Sparkplug Highlights: I'm Not Afraid to Love (Gridlords Anthology)

Did you know that Gridlords is happening this Saturday, the 28th, at The Waypost? And did you know that several talented comics folks in attendance will be debuting work from the new Gridlords anthology, Other Worlds?! We're super excited about it! Other Worlds, edited and designed by Sean Christensen ABT and Graham Kahler, contains "an outrageously delicious collection of worlds out there in the outer zones" and features 132 pages of greatness from these amazing creators: Kevin Hooyman, Max Clotfelter, Dunja Jankovic, Rebecca Artemisa, Daria Tessler, Darin Shuler, Theo Ellsworth, Sophie Franz, Anna Ehlemark, Nusha Ashjaee, Elizabeth Pusack, Fiona Avocado, Graham Kahler, Ryan Iverson, Kelly Froh, Joel Statz, Matt Lock, Marsuplala, Luke Forsyth, Sean Christensen, Jesse McManus, and Lillie & Asher Craw.

 

 

 

In honor of this news, we wanted to showcase their first anthology, I'm Not Afraid to Love. This minibook is made up of 44 pages of black-and-white comics dealing with love; it features works from Rebecca Artemisa Urias, Elizabeth Pusack, Julia Gfrörer, Cameron Hawkeye, Eroyn Franklin, Tim Goodyear, Suzette Smith, Jesse McManus, Maryanna Hoggatt, Cari Vander Yacht, Graham Kahler, Kinoko, Nusha Ashjaee, Kevin Hooyman, Theo Ellsworth, Sean Christensen ABT, Daria Tessler, and Patrick & Vanessa Keck. The stories, short as they are, each portray some facet or viewpoint of love; whether you like your comics ultra-realistic, historical, comical, surreal, futuristic, or poetic, there's something in here for you. This is an awesome introduction to a wide array of talented creators and shouldn't be missed. Grab a copy and gear up for the Other Worlds!

 

 

Sparkplug Highlights: Reich #10, by Elijah Brubaker

I don't know about you, but I love graphic biographies, illustrated journalism, and historical comics. From the highly detailed, moving work of Joe Sacco to Kate Beaton's hilarious history gags to the recent and highly acclaimed March, learning about the past, the present, and people's lives seems so much more accessible and vibrant when there is a visual component involved. Emotions are right there on the page for you to see and empathize with; horrors are laid out and impossible to ignore; the abstract is made real and immediate. Since Art Spiegelman set the bar with his Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus, the graphic nonfiction canon has been one of the most consistently high-quality and exciting arenas of comics, and Elijah Brubaker is adding his own outstanding work to it right now.

Reich, the biography of the strange and fascinating Wilhelm Reich, is a thrilling, suspenseful ride -- quite the feat for a story that's over fifty years old. Issue ten, just released this summer, continues the gripping tale. From the intro:

"It has been a long, harrowing journey for Wilhelm Reich, from the excitement and progress of Vienna in the '20s studying under Sigmund Freud, through the conflagration of Hitler's Europe and into McCarthy era America. Reich, the ever intrepid scientist, delves deeper into the study of humn sexuality and into the very underpinnings of the cosmos. Reich discovers an energy, and élan vital, which he dubs "Orgone" energy and builds several devices capable of harnessing that energy. Several agencies of the US government suspect Reich of being a dangerous subversive and Reich's FBI file begins to grow. Later, Reich is approached a his home, Orgonon, by agents from the FDA. The agents question Reich about his devise and begin investigating his 'patients.' Around this time Reich begins to document his sighting of lights in the sky and several observations about his potent an seemingly universal Orgone energy..."

This issue is an ominous one, with the authorities closing in on Reich, his family life falling apart, and his associates losing faith in him. Brubaker's art, which is as textured and stylistically interesting as ever, illustrates this dark spiral well -- among his rounded characters and landscapes (that, honestly, are almost cute) are terrifying flashes of Reich's face in a rage, characters cloaked in darkness, and horribly vast expanses of sky and space. Even if you know what happens in the end, you can't help but feel a coldness in your gut and an intense desire to read on.

The Golem of Gabirol in Maximum Rocknroll!

Olga Volozova's The Golem of Gabirol got a great review in the September issue of Maximum Rocknroll (#364) from Mariam Bastani! Check it out:

"This is a comic rendition of 11th century Moorish Spain-based poet, scholar, kabbalist Ibn Gabriol's Legends Around the Name. The comic is grayscale illustrated with pen and ink, with washes creating watercolor gradients over busy, detailed, scribbly drawings with bold and slight lines. The story is a weird one, but has that heaviness of meaning that old texts like this usually have. The story is about a poet and scholar who creates people from puppets and magic. There is a love story intertwined, a tragic ending and mysterious behavior all told through the main female character trapped in a marriage. I loved this, mostly because it reminds me of old Persian stories (no surprise) and some of the strange and alluring fairytales that we all grew up with as kids, those that could be told to children, but have meanings that only adults can understand. Scary, but cool. Great artistic rendition of a cool story." - See more at: http://sparkplugcomicbooks.com/shop/comic-books/the-golem-of-gabirol/#sthash.WJRAy7RZ.dpuf

 "This is a comic rendition of 11th century Moorish Spain-based poet, scholar, kabbalist Ibn Gabirol's Legends Around the Name. The comic is grayscale illustrated with pen and ink, with washes creating watercolor gradients over busy, detailed, scribbly drawings with bold and slight lines. The story is a weird one, but has that heaviness of meaning that old texts like this usually have. The story is about a poet and scholar who creates people from puppets and magic. There is a love story intertwined, a tragic ending and mysterious behavior all told through the main female character trapped in a marriage. I loved this, mostly because it reminds me of old Persian stories (no surprise) and some of the strange and alluring fairytales that we all grew up with as kids, those that could be told to children, but have meanings that only adults can understand. Scary, but cool. Great artistic rendition of a cool story."

"This is a comic rendition of 11th century Moorish Spain-based poet, scholar, kabbalist Ibn Gabriol's Legends Around the Name. The comic is grayscale illustrated with pen and ink, with washes creating watercolor gradients over busy, detailed, scribbly drawings with bold and slight lines. The story is a weird one, but has that heaviness of meaning that old texts like this usually have. The story is about a poet and scholar who creates people from puppets and magic. There is a love story intertwined, a tragic ending and mysterious behavior all told through the main female character trapped in a marriage. I loved this, mostly because it reminds me of old Persian stories (no surprise) and some of the strange and alluring fairytales that we all grew up with as kids, those that could be told to children, but have meanings that only adults can understand. Scary, but cool. Great artistic rendition of a cool story." - See more at: http://sparkplugcomicbooks.com/shop/comic-books/the-golem-of-gabirol/#sthash.WJRAy7RZ.dpuf

"This is a comic rendition of 11th century Moorish Spain-based poet, scholar, kabbalist Ibn Gabriol's Legends Around the Name. The comic is grayscale illustrated with pen and ink, with washes creating watercolor gradients over busy, detailed, scribbly drawings with bold and slight lines. The story is a weird one, but has that heaviness of meaning that old texts like this usually have. The story is about a poet and scholar who creates people from puppets and magic. There is a love story intertwined, a tragic ending and mysterious behavior all told through the main female character trapped in a marriage. I loved this, mostly because it reminds me of old Persian stories (no surprise) and some of the strange and alluring fairytales that we all grew up with as kids, those that could be told to children, but have meanings that only adults can understand. Scary, but cool. Great artistic rendition of a cool story." - See more at: http://sparkplugcomicbooks.com/shop/comic-books/the-golem-of-gabirol/#sthash.WJRAy7RZ.dpuf

"This is a comic rendition of 11th century Moorish Spain-based poet, scholar, kabbalist Ibn Gabriol's Legends Around the Name. The comic is grayscale illustrated with pen and ink, with washes creating watercolor gradients over busy, detailed, scribbly drawings with bold and slight lines. The story is a weird one, but has that heaviness of meaning that old texts like this usually have. The story is about a poet and scholar who creates people from puppets and magic. There is a love story intertwined, a tragic ending and mysterious behavior all told through the main female character trapped in a marriage. I loved this, mostly because it reminds me of old Persian stories (no surprise) and some of the strange and alluring fairytales that we all grew up with as kids, those that could be told to children, but have meanings that only adults can understand. Scary, but cool. Great artistic rendition of a cool story." - See more at: http://sparkplugcomicbooks.com/shop/comic-books/the-golem-of-gabirol/#sthash.WJRAy7RZ.dpuf

"This is a comic rendition of 11th century Moorish Spain-based poet, scholar, kabbalist Ibn Gabriol's Legends Around the Name. The comic is grayscale illustrated with pen and ink, with washes creating watercolor gradients over busy, detailed, scribbly drawings with bold and slight lines. The story is a weird one, but has that heaviness of meaning that old texts like this usually have. The story is about a poet and scholar who creates people from puppets and magic. There is a love story intertwined, a tragic ending and mysterious behavior all told through the main female character trapped in a marriage. I loved this, mostly because it reminds me of old Persian stories (no surprise) and some of the strange and alluring fairytales that we all grew up with as kids, those that could be told to children, but have meanings that only adults can understand. Scary, but cool. Great artistic rendition of a cool story." - See more at: http://sparkplugcomicbooks.com/shop/comic-books/the-golem-of-gabirol/#sthash.WJRAy7RZ.dpuf

Sparkplug Highlights: Goodbye Turtle and An Unfilled Circle, by Yumi Sakugawa

I don't think there's a word in the English language for the feeling of simultaneously being sad and being happy that you're sad, because your sadness means that there is beauty in the world, even in small tragedies, and you are capable of being moved by such beauty. There should be a word for this, if only to make it easier to describe the effect Yumi Sakugawa's work has on me. Yumi's art is fascinating in that it tricks you into thinking it's simple, and therefore must only serve to illustrate the narrative in an economic, practical way. Suddenly, though, you realize that there is a startling depth and intricate texture in the dark river running across a blank page, or you nearly gasp at the claustrophobia and loneliness expressed in the hundreds of tiny windows in a cityscape. With her black pens and brushes and gray washes, she captures fleeting moments and distills huge emotions into quiet, contemplative scenes. Her stories, too, are captivating. Goodbye Turtle and An Unfilled Circle both deal, broadly, with relationships, how we respond to loss, and the things we gain from not having what we want. To describe more than that is to cheapen your own experience with the stories. Like kōans you are told in a dream, only to half-remember upon waking, they each provide a glimpse into the unknown and the unattainable. You will be compelled to read them over again, and then again, knowing that if you could just reach the light at their cores that you sense peeking out between the lines, you will be treated to a wondrous revelation.

SF Zine Fest pics on Facebook now!

We had a great time tabling at San Francisco Zine Fest over the weekend of Aug 31 to Sept 1.  Thanks everyone who stopped to say hi, buy stuff, or just to take a look.  Go to our Facebook page to see more fun photos of the event.

Sparkplug at SPX 2013 This Weekend!

Come see us at one of the country's largest and most celebrated independent comics and arts festivals: the 2013 Small Press Expo! We are so excited to be a part of this event; come visit Tom Neely at table J1 and check out our great new books!

The Expo will be held this weekend, September 14th and 15th, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center on 5701 Marinelli Rd., North Bethesda, Maryland. It is open to the public from 11:00am to 7:00pm on Saturday and 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday. Admission price is $10 for one day or $15 for the entire weekend.

The annual SPX comics and graphic arts festival presents the best and brightest established creators in independent comics. In addition to the opportunity for public exposure and potential revenue the festival provides to attending artists, the event also allows less established to network with publishers and prominent creators, providing unique opportunities for the comic creator that is just starting out. The festival includes a public exhibition where artists, creators and publishers and the public interact in an informal setting; a series of symposium held during the festival, where creators of comics engage in formal panel discussions and/or interviews open to SPX attendees; and off-site events the week of the convention, including academic seminars, book signings and school outreach programs.

SPX is also the home of the Ignatz Awards, the festival prizes of the Small Press Expo. Since 1997, they have recognized outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects. The ballot is created by a panel of five cartoonists and is voted on by the attendees of the SPX festival. Come cast your vote for your favorite comic of the year!

Sparkplug Highlights: Rock That Never Sleeps, by Olga Volozova and Juliacks

What do we forget? How do we remember? At the heart of this arresting story by Olga Volozova and Juliacks is Rock That Never Sleeps, a mystical junkyard lost in time, filled with memories and kept by mysterious sages. If you take something from this place, though, you must leave something behind. This comic contains two connected stories about this mythical place.

The first, by Volozova, is done in a wispy sepia that recalls the fairy tales of old; it tells the tale of the beautiful, powerful, and female-dominated Katchia family. Puppetmakers who have skills and magic from the Old World, tragedy strikes when two members of the family lose their memories and are unable to continue their craft or carry on their heritage. They must risk everything to travel to Rock That Never Sleeps and reclaim their birthright.

Juliacks's stark and dreamlike black-and-white story takes place over one hundred years in the future; the majority of the Earth's population has lost their memories to technology, and only those with strange birthmarks can remember their own lives. Two of these seers take Redo, a young woman who has lost her past, to The Rock That Never Sleeps in order to play among their recollections and experiences. But what will Redo be forced to give up in return?

Like a surrealist folktale, Rock That Never Sleeps casually uses magical settings and scenarios to explore themes of family, the passing of time, the adherence to or loss of cultural traditions, the dangers of technology, and the importance of memory and storytelling itself. You will become ensnared in the characters' relationships and quests before you realize that you are thinking about how little you remember from your childhood, how you can't recall the song your grandmother used to sing, or how events you don't document online seem less real, or at least less memorable. Where would you go to get those memories back? What would you give to know what you used to know?

Sparkplug Highlights: Sorry Sheets, by Eroyn Franklin

The smallest things become imbued with meaning when we are living in a state of emotional distress: when we are leaving our home for good, or dealing with death, or living as one half of a failing relationship. Everything seems portentous, pregnant with omens. Erin Franklin illustrates this feeling of weary divination with skill and grace in her 2011 comic Sorry Sheets.

Done in her trademark black-and-white linework, Sorry Sheets quietly directs the reader's gaze to a modern woman lacking in love from -- and maybe for -- her partner. The action is simple enough. She attempts to take a relaxing bath, but slips and falls, breaking her glass and cutting her finger. Her partner comes in to perform his morning routine. He doesn't notice her, sitting on the floor, bleeding; or worse, if he does, he doesn't say anything. He takes her towel and walks out. She goes to follow him, but can't find him in their room. She takes his pillow from their bed, smells it, and then -- in an act of defiance, or revenge, or catharsis -- throws it out the window.

What makes this story aesthetically exquisite is Franklin's masterful grasp of pattern and motion. The sweep of her hand in the bathtub, the flow of water from the faucet, the etching of his beard, the padding of her feet down the hallway, the darkened hatching of dampened sheets all are woven together to create an intricate tapestry of sadness.

Sorry Sheets shines as an impressionistic collection of symbols that, together, feel like a cold hand slowly creeping around your heart. A torn book, a broken glass; a drop of blood in water. Hair, teeth, naked bodies with no hint of sexuality, confidence, or affection. Empty rooms and a sheet stained with the wet impression of a woman's body. A pillow. A bandage. The heart breaks.