I finally went to check out Desert Island in Brooklyn - probably the most mouth watering comi(x)cs store in New York city, the church of of the print fetishist! Desert Island is Printed Matter's playful cousin, focusing on indie comics, art zines, prints and artists books.

Like Printed Matter, the selection is impeccable, making it difficult to not spend money. Of course, even my broke ass had to buy stuff - but I also got a couple of awesome freebies, like Smoke Signal, a spectacular tabloid-sized collection of beautiful drawings and comics.

smoke signal at the printer!

PF favorite Luke Ramsey in Smoke Signal #1

I don't know when and where I've seen a better comics compendium in the last few years. Getting a FREE copy of Smoke Signal is enough reason to trek out to Desert Island - but I dare you to not find something worth buying.

Desert Island is located at 540 Metropolitan Ave.,
Brooklyn NY 11211

I find that actually, if you know about one, you usually don't even know that the other exists. Both do curated, limited edition projects incorporating interesting packaging, printing and/or accompanying objects. Arkitip is usually very affordable (the current issue is $25.00) while Visionaire's price is a bit extreme ($295.00 for the current issue), which is specifically meant to express the magazine as "luxury" item. But which is more successful creatively? Maybe your choice depends on what your aesthetic is - if your a fashion person, an art world person, a street art person?