Man, Dan goes out of town for a bit and look what happens! Luke went and built a nice new display shelf for our graphic novels:

We’ve really been working to ramp up our comics and graphic novels. There is so much great stuff out there, and we’re pleased to present the finest in new independent comics.

Meanwhile, Dan’s been doing tons of work getting new mini-comics into the shop, so come on by — we’re adding new titles every week.

We’re particularly excited about this new shelf though because we’ve also gotten posted up at the Drawn and quarterly website as being a ‘D/Q dearler’ in the great state of Colorado. Of course, we’re more than a little happy that the fine folks at D&Q put us up above Tattered Cover. Check it out yo:

And seriously, come on by!

That’s right, kiddos, our very own publication KBC #1 is out now in two formats, the extra special lettered/color edition for $4 or the normal joe-sixpack version for $3. Either way, they’re going fast, so get one while they’re hot.

First ish features sketchbook goodies from Jeffrey Brown & Noah Van Sciver, along with a Joe Matt interview, ‘rejected from McSweeney’s’ and a bunch of filler!

Well you’re just wrong. Here’s the thing. We love you, but we’ve been busy. It’s not you, it’s us. I know I know, sometimes it can seem like we’re not that….present. But we swear to Christ, it’s not that the magic’s gone.

Sure, after a year and a half we may not be as EXCITED to unlock the doors as we once were. Oh, who’re we kidding, running KBC rules!

But seriously, it’s been a wild bit here. Huge holiday shopping rush (and thank you thank you thank you to everyone who bought stuff for their loved ones here!) is over, and we’re getting back to the business of business.

I’ll just say, man do we have a load of great comics right now. We did a big order with Last Gasp, another with Top Shelf, and we’ve got a big one going with D/Q soon, so come on buy.

We’ve got everything by Jeffrey Brown, including his new ‘Sulk 3′, we’ve got loads of James Kochalka stuff, and a bunch of great up and comers. We’ve got new zines in from Denver folks, and we’re pretty proud to present KBC #1, our own attempt at a quarterly comic/zine ($4 for the cool color/lettered version, $3 for b/w).

So really, come on down, we’ve also gotten in more philosophy than we know what to do with. No joke, Luke has started taking it home to read it! We’ve still got plenty of Vonnegut, just got a nice leather-bound copy of Christopher Moore’s ‘Lamb’, and a bunch of Chuck P. stuff.

As God as our witness, we'll never be out of 'Blankets' again!

And we've re-organized the comics, so you can FIND what you're looking for!

I’m sitting here at Kilgore at 10:21. Just unlocked the door, turned on the open sign, and am waiting for Luke to get here so we can make some hot cocoa and peppermint Schnapps. Yep, it’s winter!

On the warmer side, we have just a TON of amazing books in right now. We did a massive buy of wonderful philosophy — Rorty, etc., poli-sci (Chomsky et. al.), fiction (loads of Vonnegut, Palahniuk, etc. etc.) and lest we forget, COMICS. We have Crumb’s Genesis — already into its second printing, we got one copy of Kramer’s Ergot #7, and restocked on excellent indie graphic novels. So if you want toms Seth, Tomine, Bagge, Kochalka, Sacco, Spiegelman, and Crumb, then come on down.

We’re ecstatic that after weeks on the road, John is bringing the slideshow event to Kilgore Books & Comics to celebrate the release of his new collection on Drawn & Quarterly, ‘Map of My Heart’.

He’ll be selling copies at the event, along with recent issues of King Cat and other fun fun stuff. Check out the flyer — and feel free to print some off and hang them around town!

This will really be a great event, and it’s free. It runs 5-8pm on Saturday November 14th.

Hey All — we’re tickled pink about two great events coming up. First off, this week we’ve got former Denverite, reggae poet extraordinaire David Daniels coming in on Thursday at 6:30PM to do a reading. He’s in town for two nights (Wed at the Mercury Cafe 6PM), so make sure you catch him.

Then, a little further down the road we’ve got John Porcellino, back in town from his month+ long tour, doing his slideshow here at KBC with Music next door at Wax Trax. We’ll keep you posted with info on that one as we get it!

We’ve gotten in some great books this week. Currently, we’ve got on the shelves by Cormac McCarthy, ‘Child of God’, ‘Suttree’, ‘No Country for Old Men’, ‘The Crossing’, ‘All the Pretty Horses’, and ‘Outer Dark’. 

We also have ten Kurt Vonnegut books in right now, a bunch of Hunter S. Thompson, and one copy of ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ by Haruki Murakami. 

On top of that, we got a nice fat shipment of new comics, and are currently stoked up on Zaps, Weirdos, Clowes’ graphic novels, all of Ariel Schrags books (including the conclusion of her HS years, ‘Likewise’), Julia Wertz’s ‘Fart Party #2′, almost all the Optic Nerve single issues, plus Tomine’s graphic novels, and the super cool box set reissue of the first six issues of ON when he self published it. We’ve got loads of other great stuff too, so come on down.

On Saturday September 19th, come on down to Kilgore for a kickoff/release party for Denver’s own John Porcellino (King-Cat Comics and Stories) and Noah Van Sciver (Blammo, Four Questions, Hypo) as we launch them out to SPX in Maryland. 

Rumor has it John will be releasing his newest King Cat, #70, and we’ll be singing songs, drawing pictures, and drinking some booze to celebrate in style. After we get you a little liquored up, we’ll pass the hat to get the boys some gas money as they embark on their cross country adventure. 

So let’s say goodbye to summer and Denver’s greatest independent cartoonists, and hello to fall and a new King-Cat. Saturday, September 19, 6PM.

I’ve forgotten what my list was, but I’m pretty sure I’ve touched none of it. I have read ‘Nirvana – The Biography’ by Everett True, which while a great read, should be called, ‘I Knew Kurt and Courtney’ because they get so many more words than Chad, Krist, and Dave. I will say that the interviews with the Olympia/Seattle scenesters of the 90’s was great fun reading, particularly since so many are still so active doing great things. 

I’ve also been working my way through ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ by Haruki Murakami, which I’m definitely in love with. Despite being a 600-page plus book, it’s an easy light read with great characters and a beautiful prose style. 

Today I started ‘Junky’ by William S. Burroughs. I generally avoid the Beats, as they – in this man’s opinion – were a bunch of spoiled man-children who treated everyone, including themselves, very badly. But I’ve always felt Burroughs was a little outside the Beats, and thought I should give Junky a try. 

And so far (which is about 20 pages in) I’m not disappointed in the slightest. Where the Kerouac crew were self-aggrandizing, Burroughs’ writing is not exactly self-effacing, but certainly not self promoting in the same way that Kerouac’s is. 

Next up is William Styron’s ‘Darkness Visible’, another short read, and then maybe wrap up the summer with some more Cormac McCarthy so that Luke’ll get off my back. Feel free to throw in commentary and suggestions.