March 20, 2014 by joshuaon

good this week

saga volume #3 : hearts rejoice as the next collection of this compulsively readable series is on the shelf.

adventure time #26 : kicking off a 4-part arc drawn by the magnificent jim rugg.

sex criminals #5 : as purvis mack says, ‘matt fraction is coming along.’

prophet #43 : a jam issue packed with killer visuals.

zero #6 : kicking off a new storyline for this engaging, smart spy story.

noah : a good-looking hardcover based on the upcoming darren aronofsky movie. having niko henrichon on art was a smart call.

daredevil #1 : whether this relaunch was unnecessary or not it’s just good to have mark waid and chris samnee back in action and taking the man without fear to the west coast.

thor #20 : esad ribic is a fantastic modern day thor artist. any issue he draws is cause for celebration.

the white suits #2 : toby cypress continues to wow the heck out us with the best art any crime book has had in a long time.

nemo the roses of berlin : alan moore and kevin o’neill roll out the latest chapter of THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN.

sovereign #1 : paul maybury’s art gives this debut fantasy series a gravity that a lot of these kinds of books lack. off to a good start!

–chris stevens

March 4, 2014 by Andrew

Tuesday Tease

Special treat this week: another page for you from our biggest labor of love, LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM!

Toby Cypress has wowed us consistently, from the epically badass RODD RACER to his newest, killer series from Dark Horse, THE WHITE SUITS. Toby came by the store last week to celebrate the release of THE WHITE SUITS’ first issue (of which we still have some signed copies – get one!), and we had a grand old time. He also pitched in on our little anthology mag QUARTER MOON to provide one of our favorite covers to date. We can’t get enough of this guy.

So enjoy the glorious, beautiful insanity of Nemo’s dreams unbound in Toby’s vision of Slumberland:

Toby will be selling prints – and if you’re lucky, maybe even the original art! – of his NEMO contribution soon, so look out for those at the Out of Step Arts website.

Here’s a glimpse of that original art in progress, which Toby shared with us:

And remember, you’ll see that beast among good company this fall in LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM. News on how and where you can reserve your copy of the book will be coming before you know it.

– Andrew Carl

By the way, we’re keeping this list of Nemo names updated with most of the contributors we have publicly announced – so check it out if you’re wondering who else has signed up! And our first revealed pages from the book can be found here.

March 1, 2014 by joshuaon

an evening with toby cypress

we are pleased as punch to have toby cypress at the shop tonight. toby is, for our money, one of the finest artists working in comics today, and it’s an honor to have him be a part of both LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM (his page will melt your eyes) and the not yet officially announced sequel to ONCE UPON A TIME MACHINE. tonight we celebrate the release of the first issue of toby’s new series from dark horse, THE WHITE SUITS. cartooning and conviviality will prevail.

and the first 10 folks who buy one of toby’s books and spend $20 will receive a free print exclusive to this evening. it’ll look a little something like this…

RSVP & details at the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/508391562607039/

February 28, 2014 by joshuaon

The LOCUST MOON TOP 40: February 2014

40. UNDERTOW

With an intriguing premise from Steve Orlando and moody, expressive artwork from Artyom Trakhanov, we can’t wait to see where this new Image title takes us.

39. SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN

Following Hawkeye’s mix of humor, character-driven realism, and gleeful formal experimentation, SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN has quietly become one of Marvel’s very best books. Don’t let the secret out, but it almost seems like somebody over at the House of Ideas got it in their head that superhero comics are supposed to be fun…

38. This Shirt

Yeah, what if??

37. THE BUS

We detect some of the spirit of Winsor McCay in Paul Kirchner’s quietly masterful surrealist comic strip.

36. B + F

We were pleased to play host to Greg Benton and his huge, beautiful nightmare of a graphic novel. Greg is one of our favorite cartoonists and one of comics’ most righteous dudes, and we can’t wait to see what he does next.

35. INSECT BATH

True to its title, this new alt-zine style anthology series feels like a submersion in the creepy, underfoot world.

34. SPRING TRAINING

Baseball beckons, and with it a world made new.

Continue reading →

February 19, 2014 by joshuaon

good this week

the white suits #1 : this is a down and dirty crime book, with an intriguing high concept, and that’s all well & good. what sets this book apart though is the work of toby cypress. his hyperkinetic lines flow like muhammad ali punches in his prime.

we’re pleased as punch to have toby at the shop, come get in on this runaway train of a book.

https://www.facebook.com/events/508391562607039/

zero volume #1 : ales kot’s CHANGES, the first work i read from him, was a hot mess, and i wouldn’t have guessed the same writer would turn around in under a year and produce this lean, mean, absolutely tight & intelligent spyworld masterpiece. here’s to being surprised.

alex + ada #4 : this issue gets us to the beginning of what i imagine will be the meat of the story. if you haven’t checked this book out you’re missing a surprisingly sweet and sophisticated love story.

and that’s it this week, folks. UPS delivered the goods way late and i only had time to read a handful of books. these are the ones that stood out. my apologies to anyone i might have missed.

–chris stevens

February 4, 2014 by Andrew

Tuesday Tease

We’re in the month of love. And come Valentine’s Day, QUARTER MOON’s lovely issue of loving (a.k.a. our sexy issue of sexing) will be a real thing.

To celebrate, Locust Moon is hosting our own PROM, right in our store & gallery. Did you never get to go to your own prom? Or did someone steal your date before the night was through? Or were you so cool and great that you had a wonderful time, and want any excuse to relive the wild times of your youth, Mister Cool Guy Prom King? Well, regardless of your reasons, your sense of nostalgia or need to right past wrongs and punch your own personal Biff Tannen, you’re more than welcome to come get down with us on the night of SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15.

But that night isn’t just about the dancing and romance and punch(es) – it’s about comics. And QUARTER MOON: THE END OF THE NIGHT will be there to take home with you, and perhaps even to coach you into having what may just be the sexiest night of your life.

And with covers by Toby Cypress…

…and Benjamin Marra…

…as well as art & stories from JG Jones, Annie Mok, Rob Woods and more…you may be in for quite the night.

RSVP, if you’d like, to QUARTER MOON 3’s release party/prom here: https://www.facebook.com/events/402480243230651/

And stay safe, kids.

– Andrew Carl

September 16, 2013 by Andrew

LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM update

another week brings more of our favorite creators into the fold.

NATE POWELL

we couldn’t be happier to have nate join in. he’s not only one of the finest cartoonists of his generation, he’s also one of the sweetest guys i know. followers of this blog will remember a sam cooke ogn demo that i wrote (with jason rodriguez) that nate drew. getting to work with him again is a thrill.

TOBY CYPRESS

few people bring the kinetic energy and graceful power to the comics page that toby does. seeing him rip through wonderland is going to be a blast!

Continue reading →

August 6, 2013 by Andrew

Little Nemo to DREAM ANOTHER DREAM

Winsor McCay was perhaps the greatest cartoonist of all time, and the Sunday newspaper strip Little Nemo in Slumberland is his most enduring creation. Detailing the adventures of its titular character in The Land of Wonderful Dreams, the early twentieth century opus is one of the most inventive and visually stunning works of American art. A century later, the comic medium is still racing to keep up with the richness, draftsmanship, imagination, and wonder of McCay’s fantastic storytelling and wild Slumberland universe.

In Locust Moon Press’ upcoming anthology LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM, many of the world’s finest cartoonists will pay tribute to the master and his masterpiece by creating new Little Nemo strips, following their own voices down paths lit by McCay. Contributors include Paul Pope, JH Williams III, Bill Sienkiewicz, David Mack, Carla Speed McNeil, Charles Vess, Peter Bagge, Dean Haspiel, Farel Dalrymple, Marc Hempel, Nate Powell, P. Craig Russell, Jeremy Bastian, Jim Rugg, Ron Wimberly, Scott Morse, David Petersen, J.G. Jones, Mike Allred, Dean Motter, Yuko Shimizu, Roger Langridge, and Mark Buckingham, among many others.

To be published in the fall of 2014 as both a newspaper and a hardcover book at the full size of the original Little Nemo broadsheet pages (16″ x 21″), this book will celebrate McCay’s endless legacy, chart his influence on generations of modern cartoonists, and most of all shine a light back on an artist who has given his art form so much, and whose work should be more widely known.

This is a love song for Winsor McCay, Little Nemo, and the limitless possibilities of comics.

. . .

Locust Moon is a retail store, art gallery, and small press based in West Philadelphia. Their first book, ONCE UPON A TIME MACHINE (published through Dark Horse in the fall of 2012) was nominated in the Harveys and Stumptown Comic Arts Awards for Best Anthology. Aside from LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM, Locust Moon’s other current and ongoing projects include the periodical comics & illustration magazine QUARTER MOON, and 36 LESSONS IN SELF-DESTRUCTION, a collection of the mini comics of infamous underground Philadelphia cartoonist Rob Woods. Locust Moon also hosts an annual comics festival, next held on October 25, 2014.

Below are a few pages for the book by Jeremy Bastian, Roger Langridge, Peter & Maria Hoey, Peter Bagge, David Petersen, and Toby Cypress.