Slab-O-Concrete Productions was a British mail order distributor and publisher, founded by Peter Pavement, Dave Hanna, Emma Copsey, and Chris Tappenden; operating mostly in Brighton and Hove during the 1990s. Initially selling British

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

and zines (including Pavement's own comics), Slab-O-Concrete also imported publications from the United States,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and Europe. Slab-o-Concrete was originally based in Sheffield; it moved to Hove in 1995. After intensely ramping up its publishing line in the late nineties (including moving into CDs and prose books), Slab-O-Concrete was laid low in 2001 as policy changes in the book industry caused cash-flow issues.

History

In general, Slab-O-Concrete avoided distributing traditional comic books, instead making connections with underground publishers, zinesters,

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

s, and other subcultural scenes. By 1994 Slab-O-Concrete had developed into a publisher, repackaging small press comics and zines for the bookshop market and originating new works. Notable creators published by Slab-O-Concrete included Jessica Abel,

Ian Carney Ian Carney is a British comics animation writer. Born in Liverpool, Merseyside on 21 August 1962, Carney began writing comics in the 80s for Fleetway Editions in the UK and First Comics and Dark Horse Comics in the US. He is probably best known ...

, Craig Conlan, Alan Moore, Woodrow Phoenix, and Aleksandar Zograf. In 1998, Slab-O-Concrete published four titles in partnership with

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

. The comics were designed as 16-page minicomics with card stock covers, designed to be sealed and used as postcards. Ilya's ''A Bowl of Rice'' was about the forcible relocation and killing of Shan rice farmers in Burma. Enrique Rodríguez's ''Freedom from Discrimination'' was a story about maltreatment of and violence against street children in Brazil, and undocumented, unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States. Dan Jones' ''Just Deserts'' told the story of a female Filipino migrant worker's false conviction and punishment in Saudi Arabia. Peter Arkle's ''Love'' told the story of Mariana Cetiner, a Romanian woman arrested and imprisoned for allegedly attempting to seduce another woman. In 1999, Slab-O-Concrete published another 16-page mailable minicomic called ''Donna's Day'', by Donna Mathes and Peter Bagge. One of their final publications, in 1999, was ''The Worm: the Longest Comic Strip in the World'', by Alan Moore and a "galaxy of greats," which was published in association with the Cartoon Art Trust and the Swedish Council for Cultural Affairs. "In one single working day, over 125 British cartoonists gathered together in one place to create 'the longest comic ordlessstrip in the world.'"''The Worm'' (Slab-O-Concrete Productions, 1999). ''The Worm'' featured introductions and explanatory text in English, Swedish, and French.

Titles published

Music

* ''17%: Hendrix Was Not the Only Musician!'', by

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...

& His Famous Headcoats (1998) * ''The Attack of Everything'', by Jad Fair and

Jason Willett Jason Willett is an American musician, known largely for his work with experimental rock groups including Half Japanese, Can Openers, Pleasant Livers, X-Ray Eyes, The Dramatics (Martha Colburn and Jason Willett), The Jaunties, The Attitude Robots ...

(2000)

Comics

* Amnesty International minicomics ** ''A Bowl of Rice'', by Ilya (1998) — published in partnership with Amnesty International ** ''Freedom from Discrimination'', by Enrique Rodríguez (1998) — published in partnership with Amnesty International ** ''Just Deserts'', by Dan Jones (1998) — published in partnership with Amnesty International ** ''Love'', by Peter Arkle (1998) — published in partnership with Amnesty International * ''Anarchy in the UK: the Comic'' (1994) * ''Artbabe in Pigskin vs Paintbrush!'', by Jessica Abel (1999) * ''Assume Nothing: Starring Liliane: Evolution of a Bi-Dyke'', by Leanne Franson (1997) * ''Axis Mundi'', by

and Garry Marshall (2000) * ''Bad Hair Day'', by Craig Conlan (1997) * ''Bulletins from Serbia: E-mails and Cartoon Strips from Beyond the Front Line'', by Aleksandar Zograf (1999) * ''Cheap Date: Antidotal Anti-Fashion'', by Peter Blake (2000) * ''Daddy is So Far Away, We Must Find Him!'', by Wostok and Grabowski (1998) * ''Doc Trader'', by Jessica Abel (2000) * ''Dole Scum: Co-starring Bunny Girl and Pig Boy'', by Nigel Auchterlounie (2000) * ''Donna's Day'', by Donna Mathes and Peter Bagge (1999) * ''Dream Bytes'', by Lee Kennedy (1994) — ongoing series * ''Dream Watcher: Comics'', by Aleksandar Zograf (1998) * ''Eager Beaver (Missive Device)'', by

and Woodrow Phoenix (1999, ) * ''The End of the Century Club: Countdown'', by

Ed Hillyer Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, or Ilija (russian: Илья́, Il'ja, , or russian: Илия́, Ilija, ; uk, Ілля́, Illia, ; be, Ілья́, Iĺja ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/ Jah. ...

(1999, ) * ''Excreta: Stories of Bodily Fluids'', by Ole Comoll Christensen (1999) * ''Fishbowl'' #1 (1994), #2 (1995), by Chris Tappenden * ''Floozie'', by Jane Graham (1998) * ''Gash'', by Soren Mosdal (2000) * ''The GirlFrenzy Aillennial: a Big Girl's Annual'', by Erica Smith (1998) * The Great Challenge: an International Anthology of Political Cartoons (1998) — exhibition catalogue to accompany the Great Challenge held at Oxo Tower Wharf, London, 1998 * ''Hairy Mary: Fun Fur'', by Craig Conlan (1999) * ''Hairy Mary: Grrrl'', by Craig Conlan (1999) * ''Handy Hints for a Consumer Society'', by Chris Tappenden (1995) * ''Liberty Fernando: a Story of Zits & Revolution'', by Ole Comoll Christensen (1999) * ''Lux and Alby: Sign on & Save the Universe'', by

Martin Millar Martin Millar is a Scottish writer from Glasgow, now resident in London. He also writes the '' Thraxas'' series of fantasy novels under the pseudonym Martin Scott. The novels he writes as Martin Millar dwell on urban decay and British sub-cult ...

and Simon Fraser, with lettering by Ali Kirkpatrick (1999) * ''Meet John Dark'', by Darryl Cunningham and Simon Gane (1998) * ''Pavement'' (issues #0, 1-3; title changed to ''Pavement Pizza'' for issue #4), edited by Peter Pavement, with contributions by Pavement, Dave Hanna, Lawrence Burton, Adeline Wartner, Paul John, Welly, Andy Hemingway, Renée French, and Chris Tappenden (1990–1994) * ''The Plot Thickens'' (1997) — published with Brighton-based Armchair Comics * ''Punk Strips'', by Simon Gane (2000) * ''

Schwa In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it rep ...

'', by Bill Barker (1995) * ''Simon Cat in "Taxi"'', by Nigel Auchterlounie (1999) * ''The Slab-O-Concrete Sampler'', (1990) edited by Peter Pavement * ''The Slab-O-Concrete Inactivity Book'', edited by Woodrow Phoenix and Craig Conlan (2000, ) * ''The Slab Selection'', edited by Peter Pavement (1996, ) * ''Spiral Dreams'', by Al Davison (2000) * ''Sugar Buzz: Live at Budokan!'', by Woodrow Phoenix (1999, ) * ''Teaching Through Trauma'', by Leanne Franson (1999) * ''Time Warp: The End of the Century Club'', by

(1999, ) * ''Windy Wilberforce in The Saga of the Scroll'', by

Ed Pinsent Ed Pinsent (born 1960, Liverpool, England) is a British cartoonist, artist, and writer. Biography Ed Pinsent is the son of the classical scholar John Pinsent and was brought up in the city of Liverpool. Pinsent has written and drawn his own ...

(1995, ) * ''Witch'', by Lorna Miller (1999) * ''The Worm: the Longest Comic Strip in the World'', by Alan Moore and a "galaxy of greats" (1999) * ''XXX (Strip) Burger'', by Stripburger Magazine (1999)

Prose

* ''Below Critical Radar: Fanzines and Alternative Comics from 1976 to the Present Day'', edited by Roger Sabin & Teal Triggs (2000, ) * ''Billy Childish: & His Famous Headcoats; Hendrix Was Not the Only Musician'', by

(1998) * '' Cometbus'', by Aaron Cometbus (1999) — zine * ''Ground Level'' (1994) — zine about alternative comics * ''Little Girl Blues'', by Lee Kennedy (1994) – zine * ''Spy TV: Just Who is the Digital TV Revolution Overthrowing?'', by David Burke (2000) * ''Towards 2012: the Journal of Millennial Mutation'' ** ''Part 2, Psychedelica'' (1996) ** ''Part 3, Culture and Language,'' by Gyrus T. Features, et al. (1997)

Notes

References

"Slår" to "Slatton,"
Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection. Michigan State University Libraries Special Collections Division * * {{Authority control Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom British comics British small press comics Comic book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Book distributors Small press publishing companies Publishing companies established in 1994 Companies disestablished in 2001 1994 establishments in the United Kingdom 2001 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct companies of the United Kingdom