Eddie Campbell’s Omnibus, Alec: the Years Have Pants, is Now in Stock and Hitting Stores This Week!

Chris Starros, of Top Shelf Productions, has informed Hypergeek that he has just received copies of their wonderful new Omnibus of Eddie Campbell’s Alec stories, Alec: the Years Have Pants.

The book is now available to purchase from Top Shelf’s online store, and Diamond have informed Top Shelf that it should be hitting comic stores this Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009. However, I should note that Diamond did not put the book on their shipping list for this week, so make sure to check availability with your store.

I have read an advance release copy of this collection, and cannot recommend it highly enough. I should have a full review up soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Here is the full information on the release:

For the first time ever, the groundbreaking autobiographical comics of master cartoonist Eddie Campbell (FROM HELL) are collected in a single volume!

Brilliantly observed and profoundly expressed, the ALEC stories present a version of Eddie’s own life, filtered through the alter ego of “Alec MacGarry.” Over many years, we witness Alec’s (and Eddie’s) progression “from beer to wine” — wild nights at the pub, existential despair, the hunt for love, the quest for art, becoming a responsible breadwinner, feeling lost at his own movie premiere, and much more! Eddie’s outlandish fantasies and metafictional tricks convert life into art, while staying fully grounded in his own absurdity. At every point, the author’s uncanny eye for irony and wry self-awareness make even the smallest occasion into an opportunity for wit and wisdom. Quite simply, ALEC is a masterpiece of visual autobiography.

ALEC: THE YEARS HAVE PANTS (A LIFE-SIZE OMNIBUS) collects the previous Alec books THE KING CANUTE CROWD, GRAFFITI KITCHEN, HOW TO BE AN ARTIST, LITTLE ITALY, THE DEAD MUSE, THE DANCE OF LIFEY DEATH, AFTER THE SNOOTER, as well as a generous helping of rare and never-before-seen material, including an all-new 35-page book, THE YEARS HAVE PANTS. — Softcover Graphic Novel with French Flaps, 640 pages, 7 1/2″ x 10″

Available in two handsome editions:

Softcover with French Flaps:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=12&title=618
– $35.00 (US), Diamond: JUL091081, ISBN 978-1-60309-025-4

Deluxe Hardcover:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=12&title=643
– $49.95 (US), Diamond: JUL091082, ISBN 978-1-60309-047-6

Or see both (and more) at EDDIE CAMPBELL’s webpage:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/eddiecampbell

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Here’s what people are saying:

“ALEC is magic, and even if I knew how all of it was done I’d be doing you a disservice if I pointed out the wires and mirrors. … It is written by someone who obviously finds being alive an endless source of novelty and conundrum.” — Alan Moore

“Do you need me to tell you how good Eddie Campbell is? Or that ALEC is probably the best book-length comic about art and wine and midlife crises and families and friends and wine and love and art and saying goodbye and terror there is?” – Neil Gaiman

“My participation in comics originally grew from my personal admiration for the work of Eddie Campbell, both in partnership with Alan Moore (on FROM HELL) and on his own (in the inimitably observant ALEC stories, as well as the irreverent BACCHUS tales). Driven to expose Eddie’s work to the widest possible audience, I entered the comics business as Eddie’s distributor in the United States, and soon thereafter partnered with Brett Warnock to re-launch Top Shelf. Fifteen years later (!), I’m holding in my hands one of the things I’m most proud of: A gorgeous edition of Eddie’s groundbreaking autobiographical comics, collected in a giant 640-page single volume!” — Chris Staros

“This impressive collection — a high-water mark in the graphic novel’s short history — confirms that no one else in the medium combines emotional truth, literary intelligence, and formal daring with such adroitness and elegance.” — Booklist (starred review)

“This impressive collection—a high-water mark in the graphic novel’s short history—confirms that no one else in the medium combines emotional truth, literary intelligence, and formal daring with such adroitness and elegance.” – Booklist (starred review)

“Witty and thoughtful … a great and epic comic documentary novel like no other.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A profound piece … Campbell makes it feel like the greatest adventure imaginable.” – Alex Pappademas, GQ

“Eddie Campbell’s Alec stories were among the first of the modern era of autobiographical comics, and they still rate among the best—witty, brilliantly illustrated, self-mocking without ever being mopey or pathetic, and most importantly, forever changing style to suit the needs of the story… Watching Campbell’s storytelling and approach to art progress and evolve as these stories unfold is as close as you can get to watching a real human life change on the page. One of the must-own releases of the year.” – The AV Club

“If autobiography is the lingua franca of the graphic novel form, Campbell is its undisputed Shakespeare.” – Richard Pachter, Miami Herald