Daily news and updates by Proprietor James Sime & the Isotope Staff
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DASH SHAW at the Isotope! Join us and comic creating genius Dash Shaw in celebration of his latest book BODYWORLD from Pantheon April 27th 2010 (click here for more info) |
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The Isotope Communique
James Sime's Mobile Twitter Feed - click here for more Twitter Feed Loading...  Ladies and gentlemen, meet Adam Beechen! Labels: Adam Beechen, culture, events, ridiculous, tiki bars, WonderCon
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
 Tiki Tour w/ Adam BeechenFriday, March 2nd Break out your finest Hawaiian shirts, by extremely popular demand, the Isotope is once again hosting the perfect event for out-of-towners looking to find the coolest spots to drink in SF... our world famous tour of San Francisco tiki bars! Since the ancient days of yore, the great tiki gods above made blessed the beautiful city of San Francisco with such an over-abundance of watering holes of the tiki variety that it makes others weep with fruity cocktail and indoor rainfall envy. And so for half a decade the Isotope honors the great Island Lords by paying tribute upon the bar stools of the city's many tiki bars. Legend tells that those who can complete the tour are granted the wonderous gift of never-hangover. But no man or woman has ever managed to master the great tour of tiki. The brave still try... Our featured guest superstar for this event is comic author Adam Beechen! Beechen is rocking the DCU recently with a smokingly good run on Robin, taking over Teen Titans, and he's one of the architects of the massively hyped and oh-so secret Countdown. Mister Beechen swears to us us that he's not going to reveal the covert details only he and a few others know about DC's massive Countdown mini-series. But can he resist letting those classified secrets slip when the intoxicating power of the Tiki Tour begins flowing through his veins and clouding his judgement? We think not! Enlarge the flyer here. See last year's Tiki Tour here.  J.M. DeMatteis @ IsotopeSaturday, March 3rd The Isotope couldn't be more proud to be flying in Mister DeMatteis especially for this event! Last year's WonderCon celebrations here at the Isotope included the great Grant Morrison, and there is only one man in the entire comic industry who has made a similar career out of defying those same kind of high art/high pulp boundaries of typical comics classifications as Mister Morrison. And that's J.M. DeMatteis. Author of seminal works that redefined what American comics were and are, Mister DeMatteis is one of the industry's only creators who effortlessly walks back and forth across the line between high art and high pulp comics. Among his hundreds of credits DeMatteis is the writer of Moonshadow, Justice League International, Blood: A Tale, Stardust Kid, Dr. Strange: Shamballa, Abadazad, and the incredible Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt. We're thrilled to be celebrating this industry giant who was not only was doing Vertigo a full ten years before there even was a Vertigo, but was also writing the best Spider-Man comic of our lifetimes... at the same time! Enlarge the flyer here. See last year's WonderCon Bash here. For you hundreds of folks in from out of town who want to swing by the shop while you're here, either to attend our Saturday night bash or just to check out the digs, we're always happy to see you. And don't sweat the city driving, WonderCon is a mere 6 blocks from our front door. Click here for the map The Isotope's huge WonderCon Weekend celebrations are co-sponsored by our pod-and-video-casting amigos at iFanboy. Slip on your sexiest gear, fix your hair, and try not to sleep with the staff... your wild weekend is about to be broadcast worldwide! Labels: Adam Beechen, culture, events, JM DeMatteis, podcasts, tiki bars, WonderCon  Labels: Adam Beechen, culture, events, iFanboy, podcasts, tiki bars, WonderCon
Saturday, February 24, 2007
 Labels: events, iFanboy, JM DeMatteis, podcasts, WonderCon  The Waiting is OverWonderCon 2007 With the way new comic cons have started multiplying like rabbits the past few years deciding which ones to skip and which to attend get more difficult all the time. But we'll always wear our hearts on our sleeves for WonderCon, which has brought us a tremendous amount of fun and joy over the years here at the Isotope. This year's WonderCon boasts a great line-up of creators, including the legendary Gene Colan, Mike Mignola, Matt Wagner, Phil Jimenez, Jim Silke, Pia Guerra, and our amigos Tony Harris, Steve Lieber, JH Williams III, Brian K. Vaughan. As is tradition, we'll once again be hosting a couple of huge after con bashes, which we will be announcing in the next few days. We couldn't be more excited about this year's line up of special guests, and think you'll be very surprised at who they are! For those of you in from out of town, the Isotope is just a short walk from the Moscone Center.  click to enlarge For more information about this convention saunter on over to the official website. Labels: comics, culture, events, WonderCon
Friday, February 23, 2007
 All Female Zeppelin Cover Band?Yeah, Sign Us Up for Zepparella Here's the perfect synchonicity of news item and event. Today's Vail Daily News tells the grim, grim tale of music industry stupidity as Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page & Robert Plant sue a bar for copyright violations for having cover bands play! Wow... we just don't even know what to say. Instead we're cancelling all our previous plans to go see the mighty Zepparella, the all-female Led Zeppelin cover band tonight. If you feel like we do about bands dropping lawsuits on venues that let cover bands like Zepparella play, come join us, won't you? Zepparella with Triple Cobra @ 12 Galaxies 2565 Mission Street @ 22nd St February 23rd. Doors at 9:00pm www.zepparella.com UPDATE: Apparently we're the stupid ones! We've been informed by one our readers that the above story we linked to is nothing but pure sensationalism with big names attached to get people reading the Colorado paper and score some free publicity for the club owners who failed to get a proper ASCAP license. If so... let us offer our apologies out to Misters Plant and Page and a thanks to Tytlane for keeping us on our toes. That'll teach us to drink and blog! Also great show last night!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
(This week's pictures inspired by these goofy personalized DVDs that make us laugh)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
 Miller's Science Fiction Samurai EpicNext Up for the Big Screen Treatment With the launch of Frank Miller's 300 imminent it seems logical that we'd be hearing about the next huge comic movie adaptation about now to get us all excited about what's next for those fine Hollywood folks out there. And wouldn't you know it? News of the next Frank Miller adaptation has been leaked... Ronin goes to the big screen. Labels: comics, culture, movies   It's Isotope Sneak Peek TimeGipi's Awesome Garage Band When our friends at First Second Books announced their spring 2007 offerings including more books from Eddie Campbell, Louis Troundheim, and Sfar, we here at the Isotope stood up with a hearty round of applause! But nothing excited us more than Garage Band.  With the family garage finally his own to do with as he pleases, Giuliano grabs life by the reins and forms the band he and his friends have always dreamed of. Putting aside the fear of failure which lives in us all, these four friends begin bashing out music on battered equipment and find an unexpected refuge from turbulent family lives. But when their only amp blows a fuse, a desperate search for some new equipment lands them in more trouble than they ever saw coming... Written and painted in gorgeous watercolor by the brilliant Italian cartoonist Gipi, this original graphic novel thrilled us with the promise of an introspective look at the intersection between music and teenage life... and having just finished reading it, we have to tell you, this book brought tears to our eyes. Garage Band by Gipi 128 Full Color Pages for $16,95 From First Second Books this April         Labels: comics, First Second Books, Gipi, music, previews
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
 InkStuds Presents Bone Creator Jeff Smithon Shazam & The Monster Society of Evil Comic podcast InkStuds continues to serve up smartly entertaining indy comics interviews with some of our favorite creators, including Jaime Hernandez, K. Thor Jensen, Ivan Brunetti, and Chester Brown. This week's episode is a great interview with the man behind Bone and Shazam & The Monster Society of Evil, Jeff Smith. Darn good stuff! Give it a listen here. Labels: comics, jeff smith, podcasts
Friday, February 16, 2007
 You Can Get With This...Or You Can Get With That Before you run out to catch the opening night of Ghost Rider you might want to check the reviews first. Now don't get us wrong, we're definitely going to see this trainwreck if for nothing more than the love of fire, chains, funnybooks, and brilliantly crazy motorcycle stuntmen. But not on opening night, and certainly not when you can see a great movie on the silver screen getting it's world premiere right here at the Isotope!  You can get with this or you can get with that. I think you'll get with this... cause this is where its at. Popcorn's on us! Labels: Bruce Parsons, culture, events, Jeffrey Brown, movies  The Lucha Libre Legend ReturnsCartoon Network Goes Santo Just this week Cartoon Network announced their new line-up for 2007 which includes a new show based on the life and legend of El Santo, the greatest Mexican wrestler of all time! Immortalized in the ring and out, Santo was the star of television, comic books, and more than 50 gloriously trashy films (check out some clips here). One part Elvis, one part Harrison Ford, one part Evel Knievel, and one hundred percent folk hero, Santo's worldwide fame and popularity have made his silver mask synonymous with everything cool everywhere. Working closely with series creator and producers is the legend's real-life son and true Isotope amigo El Hijo del Santo (ask us about the Lucha Libre Switchblade Incident that almost landed us in jail sometime) which will ensure the show has all the heroics, high flying action, and weird mystical powers we've come to expect from the legend. Can't wait to see animated Santo? Neither could we, that's why we were poking around on Cartoon Network Mexico's website where we found this page with downloadable Santo cartoons. Nice! El Santo @ Cartoon Network Mexico Labels: cartoons, culture, lucha, santo
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
(Happy Valentines Day from the Isotope)
 Drawing Between The LinesThe Story of Indy Comics' Jeffrey Brown Author/artist Jeffrey Brown of Clumsy, I Am Going to be Small, and Every Girl is the End of the World for Me has established himself as one of independent comics' most unique voices. Autobiographical in nature, his exploration of the minutae of everyday life and life's common experiences have struck a chord both inside and beyond the comic industry. This acclaim has seen Brown featured on NPR's This American Life and his work brought to animated life as a music video for the band Death Cab For Cutie. The recently completed film documentary Drawing Between the Lines explores Brown's unconventional style and his unique approach to storytelling in both the mundane and the spectacular. Providing insight from friends, fans and fellow cartoonists, the film carefully documents the sketchbook-filling Brown as he works at home, rides the L-train, and travels cross-continent to meet his fans at conventions. Not unlike Terry Zwigoff's brilliant Crumb in both subject matter and approach, film-maker Bruce Parsons takes the viewer on a candid trip through the working world of one of indy comics' most iconoclastic cartoonists. The Isotope is proud to be hosting Chicago film-maker Bruce Parsons for the World Premiere of Drawing Between the Lines this Friday. Join us, won't you? Drawing Between The Lines @ The Isotope 326 Fell Street @ Gough February 16th. Doors at 8:00pm View the event flyer here www.angryheartproductions.com Labels: Bruce Parsons, culture, events, Jeffrey Brown, movies
Friday, February 09, 2007
 Premiering on the Isotope's Silver ScreenBetween The Lines: The Jeffrey Brown Story We've been saving our next movie night here at the Isotope for something really special. We're puffing up our chests with pride to tell you that we're throwing the star-studded world premiere of Drawing Between The Lines: The Jeffrey Brown Story featuring indy film-maker Bruce Parsons in directly from Chicago! Check out Mister Parson's website, and watch this space for more details... Labels: Bruce Parsons, culture, events, Jeffrey Brown, movies www.ukeapocalypse.com Labels: culture, events, music, ukes, video
Thursday, February 08, 2007
(Celebrating our newest staff member with some bubbly at Sauce)
 Meet the Isotope's Latest AdditionJosh Richardson - Cultural Attaché As Henry Rollins once said, "My optimism wears heavy boots and is LOUD!" and we can think of no more accurate description of Mister Richardson. There's few things the Isotope takes more seriously than adding new faces to our staff roster. We're acutely aware that its not just the diverse mix of comics and graphic novels we stock or the delicious atmosphere we've created with the Isotope environment that makes the store what it is... it's also the personalities behind the counter that make the shop unique. So its no exaggeration that we're outrageously careful and extremely meticulous when it comes to deciding who is going to represent us when you walk in our front door. We don't want just the best the world has to offer, we want the ones that inspire the best to try harder. With that in mind we're proud to introduce you to our Cultural Attaché... Josh Richardson. More than just a nice guy who has excellent taste in comics (although he most certainly is that!) Josh is a quality assurance expert for video-game giant Sega of America, a production coordinator. letterer, & colorist for comic publisher AIT/PlanetLar, a heavy rock bass drum basher, a staple of San Francisco's nightlife scene, an orchestrator of mad theme events, and a true font of nerd cultural knowledge. He's been listed on the staff page of this very website for nearly two years as our Special Ops agent, and we honestly couldn't be happier to get to bring Josh on as a full member of our family. Welcome aboard, Mister Richardson! Josh Richardson is featured at the Isotope each and every Sunday. Labels: Josh Richardson, staff
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
 Can't Keep a Good Book DownThe Boys Are Back in Town Everyone knows how much we here at the Isotope loves Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson's new five year long magnum opus series The Boys. We've predicted it to be on the top of our "must read" stack through 2011, we threw a highly-publicized launch event with the book's artist, and since it's debut we've put the book into hundreds of new readers hands. So it came as quite a punch-below-the-belt when we heard that the book had been cancelled not due to sales, but subject matter. Apparently the high-up muckety-mucks at DC would prefer to publish a more sanitized breed of comics and gave the book the boot. But in the true spirit of the comic itself even cancellation can't keep The Boys from kicking ass and taking names... That's right, The Boys are back! We're hoisting a big frosty mug in celebration of the news over here at the Isotope, re-watching our launch event video, giving up a round of applause for the choice of new publisher, and thinking to ourselves "perhaps we should throw a re-launch event to celebrate the series second chance." Hmmmm... Labels: comics, Darick Robertson, Garth Ennis  Stephen King's long-awaited Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born is on the Isotope shelves as we speak. If you'd like us to reserve a copy for you, call us at (415) 621-6543. Labels: comics
Friday, February 02, 2007
 Throw Rag + Nashville Pussy + The CrampsEquals One &%@#-ing Great Concert At the end of last week's Polysics show Isotope amigo J. turned to us and said, "Man, I have got to see more live music with you guys. Everytime I go along with you to one of those crazy shows you go to, those bands ROCK!" Well J. it's time to clear your Saturday night schedule, 'cos we've got another one for ya! Charlie Horse: Meaner than a rye whiskey hangover, these vicious greaserbilly outlaws from Southern California include an ex-Las Vegas Strip performer and the dirtiest, filthiest singer in rock and roll, Capt'n Sean (Throw Rag), a fire-breathing bass playing tattooed amazon, Corey Parks (Nashville Pussy), a preacher's wayward son from the mid-west's notorious murder belt, Chopper Franklin (The Cramps), and a rhythm section of pure, undiluted psychobilly madness. "its dirty, its nasty, it makes me feel like drinking till I fall down and waking up in the middle of the street" - punkrocktheory.com See you there! Charley Horse @ Thee Parkside 600 17th Street @ Wisconsin February 3rd. Doors at 9:00pm http://www.myspace.com/charleyhorseband
Thursday, February 01, 2007
 Westerns Just Got Better...Bat Lash Returns to Comics 1968 was the year DC Comics introduced Bat Lash to the world, and while the character's series ran for less than a year, it's non-traditional approach to the classic western genre has earned those seven issue a spot in the hearts of fans and comic creators alike. Written by the Mad Magazine and Groo creator Sergio Aragones and drawn by master illustrator Nick Cardy, the series included plenty of the pre-requisite gambling, womanizing, and dead-eye shooting that the western genre fans clamor for, but with a reluctant hero twist... a violence-hating lover of nature and gourmet food just can't help but attract trouble wherever he goes. Charming, exciting, beautiful, and full of moments like this, old copies of Bat Lash are amongst at least one comic store proprietor's most treasured back issues. So we were thrilled to hear about a new series of Bat Lash comics, illustrated in classic style by the legendary John Severin and written by one of the best western novelists today Peter Brandvold and original series author Sergio Aragones. Thank you, DC! Read more about the up-coming new series here Labels: comics
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Josh Richardson - Cultural Attaché
Jared Guenther - Enforcer
Kirsten Baldock - Special Projects Director
James Sime - Proprietor
Josh Richardson - Cultural Attaché
Jared Guenther - Enforcer
Kirsten Baldock - Special Projects Director
James Sime - Proprietor
Josh Richardson - Cultural Attaché
Jared Guenther - Enforcer
Kirsten Baldock - Special Projects Director
James Sime - Proprietor
Josh Richardson - Cultural Attaché 
Jared Guenther - Enforcer 
Kirsten Baldock - Special Projects Director
James Sime - Proprietor
