Tag Archives: Paper Rocket

Rob Kirby’s Top 10 Minicomics of 2014

Rob Kirby just released his fourth annual list of top minicomics of 2014. It’s funny: the number one thing I follow, study, or know anything about is minicomics. But most of this list was unfamiliar to me. There’s a big world of small comics out there!

For example, I just discovered that Sparkplug launched their Mini Series, a new line of minicomics. The line will spotlight new and under-appreciated authors, and each titles is limited to a print run of 500. The first in the series,  Hungry Summer by Asher Z. Craw, made Rob’s 2014 list.

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I hate to toot my own horn but…toot toot! Limp Wrist by Scout Wolfcave and Penina Gal, published by my own Paper Rocket Minicomics, also made the list. You can buy it in the Tiny Report shop. I must admit, I proud of that little book.

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Triple Release Party at Desert Island

Posts have been spotty here at the Tiny Report. Sorry about that. I just moved into a new apartment and started a new job, so my free time has been little-to-none.

But I’m getting back into the swing of things, starting with a release party for The Tiny Report: Micro-Press Yearbook 2013. It’s a joint release party with my dear friends Hazel Newlevant and Preston Spurlock.

Triple Release Party
with Hazel Newlevant, Robyn Chapman, and Preston Spurlock
Desert Island, 540 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn
Wednesday, October 22, 7-9pm

with readings by the authors and a song by Preston Spurlock

ITBSIf This be Sin by Hazel Newlevant

If This Be Sin is a square-bound collection of comics about queer women expressing themselves through music. It tells the stories of Gladys Bentley, the Harlem Renaissance blues singer and drag king, and Wendy and Lisa, the lesbian rock stars of Prince and the Revolution. Winner of the 2013 Prism Comics Queer Press Grant.

 

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The Tiny Report: Micro-Press Yearbook 2013 by Robyn Chapman

The Tiny Report endeavors to chronicle the comics micro-press movement, and the Micro-Press Yearbook is its annual report. This publication includes a list of over 50 micro-publishers, and data from 40 of those is compiled into charts and graphs.

Robyn will also be debuting the other fall releases from Paper Rocket Minicomics: Limp Wrist and an untitled screen print by Preston Spurlock.

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Limp Wrist by Scout Wolfcave and Penina Gal

prestonprintsuntitled screen print by Preston Spurlock

preston_minissTact, Sensual Delicacies 2, and Sensual Delicacies by Preston Spurlock

Preston Spurlock will be debuting three new comics: Tact, Sensual Delicacies, and Sensual Delicacies 2. Each collects drawings, cartoons, and short stories in Preston’s gonzo one-of-a-kind style.

The Tiny Report is Back, The Micro-Press Yearbook is Here!

You might have noticed that I took a little vacation from the Tiny Report. Excuse number 1 is this: I was away in Alaska visiting family after a long, long absence. (Yeah, I from Alaska. Didn’t you know?)

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My dad and I took a road trip to go look at a glacier. The Dirty Dancing soundtrack was playing the whole way. It was awesome.

Excuse number 2: I was working feverishly on The Tiny Report’s first annual report: The Micro-Press Yearbook 2013. I really, really, wanted it to debut at SPX, and I made it just under the wire.

The Tiny Report: Micro-Press Yearbook 2013
16 pages, 5.5″ x 8.5″
black and white with a Risograph cover and centerfold
Just $3! BUY IT HERE

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Here’s the lovely cover by Chuck Forsman. It was Risograph printed locally by Jesse Hlebo (of swill children). He did a great job and his rates are quite reasonable.

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My essay “What’s a Micro-Press?” takes up about half of this zine. It’s also peppered with photos of micro-publishers and their wares, all taken during 2013.

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This is the double-sided centerfold. It’s basically a directory of all the micro-presses that I could find that were active in 2013 (there’s 52 of them). It includes this information: micro-press name, publisher, location, website, years in operation, total number of publications produced, number of publications produced in 2013, and the names of those titles. I was able to get complete stats on most of those 52 publishers.

tr_3sHere’s the centerfold, unfolded.

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I was able to collect all this information because 40 micro-publishers took part in my online survey. I took some of that data and made some charts and graphs. (Did you know half of these micro-presses are financially profitable? That surprised me.)

tr_5sHere’s the back cover, with the complete 2013 list. I know it’s not a perfect list (some how I left out So, What? Press, and I’m kicking myself), but it’s pretty darn close, I think.

So, that’s my zine. I’m pretty proud of it. Those of you who backed me on Kickstarter, You’ll be getting your copies in the next few weeks.

Now that I’ve collected all this information, this site will need a bit of an overhaul. My list needs to be updated. My definition of a micro-press needs to be updated. And I’ll be posting some (but not all) of the stats and graphs that are in the Micro-Press Yearbook.

Thanks for sticking with me, dear reader! Bonus: if you can name all the publications in this photo, I’ll send you a free copy*.  Email me through the “Contact” link above.robbookss*I doubt anyone is going to take me up on this, but just in case: this is limited to a reasonable amount of winners. Say, ten.

 

Jesse Reklaw Launches Lovf Kickstarter

lovfwebFull disclosure: Jesse Reklaw is my friend, roommate, and one of the authors I publish at Paper Rocket. Yet, amazingly, I’m not biased!

Jesse just launched the Kickstarter for Lovf, which will be published by Fantagraphics in the near future. This psychedelic travel journal chronicles a scary, crazy, difficult time for Jesse.  It’s a unique and gorgeous form of memoir, and unlike any book you’ve seen before (unless you read Lovf New York: Destination Crisis, an excerpt I published as a minicomic last year).

For just $25 you’ll get a copy of Lovf delivered to your door–so basically, this is a pre-order drive. There are some other cool rewards too (the Destination Crisis mini is available, and I’ll be making a limited edition screen print). And for just $5,000 you can get the honest-to-god, one-and-only sketchbook that is Lovf.

Characters Release Party at Desert Island

Not to toot my own horn, but, toot toot! (I run a micro-press and micro-press news blog, this will happen from time to time.)

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Paper Rocket and Friends Birthday Release Party
with Robyn Chapman, Jess Ruliffson, and Jeffrey Lewis
Desert Island, 540 Metropolitan Ave in Williamsburg
Thursday, March 6, 7-9pm

More here.