Michel FiffeTen years ago today, COPRA No. 1 went on sale. Sold around a dozen copies that afternoon, a few more in a local convention that weekend, and I had a handful of shops willing to stock the title. Been building ever since.
A print run of 400 for a monthly 24 page full-color action comic produced and shipped from my apartment. It changed my life.
Thanks to everybody who’s been on board and backed me up every step of the way. Here’s to ten more years and beyond.
New comics from Copra Press! Check out all the details in their respective pages:
GIANT-SIZE COPRA VERSUS• 600 copies of a numbered bumper edition for last year’s Copra subscribers.
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NEGATIVELAND • 300 copies of a signed & numbered mini-comic for Patreon supporters.
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Although the print versions are exclusive, the stories can still be read by all:
Copra Versus #3: ASESINOS • “Tabula Raza”
Copra Versus #4: AGES OF OCHIZON • “The Long Conduct”
Copra Versus #5: VITAS CREW • “Dot Management”
Two stories for the price of one! Our lead story features the reunited Copra members making a hasty “escape” from Compota Kingdom.
The back end showcases Team X trying to ambush a target with dangerously mixed results, as these few preview pages promise…
And here are a few close-up shots that I took as I was working on these pages. Not as messy as I expected!
Convention Time
MoCCA (NYC)
East Coast Comicon (Secaucus, NJ)
CAKE (Chicago, IL)
HeroesCon (Charlotte, NC)
SPX (Bethesda, MD)
Those are the shows I’ll be at this year and I hope to see you there, so mark your calendars.
There you have it, 24 full-color pages on sturdy Cougar Opaque paper for five bucks. Get COPRA #29 while you can, and prepare for next time: COPRA turns 30!
Heavy duty COPRA Vinyl Stickers are here! You can get them both in one shot, or individually, and they feature all-new artwork for our wide cast of heroes/villains. I also drew and handcrafted the top label, so get them while supplies last.
As for comics, COPRA Round 4 is available and ready to be held by us. Bergen Street Press can make sure that happens, and so can your Local Comic Shop; tell them R4 is in Previews ( Diamond Code: SEP161366 ) and they’ll come through.
Oh, hey, I should mention that Paste listed COPRA as one of their 25 Best Comics of 2016 as did the Beat and ComicBook.Com. Also, the A.V. Club Readers’ Poll repped COPRA as one of the best comic series in 2016. The season of lists has officially begun. [UPDATE: Comicverse weighed in on the Best Indie Comics 2016.]
Some interesting discussions have been popping up about this here comic. I already linked to Abhay Khosla’s massive overview (which is strangely unavailable but has been rescued by Abhay himself for posterity) — but in response to one of his followers, Abhay went off again. I appreciate that Copra gets looked over in several ways, most times pretty intensely, as onlookers always approach it very differently. I relate to overanalyzing things that perhaps weren’t built to be held under tight scrutiny, so all this activity is deeply appreciated.
Ron Edwards, over at Comics Madness, feels the same way. All the topics brought up are important to me, so I’m happy that the discussion is being cultivated. Ron wrote a piece on Mark Gruenwald which at a glance, I basically disagree with, but I look forward to forming a rebuttal when I get the chance. Like I said, I’m into these discussions.
There’s also a Copra write up by Kim O’Connor in the inaugural issue of Critical Chips, edited by Zainab Akhtar (who ran a feature on her Comics & Cola blog called Comics Shelfie in which I contributed to long ago). Anyway, I’ve yet to read the piece in question (copy’s in the mail), but I like Kim’s writing so I’m very much looking forward to it. [UPDATE: Got my copy, read it, loved it. Now available digitally.]
Last but not least, the COPRA Subscription 2017 is now live!
Wherever you are, whatever you do, stay safe and have a happy holiday.
The following is a master list of all the comic stores that carry the COPRA single issues. If you are missing a specific COPRA back issue and I don’t have it in stock myself, contact these retail outlets to see if they can help you. This list will continue to be updated as shops continue to come and go. Many other stores primarily carry the collections, which can also be ordered directly from Bergen Street Press.
Mysterious Time Machine (NYC)
Forbidden Planet (NYC)
JHU Comic Books (NYC)
Desert Island (Brooklyn, NY)
Mama Says Comics Rock (Brooklyn, NY)
Escape Pod Comics (Huntington, NY)
Comics N More (Easthampton, MA)
Chicago Comics (Chicago, IL)
Floating World (Portland, OR)
Cosmic Monkey (Portland, OR)
Bridge City Comics (Portland, OR)
Zanadu Comics (Seattle, WA)
Destiny City Comics (Tacoma, WA)
Mission: Comics & Art (San Francisco, CA)
Acme Superstore (Longwood, FL)
Big Planet Comics (Washington, DC)
Third Eye Comics (Annapolis, MD)
Collectors Corner (Baltimore, MD)
Velocity Comics (Richmond, VA)
Copacetic Comics (Pittsburgh, PA)
Beguiling Books & Art (Toronto, Ontario, CAN)
Strange Adventures (Halifax, Nova Scotia , CAN)
Variant Edition (Edmonton, Alberta, CAN)
Orbital Comics (London, UK)
COPRA #26 now on sale! Twenty-four full-color pages of a new story arc where we catch up with some old friends and make some new enemies. Written, drawn, and colored by yours truly, all for five bucks. A better deal doesn’t exist. Take full advantage of it.
The time has come: COPRA Subscription 2016 is now live and ready to go! Make sure you guarantee a spot in your mailbox for the world’s best action comic!
The FIVE issues included in this subscription are the next 3 COPRA issues (#s 26, 27, and 28) as well as the FIRST TWO issues of the brand new mini: COPRA VERSUS! The mini series consists of standalone stories focusing on the vast array of COPRA villains and are also tangential to the main title’s current arc. Perfect for new readers, dedicated collectors, and lovers of psychedelic action comic bloodshed.
COPRA is now digitally available via comiXology!
For the occasion, I’ve amassed an exhaustive guide of the very first issue’s coverage and availability. Read on and you’ll find store listings, interviews & reviews, and ordering information just in case there was anyone left who is on the fence about COPRA. There’s no way to miss out on this one, so check it out and get hooked.