I’ve just recently gotten to the bottom of the enormous stack of mini-comics that I got at the Charlotte Heroes-Con. I’ve still got a few regular comics left to read from that show—although I bought very few non-hand made comics there. Anyway, here’s a few notable items among the stuff I got:

• It’s the Attic Bugs: I Shouldn’t Have Eaten the Fish, It’s the Attic Bugs: Everyday is a New Disaster, Stop Drop and Roll,Quitter and Duflachies – by J. Chris Campbell – All great stuff as usual from Chris. Turns out I already had the story in Stop Drop and Roll in the FLUKE anthology, but I’m glad to have it in minicomics format, especially since there’s a great gag in the story that really works best if you have to flip a page to see the “punchline” panel, rather than having it visible on a multi-panel page as in the other version I’ve got of this story. J. Chris Campbell, along with James Turner, are the only two cartoonist I can think of who really use vector computer graphics well in the comics medium. Check Chris’ stuff out.
• Anxiety, Sleep Problems & Depression #1 and #2 – by Josh Latta – I think I may have seen one of this guy’s strips in an anthology somewhere, but these books are my first real exposure to his work. The books star a 20-something-ish rabbit who works at Wal-Mart and follow his largely mundane day-to-day affairs. While thinly veiled autobiography is usually a recipe for mini-comics disaster, such is not the case with these books which are beautifully drawn in a kinda-60s-underground style with lots o’ zip-a-tone, and are laugh out loud hilarious. They can be ordered at http://cutegirldemographics.com
• Either The Hunger: Part One or Less than a Monkey #0 (it’s hard to tell from the cover what the title of this book is) – by Tim Darden – When I first glanced at the interior of this book I was aghast at what seemed to be sloppy unfinished artwork, but once I examined it closer I realized that this look is deliberate; the artist has combined inked drawings, pencil drawings, collage, zip-a-tone, Photoshop effects and whatever else he wanted to throw in to this book…and once you get used to the inconsistancy among the panels, the scratched out bits of dialog and the like, it’s acutally a pretty neat aesthetic effect. I couldn’t make hide or hare out of the story, but it’s interesting nonetheless
• Misfortune Cookie by Justin Gammon – Please stop reading now, and order this amazing, beautifully drawn mini-comic (about a city populated by forks which is attacked by flying fortune cookies) right now!! Order it at http://www.wideawakepress.com/
• Are you still reading?! I told you to order that book above!

A recent email from me to everyone I know invloved in or interested in comics:

First off, let me apologize for the bulk email; however, in this case, it’s simply the best way to get the information out.

Anyway, If you’re receiving this email, then you are likely involved in some way with comics and may therefore already know that Wizard Entertainment recently announced it would be holding a convention in Atlanta starting in 2006. If not, you can read about it here:

http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/7230.html

The show is scheduled June 30-July 2…the exact dates of Heroes-Con in Charlotte, NC, the oldest independently-owned comics convention in the country. Heroes-Con is always held roughly at this time of the summer and these specific dates have been announced at least since this year’s convention, if not before. It even appears that Wizard scheduled its Atlanta con as such deliberately and with full knowledge of the conflict (the info below is second-hand, obviously):

http://tinyurl.com/7naso

I’ve attended this show in my home state of North Carolina for many years, first as a fan, then as a professional, and it is without a doubt the funnest, most friendly–and not to mention, as of late, one of the most indy/alt comics friendly–shows around. The folks that organize and run the show are standout individuals as well, and because of them,
this show features things like free admission for kids and art auctions for charity that you won’t find at more corporate affairs.

In short, I find this Wal-Mart-esque behavior from Wizard Entertainment inconsiderate, unscrupulous, unfriendly and downright rude. If you feel the same, I urge you to boycott this show, as I plan to.

Again, apologies for the rambling bulk email,

-Ben Towle

Wired News: Holy Homework! Comics Hit Schools

How long must we suffer with the trite, annoying, unimaginative, uninformative, outdated, overused, and idotic trope of the “Holy something! Blah Blah Blah” headline? This stupid headline format reared its ugly head around the time Miller beer’s “You can call me Ray” ad campaign began and it’s every bit as annoying, yet—unlike the currently-residing-in-the-where-are-they-now-file Ray Jay Johnson—they are still with us!