Saturday, January 11, 2014

APE SPECIAL 2013

Dylan & Nicole break the silence with their recap of San Francisco's Alternative Press Expo! 
Spoiler Alert: Babies.Download this episode (right click and save)





COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
FOURTH WAY COMICS - fourthwaycomics.moonfruit.com 
Tale With a Soul
This artist enclave is doing some truly wonderful things with the medium. Last year they really wowed Dylan with their book Vibration Incorporate. And Tale With a Soul was definitely a stand-out book for Nicole and Dylan this year as well. The aversion to narrative their books posses is such a pallet cleanser after a long trudge up traditional narrative mountain.


BOGUS BOOKS - bogusbooks.com
Doctor Muscles Journal 2 & Holli Hoxxx Volume 2
These guys are doing Sci-Fi comics with a serious Heavy Metal influence. If you like Moebius, Juan Jimenez and that batch of lunatics, these books are definitely up your alley.


ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT - actionlabcomics.com
Princeless
Emily C. Martin (a.k.a. Megamoth)
No San Francisco comic convention is complete without an appearance by the biggest little publisher in comics: Action Lab Entertainment.
Jeremy Whitley's all-ages fantasy series about "a princess that decides to save herself" has been a huge hit with critics. And Volume 2 with art provided by Emily C. Martin is no different!
If you know a person of reduced chronological experience, then they are sure to enjoy it. Heck, you will to!
Still not convinced? Here is an interview Dylan conducted with Emily & Jeremy a while back.

TILDOG PRESS - castingbones.com
Casting Bones
Written byDavid Wrangham
Art by Jordan SgandurraKevin Caron Nate HamelLucas Schneider

This graphic novel feels like Sword in the Stone meets Old Man and the Sea. It's a coming of age story about a young boy apprenticed to an old sorcerer but instead of whacky adventures and learning about responsibility, he is resigned to a cold life of near cruelty. The dialogue is sparse, and David Wrangham shows but one facet of a world that cannot be contained by this small story.
Check out the preview pages on their website.



"THE COMIC STRIP CLUB"
This group of three artists have one thing in common: they are hysterical!
Their pulpy mini-comics are worth hunting down and get exponentially more polished with each issue. At this rate, RoK #10 will be poly-bagged with a holo-foil cover.

Katie Longua - klongua.com 
RÖK 4
This book is epic awesome of epic awesomeness. Do you like vikings? Do you like metal? Do you think Sailor Moon needed more Black Metal? Then this is the mini-comic series for you!

Kelly Martin - ms-martin.tumblr.com/
Doctor Lollipop

This series is delightfully demented. Imagine House, but it's a world of mythical creatures. The cartoon doesn't quite do it justice, but it's still worth a look to get an idea of what this series is like.

Jemma Salume - oxboxer.deviantart.com
Make Me a Sandwich
Her mini-comic about cooking doesn't seem to be available online, but I bet if you asked her real nicely, she might be able to send you one for a small fee... insolent mortals!


COMIC BOOK SERIES 
Written by Josh Self & Orlando Rivera II
Art by Sam Whol
This is a world where nightmares become reality and Sam Whol's incredible pencils convey that darkness perfectly. While Josh Self & Orlando Rivera pack this first issue with a lot of exposition, what is here is exciting and certainly worth a peak if you're into exploding heads and crazy beasts.

Misunderstanding Comics - misunderstandingcomics.com
Written by Tim Heiderich
Art by Mike Rosen

If you are at all familiar with Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, and think it needs to be taken down a peg, then this book is for you! Want to know what corners to cut and still have your book sell a million copies? Tim and Mike will reveal all, dear reader. Just make sure you get all five variant covers. You never know which one might become valuable later.



WEB COMICS
The Adventures of the 19XX - adventuresofthe19xx.com

by Paul Roman Martinez
We have been meaning to do an interview with Paul Roman Martinez for a while. His web comic The Adventures of the 19XX is a well researched and fully realized alternate history of the world between WWI & WWII where Tesla and Houdini can rub elbows saving the world from the forces of evil. If you like pulp heroes or the adventures of Tin Tin, this throwback to early comic strips with a modern art sheen is certainly going to scratch a rather niche itch.

Just Another Sheep - justanothersheep.com
Written by Matt Heagerty
Art by JD Faith

Check out this far-out groovy web comic (updates Tuesday) set in the 1960s, it's got crazy powers and a social revolution. If you're not going to open up your mind to what these dudes are preachin', then you're just another sheep.

Erstwhile, Missing Monday & The Littlest Elle - mysky.net
Elle Skinner

A regular contributor to the Erstwhile fairytale anthology, and creator of the ongoing web comics Missing Monday, & the autobiographical comic The Littlest Elle, Elle Skinner is a very busy creator! Take a sick day off of work and get better acquainted with her work. We talked to your boss already. They're cool with it. You won't regret it.

Forgotten Order - forgottenordercomic.com
by Christy Bontrager
This beautiful web comic feels like you're cracking open a book of Grimm's fairy tales for the first time. Christy's lush colors bring a strong mood to the series without being overbearing. And since the story is just beginning, now is the best time to dive in and get to know Trystan and her magical cursed doll (still waiting for a plush).



ARTISTS
Joko Budiono - jokosart.blogspot.com
We love checking in with Joko at every convention because his energy is infectious. If you haven't heard our interview with him from a while back, do yourself a favor and give it a listen.
Joko Budiono's Teddy-1 is a wordless graphic novel that was easily one of the best books of 2012. The level of detail and emotional impact that he manages to get from a story about firefighters in giant robots will astonish you. You can get a copy off of Amazon for a pretty reasonable price.

Jen Oaks - jenoaks.com

















Jen Oaks' illustrations have a clear clean line that is hard to resist. At home with copious detail work or light figures, her compositions have a great sense of balance and beautiful color.



CRAFTS PEOPLE
Jackie Huang - jackiehuang.com
Take a look at the paper sculpting skills of Jackie Huang. She makes incredible 3D art with vibrant colored paper that captures emotional moments simply, yet incredibly baroque with flair.































 

















Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the exciting event that is APE. We hope they find a new location and that we can bring you even more comics that are off the beaten path next year. 
Thanks for listening!
 

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