Uncivilized Books


Uncivilized Books is a publisher in the comics industry based in Minneapolis. The company's owner and founder is cartoonist Tom Kaczynski. The company is known for its literary publications; many of the company's titles have been nominated for awards within the comic book industry.

History

Tom Kaczynski, an émigré from Poland, is a cartoonist, illustrator, and former architecture student. Uncivilized Books traces its origins date back to 2007 when Kaczynski began self-publishing his minicomics under the label. To facilitate his desire to publish, Kaczynski quit his advertising job and moved back to Minneapolis from New York City.
At that time, major independent publishers like Drawn & Quarterly and Fantagraphics were moving away from comic book pamphlets, focusing instead on graphic novels. This shift left many cartoonists, including Gabrielle Bell —whose series Lucky was discontinued after two issues — seeking alternative platforms for their work.
In 2009, Kaczynski transitioned Uncivilized into a full-fledged publishing house, beginning with the release of Bell's one-shot L.A. Diary. The minicomic debuted at the 2009 Rain Taxi Book Festival, establishing Uncivilized Books as a publisher committed to high-quality independent comics.
Between 2009 and 2011, Uncivilized Books expanded its minicomics catalog, collaborating with artists such as Jon Lewis and Dan Wieken while continuing Bell’s diary comics and Kaczynski’s own Cartoon Dialectics. Lewis contributed True Swamp and Klagen: A Horror, utilizing Print Gocco techniques, while Wieken produced art zines like The Booke of Logos. Kaczynski also released new works, including Vague Cities. This period solidified Uncivilized Books’ role in the independent comics scene.

Publications

Uncivilized Books has two imprints — Unicivilized Comics, which produces pamphlets and minicomics; and ODOD Books, which releases the company's all-ages titles. In addition to original graphic novels, the company has also published a few books of comics criticism and history. Finally, Uncivilized Books publishes the Structures zine series, in which artists are asked to contribute 11 designs for new structures.

Awards

Comics

  • Gabrielle Bell:
  • * L.A. Diary
  • * July Diary
  • * My Dog Ivy
  • * My Dog Jojo
  • Jenna Cha and Lonnie Nadler. The Sickness
  • Tom Kaczynski. Cartoon Dialectics vol. 1
  • Jon Lewis. True Swamp — collects material originally published online from Spring 2010
  • — came packaged with a CD by Romberger's son Crosby
  • Craig Thompson. ''Ginseng Roots''

    Graphic novels

  • — collects material from Dark Horse Presents #100-101, True Swamp vol. 2, #1–3, True Swamp vol. 2, #4–5, and True Swamp vol. 1, #1
  • — co-published with 2d Cloud
  • — collects all 12 issues of Ginseng Roots

  • Prose/academic books

  • — book detailing the differences between the various versions of the Ed the Happy Clown narrative

  • ''Structures'' zine series

  • Structures 1-11, by Tom Kaczynski
  • Structures 12-23 by Vincent Stall
  • Structures 24-34 , by Michael DeForge