Midnight Ramblings - September 2009

Night Light Comics
Matt Chicorel has published the second issue of Buzz Pop. The 40-page, digest-size comic is available for $4 from Chicorel, who can be contacted via the Night Light Comics website.

CR Hits the Big Five, OMG
Congratulations to Tom Spurgeon, his Comics Reporter turned five this month! CR is one of the premier news sites for comics—the depth and breadth of his coverage is excellent. Congrats Tom!

Glasbergen Tells All
Cartoonist Scott Nickel, who creates the wonderful comic strip Eek! interviewed Randy Glasbergen recently on his blog:
A Nickel's Worth. Glasbergen is the creator behind The Better Half and Thin Lines and author of books like How to be a Successful Cartoonist and 'Toons!

Comics to Die For
Martin Buxton and Tony Wicks are set for the October 3rd debut of their
Jack in the Box graphic novel. The book collects the first six issues of their comic of the same name. Check out the Jack in the Box website for a trailer, news, creator bios, and sample artwork.

Get to Know Joe
I Know Joe Kimpel is gearing up for SPX with books like Dark Corners, the newest 4-Square anthology, Basket Ogress, Funny Animals, End of Eros, and Woman King. Check out the I Know Joe Kimpel blog for covers, previews, and display table locations at SPX.

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September 18, 2009

Lucubration
loo-kyoo-BRAY-shun was a word of the day this week. It's meaning has several shades, but the one that struck me was that which is composed by night. Burning the midnight oil, absorbed in the creative process. Whether it's a small press comix story or a pulp-inspired adventure yarn, that's Midnight Fiction.

Six Guns & Saddles #3
Indy publisher "Grim" Jim Main announced the third issue of his western zine, Six Guns & Saddles this week. Released as a PDF publication, the 32-page issue features a cover story on the Maverick TV show by Frank Oviatt. The zine also includes an article about Marvel's Gunhawks by Sam Gafford, A Trio of Trinity, The Wild Wild West on DVD by Michael Tuz, and eight pages of reviews of western books, comics, and DVDs by Dennis Kinninger. The new zine is available for a mere $1. Send a check to Main Enterprises along with your email address and editor Main will email the PDF to you.

Rainey Reigns
British cartoonist Paul Rainey announced the tenth issue of his There's No Time Like the Present this week. It's available for £2.50 in the UK and £3.50 Internationally. Many of the back issues are also available from Rainey's Shop. He recently collected the best of his other comic, The Book of Lists, into a 112-page book, that goes for £10.95 UK, and £13.00 International. To get you started, Rainey's posted the opening 39 pages of There's No Time Like the Present online, as well as five of the lists from The Book of Lists collection.

Top Shelf $3 Specials
Indy publisher Top Shelf is having a massive $3 graphic novel sale that runs from
Sept. 14 thru 25. Over fifty-five titles have been temporarily reduced to $3 to celebrate the debut of The Surrogates movie on Sept. 25th. Top Shelf will add a sampler and an Owly & Friends comic to every order. Order total must be $30 or more to take advantage of the sale prices. Top Shelf.

Zeek #7 and Liberal Myth covers

I'd Buy That
Brian Cattapan is a regular at the Portland Zine Symposium and the Stumptown Comics Fest. The prolific cartoonist publishes two small press comics regularly: Zeek, the Martian Geek and Vampires Need Love, Too. He recently collected the best of Zeek into his first trade paperback. Check out Cattapan Comics for lots of cartoons and comics and ordering information.

Liberal Myth
This is a perzine by a young woman named Mayzie Hart. It's an open, honest account of body image and Hart's growing obsession with the art and fitness aspects of pole dancing. It's not about strip clubs. Instead it's a well-written account of Hart's mental state and the positive steps she takes to move forward. Hart is a fearless writer who offers a frank account of her life and insight into issues facing young women in today's world. I'm not sure where you can buy this, but Hart can be contacted through her LiveJournal page.

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September 12, 2009

Midville High May 2009 and June 2007

Choosy Beggar Books
Cartoonist Matt Blair sent in a couple of issues of his Midville High comic for review this week. (Thank you, Matt!) The most recent of the two is from May 2009. I've added them to my review queue, which is always listed in the right-hand sidebar of the review index page. If you have a small press publication you'd like reviewed, my mailing address is there as well. (BTW, I only review printed material.) Blair's work and commentary can be seen at Choosy Beggar Books. Issues of Midville High are $1 each or available for trades.

Redesigned S.P.A.C.E.
Bob Corby announced the redesign of his SPACE website this week. A big part of the new design, by Tom Williams, is the news blog running on the front page. Bob is the main contributor at the moment, but he plans to enlist the aid of a few other bloggers to keep the material fresh. You can also follow SPACE on several social networking sites. Check out the left-hand sidebar on the SPACE news page for links.

String #16 and Tim Corrigan's Comics and Stories #37 covers

String #16
The sixteenth issue of String leads off with a very nice installment of Raised by Squirrels written by Bram Meehan and illustrated by Monica Meehan. It's followed by comics by Jeff Benham, Mayhem aka James Mahan, and Bram Meehan & Jamie Chase. The final pages feature a jam session by the creators already mentioned plus Danny Green. You can download the String #16 PDF and all the previous issues from the Cartoon Conspiracy.

TCC&S 37
Special guest artist Matthew Corrigan does the drawing while publisher Tim Corrigan provides the story and inks in the latest edition of Corrigan's Comics and Stories. The Silly is an 11 page story that fills the 16 issue. The four pages in the center are crammed with letters from Corrigan's readers and fans. $1.50 from New Voice Media.

Goodbye and Women in Uniform covers

I'd Buy That
Writer Robin Fisher and cartoonist Jeff Ellis teamed to produce Goodbye, a digest-sized mini comic published by Cloudscape Comics. The 16 page comic features a story that the two originally created for an anthology in 2001. The book was never completed, so they decided to produce it as a standalone pamphlet. Fisher hosts Onomatopoeia on CJLO radio in Concordia. Ellis is a member of Cloudscape Comics and publishes work online at Jeff Ellis.

Women in Uniform
This digest-sized zine features a great collection of pinups of beautiful women in and out of uniforms by Scott Faulkner. With a full color cover and 16 interior b&w pages, the zine sells for $3. Adults only. Faulkner publishes work online at Vinylsaurus, LiveJournal, and is a member of Friends of the Nib.

Neptune and Zine of Bronze #6 covers

More reviews from Midnight Fiction:
Poopsheet Foundation Aron Nels Steinke's Neptune

Comic Related Jim Main's Zine of Bronze #6

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September 5, 2009

Theo Ellsworth and Aron Nels Steinke at Powell's

Earlier this week Aron Nels Steinke and Theo Ellsworth read excerpts from their recent works at Powell's City of Books, Portland's famous independent book store. Ellsworth read Norman Eight's Left Arm, a story from his latest comic, Sleeper Car, published by Secret Acres. Ellsworth reports he's begun work on a comic series called The Thought Cloud Family. He drew Sleeper Car as a sort of warm-up before jumping into what he described as a huge commitment to his new series.

Powell's postcard and Big Plans #4 cover
Promotional artwork for Powell's reading and the cover of Big Plans #4

Steinke and Ellsworth met over coffee to work out the design for the event's promotional artwork and decided they'd split the space and each do half. Although they drew their cartoons separately the artwork came together rather nicely in the finished piece.

Steinke, who's pursuing a teaching degree, read a section from his first graphic novel, Neptune. The book is published in partnership by Tugboat Press and Sparkplug Comic Books. Steinke based it on the storyboards of an unfinished animated cartoon he wrote several years ago. It took him over a year to draw all 160 pages. He had a few original pages on display which were surprisingly close to their printed size. During the Q&A, both Steinke and Ellsworth said they each draw using technical pens rather than brushes.

Powell's carries several comics by Steinke and Ellsworth. Steinke's Super Crazy Cat Dance is one of their best selling zines. In fact, a page from it is featured in a full page ad for Powell's in the current issue of Ms. Magazine. Steinke's current project is the fourth issue of his series Big Plans. He featured its cover on his blog recently. His next big plans include its debut later this year at SPX.

If you haven't read work from these two young cartoonists, you're missing out on some of the best new indie comics around. You can test the waters with an issue of Big Plans or Sleeper Car, or jump into the deep side with Neptune or Ellsworth's book Capacity. Better yet, get everything they've done now and have no regrets years later when it'll cost twice as much.

Funny Animals and Jack Kirby Collector #27 covers

Funny Animals
Another comic poised for debut at SPX comes from our friends at I Know Joe Kimpel. Love that cover! For the full list of contributors check out the Funny Animals website.

TwoMorrows 50% Off Sale
TwoMorrows Publishing is offering 50% off on 200 back issues of comic related print magazines such as Alter-Ego, Jack Kirby Collector, Back Issue, Rough Stuff, Draw!, Write Now!, Comic Book Artist, BrickJournal, and several one-shot titles. The TwoMorrows sale runs through Sept. 30th.

Poopsheet Update
Independent publisher representative Tony Shenton recently wrote a terrific update about small press creators and highlighted several of his best sellers in a post on the Poopsheet Foundation. If you're considering expanding distribution for your small press efforts, it's a must-read.

Mini comic creator Beth Wagner started a Zine Swap thread in the Poopsheet Forums. If you're interested in trading your work for others, check out the growing list of interested traders. Also in this vein, check out DC McNamara's terrific Mini-Comic Coop.

Comic Fan Contest
Publisher Jim Main announced a Comic Fan art contest this week, with three cash prizes. Artists can submit one entry each of established comic book or comic strip characters. All submissions require transfer of publication rights to Main Enterprises. Cash awards of $100, $50, and $25 will be awarded two weeks after the winning cartoonists are announced. For submission details contact Jim Main through Main Enterprises. Contest entries must be received on or before Dec. 18, 2009.

Aprendiz #4 and Satyr #9 covers