Collections

Art Books: Design

Books about graphic design, typography and visual composition.

Art Books: Illustration

Also known as drawing! All things illustrated.

Art Books: Lowbrow/Outsider

This is where you'll find art books by lowbrow artists, Pop Surrealists, outsider artists and other visionaries.

Art Books: Street Art / Graffiti

Stencil art, graffiti, and street art. One person's vandalism is another person's art. But really, why should those with money be the only ones able to commit visual litter? Plus, this stuff is legit now. What, you didn't see what that Banksy wall went for in auction?

Art Prints, Posters, Portfolios

Things to frame and/or hang on your walls. Show posters, limited edition prints, and more.

Art Toys

Call them what you will - designer vinyl, urban vinyl, etc. We just call them art toys.

Art Toys: Blind Box

You never know what you're going to get with blind-boxed art toys. They're like gumball machine toys designed by artists but only without, y'know, the gumball machine.

Art Toys: Plush

While they may be cute, adorable, soft and cuddly, they are still art toys.

Atomic Canon

Looking to build the perfect Atomic Books library at home? Then you'll need to start with these titles.

Audio

LPs, 45s, cassettes, and even some CDs.

Books For Strange Children

These books are for kids, but adults often read them too.

Coloring & Activity Books

Coloring and Activity Books are not just for kids anymore.

Comics: Graphic Novels

Larger comic stories in a more traditional book format.

Comics: Mini-Comics

Mini-comics are small, self-published comics which are often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. And, as Jessica Abel explains, "The word 'minicomic' does not mean 'small comic'. The 'mini' in minicomics is a reference to a relatively small print run, and also how much personal labor on the part of the artist and friends is involved. A professionally-printed comic with a print-run of 3000 that is 4" X 5" is not a minicomic."

Comics: Single Issues

The traditional, good 'ol fashioned comic book. Enjoy 'em while they last!

Coming Soon

These are items scheduled to arrive at Atomic Books in the upcoming months.Please note that release dates and prices are subject to change.

Culture: Comedy

Books by and about comedians and comedic endeavors.

Culture: Drug Info

Grow books, shroom guides, home chemistry and other publications that help you enjoy altered consciousness.

Culture: General

Hey, not everything is easy to categorize. Here you'll find miscellaneous pop-culture books.

Culture: Pet Porn

For those that just can't get enough of their cats, dogs, and other domesticated animals.

Culture: Sports And Games

The things you play, and the things that play you.

Culture: Tattoos & More

Here you'll find publications on all sorts of body modification.

Culture: Travel

Travel ideas for mutated minds, as well as books about people on journeys and the means in which we get to and from new places.

Culture: Wheels & Gears

Publications for hot rodders, gearheads, bikers, and bicyclists.

D.I.Y.

For those self-motivated individuals who prefer to do things themselves.

DVDs & Blu-Rays (And Sometimes VHS)

Some of our favorite movies, documentaries, TV shows, and other cinematic oddities.

Erotica: Art & Photography

The erotic visual arts.

Erotica: Comics

Mangerotica, Eurotica, Amerotica, and other types of comics FOR ADULTS ONLY.

Erotica: Pin-up Art

Cheesecake, beefcake, burlesque - it's all about the art of the tease.

Erotica: Sex Guides And Reference

Learn the ropes (literally), get your kink on or just investigate something new.

Erotica: Zines/Magazines

Art, pornography, sex industry info, fetish fashion, reference, catalogs and more.

Featured

Relevant to your interests.

Film & TV

Books about cult, obscure, underground, indie and oddball movies, television shows, actors, writers, directors and auteurs.

Food & Drink: Cocktails

Mixed drink recipes, alcohol history and drink theory and other publications on the fine art of inebriation.

Food & Drink: Cookbooks & Recipe Collections

Our collection of cookbooks and recipe books. Make it yourself, just like a pro.

Food & Drink: Food Lit

Chef bios, food histories, culinary theories, reviews, and general food writing and literature.

Food & Drink: Vegetarian & Vegan

Publications on and about vegetarianism and veganism.

Greeting Cards & Notecards

Send just the right sentiment!

John Waters

All things related to The Pope of Trash, Batimore's own John Waters.

LGBTQ

Or, if you prefer, LGBTQQIP2SAA – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Pansexual, Two-Spirit, Asexual, Allies.

Literature: Anthologies & Journals

Anthologies and periodicals collecting a variety of literary forms, usually under one cover.

Literature: Crime, Suspense & Thrillers

Hard-boiled, two-fisted, whodunnits, noir, and also tense suspense and thrills that kill.

Literature: Extreme, Experimental, General

Not all the best fiction fits into neat little boxes. This category features experimental, undergound, raw, fiction, generally, all the fiction that can't be categorized!

Literature: Horror

Stories that frighten, scare, disgust, or startle by inducing feelings of horror and terror. Yay!

Literature: Literary Fiction

Sometimes it's easier to define a thing by what it is not. The books in this category do not belong to any particular genre. They exist to explore the human condition via social or political commentary or through focusing on the individual. Whether or not they inherently hold some literary merit, well, we'll leave that for you to decide.

Literature: Novellas And Short Story Collections

Not everyone has the time to read Infinite Jest. Sometimes readers prefer the art of the shorter narrative.

Literature: Poetry

"I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything." - Steven Wright

Literature: Science Fiction & Fantasy

The titles you'll find in this section go a long way in helping these much-maligned genres.

Literature: The Beats

"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night, who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities..." - Allen Ginsberg, "Howl"

Marylandia

Items of regional interest.

Miscellany

Items that aren't books.

Miscellany: Buttons, Pins, Stickers And Patches

Basically, things that stick you'll find here.

Miscellany: Games

Things you play (that aren't, y'know, musical instruments): board games, card games, etc

Music We Like (Mostly): Alternative, Indie, Underground

Whatever that means.
These publications are about music that used to be called "underground," then "progressive", then "alternative rock" then "indie rock" and now it's just called "indie". In most cases, these bands exist in opposition to larger market forces. It's not really a genre so much as a status. But it's also kind of a genre.

Music We Like (Mostly): Biographies & Criticism

It it possible to learn too much about our favorite musicians? Let's find out, shall we? And then let's find out what others say about them.

Music We Like (Mostly): Folk & Country

Our brand of folk is definitely not all "kumbaya" and our brand of country definitely not "git'r done".

Music We Like (Mostly): Jazz, Soul, R&B

"One chord is fine. Two chords is pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz." - Lou Reed

Music We Like (Mostly): Metal

Heavy metal, hair metal, black metal, death metal, speed metal... hell yeah we frickin' love metal.

Music We Like (Mostly): Outsider & Experimental

Titles about musical outsiders, experimentalists and other creators of audio oddities.

Music We Like (Mostly): Punk

What is punk? Punk can be whatever you want it to be. So the subjects of the publications in this section may not all seem "punk" to you - but hey, applying rules ain't punk either.

Music We Like (Mostly): Rap & Hip Hop

Do you spell "Hip-hop" as one word, with a hyphen or two words and no hyphen? Or do you just call it "rap"?

Music We Like (Mostly): Records And Collecting

The titles in this section deal with record collecting, record stores, album cover art and design.

Music We Like (Mostly): Rock And Pop

There are two major schools of thought here. Rockism refers to a perceived bias in music criticism that some forms of music are more authentic than others. Poptimism is the belief that pop music is just as authentic as other forms of music.

New Books

New books to our shelves.

New Comics

New comics to our shelves.

New Miscellany

New miscellany to our shelves.

New Periodicals

New zines & magazines to our shelves.

Periodicals: Magazines

These are publications which contain articles and illustrations. They differ from zines in that these tend to be a commercial or professional endeavor, and as such generally include advertising.

Periodicals: Zines

It's pronounced "zeen." The word is derived from fanzine - which has a long history of self-published periodicals sharing info for like-minded communities. Or, as Zine Wiki says, "an independently- or self-published booklet .... Zines are customarily created by physically cutting and gluing text and images together onto a master flat for photocopying, but it is also common to produce the master by typing and formatting pages on a computer. The end product is usually folded and stapled. Zines can be printed and bound in any manner. Offset printing is a relatively common alternative to photocopying, though there is some controversy among zine writers as to whether professionally printed products may be defined as zines."

Postcards

Like sending a letter, but cheaper. With better artwork. And not as much space to fill up.

Rarities

These items are very limited, out of print and/or often one-of-a-kind. You may see things available here on one visit, and gone the next.

Signed Items

These items come signed by the authors/artists/creators.We typically have very limited quantities of these titles, so they may go fast.

Society: Animals, Nature And Environment

Welcome to the wild kingdom!

Society: Big Thoughts & Essays

Collections of essays, tomes on big ideas, philosophical treatises and more.

Society: Conspiracies & Disinformation

One person's conspiracy theory is another person's subversive attempt at spreading disinformation. Regardless, there's one thing we know for certain - man never landed on the moon.

Society: Economics, Capital and Business

The people really should own the means of production, y'know.

Society: Feminism

What wave are you?

Society: Freaks & Sideshows

For fans of carnivals, circuses, sideshows, and human oddities.

Society: Hail Satan!

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." And also, Wiccans and goths...

Society: History

The past is proloque... those who don't remember the past are doomed... blah blah blah. We've all heard all the history-related cliches. The titles in this category make the past exciting.

Society: Mayhem & Rebellion

Remember, one person's rebellion is another person's mayhem. These books well help you in a world full of mayhem, or they can help you cause a world of mayhem (for research purposes only, of course).

Society: Medicine, Anatomy and Death

The world of medicine can be gross and disgusting and weird and wonderful.

Society: Outer Limits

Are we alone in the universe? Do aliens live among us? Have they already been here and influenced the course of history? Is our technology based on alien intervention? And what's with all the anal probing? The books in this category attempt to answer these questions and more.

Society: Politics

Publications about politics, politicians, political ideas and more.

Society: Race

Race is a social construct. The books in this category examine how we construct race.

Society: Real Life

The titles in this section are biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. What's the difference between a memoir and an autobiography? Lies?

Society: Strange Science

Depending on who you ask, all science can be strange. For example, in the immortal words of The Insane Clown Posse, "I've seen miracles all around me, stop and look around it's all astounding, water, fire air and dirt, f*cking magnets, how do they work? I don't want to talk to a scientist, ya'll MF lying and getting me pissed..." See?