This is a book that aims to make a difference, and does.  It's goal is to promote an awareness, first and foremost, of the simple fact that arts make a difference -- a positive, life affirming difference that can and does effect substantial grassroots social change -- in the lives of both individuals and the communities they are a part of.   In addition, as the book's title clearly suggests and where it especially excells, this book's central function is to serve as a guide on how to go about initiating, organizing and planning community arts. It does so by providing in depth presentations of ten transformative local arts projects.  Each of these presentations begins with a description of the setting in which it takes place -- in 7 of the 10 cases it is an inner city neighborhood -- in order to understand that there is a necessarily organic connection of the form the art takes to the community it grows out of and takes root in.  The core of each presentation (and why we here at Copacetic are especially excited about this particular book) is a narrative in comics describing the people (primarily), the place(s), the genesis of the project and how it plays out.  Each of these pieces are excellent examples of the power of comics to effeciently and effectively communicate both stories and ideas.  All the comics pieces are between seven and ten pages in length.  The lion's share of the comics work is by the much acclaimed satirist Keith Knight of The K Chronicles Fame, who here amply demonstrates heretofore hidden strengths.Several pieces are done by Ellen Forney, author of the under-rated Monkey Food: The Complete "I Ways Seven in '75" Collection (which we currently have on offer at a quite affordable price), who employs a different but equally successful approach.  The final piece by newcomers Courtney Collins and Rondall Crier.  This a book that has so many potential uses that it is hard to know where to begin.  Let's just start off by saying that evey community group in America could benefit by having a copy of this in their library, and every co-op with a bookshelf should make sure to have a copy on hand at all times.  This is a book that is sure to inspire.

This mammoth 500+ page volume collects under one cover the four previously issued volumes -- Dances With Sheep, Fear of a Black Marker, What a Long Strange Strip It's Been and The Passion of the Keef -- that together contained the entirety of one of the most consistently entertaining regularly published comic strips in recent memory.  This is the rare volume that actually deserved to be called a treasury edition (so, of course, it was not) as so many of the strips contained herein are gems, and put together constitute a sizable treasure.   The K Chronicles amply demonstrates the special power of humor to get you through.  The old Freak Brothers adage, "Dope gets you through times of no money better than money gets you through times of no dope," might be more aptly (and accurately) reworded to read, "Good, smart & funny comics get you through times of no money better than money gets you through times of no good, smart & funny comics."  Thus, this book should be considered an excellent hedge against the coming inflationary pressures that may occasionally leave one bereft of disposable income.  Seeing this book on our shelves in and of itself constitutes one of "Life's Little Victories™" that Mr. Knight has made his own.  Highly recommended to all those who enjoy witty social and political observations in the grand tradition of the original glory days of Mad Magazine, those who, in other words, like a good laugh that leaves them a bit wiser.  Spend some time up close and personal with Keef, here.

Yes, it's a comics anthology entirely consisting of comics inspired by "real-life" missed connection ads posted on Craigslist.  Editor Julia Wertz has assembled a big batch of short tales range from sad to pathetic to depressing to funny to deranged to impossible-to-describe.  An astonishing 98 artists contributed to this anthology, including – but not limited to – Sarah Oleksyk, Jesse Reklaw, Sam Henderson, Peter Bagge, Liz Prince, Shannon Wheeler, Laura Park, Jeffrey Brown, Keith Knight, Elijah Brubaker, Greg Means, Gabrielle Bell, Alec Longstreth and Aaron Renier.  If nothing else, this massive array of talent testifies to the universality of Craigslist.  This book probably has something important to say about interpersonal relationships in the internet era, if we can only figure out what it is...