Blog - February 2008

The UK Comics Scene
There's a thriving indie comics scene in the UK with creators like Nick Abadzis, Sean Azzopardi, David Bailiie, Paul Gravett, Roger Mason, Paul Rainey, Oli Smith, Andy Winter and many others. One of the best places to keep up with the local scene is The Forbidden Planet International Blog. It's updated daily and covers large and small scale news about comics and media. Like the title says, it's international, so they cover the US scene as in Joe Gordon's review of our own Bug infested Comics #5 this week, but there's plenty of emphasis on UK-based projects too. Plus their blogroll includes a huge list of links to other interesting sites to explore. Check 'em out.

Cruse Art #6
Howard Cruse issued the 6th edition of his newsletter this week. It's loaded with wonderful color and b&w spot illustrations for sale at very reasonable prices. If you haven't subscribed yet, here's the link to sign up. Also in this edition of the Cruse Art Newsletter is a link to another special PDF treasure: A catalog of original Barefootz comics for sale!

Trickster Anthology
Indie cartoonist Matt Dembicki publishes small press comics (Attic Wit and Mr. Big) and a webcomic called Spadefoot on DrunkDuck. He's currently working on a new print anthology called Trickster. He's started a blog that tracks the development process. Check it out here.

Small Press Comics Explosion Goes Online
As reported this week on Ka-Whump!, Tim Corrigan has taken his Small Press Comics Explosion online. Modeled after the SPCE zine of the same name, Corrigan envisions the website as a cornerstone destination for self-publishers of comics and their readers. Send your news releases and small press comics for review. Site updates are scheduled every Monday.

Indie Cartoonist Showcase
The Best of Nickelodeon Magazine is out on newsstands now. It's an all-comics edition with full color comics by a huge roster of cartoonists like Stephen DeStefano, Mark Martin, James Kochalka, Michael Kupperman, Harper, Corey Barba, Dan Moynihan, Terry LaBan, Jef Czekaj, Bobby London, Scott Cunningham, Sam Henderson, Dave Cooper, Kim & Simon Deitch, Jay Stephens, Scott Roberts, Robert Leighton, Mazzucchelli, Butch Hartman, R. Sikoryak, Tim Hamilton, Craig Thompson, and Ellen Forney. There's also a bevy of gag cartoons by the likes of Karen Sneider, Emily Flake, Bob Vojtko, Ian Baker, Johnny Ryan, Steve Weissman, Bill Alger & Doug Bratton, Evan Dorkin & Sarah Dryer, Mick Stevens, Ariel Bordeaux, Marc Bilgrey, Gary Fields, Hellen Jo, Jen Sorensen, and Graham Annable. $4.99, displayed on newsstands until April 15th. Website. LiveJournal.

Captain Hazzard Now Shipping
Writer/Editor Ron Fortier launched the the Airship 27 online store this week. It offers a 25% discount off of the retail price of his line of modern day pulp fiction books. The store offers print or download versions of each title. In addition to the newly revised Captain Hazzard volume, the store also includes Brother Bones, Witchfire, and The Moon Man.

Chapter One of Light Children
Andy Horner (writer) and Kyle Webster (artist) are working on a graphic novel called Light Children about a group of children who have been orphaned due to their "light" deformities. In their sanctuary, the Westover Lake Orphanage, they find acceptance and love with their new guardians. All except the reclusive and strange Eli, who may be their world's only hope. You can read the first chapter online here.

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February 16, 2008
Small, Pressing News Items and other Musings

Before the writer's strike, I used to spend 80% of my time online. When the new TV shows stopped airing, my online time edged up to 99%. I've read on numerous websites that the strike is over now, so I'm looking forward to watching TV with the remaining 1% of available time. I just hope there isn't a commercial on.

Allen Freeman, over at the Small Press Newsroom gave our latest mini-comic, Bug Infested Comics #5 a nice review last week. He brought up a good point about the price too: $2 for an 8-page mini comic may be a price barrier. As you might imagine, this isn't a profit making venture. The price was set to cover the production costs and postage. My partner in this venture, Bob Vojtko, and I really just want to get the comic out to anyone that's interested. If the $2 price tag is holding you back, just send me a first class stamp and I'll be happy to send you the comic.

Midnight Fiction
6327C SW Capitol Hwy. #293
Portland, OR 97239

Adamant Entertainment has just launched a new pulp magazine called Thrilling Tales to complement their role-playing game of the same name. The quarterly magazine features classic and original characters in new adventures intended to recapture the action-packed excitement of pulp magazine era. Website.

The hard drive on my computer died last week. Fortunately it was replaced within 48 hours and the technician was even able to retrieve most of my project files (whew). The remaining repair work for me was reinstalling applications, reestablishing personal settings, and recreating bookmarks. The reason I'm mentioning this is that the experience uncovered another benefit of using an RSS feed reader. When my hard drive went away, unlike bookmarks, I didn't lose any feeds. I just logged into the Google Reader and picked up right where I left off. Originally, the feed reader took a few days to get used to, but it soon became a new routine. It really makes keeping up with a multitude of websites and blogs very easy. It's particularly useful for favorite sites that post updates irregularly. You no longer need to remember to check them. The updates are delivered to you automatically, as soon as they're posted.

Indie cartoonist Steve Lafler started a new comics Blog on Valentine's Day. Back in the 80s he published well over a dozen issues of his own comix, called Dog Boy. The originals are long since out of print, but fortunately for us, Dog Boy Daily will be revisiting the series online. Lafler pledges to update the site with a new segment on a near-daily basis, so here's another reason to get that RSS Reader going!

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February 9, 2008
That Indie-fatigable Mini

In 1978, Everyman Studios was one of the most prolific publishers of the newave comix scene. Their Cascade Comix Monthly title quickly became one of the most widely read zines of its kind. In January 1979 Everyman began publishing a 21-issue series of mini comics, that ended in 1981. The second issue in their series was Bob Vojtko's Bug Infested Comics. (Note: This issue is both Everyman Mini-Comics #2 and Bug Infested Comics #1.) This issue was done entirely by Bob and featured four 1-page comics and one 3-pager, plus the cover.

Bug Infested Comics #1 and #2 covers

In 1980, Bob produced the second issue of Bug Infested Comics. It was published by Clay Geerdes under his Comix World imprint and consisted of eight full-page cartoons by Bob. Although this issue isn't dated, Jay Kennedy's Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide lists it as June 1980.

In 1985, Bob teamed with Brad W. Foster for a third issue which was published by Foster's outfit, Jabberwocky Graphix. The cover was a jam between the two artists and inside Brad contributed three full-page cartoons and Bob drew a
4-page comic called Major Mosquito.

Bug Infested Comics #3 and #4 covers

Two years later, Jim Ryan and Bob collaborated on the fourth issue, a special all-centipede edition. It was published in March 1987 under Jim's imprint, Anarchaos. Bob contributed the cover, three full-page cartoons, and three
1-page comic strips. Jim provided a full-page cartoon for the back cover.

Sometime during the last quarter of 2007, Dan Taylor posted an entry on the Ka-Whump! forum that noted every issue of Vojtko's Bug Infested Comics had been published under a different imprint. It was an interesting point so I asked Bob what he could recall about the history. He responded quickly, but said he really couldn't remember the details from that long ago, and that he'd think about it some more and let me know if anything jogged his memory.

That was that, until several weeks later when Bob unexpectedly invited me to publish the next one! Of course I jumped at the chance for more Vojtko comics and we quickly settled on who would do what. Bob wrote the gag for the cover jam between the two of us and produced a wonderful
4-page comic with Murry's Garbage Worms who appeared in the first issue, way back in 1979. My contribution was three 1-page comics, plus the color and production work.

Bob was happy to bring back a few of his old characters and excited by the return of one of his original titles. It may have taken 21 years, but Bug Infested Comics is back at last, with its fifth installment. The full color, 8-page mini comic is available now from the Midnight Fiction Shop.

More Small, Pressing News Items

New Zine from
Weird Muse Productions
Last week Weird Muse Productions announced a whole batch of new mini comics. This week I learned of another. This one is called Images. It's a zine/comic that deals with image disorders that affect both young and old. It's written by mental health professional Carrie Taylor, who is also a licensed hair designer. She's had ample opportunity to study this issue from both sides of the mirror. Illustrated by Dan W. Taylor, Images is available from the Weird Muse website.

SLP Zine for MoCCA
Dave Cushman is hoping to assemble a self-published zine, to debut at MoCCA (June 23 & 24), spotlighting Small Press League (SPL) members and spreading the word about the organization. The concept being a page or two from each member’s sketchbook, with bio/contact info. The pages could be short strips or random drawings, or both. Check the SPL website for more information and contacts.

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February 2, 2008
Small Pressing News Items

Small press advocate Floydman who publishes the Ka-Whump! zine and website has launched an online auction service. Although it includes categories for all types of merchandise, Floydman intends to focus on classic small press books, magazines, and comics. To help get things started he's also offering a $3 credit for first-time users.

Prolific small presser, Dan W. Taylor has just released a new batch of titles through his Weird Muse Productions:

Time Warp Comix #5, the Clay Geerdes inspired mini comix, features the some of the best newave cartoonists from the 70's and 80's. This edition includes work by Jim Siergey, Bob Vojtko, David Miller, George Erling, Andy Nukes, and Taylor!

Symphony in Ink #3, a digest-size anthology comic includes work by David Degrand, Steve Steiner, Bill Shut, Jenny Gonzalez, Andy Nukes, and Taylor.

Ten Itty Bitty Shitty Pieces of Art, an artzine featuring Taylor's artwork created for an Ohio art show of the same name.

Micro Comics #2, the second seriously silly teensy issue.

All of the new zines are available at bargain prices from the Weird Muse online shop, or you can buy them from Taylor at this year's SPACE, where he'll be tabling the entire Weird Muse collection.

Andy Rementer's handmade zine of his sketchbook comics and drawings, Spiller #2, is available for $10 from his website Techno Tuesday.

The amazing 24/7 man, Chuck Moore, continues to add features and content to the Comic Related website and forum. Two of the latest features to the forum are Blogs and Galleries. Both are free services, and free registration on the forum takes less than minute. If you haven't explored the site or forum recently, it's well worth the clicks. Moore is the most energetic and enthusiastic webmaster I've ever known. Besides the continuously updated news on the site's homepage, he's hosting nearly a dozen forum sections that are devoted to independent publishers like Alterna Comics and creators like Ron Fortier. This venue provides a great opportunity to interact directly with several of the publishers, artists, and writers who are helping to shape today's independent comics scene.

Cartoonist Bob Vojtko recently uncovered an issue of Low Budget Funnies #8, that was published in Sept. 1985. Up to now, I thought the title ended with issue #7. The "new" Vojtkomic has been added to our Vojtko Zinography page right here on MF.com.

The UK's indie comic/manga website that features news, reviews, and articles, IndieReview, has been redesigned and is now online in Beta release. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou reports they've added new areas of Personal Space, Image Galleries, and Blog Rolls for registered members. The new services allows members to create their own website that's hosted by IndieReview for free. When you visit the site be sure to check out the news, articles, interviews, reviews, and forums as well.

The McKenzie River Gathering (MRG) Foundation is hosting a celebration fundraiser called Justice Within Reach on March 15, in Stumptown (aka Portland, Oregon). The event includes a display with a great collection of political cartoons from a long list of cartoonists including Alison Bechdel, Darrin Bell, Kahlil Bendib, Barry Deutsch, Rupert Kinnard, Jim Siergey, Edward Sorel, Jen Sorenson, Tom Tomorrow, Shannon Wheeler, and Matt Wuerker. Check out their website for more details.