Sundays Anthology

“Denis St. John! The one and only! You just don’t know it yet. That’s how Denis, and Denis’ comics carry themselves. The covers to Denis’ comics proclaim, “A Denis St. John Production.” I’ve developed a theory about why. Okay. Here goes. One reason to make comics is so you don’t have to make a movie. Movies are hard. First, find financial backing (virtually impossible for a neophyte filmmaker with nothing but a shooting script and a unique vision with unique life experiences to draw upon), get a crew together, spend weeks casting actors and actressess — most of whom you’re not going to like — and upwards of months in some horrible place, where EVERY surrounding thing has to be approved to be in the movie, or changed, or painted this shade of red instead of that one, and at the end of it all, you have to actually make the fucker inside some sweaty editing room. Why? Why not make a comic? Because comics are harder, that’s why. And Denis St. John would like to be making animated movies in a 1960’s studio, or a John K studio. He can’t anymore. So he’s making comics. Denis might draw more than anyone I know. He’s intent on making comics that are personal visions. It’s like pop culture used him, and now he’s using it. Check it out.” - Jeff Lok

Buy Denis’ comics here!

“Ken Dahl’s comics should be in the hands of children. They’re infantile? Hardly. Sure, they have genitalia, farts, and a feature called, “Say Something Funny” wherein people inevitably can’t, at which point their heads explode. But it’s what you do with that. Ken Dahl’s comics should be in the hands of children because he knows the names of the things that this country did wrong. His insight into society is based on what our culture has done wrong to him, personally, and his family members, and that’s where he gets his fury. It’s a funny fury, fortunately. We do Jam comics a lot. Often at Denny’s. Gabby’s the go-to. If there’s never been a Jam comic that did not turn filthy, then there’s never been a panel of a Jam comic filther than his. They have a quality that makes people recall them, recoiling and laughing, to others when he’s not around. He does autobio, but he doesn’t write about his mornings, or how cute his significant other is when she’s at the sink, doing the same things everyone does. He writes about going to jail. About how he got herpes and lost the love of his life because of it. Buy his comics at www.iknowjoekimpel.com. He’s already the #1 seller there. Catch him before he rises into the dawn.” - Jeff Lok

Below are some panels from Dahl’s Sundays strip.

Read his killer 5 part interview with Steve Bissette here.

Watch his favorite sport here.

We’ll have more on this later, but it’s on the net, so we might as well spread the word. As mentioned earlier, Steve Bissette has contributed a page to the Sundays Anthology. Let’s let him spill the news:

“I’ve just returned home from CCS, where I delivered my self-standing one-page story for the Sundays anthology (which Sam Gaskin referred to this week in his interview; you’ll be reading more about in this weekend’s interview with CCS senior Alex Joon Kim). Alex, Joe Lambert and Chuck Forsman were there to receive it, and all seemed very pleased with it –
– my first new Tyrant page for publication in over ten years!

That’s all I’ll say for now.”

Tyrant is a registered trademark of Stephen R. Bissette.

Before discussing the human wonder known as Dane Martin, we’d first like to offer our apologies for not updating the blog more often. But we’ve been extremely busy printing and screenprinting and coordinating and putting together what is undeniably turning into a great collection. We’ll have a special announcement soon about a special page we just received, a page so big that it could only involve, well, you’ll see…

But now, enter the wacky world of Dane Martin… if ye dare…

“Knowing Dane Martin is nineteen years old makes the first time you encounter one of his comics, or something he wrote all the more, I wouldn’t say impressive.
All the more shocking’s more like it. It’s like he developed in a coccoon containing nothing but collections of humorous plays from the 1930’s. Likewise when he tells you he’s the son of a carpet salesman. He is. He tells stories about his crazy encounters with homeless people, and says, “And he talked like this!” Only, he gives everyone the same two voices. There’s a raspy, vulgar immigrant voice, or a raspy, vulgar effeminate voice.

As far as I know, this is actually how he percieves the world. Suffice to say, he’s a most unique nineteen year old. His comics voice is fully developed. His comics are insane, yet their internal logic is inscrutable. That, and they’re hilarious. He has one billion websites and blogs. Just Google “Dane Martin,” and enter a world more enjoyable than our own… or follow this link or maybe this one.” - Jeff Lok, who once had internet access.

Also, be sure to catch Steve Bissette’s interview with the talented Colleen Frakes, one of our esteemed contributors.

Morgan Pielli’s another one. From his and Colleen’s continued Herculean efforts, I’d guess they’d slept 2 hours between the two of them. Wednesday nights are deadline nights. An often heard question on Wednesday late afternoon and night is, “How’s Morgan doing?”

The reply is always different. “He still has to ink 16 pages.” “He’s almost done. He has to finish pencilling, and do all the inking, but he’s almost done.”

For his final project for James’s class he made a box set of his comics, with a printed hardcover box which would not have looked out of place in the Criterion Collection. He glued 30 of them together, in one night. While finishing his comic, while getting them all printed.

I’ll never forget walking into Imprint - the cheapest place for copies in the Upper Valley - with Penina to make copies of both our books, and seeing Morgan and his roommate, Chris giving instructions to the Imprint folks. They’d been sequestered into a side office, because in the main room Imprint were getting three new machines in, rearranging their office, and training two new people. They were also trying to find Morgan’s application, which he’d given them months ago.

Morgan’s website is:

Dancing Paper Clip

His comics are available on I Know Joe Kimpel.Com