BAM! just what I was looking for ...
A long time ago, I was a comic book geek. You would see me at the comic book store every Wednesday picking up the latest Spider-man or Capitan America from Marvel Comics. Around 1992, all my favorite artists formed a creator owned company of comics called Image Comics. I found that since these comics were the heart of the creators who had full control of the production of their books were better than Marvel. Marvel at that time did not care about the books, but more on how they merchandised them. I still tried to read both Marvel and Image for about a year, but my poor teenage allowance soon decided. It was the "Maximum Carnage" fourteen-part crossover storyline in five different Spider-Man titles in 1993 that killed Marvel for me. They made it so I had to buy every book and titles I normally did not buy, just to know what was going on. And "Maximum Carnage" was a very bad storyline and other than one or two artists that had not left for Image, the art was really bad. At that moment I went creator owned with all my purchases.
That is not to say that there was not some really bad stinkers at Image. However, its success fueled a bunch of creator owned companies to pop up. It was during this time that I was introduced to real small press alternative/indy comics. As I grew out of my childhood and into my adulthood, I realized comics could be literature in the examples of Will Eisner and Art Spiegelman, instead of just superheroes. Comics like Strangers in Paradise, Kabuki, Concrete, CreeD, the Wretch, Stardust, Action Girl Comics, Mister Blank, Skeleton Key, Soulwind, 300, Hellboy, Sin City, Mage, Queen and Country, Flight and Bone were just the beginning.
However, after the birth of our children the financial aspects of being a parent rather limited my buying abilities. When the choice comes between comics and diapers, diapers win all the time. That is not to say I did not read a comic every now then. I would buy a graphic novel once or twice a year. I still stayed in touch as much as I could. Due to the fact that I could not see what was being published by the mainstream or even the small press alternative/indy comic publishers, I found yet another side to comics. The extreme outsiders art of comics pushing the boundaries of the art form itself ...
It is my belief that through mini-comics and webcomics, you find the true underground scene of comics. Forget the works of Crumb, Pekar or Gloeckner, the real outsider art can be found in people spending their nights at photocopiers, folding and stapling, or with their scanners and a modem. These are artists are in it for the sake of the art form and expect no return. These are stories that publishers rejected because they were too unique. I found a few of these creators on various online communities. Some of them are people just like me, who were raised on Spider-man and wanted comics to be something more. Others are people from other countries who have never been in a comic book store or read a Spider-man comic.
I wish I could name every artist I have found and read online, but that list would be too big. On the other hand, once a year or so (usually around tax returns) I try to buy a batch of printed comics from these outside artists. Some of these are strictly mini-comics and are not on found on the web. Some are one shot comics from webcomic artists. Some of these are reprints from an ongoing web strip. Regardless, these little mini-comics are priceless. Not only do you get a cool as all heck comic, but you end up supporting an aspiring artist. Over the last few years I have bought comics from the likes of Sara Bauer, Peter Beare, Will Dinski, Brian Fukushima, Andrew Foster, Edward J Grug III, Jessica McLeod, Paul Milligan, Sarah Morean, Eric F. Myers, Matt Reidsma, Dave Sherrill, Jam Torkberg, Anthony Woodward and no doubtably others I am forgetting ones that are just as good.
Although, I sometimes wonder why I pay two dollars plus shipping for a 8 or 16 page Xeroxed comic. To me they are worth so much more than an Image, DC or Marvel comic, but it always leaves me wanting more. It makes me wish for some kind of mini-comic distributor or mini-comic store. I was on Lulu.com buying a comic collection from cool creator Jason Marcy and I decided to browse a bit. Then I saw a name I recognized from an online anthology of mine, "Your Comic Here". David Recine manages to write a well thought out, interesting story for all ages without dumbing it down for kids. Recine's quality art and solid storytelling reminds me of reading Carl Bark's Uncle Scrooge comics when I was a kid and how I still enjoy them today.
So this comic that Recine is in that is listed at Lulu ... he is not just an artist, but also the editor-in-chief of this 500 page anthology. BAM! (Big Ass Mini) is a collection of over 70 comics by over 60 creators.
If you are anything like me, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! Even if you are nothing like me, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! Let us just face it, with 500 pages of mini-comics and webcomics collected in one book, THIS BOOK IS FOR EVERYBODY! As Recine describes in the foreword, he did not exclude one submission as long as it made it before the deadline. Creators from all over the globe and all walks life. There were a handful of other artists that I recognized on the list and some complete unknowns. Frankly, the unknown names excite me the most. Every kind of style and genre is here from comedy, satire/parody, gag, slice-of-life, journal, adventure/fantasy, manga inspired, and just plain artsy comics. ALL IN ONE BOOK! Trying to review this book further would only not give justice to the whole. It is kind of like going to mini-comic convention and getting one of everything. Buy it and you will not regret it. The price is a steal and you only have to pay for shipping once.
That is not to say that there was not some really bad stinkers at Image. However, its success fueled a bunch of creator owned companies to pop up. It was during this time that I was introduced to real small press alternative/indy comics. As I grew out of my childhood and into my adulthood, I realized comics could be literature in the examples of Will Eisner and Art Spiegelman, instead of just superheroes. Comics like Strangers in Paradise, Kabuki, Concrete, CreeD, the Wretch, Stardust, Action Girl Comics, Mister Blank, Skeleton Key, Soulwind, 300, Hellboy, Sin City, Mage, Queen and Country, Flight and Bone were just the beginning.
However, after the birth of our children the financial aspects of being a parent rather limited my buying abilities. When the choice comes between comics and diapers, diapers win all the time. That is not to say I did not read a comic every now then. I would buy a graphic novel once or twice a year. I still stayed in touch as much as I could. Due to the fact that I could not see what was being published by the mainstream or even the small press alternative/indy comic publishers, I found yet another side to comics. The extreme outsiders art of comics pushing the boundaries of the art form itself ...
It is my belief that through mini-comics and webcomics, you find the true underground scene of comics. Forget the works of Crumb, Pekar or Gloeckner, the real outsider art can be found in people spending their nights at photocopiers, folding and stapling, or with their scanners and a modem. These are artists are in it for the sake of the art form and expect no return. These are stories that publishers rejected because they were too unique. I found a few of these creators on various online communities. Some of them are people just like me, who were raised on Spider-man and wanted comics to be something more. Others are people from other countries who have never been in a comic book store or read a Spider-man comic.
I wish I could name every artist I have found and read online, but that list would be too big. On the other hand, once a year or so (usually around tax returns) I try to buy a batch of printed comics from these outside artists. Some of these are strictly mini-comics and are not on found on the web. Some are one shot comics from webcomic artists. Some of these are reprints from an ongoing web strip. Regardless, these little mini-comics are priceless. Not only do you get a cool as all heck comic, but you end up supporting an aspiring artist. Over the last few years I have bought comics from the likes of Sara Bauer, Peter Beare, Will Dinski, Brian Fukushima, Andrew Foster, Edward J Grug III, Jessica McLeod, Paul Milligan, Sarah Morean, Eric F. Myers, Matt Reidsma, Dave Sherrill, Jam Torkberg, Anthony Woodward and no doubtably others I am forgetting ones that are just as good.
Although, I sometimes wonder why I pay two dollars plus shipping for a 8 or 16 page Xeroxed comic. To me they are worth so much more than an Image, DC or Marvel comic, but it always leaves me wanting more. It makes me wish for some kind of mini-comic distributor or mini-comic store. I was on Lulu.com buying a comic collection from cool creator Jason Marcy and I decided to browse a bit. Then I saw a name I recognized from an online anthology of mine, "Your Comic Here". David Recine manages to write a well thought out, interesting story for all ages without dumbing it down for kids. Recine's quality art and solid storytelling reminds me of reading Carl Bark's Uncle Scrooge comics when I was a kid and how I still enjoy them today.
So this comic that Recine is in that is listed at Lulu ... he is not just an artist, but also the editor-in-chief of this 500 page anthology. BAM! (Big Ass Mini) is a collection of over 70 comics by over 60 creators.
If you are anything like me, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! Even if you are nothing like me, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! Let us just face it, with 500 pages of mini-comics and webcomics collected in one book, THIS BOOK IS FOR EVERYBODY! As Recine describes in the foreword, he did not exclude one submission as long as it made it before the deadline. Creators from all over the globe and all walks life. There were a handful of other artists that I recognized on the list and some complete unknowns. Frankly, the unknown names excite me the most. Every kind of style and genre is here from comedy, satire/parody, gag, slice-of-life, journal, adventure/fantasy, manga inspired, and just plain artsy comics. ALL IN ONE BOOK! Trying to review this book further would only not give justice to the whole. It is kind of like going to mini-comic convention and getting one of everything. Buy it and you will not regret it. The price is a steal and you only have to pay for shipping once.