This year’s zine and comic fest season is coming to a close, so I’m hunkering down a bit in my little studio office to sift through the piles of catalog addition submissions so I can continue to add even more great new items through the winter. I’ve gotten a ton of awesome new stuff in stock over the last month or so, and this year I’ll spare you my stump speech on how zines and comics make the best holiday gifts ever. I will say, though, that for all you newsletter subscribers, I am offering a shot of holiday savings this year.

FREE SHIPPING: All US orders are eligible for free Media Mail shipping with the coupon code freeshippingplease.

Oh, and hey, guess what: if you had registered with Parcell Press and signed up for the Newsletters, you’d have a whole grip of additional coupon codes to use this holiday season. But, since you’re just reading the blog, you only get the one.

GIFT BOOKS:
Based on feedback from our resellers as well as our regular customers, here’s a list of the top five titles most often purchased as a gift:
1. Obsolete by Katie Haegele
2. Adrift by JP Coovert
3. Stolen Sharpie Revolution 2 by Alex Wrekk
4. Making Stuff & Doing Things by Kyle Bravo
5. Coffeeshop Crushes

But, who are you to need a list to guide you toward the best zine, comic, and indie book gift ideas? We’ve added loads of new titles in time for the holidays, so you’ve got plenty more to choose from. And, don’t forget the standby: a Parcell Press Gift Certificate, available in various amounts.

Hope everyone is well. Stay warm and drop me a line to say hi!

Rules are made to be broken, right? Well, good then, because I long ago promised myself I wouldn’t divulge all of the major monthly Parcell Press Newsletter secrets and treasures to just everyone. I promised myself, “Self, that kind of news is for people kin’ a’nuff to subscribe.” But from time to time, I can’t help but want to share all of the secrets and treasures with the whole world.

Also, about a year ago I invented “Two-New Tuesday,” a clever plan by which I’d add just two new titles to the Parcell Press catalog per week, so as not to overextend myself or my customers, and to get folks in the habit of checking in weekly. I mean, who can forget a phrase like “Two-New Tuesday”? Well, the more new things I pick up for the shop and the more excited I am to share them, I have slowly but surely broken that rule as well.

So, I’m here to just get this rule-breaking over with once and for all. First, I am just itching to share this Coupon Code with each and every one of you. Typing sweaterweather09 into the coupon code field when you checkout will take 15% off your order total! Fuh real. But be quick, because this coupon code won’t work after 10.30.09.

Second, I’ve added about a bagillion new titles to the catalog lately. They’re all great and I’m really excited to show them to you. Here’s a little breakdown:

• 17 Strangers by Katie Haegele
• Cometbus #52
• Cramhole #3
• DIY or Don’t We #1
• Gullible #29
• Ker-bloom #79
• King-Cat #70
• My Time Annihilator
• Papercutter #11
• Please Be Brave
• Quotidian & Friends
• Runx Tales #2
• Things I’ve Lost / Things I’ve Found
• Truck Face #13
• You Idiot Book

Can you believe it? That’s a lot of new stuff. Feels good to get all this out of my system. Now maybe I won’t be hyping out so much when I’m packing up your orders.

If you happen to be near Los Angeles (I’m not), you should stop by Skylight Books at 1814 N. Vermont Avenue and take a gander at their nice selection of mini comics and comic zines, many of which are supplied direct from Parcell Press. It’s a great way to touch and feel some of the greatest little illustrated books available before buying, and you can feel good knowing you’re supporting independent artists, Parcell Press, and your neighborhood bookstore. Be sure to say thanks to Skylight for bringing the best in creative self publishing under their roof.

If you run an independent bookstore interested in stocking anything in the Parcell Press catalog, please visit our Wholesale Information page and get in touch to enjoy our personal support for wholesale accounts and handsome bulk discounts.

Not to brag or anything, but I get some really awesome mail.  Always have.  As an enterprising and epistolizing youth, I attempted to create a pen pal network so vast, I hoped, that I’d barely have time enough to attend elementary school with all of the letters I needed to write.  I’ve gone through various mail-related obsessions, but for nearly two decades I’ve been a regular mailbox-checker, a post-office-line-stander, and generally, a postal enthusiast. Mail art?  Love it!  The Committee of Correspondence?  One of my favorite nuggets of the history of the American Revolution!  A long-standing obsession with philately? Check.  (Thanks, Dad!) Dear Mr. Henshaw?  You know, I didn’t really like that one so much, but mostly because you never got read Mr. Henshaw’s response.  Oh, and there weren’t envelopes to open and stamps to collect.

In any case, I’ve had countless keys to countless Post Office boxes, and currently I’ve got two on my ring; one each for a box in both towns in which there exists a Parcell Press Bureau (that’s Philadelphia and Richmond if you weren’t aware).  Sending packages out and bringing mail home every day is one of the pleasant little rhythms I abide by.

Thus begins the newest Parcell Press Blog Series, “Mail Call,” in which I feature photos of some of the pretty mail I bring home and send out, or even some other postal-related excitement.

The box photographed above contains copies of the brand new Bullshit Frank & Gorilla Joe by Michaela Colette Zacchilli!  Check the new catalog additions on Tuesday, January 13 to see it first hand.  Thanks for the great mail, Mickey!