Youth in Decline’s fourth issue of Frontier is now available for order. This one is by Ping Zhu. I’m not familiar with this Brooklyn-based (by way of LA) artist. Lucky for me, each issue of Frontier comes with an artist interview.
From the Collection
Call Out Comics 2 (2018). A free comics newspaper from Toronto edited by Jonathan Rotsztain. It's loosely themed around the idea of call-outs, though this issue didn't specifically call anyone out in the typical sense. I got my copy at Desert Island.Bernie: The Wackiest Jewlipino on Earth! by Cheryl Gladstone (2006). A short collection of humorous observations of her indomitable mother. #minicomicChop Suey 2 by Kevin Scalzo (1997). Really funny and great art. I dig this a lot. #minicomicYou're Short, Bald and Ugly Charlie Brown (year unknown, somewhere around 2001?). A satirical appropriation of Peanuts by anonymous authors, but I have a pretty good hunch it's Joe Matt, Chester Brown, and Seth (in that order). Joe and Seth's pages are vulgar and funny, but Chester Brown...that's high art. #minicomicsSF 2 by Ryan Cecil Smith (year unknown, 2012?). His comics explore genre in a playful and almost corny way. Exquisitely drawn and printed, and clearly very manga influenced (this was made in Japan where Ryan sometimes lives). #minicomicLala Land (2015?). An anthology about Los Angles edited by Carmen Johns. It's the kind of zine I love: educational, eclectic, and written with real affection for the subject. #minicomic #zineTwo gems from my collection: These Fort Thunder era Brian Ralph minis (1999, 1997). Brian is my favorite Fort Thunder guy. Call me boring, but the others might be too avant-garde for me. Brian is experimental in his own right, but the story is always the thing. Also, he can really draw. #minicomic #fortthunderBlonde Cobra by Jonny Negron (2013?). I guess this could also be considered an "exploitation comic," re Benjamin Marra. Gets violent toward the end.Blades & Lazers by Benjamin Marra (2013). Published by Sacred Prism. What's the right word to describe Benjamin Marra's work? "Camp" isn't quite right. "Sleaze" might be, but that's not all there is too it. #minicomicColloquial by Jesse Lucas (2014?). A short collection of unrelated stories. The longest one is about anthropomorphic animals who are kinda scumbags. #minicomicGot my first dupe trade from Neil Brideau at Radiator comics. I'll send some minis from my duplicate box in return. Would you like to be a dupe pen pal? Contact me!I bought new shelving for the minis! It practically goes to the ceiling. A big improvement over the old shelves. Now I need to buy a ladder! #minicomicI just scored some rare early Jason Shiga minis from the man himself! These are from around 1997. Prized possessions! #minicomicYou're Garbage Fired by Adam Meuse (2017). Published by Birdcage Bottom. Have a few chuckles as you lament our current predicament (or better yet, resist in ways large and small). These portraits are really good! The drawings at the end are by his daughters, I believe. #minicomicEschew 1 by Robert Sergel (2008). A collection of short comics, most of them autobio, I think, and most of them haunting in some way. I like how he uses solid blacks, almost like a printmaker. #minicomicBad Boyfriends (2015?). An anthology about relationships with abusive men edited by Laura Lannes. I believe the cover is vellum that was hand-cut with a stencil. The pages included here are by an anonymous author and Celine Loup. Heavy reading but worth it. #minicomicBetsy by Sophie Goldstein (2012). A short sci-fi story that involves pregnancy. It's a theme she also explored in The Oven, my favorite comic by her. She did this one during her CCS years. #minicomicHey Grandpa by Dylan Williams (year unknown, 1997 or thereabouts). It's a tad irreverent for a comic strip, but not as dark or "alternative" as you'd expect for a 90s zine. It could almost live in the regular funny pages.Fois Gras #1 by Edie Fake (year unknown, maybe 2010ish?). Brilliant, funny, weird. I assume the images come from The Joy of Cooking (hence the byline on the cover) but I think they were redrawn? There were at least three issues. #zineHysteria Action Forum 5 by Gabrielle Gamboa (1994). A minicomic within a zine? The insert comic has a romance parody and a short collaboration with Dylan Williams. Very cool. #minicomic
