Underground Scenery Department:

In 1969, high-school dropout Martin Coxcomb of Sulphur, Oklahoma, decided to publish his own comic book. Raised on a diet of Stan and Jack's Marvel Comics, DC's psychedelic Silver Age comics, his father's collection of 1950s MAD comics and Playboy magazines, and deranged by constant anxiety and nightmares, he singlehandedly produced, printed, and distributed (mostly by mail) the first issue of No Fear Comix. The five stories in the book were bizarre even by the standards of the 60s Underground, and included the first installment of Martin's infamous series "Trust A Duck."

Later, Trust A Duck was published in its own series of comix, earning Coxcomb a charge of criminal obscenity in Texas (which he beat on appeal). Try as you might, though, you'll never find a copy of either of these books, because they were only published elsewhere in the Myriadverse. You'll just have to settle for what you've got.

© 2023 Rick Hutchins

The covers of issues 1 (June 2019) and 36 of The Test (May 2022) marking 3 years of continuous monthly publication! Issue 1 was 12 interior pages plus a cover, color on the front, including a letters/editorial page and fake ads on the inside cover, back cover and facing the editorial page. Issue 36 is 44 interior pages, most of them full color with no ads, fake or otherwise. Sun Ra, who you may remember having appeared in issue 26 and who the astute will spotted all the back in issue 6 (sort of an old school Marvel editor’s note) visits Thousand Oaks, CA to show Jack Kirby that he really should have made a comic of Space Is the Place rather than 2001. #thetestcomic #sunra #jackkirby draw #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #sketch #sketches #sketching #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #graphic #graphics #illustration #illustrations #illustrator #illo #comics #comix #comicbook #comicbooks #comicpanel #comicpanels https://www.instagram.com/p/CeSRWFVs-3O/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

BWW meets SCP AU

(fake comix cover)

fakey-fake old old flop tales comix covers; can U tell which is what pastiche :O

I took a short break away from drawing after Maui Comic Con just to come down from the buzz and now I’m getting Cthulhu Comix issue 2 ready for print. I have to increase the cover price because it’s getting expensive for me to make these comics but I’m also adding more pages of story and fake ads so it kinda evens out. I will also reprint issue 1 slightly altered to make it stand out from the first print run. Both issues coming soon in early 2022! With some luck they will be available at some shops in Hawaii and online in my shop. Thanks!

Last week to order #ImageGrandDisaster hardcover, the companion piece to #ImageGrandDesign. I've got a special #LeonardTheDuck fake snack cake ad 1 pager in there done with my co-conspirator Gene Green/@swellegant_comics! #LinkInBio: http://guanoguycomics.bigcartel.com/product/imagegranddisaster Info: $20 bucks gets you a 228 page Hardcover edition of Image Grand Disaster with dust jacket. (Fancy! 🧐🎩) ••• Sixty creators, 17 pages of additional story and pinups not seen in the soft cover, plus a 13 page artist section of cool extras. Like some "Behind The Feathers/Behind the Scenes of our Leonard ad!" ❤️🦆💕 ••• Cost goes to printing and shipping. Any remainder is donated to the #HeroInitiative. Books are printing mid August and mailed out end of August. ���🏼👍🏼👍🏼 ••• It's an insanely great, batshit crazy, looney love-letter to the 90s era of #ImageComics. ❤️🤘🏼💕 Cc: Mark Darden/@guanoguycomics ••• #Comics #Comix #ComicCollection #CollectingComics #ComicCollecting #ComicCollector #ComicsCommunity #IGComics #IGComicsFam #IGComicsFamily #ReadMoreComics #CartoonistKayfaybe #CartoonistKayfabeRingSideSeats #JeauxJanovsky #JeauxJ #90sComics #NotHowardTheDuck #WitnessProtection #SavageDragon #DestroyerDuck #SteveGerber #RIPSteveGerber #HowardTheDuck #Waaugh (at Culver City, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSZvqfXFUW_/?utm_medium=tumblr

For Mini-Comic Monday it’s…Copy This! #42. This issue is a 28-page, B&W info/news mini comic zine published by D. Blake Werts. Cover by Bob Corby. Also includes the 8-page minicomic Fake Comics #1 by Bob Vojtko!

In this issue Mr. Michael Neno interviews Bob Corby, the man behind the curtains of the Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE)! Bob opens up about when he first got into both reading and making comics, and reveals the origin of Back Porch Comics! Bob talks about his day-job as a structural engineer and how his education taught him a lot that related to comics. Later Michael ask Bob about getting into the small press, the Oh, Comics! anthology, and the birth of SPACE! The interview continues with lots of really interesting, inside info on SPACE that you’re not likely to find anywhere else!

Following the Michael Neno/Bob Corby interview is the community news and info section that update us on the current offerings from:

Blair Wilson (Sklodowska); Charles Brubaker (Fuzzy Princess, Ask a Cat); Colin Upton (Post-Modern Mini-Comics, Self-Indulgent Comics, Monster vs The Pop Culture Nihilists); Dale Martin (Bad Joke Funnies); Dean (The Ballad of Benji Muldoon); Delaine Derry Green (Not My Small Diary); Ian Shires (Time Trvlr); Mission Mini Comix, Nate McDonough (Grixly); Poopsheet Foundation/Rick Bradford (Wag Rag, Meeting Notes); and Verl Holt Bond (Defenders of Mars)

Blake is planning an all new ALL ART issue for January 2018! If you want to be included you need to send Blake your doodles by December 32st, and remember to keep it PG-13!

To get your hands on Copy This! and for more info contact:

D. Blake Werts 12339 Chesley Drive Charlotte, NC 28277 or email Blake at: bwerts (at) vnet (dot) net

Media Research Institute reports on the Swing to the Right what politics is for THEM evolution is for US harness diversion a publicity stunt Magazines say are you listening kids? underground newspapers say radio tv the movies say ROCK IS THE REVOLUTION Promotion companies say press releases say record companies officials say ROCK REVOLUTION Stones say Street Fightin' Man Beatles say Revolution Rock is the Revolution Soul is the Revolution Acid is the Revolution Fancy clothes is the Revolution Long hair is the revolution Media research says: How long can they keep the illusion up? What's happening equals What's New "the New Donovan" like New Ban Roll-On Deodorant like the New Groups do you believe new groups still trying to make that American Dream that mansion those clothes that money Meanwhile artists in America run for cover compose in secret avoiding journalistic myths avoiding news that travels fast the very latest cultural cistern is the Rock Revolution being ballyhooed and bullied by Bill Graham by Chet Helms by Tom Donahue by Jann Wenner by the Top Ten by the Fab Forty by four long hair white men playing blues Voices in the fog censors in the nightmare rise to say this is not Revolution this is the Duplicity of Pop this is the Mendacity of Money this is bullshit pop rock mystical psychedelic long-haired stoned bullshit a tempting dish for all the would-be coprophiles publicity shit promoshit peopleshit The Swing to the Right music parallels politics t here were two revolutionaries in music Coltrane Cage there was one Liberal Frank Zappa culture consumption consumed em Freedom to swing gives wings to plastic people well-trained consumerism demolished the art art that breaks the mold breaks your head is as popular as Maulana Karenga as palatable as Zap Comix as rare as Emshwiller as pure as Pollack Rock does not change anyone anymore the beat goes on Rock is consumed and consumes back Rock dares to say it is something more than four competent white musicians playing the blues and getting $10,000 per set the manager gets 30% the booking agent gets 15% the promotion company gets 10% the groupies get wet pants listening to Rock hide away anything that might change anyone anymore except new people are getting rich and acting like rich people have always acted Like the Beatles fabulously rich still confused by money like delinquent sons of wealthy families toss money away in vain plots and schemes the ticket to ride is the ticket that exploded The Beatles owing too much to George Martin still owing too much to June-Moon-Spoon too much money to do anything but succumb to doing nothing Continuing fruitless examination along the musico-political spectrum the eclectic-electric groups the blues bands somewhere as a musical equivalent of Nixon politics same old shit (very popular) Grateful Dead Jimi Hendrix Canned Heat Doors waiting for the stroke of midnight to bring it all on back home like Humphrey to go back to that big safe house no risk no skill the big beat goes on traditional tiresome tarnished harmonies contemptuously familiar chords 1-2-3-4 Rock Revolution is what we're fighting for Collins Baez Aretha Janis still trading off traditional forms like the very politicians we hate can't wear THEM down morally righteous media freak says it is bullshit like the politicians who are behind the times but still get elected Curiously George Wallace like Tiny Tim like country and western sweethearts dare we say like Bob Dylan intent all upon repossessing and reprocessing the reactionary side of the spectrum like Grand Ol’ Opery radio tv the movies stand around watching them picking their nose and we eat the buggers singing: "Revolution, Revolution" Which is to say about every tickle every intention just about every execution of pop music and pop politics is unoriginal is unadventurous is unfaithful comes down with reams and peals of publicity has fake muscles has bad breath creaks when it swings the bat plays the Hollywood Bowl plays on tv tours Europe on Quick-Buck Tours with ersatz light shows sings commercials for Coca-Cola BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE IN IT So what does it all add up to? this desultory digression this carp with the hook well-placed it sadly adds up to this mass culture is a whorehouse we got stuck with the same miserable schools the same political dictatorship the same institutions the same pathetic faces at the Avalon the same power in the same forms the same ignorant culture-bullies mind-vultures executive shitheels with a new battle cry: Revolution the same power in the same forms blinding you with a new slogan: Revolution fake revolution just new faces with new hair proclaiming self-evident magic slight of hand self-evident nothing it's easy to get out of it with nothing it's easy to get carried away with nothing pull out the plug pull out the plug pull out the plug. END

EPOXY by John Pham

o-o-o-c

I have a soft spot for beautiful print objects and well-designed zines. I envy comicbook auteurs the likes of Adrian Tomine and Daniel Clowes, who are masters of both art and story. And boy do I get off on experimentation with format. John Pham pulls that all off in his beautiful self-published anthology series EPOXY.

The first issue, published in 2000, is without a doubt, the least experimental of the bunch, at least as far as production goes. Comprised of 64 pages printed in black & white, wrapped in 4-color cover, it doesn't feel like anything out of the ordinary, until you read the the stories within. The first story, SHIVA, involves a humanoid robot on the run from a flying dragon in a futuristic version of the Vietnamese city of Hue.

The second story, ELEPHANTINE, is about a one armed boxer who cannot be beat, until maybe something happens to his corner-man. The third story, MODESTO, sandwiched between the other two, is more of a traditional slice-of-life story about the shenanigans of a teenage Vietnamese-American girl  who has a big family reunion dinner party to look forward to.

For EPOXY's second issue, Pham opts for a smaller zine-like cut, but ups his production game with a risograph print. A two-color beaut for the cover, and a close-to-florescent green for the interiors. Both ELEPHANTINE and MODESTO continue where they left off, but SHIVA is oddly nowhere to be found. Enter issue #3, which is the size of a book in its own right, with spine and everything. The format larger than the previous two, and took Pham two years to produce. In it, he concludes SHIVA. And halfway through the book, he introduces another story, ASTROGIRL, done in a style that is somewhat akin to Chris Ware's work. With issue #4 and #5, John Pham takes his work into a completely new direction like nothing I've seen in comix. Both are printed on a risograph, and John really takes advantage of what he can do with the machine with just 2-3 colors, getting grains of blues and oranges and pinks to mix in fresh interesting ways. The result is something that can only be produced on a risograph and no other way.

The main storyline is called DEEP SPACE, an avant-garde sci-fi piece about a traveler landing on a weird planet.

Also inside the issue are two miniature magazines actually stapled inside. One of them is a funny mini-comic titled JAY & KAY, and the other a satirical magazine called COOL MAGAZINE, filled with miniature crossword puzzles, fake interviews and product reviews.

With these last two issues, Pham really elevates his practice to create something much closer to fine art than comicbooks. The way the three original stories came to an end feels somewhat abrupt, but it doesn't take away from joy of experiencing them. Not entirely unlike say, Daniel Clowes' GHOST WORLD. Although, if I'm completely honest with myself, my reason for following John Pham in the future will not necessarily be his stories, but rather for his storytelling, and how he makes use of illustration, design, and printmaking to such superb effect, which is such a rarity in most comix these days. EPOXY is available directly from John Pham's online store: Substitute Life Also by John Pham: Sublife Vol. 1 from Fantagraphics.

Ganzeer February 12, 2017

Continuing to look at #variantcover options from #thetestcomic archives in what may or may not be a month of third anniversary posts. 1. Unfinished variant cover for issue 10, the “funny animal” issue. These sketches ended up inside. 2. The actual issue 10 cover for comparison. Still some playfulness in that red background but not as much of a remix of the faux “trade dress”. Another image vs fake ad based cover. #draw #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #sketch #sketches #sketching #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #graphic #graphics #illustration #illustrations #illustrator #illo #comics #comix #comicbook #comicbooks #comicpanel #comicpanels https://www.instagram.com/p/CekUxvtsBQ-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Looking back on three years of The Test since June is the month it all began. One of the products advertised in the first issue of The Test was Bar Delicious (“Our Treat, Your Delight”). It got a full page opposite “The Answer Key” editorial/fanmail page. Later, Bar Delicious would play a different role in The Test Universe, as the centrepiece of its own 5 issue run (issues 18-22). 1: The first ad (Note the teaser for Thousand Oaks, which wouldn’t arrive for more than two years but is now in the eighth month nth of its projected 12 month run.) 2. The second ad, from issue three. Another fake sponsor, Free Spirited Eyewear (“Free Your Face, Face Your Freedom”) grabbed the page in issue 2. 3: The covers of issues 18 and 22, first and last in the Bar Delicious sequence featuring elaborations on the earlier ads. 4: Other candy coloured covers from the Bar Delicious sequence, all conceived as deco-ish posters. 5: A spread from a mid 1970s comic showing some of the inspiration, including how the ads were almost always for snacks. #thetestcomic #draw #drawing #drawings #drawingoftheday #sketch #sketches #sketching #art #artists #artistsoninstagram #graphic #graphics #illustration #illustrations #illustrator #illo #comics #comix #comicbook #comicbooks #comicpanel #comicpanels https://www.instagram.com/p/CeXfny6Mq4h/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=