Atomic Books Blog

injurycomics2 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . From Injury Comics #2 . I wonder if they're arm wrestling for pie?

fcbdsale , originally uploaded by Mobtownshank . Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday, May 3! To celebrate, on Saturday we'll have 50% off all bagged & boarded back issue comics (yes, including the smut)! Tons of graphic novels for sale at just really stupid prices! And a box of .99 comics, for those nostalgic for the days when comics cost less than a buck. (7 for $5!) And yes, the free comics. While supplies last. The sale is in-store only. (Sorry, interwebs.) Get crazy!

It's around this time of year where you may be making your Summer plans - to visit Baltimore. Well here are the festivals to keep in mind: This weekend alone: May The Intertribal Powwow May The Sheep & Wool Festival May The Maryland Film Festival & Videopolis Then the rest of the Summer: May SoWeBo Festival May Maryland Deathfest June Honfest July Artscape & Whartscape August Otakon August Virgin Mobile Festival Into the Fall: September Baltimore Comic Con September Hampdenfest September Baltimore Book Festival September (usually) High Zero Festival October Small Press Expo And when you're in town, we have a handy list on our links page. And here are some suggestions by John Waters .

derbycake , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . The CCRG were on Ace of Cakes last night. Did you see Maggie yelling? Baltimore, Derby, Cake! This is for Geoff fans (because, really, who isn't?).

ryanskkk , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Psst! Klassic Komics Klub is in!

MD Film Fest 08 Poster , originally uploaded by Mobtownshank . We'll be set up at the MD Film Festival Tent Village , May 2nd and 3rd! Check out the festival, swing by and say hello! Here are some highlights of the festival by two of the festival's programmers, Eric and Skizz .

We've got tickets. And our Charm City Roller Girls will be on Ace of Cakes this week! A viewing party is happening at Della Rose's in Canton . ETA : Change of location! Now the viewing party will be at the Claddagh Pub , 2918 O'Donnell Street!

Dude !

"In this digital age, it may surprise you to read that more people want libraries than cinemas in their homes." Oh, wait. They're talking about the UK .

Oddly, Rolling Stone named Baltimore as the Best Scene in their Best of Rock issue this week. We carry all the best of the sounds, writing, filmmaking, comicking and designing of the city in an easy to peruse format (if we're missing anything, don't fret because we're still working on this category). Get a drink and dig in, it's a lot to go through.

Murakami Opening at the Brooklyn Museum , originally uploaded by minicloud . Just in time for the exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, we got Superflat back in:

dooooonuts , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Did you eat a donut today? We certainly did (from New System Bakery - awesome). But my true love is pie. And my wish has come true! Dangerously Delicious Pies is opening a location in Hampden. Right off the Ave, on Chestnut, in the the now closed Finnerteas location. They hope to be open by Honfest !

papercutter7 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Yay! A new Papercutter !

wholphin5 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . It 's finally in! Always a good read watch.

When I see a belly band or a die cut cover I just groan inside. It's just asking to be damaged as soon as it hits the shelves. But yeah...it's beautiful. Oh, we hate white covers, too.

Cramhole #2 by Billups Allen / various I didn't realize how much I missed Cramhole until this second issue came in (here's hoping Billups increases his frequency). This is the sort of comic/zine that used to be common at punk record stores but has, sadly, largely vanished (sort of like record stores). As a result, Cramhole feels downright refreshing as the main character Frank shows how he is difficult to live with, talks about old jobs, struggles with his resume, and generally, grumpily goes about life. The art is tackled by several people, including Amy Shapiro and Dorothy Gambrell (Cat And Girl), and it's all deft. But you don't read these sorts of comics for the art alone - the real charm of Cramhole is the character of Frank, the aging punk, and his life. Whatever by Karl Stevens This is a collection of comics that were originally published in Boston's alt-weekly, The Phoenix. The subject matter focuses on a group of city-dwelling twentysomethings as they compl

Taxes make me panic! , originally uploaded by featherbed . by Laura Park !

comicstar , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Who wants to be on reality tv when you can be in reality comics? Bradley Kennedy shows me the page she's on in Jeffrey Brown's latest autobio comic .

A handy new blog that lists noteworthy printers around the world and just around the corner .

EW.com asked 15 "graphic storytellers" what comic got them hooked to the format . And then they asked me to post this and to link back to them. Done. But it's actually a fun thing to think about. What got me hooked? It was the Rose of Versailles . Originally published in Japan, a friend of mine had copies in Korean when we were kids and lent them to me. I couldn't read it though, so she told me the basic plot, which was about a woman who was raised as a man and became a Palace officer during the French Revolution, and I tried to make out what was going on just from the illustrations. I fell in love with the artwork which was all black and white and beautiful line work. Most of the comics I'd read back then were in color. And I never got to read all the volumes...so it became this illusive comic holy grail that always kept me searching in every comic shop/book store I could find for the impossible get. What got you hooked?

Flickr now has video! You can kind of get an idea of how this works.

cramhole2 , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Yay, a new Cramhole ! Finally!

I wouldn't mind if we lost the semi-colon . ( via Chotda's Twitter )

rollingstonepancake , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . Just because it's in Rolling Stone's Top Ten doesn't mean you should ignore it. The new Pancake Mountain DVD is in and it's totally fun, for real!

snakeoil , originally uploaded by sugarfreak . First Panel AND a review combo: Benn read Snake Oil #1 by Charles Forsman: By the end of this first issue, we're not sure of a lot of things in this well-crafted, self-published comic. We don't know why the buffalo men kidnapped Tim in the bathroom. We're not sure what Bob's kid and his friend were smoking. We're not sure where Tim goes when he's unconscious. And we're not sure why the man took Mickey's kid while he was in the bathroom (nor are we sure why Mickey seems to randomly turn into a bird). There are a lot of uncertainties in this comic, presented as a series of short stories (more accurately chapters to a larger whole). But the oddity is engaging in that Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron sort of way. Snake Oil promises to be a lot of fun to follow as the narrative elements come together. The screened cover, heavy stock paper, and Forsman's deft illustrations all just add to an already

Tonight, Buffy reading club at the Hon Bar, 7pm! There's a new Angel , too. For April's Shank Reading Club pick we're reading Bust #50 and Bitch #39 (10% off for the month). Compare and contrast session happens the last Wednesday of the month over at POP, 7pm.

rick roll , originally uploaded by Rakka . Don't you think it should be Rick Roll Day instead of April Fool's? I would never rick roll you. Serious.