As this issue of SAVANT was being put to bed, the news story about LPC filing for bankruptcy protection broke. LPC distributes books, trade paperbacks, and graphic novels to bookstores around the country, and they are the exclusive distributor for many prominent comic publishers, including Image Comics, Dark Horse, CrossGen, Oni, Humanoids Publishing, Top Shelf, AiT-PlaNETLar, Alternative Comics, Tokyo Pop, Drawn and Quarterly and others.

While Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows LPC time to reorganize and work out a plan to deal with their debts to creditors (including the comics publishers listed above), AND allows them to continue operating as a business during that reorganization period, the filing does mean that debts currently owed all those publishers by LPC for sales of their products in bookstores up to this point will now be held up indefinitely in the bankruptcy proceedings.

This will place a financial strain on publishers, depending on the volume of business they were doing through LPC.

Top Shelf sent around an email less than 12 hours after the bankruptcy filing was announced, detailing the massive effect this could have on them: essentially forcing them out of business. They publish work from noted creators like Eddie Campbell, Alan Moore, Glenn Dakin, Ed Brubaker, Matt Kindt & Jason Hall, Gary Spencer Millidge and James Kochalka.

They will, however, go under unless they get some immediate orders for their products, directly from them, and in short order.

The email sent out by Top Shelf is reprinted (with their permission) below. It contains a partial listing of the many fine offerings they publish. Visit their website for a complete catalog and ordering information. If you can’t find one comic on there that you’d like—sad to say, but you have no taste and are a dead, soulless husk of a person.

If you need some recommendations from the peerless SAVANT crew to help you along, Dave Potter is ordering GOODBYE CHUNKY RICE, FROM HELL, and THE SOAP LADY. Matt is going with A COMPLETE LOWLIFE, PISTOLWHIP, and FROM HELL. Gus Dahlberg picked out BOX OFFICE POISON, and ABE: WRONG FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS. Bill Kartalopoulos recommends THE COMPLETE HUTCH OWEN, BUGHOUSE and the ALEC collection.

Help keep Top Shelf Comix in business. They are one of the Good Guys, doing more than their part to expand the artistic and commercial boundaries of the medium.

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TOP SHELF IN TROUBLE -- WE NEED YOUR HELP

Dear Comics Fans,

We have just been informed this week that our book trade distributor has filed for bankruptcy (Chapter 11). They will continue to operate and hopefully recover – and we will support this all we can (as our industry needs them, and they are good people) – but unfortunately, this has happened at a time when they owed us an enormous sum of money (over $80,000.00 minus returns). And to make matters worse, the most recent check they cut us, for almost $20,000.00, bounced this week, in turn causing the last 30 checks we wrote to printers, conventions, cartoonists – practically every aspect of the business – to bounce (or be held) in turn.

To put it bluntly, even with all the hard work we've put in over the years, if we don't raise $20,000 this month, it could realistically force us to suspend publishing operations for the foreseeable future. It's hard to believe but a big domino has fallen right on top of us at the worst time possible. So, that leaves us no choice but to be honest and ask for your help.

If 400-500 of you can find it in your hearts to each spend around fifty bucks on our core list of books below, this would literally pull us through – We mean that. We've got such a strong future schedule, and so many cool things to announce soon (including two more Alan Moore projects and two Film & TV projects), that I'd hate to think that we'd have to pull the plug right before we were just about to arrive.

In any event, if you can find it in your hearts to help us out, we will be eternally grateful. We'll be manning the phones personally on this "drive," and we'll also be sure to keep you informed – hopefully letting all of you know in three-to-four weeks that everything's okay (with your help, that is…).

On behalf of Brett Warnock and myself.

Truly, your friend thru comics,

Chris Staros
Top Shelf Productions
PO Box 1282
Marietta, GA 30061-1282 USA

(770) 425-0551
staros@bellsouth.net
http://www.topshelfcomix.com

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ORDERS OVER $100 GET AN EXTRA $25 WORTH OF BOOKS FREE!
FREE SHIPPING FOR US ORDERS ($10.00 FOR INTERNATIONAL)

PHONE IN CREDIT CARD ORDERS TO:
CHRIS STAROS (770) 425-0551

OR

E-MAIL CREDIT CARD ORDERS TO:
STAROS@BELLSOUTH.NET

OR

MAIL CHECKS TO:
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS, INC.
PO BOX 1282
MARIETTA, GA 30061-1282 USA

OR

ORDER ON-LINE AT:
HTTP://WWW.TOPSHELFCOMIX.COM
(for our widest selection of books)

THE TOP SHELF BOOKS (the short list):

ALAN MOORE & EDDIE CAMPBELL:
FROM HELL (GN, MOVIE COVER): $35.00
FROM HELL (GN, ORIGINAL COVER): $35.00
SNAKES & LADDERS (CB): $5.95
THE BIRTH CAUL (CB): $5.95
THE HIGHBURY WORKING CD (ALAN MOORE LIVE): $20.00
ANGEL PASSAGE CD (ALAN MOORE LIVE): $20.00
HIGHBURY & ANGEL PASSAGE POSTERS: $10.00 ea.

EDDIE CAMPBELL:
ALEC: HOW TO BE AN ARTIST (TP): $13.95
ALEC: THREE PIECE SUIT (TP): $14.95
ALEC: THE KING CANUTE CROWD (TP): $14.50
BACCHUS COLOR SPECIAL (CB): $2.95
BACCHUS-VOL1: IMMORTALITY ISN'T FOREVER (TP): $10.95
BACCHUS-VOL2: THE GODS OF BUSINESS (TP): $9.95
BACCHUS-VOL3: DOING THE ISLANDS WITH BACCHUS (TP): $17.95
BACCHUS-VOL4: THE EYEBALL KID (TP): $8.50
BACCHUS-VOL5: EARTH, FIRE, AIR, WATER (TP): $9.95
BACCHUS-VOL6: 1001 NIGHTS OF BACCHUS (TP): $13.50
BACCHUS-VOL9: KING BACCHUS (TP): $12.95
BACCHUS-VOL10: BANGED UP (TP): $13.95
BACCHUS #1, #5-#8, #10, #12-#39, #41-#60 (CB): $2.95 EA.
FROM HELL / BACCHUS / ALEC ORIGINAL ART (EMAIL INQUIRIES)

GARY SPENCER MILLIDGE:
STRANGEHAVEN: ARCADIA (TP, VOL-1); $14.95
STRANGEHAVEN: BROTHERHOOD (TP, VOL-2): $14.95
STRANGEHAVEN #13: $2.95 EA.
STRANGEHAVEN #1-#3, #5-#12: $2.95 EA. (REPRINTED IN TPs)

CRAIG THOMPSON:
GOOD-BYE, CHUNKY RICE (GN): $14.95
DOOT DOOT GARDEN (SMALL BATCH): $7.00
BIBLE DOODLES (SMALL BATCH): $7.00

ALEX ROBINSON:
BOX OFFICE POISON (GN): $29.95

ED BRUBAKER:
A COMPLETE LOWLIFE (GN): $12.95

GLENN DAKIN:
ABE (GN): $14.95

MATT KINDT & JASON HALL:
PISTOLWHIP (GN): $14.95
MEPHISTO (CB): $3.95

JAMES KOCHALKA:
KOCHALKA'S SKETCHBOOK DIARY VOLS #1 & #2 (CB): $7.95 ea
THE PERFECT PLANET (GN): $14.95
PARADISE SUCKS (GN): $5.95
MAGIC BOY & THE WORD OF GOD (CB): $3.95
PEANUTBUTTER & JEREMY #1 (CB): $2.95
PEANUTBUTTER & JEREMY #2: THE FLIBBLEDIBBLE FILE (CB): $2.95
MERMAIDS (CB): $2.95
SUNBURN (CB): $2.95

PETE SICKMAN-GARNER:
HEY, MISTER: AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL (TP, VOL-1): $7.95
HEY, MISTER: CELEBRITY ROAST (TP, VOL-2): $9.95
HEY, MISTER: THE FALL COLLECTION (TP, VOL-3): $12.95
HEY, MISTER #3 - #4 (CB): $2.95
HEY, MISTER: BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR (CB, #5): $2.95
HEY, MISTER: THE TROUBLE WITH JESUS (CB, #6): $2.95
HEY, MISTER: EYES ON THE PRIZE (CB, #7): $2.95
HEY, MISTER: DIAL 'M' FOR MISTER (CB, #8): $3.50

TOM HART:
THE COLLECTED HUTCH OWEN (TP): $14.95
NEW HAT STORIES: BANKS/EUBANKS (GN): $9.95
THE SANDS (GN): $14.95

PETER KUPER:
SPEECHLESS (FULL-COLOR HC): $19.95
TOPSY TURVY (TP): $9.95

RENÉE FRENCH:
THE SOAP LADY (HC): $19.95

SCOTT MILLS:
BIG CLAY POT (GN): $12.95

JOSUÉ MENJIVAR:
CICADA (GN): $12.95
BROKEN FENDER #1, #2 (CB): $2.95 EA.

JOSH SIMMONS:
HAPPY (CB): $3.50
CIRKUS NEW ORLEANS (SMALL BATCH): $7.00

STEVE LAFLER:
BUGHOUSE (GN): $14.95
BAJA (GN): $9.95

BRIAN BIGGS:
DEAR JULIA, (GN): $12.95
DEAR JULIA, SHORT FILM (VIDEO): $15.00

DEAN HASPIEL:
A BOY IN MY POCKET (CB): $2.95
DAYDREAM LULLABIES: A BILLY DOGMA EXPERIENCE (TP): $7.95
OPPOSABLE THUMBS (CB): $4.95
KEYHOLE #5, #6 (CB): $2.95 EA.

BRETT WARNOCK -- TOP SHELF (THE ANTHOLOGY):
UNDER THE BIG TOP (#8, AN): $14.95
ON PARADE (#7, AN): $6.95
TOP SHELF #5-#6 (AN): $6.95 EA.
TOP SHELF #1-#2 (AN): $5.00 EA.

CHRIS STAROS:
EXPO 2001 (INCLUDES A 23-PAGER BY CHRIS): $7.95
THE STAROS REPORT - 1996 & 1997 (ZINE): $4.95 EA.

SMALL BATCH:
BETTER LUCK NEXT CENTURY (DYLAN HORROCKS): $7.00
SMUDGES (P. SHAW): $7.00
BERN & EDWINA (PAT MORIARITY & DAVID GREENBERGER): $7.00

ACTUS: HAPPY END (FULL-COLOR HC): $21.95
ACTUS BOX (BOXED SET OF 5 COLOR GRAPHIC NOVELLAS): $31.95
FLIPPER #1 & #2 (AN): $11.95 EA.
JETLAG (AN): $14.50

STRIPBURGER:
STRIPBUREK (AN): $17.95
MINIBURGER (BOXED SET OF 12 MINICOMICS): $19.95
XXX STRIPBURGER (AN, ADULTS ONLY): $13.95
STRIPBURGER #25, #26, #27, #29 (AN): $7.00 EA.

DEE VEE:
DEE VEE #2-#14, LIC SPEC, #2001 (CB): $3.00 EA.

ALTERNATIVE COMICS:
9-11 EMERGENCY RELIEF (AN, VARIOUS): $14.95

JORDAN CRANE:
THE LAST LONELY SATURDAY (GN): $8.00

DAVID CHOE:
BRUISED FRUIT (FULL-COLOR TP): $20.00

KURT WOLFGANG:
WHERE HATS GO (GN): $8.00

JEFF NICHOLSON:
THROUGH THE HABITRAILS: $14.95

MISC. COMIX:
TALES OF THE GREAT UNSPOKEN (AARON AUGENBLICK): $3.50
JACK'S LUCK RUNS OUT (JASON LITTLE): $3.50
EYE SPY (CHARISE MERICLE): $5.00
CLOCK #1, #2, #3 (PAUL SHARAR): $3.00 EA.
RED CALLOWAY'S BIG BANG (SET OF #1-#4) (PAUL SHARAR): $10.00

SILK-SCREENED POSTERS:
NEIL GAIMAN'S THE LAST ANGEL (BY CRAIG THOMPSON): $20.00
TOP SHELF: THREE ROBOTS (BY MARTIN ONTIVEROS): $20.00
TOP SHELF: MAN WITH MARTINI (BY BRETT WARNOCK): $10.00
TOP SHELF: THE BOXER (BY FRANKIE SIRK): $10.00

Again, for a full list of their catalogue AND ordering instructions, visit their website at HTTP://WWW.TOPSHELFCOMIX.COM

Discuss Top Shelf and the LPC bankruptcy on the Forum.

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