Five months down the road and I've finally read all the small press books I picked up at Bristol Small Press Expo in May. I'm not going to be able to make it up to Thought Bubble this year, yet again, as I've got an exam two days after, but as a lead up to it I thought I'd go through the gems in my Bristol haul - if you are heading up there then here are some people to look out for. (I'm not sure how many of them will be exhibiting, but keep an eye out anyway.)They all do properly small small press, or as close as - which means self-funded, self-published and as such direct from their brain to your eyes with only their own ideas of what's appropriate or what will sell having any say, not anyone else's. As much as I love what some of the indie publishers are doing out there, and think that it's absolutely essential that we have them, there was a while when it seemed like they were going to completely squeeze the self publishers out of the market. While that has still happened to a certain extent, as has a move towards doing webcomics instead of printing, I can't say how glad I am that the small press is still soldiering on.
Spandex is one of the most brutal superhero comics I've ever read. Without the luxury, or some might say straighjacket, of a fortnightly or monthly release there's no gentle sense of things staying roughly the same from issue to issue. It's pretty bracing to read at first, as you have to come to terms with big changes very swiftly, but if you keep up then it ends up being very rewarding. It is, very clearly, someone who loves superhero comics making them live up to the rules and repercussions that they set - and really ought to follow - themselves.
Kate Brown
I got Fish and Chocolate from Kate Brown purely on the strength of the artwork and production values - both were at a really high standard- but I really enjoyed the stories too. It's kind of the opposite end of the spectrum to Spandex, because the stories are very loose and, while things happen in them, nothing is spelled out or necessarily resolved - leaving you to think about the implications that follow. Kate seems to be heading into proper indie publishing now which is really nice to see.
Ronin Dogs
Ronin Dogs is just absolutely great fun - violent space layabouts having adventures whilst on the run from shady government forces. Pure escapism, but really cleanly drawn and with a good sense of how to put together action pages - which is good because it's pretty much action non-stop. It manages to maintain an energy, dynamism and freshness all the way through. Also, one of the main characters is a skeleton. Just because.
7 String
7 String is a comic with a master plan and I really hope Nich manages to finish it, although last I heard he was getting paid work from Titan - clearly great but also clearly going to take priority. He deserves it though, with a lovely cartoony style with thick lines and a very clearly defined pallette of blues and purples he mixes a nostalgia for 80s Satuday mornings with an innovative approach to design and layout. If you can get hold of it do check out the stand-alone book Gossamer Blue.
Hitsville UK
This one's a bit of a cheat, as Dan and Jon are good friends of mine, but dammit they've made one of the best comics I've read all year - from any publisher. Dan has previous, with Frequent Flyers being one of my all-time favourite comics ever. Hitsville is in glorious full colour, and is about music and what it means to like music, and what sort of power music has to shape our lives and identities. Just read it.
And finally, although I won't be there some of my comics will be. Head to the Hitsville table to find the Best of Underfire Comics (click on the cover to read a preview), which I edited, and which I appear in as well. You may even find a copy of Endangered Weapon B (at the bottom of the picture above) which has a game I wrote in it, as well as some awesome stories about robots.
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