IsotopeLounge

Free Comic Book Day @ Isotope 5.1.10

2010-04-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

If you've ever been to a Free Comic Book Day at the Isotope you already know how we serve up an extra heapin' helpin' of FCBD goodness, for you to get some true sequential art satisfaction, baby! And this year we've got a gut feelin' we will be quenching those uncontrollable urges, because we're featuring the 9 year old comic creating sensation Basie and truly SF's finest digital music jockey on the wheels of steel... the one, the only DJ Bearzbub!

Click here for a selection of some of the free funnybook goodies we will be dishing out this Saturday.

We Love You, SF!

2010-04-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Join Us In Giving Up Some Real Love
For Our Favorite Places in San Francisco

San Francisco is truly an amazing city. It's a place where people go to pursue dreams, find their place in the world, and to make magical things happen. It's a place known throughout the globe for amazing restaurants, vocal activists, gorgeous places, and for quirky small businesses that can (and do!) actually change the world.

Join me, won't you, in celebrating the things that make this city so special. It isn't hard to see how important all these locally owned start-up restaurants, book stores, tailors, hair salons, chocolatiers, movie theaters, watering holes, shoe shops, and yes, even pirate supply stores are crucial to the DNA of what makes our city so wonderful.

Please do get your votes in for the Best of the Bay. As a small businessman I can tell you that those owners of those places appreciate your show of support with every fiber of their beings. I know we here at the Isotope most certainly do!

Here's a few of the Isotope's most beloved places to get you started... get your votes in now!
SF Weekly's Best of the Bay Reader's Poll

- James

PEOPLE & PLACES
"Best S.F. Person to Follow on Twitter" - @GavinNewsom
"Best Bartender" - Riel @ Sauce
"Best Chef" - Chef Ben Paula
"Best Drag Queen" - Anna Conda
"Best Neighborhood to Call Home" - Hayes Valley

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
"Best Blog" - Laughing Squid
"Best Local Rock Band" - Triple Cobra
"Best Place to See Live Music" - Thee Parkside
"Best Drag Show" - Charlie Horse
"Best Film Festival" - Noir City Film Fest
"Best Museum" - Cartoon Art Museum

SHOPPING & SERVICES
"Best Hair Salon" - Hair of the Gods
"Best Lingerie Store" - Dark Garden
"Best Men's Clothing" - Harry O Menswear
"Best Boutique" - Swankety Swank
"Best Place to Buy Vinyl" - Grooves
"Best Bookstore" - Borderlands Books
"Best Comic Store" - Isotope

BARS & CLUBS
"Best Dance Club" - Shine
"Best DJ" - DJ Bearzbub
"Best Club Theme Night" - Domingo de Piña @ Smuggler's Cove
"Best Cocktail Bar" - Smuggler's Cove
"Best Karaoke Bar" - The Mint
"Best Jukebox" - Lucky 13

EATS & TREATS
"Best Restaurant" - Canteen
"Best Late-Night Eats" - Sauce
"Best Seafood Restaurant" - Pesce
"Best Burrito" - El Tonayense Taco Truck
"Best Sandwiches" - Ike's
"Best Ice Cream" - Humphry Slocombe
"Best Indian Restaurant" - Chutney
"Best Coffeehouse" - Blue Bottle

SPORTS & RECREATION
"Best Bike Path" - The Wiggle
"Best Place to Skateboard" - Embarcadero
"Best Jog" - Crissy Field
"Best Giant" - Hank Pym

Voting ends on Friday, April 30 at 5pm so don't delay, get those votes in people!

SF Weekly's Best of the Bay Reader's Poll

Dash Shaw @ Isotope

2010-04-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Come celebrate the new darkly-exhilarating, mind-altering, genre-expanding graphic novel from comic creating genius Dash Shaw, BODYWORLD at the Isotope on April 27, 2010 7pm-midnight.

BODYWORLD presents a dystopian future in which the Hunter S. Thompson of botanists, Professor Paulie Panther, descends on the bucolic Boney Borough to research a newly discovered psychedelic alien plant that induces telepathic body-swaps when smoked. Shaw, the well-known comics visionary behind BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON, THE UNCLOTHED MAN, and MOTHER'S MOUTH, bends the genre even further this time as his art dives head-first into the psychotropic experiences of his characters. Neither his characters, nor the reader will come out the same.

Come take the head-trip that is BODYWORLD with us!

Tuesday, April 27th
7pm-midnight
Never a cover.

Click here to RSVP

Photos: 100 PROOF HEX w/ Darwyn Cooke, Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti

2010-04-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

This was the Isotope's absolute favorite WonderCon weekend ever... and a goodly part of that is thanks to the several hundred of you who came out for our post-con bash with Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Darwyn Cooke!

100 PROOF HEX was a Jonah Hex themed bash featuring great Hex glassware, our very sexy saloon girls mixing up amazing cocktails behind the bar, the sweet sounds of SF's finest DJ BearzBub, an introduction of the Isotope's micro-billiards table, and a thunderous "happy birthday" song for Dave Johnson at the strike of midnight.

Thanks to everyone for such a great time!

Amanda Conner's Lid

2010-04-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

POWER GIRL artist Amanda Conner blows all of our minds with this hilarious lid for the Isotope's world famous Comic Rockstars Toilet Seat Museum.

Click here to see more lids by your favorite comic creators... or stop in to the Isotope and see them with your own two eyes!

Jimmy Palmiotti's Lid

2010-04-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

JONAH HEX author Jimmy Palmiotti turns in an absolutely gorgeous addition to the Isotope's world famous Comic Rockstars Toilet Seat Museum.

Click here to see more lids by your favorite comic creators... or stop in to the Isotope and see them with your own two eyes!

Photos: Dave Johnson Needs Pirates Tiki Tour

2010-04-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

Created with flickr slideshow.
Thanks to our amigos iFanboy, Bay Area Derby Girls, NorCal Pirate Frest, SF's Tiki Bars, all of you, and to my special guest host the Reverend Dave Johnson (100 BULLETS, PUNISHER, SUPERMAN: RED SON) for making this year's tour my favorite one ever.

And a special thanks out to Dyami Serna for providing the photographic proof with these great photos.

With just over 150 passports handed out, hordes and hordes of pirates, and my email in-box filled with the thanks of appreciative tiki bar owners... I honestly don't know how we're *ever* going to top this one!

Darwyn Cooke's Art + Amanda Conner's Art = Madness. Glorious, Glorious Madness!

2010-04-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Darwyn and Amanda combine their art styles with beautiful style for these glasses made exclusively for tonight's big 100 PROOF HEX bash!

Tonight!

2010-04-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

Get your passport to rum heaven with Dave Johnson tonight, 8pm at The Bamboo Hut!

The Biggest News In The History of Comics!

2010-04-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

OMG! Have you seen this?!

The Isotope and iFanboy have dropped some *serious* cash promoting our WonderCon weekend events... TIMES SQUARE! Surely this is the Biggest News in Comics!

(click for more info on this event)
But THIS... this news is surely the Biggest News in the History of Comics!

(click for more info on this event)
ON THE MOON, PEOPLE! THE MOON!

Celebrating WonderCon 2010

2010-03-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 2nd

click for more info

Saturday, April 3rd

click for more info

Cover of the Week

2010-03-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

This one was a really tough choice. Both of the Irredeemable covers this Paul Azaceta cover and this one by Dan Panosian are absolutely stellar. And I didn't think I was *ever* going to say this, but these amazing Fables covers by Joao Ruas make me not miss James Jean so much!

But even in the face of some stiff competition.... mmmmm Darwyn. We love you the most.

The Last Resort TPB
cover by Darwyn Cooke
darwyncooke.blogspot.com

Cover of the Week

2010-03-10T10:23:00.000-08:00

We are huge fans of Mike Del Mundo's latest cover and also this Batman: Widening Gyle cover by by Bill Sienkiewicz... but really, who could deny yet another amazing cover by the incredible Dave Johnson?

You rock, Dave!

Punisher Max #5
cover by Reverend Dave Johnson
www.devilpig.deviantart.com

Cover of the Week

2010-03-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

it's another tough week for the staff to pick our most beloved comic cover, what with a killer J.G. Jones cover for First Wave, our absolute favorite True Story Swear to God cover, and this amazing Jonah Hex cover by Billy Tucci. But mmmm... Becky Cloonan gets our tastebuds tingling and delivers up another DEMO cover we adore!

DEMO 2 #2
cover by Becky Cloonan
www.estrigious.com/becky

Will Dinski from Top Shelf in August

2010-03-03T13:24:00.001-08:00

Could we be prouder?

Will Dinski, the talented and always affable winner winner (can you hear that echo in here?) of the 2009 Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics for his great work... is featured this week on Top Shelf Comix website's new 2010 Releases page for his first original graphic novel. We couldn't be happier to see our guy picked up by one of our favorite publishers and hitting the bigtime!

Fingerprints by Will Dinski
96 Pages of Full-Color Hardcover Graphic Novel Heaven
Click here to read all about it!

www.willdinski.com

foursquare4life

2010-03-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

Those among you who play foursquare will probably enjoy checking out this set of homegrown foursquare4life badges I made for February 2010.

See them here and if you've been to the store go ahead and award yourself an Isotope Badge, you deserve it!

Cover of the Week

2010-02-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

Some nice runners up this week, including an adorable Skottie Young's Marvelous Land of Oz and a jaw-dropping Popgun cover by Ben Templesmith (click the link to see how Templesmith works his magic). Love them... but there can only be one Cover of the Week!

Madame Xanadu #20
cover by Joëlle Jones
www.joellejones.com

World Record Sword Swallowing

2010-02-22T15:49:00.000-08:00

Step right up and bear witness to the show of a lifetime!

Straight from Philadelphia to before your very eyes the SQUIDLING BROS CIRCUS SIDESHOW invade Oakland to dazzle your senses with some of the most jaw dropping death defying feats ever performed before a live audience! See the unbelievably lovely BETTY BLOOMERZ swallow an impossibly large 28 inch sword to the hilt! Gasp in shock at the unbreakable skin that even shattered glass cannot penetrate of MATTER SQUIDLING! Witness the shock as JELLYBOY THE CLOWN performs the first-ever barside home brain surgery with a high powered electric drill... on himself! Knives, swords, broken glass, machetes, and yes even the legendary bed of nails, these twisted clowns are risking their very lives with horrific implements of pure pain to astound, shock, and amaze you!

These clowns will RISK THEIR VERY LIVES for YOUR ENTERTAINMENT!

Betty Bloomerz & The Squidling Brothers Circus Sideshow
Thursday, February 25th 9pm
@ Cafe Van Kleef
1621 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA
www.cafevankleef.com

Cover of the Week

2010-02-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

It was tough to pick favorites this week, especially with a great Tony Harris Starman Omnibus cover hitting the stands today too. But Black Widow in a Bubble-Helmet? How could we resist this?!

Black Widow: Deadly Origin #4
cover by Adi Granov
www.adigranov.net

Suggested Reading For Andy Ihnatko & For You Too!

2010-02-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

I noticed this morning that several kind folks on Twitter suggested to technology journalist Andy Ihnatko that he come visit the Isotope while he was in town for MacWorld. Well that was mighty nice of them, thanks to you all for the sweet words everyone!

I'm something of a fan of Mister Ihnatko's work and would certainly have a blast talking to him about comics and helping him find some mind-blowing reads... but alas, MacWorld happens to coincide with my annual trip to the land of snow this year. So while normally I like to make comic reading suggestions in the shop (playing funnybook tour guide is my absolute favorite part of my job, after all) since I won't get to do that I decided to give Mister Ihnatko some suggestions here.

Mister Ihnatko, if any of these sound good and you *do* happen by the Isotope, just tell my man Josh I set aside a couple books with you in mind and he will put them in your hands. Hope one or more sparkles your imagination!

TRANSHUMAN by Jonathan Hickman

Hickman is the best new science fiction author the comics industry has seen in many, many years. If you're not already reading his comics you should be. I had a hard time choosing between this and Hickman's The Nightly News, as they are both pretty amazing, so I flipped a coin (laugh)!

Transhuman is a documentary style tale of two rival corporations on the brink of something amazing, the next step of human evolution. And it can all be bought and sold thanks to genetic humanoid engineering. Corporate espionage abounds, venture capitalists circle, and everyone is out to make a fast forced evolution buck by being first to corner the market.

But in the quest to rush to market, can overworked scientists keep this emerging technology from over-running even their near endless ambitions?

SUPER SPY by Matt Kindt

I suggest this book to a lot of different people and have found it to be universally loved around the Isotope.

The book itself is a series of snapshots into 52 peoples lives who get mixed up in the world of espionage in the 40's. Filled with cyanide pills, pen-guns, double crosses and betrayal Super Spy asks the question "what would it do to you to tell lies to everyone around you every day of your life?" There's a really amazing moment when all those stories click together.

It is one of my favorite books of the last decade and anyone who reads it can tell you why.

FREAK ANGELS by Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield

A great steampunk action adventure with smart writing and jaw-droppingly gorgeous art.

Although I run a bit hot and cold with Ellis' writing (for example, Hot: Planetary Cold: Switchblade Honey) over all I think he is a really amazing author. I find him best when he slings mad ideas around like a monkey does feces and in that capacity the past few years of Ellis has been pretty stellar. Ellis put out a lot of books but his recent must-haves include Ignition City (collection due in March) and Freak Angels. Go ahead and take a read of the online version you'll be glad you did!

CHEW by John Layman and Rob Guillory

One of the strangest, most brilliant books of 2009. Trust me on this one.

Chew takes place in a world where the FDA has outlawed chicken in fear of avian flu outbreaks. The people, of course, still want their Chicken Alfredo and Chicken Piccata which leads to a whole new world of chicken related organized crime. Enter Tony Chu, a special unit detective, to solve the murders no one else can by using his secret ability to psychically read the past of anything he eats.

A odd, twisted, hilarious and disturbingly finger-lickin' tale of clairvoyants, crime, and cannibalism! What could be better?!

Hellblazer: Pandemonium by Jamie Delano and Jock

I don't know about you, but I have a real soft spot for DC Vertigo's long running Hellblazer series, which has played host to just about every great Vertigo writer and artist of the last 25 years.

Returning to the helm is original author, Jamie Delano, for a dark tale of corrupt magic, Iraq war, strange Sumerian artifacts, mythological horrors, London museum bombings, and lots of bad bad people with extremely bad intentions. Drawn in beautifully visceral panels by artist Jock, who is known for his stellar work on another fave series The Losers.

Oishinbo: Ramen & Gyoza by Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki

Yes, you read that right... this is a comic book about *ramen*!

Tremendously fact filled, astoundingly Japanese, and incredibly fun to read. There really is nothing else like it out there. The perfect noodle house companion for you or your best foodie friend.

Paul Guinan + Lid

2010-02-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

Author/artist Paul Guinan delivers an awesome steampunky lid for the Isotope's Comic Rockstars Toilet Seat Museum.

Paul also dropped off signed copes of his and Anina Bennett's Boilerplate and Heartbreakers Meet Boilerplate. Grab 'em while you're in, they're sure to disappear quickly!

See the rest of this museum featuring art on toilet seats by comic creators like Darwyn Cooke, Warren Ellis, Ed Brubaker, Jim Lee, Eric Powell, Darick Robertson and many, many more hanging in the Isotope... or at Comic Rockstars Toilet Seat Museum

Update Your Pull List On Your Sexy Mobile Device

2010-02-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

For those of you wonderful people who have regular pull-lists here at the Isotope and are walking around with sexy mobile devices in your pockets... go ahead and update those lists to your heart's content with Comixology. This is something I wanted to have made for our customers for years!

Long before it was a reality I asked Diamond Comics and several software developers to make a website and a program that would make managing your subscriptions effortless for you folks, but none had the vision to see how this could benefit the entire comic industry... that is until I found the folks from Comixology. These people not only "got it" and built us something beautiful but they've also managed to carve quite a nice high tech comic industry niche for themselves in the process. Bravo, guys!

So don't be shy, start using their great site. And if you have an iPhone, grab yourself the app here. Blackberry user? There's an app for you too!

Find out more here: www.comixology.com

Lost Clown Nose in Gutter

2010-02-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

Seen in Hayes Valley. I love San Francisco.

Parker Jane @ Isotope w/ Her New Art Spiegelman Book

2010-02-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

Parker Jane loves the Isotope and she knows the good stuff!

Our resident paparazzi snapped this picture of her kicking back on the Isotope's sofa for a leisurely afternoon of reading enjoyment with her bottle and a newly acquired a copy of Jack And The Box by Pulitzer Prize winning author/artist Art Spiegelman.

See more adventures of Parker Jane here:
parkerjane.com

foursquare4life

2010-02-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

Those among you who play foursquare will probably enjoy checking out this set of homegrown foursquare4life badges I made for January 2010.

See them here and if you've been to the store go ahead and award yourself an Isotope Badge, you deserve it!