#czap books

[charmgardens]

The Most Precious Gift You Can Give vol 2

Czap gets personal!

Selection of daily diary comics made throughout quarantine. Covers January thru May 2021

28 pages / One Color, Teal on Blue, Risograph / 6” x 7” softcove / saddle-stitch / 2022

Buy here!

[robochai]

here is what i've been up to!!

FRESH START is a semi-autobio graphic novel (with THE most gorgeous colors from karen czap!!!!) about a kid who moves around a lot… and LOVES IT! Embarrassing stuff happens? Just flee the country! Friend fight? Hit the bricks!!

BUT THEN…. JUST IN TIME FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL…

SHE HAS TO MOVE TO AMERICA.

It’s got friendship feelings, gender feelings, sibling feelings, AND mixed kid feelings?? And it’s funny????

Idk man I really put everything I had into this one!!! Here is a drawing by Real Life Tween Gale.

FRESH START is going to be in bookstores on JANUARY 7th and ahhhh!!! book!!!!!!!!!! a very personal book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please ask your library to preorder it, or a friend, or yourself if it sounds like your jam THANK YOU

[hesfrombarcelona]

White Bird by R. J. Palacio

Genre:

This is a historical fiction graphic novel (historical fiction category).

Target Age Group:

White Bird is intended for middle grade readers, generally ages 9-14.

Summary:

White Bird is a story within a story. The narrator is the grandmother of Julian, who readers might remember as the bully from the author's bestselling novel Wonder. Julian's grandmother tells him the story of how she survived the Nazi occupation of France with the help of a classmate's family, who hid her in the hayloft of their barn.

Justification:

White Bird received a starred review from Kirkus, was named a New York City Public Library Best Book of the Year, and was "highly recommended" in a review from the Jewish Book Council (Schnieder, 2019).

Evaluation:

For this review I will be evaluating the characters, illustrations and content.

Characters

The main characters, Julian, his grandmother, and her schoolmate/rescuer, all show change and personal growth over the course of the story. Supporting characters are generally flatter, depicted as either good or bad, with little nuance or complication about them. The main characters are also close in age to the intended audience of the book, and dealing with typical issues for their age. Even with the dramatic events which provide the backdrop for the main characters' personal stories, their everyday emotions and struggles are still taken seriously and treated with respect, which may help young readers to see themselves in the characters.

Illustrations

Kevin Czap's illustrations are beautiful and colorful, conveying great emotion through relatively simple art. The monotony of the main character's daily life is conveyed through repetitive sketches depicting her stark hiding place. As the setting shrinks, closeups of the character's faces lend an almost claustrophobic feeling to the story. These scenes are contrasted with dream or fantasy sequences with beautiful, vibrant illustrations, letting the reader share in the character's feelings of reprieve and momentary escape.

Content

In an interview with Anjali Enjeti, author R. J. Palacio explained one of her reasons for writing White Bird, “We need an age-appropriate curriculum in school that highlights how people are singled out and scapegoated and must do more to introduce students to historical events—the good and the bad." (Enjeti, 2019). This book tells the story of the holocaust from a victim-centered viewpoint, and on a level appropriate for middle grade students. The end of the book also draws parallels from history to current events and encourages readers to engage with causes they believe in. This story could provide a great opening for discussions about some difficult and complex subjects including racism, disability, and political protest.

While White Bird is written for middle grade aged children, it is written and illustrated well enough to be enjoyable and engaging for adults too. The content is not graphic but due to the subject matter, children reading it might benefit from processing it with a teacher or adult family member.

References

Enjeti, A. (2019, October 1). Wonder Author R.J. Palacio Discusses Her Graphic Novel of the Holocaust, White Bird. Kirkus. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/wonder-author-rj-palacio-discusses-her-graphic-nov/

Palacio, R. J. (2019). White Bird (K. Czap Illus.). Knopf.

Schnieder, E. (2019, October 10). Review: White Bird: A Wonder Story. Jewish Book Council. https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/white-bird-a-wonder-story

[studmuffinzine]

StudMuffinZine with Czap Books

[smashpages]

Smash Pages Q&A: Rory Frances and Jae Bearhat

The creators of ‘Little Teeth’ discuss the recently released collection from Czap Books, how they first started working together and more.

[evandahm]

The Ley Lines series, published by Czap Books and Grindstone Comics, is nominated for an IGNATZ AWARD this year! Czap Books has put up all four Ley Lines books that came out this year to read for free on their website, including my little book about surrealism, issue 13.

These will only be online for free for a little while and I hope you can read them! This series has been consistently some of the most inventive and interesting work I’ve seen in comics. I distinctly remember talking to L several years ago about the idea that would become this series, and it’s lovely to have been following along in that process and to have the opportunity to make one of these books myself.

GREAT NOMINEES this year for the Ignatz Awards, the only comics awards I will probably ever care about. respect & admiration to the independent comics weirdos; see you at SPX

[czapbooks]

Little Teeth coming from Czap Books

Preorder Nov 1 – Nov 20

We are so excited to kick off our 2019 Spring season with Little Teeth, the new graphic novel from the Seattle-based team of artist Rory Frances and writer Jae Bearhat. Little Teeth tracks the relationships and struggles of a group of young queers living in the fictional Pacific Northwest city of Woodlands. Told as a string of vignettes and anecdotes, the reader follows the various subgroups of friends and lovers as they interact with each other and do their best to grow. As serious as that may sound, their vulnerabilities are covered up with humor, and it’s very easy to laugh even as we relate to their struggles.

Little Teeth will be released generally in April 2019 in time for convention season, with plans to be sold at MoCCAFest, TCAF, CAKE, and more. In anticipation of the release, Little Teeth will be available to pre-order online beginning November 1st through November 20th, 2018 at czapbooks.com/product/little-teeth. Pre-ordered copies are expected to ship as early as December 2018.

Little Teeth was first published online in installments on Hazlitt from Fall 2015 to Summer 2016. According to Czap Books publisher Kevin Czap, the comic was noteworthy for the “humor, inventiveness, and humanity” in its depiction of the ensemble cast. Bearhat explains, "Little Teeth has been a labor of love, but specifically a collaborative one, a work born intentionally through the back-and-forth between us. I feel like the process is essential to the stories we wanted to tell, stories that are told at the intersection of multiple narratives.” “Little Teeth is our baby,” says Frances. “We put a lot of ourselves into it and we wanted to create a world with queer characters that feels really lived in."

On choosing to publish with Czap Books, Frances cites “they really care about their artists and what they're trying to put out into the world,” while Bearhat adds “I’m glad that we are working with a publisher who understands the joy of communal creation, joining a library of other works that celebrate inter-dependency, community, cooperation.” The Czap Books edition includes the entirety of these installments, retouched and reformatted for print, as well as an additional 80 pages of story.

Preorder Now!

Praise for Little Teeth

“Little Teeth is a total feast. It’s warm, biting, devastating in both hilarity and realness, raucous and sweet like a hard-partying old friend. Jae Bearhat and Rory Frances have brought to life a lush and lovingly rendered world of gay antics that is as comical as it is compassionate.” -- Sophia Foster-Dimino, author of Sex Fantasy

“Little Teeth pulls you in with its impeccable grasp on how different personalities work and banter that never feels contrived. The ongoing glimpses of the lives (both outward and inner) of these critters will have you feeling their embarrassments, yearnings, and knowing all their inside jokes.” -- Jen Lee, author of Garbage Night, Thunderpaw

“Some of the juiciest, messiest, realest gay animals that I’ve ever seen.” -- Robert Yang, author of The Tearoom

About the Artists

Rory Frances is a Seattle-based cartoonist and illustrator, and is the author of the critically acclaimed webcomic Boys Are Slapstick. roryfrances.com

Jae Bearhat is a Seattle-based writer and is Editor-in-Chief of the video game and culture website ZEAL. jbearhat.itch.io

About Czap Books

Czap Books is dedicated to publishing comics that celebrate the poetic, the personal, and the weird. Their goal is to support and nurture a growing family of artists who pull from a wide net of influence and explore what the comics medium is capable of. They’ve published a collection of the Ignatz-nominated Bug Boys, work by Liz Suburbia and Jessi Zabarsky, as well as co-publishing the Ignatz-nominated Ley Lines series with Grindstone Comics.

[sequential-li]

Czap Books is offering preorders for Little Teeth by Rory Frances and Jae Bearhat - go check it out and tell ‘em that Alex sent ya.

[smallpresspreviews]

Ley Lines: Langeweile by Oliver East Published by Czap Books x Grindstone Comics

Find time Kill time Repeat.

The theme of "Langweile" is Martin Heidegger’s concept of profound boredom (Langweile is German for boredom. Literally ‘a long passing of time) and the structure of each page is based on the three stages of perception: retention, immediate present and protention.

The comic records a cyclical walk around the borderscape of an airport and ponders how one might better spend that time.

Oliver East has been making comics about walking and place for over ten years. He is the recipient of numerus Arts Council of England funding awards due to his unique take on illustrative reportage. As part of a visual artist/illustrator practice, he also creates comics and projects for the heritage sector, working with museums and social interest groups, and at various art galleries in North West England.

24 pages, Orange ink, Risographed, Saddle-stitched 5” x 7.5” ISBN 9780997203295 May 2018 $6 ORDER HERE Debuting May 12th at Toronto Comic Arts Festival

[torontocomics]

DEBUTING IN TCAF 2018 - FOUR YEARS PT. 1 by Kevin Czap

Betty Yaris finally gets her ears pierced at the age of 32. Still buzzing from the experience, she introduces us to her circle of friends in Providence, RI and their transcendent love. The first part of a new short story by Kevin Czap about friendship and getting older.

Exhibiting Creator: Kevin Czap Publisher: Czap Books Price: $10 CAD

[centerforcartoonstudies]

COMICS MOM: 

Three Questions with 2017-18 CCS Fellow Kevin Czap!

Kevin Czap, creator of Fütchi Perf, founder of Czap Books, and winner of the CXC ‘16 Emerging Talent Award took the time to answer a few of our questions about life as a CCS Fellow so far:

Q: How's life at CCS so far? Have White River Junction and the school inspired/delighted/challenged you in any unexpected ways?

KC: Life is going well at CCS! It feels fulfilling to be in such a comics-soaked environment after focusing more on other aspects of my life while I lived in Providence (not that I ever strayed far from my beloved comics haha). I probably should have predicted feeling this way, but I have been a little surprised at how quickly I've developed familial, should I say motherly, feelings about the whole crew here. I definitely feel tender about the class of first years and have been learning first-hand why everyone loves the individual faculty members. I'm most thankful for the studio and storage space the school has given me access to - I can't remember the last time I had so much space, it really feels great to have different places to go when it's time to work! Also I've been sketching so much whenever I can attend a Visiting Artist talk. As far as challenges go, just missing people back home, but I knew I'd feel like that. Q: Is there a certain quality that makes a Czap Book? What are you looking for in the books you make and the books you publish? 

KC: There's a visual point of view and a commitment to a specific artistic voice, I think that's the most succinct way I've been able to put it. I came up in comics at a time where I saw a conversation going on about "fusion," or work that combined various comics traditions from around the world, and that informs some of what we look to publish. I think most if not all of the artists we work with are students of comics, so to speak. It also matters a lot to me who is making the comics - there needs to be a mutual trust in place, and everyone's heart should be in the right place. I want whatever we contribute to comics to help move things in a better direction. Q: Can you tell us what you're working on during your Fellowship year?

KC: I'm working on tempering my expectations! Half kidding - I have a big, paid, colorist gig that I'm working on. I'm also making time to work on a medium-length comic about friendship that I'm calling "Four Years." There are a few other mini-projects I'm taking on in addition to making sure I take full advantage of this opportunity!

Visit Kevin’s Patreon for updates on Four Years and other new projects. Their book Fütchi Perf is available now from Uncivilized Books. Also check out Kevin’s interview with The Beat!

[charmgardens]

Four Years Collected vol 1

In the right spot, how long does it take to bloom?

An emo comic about friendship! Betty Yaris finally gets her ears pierced at the age of 32. At last, she's found a home with a group of friends who love each other. They love each other so much, their surroundings explode with beautiful flowers.

Betty's had a vision of what her future could look like, four years down the line - a life she's always dreamed of. This volume collects the first half of her story.

44 pages / Full Color / 7” x 10” softcover / perfect bound / ISBN 978-0-9906874-7-4 / 2019

BUY HERE! Read the full comic

[hugbox]

WITCHLIGHT NEWS!

-The Witchlight books are finally here, and they look BEAUTIFUL! Get yours from the Czap Books store!

-You can also get the book on Comixology, if digital is your thing!

-I talked about Witchlight over on CBR! 

-Czap Books will be at MOCCA this weekend (D149) with Witchlight, and I’ll be at DINK next weekend!

[graphicpolicy]

Scout Announces Yasmeen from Saif A. Ahmed and Fabiana Mascolo

Scout Announces Yasmeen from Saif A. Ahmed and Fabiana Mascolo #comics #comicbooks

Rejoining her family in America after surviving two years of slavery under ISIS terrorist regime in Mosul, an Iraqi teenage girl must overcome the horrors of the past in an attempt to find herself again.

Coming soon from Scout Comics & Entertainment Inc. is Yasmeen, a brand new six part comic book series that follows an Iraqi teenage girl, Yasmeen, during two periods of her life; that of a…

[evandahm]

Working on a book in the Ley Lines series, broadly about my relationship to the Surrealist movement and some related ideas. Coming out late this year. You can purchase a subscription and previous books in the series here! These are some of my favorite things being made in independent comics right now: beautiful and personal and unlike anything else.

This is a little promotional image reflecting the approach I want to take visually but I haven’t actually drawn the comic yet