by Kevin Czap

Last night I spent the evening at the Dobama Theater, a part of the Cleveland Public Library, to join in a celebratory memorial service for Harvey Pekar. I hope all of you reading this know how significant a figure Harvey is, but if not, I wrote a bit about what him and his work means to me at my other blog shortly after he passed last July. For more information, there’s no shortage of writing about (and written by) him. Anyway, the purpose of this event Tuesday night was to get together with a portion of the community that knew and supported Harvey throughout his life. Some folks had come up through grade school with him, some had only known him tangentially as a part of the culture of Coventry Road. My big take away from the event is that one of the most important things Pekar’s work did was to highlight real people, real lives, and in that little community theater it was all right there.

by Kevin Czap

by Kevin Czap

Ah, it’s autumn. Time for a trip to our sister city for the second annual Pittsburgh Independent Expo. This trip marks a year that I’ve been tabling at comics shows, and it’s nice to celebrate the occasion in such a great place. (For those interested in reading a long and enthusiastic report of last year’s show, check out this post. Everyone else, let’s move one.)

by Kevin Czap

Today I’d like to talk to you guys a little bit about one of my favorite webcomics. Dutch for “bad girls,” slechtemeisjes is a bizarre weekly strip starring a group of nearly identical teen girls who live with a professor? I’m not sure how much of a continuous storyline runs throughout the episodes, but I get the feeling that isn’t really the point. A typical strip consists of the girls getting involved in some surreal adventure or circumstance, punctuated by the odd, matter-of-fact dialogue that more or less narrates the scene, until culminating finally in some kissing and/or missing clothes.

by Kevin Czap

I was reading the new James Kochalka book, Fungus #1 (from Retrofit Comics) and it struck me how complete Kochalka’s drawings were. He’s developed his cartooning to a point where he’s able to strike that perfect balance between black and white on the page. The simple imagery, however, disguises just how hard it is to get black and white drawings look this good.

by Kevin Czap

nods to Becky Cloonan for title (and of course the Wu-Tang Clan) – comics rule everything around me.

There’s a lot of ground to cover, so I’ll direct those looking for a preamble to my post last week. Ok cool, let’s get into it.

by Kevin Czap

While I was having an absolute blast at the Small Press Expo this past weekend, I couldn’t help but keep thinking about lofty things like history and community. Part of that preoccupation was a side-effect of having this weekly column, and wanting to have something substantial to write about. The other part was just from the sheer experience of it all – with each convention or expo I attend, I feel that much more enveloped in this big wonderful thing. When I started going to shows not so long ago, just being around one’s own people was satisfying to an overwhelming degree. That feeling is still there of course, now with the added texture of feeling that you’re a part of something. History and culture are not simply texts, these things are literally the accumulation of present actions by people doing their thing.

by Kevin Czap

Learning about the all the different comics scenes that inhabit the various cities of the world has become an increasingly important pursuit of mine over the past year. Inevitably, this has led to learn a lot more about Canadian geography than I had retained from high school, and now I have a much clearer idea of where each province is in relation to Cleveland (for future travel purposes). Anyway, today I’m taking a closer look at a portion of the Vancouver scene, in beautiful British Columbia, Canada (I have that phrase ingrained into my mind from the little bit of Nardwuar I’ve listened to). The occasion is the up-coming release of Cloudscape Comics‘ newest anthology, 21 Journeys. I was graciously let in on the book for review purposes, so here we go.

by Kevin Czap

If you’re the kind of person who feels strongly about not having Homestuck spoiled for you, you might think twice about reading further. I’ll be addressing the most recent events of the comic, although probably not in any more detail than you’re sure to find surfing around on Tumblr. Either way, consider this a Spoiler Warning

Folks who’ve been following my opinions on comics are familiar with my feeling that Andrew Hussie is making some really clever, intelligent, daring and important work. His Problem Sleuth is one of my all time favorite comics for many reasons. Hussie’s current work in progress is the far more complex epic Homestuck. Aside from the top-notch comedy, engaging characters (maybe an understatement?) and labyrinthine plot, Homestuck has also given Hussie an excuse to pull off some really fascinating experiments in pushing the boundaries of what comics on the web are capable of. My intention is to take a look at one of the most recent.

by Kevin Czap

Ah, feel that in the air? It’s the first refreshing signs of comics season. After three months of sitting around in the heat, I was eager to start hitting the road again and start selling books again. This weekend was the third year (I believe) of the Philly Alternative Comics Convention in good old South Philly. Kudos are really in order for Pat Aulisio, who once again pulled this whole show together. PACC being a small show doesn’t make how well-organized it all is – and how smoothly the show went – any less impressive. Even though the weather was terrible and the roof was leaking and the Rotunda was packed like a can of sardines, everyone seemed to be have a blast.

by Kevin Czap

I was chatting with Liz about it the other day and the subject of Alan Moore came up. She asked me what I responded to so strongly in his work. Here’s an very-much-extended version of what I said to her.

by Kevin Czap

After I had talked about sound effects last week, my mind kept racing back to one example. By the time my train of thought had gotten around to typography in comics, seemingly there’s no one who does it better than Joe Lambert.

by Kevin Czap

Maybe you’ve heard of that band called !!!. Like the title to Pootie’s new hit single, it’s a name that is sure to give radio disc jockeys the world over pause. Most of us (especially us, being comics afficianados and enthusiasts) are familiar with the concept that their name implies, but !!! is really not something that can transition into spoken language very smoothly. The accepted pronunciation is “chk chk chk” although I guess the official word is it’s open to interpretation.

by Kevin Czap

Recently I got around to reading an issue of Static Shock I have lying around, and just watched 2001: A Space Odyssey at the Cinematheque. These two things combined led me to think about how much I love the comics of John Paul Leon. Naturally.

by Kevin Czap

Something that I’ve been thinking a lot about recently is conveying narrative through use of the second person. That is to say, making comics that aren’t about an event or characters doing things directly, but rather focus on speaking directly to the reader. There are many comics that do this for educational or instructional ends, such as Ikea booklets and airplane safety guides, or Will Eisner’s old PS strips. These examples are all pretty utilitarian though. As someone who likes comics to mess with them a bit more, I wonder how much room to play around there is in something like this.