Sasquatch Comix #3

1st ed. in early 1983, 56 copies published in Olympia, Washington. Blue cardstock covers, white guts.

2nd ed. in March, 1983. Blue noncardstock covers. 44 copies.

3rd ed. in October, 1983, published by Robert Stump in Hopewell, Virginia.

Included in the 1994 print-on-demand digest ed.

Morty and Arnie Wormwood make a cameo appearance on the last page.

All of us Boomers who grew up in Southwest Washington were told this story. Before the 1980 volcanic eruption, Mt. St. Helens was known locally as a sasquatch hotspot. It was famous for the "Ape Caves."

I have not really studied this tale very closely, but something about it doesn't ring very true. Still, it makes a great tale.

Sasquatch Comix #2

First published 1983, probably late January, in Olympia, Washington. Tan cardstock, 52 copies.

2nd ed. March, 1983, also in Olympia, 54 copies on light grey cardstock.

3rd ed. October, 1983 by Robert Stump in Hopewell, Virginia.

Included in the 1994 collected Sasquatch Comix digest print-on-demand ed.

This tale interested me due to the early date of the event, before the big Sasquatch craze in the 1960s. Including Northern California as part of a Pacific Northwest regional tale was really sort of pushing it, I realize.

Note Arnie Wormwood's appearance on page 2.

Sasquatch Comix #1

My first solo minicomic, if I'm not mistaken, first published early 1983 in Olympia, Washington, 67 copies on green cardstock. There is no edition statement on the comic itself. The little 14 cm. minicomic form was not a medium I had considered until I was exposed to Clay Geerdes' Newave network in late 1981.

Some qualification here is needed. As a Newaver myself, the word "minicomic" has always meant the little guys, usually measuring 14 x 11 cm. Over the years I've noticed the term has been used to describe all photocopied, small press, independent type comix regardless of their dimensions. That's fine. But in this blog, I still speak in Newave. Perhaps a comix anthropologist should track us down and compile a Newave glossary.

Yes, I am a Newaver. I'll always be a Newaver, no matter how outdated the term becomes. I guess I'm now an Old Newaver, which sounds like a paradox. But as one who embraces paradox as a life philosophy, that suits me just fine.

So. Anyway. Back to the collector stuff. The 2nd ed., not on cardstock but still green, was published March 1983 in Olympia, 74 copies.

The 3rd. ed., physically like the 2nd., was published by Robert Stump in Hopewell, Virginia, in October 1983.

All five issues of Sasquatch Comix were collected under one cover and presented in digest form during my 1994 print-on-demand period.

In June 2005 five copies (4 green, 1 red) of the digest form were published as the 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed.

Sasquatch Comix #1 was posted on OlyBlog, Feb. 2006.

Somehow I have a nagging feeling I'm leaving out some other appearances of this comix, but if I did I'll update this post once it comes back to me.

This series came about from my desire to celebrate regional stories about this great corner of the world, where I was born and raised. Although the scientific discussion concerning our legendary creature is interesting, I was really more involved in what makes a good story.

Shortly after I published the 2nd ed., I moved across the state to Pullman, home of Washington State University. There I met Grover Krantz (speaking of anthrolopogists) , one of America's greatest Sasquatch scholars. Grover and this comic recently became the subject of my column, Bezango, which I occasionally write for the biweekly Olympia Power & Light. I've included a scan of the essay, it's from OP&L issue 15 (June 16-29, 2010).

As I Recall the 'Sixties

The parallels between the 1860s and 1960s have long fascinated me. Those of us who grew up in the 1960s sometimes think that particular bubble in time was unique. But was it really? The captions could easily fit the 1960s, but the etching-like illustrations of the 1860s are also appropriate.

Now get set for a long printing history only of interest to comix fans. And I'm sure the following is not complete. There are some printings in my own files that I can't explain, account for, or guess at their origin:

One of my more reprinted minicomix. First published in Pullman, Washington in 1983, 75 copies.

The 2nd ed. was published by Robert Stump in Hopewell, Virginia in 1984.

In 1994 I had a large catalog of titles I would print on demand and each work had a "Reprint Series" statement. An unknown number of copies of this minicomic were printed and sold.

Also in 1994 25 copies (blue cardstock) were printed for the "Media, Communication, and Culture" program, South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC), Olympia, Washington.

And again in 1994, 20 copies were printed as a "Special Fandom House Ed." for a distributor in Colorado.

In 1997 As I Recall the 'Sixties was reprinted in Maximum Traffic's enormous comix anthology, Truth Be Known, published in Butler, Pennsylvania.

38 copies were printed in 1998 for Mike Murray's history class at SPSCC (13 gray, 23 blue, and 2 blue without edition statements)

40 copies (20 green, 20 blue) were printed for Mike Murray's class in Feb. 1999. One of these was later posted on OlyBlog (July 2007)

The comic was included among several others as part of an exhibit of my comix at SPSCC July 5-Aug. 12, 1999.

The "KHW Ed." of Oct. 21, 2002 consisted of a grand total of 5 copies (4 green, 1 white).

The last hardcopy versions were published as 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed. in June 2005. Five copies (4 blue, 1 pink).