Atomic Books Blog

I Am The King , originally uploaded by sugarfreak .

This Friday! Atomic Books is hosting  Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore! , a locally renowned small press publication, and  The Dark Side of Disney , a bestselling travel guide. Local authors will be reading from the latest issue of  Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore! (#15) : William Patrick Tandy, Geoffrey Welchman, Lisa Wiseman and Davida Gypsy Breier. There will also be a reading and presentation by the author of  The Dark Side of Disne y, Leonard Kinsey, and his cover model, Draven Star.  7-9pm! Adult beverages will be served.

Ledbetter Dragon , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Happy Year of the Dragon ! It's going to be an interesting year!

In this month's Draft magazine , they rank America's 100 Best Beer Bars. Congratulations to our friends at The Brewer's Art and Max's Taphouse - the two Baltimore establishments who made the list. The Brewer's Art - "From the award-winning house beers brewed on-premises to the phenomenal guest beer list, everything you've heard about The Brewer's Art is true - but you have to go there to really fall in love with it.  ..." Max's Taphouse - "... Max's sits on the convergence of all bar cultures: good beer, sports, games, music and yes, shots, making it the perfect place for craft-minded people to let loose without sacrificing selection."

footballtime , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . If you're not in Baltimore and you order today, you should get your shirt in time to wear for the game on Sunday when we go for New England. Go Ravens!

This year, we asked a number of our friends who are also cartoonists and comics publishers and editors what their favorite comics of 2011 were. Chuck Forsman is the cartoonist series like Snake Oil and The End Of The Fucking World. I am only naming mini-comics in my list. No particular order. Nepotism Alert: Some of these people are friends of mine. This tends to happen in a small world. 1. The Dudes by Alex Schubert For me, this one came out of nowhere. Well, St. Louis actually. This mini-comic made me laugh out loud.  I love Beavis and Butthead . And I am a big fan of swearing while speaking. I love The Dudes . You could love them too. 2. The Gag-Rag by Jeff Lok Another book packed to the gills with laughs. A frightening and endless desert island gag, comics about God, and the creation of the cat are highlights for me. People need to read more Jeff Lok. Fucking pound on his door in VT and demand a copy. 3. Moose 1-4 by Max de Radigués Moose inspired me to do a n

This year, we asked a number of our friends who are also cartoonists and comics publishers and editors what their favorite comics of 2011 were. Ryan Standfest is the editor of BLACK EYE and the publisher of Rotland Press. The Man Who Grew His Beard by Olivier Schrauwen A remarkable mélange of humor, silent interludes, beautiful pacing, coloration and composition. This is one to re-read. Tank Tankuro: Prewar Works 1934 – 1935 by Gajo Sakamoto Absurdity that tastes like sugar going down but ends up in the gut like steak tartar. What the Hell Are You Doing? : The Essential David Shrigley by David Shrigley Absurdity from a contemporary master. I’m so happy this man is on the loose. Wilson by Daniel Clowes Seemed slight at first, but upon numerous re-reads, reveals itself to be one helluva character study chock-full-o laugh-out-loud punchlines. This is a Clowes keeper. Looking forward to the film adaptation by Alexander Payne. The Wolf by Tom Neely Romanticism + Expr

This year, we asked a number of our friends who are also cartoonists and comics publishers and editors what their favorite comics of 2011 were. Sean Ford is the cartoonist behind the series Only Skin. Here's my Best of 2011 comix list. I included a few honorable mentions of my favorite comix that didn't actually come out in 2011. Happy New Year! -Sean 5. Freddy Stories by Melissa Mendes A funny, thoughtful book about the child in all of us. Really great.  4. Thickness #2 by various A beautifully produced anthology printed on Ryan Sands' risograph, featuring some of my favorite cartoonists being naughty. 3. I Will Bite You by Joe Lambert A visual knockout of a collection that shows Joe's growth into a stronger and stronger storyteller. 2. Lose #3 by Michael DeForge One of the funniest and most devastating books I read this year. Dog 2070! 1. Love and Rockets: New Stories #4 by Los Bros Hernandez I'll add to the chorus praising this book. I thin

This year, we asked a number of our friends who are also cartoonists and comics publishers and editors what their favorite comics of 2011 were. Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting those lists. Brian Ralph's sharp collection, Daybreak, came out this year from Drawn and Quarterly and changed forever what we expect from zombie comics. I chose to focus strictly on some of the outstanding collections of older comics that came out in 2011. Forgotten Fantasy: Sunday Comics 1900-1915 "This book took my breath away," says Art Spiegelman, and he’s a heavy smoker so that’s probably easy to do. So listen to me too ok? Sunday Press publishes some of the most beautiful books being published anywhere. This gigantic book collects The Explorigator by Henry Grant Dart, Naughty Pete by Charles Forbell, comics by Lyonel Feininger, and Gustave Verbeek. If you were a comics nerd you would know what I was talking about and you’d be very excited. Creepy Presents: Bern

These are the 50 best selling zines/magazines at Atomic Books in 2011. 1. Mojo 2. Bust 3. Juxtapoz 4. Lucky Peach 5. Cometbus #54 6. Maximum Rocknroll 7. Smile, Hon, You're In Baltimore!: Hon - Past, Present, Future 8. SnoBaltimore #1 9. Cinema Sewer #24 10. Answer Me #4 11. Rue Morgue 12. Smile, Hon, You're In Batimore! #14 13. Bizarre Magazine 14. Bitch Magazine 15. Hi Fructose #20 16. The Believer Magazine 17. Tattoo Revue 18. Record Collector 19. Horrorhound 20. Urban Velo 21. Fangoria 22. Craphound #5 23. Retro Lovely #4 24. Skunk 25. Wire 26. Fortean Times 27. Ugly Things 28. LivingEtc 29. Craphound #8 30. Weed World 31. Craphound #4 32. Imbibe 33. Vogue Italia 34. Retro Lovley #5 35. Cabinet 36. Wax Poetics 37. High Times 38. Cinema Sewer #23 39. Readymade 40. Famous Monsters of Filmland 41. Adbusters 42. Inked 43. Best of High Times 44. Retro Lovely #3 45. Under The Radar 46. Treating Yourself 47. Skeptic 48. Shock Cinema 49. Retro Lovely: Ta

These are the 20 best selling art toy lines at Atomic Books in 2011. 1. Dunny Figures (Kidrobot) 2. Marvel Frenzies (tokidoki) 3. Unicornos (tokidoki) 4. Yummy Breakfast Keychains (Kidrobot) 5. Frenzies (tokidoki) 6. Gloomy Bear Zipper Pulls (Play Imaginative & Kidrobot) 7. Yummy Dessert Keychains (Kidrobot) 8. Lunartik Figures (Matt Jones) 9. Family Guy Figures (Kidrobot) 10. Mongers: Filter Kings (Kidrobot) 11. Domo Qee Figures (Toy2R) 12. Futurama Mini Figures (Kidrobot) 13. Mini Munny DIY Figures (Kidrobot) 14. Tic Toc Apocalypse (Kidrobot) 15. Bearbrick Series 21 Figures (Medicom) 16. Simpsons 2 Figures (Kidrobot) 17. All-City Breakers (Kidrobot) 18. Toby's Secret Society Mini Figures (Kidrobot) 19. Jibibuts Figures (Noferin) 20. Mini Labbit Plush (Kidrobot)

These are the 30 best selling graphic novels at Atomic Books in 2011. 1. Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton 2. Fart Party Vol. 1 by Julia Wertz 3. Twilight Of The Assholes by Tim Kreider 4. Scenes From An Impending Marriage by Adrian Tomine 5. Baltimore Time Travel Anthology by Melody Often (editor) 6. Fart Party Vol. 2 by Julia Wertz 7. Paying For It by Chester Brown 8. I Keee You!! by Benn Ray (editor) 9. Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes 10. Life With Mr. Dangerous by Paul Hornschemeier 11. Lulu Eightball Vol. 2 by Emily Flake 12. Walking Dead Vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman / Tony Moore 13. Drinking At The Movies by Julia Wertz 14. Walking Dead Vol. 14 by Robert Kirkman / Charlie Adlard 15. The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes 16. 5 Very Good Reasons To Punch A Dolphin In The Mouth by The Oatmeal 17. Daybreak by Brian Ralph 18. Ice Haven by Daniel Clowes 19. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol 20. Love and Rockets New Stories #4 by Los Bros Hernandez 2

These are the 25 best selling single issue/mini-comics at Atomic Books in 2011. 1. Henry And Glenn Forever by Igloo Tornado 2. Sad Animals by Adam Meuse 3. Boys Club #4 by Matt Furie 4. Girls Don't Poop by Mario Van Buren 5. Diamond Comics #6 by various 6. Optic Nerve #12 by Adrian Tomine 7. Hate #9 by Peter Bagge 8. Lose #3 by Michael DeForge 9. Papercutter #15 by various 10. Monster by Paul Lyons (editor) 11. ACME Novelty Library #20: Lint by Chris Ware 12. League of Extraordinary Gentleman 1969 by Alan Moore / Kevin O'Neill 13. Boys Club #3 by Matt Furie 14. Papercutter #16 by various 15. I Want You #2 by Lisa Hanawalt 16. Oh My Comix #2 by Dexter Cockburn (editor) 17. So This Is What It's Come To... by various 18. Boys Club #1 by Matt Furie 19. Papercutter #14 by various 20. Alone Forever by Liz Prince 21. I Swallowed The Key To My Heart #2 by Liz Prince 22. The Incredibly Fantastic Adventures Of Maureen Dowd #1 by Benjamin Marr

These are the 25 best selling ongoing/limited comics series at Atomic Books in 2011. 1. Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse Comics) 2. The Walking Dead (Image Comics) 3. Batman (DC Comics) 4. Detective Comics (DC Comics) 5. Batman & Robin (DC Comics) 6. Fables (Vertigo) 7. Batman: The Dark Knight (DC Comics) 8. MAD Magazine (EC Publications) 9. Sweet Tooth (Vertigo) 10. Simpsons Comics (Bongo Comics) 11. Unwritten (Vertigo) 12. Wonder Woman (DC Comics) 13. Baltimore (Dark Horse Comics) 14. Sizzle (NBM/Eurotica) 15. American Vampire (Veritgo) 16. Chew (Image Comics) 17. iZombie (Vertigo) 18. Heavy Metal Magazine (Metal Mammoth) 19. Batgirl (DC Comics) 20. Justice League (DC Comics) 21. Batwoman (DC Comics) 22. Dollhouse (Dark Horse) 23. Angel & Faith (Dark Horse) 24. Kick-Ass (Marvel) 25. Swamp Thing (DC Comics)

This year, we asked a number of our friends who are also cartoonists and comics publishers and editors what their favorite comics of 2011 were. Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting those lists. J.T. Dockery is the cartoonist who created the amazing In Tongues Illustrated. The Wolf by Tom Neely Probably the most inventive book of the year, experimental and also a lesson in master craftsmanship (Neely manages to combine mapping unexplored territory with a gift for classic mark-making). It's difficult to express how uniquely good, how profound, it is. A natural if not quite expected evolution from his previous major work, The Blot , but a progression that makes more sense if one factors in all of Tom's minis that fill the gap.  The Wolf will probably end up on my best of list for books of the decade, not just this past year. Too Dark Too See by Julia Gfrorer I became a big fan of Gfrorer's previous book, Flesh and Bone from Sparkplug Comics, after a few read

These are the 30 best selling non-fiction books at Atomic Books in 2011. 1. Role Models by John Waters 2. Why Do We Kill by Kelvin Sewell / Stephen Janis 3. Answer Me!: The First Three by Jim Goad 4. The Indie Cred Test by Henry H. Owings / The Editors of Chunklet 5. Bossypants by Tina Fey 6. I Totally Meant To Do That by Jane Borden 7. Just Kids by Patti Smith 8. Beijing Welcomes You by Tom Scocca 9. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris 10. Simple Times: Crafts For Poor People by Amy Sedaris 11. Best American Nonrequired Reading 2011 by Dave Eggers 12. The New York Times, 36 Hours by Barbara Ireland 13. Amazing Everything by Scott Campbell 14. Crackpot by John Waters 15. Zombie Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswalt 16. Shock Value by John Waters 17. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling 18. Shonen Knife Land by Yamano Naoko 19. Green Is The New Red by Will Potter 20. The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter 21.

These are the 20 best selling fiction titles (and some kid's books) at Atomic Books in 2011. 1. Go The Fuck To Sleep by Adam Mansbach / Ricardo Cortes 2 . A Moment In The Sun by John Sayles 3. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami 4. A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin 5. Kiss Me, Stranger: An Illustrated Novel by Ron Tanner 6. The Color Of Night by Madison Smartt Bell 7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 8. Us by Michael Kimball 9. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson 10. 123 Baltimore: A Cool Counting Book by Puck 11. A Clash Of Kings by George R.R. Martin 12. Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut 13. Damned: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk 14. The Marriage Plot: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides 15. Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link 16. The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel by Amy Hempel 17. The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis by Lydia Davis 18. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury 19. No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July 20. The Gr

This year, we asked a number of our friends who are also cartoonists and comics publishers and editors what their favorite comics of 2011 were. Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting those lists. Zach Hazard Vaupen is a cartoonist whose work includes Wigger Haircut and Hatred For A Human Host. In no particular order. 1. 1-800-Mice by Matthew Thurber Definitely the funniest comic I read this year. It gives the term "fuck nature" a whole new meaning. 2. Black Mass #6 by Patrick Kyle The best (and maybe only) comic ever made about punk points and scene cred.  Action packed and Hazard backed. 3. Weird #1 by Noel Freibert , editor I might be biased because I have a 4 page comic in this, but I really think it's the best alternative horror comics/writing collection to date. 4. Gangsta Rap Posse #2 by Benjamin Marra Everything exploited, Nazis killed, need I say more? 5. Lychee Light Club by Usamaru Furuya My favorite mangaka's homage to my ot

This year, we asked a number of our friends who are also cartoonists and comics publishers and editors what their favorite comics of 2011 were. Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting those lists. Keenan Marshall Keller is Co-Director Drippy Bone Books and creator of the comic series Galactic Breakdown. 10. Blobby Boys – Alex Shubert (self published) Everyone buy this comic now. I want to see more comics from this guy. I love the humor, style and color palate of this guy. My favorite part is the aging hipster and the depictions of his music buttons. It is hysterical. There is something extremely satisfying about this comic. Visit Alex's blog . 9. Castle and Wood #1: Dark Matter – Darin Shuler (self published) This comic is so dense with graphic detail I was amazed when I found it. Every inch of the page is used and used well. I just love looking at this comic. The storyline involves a mouse boy and his dog and his roommates and a demon-monster and satanic monks

My Top Ten Twitterers  List for 2011! I've been on Twitter since almost the beginning and all I seem to do is keep whittling my list down as I realize what I like to get out of Twitter - which is information (about current events, publishing, comics, local events), laughs and some gabbing but not conversations or debates, and glimpses into people's lives, mostly local/regional ones. You can check out the rest of my lists in the side menu, which include lists for publishers, comic book people, book people, etc. Any one of them is a solid follow. Atomic's twitter is  @atomicbooks My twitter is @sugarfreak Benn's twitter is @mobtownshank

We start our Atomic Reading Club this year with The Road , by Cormac McCarthy. Fun stuff! As usual with all of our Club picks, the books are 15% for Reading Club members and the discussion for The Road will be the last Wednesday, January 25th at 7:30pm. Join our Facebook group for the Club. See you then!

This year, we asked a number of our friends who are also cartoonists and comics publishers and editors what their favorite comics of 2011 were. Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting those lists. Chris Pitzer is the publisher of AdHouse Books.  Fave Book: Forming by Jesse Moynihan Yes, it’s true I had a hand in helping to distribute this, but even if that wasn’t the case, I still consider this my favorite of 2011. I love the world building. I love the smart-ass dialogue. I love the art. I love the book design. The only drawback is that it’s the first of three. I want them all now. Visit Jesse Moynihan. Fave Minneapolis Find: Deer Prince by britt c. h. As usually happens at a show, someone walked by with an interesting thing in their hands. I asked them if I could check it out, and it ended up being Deer Prince by britt c.h. I found the artist a little later and picked up the mini and a sketchcard. Pretty fun stuff. Fave Zine: Drop Target I’m not a pinball nut, bu

This year, we asked a number of our friends who are also cartoonists and comics publishers and editors what their favorite comics of 2011 were. Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting those lists. First up is Blammo Comics ' Noah Van Sciver .  1. Suspect Device #1 by Josh Bayer 2. Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Lost In The Andes by Carl Barks 3. Big Questions by Anders Nilsen 4. Black Eye Nr. 1 by Ryan Standfest 5. Paying For It by Chester Brown Visit Noah's blog.