That’s right, your favorite award-winning, how-to-find-out-about-amazing-artists spotlight series is back! Our first issue of 2018 is a stunner, from the incredibly talented Japanese illustrator, Tatsuro Kiuchi.
For his issues, Tatsuro created a series of new work inspired by his frequent motorcycle trips around the countryside outside of Tokyo. These new pieces are paired with lush, colorful depictions of travel and urban life.
It’s been a while since I did one of these, but wanted to get back into the habit of sharing my favorite books and new discoveries at cons. As most of you know, Youth in Decline took a hiatus for a lot of 2017 to welcome our daughter into the world. SPX is a fitting “first show back” as the setting and vibe feels like a high school reunion, packed full of our favorite cartoonists, old friends, and longtime readers.
Here is me doing brief, quick, hot(?) takes on most of the new books I grabbed at the show.
Sex Fantasy by Sophia Foster-Dimino. Sophia’s one of the best contemporary cartoonists working, and this chunky tome collects her multi-year series of mins into one thoughtful book. You can see Sophia working out cartooning decisions over the course of each book, with dialogue / camera / perspective experiments everywhere. The final two chapters haven’t been seen before. Just an incredible, amazing book from Koyama Press.
New things from my alltime favorite cartoonist (hands down), Michael DeForge. A new mini called Loose in his series of sketchbooks, and a massive, oversized new story from Koyama Press called Placeholders. It’s hard to even talk about Michael’s work, it’s so good. Michael is an incredible writer, and the drawings (where, let’s be real, he can basically draw any & everything) exist to support the writing. Special shoutout to the early YD logo sketch that made it into Placeholders as an evil startup / corporation, haha
Two fantastic minis from my SPX tablemate, the incredible Lauren Weinstein. Both of these comics, Normel Person and Perfect Maine Vacation, were nominated for Ignatz Awards and show the incredible and personal power of Lauren’s cartooning. Perfect Maine Vacation is gutwrenching (in a sweet way that kills me as a new parent) and Normel Person is a hilarious ongoing journal of life in Trump’s Amerika. Did you hear that Lauren is doing a new comic for Youth in Decline for Frontier next year? Dude, I know!!!!! (so beyond excited).
Ethan Rilly released the 5th issue of his fantastic series Pope Hats. Ethan’s sense of his own characters and the knack for small moments and relatable, too real dialogue between friends really shines here. Pope Hats is such a dense and well-appointed serial drama, I’m a huge fan.
Everywhere Disappeared by Patrick Kyle. Patrick’s new collection of short stories from Koyama Press. A lot of my favorites from the last few years made it into the book. Patrick mixes familiar shapes with hyper-present narration that does this weird trick on your brain and unfolds weird contemporary paranoias and ennui. Patrick’s short comics are almost like little polemics, or allegories… upsetting but also hilarious.
I’m Not Here by GG. Another debut from Koyama Press – Annie had an unparalleled and unprecedented SPX lineup, I’ve never really seen anything ever before at a show, the r a w p o w e r of her team. GG debuts her first long-form narrative, a quiet, slow burn of a story about identity and navigating the transition from un-responsible young adult to the burden of your own parents’ failings (health, decision-making, etc). Very restrained, withholding, and poetic.
Language Barrier by Hannah K. Lee. I LOVE THE SHAPE OF THIS BOOK. Both like, literally its formal size (small!) and the flow and design of the book. Included in one tome are Hannah’s incredible type experiments, her comics, her illustrations, and her personal stories. This feels like a true monograph, showing me the many sides and numerous formats of expression from an incredible artist. I loved this book.
Baby Let’s Cruise and We’re Together Now by Jasjyot Singh Hans. I’ve been a fan of Jasjyot’s stuff for a while and following his work on Instagram – these two minis really brought together a lot of interssting threads. Baby Let’s Cruise is the size & form of an iPhone 7 Plus, and captures the furtive feeling of messaging with someone you don’t know, and navigating the power dynamic anxiously. We’re Together Now uses an arch-metaphor to capture the earnest passion & paranoiac worry of a long distance relationship. I’m really excited about what Jasjyot is doing (and will do next).
The Look Book by Jeremy Sorese. A colorful, exploding collection of imagined (and observed) fashion and bodies and cute men. Jeremy depicts people with a weighty, playful, totally wild eye. I stared at each drawing for 5 minutes, digging into all the little details. Really loving the illustration and play Jeremy is doing between his longer works, so exciting to daydream about these outfits.
Starfighter Vol. 4 by HamletMachine!~ 100% NOT s FOR w, the latest volume of my friend HM’s ongoing space sex opera is now out. I absolutely love Hamlet’s depictions of bodies, of tension between people – she has an incredible skill for composition and the gnarly beautiful dance of bodies interacting. HM has cultivated an incredible fanbase stayed true to her vision and worldbuilding. <3
Daises by Bjorn Daniel Miner. A short collection of comics by Bjorn, created, conceived of, and produced on Risograph as part of his residency at SVA’s Risolab. Each spread is full of wild textures and color experimentation, pushing the risograph to ends I didn’t think were really possible. Melts your eyeballs, very nice!
A Modest Upbringing by Amanda Castillo. A touching short story about families (and their pain + baggage) from an exciting young talent. Printed on Youth in Decline’s risograph this past summer as part of an internship helping us out! <3
Summer Wasting and Sunset Lover by Sunmi. Two minis – one huge, one small – from our friend and former intern Sunmi. Summer Wasting includes a number of observational comics, sketches & poems, and a really thoughtful book design with little asides bound directly into the body of the comic. Really exciting watching her work change and mature over the past few years, and so excited about her new press, Dandelion Wine Collective. <3
Kissing, Waves, and I Can Love You Better From Up Here by Rebecca Kirby (aka reweki). I somehow wasn’t familiar with Rebecca’s work before this SPX, but was really taken with her composition and use of color. Her panel structures and experimentation in Waves reminded me a bit of Jesse Balmer and other controlled psychedelic pieces, while the bodies in Kissing and ICLYBFUH both showed an extremely confident and fluid sense of bodies (and color). Kissing was extremely NSFW and rad, while her short musing about a lost pet made me tear up a little. Great work from a creator I’m now following closely.
Drag Race Lookbook by Sasha Velour. Okay, so I didn’t get this at Small Press Expo but it was waiting for me when I got home. A lovely and thoughtfully designed book from the one & only… Sasha Velour! Such a great recap and reliving of her incredible looks from RPDR, and the commentary at the back is the sort of thing I live for… Who doesn’t adore Sasha? I have sweet but embarrassing memories of our second-ever proper meeting hungover at MoCCA a few years back as tablemates… such a vibrant and incredible creator!!! ah
The Spectacularly Sad Surreptitious Spinster Snake Sister: Survival Spellbook by April Malig and The Untitled Queen. This was an absolutely incredible gift from April!!!! Sasha superfans will recognize this mini as featured in Velour Magazine #3. That issue smartly photographed and captured this feature as an object mini-within-a-magazine… and this is one of the rare actual copies April made just for Velour. Incredible risograph work and color composition… and it’s a little piece of comics/drag history. <3
The Veggie Team by Ginger Craghead. 9-year old cartoonist creates wild mini about the pranks and misadventures of a team of wild veggies. What more can I say? This was legit hilarious (See the 2nd panel on the right page above, hahaha).
Yes by Tom Herpich. Final book from around SPX, this is a new mini from Tom… not exactly a comic, but a short story about isolation and gratification. It was startling and lowkey, and the storybook illustrations showed Tom’s incredible sense of framing and pacing. I’m such a huge fan of Tom’s work, it’s exciting as a reader to see him working through new work in his post-Adventure Time life. Available via his Tumblr still (I think?)
The tee is printed on a “natural” (off-white) soft jersey cotton NextLevel shirt - the same fabric as our SexCoven tee - and has a unisex, fitted cut. $24+shipping.
We are likely to run out of some sizes in the next week or so!!!
Very excited to remind folks here… the FRONTIER 2018 SUBSCRIPTION offer is now available! For one flat price (shipping included) you can get all FOUR issues of Frontier for 2018 delivered to your door :)
For this year, we have an incredible line-up of exciting creators:
Frontier #15: Tatsuro Kiuchi
Frontier #16: Ako Castuera
Frontier #17: Lauren Weinstein
Frontier #18: Tiffany Ford
For more details on each creator and the subscription options, please check out our store.
After a few months hiatus, living the newborn care life, I’m starting to poke my head back up into the world of comics.
Over on THE COMICS JOURNAL, Frank Santoro interviewed me for his ongoing “Risograph Workbook” series - documenting the roots of the wave of Risograph printing in indie comics. We had a fun chat, mostly talking about how important and cool Mickey Zacchilli’s early comics were for the scene.
Welcome back! This is part 4 of this 6 part list
of comics that challenged me as a critic or as a reader in 2016. Admittedly,
this part has 5 entries, but really 9 separate comics. Let’s get right to it.
No Visitors #2 - HTMLflowers (Grant Gronewold) self-published @htmlflowers
This is a continuation of Gronewold’s No
Visitors series, the first of which I reviewed in November 2015 along with his
collection Virtual Candle. In the second issue, No Visitors amplifies
Gronewold’s previous concerns about control, pain, disability, and a poorly
functioning medical system that sees patients as numbers, not people. No Visitors #2 also begins to discuss the ways in which capitalist systems take advantage of the disabled for financial benefit. Gronewold’s comics are simultaneously vulnerable and fierce, delicate and
jagged. No Visitors is a series that reaches an emotional and aesthetic
tenor that few cartoonists can touch, and it’s absolutely not to be missed.
Frontier #11-14 - Eleanor Davis, Kelly Kwang,
Richie Pope, Rebecca Sugar; Youth In Decline @youthindecline
I’ve reviewed a few of the books from the
Frontier line over the past 3 years, but 2016’s Frontier lineup was the
strongest yet. I reviewed Eleanor Davis’ BDSM earlier this year, but each of
the comics in the 2016 season had a justifiable place on this list. (I could have put them in as separate entries, but I’m greedy for list space) Kelly
Kwang’s Space Youth Cadet comics confront traditional form, using
loading screens and digital artifacts to tell a story in a world she has been
working on for many years; all beautiful pencil, with plenty of smoke and
mirrors. Richie Pope’s discussion of black masculinity and fatherhood was complex and engaging, using
vivid colors and expansive negative spaces. Each image was a storybook snapshot of
a more complex human. And last, Rebecca Sugar’s meditation on nostalgia and the
trickery of cartooning, of love, and revision.
Ding Dong Circus - Sasaki Maki, Breakdown Press
Another 2015 release, Ding Dong Circus is a
collection of Maki’s comics from Garo magazine from the mid 1960s-1970s. Sasaki
Maki is better known for his illustration and fine art, but in this collection
of manga from Breakdown we see Maki’s work as an avant garde cartoonist using
collage and a wild array of influences to make some very stunning comics. These
felt “harder” to read, first because non-narrative avante garde comics are
always a little more challenging, but I think also this style relies somewhat
on an understanding of the comics contemporary situation. To get the full experience, that meant reading
Holmberg’s writing on Sasaki Maki, and other materials I could find, to get a
good grasp on the collection. All of the extra work paid dividends.
Cosse is an undeniable talent and Palace No. 0
is a boundary-pushing short story anthology devoted to Cosse’s work from
Breakdown. There’s a strength to this collection that exists both in Cosse’s
experimentation with form, as well as his tightly controlled, well plotted
stories. It’s very rare to see both that formal inventiveness and an eye for
strong storytelling all in one place. I’m excited to see more from Cosse.
Sirio - Martin Lopez Lam @dogontv , Fulgencio Pimentel (in
Spanish)
Sirio is the first comic I’ve ever attempted to
read in a language that wasn’t my own. Google Translate phone capture is
getting better and better, so with the help of a smartphone and some awkward
positioning, I was able to get an idea of the text. It helps that the texture
of Sirio was so brilliant, and while I’m not completely finished with the book,
I love the way it pops visually, and the textures Martin Lopez Lam integrates
into the work.
Sequential State is run ad-free. No intrusive pop-ups or in-line advertisement. No sketchy Amazon links. If your reading experience today was worth a dollar to you, please consider donating to the Sequential State Patreon. Thanks!
Honored for Frontier’s 2016 line-up to make Alex’s list. Always an interesting take on the year <3
As readers have noticed, we haven’t yet launched a Frontier 2017 subscription. The series will continue next year… but we are taking a short hiatus for exciting “life reasons.”
Jane and I are expecting our first child! :-0 She will be arriving in January, and we’re both lucky enough to be able to take parental leave from our day jobs. So we can focus all our energy on her, Frontier will be taking a quarter off. I’m planning for three issues in 2017 instead of our usual four (Frontier #15-17). We are already talking to artists that will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF!
In practical terms, we’re planning to announce & launch a subscription offer in March, and planning to have issues debut in May, Sept, and Dec.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN 2017!! Having a child on the way is a great lesson in humility (and the hubris of having a PLAN) so I am keeping it loose. At its core, we are a small indie press run by a couple, and day to day, everything you see is the work of me, Jane, and our amazing friends. We truly appreciate your continuing support of our artists and their amazing books!
PS: Just to be clear, the press & store will continue to run and ship out orders! We’re just taking a break on publishing new books for a few months ♥
Hello Los Angeles area friends & readers! Youth in Decline will be exhibiting all weekend at COMIC ARTS LA, a fantastic indie comic show with some of the most compelling contemporary cartoonists. Come by and say hello!
We’ll be at TABLE 11B all weekend, selling all of our books. Special Debuts for the show include FRONTIER #14: REBECCA SUGAR and RAV 2ND COLLECTION by Mickey Zacchilli.
December 3rd - 4th, 2016. 10am - 5pm
Think Tank Gallery 939 Maple Ave Los Angeles, CA 90015
VERY EXCITED to show actual pics of the new RAV 2ND COLLECTION by Mickey Zacchilli! This chunky, 392 page comic is going to debut at Comic Arts LA this weekend :)
Follow Juice and Sally as they explore the Meat Cave and navigate a hilarious web of bizarre friends, lovers, and enemies. Along the way, hang out with jilted boyfriend Edward the Snake Prince, sexy meddler Main Marian, smiling Rolo, power-hungry Ben, and the mysterious Mothball the Cat. Also, there’s a mysterious pouch and a weird power cube.
Indigo ink on a rainbow of yellow pages, 392 pages. 1lb 6oz.
“A gut-punch mixture of adrenaline-fueled action and surreal comedy.” – The AV Club
“Mickey’s comics always feel as though they’re about to come apart at the seams, but they never quite do. She’s the master of holding it all together. The experience is overwhelming, and exhilarating.” - Michael DeForge, Cartoonist
Very excited to share the cover and a short preview from the next Frontier issue… Frontier #14: Rebecca Sugar! It debuts at Comic Arts LA next weekend, and is available for pre-order now.
For her issue of our award-winning monograph series, Rebecca Sugar will be sharing personal sketches, early comic work, and poetry (along with commentary on the transition of her work over time). This small book offers a glimpse into the working process of an exceptional contemporary storyteller.
32 pages, Color and B+W. $7.95 + shipping.
Rebecca Sugar is a cartoonist, writer, and ukuleleist currently living in Los Angeles. She is the author of the comic serial “Pug Davis” as well as a number of short comics. In her free time, Rebecca also is an Emmy-nominated Storyboard Artist, and creator of the television show, Steven Universe ♡
