Alternative press never dies
Continued from Page 3B
Cerebus is your average
three-foot aardvark barbarian
intent on conquering anything
he can get his hands on. He
was once the President of
Palnu but politics and military
dangers forced him out of of
fice. Now. through tin? same
devious dealings that ruined
his political career, he has
been made Pope, and boy is he
a holy terror.
No. these aren’t plot
synopses for upcoming science
fiction novels, and they aren’t
new NBC fall shows. These are
simply three of the best comics
on the market today —
“American Flagg,” “Love and
Rockets" and “Cerebus the
Aardvark.
Don’t be surprised if you’ve
never seen these on your local
7-Eleven comic stand or near
the Safeway check-out counter.
You won't. These are part of
the ground-level press, a col
lection of titles put out by
small companies aimed at the
collectors’ market.
The idea was to provide an
alternative for comic-book
readers who didn't go in for
the drug and sex humor of
underground and head comics
but were tired of the bland
superhero and swords and
sorcery titles of the majors.
Thus a middle ground between
the underground and
legitimate presses — the
ground level market — was
formed.
(Generally, small print runs
(by industry standards) of ar
tist / writer controlled titles are
sold to comic book collectors
through mail order and
specialty shops, like Eugene's
Emerald City Comics and Com
ics Plus. The originality and
artistic: control is what is
stressed.
The history of the ground
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level press is difficult to pin
down. Roots can be followed
back to the underground com
ics of the head shops. “Heavy
Metal,” which originally ap
peared as a translated reprint
of the French “Metal
Hurlant," and “Star-Reach"
and "Hot Stuf." the first (fatal)
stab tit the alternative market.
For practical purposes 1977
can be pegged as the birth of
tin: ground level press. In that
year "Klft|ut;sl" and
"Herebus" made their
auspicious, though not
altogether successful, debuts.
“Klfquest" only went a couple
of issues before Wendy Pini's
cult: little epic of elves, trolls
and a serious tpiest caught on
with the fantasy market.
The differences between this
press and the earlier alter
native movements are impor
tant. These were, and an:,
titles produced by their
writer/artist or creative team,
who hold the copyright of
their creation. They an: conti
nuing stories, not anthologies
or gag strips, and they are aim
ed at an audience with a little
more attention span than the
seven-vear-old mentality the
m.tjms vvuik vvmi.
Th»: hallmark of this press is
creative freedom and control of
the title and characters. This
freedom has lured industry
professionals like Howard
Chaykin and MikeCrell into
tin; alternative fold and
brought legends like Will
Eisner and Alex Toth back
from a seeming retirement
with unique new projects.
The boom may soon he over.
With Marvel and IK! challeng
ing the alternative market,
their own creator controlled
titles (Marvel’s infamous Epic
line leads the call) and most of
the successful comics under
the guidance of miniature
presses like First fannies and
Eclipse, only the strong will
survive. Already one seeming
ly strong company. Pacific
Comics, the publishing branch
of a distribution outfit, has
gone under, and one of the
promising little presses.
Capital, folded a year back.
The market has also been
glutted with far more titles
than it can support. In the mid
to late '70s there was room for
growth: now the industry has
over-extended itself and com
panies will soon be scrambling
for survival.
Finally, the whole idea of
the ground-level press has
been pretty much diluted in re
cent years. Only a few of the
small companies still offer a
true alternative to the
superhero stories of the two
corporate super-companies.
With a new Avengers or X
Men rip-off emerging every
month from some basement
press in Texas or Wisconson or
wherever the hell they come
from, the inconsequential
books will be pushing the
creative alternatives oft the
racks and into oblivion.
The ground level isn’t dead
yet. though, and a few of I ho
bettor titles might pull through
tlio so-called Dark Years ahead.
My vote’s already cast. It you
want to see what the ground
level press puts out at its best,
just check out these titIns.
Sean Axmaker
AMERICAN FI.ACC (First Comics) — Howard
('haykin’s satirical science fiction adventure is not only
exciting and funny, but it’s perceptively political to boot.
The art style is classic Chaykin with more polish than ever
and his writing has never been belter, lust don’t grab it in
the middle of a story run you’ll never figure out what’s
going on.
AMERICAN SPLENDOR (Harvey Pekar) — lost ti\
finding one of these comics; all I know ol it is what I’ve
seen reprinted, and it is fantastic. Pekar literally writes
from real-life experiences and they read just that way
You’ll never get a superhero tale, but you might meet bis
mailman, go with him to the bank or have dinner with bis
friends. And you may never forget the experience.
CEREBUS THE AARDVARK (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
— What began as a Conan parody is now a subtle study of
political machinations and church manipulations set
against an almost slapstick style. What else do you expect
with a cast that includes Croucho Marx as Lord Julius, a
wandering Albino king who talks a better story than he
fights and a psycho named Cootie who reappears every
few' issues as yet another superhero parody.
LOVE AND ROCKETS (Fantagraphics) — A collec
tion of continuing stories by Los Bros Hernandez
Mario, jaiine and Beto. Jaime brings in the saga ol the
mechanics, featuring the lovable Maggie and Hojjpy.
every issue and is the highlight of the book, but don’t
overlook Beto’s “Sopa deCran Pena." the story of a small
Mexican village that defies description.
WILL EISNER QUARTERLY (Kitchen Sink) — Will
Eisner is the grandmaster of comics storytelling and
creator of one of the greatest heroes to walk the pages ol
the four-color press — the Spirit. The quarterly is a sister
to the high gloss reprints that appear in a smaller format
but it is. bv far. a more interesting and rewarding publica
tion. Eisner's new w'ork is a grand opera of interweaving
stories that take place within New York's Jewish ghetto
during the depression. Some of the highlights are
amazing.
S. A.
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