Alternative Visions
Alternative Visions |
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Page 26 of 29  Cover, American Splendor (self-published, 1985). Art: Val Mayerik. Script: Harvey Pekar. A surprisingly riveting excursion into the minutiae of Pekar's life: this issue, 'His third marriage... and how his substandard dishwashing strains their relationship'. That wraps things up in terms of the different genres encompassed by the alternative comics. However, there was one more final dimension to the scene that remains worthy of mention: the small press. This was a thriving do-it-yourself industry comprising of comics with very small print-runs: anything from tens to thousands, but usually in the low hundreds. Appearing in the wake of the punk fanzine explosion of the late 1970s, early small press comics tended to be photocopied and very rough-and-ready (the more ambitious stretched to using inked-roller duplicators). Completely non-commercial, they were generally produced with little investment, and mostly lost money (the parallels with the early history of the underground are clear): selling was a problem, and although some kindly comic shop owners allowed them shelf-space, many small press publishers were forced to trade by post. In the later 1980s and 1990s, the small press became more sophisticated. The key to this was better organization with special conventions and fanzines devoted to the scene. There were even small press 'star' creators. Also, with improvements in Desk Top Publishing, and a decrease in the price of printing, small scale comics took on a more professional appearance: now, square-bound titles with glossy covers became common. By 1995, the press even had a manifesto: "Why self-publish?  Page from 'Sexaholics Anonymous', Drawn and Quarterly (Drawn and Quarterly, 1990). Art/script: Joe Matt. Most autobiographical titles consisted of cringe-inducing admissions about their creators' sex lives - or lack of them: at least Matt had a sense of humour.  Page from the graphic novel The Playboy (Drawn and Quarterly, 1992). Art/script: Chester Brown. A story less about sex than about guilt. |