May
30
Originally published at INKKC.COM on April 24th, 2009
Within the Aladdin’s Shrine’s appropriately titled “multipurpose” room was a hundred or so cartoonists with an array of eclectic tales for trade and sale. Slightly more organized than a garage sale, SPACE was a vast and seemingly aimless arrangement of comic book underground culture. Discombobulating at first, SPACE contained a nearly infinite range of genres: old-school sci-fi, adult-themed vamp action, historical romance, autobiography, anthologies, and more anthologies. It was apparent that no list could contain the event’s smorgasbord of stories. Entering SPACE early Saturday morning I found myself drawn to the event’s amateurish charm. There was Cybor (the story of a cybernetic pig), and Straw-man (a super-powered bendable straw) and Big Breasted Vampire Death (its voluptuous vampires killing people, duh). Much of this kind of genre-rehashing imitates poorly (in many cases imitates artists who are not worth imitating) but there is an obsessions in their eccentric visions that is fascinating. The art was crass and sometimes manic, likened to a bathroom wall covered with doodles of an unknown pulp hero. These cartoonists produced tales so brazen and unabashedly raw (under-cooked, not vulnerable) that were much like an enthusiastic garage band filled with so much passion, it was difficult not to stare in awe. Read more...
May
30
Originally published at INKKC.com on April 16th, 2009.
We will be shooting off like a crew of astronauts filled with anticipation and destined towards the unknown, minus the air-tight suits and Velcro. Instead equipped with cartoonist’s gear- inks, pens, and papers- we aim for the Small Press & Alternate Comic Expo (SPACE) in Columbus, Ohio. Over a hundred comic book creators make their way to the SPACE convention each year to share and solicit their self produced mini-comics. Like a zine, these mini-comics are usually in black and white and are cheaply produced, thus lacking the polish and commercial gleam of a regular $3.99 superhero title. And the convention is no different. No ex-playmates or television actors or sci-fi movie stars will be in attendance, just the largest concentration of unknown comic creators. (SPACE’s most notable guest is Dave Sims, creator of Cerebus. However it is unclear if he will be attending this year.) Read more...
May
02
"Matt and Jamie"(2008) photograph by Micheal Boles
Whoop Dee Doo Showcases talent and trend at the “Gateway to the West”
A version of this story appeared in the November/December, 2008 print issue of Review Magazine.
The Impala was dancing us down I-29, on a muggy and windless August afternoon. The smooth grooves and perfunctory booty-beats of Beyonce Knowles were an apt score to the traffic as the vehicle slowly lurched then abruptly sped up, only to grind to a halt. Every summer, Kansas City’s interstates are filled with construction, but this weekend was unique: it was American Idol tryouts. I was certain the delay was because of an influx of last-minute starry-eyed fame-seekers desperate to make the cut — or worse, disappointed rejects sluggish to get back home. The car idled as we waited in anticipation, not unlike the contestants with their aspirations for popularity and fame, but we also had less grand expectations — Omaha, Nebraska, or bust.
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