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The excellent Portland books site Reading Local reports that Microcosm Publishing is now offering “'Superpacks' of zines and books and things for your reading pleasure"—basically a relatively cheap zine sampler.

We'll be releasing a DIY Pack called Make Something, Do Something. A Vegan Superpack for all you animal lovers and compassionate folks out there. With a Queer as Fuck Pack, Healthy Living and Support Pack, and Funny as Hell Pack to follow. Who knows what new packs we'll come up with—so check back often. And these packs give you super savings, most of them will be only $20.00 —they're cheaper than if you bought the items separately!

The reason I draw this to your attention is that Superpacks #1-3 are Nate Powell themed. Powell's Swallow Me Whole, released by Top Shelf, walked away with the Eisner for Best Graphic Novel at San Diego Comic Con over the summer (he's also a best artist nominee for the 2009 Ignatz Awards, held later this month). And while I wasn't as taken with Swallow Me Whole's storyline as everyone else seemed to be, Powell's an undeniably phenomenal artist. Microcosm's offering a $15 package that includes a signed, limited edition poster and a zine collecting his earlier works called Sounds of Your Name, a $30 pack that adds a copy of Swallow Me Whole (a really nice hardback volume, as as Top Shelf books tend to be), and a $33 package that throws in a copy of his new zine Please Release. If I had more than $8.23 in my bank account, I'd be all over this.