Home > All About Comics Reading Mini-Comics posted October 10, 2004
What are Mini-Comics?
It used to be that mini-comics referred to a specific size of small-press comic book. Now, the word mini-comics is most frequently used to describe handmade comic books and those comic books that resemble them.
This usually means comics printed on a Xerox machine or using a similar hand-operated printing process, but it can also include those rare comics that are published in more formal fashion that adopt the superficial properties of handmade comic books. They are booklets of varying size and shape that exist largely outside the established markets for comic book, graphic novels and newspaper strips.
Why Are They Called "Mini-Comics?"
The reason these comics are called a "mini-comic" or a "mini" is because the category's easiest to understand incarnation is smaller than the average spinner-rack comic. Take a piece of typing paper, lay it on its side in "landscape" position, fold it over once, and treat the result as a four-page, smaller-than-average book with the crease as a spine. You are looking at a mini-comic, albeit a very sparsely drawn and written one.
While the name comes from that kind of simple formatting, mini-comics can be crudely fashioned or as elaborately produced as any major publisher's graphic novel, depending on the inclination, skill and resources of their creators. They can be any size. There have been mini-comics as small as a teenager's thumb and mini-comics as large as pieces of poster board stapled together. Some feature silk-screen covers; others penciled drawings; still others no cover at all. The most important rule of mini-comics is that creatively there are no rules.
Where Did They Come From?
Handmade comic books have been an important part of the creative community surrounding comics since the beginning of the art form. Fans of early comic strips and comic books made and even sold their own efforts to their friends; it is a childhood story common among professional artists.
In the 1960s and 1970s, several factors made handmade comic books an increasingly viable artistic outlet. Mimeograph and Xerox technology allowed burgeoning comics creators to produce copies of their work with greater ease. A growing fan network of comic book letter writers and fan clubs gave mini-comics creators a natural audience for trade and sale, and the rise of comic book stores gave them an occasional consignment outlet. Underground comics shook up perceptions as to what styles and modes constituted a viable approach to the art form. Finally, the change in the mainstream American market from a variety of genres to a heavy concentration on superheroes forced many writers and artists to seek alternative outlets for offbeat work and others to look for a training ground through which to enter the super-industry.
Why Should I Read Mini-Comics?
You should read mini-comics because many of them are quite good. Today, cartoonists use mini-comics in a variety of ways, all of which might interest some readers on certain levels beyond their outright quality.
1. Mini-comics are a viable training ground for many up and coming artists. This is particularly true for those in the alternative/arts comic side of the market, a market for comics that features creator-owned and originated stories rather than corporate owned characters. When you are working with your own characters and stories, producing a mini-comic and creating a regular-sized comic or graphic novel is roughly the same process on a different scale. Name-above-the-title comic book artists such as Adrian Tomine, Jessica Abel, Brian Ralph, Craig Thompson and Kevin Huizenga all came to the attention of their current publishers through mini-comics they themselves made and distributed. If you like learning about exciting new talent at the beginning of their comics careers, you need to read mini-comics.
2. Mini-comics are a great way for established cartoonists to disseminate works between major projects, preview upcoming projects at conventions or via mailings, attempt new techniques, or to simply have something to trade with fellow artists and fans. If you are a fan interested in the complete output of artists like Dan Clowes, Chris Ware, Jason, Lewis Trondheim and Seth, you will want to track down some rare mini-comics.
3. Mini-comics have become a fantastic avenue for some specifically talented cartoonists to fulfill all of their ambitions concerning comic book production. As the technology developed to produce mini-comics on a slightly larger scale, so did an entire ethos of Do-It-Yourself creativity. Some mini-comics makers have used this control to go beyond comic books for inspiration and draw on ideas and concepts from artists collectives, printmaking groups, and poetry chapbook makers. If you want to experience the full range of what comics has to offer in terms of presentation, you need to be open to reading some mini-comics.
4. Finally, mini-comics are the home of some artists may not publish anywhere else, and great works that are never reprinted. In the last fifteen years John Porcellino has developed a small but loyal worldwide audience for his King-Cat Comics, over sixty issues of a mini-comic about his life published from his home. Other interesting artists probably best known for their mini-comics include Joel Orff, Steve Willis and Warren Craghead.
How Do I Buy Mini-Comics?
Mini-Comics are sold on-line, through certain comic book shops, and in person at comic book conventions -- particularly the small press friendly cons geared towards the non-superhero publishers. Buying a handmade comic straight from a cartoonist at a show is a fun experience that very few art forms offer. These shops, on-line stores and small-press conventions are listed at this article's end.
Most mini-comics are sold for cash, and prices vary widely. Some artists may be open to trading their mini-comics for other mini-comics. It never hurts to ask, and always hurts to assume.
What Mini-Comics Do You Recommend?
A fun thing about mini-comics is finding new voices doing the kinds of comics you like. So one person's recommendations will never be as helpful as investigating and sorting through a lot of comics over a long period of time. Mini-comics artists also often recommend each other; so pay attention to suggestions in any mini-comics you like. Mini-comics are reviewed on-line and in the trade magazine The Comics Journal, and paying attention to those columns may introduce you to new talent or new offerings from stand-by regulars. A list of reviewers appears below. Many of the on-line sellers carry mini-comics that are somewhat alike in terms of intent and execution. If a person likes one of the mini-comics offerings from say, Highwater Books or USS Catastrophe, chances are good they will like another.
Here are a few of my all-time personal favorites:
1. King-Cat Comics and Stories by John Porcellino. John Porcellino has been describing his life in a series of simply made mini-comics since the late 1980s. An absolute favorite of many comic book artists and writers, he distributes King-Cat out of his home to various shops, catalogs, and directly to longtime fans. Porcellino's comics are very simply but elegantly drawn, and feature an appealing emotional directness. His stories are about the beauty of car errands, quiet moments before breakfast, and nights spent out with one's friends. They are some of the best comics around in any form, and the mini-comic format makes them feel like a personal letter from a friend with whom you went to summer camp and played kickball on Saturday afternoons.
2. The Angry Criminal by Tom Hart. Tom Hart is a multi-talented threat in today's alternative comics scene. As smart and engaging a person as works with comic art, Hart makes graphic novels, produces web comics, and teaches cartooning classes in New York City. In the early to mid 1990s, Tom Hart was one of the most dedicated mini-comics makers around. His minis are very simply designed, and Hart uses a vibrant art style that borders on crudity. But the stories are offbeat and funny, and anyone who reads them will be reminded of the first time you saw an independent film or heard a non-major-label rock and roll record. Hart's unique voice is in all of his mini-comics, and although my favorite is the out of print Love Looks Left, the pages of The Angry Criminal should open any doubting eyes.
3. Jessica Abel, Girl Reporter and Trina De Tazo by Jessica Abel. Jessica Abel is a well-established cartoonist and illustrator with a legion of fans. Best known for the comics Artbabe, and La Perdida, Abel came up through mini-comics she started doing while a student at the University of Chicago. She has continued to do minis throughout her career. Her mini-comics are as straightforward and easy to understand as her comics work for various alternative publishers, and can certainly be enjoyed as individual work. As a bonus, Girl Reporter and Trina De Tazo feature different artistic approaches and interests than the majority of Abel's work. One can't help but have a fuller appreciation of her talents after reading these works.
4. The "Pattes Des Mouche" Mini-Comics by L'Association. Every so often an established publisher will make work that utilizes the format of mini-comics. The Pattes Des Mouches are silent comics from the cutting edge French Publisher L'Association. They serve as wonderful primers into each artist featured, and a fine introduction into newer European comics in general. Most of all, they are simply great little books. Of particular interest are those from the humor cartoonist Lewis Trondheim, whose graceful little drawings make his mini-comics like Diablotus and Non, Non, Non an absolute pleasure to read.
5. Supermonster by Kevin Huizenga. Kevin Huizenga is a St. Louis cartoonist who recently began working through Drawn and Quarterly and Fantagraphics, publishers who became aware of him based on the strength of the work in his mini-comic Supermonster. Huizenga's work is part observed naturalism and part meditative trip into fantasy, theology and science. He uses a stripped-down approach to character design and isn't afraid to be formally daring. The last two issues of Supermonster in particular are appealing glimpses into the thoughtful, solicitous character of their creator; they are as good as any standard art comic published in the last five years.
Conclusion
I do a mini-comic myself, and will be happy to mail one to any person over 18 years of age who sends me their address. There is nothing naughty in them; I just don't want to get into the habit of sending mail to teenagers. Sorry, teenagers.
Mini-comics are the best places to find new and exciting talent making their debuts, established talent stretching their wings, and exciting experiments in production design and formatting. They will enrich and enhance anyone's comics reading experience.
RESOURCES
Comic Book Conventions That Prominently Feature Mini-Comics and Mini-Comics Creators
RESOURCES
Comic Book Conventions Where It Is Particularly Easy to Find Mini-Comics
