Fight the System!!!

So here we are in a new year and I've made two resolutions that I intend to keep, and about twelve others that I already broke so why list them here.

One is to get Megazeen back on a quarterly schedule. The Megazeen Sci-Fi issue will appear this winter, the One-Page issue this spring, an as-yet-undetermined issue for summer and hopefully a Christmas issue by the end of year. That's the plan.

The other is that I will NOT purchase a Marvel or DC comic book this year.

That second one is a lot easier to keep. Frankly, I've barely bought any comics that weren't in a dollar box in many months. Especially regarding the Big Two, the price has discouraged me, the slapped-together artwork looks too often like it's done on a conveyor belt, and the quality of the storylines fails to amuse me. This coming from a collector of over 30 years with well over 5000 books. Wake up guys.

That said, I have become far more convicted about the growing indy lines. There is some really hot stuff out there, made by guys that do it for the love of the medium, not the almighty dollar. So, if I can throw them some of my almighty dollars, instead of Marvel and Deceased, I'll feel a whole lot better and I'll buy them a hamburger.

So whilst in my favorite haunt (New Moon Comics) I picked up a handful of indies at Victoria's recommendation. Good calls all around. I'm going to continue sampling the world of indies and undergrounds this year in earnest, and reviewing what I like. If you have any recommendations please leave them in the comments.

First up is ABYSS from Red 5 Comics, by Rubio and Marangon, the guys that brought us Troops and Tag and Bink. Here's the skinny (as Victoria sold it to me): Imagine your rich dad died and you've inherited everything. Then you find out that your dad was Batman. Then you find out he was really Doctor Doom. This is a pure FUN comic, not too heady or goofy, made for comic fans BY comic fans, and it's great to see these guys doing well. The art and dialogue are simple yet clever, and they WORK. After years of Marvel and Diseased, it's hard for me to invest in another universe, but this is so worthwhile.

Show at the Dive Bar

Tom Hall and I were invited to do a small comic book show on Long Island, to benefit the Boy Scouts. Sounded like a good deal.

When we pulled up after a brief accidental tour of Brooklyn, our directions had led us to a little bar off the beaten path, sandwiched between a condemned building, a Chinese deli, a European bakery and a cemetary. The front door was locked. Around back, behind a dumpster and through a half-open door, was the 'show'.

There was no sign advertising it out front, no sign on the door. There were maybe sixteen tables. If there there a hundred mainstream comic books in the room I'd be surprised. Yes, I said a hundred comics, NOT boxes, NOT dealers, NOT titles, a hundred comics period falling out of some flat-laying dollar boxes. There was a knife dealer, a bootleg video dealer and a guy whose table included burned copies of garage band CD's and jumper cables. There was a table represented by the Libertarian Party supporting Ron Paul.

The rest of the tables were filled with artists who had been convinced at the Big Apple Con that this would somehow not be a waste of our time.

What can you do but try to make the most of it? The good thing was that I got to spend a day drawing pictures and talking with my best friend. The only customers that anyone had all day were basically the other vendors that had nothing to do but look around. Since it was slow (deader than the cemetary across the street) the artists all spent time getting to know each other and making contacts. I did some sketches at request and we sold (and gave away) a few Megazeens and KING!s to people that will surely read and appreciate them.

I suppose this is what rock bands talk about when they start out at dive bars with an audience of four people. I wanna know, how long do we pay our dues before we play the Garden?