Comix Anniversaries in 2013

 

50 years ago, 1963: President Kennedy is assassinated. Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK's alleged assassin, is shot on live TV by Jack Ruby.  I was in grade school and later documented an eerie follow-up in a 2001 minicomic entitled LHO.

40 years ago, 1973: My first obscuro pre-Newave comic, Gimmie Comics # 1, is cranked out on a mimeograph.

30 years ago, 1983: I publish my first 8 page 14 cm. minicomic, Sasquatch Comix # 1. 1983 also marked the very first issue of Morty Comix, which I believe was sent to Hawaii. Other comix published that year: Limbolympia, Sasquatch Comix # 2-5, Retreads # 1, Bonafide Child Innocence # 1, Cranium Frenzy # 4, The Big Picture Picture Book, Outside In # 1-9, As I Recall the 'Sixties, Tragedy of Morty Prince of Denmarke Act 1. Plus there were a number of reprints (called "editions" by collectors) and contributions to various comix with others.

20 years ago, 1993: Most of the year was taken up with editing City Limits Gazette, where I served as editor from Feb. 1991 to Sept. 1993. Also involved with some exhibits, short contribs, a televised lecture called The Wild World of Obscuro Comix, a jam with Max Traffic called Flying, and another with Pat Moriarity in Big Mouth # 3. Bruce Chrislip records our mutual experience with Robert Crumb in Paper Tales # 1.

10 years ago, 2003: By 2003 this old dog was slowing down considerably. Cranium Frenzy # 10, at 60 pages, remains my most recent full length comic book. Will I ever produce another full-length comic? I don't know the answer to that.

2013, what to expect: I'm working on more creative ways to distribute Morty Comix and documenting the process on this blog. Once Ron and Louise are finished with me in the making of their NW cartoonist documentary Bezango WA it is my intention to fully return to my hermit existence here in the hills of the Washington Coastal Range and begin a new phase of my comix art. I have no idea where the lines will lead me.


The last couple years have seen me out and about as a cartoonist in classrooms, panel discussions, performances, conventions, and I even hosted a Mini-Comics Day here in McCleary (which was quite fun!), but we true Mossbacks can only take so much of the sunlight of attention and social interaction.


However, as we all know, Fate has a way of screwing up our plans and sending us places we never expected to visit. I'm enjoying this blog very much (thanks Sarah for making this possible when you set me up in 2010 with your technical know-how) and for now it remains a fun venue for creative expression and provides a medium where my old prehistoric photocopy work can find a new audience.     

Embedded Bezangos

Sasquatch (Olympia Power & Light, June 16-29, 2010) posted with Sasquatch Comix # 1

On Comics (Olympia Power & Light, June 2-15, 2010) posted as Bezango On Comics

On Top of the World (Olympia Power & Light, February 24-March 9, 2010) posted with Washington State Legislative Building

Isthmus Time (Olympia Power & Light, May 19-June 1, 2010) posted with Bezango WA 985 # 4

Sasquatch Comix 1-5 in Mortyshop!

The only complete set of the 1st edition (1983) I have available for sale of Sasquatch Comix has just been posted in Mortyshop.

Update: SOLD!

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).