Midnight Ramblings - March 2009

The Intruder on Top Shelf 2.0
Aron Nels Steinke announced the main story that'll appear in Big Plans #4 is going to be serialized over at Top Shelf 2.0. The first section is already online. And check out the great poster he created to promote the pre-Stumptown party at the Guapo Comics and Coffee Shop.

Wolverton Treasure Trove
Dinosaur Gardens posted a great collection of Basil Wolverton's classic Culture Corner comic strips from the Golden Age pages of Whiz Comics. You can read each episode online or scroll down to the bottom of the links for a PDF collection of the whole set. (Many thanks to Joe Gordon at the FBI blog for the tip!)

24-Hour Fund Raiser
24-Hour Comic master David Chelsea announced he's organizing a fund raiser at Cosmic Monkey in Portland on April 11th to benefit recovering underground comix legend S. Clay Wilson. For more details on Wilson's physical and financial recovery and how you can help check out this post on The Afterlife Epitaph.

Jamie Chase Sketchbooks
Bram Meehan reports a series of sketchbooks by Jamie Chase are now available. Chase is the creator of Muse and partnered with Meehan on Death, Cold as Steel and The Darkness From Warsaw. Link

More Main Zines
Jim Main of Main Enterprises released two new zines this week. The fourth issue of Comic Fan features a spotlight on the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, a profile on Richard "Grass" Green, and much more inside it's 60 pages. Also out this week is the third issue of Dark Corridor. This collection of macabre fiction includes stories by Sam Gafford, Michael Vance, and Mark Orr. Check the ME website for their complete contents and previous issues.

Final Billy
Hayden Fryer of Siberian Productions reports the final issue of Billy: Demon Slayer is now available. You can preview the issue on YouTube. It's available digitally through Drive Thru Comics and in print through Siberian Productions at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo, Small Zone Shop, and the official Billy: Demon Slayer website.

Indie Interview
Shannon Smith interviewed indie cartoonist Josh Latta this week on File Under Other. It's an excellent interview and if you're not familiar with Latta's toons, check them out, they're outstanding.

Recent small press comic reviews:
Kelly Froh's Meet Erin on Poopsheet Foundation

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March 21, 2009

GM#4 and Struktur Call for Work
The folks at Good Minnesotan are calling for submissions for the fourth issue of their annual compendium of experimental and atry comics created by Minnesota-based artists. Not from the Loon state? No worries, they're also looking for contribs for something called Strukur. Check the GM blog for all the details.

Hunt for Adventure
From Charles Ardai, Edgar Award-winning author and creator of the acclaimed pulp mystery imprint Hard Case Crime comes a thrilling pulp adventure series in the tradition of H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the immortal Doc Savage. It's called The Adventures of Gabriel Hunt and is published in collaboration between Ardai and Dorchester Publishing. Check out the official website for previews and sign up for announcements you'll actually want to see in your inbox..

Poignant POD Facts
Literary agent Janet Reid highlighted an interesting blog post this week on sales figures for print on demand books. One of the entries in the comments section further highlights the challenges for fiction titles. Just check the top 100 books on Lulu.com and you'll soon see that the vast majority are non-fiction.

Liquid Revolver and String #12 covers

Liquid Revolver
Matt Dembecki reports Liquid Revolver is officially ready for order. The 68-page book features the talents of D.C. area artists, such as Scott White, Chris Piers, Mal Jones, Dale Rawlings, Mike Short, Khalid Iszard and Dembecki. What's it about? Nazis and mind control. How can you not wanna peek? It's $6 postage paid. When you're ready to buy send Matt an email.

String Makes it a Dozen
Independent comiker Bram Meehan reports the twelve edition of the 7000 BC Collective's String is now available for download. The PDF comic features work by Courtney Angermeier, Jeff Benham, Danny Green, Nick Sedillos, and a jam that includes Angermeier, Benham, Jake Larntz, Monica Meehan, Pere Ziomek, and Alina Lappalainen. Get it now!

CorM Website Update
Josh Blair has redesigned the Candy or Medicine website. Check out the new pages and preview the Free Comic Book Day Special 2009 coming on May 2nd.

Recent small
press
comic reviews:

Rob Imes' Ditkomania #70 on Poopsheet Foundation

Boom Studio's Farscape
#1 & 2 on
Comic Related

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March 14, 2009

Covers of Dark World Adventures #1 and Dead Man Holiday #2

Dark World Adventures Launches
The new era of pulps on demand continues to explode. GW Thomas announced the publication of Dark World Adventures this week. The new title is a tantalizing hybrid of classic reprints and brand new stories. Using Doc Savage Magazine as a model, it features a full length "novel" with back-up stories. The novel in the first issue is The Case of the Phantom Legion. The story centers around Baron Von Klarnstein, the head of the Athenodorians, a secret society that fights evil in the world. Along with his daughter, Orestia and others, the Baron solves a weird mystery revolving around a mill town in Michigan. Something unearthly is terrorizing Lone Pines, and if the Baron doesn't hurry, the entire world may be at stake.

There are two back-up features: Ungeheuerhorn is a tale of an American visiting the Alps and a terrible legacy of inhuman monsters. (This one features a Robert E. Howard-style man of action.) The Case of the Blue Man features the Baron twenty years later and his granddaughter, Boudicea, vacationing in England. A vampiric creature is haunting Blue Friars and the pair get more than they bargained for.

Artist/Designer M. D. Jackson has set the whole thing up to look like a classic pulp magazine. His cover is a homage to the old Doc Savage covers. Inside the magazine there are illustrations by Thomas. Dark World Adventures #1 is available for $13.49 print or $4.99 digital. Check out the preview pages on Lulu.com.

Dead Man Holiday
Colin Panetta reports the second issue of Dead Man Holiday is now online. The haunted science fiction comic book can be purchased for $3.99 (plus shipping) from his website. While you're there you can preview both issues or download free PDF files. To keep tabs on Panetta's projects you can subscribe to his blog or sign up for his eNewsletter on the main site.

Santamation
Indie animator Bill Plympton's new short Santa: The Fascist Years, is an outrageous look at Santa Claus' hidden past. Now available on iTunes, it features a voiceover by actor Matthew Modine. This is Plympton's first film to premier on iTunes, along with a music video for Parson Brown, titled Mexican Standoff. Both films are packaged together for $1.99 on iTunes.

Covers of Mustard #4 and Mightyguy-Out to Lunch

Mustard Please
The fourth issue of comedy magazine Mustard features an interview with Watchmen author Alan Moore. You can glance through a preview of the entire issue on their website and then buy it for £2 (plus postage).

Mightyguy looks to SPACE
Allen Freeman and TIm Corrigan have announced Mightyguy—Out to Lunch, a new wacky comic from Fan-Atic Press and New Voice Media. The new comic will premier at SPACE in April and can be pre-ordered from Corrigan for $4 at PO Box 25, Houghton, NY 14744.

Covers of Death Wagon #2 and Satyr #8 Recent small press comic reviews:

Edward Bolman and Cat Noel's Rock and Roll Death Wagon #2 on Poopsheet Foundation

Jim Main's Satyr #8 on Comic Related

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March 7, 2009

Hogan's Alley #16, out now, is so loaded with features the print edition couldn't contain them all. The editor's published all the extras online. Dig those Popeye extras by Stephen DeStefano! Single issues are $7 or four issue subscriptions for $22.95.

Tom Vudtiyanon just finished the first issue of Soldier Tales. The 40-page comic is available for $6 (postage paid) from Tom at 1023 E. Wabash, Spokane, WA 99207. Watch for a full review in an upcoming edition of MF.com.

Tim Corrigan's #31 and Ditkomania #70 covers

Also out this week: Tim Corrigan's Comics and Stories #31 with the fourth installments of The Coming of Elasticworm and Tyran's latest adventure. Rob Imes recently published his 70th issue of Ditkomania which features a spotlight on Ditko's Blue Beetle. (Full review coming soon over at Rick Bradford's Poopsheet Foundation, the online mini comic haven.)

Jim Main reports he's working on a new mini comic devoted to the work of Edgar Allan Poe. He's put out a call for serious illustrations and comics based on Poe's work or his life. He needs all contributions by June 12th. Contact Info. Peter Simeti's Alterna Comics announced their second volume of American Terror, written and illustrated by Jeff McComsey. It'll be available on March 25th. The book is intended for mature readers and was rated Certified Cool by Diamond Distro.

As I was sorting through a box last week I came upon a copy of a local music monthly called RagMag from 1976. I liked the cover, but couldn't remember why I'd kept it until I saw the credit inside: Kerry Lockner. I added it to article that appeared here last January.

Zinc Comics #6 and The Darkness From Warsaw covers Recent small press comic reviews: