Fantagraphics Books is proud to reissue Ackroyd in a completely redesigned edition.
SC, 6x9, 180pgs, B&W SRP: $16.95

EXPLAINERS HC
By Jules Feiffer
In 1956, a relatively unknown cartoonist by the name of Jules Feiffer started contributing a strip to the only alternative weekly published in the US, a small radical newspaper called The Village Voice. It was the first time the American public had been subjected to a weekly dose of comics that so uncompromisingly and wittily confronted individuals' private fears and society's public transgressions. Explainers is the first of four volumes collecting Feiffer’s entire run of weekly strips from The Village Voice. This edition contains approximately 500 strips originally published between 1956 and 1966 in a gigantic landscape hardcover format.
HC, 9x5, 528pgs, B&W SRP: $28.95

DEVILISH GREETINGS: KRAMPUS POSTCARDS ARTBOOK
by Monte Beauchamp
This sequel to 2004’s hugely popular The Devil in Design, which featured 18th- and 19th-century Krampus postcards, is a fascinating, full-color compendium of extremely rare devil postcards — over 150 — culled from key postcard collections from around the world, spanning approximately from 1898 through the 1950s.
SC, 5x8, 168pgs, FC SRP: $18.95

RAISIN PIE #5
by Rick Altergott & Ariel Bordeaux
Ariel Bordeaux's "Maple Valley Public Library" and "Queen of the Geeks" are both concluded, as Ariel bids a fond farewell to Raisin Pie. Rick Altergott continues with "Blessed Be" Episode 5, wherin Doofus is drawn into the dangerous and deadly plot involving his missing friend, Henry Hotchkiss, and a young woman's missing boyfriend.
MATURE THEMES
RES. from Previews Vol. XVI #12 (DEC063570)
32pgs, B&W SRP: $3.50

MOME VOLUME 9 GN
by various artists; edited by Gary Groth & Eric Reynolds
The acclaimed quarterly comics anthology welcomes several new artists along with returning regulars Sophie Crumb, Gabrielle Bell, Andrice Arp, and Kurt Wolfgang. Among the newcomers are rising stars Eleanor Davis Tom Kaczynski, Joe Kimball and Ray Fenwick. Also, the return of Al Columbia! Also, a ballpoint treasure from Built to Spill cover-master, Mike Scheer. Plus, this volume contains the second part of a 45-page Jim Woodring graphic novella, "The Lute String."
SC, 7x9, 120pgs, FC SRP: $14.95

USAGI YOJIMBO VOL 3 SC (NEW PTG)
by Stan Sakai
Perhaps the best samurai rabbit story ever told, Usagi Yojimbo Book 3 collects full-length stories from the original Fantagraphics series including: "The Tower" (which introduces Usagi's traveling companion, Spot the Wonder Lizard), "Return of the Blind Swordspig," and the hilarious Groo tribute, "The Tea Cup." Plus, the little-seen team-up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: "Turtle Soup and Rabbit Stew"! A must-have for adventure lovers of all ages!
SC, 7x10, 144pgs, B&W SRP: $15.95

MINESHAFT #20
by various artists
Don’t miss Mineshaft’s big 20th anniversary issue with a special Billy Childish woodblock two-color front cover! Sketchbook drawings and comics by Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Spain, Mary Fleener, Jay Lynch, and Ed Piskor. New “Nard n’ Pat,” and Frank Stack's Dirty Diana is back and full of surprises! Plus, Kim Deitch, Simon Deitch, Jay Kinney, Penny Van Horn, William Crook, Jr., back issues index, letters from around the globe, and much more!
MATURE THEMES
52pgs, B&W SRP: $6.95

OFFERED AGAIN

O/A MINESHAFT #19
by Various
Mining the depths for unpredictable visual and literary ore! Featuring a two-color front cover by Peter Bagge! Back cover art and new drawings by R. Crumb. Autobiographical adventures continue with “Ink & Anguish” by Jay Lynch and Ed Piskor and “Stealing Youth” by Andrei Codrescu, with art by Justin Green. Plus, travel sketches by Bill Griffith, Simon Deitch delves into dinosaurs, and exciting new work by Peter Poplaski, Frank Stack, and much more!
MATURE THEMES
52pgs, B&W SRP: $6.95

O/A MINESHAFT #18
by various
Mineshaft has been manfully filling the counter-cultural magazine niche since 1999 when counter-cultural magazines were supposed to no longer exist. Don’t miss this issue featuring “Rubber Suit Monsters of the Drive-In Era” and a spine-tingling two-color front cover by Simon Deitch. Sketchbook drawings by R. Crumb and Peter Poplaski. Circus and Amazon strong women photos by Orrin J. Heller. Autobiographical comics by Jay Lynch & Ed Piskor. Plus amazing new work by Billy Childish, Kim Deitch, KRK Ryden, plus more!
MATURE THEMES
64pgs, B&W SRP: $6.95

O/A HARRY, THE RAT WITH WOMEN NOVEL
by Jules Feiffer
This satirical novel follows the humorous, existential rise and fall of a narcissistic lothario, Harry, from his family's endless bounty of love and hope. Feiffer's brilliant modern fable comments less on the anomie of narcissism, and more on the insecure desire of the world to find a charismatic messiah. Originally published in 1963, this scathing satirical tour de force touts America's love for chiselers and rats!
SC, 6x9, 180pgs SRP: $12.95

STAR OF THE MONTH

PASSIONELLA AND OTHER STORIES HC
by Jules Feiffer
Jules Feiffer has had one of the most varied and illustrious careers of any 20th century cartoonist. For over 40 years he contributed strips to The Village Voice, and has long been a regular contributor to the London Observer and Playboy. Passionella and Other Stories collects Feiffer’s finest extended graphic narratives of the late ’50s and early ’60s. (APR063158)
HC, 6x8, 180pgs, B&W SRP: $19.95

**********************************************************************

OFFERED AGAIN

O/A THE DEVIL IN DESIGN KRAMPUS POSTCARDS ARTBOOK
Edited & Designed by Monte Beauchamp
This compendium of late 19th and early 20th-century Krampus postcards, with over 150 full-page examples traces the character's origin in Europe. Krampus is Saint Nick's dark servant, a horned, supernatural beast whose slithering tongue gave misbehavers the creeps!
SC, 5x8, 168pgs, FC SRP: $18.95

EROS COMIX

HOUSEWIVES AT PLAY: LEZ BE FRIENDS GN
SEE PREVIEWS ADULT FOR MORE INFORMATION (C: 1-0-0) NOTE: Not available in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, & the U.K.
ADULT MATERIAL
48pgs, B&W SRP: $9.95

STAR OF THE MONTH

HOUSEWIVES AT PLAY: LOVE LETTERS GN
SEE PREVIEWS ADULT FOR MORE INFORMATION (OCT063415) (C: 1-0-0) NOTE: Not available in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, & the U.K.
ADULT MATERIAL
SC, 48pgs, B&W SRP: $9.95

**********************************************************************

MILK MAMA GN
SEE PREVIEWS ADULT FOR MORE INFORMATION (C: 1-0-0) NOTE: Not available in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, & the U.K.
ADULT MATERIAL
SC, 212pgs SRP: $18.95

AUNTS IN YOUR PANTS
SEE PREVIEWS ADULT FOR MORE INFORMATION (C: 1-0-0) NOTE: Not available in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, & the U.K.
ADULT MATERIAL
24pgs, B&W SRP: $3.95

OFFERED AGAIN

O/A DOMIN-8 ME GN
SEE PREVIEWS ADULT FOR MORE INFORMATION (C: 1-0-0) NOTE: Not available in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, & the U.K.
ADULT MATERIAL
SC, 212pgs, B&W SRP: $18.95

O/A PINK SNIPER GN
SEE PREVIEWS ADULT FOR MORE INFORMATION (C: 1-0-0) NOTE: Not available in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, & the U.K.
ADULT MATERIAL
SC, 212pgs, B&W SRP: $18.95

O/A WHEELA
SEE PREVIEWS ADULT FOR MORE INFORMATION (C: 1-0-0) NOTE: Not available in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, & the U.K.
ADULT MATERIAL
24pgs, B&W SRP: $3.95

FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX

THE WALL: GROWING UP BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN HC
by Peter Sis
Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps and dreamscapes, Caldecott honored artist Peter Sis shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, stood guard at the giant statue of Josef Stalin, and believed as he was told to believe in communist Czechoslovakia. But adolescence brought questions as cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain. Sis learned about beat poetry, rock 'n' roll, blue jeans, and Coca-Cola; he grew out his hair, secretly read banned books, and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet The Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion. But this brief flowering had provided a glimpse of new possibilities: creativity could be discouraged, but not easily killed. By joining memory and history, Sis takes us on his extraordinary journey, from infant with paintbrush in hand to young man borne aloft by the wings of art. (C: 0-1-2)
HC, 9x12, 56pgs, FC SRP: $18.00

FENICKX PRODUCTIONS LLC

ARCHAIC #9
by James Abrams & Brett Marting
A young girl asks spiders to guide her friends to the Techno-church where she is being held. Witness multiple stabbings, a face-shot, the impalement of the last of the Elves, and a neck-breaking tumble down a flight of stairs. And there's zombies, too!
24pgs, FC SRP: $3.50

:01 FIRST SECOND

STAR OF THE MONTH

KLEZMER SC
by Joann Sfar
A musical saga begins in Klezmer, a wild tale of love, friendship, survival, and the joy of making music in pre-World War II Eastern Europe. Five misfits come together to play music — and the music they create is something entirely new. See how creator Joann Sfar explores his Ashkenazi roots with this artistic and literary triumph painted in startling, loose watercolors.
SOFTCOVER (JUL063152)—SC, 144pgs, FC SRP: $16.95
COLLECTOR'S EDITION HC—HC, 144pgs, FC SRP: $25.00

**********************************************************************

LAIKA GN
by Nick Abadzis
Laika was an abandoned puppy destined to become Earth's first space traveler. This is her journey. Nick Abadzis masterfully blends fiction and fact in the intertwined stories of three compelling lives. Along with Laika, there is Korolev, once a political prisoner, now a driven engineer at the top of the Soviet space program, and Yelena, the lab technician responsible for Laika's health and life. This intense triangle is rendered with the pitch-perfect emotionality of classics like Because of Winn Dixie, Shiloh, and Old Yeller. Abadzis gives life to a pivotal moment in modern history, casting light on the hidden moments of deep humanity behind history. Available in Softcover and a Collector's Edition Hardcover.
SOFTCOVER—SC, 6x8, 208pgs, FC SRP: $17.95
COLLECTOR'S EDITION HC—HC, 6x8, 208pgs, FC SRP: $29.95