Midnight Ramblings - September 2010

307 Plus One
Editor and publisher of the quarterly mini comic anthology Candy or Medicine, Josh Blair, has been busy. He's just released a follow-up to his Apartment 307. This one is called appropriately enough, Apartment 307 One Year Later. It's actually a zine masquerading as a mini comic. The cover and interior cartoons are by Noah Van Sciver. The back cover is a fully bona fide comic by Pete Borrebach and Nick Marino. Apt. 307 One Year Later is 8 pages, 4.25" x 5.5", saddle stitched and printed on very nice paper stock. It's a mere 50¢ (and a stamp) from the Candy or Medicine Etsy store.

Candy or Medicine #11
And speaking of CorM, Blair just issued his eleventh collection of small press comics. The new issue includes pages by Sam Spina (cover), John Dimes, Jim Gullet, Kyle Baddeley, Derek R. Croston, Ray N., Britt Wilson, and Willard Herman. Candy or Medicine #11 is 16 pages, 4.25" x 5.5", saddle stitched and printed on good quality paper. It's $1 (plus postage) from the Candy or Medicine website or the previously mentioned Etsy Store.

I Yam/Postal
Lastly, Blair has published a "double" (like an Ace Double) that's called I Yam What I Yam on one side and Postal on the other. It's a scary concept. The book collects three comics that were rejected by other small press publishers. It's a gutsy move to put that onus on your work. But I have to admit, it does get your attention. You can judge for yourself for $3 (plus postage). The comic is 16 pages, 5.5" x 8.5", saddle stitched and printed on good paper. It's available via the Candy or Medicine Blog or the Etsy Store.

Caricatour #1
Cartoonist Mike Lynch posted scans of the short-lived satirical magazine Caricatour #1 this week on his Mike Lynch Cartoons blog. Part one and part two.

Mini Comic Fatigue
Heidi MacDonald highlighted a discussion on the state of mini comics on The Beat this week. Thing is, the quality of mini comics (or comix, as I prefer to call them) has always been widely varied. For me, that's part of what makes them exciting. The mini comix scene is like a garage sale. There's always potential. You never know what you're going to find, and every once in a while you hit the jackpot. I suppose you could say the same for the mainstream scene, but in small press there's a more direct connection between the creator and the reader. And by its very nature you know there's only a handful of people out there who've also uncovered a new found gem. To me, that adds to the excitement.

Emitown
Image has collected the daily sketch diary of Emi Lenox into a 400+ page volume called Emitown. The trade paperback includes an introduction by Jamie S. Rich and a guest page by Brandon Graham. Emitown has been praised by the likes of Jeffrey Brown, Mike Allred, Jeff Lemire, and Jeff Parker. It will be available in stores in November. See the Emitown website for more info.

Pulp Fiction Update
Thomas McNulty wrote a nice overview of the current Pulp Renaissance for Antique Trader. His article highlights the work of publishers Galaxy Press, Sanctum Books, Adventure House, Black Dog Books, and Airship 27.

Peculiar Adventures #2
Pro Se Productions has released the second issue of their new pulp fiction title Peculiar Adventures. This issue includes stories by Robert Butt, Ken Janssens, Joshua Reynolds, Megan Smith, Lee Houston, Jr., Sean Ellis, Barry Reese, Fuller Bumpers & John Palmer IV, and Archilles Pater. The 144 page magazine also includes previews of work from John Morgan Neal, Todd Fox, and Sarah Beach. $10, 8.5" x 11", perfect bind, from Pro Se Productions on Lulu.com, where you can also read a preview.

Lafler Interviewed
Rob Clough interviewed Steve Lafler for The Comics Journal. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Who Is Amy Amoeba?
Jason Viola of the webcomic Herman the Manatee, has published a new mini comix called Who Is Amy Amoeba? Viola's other mini comics include several collections of Herman the Manatee, Sunward, Rabbit Shadows, and The Profiteer. He's also contributed to Candy or Medicine, I Saw You, Nailbiter, and an upcoming volume of Inbound. Who is Amy Amoeba? is $3.00, 5.5' x 4.25", 48 pages, handmade, and available from the Herman the Manatee Store. I scanned a couple of sample pages (below) and you can see a few more here.

Top August 2010 July 2010

September 18, 2010

Symphony in INK! #4
Symphony in INK! is an anthology featuring some of the best new talent in small press comix, along with several established fan favorites. Just completed, Symphony in INK! #4 features a great mix of entertaining stories and art by such great creators as Andy Nukes, Kelsey Donald, Jeff Plotkin, Josh Blair, Steve Steiner, and Jarod Rosello all wrapped up by a color cover painting by editor and publisher Dan W. Taylor. $3.00 (plus $1.20 postage), digest, 28 pages from Weird Muse Productions.

Yumishira Preview
James Rubino posted a sneak peek of Yumishira, Oriental Space Lily #0 on his website this week.

Top Shelf $3 Sale 'til Sept. 24
Top Shelf Productions massive annual $3 sale is on—from Sept. 13 through 24. Over 70 titles marked down to $3 and even $1 it's a great opportunity to try something new.

Overheard
Kelly Froh illustrates an installment of Benn Ray's Overheard for The Baltimore Sun.

Chase #11 front and back covers by John Lambert and Marc Haines

Chase #11
The eleventh issue of Chase is now available from Main Enterprises. An MF.com favorite, by Jim Main and John Lambert with coloring and production work by Marc Haines. $4.75, comic book.

Rashy Rabbit #7 Preview
Josh Latta previewed three pages of pencils from Rashy Rabbit #7 this week on Lattaland.

Ed Devore's Comix
Dan W. Taylor wrote this week to highlight another long lost Newaver, Ed Devore, has surfaced on the web and posted a bunch of his old comix. His work includes Art Can be Fun, Overly Optimistic Comics, POW, Cubistik Comiks, Space Cadet, Bunny Tales, and a few miscellaneous pages.

Indie animator Bill Plympton will screen Idiots and Angels in New York, starting Oct. 6. Idiots and Angels (78 mins.) is a black comedy about a man's battle with his wings and his soul. Plympton's short The Cow that Wanted to be a Hamburger will also be shown. Plympton himself will be on hand the last screening on Oct. 6 and 7 for a Q&A, postcard signing, and the chance to win prizes. All happening at the IFC Center. For more info: Bill Plympton's Appearances & Events.

Keeping Up with the Steinkes
The Steinke brothers, Jeremy and Aron are featured in an article in their hometown paper The Columbian.

Squint #1
When you're looking for some eye kandy kix, you must get Squint #1 from the likes of Tom Brinkmann, released this week from Main Enterprises. $2.25, mini.

Zeroes! 1-D
The fourth issue of Jim Main's wacky mini comic, Zeroes! #1-D is now out. This series features trading card replicas of the lamest super heroes ever to dress weird. This issue features The Mighty Miffed (Brad Foster), Apathy Girl (Mike Tuz and Dan Taylor), The Terrible Toileteer (Scott Shriver), The Percolator (Michael Grassia) and the daring duo of Oil & Vinegar (Mike Pascale). $1.50, mini, from Main Enterprises.

Indie Rocker
Steve Lafler put together a new YouTube video for his Ballad of the Bug theme song of El Vocho.

Morty the Blog
Steve Willis has been blogging nearly non-stop since he began his Morty the Dog blog. His photos and commentary are enough to make interesting reading in themselves, but he's also posting a good many mini comix from the 80's along with their backstory. Get on over and subscribe!

It's Dream Time, Snoop Doggy Dogg
J.T. Yost debuted his latest comix at SPX last weekend. It's Dream Time Snoopy Doggy Dogg is available for $4 from Birdcage Bottom Books.

Top August 2010 July 2010

September 11, 2010

Karen Wehrle Rest in Peace
Very sad news: Karen Wilson Wehrle passed away this week on Monday, Sept. 6, 2010. Karen developed an infection after an operation in August. She had recently begun chemotherapy, which weakened her immune system and was not able to fight off the infection. She died at the hospital. Karen was the wife of cartoonist, illustrator, and friend Joe Wehrle, Jr. My heart goes out to Joe, their daughter Jillian, and their families. Karen's passing was noted in the Punxsutawney Spirit. She was 62. Eva Cassidy sings Fields of Gold.

Inside Midnight Fiction
Last week I began a visual checklist of recently released small press works in the right sidebar of the Midnight Ramblings (Blog) section page. This week, I decided I liked that approach so much I'd try it out for Ramblings itself. Click on a cover (or link) below to learn more about each item.

Going through a couple of boxes this week I unearthed a few more covers to add to the sidebars of last week's interview with Brad W. Foster. I was particularly excited to rediscover The Collected Tales of the Gigags #1, which pre-dates Jabberwocky Graphix. It was published in 1975 by the Cepheid Variable Science Fiction and Fantasy Committee at Texas A&M University. It reprints episodes of a comic Brad originally drew for The Battalion student newspaper during the 1974-75 school year. (Hey, they still have a comics page today!)

Foster Scores Another Hugo
Congratulations to the 2010 Hugo Award winners, including Brad W. Foster (his seveth!) and Kaja and Phil Foglio.

Gaze Books is accepting pre-orders for Aidan Koch's new book, The Whale.

Papercutter #14 edited by Greg Means from Tugboat Press.

Invincible Summer #19/Clutch #22 splitzine by Nicole Georges and
Clutch McBastard from Tugboat Press.

Yes, Let's by Galen Longstreth and Maris Wicks from Tugboat Press.

Portland Zine Symposium
Derek Neuland reports on this year's Portland Zine Symposium on Overglued.

New Inspector Banks novel by
Peter Robinson.

Tales of the Bagman by B.C. Bell from Airship 27 Productions and Cornerstone Books.

All Pulp
A new, two fisted news site about the world of pulp, All Pulp, launched this week.

Mysterious Adventure Magazine #3
now on sale.

Mysterious Adventure Magazine #4
now in the works.

Pekar's Pastiche
L. Lawson and Bob Vojtko each wrote this week to highlight The Unfinished Tale of Harvey Pekar from New York Times. (Thanks for the tip!)

Fois Gras: Tales of Amazon #2
by Kelly Froh.

Tim Corrigan's Comics and Stories #49 from New Voice Media.

Trains are Mint #7
Oliver East made the seventh edition of his art comic Trains are Mint available online this week. The zine features three stories: Rusholme, Dickinson, and the first part of an as yet unnamed story.

Ken Meyer Jr.'s latest Ink Stains (episode 22) delves into Larry Nibert's Epitaph #1 from 1975. In addition to Nibert's work the issue also included contribs by Mitch Sonoda, Bill Morse, James Pack, and Gene Day. Meyer includes commentary about Day's work ethic by fellow Canadian and colleague Dave Sim.

Flick Attack!
Rod Lott of Bookgasm announced Flick Attack! this week. Daily movie reviews M-F. If you like discovering cinematic trash-terpieces, you’re in for a treat. They’ve got horror, sci-fi, action, kung fu, comedy and sex. But no drama. If it’s tears you want, they’ll be happy to kick you in the shin.

Main Enterprises
Editor and Publisher Jim Main reported this week several new books will be available soon. They include mini comic Zeroes #1-D and comic book Chase #11 by Main and John Lambert.

Boston hosts the first annual Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo this year on Sept. 25. For details see the MICE website.

The limited edition 120-page full color paperback collecting the first four issues of MYX is now available for $24.95 (plus shipping) from creator Jamie Chase. Excerpted pages below:

Top August 2010 July 2010

September 4 , 2010

Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics
San Francisco comics retailer James Sime, proprietor of Isotope—the comic book lounge, announced this week that submissions for the 2010 Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics will be accepted until October 1st at midnight.

"It's my favorite time of year, when we get an opportunity to help spotlight a creator who is toiling in the underground making something wonderful," said Sime, "I consider whoever wins this award to be the comic industry's Miss America for the year, and it's my job to get their work out there to the comics press and reviewers. And I'm proud to say that often winning this award has helped these folks get noticed and published by some of the best publishers in the industry. So don't be shy... I know that many of you out there are hand-crafting some mini-comics brilliance, let us help share that work with the world!"

The Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics has helped bring attention to the likes of Joshua W. Cotter, 2004's winner who has just had a new printing of his brilliant Skyscapers of the Midwest from AdHouse Books, and 2006's winner Danica Novgorodoff who now has two amazing graphic novels out from First Second Books, including Slow Storm and Refresh, Refresh. And the timing couldn't be more perfect, last year's winner Will Dinski was quickly scooped up by Top Shelf and his new original graphic novel Fingerprints goes on sale this September 15th.

The five comic professionals who will serve as this year's Isotope Award judges include:

Jann Jones—Former Editor at DC Comics and Viz Media. The driving force behind some of the best all-ages comics of the 21st century, including Billy Batson & the Magic of Shazam and Tiny Titans.

Brett Warnock—Co-publisher and art director of Top Shelf Productions. Last year Brett secretly used his judging of the Isotope Award as an opportunity to scout new talent... and we don't mind if does it again this year!

Ed Luce—Author, artist of the brilliant Wuvable Oaf series. His "Scott Pilgrim of Gay Comics" is Sime's absolute favorite self-published book right now.

Kirsten Baldock—The Isotope's Special Projects Director. Kirsten is also a Librarian, bartender, and the author of the Smoke and Guns graphic novel with Fabio Moon.

James Sime—Proprietor of Isotope—the comic book lounge in San Francisco.

To enter the competition, simply send five copies of your mini-comic to:
Isotope Award Entries
326 Fell St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
before the October 1st deadline. The award will be given out at the grand ceremony during APE Aftermath at the Isotope in conjunction with San Francisco's Alternative Press Expo. Because of the nature of this award, the winner will be contacted in advance and must be present at the Isotope at 9 PM on Saturday, October 16th for the award presentation ceremony.

For more information contact the Isotope at (415) 621-6543 or via email.

Time Warp #9
The ninth issue of Dan Taylor's essential mini comix series has the honor of presenting the third chapter of Jerry Goebert's Quark saga. (The first two chapters were illustrated by Brad W. Foster. #1 was published by Blue Moon, and #2 was published by Clay Geerdes through his Comix World imprint.) Now almost 30 years later, the third issue finally sees the light of day. The Quark storyline explores the origin of Jerry Goebert's classic non-hero, Major Mishap. Major Mishap appeared in many newave comix published by Goebert's Blue Moon Productions and featuring newave cartoonists such as Tom Brinkmann, Jim Ryan, Alex Tamsula, and Ben Adams. Many of Goebert's comix are listed in Jay Kennedy's revered The Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide. Time Warp #9 weighs in at 8 pages, 4.25" x 5.5", and is available for $1.50 (postage paid) from Weird Muse Productions.

The Thrill of Adventure
G.W. Thomas, along with David Hardy and a few other pulp fiction afficionados, started a new blog this week. Simple called Adventure! Thomas begins with an article on The Northern and follows it with a stream of fascinating posts on early Canadian authors of adventurous fiction. With Thomas' extensive knowledge of genre fiction it's an educational and exciting ride!

And in between what appears to be non-stop blogging, Thomas found time to wrap up his third edition of The Clayton Astounding Stories. This one is filled with haunted planets and other worldly adventures. $13.99, 218 pages, from Lulu.com.

Adventure House Catalogs
John Gunnison of the pulp destination site Adventure House, has published a series of PDF catalogs packed with pulp collectibles and reprints. Check out the Adventure House Catalogs page to explore the depth and breadth of their wares.

Bound & Gagged
Tom Neely has published a new collection of comics and gags called Bound & Gagged. The 72-page perfect bound volume includes work by an impressive list of cartoonists including: Andrice Arp, Marc Bell, Elijah J. Brubaker, Shawn Cheng, Chris C. Cilla, Michael DeForge, Kim Deitch, J. T. Dockery, Theo Ellsworth, Austin English, Eamon Espey, Robert Goodin, Julia Gfrörer, Levon Jihanian, Juliacks, Kaz, David King, Tom Neely, Anders Nilsen, Scot Nobles, Jason Overby, John Porcellino, Jesse Reklaw, Tim Root, Zak Sally, Gabby Schulz, Josh Simmons, Ryan Standfest, Kaz Strzepek, Matthew Thurber, Noah Van Sciver, Dylan Williams, and Chris Wright. The 72-page, perfect bound (5.5" x 6") book is available for $10 (plus $2.50 for postage) from the
I Will Destroy You store. For preview pages see the I Will Destroy You blog. Thanks to Sparkplug Comic Books for the tip.

Dark Corridor #4
Jim Main has released the fourth issue of his magazine of horror, fantasy, and suspense fiction. This edition includes stories by Michael Vance, Tomm Gabbard, and Thomas Sawyer. The 32-page, magazine-size zine also includes reviews by Dennis Kininger, Glenn Walker, and I. Interior artwork is provided by Leo P. Vidal, Al Limacher, Barry Southworth, Terry Pavlet, Tomm Gabbard, Jack Bertram, and Jeff Mason. Cover artwork by Miguel Guerra. It's available for $5.75 (postage paid) from Main Enterprises.

Reading Frenzy Gets Funding
Congratulations to Chloe Eudaly and Reading Frenzy for successfully reaching their goal of raising $5000 via Kickstarter to fund the printing of prints, shirts, and totes with Carson Ellis' artwork.

Review Tips
Since I write so many reviews I'm always interested in reading about different perspectives on them. Here's some tips about Writing Online Book Reviews by Rachelle Gardner, who is a literary agent for WordServe Literary.

Ditkomania #81
Rob Imes has released Diktomania #81 and subscriber copies arrived this week. Unlike recent editions, this one doesn't have an overall editorial theme. Instead, Imes used it to collect several disparate contributions he's held in reserve since they didn't fit the themes of recent issues. The combination makes for an eclectic and surprisingly fun mix. Contributors include Larry Johnson (covers), Javier Hernandez, Martin Hirchak, Mort Todd, Barry Pearl, Larry Blake, Brian Franczak, Jason Sacks, and Steve Bissette. Ditkomania #81 (28 pages plus cover, digest-size) is available for $2.50 (postage paid) or as part of a six issue subscription for $15 from the Ditkomania website.

DIY Economy
Julie Sabatier explores the DIY Economy in episode #33 (one-hour ) of her radio zine/podcast Destination DIY, which can be streamed from the Destination DIY website.

Swords & Dark Magic
Eos Books recently released a massive 544-page paperback featuring 17 stories of "The New Sword and Sorcery". Contributors to Swords & Dark Magic include Steven Erikson, Glen Cook, Gene Wolfe, James Enge, C.J. Cherryh, K.J. Parker, Garth Nix, Michael Moorcock, Tim Lebbon, Robert Silverberg, Greg Keyes, Michael Shea, Scott Lynch, Tanith Lee, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Bill Willingham, and Joe Abercrombie.

Morty the Blog
Hello world. Shhh, quiet! That's Morty the Dog! He's a symbol of deep meaning, thinking deep thinks! Gosh, this is great news. Steve Willis is back on the grid with a new blog called appropriately enough, Morty the Dog. Just one word: Subscribe!

Steve Lafler, Inkstud
As part of his El Vocho tour, cartoonist Steve Lafler visited with Robin McConnell for an episode of Inkstuds this week.

So Buttons #3
Jonathan Baylis will be premiering the third issue of So Buttons next weekend at the Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethesda. It's a beautifully produced comix, with this issue featuring a horror theme inspired by EC Comics of old. Baylis wrote all four stories and his artistic partners include Thomas Boatwright (In Need of a Hand, 8 pages in full color), David Beyer Jr. (In the . . . Old Fashioned Way, 8 pages, b&w and In the Head Please!, 8 pages, b&w), and T.J. Kirsch (In the Heat of Battle, 3 pages in full color). The cover is by Danny Hellman. If you're not able to pick up a copy at SPX you can PayPal it for $6 (postage paid) to Jonathan Baylis. Story splash pages are previewed below and your can check out more comix goodness at the So Buttons website.

Inside Midnight Fiction
Many thanks to Allen Freeman and Brad W. Foster for permission to host their interview here on MF.com. Brad has been one of my favorite cartoonists and illustrators since I was first introduced to his work back in the late 70s. Be sure to check the interview page itself which includes many additional covers of comix Brad published and contributed to over the years.

Each week in these Midnight Ramblings I cover the latest news of indy comix and pulp fiction. A few readers mentioned they had trouble keeping up with everything that caught their interest one week, because it was often displaced by the next week's announcements. To help keep track of recent books, I've added a new feature in the right sidebar of the Midnight Ramblings (Blog) homepage. The Recent Indy Comix & Pulp Checklist is a visual list of the week's new items. The covers link (in most cases) to the ordering site. I plan to list about a month's worth of new releases there. After that, they'll drop off the checklist. I hope this new feature will help keep track (in a small way) of all the activity going on out there.
-RK

Top August 2010 July 2010

Midnight Fiction Shop
• Comix
• Magazines
• Comics
• Books
• Misc.
• Media