Atomic Books Blog

We're getting a late start on the Festival Checklist due to recent Baltimore goingson but here we go: May  SoWeBo Festival May  Maryland Deathfest June  Honfest July  Artscape July  Otakon August  BronyCon September  Hampdenfest September  Small Press Expo September  High Zero Festival September  Baltimore Comic Con September  Baltimore Book Festival And if you're coming to town, we have a handy list on our  links  page for places to check out and things to do.

Executioner And Friend - The Slime Lord (Ep #1) is a new cartoon from cartoonist Jimmy Giegerich. Check it out, and then be sure to check out some of his comics too: Bits In Multiples Of Eight - edited by Jimmy, this is an 8bit-64bit Video Game Fan Art Book Executioner And Friend (which the cartoon is an adaptation of) - a collection of short comics about an executioner, named Executioner, and his best friend, named Friend, and their adventures and mishaps in the Dungeon where they work Fight Frogs - (which we're REALLY hoping also gets turned into a cartoon) a comic about three totally rad frog brothers named Crud, Scuzz, and Gorp who live in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, listen to heavy metal, rumble with gangs of animal men and party hard! Ugs, Fugs & Grossos - a collection of drawings of ug-ass mugs, fug-ass fugs, and gross-ass grossos

Atomic Reading Club Book Picks for 2015 - Gothic and Horror   We're going to take a turn down a darker street for 2015, revisit some classics and maybe a few other titles you meant to check out.   We're doubling up on comics this year. As always, you'll get 15% off the books, but if you choose to do the double graphic novel months, you'll get 40% off the two.   January - Saga of Swamp Thing Book One by Alan Moore/various AND Hellblazer Vol. 1: Original Sins by Jamie Delano/various February - My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier March - Call of Cthulu and Other Stories by H.P. Lovecraft   April - Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy   May - Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn   June - Hell House by Richard Matheson July - Let the Right One in by John Ajvide Lindqvist August - Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon September - Baltimore Vol. 1: Plague Ships by Mike Mignola/various AND Preacher Book One by Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon October - Ho...

The Baltozine Roundup is a regular feature wherein we take a look at what national periodicals are saying about Baltimore-area arts, events, people, and places. Be sure to pick up the magazines and read the full articles. In the current issue of Under The Radar [#43] , the Top Albums of 2014 feature both Future Islands' Singles and Wye Oak's Shriek in the top 10. About Future Islands' Singles : "This Baltimore trio has been working hard touring, recording and generally kicking ass for eight years. However, it was a performance on Letterman and sick dance moves that finally put these synth-poppers in the national spotlight they've long deserved. ..." -Austin Trunick About Wye Oak's Shriek : "...Wye Oak jettison the guitar and drums-dominated pop which has defined their prior three albums, instead favoring silvery synths, sawing cello, and a bedrock foundation of bass. The results dazzle ..." -John Everhart There's also a Q...

In the fourth quarter of 2013, online mega-retailer Amazon startled many Americans when it announced its intention to violate public airspace and use its own unmanned drones to deliver tchotchkes, gizmos and gadgets, quickly, cheaply and dangerously. Atomic Books owner Benn Ray says, "Once we heard Amazon's plans, we immediately began working with our drone-enthusiast friends to launch a fleet of Atomic Books drones as quickly as possible. And we're very pleased to announce the first of these will take to the Baltimore skyline today, with dozens more scheduled to come online by the end of the third quarter of 2014." Ray explains that Atomic's drones won't be delivering books, "It's not our intent to use these drones to deliver books to consumers. We love the post office and fully intend to keep using them. Plus, using unmanned drones to deliver items just seems ill-advised. The Atomic Books drones fleet exists to protect Baltimore from Amazon...

The Baltozine Roundup is a regular feature wherein we take a look at what national periodicals are saying about Baltimore-area arts, events, people, and places. Be sure to pick up the magazines and read the full articles. There are two regional recipes in America's Test Kitchen: Hometown Favorites . Baltimore Pit Beef: "Pit beef, Baltimore's signature sandwich, starts as a massive spice-rubbed beef roast that's grilled over a hot fire until it's thoroughly charred on the outside and a juicy medium0rare on the inside. Locals top the beef with sliced onion and plenty of tiger sauce (a horseradish-spiked mayonnaise), but what really sets apart pit beef is the salty, spicy, nearly blackened crust. ..." Authentic Fried Chicken And Gravy: "... While other regions of the country rely on a thick buttermilk batter and a deep-fat fryer to deliver a crusty crunch, Maryland chicken is simply seasoned, floured, and shallow-fried. This cooking method res...

Recently, pizza expert Scott Wiener, author of Viva La Pizza: The Art Of The Pizza Box was at Atomic Books to give a great discussion of the history and art of pizza boxes as well as the pies that come in them. While he was in town, he took a quick tour of some of Baltimore's pizza joints. Scott, on his Scott's Pizza Tours blog , explains: "I recently spent 24 hours in Baltimore while in town for an awesome book event at Atomic Books. I hit 6 different pizzerias ranging from hometown classics to late-night fallbacks and a couple in-between. Here’s my road report… Baltimore, you truly are one strange pizza town. ..." Be sure to read his full repor t . 

These are the 30 best selling comics ongoing/mini-series at Atomic Books in 2013. 1. Adventure Time (Boom Entertainment) 2. Walking Dead (Image Comics) 3. Batman (DC Comics) 4. Sandman: Overture (Vertigo) 5. Saga (Image Comics) 6. Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 (Dark Horse Comics) 7. Bravest Warriors (Boom Entertainment) 8. Chew (Image Comics) 9. Kick-Ass (Marvel Comics) 10. Mind Mgmt (Dark Horse Comics) 11. Haunted Horror (IDW Publishing) 12. Trillium (Vertigo) 13. Creepy Comics (Dark Horse Comics) 14. Baltimore (Dark Horse) 15. Detective Comics (DC Comics) 16. Fables (Vertigo) 17. Hellboy (Dark Horse Comics) 18. The Wake (Vertigo) 19. Swamp Thing (DC Comics) 20. Animal Man (DC Comics) 21. MAD Magazine (EC Comics) 22. Future Shock (self-published) 23. Prophet (Image Comics) 24. Afterlife With Archie (Archie Comics) 25. Heavy Metal Magazine (Metal Mammoth) 26. Shaolin Cowboy (Dark Horse Comics) 27. Eer...

These are the 30 best selling single issues/mini-comics at Atomic Books in 2013. 1. Henry and Glenn Forever and Ever #2 by various 2. Sad Animals by Adam Meuse 3. Those Fucking Unicorns by Sy Wagon 4. Henry and Glenn Forever And Ever #1 by various 5. Henry and Glenn Forever And Ever #3 by various 6. As You Were #1 by Mitch Clem / various 7. 3 New Stories by Dash Shaw 8. Lose #5 by Michael DeForge 9. Suspect Device #3 by Johh Bayer / various 10. Dirtfarm: Hideous Heart by Ben Claasseen III 11. New Jobs by Dash Shaw 12. Optic Nerve #13 by Adrian Tomine 13. Dungeon Family by Matt Furie 14. Boys Club #1 by Matt Furie 15. Sleazy Slice #6 by Robin Bougie / various 16. Blammo #8 by Noah Van Sciver 17. Lose #3 by Michael DeForge 18. Adult Babysitting Vol. 2 by MarYanna Hoggatt 19. Lose #4 by Michael DeForge 20. Adult Babysitting Vol. 1 by MarYanna Hoggatt 21. As You Were Vol. 2 by Mitch Clem / various 22. Lose #2 by Michael DeFor...