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
The original Optic Nerve minicomics by Adrian Tomine (1991-1994). Jealous. #minicomics #centerforcartoonstudies🐷 in 💩. The minicomic section of the CCS offsite archive. #minicomic #centerforcartoonstudiesAll the Sparkplug floppies that CCS owns but I don't! I enjoyed Passages by Tessa Brunton (2011). #minicomics #centerforcartoonstudiesComics School USA 1-12 by Kevin Huizenga (2015-2018). He put together these zines for the cartooning classes he teaches at MCAD. #zine #centerforcartoonstudiesTip Top 2 and 3 by Eleanor Davis (2000). Really rare zines that I mentioned in the Tiny Report but had never seen before. I didn't realize these issues are flipbook splits with Queens & Cauliflower by, I think, Kate Ziemer. (Hard to find a name on this!) #minicomics #centerforcartoonstudiesJust arrived back in comics country! I'll be posting from CCS for the next few days. #minicomics #centerforcartoonstudiesNotes by Mark Wang (year unknown, assuming 2018). The art has Tintin-esque clarity although the stories are pretty strange. I'm a fan. #minicomic #diversitycomicconThe Intervention by Jonah Newman (2018). A short comic about a concerned family and a fiercely independent 91-year-old. Concise, nicely structured storytelling. #minicomic #diversitycomicconMy haul from the first ever Diversity Comic Con at FIT. #minicomics #diversitycomicconWill You Still Love Me if I Wet the Bed? by Liz Prince. The minicomic came out in 2004 and Top Shelf published their version a year later. I've always loved this hand-stitched cover. #minicomicRIP David Bessent. Though I haven't seen anything official, his closest friends are saying he was taken off of life support after a random, stupid, pointless act of gun violence. David hasn't been in the comics scene for a while (these comics are from 2003-2006) but we were starting out in comics around the same time. He could really draw. He was really brave in his comics. He was a nice guy. What a fucking shame. #minicomicRust Belt #4 by Sean Knickerbocker (2018). This issue focuses on a burgeoning alt-right internet persona. It feels like the first part of a bigger story. Sean's cartooning keeps getting better and better. Great pacing and composition. His backgrounds suggest a lot with just a few lines. # minicomicViewotron 1 by Sam Sharpe and Peach S. Goodrich (2018). Published by Adhouse. An anthology of intriguing short stories, usually somewhat fantastical and allegorical. #minicomic #spx2018Frontier #17, Mother's Walk by Lauren Weinstein (2018). A textured, layered memoryscape about the birth of her second child. Published by Youth in Decline. #minicomic #spx2018Tom Corbett Love Cadet / Glamorous Space Romances by Will Arnold (2017). Printed at Work Press. This is a late 40s romance comic and a mid 50s sci fi comic with the text swapped. #minicomic #spx2018Murders by Dave Baker and Nicole Goux (2017). Teenage misfits use dark magic to wreak revenge on the popular girls. It's a long minicomic, like a mini novella. #minicomic #spx2018Fowl Weather by Rachel Katz and Stephanie Davidson (2018). Published by Pyrite Press. An autobio story (I assume?) about observing wild turkeys during a snowstorm. Absolutely nothing scary happens, but it feels like a horror story. Nice voice and great art. A new discovery for me. #minicomic #spx2018Wash Day by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith (2018). You'd expect a comic from a writer/artist team to be really text heavy, but a good portion of this is wordless. Great pacing, pretty sophisticated all around. These hair washing and hair care scenes could almost be instructional. A Spanish version was published simultaneously, which I hadn't seen in a minicomic before. #minicomic #spx2018Mothball 88 by Kevin Reilly (2018). The story centers on the intricate but baffling sport of Mothball. The concept is bizarre but the storytelling is solid and easy to follow. Refreshingly unique--I liked it a lot. It reminds me of Beanworld. #minicomic #spx2018True Pooch edited by Alessa Kreger (2018). A comic anthology about dogs and dog lovers. Nicely curated throughout. Each contribution was high quality, somewhat rare for anthologies. #minicomic #spx2018
