edited by Zack Soto   Anyone on the prowl for a new comics anthology to sink their teeth into since the demise of MOME is sure to be pleased by the promising first issue of Study Group Magazine currently beckoning from the Copacetic central display table.  Rising from the fertile loam of the Portland, OR comics scene, it is edited and published by Zack Soto and features some delectable work from some of the freshest talents chosen from among the current crop of comics creators, including Malachi Ward, Aidan Koch, Michael DeForge, Chris Cilla and cover artist, Eleanor Davis, who is also the subject of an interview and who provides a nice transition for MOME readers, as her story was one of the highlights of MOME's last issue.  Study Group Magazine's format is a tall vertical format (8 1/2" x 12") printed in deep sepia against a light purple and deep yellow duo-tone color scheme that reminds us somewhat of the NoBrow aesthetic.  A highlight of this issue is an excellent, in-depth, heavily illustrated – with character studies, thumbnails, layouts, and finished pages – 17 page interview cum essay with Craig Thompson conducted and assembled by Milo George that focuses on his approaches to making comics in general and the creation of Habibi in specific, as well as providing valuable insight into his career and development as an artist. In addition, there is an appreciation of European comics wunderkind Brecht Evens by Greice Schneider that provides some food for thought.  Did we mention that it is a numbered addition of 1000 copies? that DeForge's contribution is an instant cartoon classic that will burrow deep within your subconscious mind and take up residence?  All in all an auspicious debut.  

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A nifty all-new 24-page full-color mini-comic by Daira Tesslar that takes us to "the John Cage art farm, (where) genetically modified plants grow into ransomized sculptures."  Fans of Jesse Jacobs and Michael DeForge might want to give this one a look...

This one came out a little while ago... but we missed it!  Better late than never, especially with a comic as jam-packed with comics as this one.

176 pages of comics featuring the work of Kevin Hooyman, Daria Tessler, Yumi Sakugawa, Andrice Arp, Theo Ellsworth, Sean Christensen, Asher Craw, Sophie Franz, and many more.

Great issue!

5.5 x 4.25, perfectbound paperback.

Small press comics star, Daria Tessler, makes her Fantagraphics (well, technically, it's through their FU Books imprint) debut in this massive oversize hardcover.  Filled with page after page of detailed – and largely silent/pantomime –  cityscapes cum dreamscapes, through which her protagonist roams, seeking to uncover a hidden society and its secrets, Cult of the Ibis is a journey to the center of the mind.   Think Bimbo's Initiation reimagined by Kenneth Anger, and you'll start to get an idea.  Kim Deitch fans might want to go a bit out of their way and check this out.