(This review was originally published in 2007.) Reading Windy Corner Magazine #1 was a special pleasure because I’ve always found Austin English’s taste to be impeccable as a critic and now as an editor. It was a bonus to see so much of his new work as an artist as well. What makes...
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Those that follow the minicomics scene will observe that geography plays a large part in forming artist support groups. These groups provide encouragement and critique for young artists and play a part in their development. The recent development of a sustained book publishing beachhead in the...
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There’s little that’s quiet about Hellen Jo’s Jin and Jam, a Sparkplug Comic Books release. In the tradition of cartoonists like Charles Schulz, she’s clearly exploring different aspects of her self through her various characters. Jo’s characters are very much...
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In small press comics, the output from a publisher tends to reflect their own personal aesthetic, even when they exert no editorial control over them. That shows through in things like design and format, creating a sort of house style, especially when a publisher puts out a limited number of...
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What I like best about Austin English’s Windy Corner Magazine is that it seeks to clarify the artist’s relationship with memory and the narrative that we form from our memories, and how this is different from nostalgia. That theme was particularly evident in this issue. We are given...
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Something I’ve noticed as a recent trend in comics is a style that somewhat trades in primitivism or outsider art on the surface, but in reality is a sophisticated integration of word and text. The plastic qualities of text are not something separate to be read in the comic, but instead...
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From Horse #1 a mini-comic created by Dylan Williams in the early 1990s. Posted on Reporter56.com many years ago, retrieved from the Wayback Machine. All of the Horse covers were based on Black Sabbath album covers. Dylan passed away seven years ago today. Dylan’s press Sparkplug Books is...
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Hello y’all! Sparkplug is heading to the Midwest for one final show. We’ll be exhibiting at CAKE Chicago with Suzette Smith. This is one of our favorite fests and it’s free and open to the public, so be sure to check it out! Info below: Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE)...
Read moreHey friends! Lots of Sparkplug t-shirts just went on sale in the shop. Featuring illustrations by Dylan Williams, Renee French, and more! Check ’em out here!
Read moreI must say that I’m incredibly impressed and endeared by this issue of Windy Corner Magazine. I read it in two sittings because I spent so much time slowly reading and paying attention. Often it’s hard for me to take breaks from a book or comic, but there was a lot that I wanted to...
Read moreHi folks, Emily Nilsson here. I’m throwing lots of art on eBay for the benefit of Sparkplug’s future endeavors. We had a few pieces left over from the Indiegogo upper donation tier gifts, for which the artists have granted permission for us to sell. I’m also...
Read moreDo you love tales of the macabre and Gothic fiction? Do you get a thrill from being subtly horrified, eerily unsettled? Do you like amazing black-and-white art, anthologies, and juxtapositions of the work of talented modern artists and classic authors? You do? THEN YOU NEED TO READ ORCHID THIS...
Read moreThe Big Feminist But is the newest anthology in our store, edited by Shannon O’Leary and Joan Reilly. It’s a multi-faceted, thoughtful reflection upon modern feminism that entertains, provokes, and demands attention. Featuring a wide variety of talented artists and writers, including...
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We are offering three titles for free comic book day today – none of which are on the official FCBD roster. One of which is a year old now. There is the second book from a group of Portland publishers – Master P’s Theater (Last year they gave us Brad’s Trip… now...
Read moreHey folks! We are gearing up for Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend and hope to see you there! It takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Oregon Convention Center here in Portland. We also hope you will join moderator Milo George for the Dylan Williams Tribute panel on Saturday...
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Wow Cool was paid a visit by CNN in mid-1994 for a feature on the venomous werewolves of Generation X and their sinister plan to devour the sad old hippies and their filth. It was called Boom or Bust? and originally aired on Sunday, August 14, 1994. Baby Boomer Culture withering under the wave...
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Happy birthday to us! Sometime in 1988 the editorial crew behind School of Visual Arts off-Campus publication Tuna Casserole changed it’s name from The Art Dicks to Wow Cool. Tuna Casserole was launched by Sam Henderson and Tom Hart in the studio that Tom and I shared at the SVA dorms in...
Read moreA couple things: -Sparkplug will be at SPX in Bethesda, MD this weekend! Katie Skelly, Tom Neely and Ben Marra will be running things, so be sure to stop by. Get more info about SPX here. We’ll also be debuting the new issue of Reich. –Reich #9 by Elijah Brubaker is...
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Free Comic Book Day? Alternative Free Comic Book Day lasts all month! Brad Trip is always intense! In the meanwhile we have several exciting new titles to offer you. First up are the first three offerings from Austin English’s Domino Books: Dark Tomato #1 by Sakura Maku, Spider Monkey #1...
Read moreHi friends, don’t forget to donate to our fundraiser on Indiegogo. We’re in the last couple weeks and we are getting closer and closer by the hour, but we need to keep up the momentum!! Be sure to share the site with your friends, family, and small press lovers...
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Our fine friends at Sparkplug Books are getting set to publish three new titles – the first big batch since founder Dylan Williams’ passing last year – and they need your help to make it happen. There is an excellent array of reward items, including original art and t-shirts...
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Yes, it is I. The irregular Wow Cool link dump. Usually posted on a Monday or Tuesday, often in two parts, often skipping many weeks. We are well back from the holidays, and therefore it is time to obliterate every open tab and share the good bits that emerge. We open with the fight song
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Vital nuggets gleamed from Twitter and elsewhere over the past week. This photo set of Michael Kupperman at New York Comic Con 2011 promoting his new book “Mark Twain’s Autobiography 1910-2010” is utterly bonkers. “Twain” is pictured here with Sam Henderson. Me and...
Read moreDear Friends: Some of you have been asking what will happen to Sparkplug now that my husband, Dylan Williams, is no longer with us. This is to let you know that Virginia Paine, Tom Neely and I will be continuing to run things as best we can. Our immediate plans are to continue online...
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