“Muting” Pictures With Pure CSS

(November 30, 2016)

I’ve been somewhat wary about posting some of the images from some of the more extreme Fantagraphics comics I’ve written about (I’m thinking of you, Grit Bath).  Not everybody appreciates being flashed images of bitten-off ears or penises while scrolling down a blog. On the other hand, I want to represent these comics honestly, so … Continue reading “Muting” Pictures With Pure CSS

FF1993: Grit Bath

(November 30, 2016)

Grit Bath #1-3 by Renée French. Renée French always felt to me like a part of a mini-movement within alternative comics that upped the body horror stakes beyond what was, perhaps, reasonable. I’m thinking of artists like Al Colombia and Dave Cooper, that all mix childish whimsy with horrible, horrible squishy horror. They’re all sort … Continue reading FF1993: Grit Bath

FF2006: Swamp Preacher

(November 29, 2016)

Swamp Preacher #1 by David Sandlin. Sandlin is an artist who’s only done a handful of comics, I think. He’s had a few pieces in Blab, I seem to recall. This magazine sized book is strikingly printed in burgundy and green (and no black ink), giving the pages a muddy, swampy look very apposite for … Continue reading FF2006: Swamp Preacher

FF1990: Amazons

(November 28, 2016)

Amazons by Frank Stack. Frank Stack is a first-generation underground artist: His first underground comic was published in 1962 (The Adventures of Jesus), but he hasn’t published that many books. Amazons is one of his rare 80s/90s solo floppies, and I don’t know whether it’s an original work, or whether it’s a collection of pieces … Continue reading FF1990: Amazons

FF1993: Sleepy/Whotnot

(November 27, 2016)

Whotnot #1-4, Sleepy: The Early Daze by Jeremy Eaton. Eaton is probably most well-known for his alternative weekly strip “A Sleepyhead Tale” from the late 80s/early 90s. Fantagraphics released a handful of collections of that series, but only one of them are in floppy format, so I get to skip the rest for this blog … Continue reading FF1993: Sleepy/Whotnot

Time To Defrost The Fridge?

(November 27, 2016)

WFC Canada: Whole New Thing

(November 26, 2016)

And this film sort of marks the end of my randomnly-aquired films for this project (at the 25% mark, even). Up until (and including this one) I’ve just been visiting video stores, looking at films and going “huh! this is from a country that lacks coverage!” and then buying it without any consideration for the … Continue reading WFC Canada: Whole New Thing

WFC Armenia: Նռան գույնը

(November 26, 2016)

This is officially the 224th best film ever. The philosophical question is, of course, “it this film from Armenia”? It was created during the Soviet era, so it’s a bit iffy, I guess, but, you know: Anyway, this is a (sorta) non-narrative film, and consists of static tableaux. This may sound kinda portentous and pretentious, … Continue reading WFC Armenia: Նռան գույնը

FF1986: Usagi Yojimbo

(November 26, 2016)

Usagi Yojimbo Summer Special #1, Usagi Yojimbo #1-38, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special #1-4 by Stan Sakai. There aren’t many Fantagraphics series that has had more issues than Usagi Yojimbo (uhm, Love & Rockets and Naughty Bits), but they were all published over a long time period. Usagi Yojimbo is the only character focused Fantagraphics publication … Continue reading FF1986: Usagi Yojimbo

WFC Bangladesh: তিতাস একটি নদীর নাম

(November 25, 2016)

What a strange film. It this had been directed by somebody like Robert Bresson, I would have assumed that the stilted dialogue, oblique plot and very stylized acting was a conscious choice, but here I’m not so sure. And then suddenly it turns into a farce for half an hour. And then there’s a boat … Continue reading WFC Bangladesh: তিতাস একটি নদীর নাম

WFC Romania: Marţi, după Crăciun

(November 25, 2016)

The actors are fantastic, and it’s a very stylish film, and there are some very powerful scenes in here. Tuesday, After Christmas. Radu Muntean. 2010. Romania. Temptation 2 parts Limoncello 1 part lemon vodka 1 part lime juice brown sugar to taste Shake with ice, and pour into a glass rimmed with brown sugar. This … Continue reading WFC Romania: Marţi, după Crăciun

FF1995: Mystic/Loathing

(November 25, 2016)

Self-Loathing Comics #1-2 by Aline Kominsky-Crumb and Robert Crumb. Mystic Funnies #1-3 by Robert Crumb. Fantagraphics has published a large number of Crumbian books, most notably the Complete Crumb Collection in the 80s, and the Love That Bunch collection in 1990. But they haven’t really published a lot of their original comics, just various collections. … Continue reading FF1995: Mystic/Loathing

FF1993: An Accidental Death

(November 24, 2016)

An Accidental Death by Eric Shanower and Ed Brubaker. On the face of it, this seems like a rather unlikely thing for Fantagraphics to have published: A standalone story about a psycho teenager murdering a girl on Guantanamo, and then his non-psycho friend helping him, created by two people well ensconced within mainstream US comics. … Continue reading FF1993: An Accidental Death

FF2003: Storylines: An Anthology of Emerging Cartoonists

(November 23, 2016)

Storylines: An Anthology of Emerging Cartoonists #1 edited by James Sturm. As anthologies go, this is unassuming physically: Standard size comic book, thin paper, a slightly vague cover. Most of the pieces are obviously not drawn with a comic book format in mind: Most leave a wide border at the top and the bottom, which … Continue reading FF2003: Storylines: An Anthology of Emerging Cartoonists

FF2003: Ape

(November 22, 2016)

Ape by Theodoros Nikos Jouflas. Jouflas appeared in various anthologies (like Pictopia) throughout the 90s, and published two books, both of which I vaguely remember as being collections of shorter pieces (Scary and Filthy). But I may be misremembering; it’s a long time since I’ve read those. This 32 page magazine (with stiff covers) is … Continue reading FF2003: Ape

FF1990: 3 Fox Comics

(November 21, 2016)

Tattoo Man Special #1 by Dave Hodson and Greg Gates. Walking Wounded #1, True Confusions #1 by Dave Hodson. These comics were part of the attempt by the Australian Fox Comics to get wider distribution by co-publishing with Fantagraphics. The Fox Comics anthology was being published somewhat concurrently with these comics. Tattoo Man reprints the … Continue reading FF1990: 3 Fox Comics

FF1999: Steven

(November 20, 2016)

Steven Presents Dumpy, Steven Comix #2: Steven at Sea by Doug Allen. Steven is a long-running weekly strip that’s mostly featured in alternative magazines and newspapers. While these two comics have titles that seem to hint at more focussed tales, they turn out to just reprint a bunch of Steven strips. Eight issues had previously … Continue reading FF1999: Steven

FF1998: Pop Life

(November 19, 2016)

Pop Life #1-5 by Ho Che Anderson and Wilfred Santiago. I’m running out of Fantagraphics pamphlets to write articles about here. (Was that a sigh of relief I heard?) But that’s not because I’ve done them all. No, it’s just that I’m stalled since I’m waiting for a bunch of comics to arrive in the … Continue reading FF1998: Pop Life

WFC Lithuania: Nesamasis laikas

(November 18, 2016)

This is one of those “big reveal” films, and the reveal is surprising. However, it felt like it was going to reveal something completely different through most of the middle bit, and that was annoying. It was like the filmmaker was taunting us with “yeah, you’re clever, you’ve already figured out that “. Which isn’t … Continue reading WFC Lithuania: Nesamasis laikas

FF1998: Top Notch Comics

(November 18, 2016)

Top Notch Comics #1 by Ethan Persoff. I remember this comic being somehow controversial, but I can’t quite remember why. There are some very Chris Ware-esque things about it. It has an unusual size, it’s printed in duo-tone, and it uses blurred backgrounds. There are things to cut out and assemble. There’s a fake ad. … Continue reading FF1998: Top Notch Comics

FF2004: Noire Orange

(November 17, 2016)

Blood Orange #1-4, Bête Noire: The International Comic Art Quarterly #1 edited by Chris Polkki. Since Bête Noire is termed an “international” quarterly, and Blood Orange isn’t, and they have the same format and editor, I assumed that Blood Orange would be an all-American feast. But, nope, the Orange has got plenty of foreigners, too. … Continue reading FF2004: Noire Orange

FF1993: Meat Cake

(November 16, 2016)

Meat Cake #0-17 by Dame Darcy. I’m going to try to write this blog article without using the word “quirky”. Oops! I remember getting these comics about once a year throughout the 90s, and every time I was all “yay!”. It’s an utterly original comic book, filled with strange adventures and loopy, obsessive artwork. There … Continue reading FF1993: Meat Cake

FF2005: Tales Designed to Thrizzle

(November 15, 2016)

Tales Designed to Thrizzle #1-8 by Michael Kupperman. I’m a bit exhausted. Laughing so hard your eyes are streaming for two or three hours takes a toll. Kupperman used to work under the pen name “P. Revess”, and published pieces in various anthologies throughout the 90s, I think. His method hasn’t really changed much: He … Continue reading FF2005: Tales Designed to Thrizzle

FF1995: Minimum Wage

(November 14, 2016)

Minimum Wage #1-10, Monkey Jank by Bob Fingerman. Fantagraphics had published an introductory Minimal Wage graphic novel before starting this series, which is perhaps an unusual publishing strategy. Fingerman had also published a number of porn comics through Eros before this series. Minimum Wage is about a guy who’s a comic book artist, living in … Continue reading FF1995: Minimum Wage

FF1993: The ACME Novelty Library

(November 13, 2016)

The ACME Novelty Library #1-15 by Chris Ware. Yikes. Or… finally? Chris Ware? If you asked me drunkenly at a bar sometime “Say, Lars, who’s your favourite comic book artist?”, I’d sputter and be all “er, uhm”, but if you limited it to “favourite American comic book artist that started in the 90s and is … Continue reading FF1993: The ACME Novelty Library

FF2002: Belly Button Comix

(November 12, 2016)

Belly Button Comix #1-2 by Sophie Crumb. It’s fun to see how Crumb’s artwork evolves over these two issues, created while she was between 19 and 22, I think. Crumb’s trying out a lot of styles, like this very late-60s underground bigfoot style. And then a very worked-at realistic illustration. And then washes. Anyway, the … Continue reading FF2002: Belly Button Comix

FF2003: Funny Friends

(November 11, 2016)

Mabel Normand and Her Funny Friends, Fatty Arbuckle and His Funny Friends edited by Marilyn Slater. These two magazine sized comics collects pieces of a British publication from 1921, now in the public domain. Each issue includes a brief biography of the movie star in question. But the meat of each issue is the reprinting … Continue reading FF2003: Funny Friends

FF2004: Holy Moly

(November 10, 2016)

Holy Moly by Leah Hayes. Fantagraphics doesn’t work a lot with the materiality of their books: The vast majority of them are unremarkable as physical objects. This is quite different from some of their smaller peers, where they often have unique sizes, papers or printing methods. This is one of those rare unique floppies from … Continue reading FF2004: Holy Moly

FF2005: Grenuord

(November 9, 2016)

Grenuord #1-3 by Francesca Ghermandi. I am not a comics publishing genius, but serialising a translation of an Italian graphic novel as a series of $5-6 comic books, in 2005, published with a four-month interval between each issue, does not seem like the plan most likely to succeed. It’s told in a decompressed style: Big … Continue reading FF2005: Grenuord

Well, That’s Depressing

(November 9, 2016)

So here’s  a picture of a cat drinking milk.

My New Concert Blog

(November 9, 2016)

 

FF1996: Primitive Cretin

(November 8, 2016)

Primitive Cretin by Henriette Valium. This is an oversized collection of Henriette Valium’s work from the early 90s. It’s slightly wider than a magazine, and quite a bit taller. Kim Thompson hadpublished Valium earlier in Zero Zero, but the smaller size of that anthology meant that most of Valium’s drawings were somewhat difficult to make … Continue reading FF1996: Primitive Cretin

FF1994: Way Out Strips

(November 7, 2016)

Way Out Strips volume 3 #1-4 by Carol Swain. I’ve been a massive fan of Carol Swain ever since I happened onto one of her short, oblique, beautifully drawn stories in an issue of Chris Reynold’s Mauretania magazine. After that, she self-published four issues of the first Way Out Strips series, but I’ve never been … Continue reading FF1994: Way Out Strips

FF1990: Art/Leather/Knuckle/Zoot!

(November 6, 2016)

Art d’Ecco #1-4, Zoot! #1-6 by Andrew and Roger Langridge. Leather Underwear, Knuckles the Malevolent Nun #1-2 by Cornelius Stone and Roger Langridge. I had read the first issue of Art d’Ecco before, but that had apparently not inspired me to buy the rest of the issues at the time. How exciting! Is it going … Continue reading FF1990: Art/Leather/Knuckle/Zoot!

WFC Burkina Faso: La nuit de la vérité

(November 5, 2016)

Some scenes work really well, especially with the children and the women in the village. But a lot of the actors are, like, declaiming at the camera, and it’s a more than a bit awkward. So I kinda like it, and I admire it, and there’s good stuff in here. But. The climactic scene was … Continue reading WFC Burkina Faso: La nuit de la vérité

FF1994: Different Beat Comics

(November 5, 2016)

Different Beat Comics #1 edited by Kim Thompson. This book features a bunch of short (mostly two page) pieces that either are previously unpublished or are very obscure. It’s meant as both a way to read those obscure pieces and as a promotional tool: All artists featured had regular series going at Fantagraphics at the … Continue reading FF1994: Different Beat Comics

WFC Germany: Aber das Wort Hund bellt ja nicht

(November 4, 2016)

A very unusual “tour” film, but it really gets to the heart of the matter. Long, long takes of the musicians playing or listening to the others playing, interspersed with tales of the routine of touring. Who knew there were so many ways of making duck with red cabbage? (Oh, featured in the film are … Continue reading WFC Germany: Aber das Wort Hund bellt ja nicht

WFC Hungary: Egymásra nézve

(November 4, 2016)

It’s an interesting little film. It must have been difficult to make this in the early 80s. I love the actors. The story is… uhm… Well, you won’t be surprised by how it ends. NORMALITY RESTORED in the usual way in these films. Another Way. Károly Makk. 1982. Hungary. 1 part white wine 1 part … Continue reading WFC Hungary: Egymásra nézve

FF1991: I Before E

(November 4, 2016)

I Before E #1-2 by Sam Kieth. These two issues reprint a lot of Sam Kieth’s early work; Kieth had become a hot artist over the past few years. I like how “Fantagraphics” isn’t mentioned at all on the covers. Perhaps keeping that fact a secret would entice Sandman fans to buy them? The most … Continue reading FF1991: I Before E

FF1991: Guttersnipe D

(November 3, 2016)

Avenue D, Guttersnipe Comics #1-2 by Glenn Head. I guess you could call Glenn Head a third generation underground comix artist. His comics seem to belong to that lineage even if he started working in the 80s. Avenue D collects various bits and pieces into a 48 page magazine sized single author anthology. About half … Continue reading FF1991: Guttersnipe D

FF1989: Stinz

(November 2, 2016)

Stinz #1-4 by Donna Barr. Stinz had been running in the Dreamery anthology by Eclipse Comics for a while, but the Fantagraphics title is his first solo comic. Stinz is a half-horse living in an alternate reality Austria in the early 1900s. Rather high concept, eh? But it’s fun. Barr has a lively drawing style … Continue reading FF1989: Stinz

FF1992: Not Love & Rockets

(November 1, 2016)

Ten Years of Love and Rockets, Tales from Shock City #1, Blubber #1-3 by Beto Hernandez with Mario Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez. These are comics that I should have covered in the Love and Rockets blog post, perhaps. At least the first one. Probably not the last one. It’s a bit of a mish-mash, but … Continue reading FF1992: Not Love & Rockets