Links 7 April 1998

Publishers	Creators	Titles	Organizations
Magazines	Publishing Resources	Stores	Other

Independent Publisher Links

These are just a few of our self-publishing friends. Between them, you'll find an astonishing range of work, quite a bit of critical acclaim, and no small measure of grit. They have their favorites, too, so this is a great way to get an overview of the diversity available in the independent comics world.

Note, this list is very much still under construction, as I research the URLs, and try to keep things up-to-date. (If a listing is incomplete, or if you should be on this list, contact me -- I'll be glad to add you, if I'm not planning to already.)

First and foremost, check out the Comic Sites Alliance, a grouping of hundreds of comics-related Web sites. This is a superb links site.

WasteLA WasteLA is unlike anything you've seen in comics, a hallucinatory, dark journey into a drifter's madness. A mixture of photographs and digital imagery provides the perfect setting for a story blurring the lines between reality and nightmare, between family and strangers. A great debut for artist/designer John Gaushell, and a Web site displaying his singular sense of design. A big hit at the Chicago Underground Press Conference/Independent Comics Expo.

Dreamwalker Press Dreamwalker is a great, realistic tale of a woman who discovers she has the ability to enter into other people's dreams. Naturalistic dialog, and a realistic approach to the situation elevate this book above the usual approach to dreams in comics. Jenni Gregory's acclaimed self-published series was picked up by Caliber Press, as part of their Tapestry imprint. The 6 Tapestry issues are volume 2, and there are 5 issues in Volume 1. Volume 3 will be published, probably self-published again, starting in Spring of 1998. In addition, Jenni has a very cool links page of her own, and is one of the founding members of Inferno Studios, also home to Thomas Florimonte's Zomboy.

Art Comics Bebe Williams' site has become a virtual mecca for offbeat cartoonists, and at some 35,000 visitors a day, may well be the most active comics site on the net. Bebe and his cohorts deliver new strips 6 days a week, as well as serialized comic books, animations, and a number of other surprises.

Foundation Comics Foundation Comics' debut series, Second Rate Heroes, has hit the streets to much praise. Well-deserved, I might add -- this book would be right at home at any number of larger publishers, so let's not let it suffer from the usual lack of publicity that indie titles tend to get. Check it out, and order it from your favorite retailer. Second Rate Heroes is a refreshing spin on the ol' superhero team story, it's set in Chicago, which we hardly ever see in the pages of the comics, the artwork is a treat, and the writing is snappy. Congrats to Christopher Gronlund and Cynthia Griffith for a well-done book. A hard-to-find book, but one which is worth seeking out. They also have a great page of links to other small press sites.

tonar syndicate Josh Carroll's new tonar syndicate is a vehicle for self-syndicating Anti-fash with Tonar, Rail, and his other works.

Coydog Press Monique MacNaughton's Coydog Press is the home of Arrowflight, a book that Dave Sim called "original in the extreme." Pretty apt description -- Arrowflight is set in a future where the fascist Aryan Covenant is in charge, and where technology and magic have converged. A headstrong pilot named Mariah and a highly-evolved plane named Sky embark from Easter Island (!) on a quest to set things right. Trust Dave on this one, but do check it out.

Alternative Press Jeff Mason, editor of Indy Magazine, is extending his reach into publishing other people's books, and his first one is a gem. Check out Jon Lewis' Spectacles. Considering Jeff's enyclopedic knowledge of the comics press and retailers all over the country, his new venture is bound to be a success.

WCG Comics Xeric Foundation grant winner Randy Reynaldo's adventure series, Adventure Strip Digest, starring Rob Hanes, is about to be reborn at Caliber Press as Rob Hanes, Justice International. Randy's work is a refreshing new look at the classic adventure strips of masters such as Alex Toth and Milton Canniff. Randy's new Rob Hanes Online Web site is still under construction, but is a great introduction to a great series. The original ASD run is still available here, and also The Rob Hanes Archives, a trade paperback printing 9 other stories from the original fanzine run of ASD.

MOJO Press MOJO Press publishes both graphic novels and prose books. They are very strong in horror, western and science fiction, among other genres and produce high quality anthology books. Artists and writers in their catalog include Moebius, Joe Landsdale, Shannon Wheeler, Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Moorcock and others.

South Jersey Rebellion Productions Home of Tony DiGerolamo's Jersey Devil comic book. Contains summaries of the issues, facts and folklore about the Jersey Devil, first-hand accounts of sightings, and some pretty good Jersey Devil fiction as well. Excellent example of a small publisher site -- lots of info on the book, plenty of samples and pictures, and extras to keep you sticking around.

Little Engine Studios Little Engine Studios' ithinkican.com has quietly blossomed over the months into a stylish, thoughtful page, with lots of online comics, including some Shockwave ones. Toby Craig updates the site twice weekly (which is more than I can claim many weeks), and also has included information on comics publishing. From Toby: "ithinkican.com is a comic magazine about inspiration and enthusiasm. A twice-weekly format that is updated with news and comics. We do what we can to provide an informative and entertaining site worth coming back to. Topics relative to art, design, storytelling, and small-press publishing are covered." Definitely worth checking out regularly.

Silverline The net home of the small press comic publisher Silverline. Published thus far are SWITCHBLADE and MARAUDER. Upcoming projects include CYBERTRASH AND THE DOG, "Certified Cool" by Diamond in their May catalogue. Cybertrash is by the former creative team of THE PROTECTORS, R.A. Jones and Thomas Derenick.

Other Publisher Links I haven't had time to review these links, but don't let that stop you from checking them out... Cielo Drive Graphics (klint finley) It Lives

Creators

Steve Gerber's Alarming World Best known for his creations Howard the Duck and Void Indigo, Steve Gerber has a site with something for everyone. The site contains MS Word templates for writing comic scripts, writing advice, many stories, previews of his new work on Savage Dragon and Destroyer Duck, much commentary about his never-ending battles with Marvel over the fate of Howard, and his rather clever and creative solution to the quandry. Keep an eye out for further appearances of Leonard the Duck...

Warren Ellis' Smoke Damage Warren (writer of Stormwatch and Transmetropolitan, among other things) is another prominent comics writer with a great Web site.

Gary St. Lawrence Gary is the creator of Wrax, Spy Tykes, and a sometime Twist and Shout contributor. Check out his site, the Precipice of Stardom.

Brian Michael Bendis Brian's crime fiction books, Jinx and AKA Goldfish, have set a standard for gritty, noir-ish crime comics. Goldfish is on its way to being a Miramax film, the Jinx title has just wrapped up a major storyline and will be continuing as an Image comic, and is heading in new directions, and Brian has quite a few collaborations in progress with other exciting comics creators. Go over to his site, Jinxworld, and let him tell you all about it...

Titles

Avelon  The Realms of Avelon - a fantasy comic book, published bi-monthly by Drawbridge Studios. The web site has information on the world, and the characters, as well as artwork, and free downloads. If you dig swords and magic, this is a comic you'll want to check out.

Chilltown Chilltown is a hip-hop oriented comic book containing edgy, urban humor about 6 teenage characters from Brooklyn, NY. It features scathing parodies of a who's who in entertainment, like Snoop Doggy Dogg, Puff Daddy and Tupac Shakur. It's geared towards a teenage and up audience. The site is still under construction, but will include streaming animation, company news, character files, and a vip room featurning celebrities in urban entertainment.

High Strangeness High Strangeness is a 'pop-art' exploration of UFO phenomenon by Scott Reed (Inker of Dark Horse Comics Godzilla and G.I.Joe series, Marvel's Independence Day, Mission:Impossible, Malibu's Star Trek:DS9 and many others).  This site also contains an extensive gallery of Scott's published and un-published work, including a 'Classic Trek' portfolio.

Wu Wei After the brutal murder of his wife, Michael Engel has escaped into the depths of madness. Wandering the streets of New York, he is hunted by Ian McCreedy, a ruthless and ambitous leftover from the Irish mob called the Westies. Trapped like a rat is Angelo Natale, an ex-Italian mobster slated for witness protection, but first he must complete one small job. Angelo's dependence on the psychotic Ian only increases his frustration. Locked in Michael's brain is a secret that some will kill for and others will die for. Wu Wei has garnered praise from Neil Gaiman, Joe Pruett, Brian Michael Bendis, The Comic Shop News, and the Four Color Review. Take parts of Sin City, Stray Bullets, Jinx, and David Lynch, and you have Wu Wei--psysho-spiritual noir. Very attractive site, with intriguing glimpses of Oscar Stern's clean, detailed artwork.

Organizations

Friends of Lulu Friends of Lulu is a national organization created to bring more female readers to comics. To do this, they have a number of projects underway, including a very successful retailers guide to selling comics to girls and women.

Friends of Lulu LA The Los Angeles Chapter of Friends of Lulu is very active, visiting children's hospitals with comics, and launching many worthwhile projects to expose girls (and boys) to the comics medium.

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is an organization dedicated to defending comic retailers and publishers from censorship threats. Visit them for more info, then write them a big check.

Magazines and News Links

The Comics Journal Though they seem to have a heck of a time keeping a regular schedule, TCJ is the news magazine of record for the comics industry. They have great interviews, usually lavishly illustrated with examples, and also are committed to treatment of comics as a serious art form. You may not frequently agree with their reviewers and critical essays (I know I don't), but they are invariably provocative and interesting. Warning: as a publication of Fantagraphics, they tend to cover their own titles and artists most often (though admittedly not always favorably...), and seem to have most-unjournalistic grudges against some prominent comics figures. Still very well worth checking out, however.

Indy Magazine Magazine dedicated to independent comics. My only complaint with Indy is that they don't come out more often. They have, however, consistantly been a leader on providing indy coverage on the Internet; The Comics Journal's site is much newer on the scene, and nowhere near as well-realized. That said, Indy is full of insightful reviews, many written by small press creators, and also very good at interviews with indy creators, who aren't often covered by the rest of the comics press. This site is also the home to editor Jeff Mason's Alternative Press publishing company.

icomics This online magazine has to be seen to be beleived, and you'll need to download Shockwave, available there, to really appreciate it. Great graphic design and interactive coolness (sound, animation, etc.). At the time I'm writing this (9 Jan 97), the site is featuring an article on the Marvel bankruptcy and a great interview with Jenni Gregory.The site also features online comics, trivia, and reviews of indie books. Editor is Steve Conley, author of Avant Guard.

Digital Webbing is Ed Dukeshire's collection of Comic-related links and Web site news. He keeps track of quite a few sites here, so this is a good one to bookmark and visit often for news of updates and changes.

Small Press Zone Small Press Zone A site dedicated to small press books, with reviews, links, press releases, etc.

Publishing Resources

Brenner Printing -- Brenner is a popular printer for small press books. Their prices are reasonable, quality is good, and Diamond Distribution picks up books directly from them. This site includes guidelines and tips for geting quotes and sending your job materials.

Cold Cut Distribution -- The Avis of the distribution industry, Cold Cut specializes in reorders of independent comics. They are an important part of the publishing equation, particularly considering recent changes in Diamond policies which make it difficult for publishers to receive reorders. Their site also contains a lot of reviews and guidelines for dealing with them.

Diamond Distribution -- The dominant distributor for comics in North America. Their exclusive deals with DC, Marvel, and Image Comics ensure that pretty much every comic shop in the country deals with them. If you plan to publish, you will deal with them too. Their site has contact info, and is supposed to be bringing online a vendor relations page.

Syco Distribution -- A new distributor for comics. Site contains all of their policies and guidelines.

Comic Book Industry Addresses -- Jeff Mason's collection of publisher, store, and creator addresses.

Stores

Golden Apple Comics Bill Leibowitz' Melrose Avenue store is without a doubt the best-stocked comic shop in Los Angeles, and certainly the most active in terms of personal appearances and high-profile signings.

Other

Bitchen Industries Too stubborn to quit,  Bitchen Industries is still corrupting America's youth with their line of irreverant and politically-inclined T-shirts. They're the ones with the Got Beer? shirt, and are the only company producing a beautiful 6-color shirt featuring an obscure USDA poster exhorting farmers to "Grow Hemp for the War."

Spumco John K., creator of Ren and Stimpy, is still producing wild animation, from his Ranger Smith shorts for Cartoon Network, to his highly original and technically innovative Shockwave Flash cartoons. Check out the Spumco site for the latest.

To Add A Link

If you have your own site, or have a favorite site you think should be on this list, email me.

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