I Want Your Comments; Coming Shows; New Books

I apologize that I haven't been posting very often. If you'd like to hear more from me, send me a comment. I need some feedback!! What would you like to hear about? Post it here or send it to me personally at bud@budsartbooks.com.

Book and Comic Shows: Anne and I just exhibited at our first big antiquarian book show of the year in San Francisco. Called the Larsen show, it alternates with the ABAA (Antiquarian Bookseller's of America) show each year. This year the ABAA show is in Los Angeles February 12-14, but we elected to skip it.

Next up I'll be exhibiting old comic books and some sale items at the Sacramento Comic Con on Sunday, March 7, 10-5. This show runs about every two months and I always set up there with a small exhibit. I don't the their specialized anime shows. More info at http://www.sacramentocomics.com/html/index2.html

Next is the the Emerald City Comic Con, a very successful show that is attracting major dealers from around the U.S. This will be my first time there. It's in Seattle March 13th and 14th. More information at http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/

Then I'll be set up at the new spring Sacramento Book Fair, one day only, Saturday March 27 from 10-5. Information at http://www.sacbookfair.com/

Calendar Sale: We just dropped the prices on ALL remaining calendars and several titles have already sold out since the email went out last Friday. Nothing over $5.99. For regular titles, see http://budsartbooks.com/cat.cfm/cid/12/va/1

New Books: We just learned about a new book coming about Mort Meskin, a mainstay Golden Age artist who has never had anything major written about him. It's coming in July from Fantagraphics and of course we will handle it. From Shadow to Light: The Life & Art of Mort Meskin.

With all the publicity about R. Crumb and his Book of Genesis, it has now gone into it's 4th printing! The deluxe signed edition ($500) sold out and we were allocated copies--thus it never made it to the catalog as a new item. At the bookshow I just did last week, copies were there at $950 and $1000. So you lucky folks who bought it from us have something to brag about.

We are just ordering up another Crumb book that has always done well and it is not stocked by Amazon: The Monkey Wrench Gang written by Edward Abbey with color cover and b&w illustrations by RC. It'll be back in stock in a week or two at $25, hardcover. For all our other Crumb items, click here.

Black & White Images Vol 5: the fifth collection is now in stock.

This is publishe d by my long time friend and my former partner in the antiquarin book business. Jim retired from bookselling and now devotes himself exclusively to Images. He's given up call the B&W special an annual, since it was two years from Vol 4 to this new one. But they are always worth the wait. 106 pages of wonderful material, incl uding a lost first book illustrated by Frank Pape; E.A. Abbey; Wizard of Oz artist John R. Neill; Flagg, Dore, Christy, Sullivant, Benda, Lathrop, Shinn, Rackham, Rountree and many others. All rare material from scarce magazine appearances, carefully scanned and optimized to look better here than when first published! The first three issues are sold out. #4 is still only $20, this new one has gone to $25. http://budsartbooks.com/prod.cfm/pc/IMAA05/cid/14

From the Pen of Frank R. Paul: We just became the exclusive source for a deluxe lettered edition of 26 copies of From the Pen of Paul. The publisher kept this deluxe edition under wraps until now. It has 16 extra pages, a full leather binding and slipcase, a plate signed by all the contributors and more special features. There are also three other editions priced from $24.95 (softcover) to $59.95 (deluxe). http://budsartbooks.com/search.cfm

Duirwaigh Gallery Help and Auction

Durwaigh Gallery represents a number of top fantasy artists. They were recently hit by flooding and to raise need cash, they are offering artwork in ebay auctions.

Relief Auction for FLOODING AT DUIRWAIGH GALLERY Duirwaigh Gallery, located just north of Atlanta, was hit particularly hard by the rains and floods last fall in the South. The Government declared a state of emergency for parts of Georgia, but the help has yet to trickle down to Duirwaigh's home, gallery and warehouse.To help plug the leaks, staunch the flow and repair the damages --and save thousands of dollars of artwork from drowning! -- Duirwaigh is hosting a huge auction on ebay featuring art and books by friends Alan Lee, Brian and Wendy Froud, Terri Windling, David Delamare, Kinuko Craft, and many others.
Visit the sale here beginning February 7th: http://stores.ebay.com/Duirwaigh-Gallery-Art-CollectiblesConact them at: info@duirwaigh.com
thanks for any and all help!

Angi

40th anniversary & Vess giveaway announced

For immediate release:

Bud Plant Celebrates 40 Years of Comics and Illustration, Announces Vess Giveaway Contest

(Grass Valley, CA) - For longtime comics fan, retailer and distributor Bud Plant this year marks his 40^th anniversary, and a career that spans remarkable growth and radical changes throughout the industry.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years, but it’s been a wild ride,” said Bud in a recent interview. “Not too many people get to spend their whole lives doing what they love, but I’ve been lucky, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

In honor of its 40^th Year, Bud’s Art Books will be featuring specials in their monthly catalog throughout the entire year. First up is a contest featuring Charles Vess' new book, Drawing Down the Moon. Fans are challenged to count the number of times Hayao Miyazaki’s Totoro is found hidden in Vess' book. Correct entries will be placed in a drawing to win one of ten original drawings by Vess. Full details are available in the latest catalog or at BudsArtBooks.com

Several additional anniversary specials are planned for the coming months including special pricing and exclusive, free signed bookplates by the likes of Vess, Michael Parkes, Peter de Seve, Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell, and Brom.

Born in 1952, Bud spent his youth following his passion for comics old and new, and fortuitously discovered Marvel comics during the beginnings of the “Marvel Age” in the early 1960s. Bud started one of the first comic book stores in the country (with six partners!) in 1968. He was in the right place at the right time (the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s) as the burgeoning underground comix movement came about.

Still in his teens, in 1970, Bud started a mail order business handling these poorly-distributed "undergrounds,” comics “fanzines” and the occasional (back then) book about comics. This seed would grow into one of the most dominant and influential forces in comics retailing and distribution. It was also in that year Bud became a founding exhibitor at the first San Diego Comicon (now Comicon International) where his booth would become known as an exciting hub of activity and information for artists, writers and fans from around the world.

In 1972, Bud went on to found the shop Comic & Comix in Berkeley, California, with friends Robert Beerbohm and the late John Barrett. This became the first “chain” of comics shops with seven stores in six cities. They also hosted the first northern California comics convention and the first “underground comix” show, Berkeleycon, in 1973. They also sent Dan O’Neill and his fellow Air Pirates artists to Phil Seuling’s New York Comic Art Con to raise money to fight Disney’s multi-million dollar lawsuit

The following years saw extensive growth for Bud in both the retail and wholesale arenas, and brought new opportunities including forays into publishing underground comics, such as Jack Katz’s The First Kingdom, Magic Carpet, Dan O’Neill’s Comics & Stories and Alfredo Alcala’s Voltar. Dark Horse editor Diana Schutz got her start as in comics working for Comics & Comix and editing the chain’s popular industry journal, The Telegraph Wire.

With continued growth and the explosive resurgence of interest in comics in the 1980s, Bud Plant, Inc. became the dominant comics distributor on the West Coast and the 3^rd largest in the U.S., just behind Diamond Comics and Capital City Distribution. In 1988, Bud sold his distribution division to Diamond, but continued to operate his mail-order/catalog business, Bud Plant Comic Art. The sale allowed him more time to get back to his roots and his real interests: to meet and encourage new artists, to foster interest and awareness of classic and contemporary comic art, and to become the #1 source for books devoted to all forms of fantastic and imaginative illustration and fine art.

To that end, Bud Plant’s Incredible Catalog became not just a successful sales tool for comics and illustrated books, but a de facto reference for the industry. With the emergence of the internet and changes in comics publishing, Bud's catalog evolved to become more inclusive, adding fine art, photography, and a quirky collection of popular culture titles. The catalog’s current incarnation, Bud’s Art Books, continues to offer a wide variety of books and DVDs with a strong emphasis on comics, sketchbooks, individual illustrators and artists, and fantasy art in general.

Bud's unique position, as a comic art expert and seasoned industry leader, has made him a much sought after resource in the comic art world. In addition to overseeing his retail business, Bud travels extensively as an exhibitor at comic shows and antiquarian book shows (his second passion). He is also on the Spectrum Board of Advisors and has served twice as a juror. He continues to freely share his knowledge and enthusiasm for great comic art and the history of illustration.

Our Year-Long 40th Anniversary Party, plus EC Archives news

We are beginning a year-long celebration of our 40th Year Anniversary. The new catalog, in your hands now or shortly, has a special give-away of ten original drawings by Charles Vess. Get a copy of his new book (hopefully from us, or you can get it elsewhere and still participate). Count the times he's hidden the character Totoro in his paintings throughout the book. Send in your answer for a drawing for one of the ten drawings. More details in our new catalog 1001F with "Visions of Never" on the cover.

To celebrate our 40th, we'll be offering old pics and special offers and others goodies throughout the year. Watch each catalog for a new offer exclusively for our customers, to thank everyone for their support over the years!!

And...Here's a note from Gemstone publisher Russ Cochran:

Preliminary work is progressing on the EC 3D book, we have decided that the art should be reproduced twice, for completeness, once in flat 2D as it was drawn by the EC artists, and then a gain in the best 3D which can be done. The technical part of preparing the negatives for the 3D versions will be done by Ray Zone, who is "Mr. 3D" as far as comics go.

Still no news to report on which publisher will be given the license to continue publication of the EC Archives. Several publishers are in the running and I expect that Cathy Gaines Mifsud will make a decision soon. As soon as I know the answer to this one, I will notify everyone who gets this newsletter.

Baltimore Comic-Con; Ken Sanders and the book thief

Baltimore Comic-Con 2009
A good friend of Anne and mine is Henrik Andreasen, a Danish comics fan who comes to the San Diego Comic-Con every year. Henrik helps Anne set up our booth of out-of-print material while I'm literally a couple football fields away, in the Bud's Art Books booths. Henrik does the same thing for David Spurlock each year at the Baltimore show, and here is an excellent report, with lots of cool photos of pro artists, of this years show. Click here for the link.

I added a bit to my last post about the new R. Crumb Book of Genesis, including a link to my buddy Ken Sander's website. Speaking of Ken, a new book has just been published about his work catching a major book thief while Ken was the Security Officer for the ABAA, the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett is "The true story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession." It's quite a riveting read and I could hardly put it down once I got started. I know many of the players, including top booksellers who both were burned by this guy and who helped to put him in prison, which makes it particularly fun. The author did a fine job of capturing the various sometimes-eccentric personalities of rare book dealers, explaining the ins-and-outs of the rare book world and dug deep on what drove the fanatical thief to continually risk--and serve--jail time in order to get the rare books he coveted. Sadly, he does have a screw loose and doesn't "get it" that he's personally harming the very regular folks he's burning with bad credit cards and various scams. Like many criminals, who often don't consider themselves one, he has many convoluted rationals about why he deserves these books, even when he obviously can't--or won't--buy them like a normal person.

Interestingly, the author meets many times why him, both in and out of jail, and admits that eventually she has become part of the story, not just the impartial reporter. Even Ken, who works closely with her, at one point is so angry with her actions (she accompanies the thief to the scene of one of his crimes, Brick Row Book Shop, where the owner John Crichton recognizes him and deals incredibly well with the extremely awkward situation. Ken Sanders is so angry at her he temporarily tells her to take a hike.

Here's what famed author Larry McMurtry has to say about it: "Allison Hoover Bartlett has written a meticulous and fascinating book about a serial bookthief and the persistent sleuth who dogged him for years and finally caught him. It will be especially gripping for those of us who trade in antiquarian books, who owe much to Ken Sanders's persistence. A fine read."
-Larry McMurtry, bestselling author of Books: A Memoir and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lonesome Dove.

Ken would be happy to sign or inscribe a copy to you--you can contact him through the bookstore site.

Anne and I are off next week to the Houston Rare Book Show, then on to Boston for the International Antiquarian Book Show. We'll wrap up the year with a show in Pasadena in early December. Links to all these are in a previous blog--I hope to see you there if you are in the area. Drop us a note and we'll send you a free pass if we have one--or just let me know if you have any comments or suggestions about the blog or anything else...write me at bplant@budplant.com.
-Bud

Fall Reading: Crumb, Pullman, Wynne Jones, Gaiman

Just finished Crumb's Book of Genesis. More "begat" listings than I needed--"Noah begat John, Jacob and Ezekial, John begat Rachael, Mary and Rufus, et al. But Crumb is merely being totally faithful to the text, in which the original writers sought to trace the lineage of the giants of the Old Testament right back to Adam and Eve! But that minor gripe aside, the many stories (from Noah's Ark and the flood, to the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah, Egypt's Pharoah and the Seven Years of Plenty and of Drought) at fun to read and beautifully drawn in Crumb's realistic style. His only editing seems to be that each of the major female characters seem to be the idealized Crumb Jewish Girl or woman, strong and well-formed, right down to protuberant nipples. Pretty racy ladies and sometimes with their own agends to keep the linage going (read: time to "lay down" with an important guy and procreate some mail heirs). And I did learn quite a bit. Crumb did a serious and excellent work on the first 50 chapters. I've read it's sold over ...100,000 copies already and is going back for a new printing. I've taken copies to several shows recently and it's always a conversation piece. My buddy Ken Sanders (Ken Sanders Rare Books) in Salt Lake City sold out his initial order in just hours.
Also just discovered a new sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, both a wonderul film by Miyazaki and a fine book by award-winning children's author Diana Wynne Jones. Her other work is mostly excellent.
Philip Pullman is another fine "young adult" author, just read his short tale "Once Upon a Time in the North--which comes complete with a game. It is a spin-off from the "Dark Materials" trilogy from which was made The Golden Compass. This goes back to describe the first meeting of Lee Scoresby, the Texan Balloonist, and Iorek Byrnison, the armored Bear. Very nicely done. Pullman also has done other excellent YA titles, including the Sally Lockhart series and The Tin Princess.
Hellboy Library Vol 3 just appeared and I enjoyed reading "The Conqueror Worm" which is loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe poem. Wonderful work with a stirring introduction by director Del Toro.
Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book won the Newberry Award recently, the highest honor for a kids/young adult book. I believe it also won the Hugo Award for best novel. It's a wonderfully enjoyable book and I highly recommend it. It's still available in a small hardcover edition which sells for just $17.99. Support your local bookstore, they should have it or can order it. Perfect for kids of all ages.

Join us at these Book Fairs and Comic-Cons; Favorite Books

Book Fairs and Comic-Cons
Anne and I will be exhibiting at several book fairs between now and the end of the year. First up is Sacramento this weekend, September 12. Then the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair on October 10 and 11. The Golden Gate Park Book Fair in San Francisco on October 25. Admission is free.

Next is The 7th Annual Houston Book Fair on November 7th followed by The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair November 13-15. Last for the year will be the December 5-6 Pasadena Book Fair.

At each fair we bring a moderately priced selection of out of print and rare items: illustrated and children's books, art books, pulps, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, pop-culture and comics-related books, prints, original artwork, vintage paperbacks and more. I hope to see you at one of these shows. Next year our first two big shows are the San Francisco Antiquarian Book Fair February 6-7 and then our favorite Wonder-Con, this time moved to early April, the 2nd to the 4th!

New Favorite Books
I spent the last two days editing the new items that have just been rolling in here. There are several that I really enjoy and am taking home for myself. I thought I'd briefly share some of these with you. You can find them all on our website.

Alphonse Mucha - I was dismayed with the last Mucha volume suddely went out of print. But now we have a new and much larger volume, which just may be the most comprehensive book on Mucha yet. At $65 it's still quite a deal for a large, heavy volume of 356 full color pages.

Jia Lu - This is awonderfully talented Asian woman who paints, well, mostly Asian women. We handled her first book in 2002 and it was extremely popular--we even devoted a catalog cover to it. I'm considering doing the same with one of these two new books--I think a lot of her art. In the most basic aspects, her choice of subjects reminds me of Michael Parkes. Her subjects are often partially nude, they are usually lovely, sensual women, and the costuming and details are exotic and gorgeous. Transcendent is a revised edition (with higher resolution and color depth) of her first 2002 book, now long out of print, which covers her art up until that date. Illuminated collects her work from 2002 to 2009.

Walton Ford Pancha Tantra - Tashen, the bargain-priced German publisher, first introduced this book as a deluxe edition at $1200. We were astonished to be selling copies at a fair clip, although not because we didn't love the artwork. Ford works in mural-size and draws unusual animals with the skill of a veteran painter but the humor and oddity that is entirely his own. The deluxe edition eventually went to $1800 and sold out! This new edition is a massive, huge book and I'm so pleased to be able to take one home for myself. If we don't show you enough examples of his art, here is a link to Google Images where you can see much more.

Vintage Calendars - This publisher, new to us, is taking calendars one step farther along. These are oversized, with quality wire bindings. Each page is perforated so you can remove and save it each month. Even better, each one starts in September so you get four more full months. Tired of your old calendar. Here's a new one that can go up today. I really like all for of these. The Vintage DC Comics has some of DC's best World War II covers. Vintage Marvel has 16 of the most iconic covers of the 1960s by Kirby, Wood, Ditko and others. Vintage Norma Jean has 16 absolutely delightful, warm images of a teen-aged Marilyn Monroe. Two or three feature her in a demure swimsuit, so there is no nudity at all. The others are classic beautiful girl poses, like you'd find on vintage magazines and even romance comics of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Last, the Vintage Mad calendar features Kelly Freas and Norman Mingo covers that are lots of fun.

Atlas Era Black Knight and Yellow Claw - Someone at Marvel is really doing a service for us comics fans. These "Atlas Era" collections are really a lot of fun to read, they feature great artwork, and they are pretty tought and expensive comics if you are a collector. This new volume collects one of Joe Maneely's favorite projects, The Black Knight. Apparently in the 1950s knighthood was popular. There were big budget films; Prince Valiant finally made it to the screen; DC Comics devoted the first 25 or so issues of The Brave and the Bold to the Shining Knight (along with Joe Kubert's Viking Prince and Robin Hood). The Black Knight was one of Marvel's best titles, a "costumed" hero with a secret identity but set in a realistic medieval world.

The Yellow Claw is a direct rip-off of the every popular Sax Rhomer series of Fu Manchu titles. Nonetheless, it's a fun title combining adventure and the appeal of the "yellow menace." Along with Jack Kirby, the origin story is drawn by Joe Maneely, and John Severin and Bill Everett contributed covers to #2-4, the last issue. What an all-star lineup!

The new Eerie Archives volume 2 continues this fine series of reprints of the Warren magazines. I've been astonished at what wonderful artwork was coming from artists like Angelo Torres, one of the true all-stars of the creators, Reed Crandall, Alex Toth, Johnny Craig, Neal Adams. The creators run the gamut for the best EC vets to newcomers like Adams. Ditko continues to contribute work that is among his best outside of Spider-Man. After some anemic stories in the earliest Creepy issues, powerhouse editor Archie Goodwin took over almost all of the writing and his deliveries an astounding high average of horror stories and unique twists, issue after issue. And of course, here are the earliest Frazetta paintings, done for the Eerie covers, that were the very beginning of Frazetta's rise to being the most acclaimed fantasy painter ever.

The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics - My good buddy Craig Yoe (Modern Art, Secret Identity, Clean Cartoonists Dirty Drawings) was all set to put out a collection of his favorite 1940s kid's stories when the publisher said they already had one in the works--edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly. I hope Craig will do his own, since there's a BIG world of wild and wacky stories out there to choose from. This impressive volume, offering 60 complete one-pages and stories, is a wonderful start, the first to reveal two decades of fantasy for all ages. Here is Carl Barks, Walt Kelly, Dick Briefer's Frankensten, Little Archie, Uncle Scooge, Sugar and Spike, Melvin Monster, Supermouse, Little Lulu and Tubby...it's fun to read, as I did over the past few days, knowing that each story represents some hand-picked by the editors.

It's divided into chapters: Hey Kids; Funny Animals; Fantasyland; Storytime; and Weird and Wacky. But it's funny how each one overlaps into the others, since comics humor was almost entirely funny animal at the time, and fantasy, and, pretty darned weird and wacky. There's rare gems by Sheldon Mayer, Harvey Kurtzman's first Hey Look one-pagers, Jack Cole, Dr. Seuss, John Stanley, Dave Berg, the brillant George Carlson's Jingle Jangle stories so highly priased by Harlan Ellison...the list goes on and on. The early Pogo stories are great fun. And one of my favorite kid titles, Dell's Fairy Tale Parade by Walt Kelly, is well represented with several stories and covers.

It's a don't-miss-this item and a PERFECT book to give to or share with any youngsters. These have been carefully selected so they are all-ages. If my kids were still kids, this would be under the tree for them this year. At least a copy or two will be going to grandkids, nieces and nephews.