The Stupid Pages

Guest Stupid Page by Lady Starlight, 1999

Guest Stupid Page by Lady Starlight, 1999

Lost classic from around 1989/90? Why this gem never saw print I cannot imagine. –Marc Arsenault

A review of the Jason Martin Stupid Pages strips (about a year before we decided on that as a name to package them in)

The two comics I’ve only seen at Fantagraphics that are memorable are “Albequerque Ben,” by Richard P. Butler, which is amazing, and a few Xeroxes of nonsense strips Al Columbia got from Marc Arsenault featuring some guy’s strip with titles like “Cassette Bird” and “I’m Gonna Pop Your Cheddar Legs.” I think both artists have socializations problems, let’s say, but the comics are amazing.
–Tom Spurgeon

The San Diego Comicon Panel transcript in which it appears

Tom Spurgeon - The Comics Reporter

Thanks Tom! Jason is clearly better at it (I like to think I’m better at getting a good gut laugh). Jason was also responsible for the slogan of the month in the Comics Journal once. Can’t quite remember what or when on that.

by Jason Martin 1991

Wall 10 by Jason Martin 1991

This strip is available on the Brown Cuts Neighbors T-Shirt.

Chicken Boy by Marc Arsenault

Not entirely true story of meeting Mark Martin and the famous Ben ‘Benny’ Burford at the restaurant at the Chattanooga Choo Choo.

Benny owns many drawings of mine, which I find bizarre. The unreadable caption in panel five should read - “Refuse to talk with their hands, probably think it’s “girly” - which is a nod to Mark Martin’s writing style.

– The Chattanooga Choo Choo, Marc Arsenault, November 29, 2007, 12:30AM

The Big Telephones by Jason Martin (1991)

The Big Telephones by Jason Martin, 1991

Sorry the engine has been rusty. I’ve been sick for a week and am still sorting through a massive photo dump from Florida. –Marc

The Big Telephones by Jason Martin (1991)

The Big Telephones by Jason Martin (1991)

The Big Telephones by Jason Martin (1991)

If you’re in Albany, New York tonight (October 22, 2007) see Jason (Wolfman) Martin thump the bass for BunnyBrains at Valentine’s (Downstairs) 17 New Scotland Ave. 6 bucks. Show starts early at 6:30 PM. Also on the bill are AIDS Wolf (from Canada), Grab Ass Cowboys, and Aux Raus.

by James Kopta 1991

The Big Telephones (1) by Jason Martin - 1991

My Shoe Stinks by Marc Arsenault - 1993

I’m sure I’ve had worse ideas. I think… Yes. The time for this wallpaper has come. You need this.

Branded Style

Vanilla Version (just the men in hats)

note: these are only in the unusual 1440×900 pixel ratio. If you display at something else… um… well, I wish you well. Art by Jason Martin circa 1991

I Hafta by Marc Arsenault. 1992

A bonus strip since this week has been so slow. When I catch up to all the goodies from the last month… Well… just wait…

Wall 10 by Jason Martin, 1991?

I’ve arrived at late Monday/early-Tuesday as comic posting time… the rotation of artists will seem a little more regular, and less Jason heavy in the future. Posts might pick up a bit too… been out of town…. gambling… No. OK, yes, gambling. At least I was winning. - Marc A on the footnote tip.

Doctor Who + The Daleks by Marc Arsenault, date uncertain…. possibly 1999.

George’s Head by Jason Martin, Summer 1991

Annoying Expressions by Jason Martin, Fall 1991

Ah yes… Over Six Years in the Making! One of the last major projects of Brown Cuts Neighbors. We’d been a band, a TV Show, An Art Movement… and The Stupid Pages was to be a comic book. A very stupid one. The goal of supreme simplicity, economy of line and sublime incisiveness of content was… well, not that easy to just sit down and do, Jason seemed the best at it, and was a model of sorts. He can convey so much in so few lines. Many books were filled with these comic strips. Many of which you will see here. Some were lost. At least one was set on fire… Over the next several months you’ll get to taste the loveliness of the Stupid Pages, as comitted by Jason Martin, Marc Arsenault, James Kopta, and guests Colleen Martin and Steven Cerio (and maybe others).

The name “The Stupid Pages” came from a classmate of mine at Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, New York. Her name is now forgotten, but we’ll say she was Danielle (heck, she may have been)… I used to do a comic called Grunion in the school paper, and she once commented that it shouldn’t be called the funny pages… after us, it should be said that these were the stupid pages… and so they are!

illustration: Guy with the things comin out his ear to the machinery by Jason Martin, August 1990