Books

Hardcover, 224 pages, measures 8.5 x 1.1 x 10.9 inches.

The latest in the perennially popular line of Studio Ghibli artbooks, which includes interviews, concept sketches, and finished animation cels from classics such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.

The Wind Rises is Miyazaki’s love letter to the power of flight and the imagination, an examination of the rise of Japan’s military might in the years leading up to the Second World War, and a call for worldwide peace and harmony in the face of destruction. This book captures the art of the film, from conception to production, and features in-depth interviews

Paperback, 224 pages, measures 6.3 x 1 x 8.5 inches

Unrequited love, underage drinking, and teen angst rule at a high school for mutants and witches

The New York Times and New Yorker illustrator Jillian Tamaki is best known for co-creating the award-winning young adult graphic novels Skim and This One Summer--moody and atmospheric bestsellers. SuperMutant Magic Academy, which she has been serializing online for the past four years, paints a teenaged world filled with just as much ennui and uncertainty, but also with a sharp dose of humor and irreverence. Tamaki deftly plays superhero and high-school Hollywood tropes against what adolescence is really like: The SuperMutant Magic Academy is a prep school for mutants and witches, but their paranormal abilities take a backseat to everyday teen concerns.

Science experiments go awry, bake sales are upstaged, and the new kid at school is a cat who will determine the course of human destiny. In one strip, lizard-headed Trixie frets about her nonexistent modeling career; in another, the immortal Everlasting Boy tries to escape this mortal coil to no avail. Throughout it all, closeted Marsha obsesses about her unrequited crush, the cat-eared Wendy. Whether the magic is mundane or miraculous, Tamaki's jokes are precise and devastating.

SuperMutant Magic Academy has won two Ignatz Awards. This volume combines the most popular content from the webcomic with a selection of all-new, never-before-seen strips.

 

Softcover, 10" x 8.5", 128 pages, Full Color, Text in Japanese & English

A wonderful catalog of Murakami's prints from his KaiKai KiKi Gallery! Classic first run prints from his collection.

Zine measures 8.5 x 11 inches, 70 pages, Black & White.

Giant Robot history reprinted! Before it was a magazine, Giant Robot was a zine. And Issue 3 is back 20 years later! Culture that is still relevant and interesting to this day.  Re-discover it all! Articles on:

• Alfredo Alcala comic book artist,
• MAK-90's - Are you safe without one?
• Emily's Sassy Lime vs Rice! The War.
• Doughnuts made by Cambodians.
• Asian Topics in old Punk Songs
• Hong Kong Films
• Nails, Youth, Sumo, UFC V, Pizzicato, Blurts, Sebadoh and Tons More!

Paperback, measures 8.25 x 6 inches, 276 pages, Black & White.

R to L (Japanese Style)

As part of the celebrations for its 100th anniversary, the publishers of the Tozai News have decided to commission the creation of the 'Ultimate Menu," a model meal embodying the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. This all-important task has been entrusted to journalist Shiro Yamaoka, an inveterate cynic who possesses no initiative, but does have an incredibly refined palate and an encyclopedic knowledge of food.Each volume of Oishinbo follows Yamaoka and his colleagues through another adventure on their quest for the Ultimate Menu. Now, the best stories from the hundred-plus volume series have been selected and compiled into A la Carte editions, arranged by subject.

In this volume, the focus shifts from food to drink--specifically, to sake. For centuries different types of sake have played the same roles in Japan as wine and beer have in the West, from inexpensive everyday drink to refined single-batch rarities. Above all, sake has been enjoyed as an accompaniment to a meal, and after a revelatory moment at a local pub, Yamaoka decides that drink pairings must be an integral part of the Ultimate Menu. So which foods go best with which drinks? Sit down, pour yourself a glass, and read on!

Hardcover. 64 pages. Measures 6 x 6 inches.

What if Darth Vader took an active role in raising his son? What if "Luke, I am your father" was just a stern admonishment from an annoyed dad? In this hilarious and sweet comic re-imagining, Darth Vader is a dad like any other—except with all the baggage of being the Dark Lord of the Sith. Celebrated artist Jeffrey Brown's delightful illustrations give classic Star Wars® moments a fresh twist, presenting the trials and joys of parenting through the lens of a galaxy far, far away. Life lessons include lightsaber batting practice, using the Force to raid the cookie jar, Take Your Child to Work Day on the Death Star ("Er, he looks just like you, Lord Vader!"), and the special bond shared between any father and son.

Softcover, 32 pages, Measures 4.25 x 6 inches, black & white.

Released along with Katsuya Terada's solo art show at our Giant Robot 2 gallery comes this Hot Pot Girls zine. Features black and white photos of the artist's various drawings and paintings for his Hot Pot Girls show. What wonderful work!

Softcover, 9.25" x 6.5", 108pp, Black & White

Ben Tanaka has problems. In addition to being rampantly critical, sarcastic, and insensitive, his longåÐterm relationship is awash in turmoil. His girlfriend, Miko Hayashi, suspects that Ben has a wandering eye, and more to the point, it's wandering in the direction of white women. This accusation (and its various implications) becomes the subject of heated, spiralling debate, setting in motion a story that pits California against New York, devotion against desire, and trust against truth.

By confusing their personal problems with political ones, Ben and Miko are strangely alone together and oddly alike, even as they fly apart. Being human, all too human, they fail to see that what unites them is their shared hypocrisies, their double standards. This gray zone between the personal and the political is a minefield that Tomine navigates boldly and nimbly. The charged, volatile dialogues that result are unlike anything in Tomine's previous work or, for that matter, comics in general. But Shortcomings is no mere polemic. Any issues that are raised stand on equal footing with expertly-crafted plot turns, subtle characterization, and irreverent humor, all drawn in Tomine's heart-breakingly evocative style. What Tomine ultimately offers is more provocation than pronouncement--a brutal, funny, and insightful reflection of human shortcomings.

Shortcomings was serialized in Tomine's iconic comic book series Optic Nerve (issues #9-11) and was excerpted in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern #13.

Cover varies in color.

Measures 8.25" x 6", 276 pages, softcover, Black & White.

A quest for the ultimate menu! R to L (Japanese Style).

"The Joy of Rice" In this volume of Oishinbo, Yamaoka and company look into the single most essential food in Japanese cuisine: rice. Cultivated for millennia, a staple meal in itself and the basis of countless other dishes, rice is an important component not only of the Japanese kitchen but also of Japanese culture. When Yamaoka is asked by TMzai's head chef for help in coming up with a new rice dish, what starts out as a simple culinary request rapidly grows into a disquisition into the past, present and future of Japan's food culture. As part of the celebrations for its 100th anniversary, the publishers of the TMzai News have commissioned the creation of the "Ultimate Menu," a model meal embodying the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. This all-important task has been entrusted to journalist Yamaoka ShirM, an inveterate cynic who possesses no initiative--but also an incredibly refined palate and an encyclopedic knowledge of food. Each volume of Oishinbo follows Yamaoka and his colleagues through another adventure on their quest for the Ultimate Menu. Now, the highlights from the hundred-plus volume series have been selected and compiled into A la Carte editions: bite-sized chunks of story arranged by subject that add up to a full-course manga meal!

Hardcover, 7.25" x 8.25", 144pp, Full Color

Renowned cartoonist Julie Doucet has created a unique, mass produced artistí«í´s book. Printed on a half dozen different papers in eight colors, this amalgamation of drawing, collage, painting, and narrative is a visionary meditation on love and its discontents. Using cut out, collaged letters and phrases to compose her oblique, poetic text, Doucetí«í´s words are as graphically enticing as her images. The book moves from pointed collages made from 1960s Quebecois magazines to abstract, psychedelic drawings to a moving catalog of her loverí«í´s possessions, and back again. The diversity of images could be the work of multiple artists, but Doucetí«í´s funny, frank sensibility ties it all together. Doucet, long known as the "female R. Crumb," and regarded as the finest female cartoonist of the 20th century, has never before published a book like this: a pure, non-comics distillation of her artistic sensibility. This complete work of art will appeal both to fans of her graphic novelsí«ÌÎÌÓwho will appreciate her sense of humor and vivacious drawingí«ÌÎÌÓand art aficionados who will be moved and surprised by her skills, and bowled over by her unforgettable images.

Hardcover, 6" x 8.25", 220pp, Text in English and Japanese

Some copies have some minor imperfections to the cover to some degree.

Buenos Aries is sort of a visual journal of acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Doyle (2046, Hero, Infernal Affairs). The book documents his everday experiences on the set of Buenos Aries, a film that recreates the experiences of director Wong Kar-Wai and his crew while in Argentina in 1996. Each page is in entry penned by Doyle himself which is accompanied by incredible photographs of behind the scene moments on set and various locations in Argentina.

Paperback, 8.25" x 6", 272pp, Black & White

Weekly Time magazine sets up a series of culinary battles between the Tozai News's "Ultimate Menu," represented by Yamaoka, and the Teito Times's "Supreme Menu," represented by Kaibara Y zan, Yamaoka's father and nemesis. The ingredient this time is vegetables, specifically cabbages and turnips. Who will win the Vegetable Showdown? Later, Yamaoka and Kurita help Tomii's son get over his hatred of eggplant and patch a rift between lovers using the power of asparagus.

Paperback, 7.5" x 7.5", 120pp, Full Color

Hilarious, disgusting, mysterious, and cuter than a puppy playing with a kitten, Chocolate Cheeks is the next great "Yikes" book from Steven Weissman. The Pullapart Boy (a 21st Century Frankenstein's monster for kids), his social circle having dwindled down to his stupid brother (Dead Boy), their dead dog (Elzie Crisler), and a fat kid that nobody likes ("Chubby" Cheeks), attempts to make some new friends. Meanwhile, across town, the Little Tin-Stars (Cow-Boy and Cow-Girl) are in a desperate fight against the forces of nature, hostile natives, a river monster, their own horse and a man called Chocolate Cheeks. Juxtaposing gag-driven, newspaper-fashioned strips (employed to great effect in 2006's Chewing Gum In Church) with the sprawling, Western comic approach of his legendary "Look Out For Big Della" (from 2002's White Flower Day), Chocolate Cheeks is Weissman at his best: stunning, memorable, poignant, hilarious, and just gross enough to delight the children.

Hardcover with Dust Jacket, 6.25" x 9.25", 304pp

Opening its doors in 1970, Hampshire College was once known as a land of eternal partying, where countercultures thrived and jocks were nowhere to be found. Self- proclaimed nerd Richard Rushfield knew this progressive Massachusetts campus was the place for him, offering a chance to shed his squeaky-clean California upbringing. He was part of the freshman class of 1986, hiding out from Reagan-era excess in a liberal haven where overachievement and preppy clothes were banned.

By turns hilarious, ironic, and steeped in history, Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost takes readers to a campus populated by Deadheads, club kids, poets, and insomniac filmmakers, at a time when America saw the rise of punk and grunge alongside neo-conservatism, earnest calls for political correctness, and Take Back the Night vigils. Shunned by all of the school's reigning subcultures, Rushfield joins the most hated clique on campus, the Supreme Dicks, navigates a dating scene where to express interest in anything is social suicide, and mostly avoids class where hippie professors blather on about post-structuralism. Culminating in a mad clash of slackers and yuppies, Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost captures a watershed moment for American youth in one hilarious and unforgettable trip.

Hardcover, 6.5" x 9.25", 270pp

On March 17, 2009, Laura Ling and her colleague Euna Lee were working on a documentary about North Korean defectors who were fleeing the desperate conditions in their homeland. While filming on the ChineseåÐNorth Korean border, they were chased down by North Korean soldiers who violently apprehended them. Laura and Euna were charged with trespassing and "hostile acts" and imprisoned months, enduring interrogations and eventually a trial before North Korea's highest court. They were the first Americans ever to be sentenced to twelve years of hard labor in a prison camp in North Korea.

Journalist Lisa Ling immediately began a campaign to get her sister released, one that led her from the State Department to the higher echelons of the media world and eventually to the White House.

Somewhere Inside reveals for the first time Laura's gripping account of what really happened on the river, her treatment at the hands of North Korean guards, and the deprivations and rounds of harrowing interrogations she endured. She speaks movingly about the emotional toll inflicted on her by her incarceration, including the measures she took to protect her sources and her fears that she might never see her family again.

Hardcover, 8.75" x 8.75", 150 pages, Black & White

If kozyndan created a world of their own, then this book contains portraits of the people who would exist in it. Inspired from a photo album found in a Venice Beach thrift shop, kozyndan sought to create imagined personae to capture essence of these photographs. This collection is composed of small, detailed graphite portraits, each piece capturing the surreal humour and observation that has become fundamental within Kozyndan's distinctive style of artwork.

On Sale at 50% off the original price of $60.00

Limit: 1 per customer

Hardcover, 11" x 9", 168pp

The latest limited edition from Ryan McGinness - No Sin/No Future follows the trajectory of the artist's book Project Rainbow (2003, Gingko Press). A collection of snapshots, sketches, and scans, all extracted with a discerning eye from the artist's studio archives. Sketchbook notes collide with paintings-in-progress and combine with vectors and bitmaps to create a dense site-specific visual concoction that provides unprecedented insight into how this artist's mind works and the mental processes that deliver his unique style. The work of Ryan McGinness has exercised great influence in graphic design and visual art circles, and is collected by venerable institutions around the world including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The edition is limited to 2500 copies.

Paperback, 9" x 6.5", 32pp

Chris Johanson and Jo Jackson, artists, partners and owners of the amazing dog Raisin, here offer up recent graphic works. Both painters are known for their subversive, street-smart, from-the-gut imagery--painted on canvas or walls, installed in galleries, printed on skateboards or otherwise superimposed on everyday detritus. Published by Nieves!