It was nice to see Small Pressers comment on the usual Alan Moore rantings -this time his claim that comics at all levels suck.
See what the people at The water Closet say:
http://waterclosetpress.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/alan-moore-versus-small-press.html
Moore, like a few others who rose to "fame" (fleeting bastard that it is) in the 1980s and he did work with fanzines. He shows that he does not grasp what is going on in the all encompassing term "comic industry". The Small Press used to be where you honed your skills before moving on to mainstream comics. In the 1970s it was a rather small group of people.
In the 1980s it quite literally exploded because photocopying allowed a faster way of publishing and it was a bloody sight quicker and cleaner than using a Gestetner!!
By the mid-1990s there seemed to be a slight stagnation because Small Pressers found their main selling points, Fast Fiction and later Zine Zone gone. Comic marts seemed to decline also. Getting a table at one of the new conventions was going to cost more than your rent!
Then computers became more common and desk top publishing moved from putting together a comic at home and handing it to a printer to being able to do small print runs yourself at home. Print on Demand also helped would-be publishers. And then the Small Press/Alternative Press events kicked in. People like Peter Lally and Jimi Gherkin literally blasted a major Alternative Press community -community NOT "industry"- onto London.
Today there are more Small Press events going on in the UK than major comic conventions -many of which still look down at Small Pressers but are all smiles to take their money for a table.
Most of the creators have no idea about comics. They never read comics. They are trying things out. Being inventive. They are not looking at making big money, most seem to enjoy the work -or pleasure- of putting these books together and seem amazed if anyone buys their book!
They are not "appropriating" characters and ideas from old literature. They are not claiming any Messianic power.
They are having fun.
I am an aging curmudgeon and if I smile it might just be me farmers playing me up. They are young, fresh faced and doe-eyed. I'd sooner sit in a room full of them than in a luxury suite with Mr. Moore.
SUPPORT THE SMALL/ALTERNATIVE PRESS!
See what the people at The water Closet say:
http://waterclosetpress.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/alan-moore-versus-small-press.html
Moore, like a few others who rose to "fame" (fleeting bastard that it is) in the 1980s and he did work with fanzines. He shows that he does not grasp what is going on in the all encompassing term "comic industry". The Small Press used to be where you honed your skills before moving on to mainstream comics. In the 1970s it was a rather small group of people.
In the 1980s it quite literally exploded because photocopying allowed a faster way of publishing and it was a bloody sight quicker and cleaner than using a Gestetner!!
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By the mid-1990s there seemed to be a slight stagnation because Small Pressers found their main selling points, Fast Fiction and later Zine Zone gone. Comic marts seemed to decline also. Getting a table at one of the new conventions was going to cost more than your rent!
Then computers became more common and desk top publishing moved from putting together a comic at home and handing it to a printer to being able to do small print runs yourself at home. Print on Demand also helped would-be publishers. And then the Small Press/Alternative Press events kicked in. People like Peter Lally and Jimi Gherkin literally blasted a major Alternative Press community -community NOT "industry"- onto London.
Today there are more Small Press events going on in the UK than major comic conventions -many of which still look down at Small Pressers but are all smiles to take their money for a table.
Most of the creators have no idea about comics. They never read comics. They are trying things out. Being inventive. They are not looking at making big money, most seem to enjoy the work -or pleasure- of putting these books together and seem amazed if anyone buys their book!
They are not "appropriating" characters and ideas from old literature. They are not claiming any Messianic power.
They are having fun.
I am an aging curmudgeon and if I smile it might just be me farmers playing me up. They are young, fresh faced and doe-eyed. I'd sooner sit in a room full of them than in a luxury suite with Mr. Moore.
SUPPORT THE SMALL/ALTERNATIVE PRESS!
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