MU Press (officially Miscellanea Unlimited Press) was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

publisher based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, which operated from 1990 until c. 2006. MU Press was one of the industry's most prolific " furry" comic publishers, while its mid-1990s imprint Aeon Publications specialized in

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

fare. MU Press was founded by writer/editor Edd Vick. Notable creators associated with MU/Aeon included

Donna Barr Donna Barr (born August 13, 1952) is an American comic book author and cartoonist. She is best known for '' The Desert Peach'' and '' Stinz''. Life and education Donna Barr was born in Everett, Washington, and is the second child of six. She ...

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

Matt Howarth Matt Howarth is an American comic book writer/artist known for such series as '' Those Annoying Post Bros'', '' Savage Henry'', '' Star Crossed'', and ''Bugtown''. Biography Howarth's influences include writers Philip K. Dick and H. P. Lovecr ...

Milton Knight Milton Knight Jr. (May 12, 1962) is an American cartoonist, animator, comic book artist, writer, painter, and storyboard/layout artist. He directed animation for a variety of cartoon series, including ''Cool World'', ''Adventures of Sonic the Hedg ...

David Lasky David Lasky is an alternative cartoonist based in Seattle, Washington. Biography After spending the bulk of his early life in Virginia, and graduating from the College of William & Mary, Lasky moved to Seattle in 1992. He quickly found a circl ...

Colin Upton Colin Upton (born April 2, 1960) is a Canadian cartoonist and artist who was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. Many of his comics are self-published in the minicomic format, although he has also had his work i ...

Taral Wayne Wayne MacDonald (October 12, 1951 – July 31, 2024), known by his pen name Taral Wayne, was a Canadian science fiction fan artist who was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist eleven times, from 1987 to 2012. In October 2008 he recei ...

and

Nicola Cuti Nicola Cuti (October 29, 1944 – February 21, 2020), known as Nick Cuti, was an American artist and comic book writer/editor, science-fiction novelist; he was the co-creator of '' E-Man'' (with artist Joe Staton) and Moonchild, Captain Cosmos, ...

History

MU's early series included

's '' Desert Peach'' and Dwight R. Decker & Teri S. Wood's '' Rhudiprrt, Prince of Fur''. Cathy Hill's '' Mad Raccoons'' debuted in 1991, running until 1997. In 1992, MU published the first issue of the

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

furry

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

Wild Kingdom ''Wild Kingdom'', also known as ''Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'', is an American documentary television program that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and was revived in 2002. The show's second inc ...

'' (which later changed its title to ''

Wild! ''Wild!'' is the fourth studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure. Released in October 1989, the album was produced by the band, along with Gareth Jones and Mark Saunders, and released by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the U. ...

''). MU published 31 total issues of ''Wild Kingdom/Wild!'' 1992–2005. MU's Aeon Publications imprint operated 1994–1998, publishing a wide variety of

titles. Aeon acquired

's '' Those Annoying Post Bros.'' from

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and '' Rip Off Comix'', as well as many other seminal publications from ...

in 1994, publishing that title until 1998. Other notable Aeon series included

's ''Boom Boom'' and

's ''

Lowlife Low-life ( low-lifes or low-lives; also lowlife) is a term for a person or animal who is of low social status due to their low moral character. Examples of people typically referred to as ''low-life'' include bullies, criminals, drug dealers, f ...

''. The monthly all-genre anthology '' ZU'' ran 19 issues 1995–1996;

's limited series '' Buddha on the Road'' ran 1996–1998. In August 1997, publisher Vick announced that both MU Press and Aeon were suspending publishing.Vanderzanden, Vanessa. "Newswatch: Aeon Press Set to Wind Down," ''The Comics Journal'' #198 (Aug. 1997), pp. 29-30. It turned out only Aeon wound down; MU continued publishing sporadically for nearly ten more years. From 2004 to 2006, MU/Aeon published a number of

graphic novels, comics, and limited series, including '' Savage Henry: Powerchords'', ''Savage Henry: Puppet Trap'', the 6-issue series ''Bugtown'', ''Anubis Horn'', and ''Keif Llama: Xeno-Tech'' (a title which originated with

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

in 1988–1989). In September 2005, MU Press announced on a

furry fandom The furry fandom is a subculture interested in Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic animal characters. Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and weari ...

message board that it was canceling ''Wild!'' due to low sales; they continued publishing trade paperback collections of some of their previous titles and completed the runs of some of Howarth's titles.

Titles published (selected)

* ''Buddha on the Road'' (6 issues, 1996–1998) —

* '' Bugtown'' (6 issues, 2004–2005) —

* '' The Desert Peach'' (22 issues and numerous

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

s, 1990–1996) —

* ''Keif Llama: Xeno-Tech'' (6 issues, 2005–2006) — Matt Howarth * ''

'' (3 issues, 1994–1995) —

* ''Mad Raccoons'' (7 issues, 1991–1997) — Cathy Hill * ''On Our Butts'' (1994) — all-female anthology edited by Gabrielle Gamboa with Fawn Gehweiler * ''Rhudiprrt, Prince of Fur'' (12 issues, 1990–2004) — Dwight R. Decker and various artists * ''

Those Annoying Post Bros ''Those Annoying Post Bros.'' is an independent comic mostly by Matt Howarth about two fun-loving bad boys, Ron Post and Russ Post, from the fictional Bugtown. Equally inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, and ambient electronic music, th ...

.'' (25 issues, 1994–1998) — Matt Howarth; acquired from

* ''Wild Kingdom'' / ''Wild!'' (31 total issues, 1992–2005) * ''ZU'' (19 issues, 1995–1996)

Notes

References

*
Aeon Press at Grand Comics Database
*

External links

* {{furry fandom Comic book publishing companies of the United States Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Furry fandom