I have a habit of compartmentalizing my life. So the era when small press comics was my whole world has been neatly packed away (actually not very neatly, I'm not a good archiver). That era, mostly the 90s, was great fun and I still know a lot of folks who I met during that time. Mostly through the mail via small press co-ops like Small Press Syndicate and United Fanzine Organization or through zine and comics review rags like Factsheet 5, Poopsheet, and others I can't quite remember.
At some point I hope to drag out all my old zines, including the ones I made, and make a series of posts about them. Maybe a new feature on my blog where I yank out a handful of random zines and talk about them on a weekly schedule or something. That sounds like a fun thing to do.
Anyone reading this who is into zines and small press comics, comment and let me know. I don't feel as connected to that scene as I used to be. I'd like to reconnect, especially now that I'm making more comics than I have in a very long time.
I like zines and small press comics. Count me in!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a fan of both. I've had three main "phases" of zine interest in my life - first with the personal/punk zines I discovered in high school (I'd kill to get my hands on a few of those these days), then with ska zines in college, and finally into RPG zines as they made a comeback with the help of the OSR. Would definitely enjoy seeing what you have to say about them!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. I never saw any punk zines back in the day. My first exposure to zines was through an APA that my friend had. It was a thick 8.5x11 book full of amateur art and articles. Then I saw some digest sized bw comics done by a local guy who ran a comic store and from there I launched into doing my own small press comics all through the 90s. I got a sub to Factsheet 5 and that's how I realized that the world of zines was far more vast than just the small press comics I was used to seeing.
DeleteI hope there's some scholarship going on regarding the history and sociology of the amateur press movement. It's really interesting to me because there was only a VERY narrow window of humanity's history when it was cheap and easy enough to print and distribute whatever the heck you wanted to talk about...BUT the internet hadn't emerged yet as the key medium bringing folks of similar interests together. A really cool phenomenon that I think we were lucky to experience as it happened...!
DeleteThat's true. You basically had to have the Xerox machine. Once every office had one or more copiers, it was a no-brainer that any DIY artist with access would make copies of their stuff and trade/sell them. It was cheap to mail back then too. That's how I made connections. I didn't live anywhere near any real scene. But I used the copier at my friend's dad's office, then later I use the copier at the office where I worked on a Saturday when nobody was around.
DeleteI love small press comics and zines. Used to have a few local shows focused on them, later absorbed by other, larger events. Your Black Pudding books are real treasures. If you share some of your older items, I'm here for it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, thanks! I haven't had a chance to go digging for old zines yet but it's on my agenda.
DeleteThis is extremely my jam.
ReplyDeleteYeah! I wouldn't have guessed otherwise!
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