PowellsBooks.Blog
Authors, readers, critics, media − and booksellers.

I first became aware of Katchor's sublime black and white strips in the pages of Art Spiegelman's Raw magazine. "(His) picture stories speak a sad, beautiful clarity," R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe once remarked. Compiled from strips published in The Forward between 1994 and 1997, Katchor's third collection of stories from New York real estate photographer Julius Knipl is peopled mostly by men who hold in high regard the urban land-scape of the past and the obsolete artifacts and ideals that once held sway. Discover the motives behind such whimsical business ventures as the Normalcy Parfume Company and the Rencher Memorial Library. Pay your last respects to Professor Dombay Fecol, hair tamer, meet the friends of Dr. Rushtower and, of course, don't forget to wander into the Beauty Supply District, a twenty-four page story exclusive to this collection.