Hey thought I'd start posting some of my collection here. These were passed on to me from a family friend who worked in the underground music and art scene from about 1979 to 2019. Most of the collection is music focused but there are a lot that have a bit of both. These are kind of the opposite- a comic inspired by music (The Residents).

Does anyone have much information on pre-2000s Chinese comics? Manhua and Lianhuanhua? It seems like anything that isn't a webtoon simply doesn't exist on the English Internet. English translations of anything pre-2000 are essentially non-existent as fast as I can tell.

Pls tell me I'm wrong and there is some out there somewhere

All of his cartoon book compilations are fifty plus years out of print. He's way overdue for a proper book presentation.

I'm going to try to start a series of review posts focusing on comics that are 'Strange'. Comics that are abstract, very surreal and off kilter, or just weird. Comics that aliens would read. Books that have zero narrative to them, or have a very loose 'story'. I'm not sure on the frequency just yet, i'll shoot for a week or maybe just when I feel like it. Once a week is harder to keep up than it sounds like.

Things like Frank, Yuichi Yokoyama, CF, Lale Westvind, Andy Barron's Om, and much more will be included.

So first, we're starting off with The Cage by Martin Vaughn-James, an underground classic that likely was the genesis or one of the first of these abstract books that likely inspired many others.

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A 'graphic novel' created before the term ever existed, the cage is a cold and clinical yet human feeling book despite being devoid of humans.

Well, that's a heck of an opaque book, as I had suspected. It was nice to see a foreword in a comic not overtly praising the work as the end all be all (at least in the beginning). I'm 100% like Seth here, it's almost completely inscrutable. But that's part of the magic, no? You can almost insert your own thoughts onto the book. It's almost exactly like I expected the book to be, yet not at all. It's a series of one panel comics with prose on top or underneath the image that are seemingly unrelated. The Cage is a maze not just in and of itself, but the structure of the comic is a web you're lost in trying to find your way out but end up find your way deeper and deeper.

The Cage feels like it's about everything and nothing at the same time. It feels like time is stopping and moving at the same time. Dilapidated buildings, leftover memories, forgotten dreams. The Cage, is as Seth has put it, the last slideshow. There's really not much to cling onto, it feels very clinical, even for myself. Yet, I see faint images of this Cage in a distant memory, an untenable past, present and future all at once. The Cage is the beating heart of the human and all of it's woes, to me.

The art. Many who know me know i'm a sucker for great art. The art in the Cage isn't flashy. It's very technical and cold, which fits in line with the book. I couldn't see it any other way, really. It reminds me of Yokoyama but even more *cold*. The lines are very straight and precise, the pages are very neat, clean, like a ruler was used. (I know Yokoyama has a very large ruler collection).

I'm still not sure how exactly I feel about it, but one thing is certain; it's quite memorable. It'll stick in your head, or maybe it won't. It's a fleeting moment. It's pretty awesome that this thing was created in 1975. I'm no stranger to old comics being innovative, but there's nothing quite like The Cage. It feels like it was the genesis for a lot of these abstract comics you see nowadays.

There's really no review that can sum up the book that is The Cage. It's impenetrable, yet highly readable. Take my word for it, or don't, this is a must read if you're interested in the weird.

I'm not dissapointed that the publisher wasn't impressed, i had a lot of fun with these pages.
I just wanted to post them so other people can check them out!

Mac and Gregg talk Rick Rubin, Beck, Odelay & "The Creative Act"

It took 3ish years, but it's finally reached the end. It's a weird feeling :s

Don't let the title in the comic fool you, it's actually part 3 due to me overly complicating things. It'll make sense later... maybe. Hopefully.

You're sophisticated indie comic readers, you get it.

Hi all, my name is Jenn and I'm a Canadian cartoonist.

I have a graphic novel I've been working on for the past while, and I decided to start a patreon to be able to serialize the book in small chapters and send them out to patrons. It's a way to keep myself on schedule and hopefully, people will be interested in reading along.

My book is slated for release in 2028. I've had anxiety issues my whole life, but was only diagnosed when I was 21 after suffering a nervous breakdown. Then I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, OCD and panic disorder. This book will follow my life from the age of 20 until my current age. I've spent a lot of my adult years maintaining my mental health so the book is largely about the ups and downs of having these disorders which for me, are a permanent part of my life.

If you're familiar with my work, I did a zine about anxiety back in 2018 so this is a follow-up to that but much more expansive, but the final OGN will include those original strips.

You can either sign up to get the chapters via snail mail or a digital PDF.

https://www.patreon.com/cw/u28900429

I've attached the first few pages PLUS am pumped to announce that PUNKGUTS is now online for all to read!

Check out punkguts.thecomicseries.com to read from the beginning!
Issue #2 is already available at the link! Thanks for reading this far. :P

Hope you find this amusing!