Paper + Plastick releases comic book; Silver Sprocket smirks

cover-word-and-panelsI’d be totally thrilled about a record label starting to put out a comic book if it hadn’t been done before. I mean, granted – yeah, Silver Sprocket‘s put out both Turnstile Comix and the Phenomenauts’ Adventures In the 3rd Dimension. But – even before those recent releases – bands like Gas Huffer were including comic books with their releases. Were they always good? No. As a matter of fact, they were frequently amateurish and painful.

So, one can say positively that Paper + Plastick‘s release of Words and Panels Vol. 1 is a neat thing, and it’s always pretty cool to be able to snag a webcomic in print form. Hopefully, these will be something to look back on fondly, like the Nothing Nice to Say collection, rather than the slightly cringe-worthy early years from the likes of Sinfest or Penny Arcade (you can thank Dark Horse for pretty much all of those – prescient work, folks!).

Anyhow, Words and Panels Vol. 1 is limited to 200 copies, features the first installments of 50 States, Exit Interview, and Kill the Wonderhawks, and will run you $5. It’s available from the Paper + Plastick store,

MC Lars has a comic book

comic-cover-make-a-friendMusic and comic books is a combination that ought to happen more often. My interview with S. Shawn Struble about Li’l Depressed Boy dealt primarily with how he works musicians like Kepi Ghoulie and Andrew Jackson Jihad into the pages of his comic. When I spoke with MC Lars a week or so ago, I wish I’d known about his comic strip, 27th Street.

While you can view pretty much everything he’s done with the strip at its blog, having a collection in comic form certainly makes for a more interesting piece of merch than the usual shirts and stickers.
Continue reading

From the card catalog

Again, we delve into my recent acquisitions from the Lawrence Public Library, recapping what I’ve been reading in between reviewing records and interviewing rock stars (last week, it was Jared from Bowling For Soup!).

book-cover-eerie-publicationsA recent couple of books paired up nicely, and featuring them together seemed rather appropriate. First, I read Mike Howlett‘s love letter to Eerie Publications – the lesser known, black sheep cousin to Warren and EC. Entitled the Weird World of Eerie Publications, Howlett’s book does an excellent and irreverent job of singing the praises of the rip-off, unoriginal, and schlocky dreck that publisher Myron Fass spun out. The art was over-the-top gory, and the stories were usually plagiarized, but there’s an undeniable appeal to the images lovingly reproduced in full-size within the pages of this history / ode to the magazines Eerie released.
Continue reading

The Slow Death, “A Little Bit More”

cover-slowdeathIf you follow punk rock cartoonist Mitch Clem at all, you’ll know that he’s been working on a super-secret project for about the past year, which has pretty much kept him from releasing anything aside from the occasional comic for Razorcake. His project has been revealed, and it’s a fucking doozy, courtesy of Silver Sprocket

Not only is it the debut issue of Turnstyle Comix, it’s a 7-inch record! Tour stories from Jesse Thorson about his bands the Slow Death and the Falling Angels, as well as a back-up story from Mikey Erg! And if pages upon pages (40, to be precise) of gorgeously water-colored art, courtesy of Clem and the Nation of Amanda weren’t enough, you get the four-song debut from the Slow Death. It’s up for pre-order now, with the first 500 copies on bad-idea blue vinyl.
Continue reading

Free Comic Book Day tomorrow!

Free Comic Book Day is a day designed to raise awareness of comics. You go to your local shop, grab some free shit, maybe meet some creators, artists, writers, etc., and perhaps develop a dangerously expensive habit.

Here in Lawrence, the place to be is Astrokitty Comics. I’ll be spinning tunes from 11am-5pm, as well as doing not one, not two, but three music trivia contests. One of ’em will be [adult swim] themed, but after that, I’m a little tapped for ideas. I’ll be playing requests for 25ยข, too.

Come out, support Joel’s great store, have some fun. Astrokitty is one of the rare comic shops that’s friendly. Joel’s nice, Joe’s nice, Kyra’s awesome, and the registers will be staffed tomorrow by Erin and Annie, two of the nicest women you’ll ever meet. Yes! Women! Who like comics! Astrokitty is the sort of store you can bring your girlfriend / wife / kids to, and everyone is welcome and can find something that they will fall in love with (there’s a GIANT, near-life size plus Bone that even I want).

And look! It’s music from a comic book artist! James Kochalka doing a Daniel Johnston song!

James Kochalka – “Honey I Sure Miss You” (more mp3s here)