FF1992: Crap

(October 31, 2016)

Bummer #1, Completely Bad Boys, Crap #1-7, Damnation! #1 by J. R. Williams. I covered Bad Comics, oh, months ago (how much further to go!!!), and should probably have done these ones at the same time, but I forgot. So you get two J. R. Williams posts. I have the Cat-Head Comics edition of Bummer … Continue reading FF1992: Crap

FF1992: Suburban Voodoo Comics

(October 30, 2016)

Suburban Voodoo Comics by Matthew Guest. This is a 48 page one-shot (edited by Robert Boyd) with three stories that all seem like they might be autobiographical. They’re tales of normal teenage life… … and Christian damage. The artwork is rather appealing, but I can’t help wonder whether something has gone wrong in the printing … Continue reading FF1992: Suburban Voodoo Comics

FF1989: Waldo

(October 29, 2016)

Shadowland #1-2, Stuff of Dreams #1-3 by Kim Deitch. The Mishkin File, The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Waldo World #1-3 by Kim and Simon Deitch. Kim Deitch (sometimes in collaboration with his brother Simon) has spun this long interconnected tale for decades, spread out over a number of titles and collections. One part of this … Continue reading FF1989: Waldo

Emacs Non-Flickering Patch

(October 29, 2016)

Earlier today, Daniel Colascione merged his double-buffering Emacs display patch, and I was interested in seeing whether it reduced flickering when viewing animated GIFs on my problematic main machine. And it sure does: First you see an Emacs from five hours ago displaying a GIF, and it is flicker-o-rama.  Then I switch to a brand … Continue reading Emacs Non-Flickering Patch

FF1992: Sap Tunes

(October 28, 2016)

Sap Tunes #1-2 by Granger Davis and Steve Kongsle. I’m finding out now that Fantagraphics sure released a lot of, er, very short series by artists I’ve never heard of. Here’s another one. Davis does a pair of pieces about this guy… … who works in retail, is slightly disgruntled with stupid customers (see above), … Continue reading FF1992: Sap Tunes

WFC Bulgaria: Урок

(October 28, 2016)

There are things about this film I like enormously. It’s a taut, tense film about nightmarish desperation. But it seems like there are always options out of the problems that seem to be avoided just for the sake of plot. So my main feeling here is of “but why doesn’t she…?” just about all the … Continue reading WFC Bulgaria: Урок

FF1992: WildB.R.A.T.S: Bad Redundant Art Teams

(October 28, 2016)

WildB.R.A.T.S: Bad Redundant Art Teams #1 by Dean Williams and Aaron McClellan. Dean Williams… where have I seen that name before? Oh, we wrote the execrable Butt Biscuit series from Fantagraphics. *gulp* Well, Fantagraphics has published a few parody comics over the years, but they usually make fun of things that are considered interesting by … Continue reading FF1992: WildB.R.A.T.S: Bad Redundant Art Teams

FF1992: S.O.S.

(October 27, 2016)

S.O.S. by Mark Kalesniko. This is brief, mostly wordless story about surviving on your own in the big, bad world. So allegory. But while somewhat hokey, it’s attractively drawn and somewhat touching. Here we see our hero take a bite out of the nasty shark. See? Allegory! I think this may be the first Kalesniko … Continue reading FF1992: S.O.S.

Excerpt from What Paper? The Printing Aficionado Magazine, Issue 15, Volume XXIV, 2015

(October 27, 2016)

Review of the printing of the Dover edition of The Puma Blues (by Stephen Murphy and Michael Zulli) printed by RR Donnelley in China. Paper stock unknown. When Dover announced a collected edition of the 80s series The Puma Blues, we here at What Paper? anxiously examined the press release for phrases like “shot from … Continue reading Excerpt from What Paper? The Printing Aficionado Magazine, Issue 15, Volume XXIV, 2015

FF1989: Kafka: The Execution

(October 26, 2016)

Kafka: The Execution by Leopoldo Durañona. Fantagraphics were publishing fellow South Americans Muñoz & Sampaya in a similar format to this (magazine size with cardboard covers) at the time (as well as anthologising Francisco Solano Lopez). I’m not familiar with Durañona’s work, but this is kinda interesting. The artwork is a bit reminiscent of Moebius. … Continue reading FF1989: Kafka: The Execution

My New Concert Blog

(October 26, 2016)

My camera’s microphone freaked out completely on the Agnes Hvizdalek piece, so I haven’t included that one.  But it seems to have survived on this:

FF1989: The Eye of Mongombo

(October 25, 2016)

The Eye of Mongombo #1-7 by Doug Gray. Before this series, Doug Gray had a couple of appearances in Critters, I think. The Eye of Mongombo is a pretty funny comic book about that archaeologist up there (transformed into a duck) who looks for a treasure in South America. Hijinx ensue. A lot. I find … Continue reading FF1989: The Eye of Mongombo

On a Roll

(October 24, 2016)

I bought these comics by CF a few months back, but they, er, rolled behind a stack of comics, so I forgot about them until tonight. They’re printed on thermal receipt paper, so they’re monochromatic, but CF has customized them a bit with various stamps at the start and end of each roll. Winding them … Continue reading On a Roll

FF1999: Neatish Stuff

(October 24, 2016)

The Bradleys #1-6, Junior #1-5 by Peter Bagge. Martini Baton by Dave Carrino and Peter Bagge. These are all reprints, and since I’ve read the books these were sourced from (Neat Stuff and Weirdo), I considered skipping them. But then my CDO fired (it’s like OCD, but with the letters in the proper order), and … Continue reading FF1999: Neatish Stuff

FF1988: Stickboy

(October 23, 2016)

Stickboy #1-3 by Dennis Worden. Stickboy had been published by a different publisher before Fantagraphics stepped in, and it would continue to be published by various publishers after Fantagraphics bowed out. I haven’t read any of those incarnations, though. The first Fantagraphics issue starts off like a normal pre-slacker comic book, what with Stickboy looking … Continue reading FF1988: Stickboy

The Comics Journal Search Engine

(October 22, 2016)

In connection with my grand Fantagraphics re-reading project, I took out a subscription to the Comics Journal archives so that I could look up older reviews for these old comics. That turned out to be easier said than done, because the TCJ archive consists of one scanned JPEG per Comics Journal page, and there’s no … Continue reading The Comics Journal Search Engine

FF1997: La Artbabe

(October 22, 2016)

Artbabe volume 2 #1-4, La Perdida #1-5 by Jessica Abel. Artbabe started out as a self-published mini-comic, and then Abel got a Xeric grant and published the final issue of Volume 1 as a standard-size US comic book (with real distribution). I haven’t got the first four issues (although I may have the collection here … Continue reading FF1997: La Artbabe

WFC Albania: Falja e Gjakut

(October 22, 2016)

This is a fascinating film. It’s perhaps the most exotic story I’ve seen so far in this film series, and it’s from a European country. It’s a simple little film about a fucked up situation, but it’s pitch perfect emotionally. The sitch is so exotically fucked up that I’m almost tempted to give a plot … Continue reading WFC Albania: Falja e Gjakut

FF1991: Kid Anarchy

(October 21, 2016)

Kid Anarchy #1-3 by George Cole and Mike McCarthy. Picking up a comic book with from a writer/artist pair always makes me sceptical. Statistically speaking, single author comics are better. But perhaps this one is the one that will convince me once and for all that that’s a stupid prejudice! Yes! Oh, deer. Gander at … Continue reading FF1991: Kid Anarchy

FF1983: Don Rosa’s Comics and Stories

(October 20, 2016)

Don Rosa’s Comics and Stories #1-2 by Don Rosa. This may have been something like the third comic series that Fantagraphics published (after Love & Rockets and Hugo). It was apparently planned as an ongoing series, but was axed after two issues. This magazine sized comic book reprints The Pertwillaby Papers, which had previously been … Continue reading FF1983: Don Rosa’s Comics and Stories

FF1995: Zero Zero

(October 19, 2016)

Zero Zero #1-27 edited by Kim Thompson. There have been a few anthologies that have defined generations. These things seem to happen when there’s a happy confluence between an editor (or editors) and a new, burgeoning scene: There are artists that people sum up as “Raw artists”, for instance, because Françoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman … Continue reading FF1995: Zero Zero

FF2014: DKW: Ditko Kirby Wood

(October 18, 2016)

DKW: Ditko Kirby Wood by Sergio Ponchione. This comic book (colour, slick pages) is a translation of material previously published in Italy, which is a pretty unusual thing to do in 2014 (since alternative pamphlets don’t seem to sell much). It’s dedicated to the recently deceased Fantagraphics co-publisher Kim Thompson. Anyway, there’s a framing story … Continue reading FF2014: DKW: Ditko Kirby Wood

FF2006: Monster Parade

(October 18, 2016)

Monster Parade #1 by Ben Catmull. Apparently meant to be a series, only one issue was published. It’s a quirkily amusing book. Here we have a winter storm… And here we learn how certain kinds of perfume are made, and it does explain a lot. The stories are rather oblique. They set a mood, and … Continue reading FF2006: Monster Parade

FF2006: Runaway Comics

(October 17, 2016)

Runaway Comics #1-3 by Mark Martin. Mark Martin is not a very prolific artist and is probably most famous for his Gnatrat series (or his duo comic book with Jim Woodring, Tantalizing Stories). So a new solo series from him was exciting. Martin is an excellent cartoonist. The stories in Runaway Comics mostly feature his … Continue reading FF2006: Runaway Comics

FF2013: 3 New Comics

(October 16, 2016)

3 New Stories, Cosplayers #1-2 by Dash Shaw. The major alternative publishers have all but stopped publishing comic book comics, so it was quite a surprise when Fantagraphics dropped 3 New Stories on an unsuspecting public in 2013. According to the comics database and my notes here, Fantagraphics had published no new pamphlet series since … Continue reading FF2013: 3 New Comics

FF1999: Death & Candy

(October 15, 2016)

Death & Candy #1-4 by Max Andersson. Max Andersson is a Swedish cartoonist who make nightmarish stream of consciousness comics. Andersson’s style takes me back to early 80s New York newave comics: Macabre and funny stuff in a blender. Here’s Car Boy, one of Andersson’s more recognisable characters. The print quality of the first issue … Continue reading FF1999: Death & Candy

WFC Viet Nam: Xích Lô

(October 15, 2016)

It’s a very moist film. Sure, it’s aestheticizing poverty and stuff. Inscrutable film, great actors and cinematography. Cyclo. Tran Anh Hung. 1995. Viet Nam. Ginger Kaffir Limeade limes sugar 1 part ginger syrup 1 part cointreau 3 parts vodka Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. This post is part of the World … Continue reading WFC Viet Nam: Xích Lô

FF1999: Spicecapades

(October 14, 2016)

Spicecapades edited by Queen Itchie. By 1999, I would have thought that Spice Mania had subsided? So it was probably too late publish this to cash in, but perhaps that wasn’t the point, anyway… So what’s up here? If not a cash grab, is it an honest appreciation or ironic appropriation? “No thanks to all … Continue reading FF1999: Spicecapades

FF1997: Poot

(October 13, 2016)

Poot #1-4 by Walt Holcombe. The last three issues of this series are in a format that’s a bit smaller than standard-size US comics, while this first one is very small indeed. Around this time, there seemed to be a lot of comics in vaguely this style: Slick, cartoony, anthropomorphic and wistful tales of love … Continue reading FF1997: Poot

FF1996: Rollercoaster

(October 12, 2016)

Rollercoaster #1-2 by Rich Tomasso. Tomasso had previously published the Clover Honey graphic novel at Fantagraphics (and the Cannibal Romance series at Eros), but Rollercoaster seems like an attempt at creating one of those single author anthologies that Fantagraphics published so many of. The major story in the first issue is about a girl who … Continue reading FF1996: Rollercoaster

FF2004: Worn Tuff Elbow

(October 12, 2016)

Worn Tuff Elbow #1 by Marc Bell. This magazine sized book was apparently planned as a series, but only one issue was published. Since the cover says “Theatre Absurd-O”, I thought that this was going to be weirder than it is. I’ve gotta get me some 250% moisturisation, too. Anyway, most of the issue is … Continue reading FF2004: Worn Tuff Elbow

Rocktober Day 6: The Cure

(October 12, 2016)

Concerts in Oslo today.

FF1994: Raisin Doofus

(October 11, 2016)

Doofus #1-2, Raisin Pie #1-5  by Rick Altergott and Ariel Bordeaux. Doofus had been running in various anthologies, but must prominently as a backup feature in Hate. So spinning it off into its own title probably seemed quite natural. I’ve never enjoyed reading Doofus, but haven’t really examined why. It’s obvious why people would find … Continue reading FF1994: Raisin Doofus

Rocktober Day 5: Oranssi Pazuzu

(October 10, 2016)

Concerts in Oslo today. That was the most disappointing din-din at Arakataka ever. Ooo! Psyche-a-delic! Stamped, but faintly.

FF1997: Steve Ditko’s Strange Avenging Tales

(October 10, 2016)

Steve Ditko’s Strange Avenging Tales #1 by Steve Ditko. After leaving Marvel in the early 70s, Ditko has been publishing a stream of Ayn Rand-inspired comics at any publisher that would let him do whatever he wanted without any interference. Strange Avenging Tales was apparently an attempt at doing one of these comics at Fantagraphics, … Continue reading FF1997: Steve Ditko’s Strange Avenging Tales

FF1996: Empty Skull Comics

(October 10, 2016)

Empty Skull Comics by Gerald Jablonski. Mm, yes… Jim Woodring provides an introduction and offers the idea that Jablonski is possibly insane. The first half of this collection doesn’t seem particularly crazy. The humour is off-kilter, but the silliness is within normal parameters, I would say. This sort of humour is just my thing. You … Continue reading FF1996: Empty Skull Comics

Rocktober Day 4: Vollen Odd Size United

(October 9, 2016)

Reindeer pizza at Tranen. That may be the best white pizza I’ve had. Concerts in Oslo today.

FF1994: Nurture the Devil

(October 9, 2016)

Nurture the Devil #1-3 by Jeff Johnson. There seemed to be a micro-movement towards body horror going on at Fantagraphics in the mid-90s. Renée French, Dave Cooper and Jeff Johnson all did violent, visceral, sexually charged comics around this time, with squishy, ink-soaked artwork. Nice introduction, but I really wanted to highlight a typical Fantagraphics … Continue reading FF1994: Nurture the Devil

Rocktober Day 3: Sofa Label Night

(October 8, 2016)

Food at Xích Lô. The rack of lamb was simply amahzing. You know that fatty thing over those round bit of meat? They had done something to it so that it tasted like a cross between bone marrow and foie de gras, but really charred, and with bright spices. It was like nothing I’ve tasted … Continue reading Rocktober Day 3: Sofa Label Night

FF1992: (You and Your) Big Mouth

(October 8, 2016)

(You and Your) Big Mouth #1-7 by Pat Moriarity and various. There are several series that feature a single writer and a wide cast of artists (Real Stuff, Duplex Planet Illustrated, American Splendor), but this is one of the very few series that has one single artist, and a wide roster of writers. A comics … Continue reading FF1992: (You and Your) Big Mouth

FF1995: Prick Comix

(October 8, 2016)

Prick Comix by Sean Brennan and Tom Giansante. This comic reminds me a bit of those random underground comix that were published in the early 70s. Just goofing around (while high, most likely) without much ambition to do much beyond that. That’s the Dalai Lama fighting against some kidnappers by playing a Kenny G tune. … Continue reading FF1995: Prick Comix

Rocktober Day 2: Death in June

(October 7, 2016)

Interesting mixture of audience members…  I mean, since Death in June are what some people consider to be nazis.  Some were punching the air during the “the west is at war” moments while other were looking frantically around with the “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!?” expression on their faces. Concerts in Oslo today.

FF1991: Cultural Jet Lag

(October 7, 2016)

Cultural Jet Lag #1 by Tom Robert and Jim Siergey. Cultural Jet Lag was apparently a weekly strip, and this might be a collection of some of those strips. However, the format varies wildly, and some of the longer stories don’t really seem like weekly strips, so perhaps it’s a mixture of reprints and new … Continue reading FF1991: Cultural Jet Lag

Bordering on Insanity

(October 7, 2016)

I use Borderlinx to bounce packages via when I buy stuff from ebay, since so many American ebay sellers don’t want to ship cheap items abroad. And it gives me greater control on when packages arrive, and it’s cheaper. So everything went well for months, and then two packages were stopped because they apparently contained … Continue reading Bordering on Insanity

FF1993: Griffith Observatory

(October 7, 2016)

Griffith Observatory by Bill Griffith. Bill Griffith’s most famous creation is Zippy the Pinhead, of course, which is still running today. These days, I mostly read them via Arnold Zwicky’s blog, where he explains all the references. (They can be pretty obscure.) I’ve always enjoyed Zippy, but reading it in collections (which has been my … Continue reading FF1993: Griffith Observatory

Rocktober Day 1: Pain Jerk

(October 6, 2016)

      Concerts today.

FF1994: Life Under Sanctions

(October 6, 2016)

Life Under Sanctions, Psychonaut #1-2 by Aleksandar Zograf. These comics were written during (and after) the ex-Yugoslavian wars in the early to mid nineties, and are like despatches that try to explain what’s going on. Jim Woodring provides the introduction, which you might think is an odd choice for a book about war. But Zograf … Continue reading FF1994: Life Under Sanctions

FF1993: Verbatim

(October 6, 2016)

Verbatim #1-2 by Carl Belfast. Autobio comics is one of the major genres in art comics now, and it’s difficult to recall just how controversial they were in some circles in the early 90s. This is yet another parody of the genre, and it’s not completely successful, I think. Gaze into his navel… Belfast’s art … Continue reading FF1993: Verbatim

FF1994: Insomnia

(October 5, 2016)

Insomnia by Andrew Moran. This is a rather odd tale (an insomniac drives to Ohio to attend a sleep clinic) drawn in a rather original fashion, rather. Hm… slightly early 80s-ish New York scratchy style? Yeah, New Jersey. As you know, here at the Paper Quality Blog, what we’re most concerned about is the paper … Continue reading FF1994: Insomnia

FF1990: Laundryland

(October 5, 2016)

Laundryland by Forg & Jeans. A rather mysterious comic book. There’s no introduction, no editorial text: Just the comics themselves. Is this a translated comic? Where are Forg & Jeans from? What’s going on? It’s about a woman who runs a laundry, and her friends. The first issue is very laid back. What happens is … Continue reading FF1990: Laundryland

Useful Consumer Review

(October 4, 2016)

WIFI doesn’t work, but some wireless solutions work less than others.  After years of searching, I’ve been using an ASUS AC87 wireless access point (what other people for inexplicable reasons call “a router”, even if you’re just running it as a bridge), and it’s almost worked, most of the time. That is, even with a … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review

FF1993: Duplex Planet Illustrated

(October 4, 2016)

Duplex Planet Illustrated #1-15, A Vast Knowledge of General Subjects by David Greenberger and various. This is one of those early-90s Fantagraphics comics that I don’t recall all that well, other than I liked it fine at the time. I wasn’t really very enthusiastic about re-reading it, so I wondered whether I had suppressed some … Continue reading FF1993: Duplex Planet Illustrated

FF1993: Black Dogs

(October 3, 2016)

Black Dogs by Ho Che Anderson. This book is a short (14-page) introduction to the Martin Luther King, jr. series of graphic novels Ho Che Anderson would publish later. It’s set in the present day, and Anderson kinda explains why it exists: So it’s set in the present, and it discusses whether it’s appropriate to … Continue reading FF1993: Black Dogs

FF1991: Jizz

(October 3, 2016)

Jizz #1-10 by Scott Russo. There was an double entendre epidemic going around at the time: Colin Upton’s Big Thing, Roberta Gregory’s Naughty Bits… and Scott Russo’s Jizz, which is, perhaps, only half as entendrey.  A single entendre. I didn’t remember much of this series, only that it was outrageous and somewhat controversial, but I … Continue reading FF1991: Jizz

FF1983: Journey

(October 2, 2016)

Journey #1-27, Journey: Wardrums #1-2 by William Messner-Loebs. The first fourteen issues of Journey were published by Aardvark-Vanaheim. While this blog series is supposed to be about Fantagraphics, I just had to re-read them all. I was about 14 when Journey started, and I remember being really enthusiastic about it. I’ve re-read the first handfuls … Continue reading FF1983: Journey

FF1992: The Librarian

(October 2, 2016)

The Librarian by Penny Moran Van Horn. Is that Steve Jobs? Penny Moran Van Horn had earlier published short pieces in Weirdo and Twisted Sisters, but this was her first (and only, I think) solo publication (except the Recipe for Disaster and Other Stories compilation published later). The story is about a slum lord librarian … Continue reading FF1992: The Librarian

FF1992: Doofer: Pathway to McEarth

(October 1, 2016)

Doofer: Pathway to McEarth by Paul Ollswang, Taft Chatham and James Carpenter. This magazine reprints a few of the Ollswang pieces from Graphic Story Monthly and Prime Cuts, the two earliest “general” Fantagraphics anthologies. In addition, there’s a framing story of sorts… … because this magazine was meant as an introduction to a graphic novel … Continue reading FF1992: Doofer: Pathway to McEarth

FF1992: Crucial Fiction

(October 1, 2016)

Crucial Fiction by Julian Lawrence and Mark Yuill. Despite the name, I thought that perhaps this was an autobio series, just based on the intensity of the start of the first issue. That certainly looks and reads like a confessional religious outsider autobiographical piece, but since it ends with the protagonist building a new Christ … Continue reading FF1992: Crucial Fiction