zines

If you’ve ever self-published… from the old xerox and staple to things like Blurb and Lulu… then there’s a chance that you’ve done the classic method of non-standard distribution of your product: The old ‘reverse-shoplift’ yourself onto the shelf of a local store that otherwise wouldn’t deal with you (I think I only ever did this in the long-gone little book shop on 9th St. off 4th Ave. in Manhattan). Here are a few camera phone photos from recent months of other - sometime quite unexpected - ways it can be done.

This last one is worth comment. I was very surprised to see the return (well… uh, now discontinued and reduced for quick sale, I guess) of the old Western Publishing model 3-pack at the toy store. This is at a Toys R Us in Knoxville, Tennessee. And yes, it is a classic Scorpio issue of the Defenders by David Anthony Craft (with help from Don McGregor) and Keith Giffen. This is the 1970s comic book equivalent of LSD, just waiting for some poor, unsuspecting soul to be warped forever. Good stuff.

OK. I’ve finally had a [minor] breakthrough on setting up the new Wow Cool online shop [7 months in the making!] So I feel a little more confident to do this announcement thing. Wow Cool is moving back to California and regular operation after nearly a decade of slagging off in New York and Tennessee. By August, 2008, there will be a new Wow Cool office somewhere in Santa Clara County, the web shop will be gloriously relaunched, and hopefully I can make a preliminary announcement about new releases [music, books, video] that will be rolling out. Stay tuned, dear reader. Buy me a drink at the Hilton bar during Heroes Con if you want more dirt. Or just stop by the table.

Thank you everyone,
–Marc Arsenault

ps. I am actively seeking an intern. Other employment opportunities may follow.

by Jason Martin 1991

Wow Cool was launched 20 years ago this month by Sam Henderson, Tom Hart and Marc Arsenault in New York. Tonight, a few of those characters and more are gathering in Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York for a memorial pub crawl. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by Alex Cox’s excellent Rocketship shop around 7pm. Otherwise you’ll have to catch up with the traveling show at one of the usual spots on Smith Street.

It seems that Wow Cool has been around long enough now (20 years this coming January) that it has attained some sort of historical signifigance, or at least our old friend Rick Bradford of the Poopsheet Foundation thinks so. I guess I need to get it in gear to get him much more art and info for this ambitious project. Original post from Midnight Fiction follows.

Poopsheet Foundation Website Revamp
Rick Bradford has just completed a major revamp of the Poopsheet Foundation website. Besides offering the web’s best selection of collector’s mini-comics for sale, Bradford has added a section on mini-comics history and a cover gallery. As Bradford explains, "I’ve felt for a long time that both the history and evolution of the mini-comic need to be more aggressively documented and easily accessible. Over the years I’ve been greatly inspired by the research of folks such as Bruce Chrislip, Gary Usher, Dale Luciano, Jay Kennedy and Mal Burns (not to mention Clay Geerdes and anybody else who has contributed to the documentation of the scene past or present) and I want to do my part."

Poopsheet’s new history section includes bibliographies for Mike Cody, David Miller, John Porcellino, and Souther Salazar, plus a biography on Michael Roden. Bradford’s also republished several articles by Tom Spurgeon; a 1991 letter from Jay Kennedy in which he describes his plans for the second edition of his Official Underground and Newave Price Guide; and publisher’s indexes for Wow Cool, Comix World, and Starhead Comix.

The new Gallery section provides over 700 mini-comics covers from Anthrax Press, Bruce Chrislip, Comix World, Dada Gumbo Press, Everyman Studios, No Way Comix, Ozone, Phantasy Press, Slice o’ Life Press, Starhead Comix, Wow Cool, and XEX Graphix! Bradford adds, "My intention for the new Poopsheet site is to collect as much relevant information as possible and make it available to all interested parties (collectors, fans, researchers). To that end, I’m certainly open to submissions and suggestions, corrections and additions to the existing content, as well as any cover scans missing from the gallery."

When asked about the site’s registration option, Bradford explains, "Although the new site was built on the Ning social network platform and signing up with Ning is an option, registration is not required. The Poopsheet site itself may be freely enjoyed without signing up." The new Poopsheet site is a great resource and archive on the history of mini-comics, and Bradford’s blog entries on the home page also provide news of current projects being developed and published by today’s mini-comics cartoonists.

Perhaps the best news about the revamped Poopsheet Foundation website is that it’s just getting started. Bradford has lots more planned, so if you’re into minis, underground, self-published, and alternative comics, start making it a regular visit!