Minicomics
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A minicomic is a creator-published
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 ...
, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105 mm × 148 mm) or less. Minicomics, sometimes called ashcan copies, and sometimes
zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...
comics, are a common inexpensive way for those who want to make their own comics on a very small budget, with mostly informal means of
distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...
. A number of
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
s — such as
Jessica Abel Jessica Abel (born 1969) is an American comic book writer and artist, known as the creator of such works as ''Life Sucks'', ''Drawing Words & Writing Pictures'', ''Soundtrack'', ''La Perdida'', ''Mirror, Window'', ''Radio: An Illustrated Guide' ...
,
Julie Doucet Julie Doucet (born December 31, 1965)
is a Canadian
, and Adrian Tomine — started their careers this way and later went on to more traditional types of publishing, while other established artists — such as Matt Feazell and John Porcellino — continue to publish minicomics as their main means of production.


Overview

The term "minicomic" was originally used in the United States and has a somewhat confusing history. Originally, it referred only to size: a '' digest comic'' measured 5.5 inches wide by 8.5 inches tall, while a ''minicomic'' was 5.5 inches by 4.25 inches. Currently, there is no standard format for a minicomic. Anything between something the size of a
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
to regular comic book size can be considered a minicomic. The term "minicomic" is used in a more general sense, emphasizing the publication's handmade, informal aspect rather than the format. By this loose definition, a single photocopied page folded in quarters would still be a minicomic, but so would a thicker digest-sized comic, or even a large, elaborate, and relatively expensive photocopied booklet with a silkscreened cover. Even some professionally printed and bound booklets are referred to as minicomics, as long as they are published by the artist and marketed in minicomic venues, but this usage is controversial. Many minicomics are non-standard comic book sizes for aesthetic reasons, or are often connected to
graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
and book print "tricks" to look good. Many of these typical sizes are convenient for artists using standard office supplies: a US letter page can be folded in half to make a digest, or in quarters for a minicomic. These comics are generally photocopied, although some are produced in larger quantities using
offset printing Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithography, lithographic process, which ...
. In North America, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia, minicomics are rarely found in traditional "
direct market The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * three major comic distributors: ** Luna ...
" comic-book stores; they are often sold directly by the artist at book fairs or through the mail, ordered from
website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
s, or handled by small bookstores and distributors that carry
zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...
s. In terms of production and distribution issues and their audience, minicomics—of all of the sizes and types mentioned above—have much more in common with each other, and with zines, than with any traditionally published comics. In Europe many specialized comic books stores have a special little corner dedicated to the odd off-size little self-printed books. At comic book conventions, such as the one in
Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...
, there are large markets where the little books are available. Because most of the books are rather cheap and were printed in limited quantities, they have become a target of collecters. Minicomics typically have no editorial oversight, and both their content and quality vary widely. Many of the creators of minicomics do not expect to make a significant amount of money, or even cover their costs, with the price they charge for their comics.


History


1920s–1950s

The earliest and most popular comics in mini- and digest sizes—predating not only the term ''minicomic'', but even the standard comic-book format—were the anonymous and pornographic
Tijuana bible Tijuana bibles (also known as eight-pagers, Tillie-and-Mac books, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, Jo-Jo books, bluesies, blue-bibles, gray-backs, and two-by-fours) were palm-sized erotic comics produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early ...
s of the 1920s.


1960s

The underground publisher San Francisco Comic Book Company, run by
Gary Arlington Gary Edson Arlington (October 7, 1938 – January 16, 2014) was an American retailer, artist, editor, and publisher, who became a key figure in the underground comix movement of the 1960s and 1970s.Yardley, William"Gary Arlington, a Force in Unde ...
, published a number of minicomics in the period 1968–1976, including minicomics by
Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...
,
Bill Griffith William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal daily comic strip '' Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are we having fun yet?" is credited t ...
, and Leonard Rifas. In , Carl Gafford created Blue Plaque Publications, the first minicomic co-op, a cooperative of minicomic creators that traded and promoted small press comics and fanzines.


1970s

Jack T. Chick's " Chick tracts", which began appearing widely in the early 1970s, use a mini-size, although their content and purpose are atypical of most mincomics. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Clay Geerdes's ''Comix World'' published numerous popular minicomics, and Artie Romero's Everyman Studios created dozens of titles with full color covers. The Everyman Comics mini-series included solo books by Romero,
Hunt Emerson Hunt Emerson (born 1952) is an English cartoonist. He was closely involved with the Birmingham Arts Lab of the mid-to-late 1970s, and with the British underground comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s. His many comic strips and graphic novels have ...
, Larry Rippee, Jim Siergey, Bob Conway, Gary Whitney, Bob Vojtko, J. Michael Leonard, and John Adams, plus a number of themed anthology minicomics. Several minicomics each of these publishers were reprinted in their entirety in Fantagraphics' ''The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s.''


1980s

Matt Feazell's popular ''Cynicalman'' mincomics, which began in 1980, utilize the US letter page folded in quarters; the same format used by Alfred Huete's award-winning ''DADA'' mini. Many minicomics in the 1980s were produced by artists influenced by the
underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...
scene who were unable to get work published in underground and
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 ...
publications. Michael Dowers' Starhead Comix published many minicomics throughout the latter half of the 1980s, before the company moved to traditional comic book printing and distribution. John Porcellino's '' King-Cat Comics'', first published in May 1989 and still being published, is among the best-known and longest-running minicomics titles. In 1989 and 1990, Roger May published minicomics made of work done at those years' respective
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
s. The first one, titled ''Open Season: the Mini Comic'', included work from
Jaime Hernandez Jaime (sometimes spelled Xaime) Hernandez (born 1959) is the co-creator of the alternative comic book '' Love and Rockets'' with his brothers Gilbert and Mario. Early life Jaime Hernandez grew up in Oxnard, California.Aldama, p. 119. He is the ...
,
Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born 6 September 1937 in Sant Mateu, Castellón, Spain) is a Spanish-Mexican-American cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book ''Groo t ...
, Guy Colwell,
Eddie Campbell Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a British comics artist and cartoonist. He was the illustrator and publisher of '' From Hell'' (written by Alan Moore), and the creator of the semi-autobiographical ''Alec'' stories collected in ''Alec: ...
,
Bryan Talbot Bryan Talbot (born 24 February 1952) is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of '' The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' and its sequels '' Heart of Empire'' and '' The Legend of Luther Arkwright'', as well as the ''Gra ...
, Val Mayerik,
Scott Shaw Scott Shaw (born 23 September 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is an American author, martial artist, musician, and filmmaker. Career Scott Shaw is an advanced martial artist. He has written a number of articles and books on the martial arts a ...
,
Howard Cruse Howard Cruse (May 2, 1944 – November 26, 2019) was an American alternative cartoonist known for the exploration of gay themes in his comics. First coming to attention in the 1970s, during the underground comix movement with ''Barefootz'', he ...
, Angela Bocage, Stephen Bissette, Mario Hernandez, Larry Marder, Mary Fleener, David A. Cherry, Joshua Quagmire,
Clayton Moore Clayton Moore (born Jack Carlton Moore, September 14, 1914 – December 28, 1999) was an American actor best known for playing the fictional Western character the Lone Ranger from 1949 to 1952 and 1953 to 1957 on the television series of the sa ...
, Phoebe Gloeckner, Steve Lafler,
Terry Beatty Terry Beatty (born January 11, 1958''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107) is an artist who has worked as a penciler and inker in the American comic book industry, where he is perhaps best known for his co-creation of the female ...
,
William Stout William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worked on over ...
, J. R. Williams, Rick Geary, and Paul Mavrides. The second issue, created at the 1990 convention, was titled ''Graphic Babylon: San Diego Comic Con Minicomix 1990.'' The all-star roster of contributors included
Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...
, Orz, Mary Fleener, Mercy Van Vlack,
Bob Burden Bob Burden is an American comic book creator, comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' and the ''Mystery Men''. Early life Burden was born the eldest of three siblings in Buffalo, New York. His fath ...
, L. Lois Buhalis, Guy Colwell,
Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born 6 September 1937 in Sant Mateu, Castellón, Spain) is a Spanish-Mexican-American cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book ''Groo t ...
, Angela Bocage, Larry Marder, Chuck Austen, Terry Laban, Larry Todd, Mark Bodé, Ray Zone, Larry Welz,
Scott Shaw Scott Shaw (born 23 September 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is an American author, martial artist, musician, and filmmaker. Career Scott Shaw is an advanced martial artist. He has written a number of articles and books on the martial arts a ...
, Michael T. Gilbert, Rick Geary,
Phil Foglio Philip Peter Foglio (born May 1, 1956) is an American cartoonist and comic book artist known for his humorous science fiction and fantasy art. Early life and career Foglio was born on May 1, 1956, in Mount Vernon, New York, and moved with his fa ...
, Wayno, J. R. Williams, and
Dan O'Neill Dan O'Neill (born April 21, 1942) is an American underground cartoonist, creator of the syndicated comic strip ''Odd Bodkins'' and founder of the underground comics collective the Air Pirates. Education O'Neill attended the University of S ...
.


1990s

In the 1990s, before the widespread adoption of the
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...
, minicomics became a popular form of self-distribution for alternative cartoonists, aided by such publications as ''
Factsheet Five ''Factsheet Five'' was a periodical mostly consisting of short reviews of privately produced printed matter along with contact details of the editors and publishers. In the 1980s and early 1990s, its comprehensive reviews (thousands in each iss ...
''. Comic book series like
Jessica Abel Jessica Abel (born 1969) is an American comic book writer and artist, known as the creator of such works as ''Life Sucks'', ''Drawing Words & Writing Pictures'', ''Soundtrack'', ''La Perdida'', ''Mirror, Window'', ''Radio: An Illustrated Guide' ...
's ''Artbabe'',
Julie Doucet Julie Doucet (born December 31, 1965)
is a Canadian
's '' Dirty Plotte'',''Dirty Plotte'' mini-comics
Grand Comics Database. Accessed Oct. 6, 2016.
and Adrian Tomine's ''
Optic Nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual system, visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve i ...
''''32 Stories: The Complete Optic Nerve Mini-Comics'' (Drawn and Quarterly, 1998) . all started out as self-published minicomics before being picked up by legitimate publishers. In 1993, Rick Bradford (who had been involved in the minicomics scene since 1985) began publishing ''Poopsheet'', a zine that reviewed other small publications, including minicomics. ''Poopsheet'' eventually became a website and is now known as The Poopsheet Foundation, which is dedicated to archiving the history of minicomics. The
Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...
for Best Minicomic has been awarded at the
Small Press Expo The Small Press Expo (SPX) is an American alternative comics convention. A registered 501(c)(3) that was created in 1994, every year since its inception, SPX has put on a festival, known as The Expo, that provides a forum for artists, writers a ...
every year since 1997.


2000s–present

In 2003, cartoonists Andy Hartzell and Jesse Reklaw co-founded Global Hobo Distro, a
distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...
dedicated to hand-made and hard-to-find comics that was partnered with Last Gasp. Global Hobo operated until 2013.


Minicomics collections

* *


Alternate meaning

The term minicomic also refers to the small comics booklets that come in the packages of some toys: * Masters of the Universe (1981–2014) — The first
Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...
toys did not have a TV series, and thus came with little story booklets (and later, comics) that showed the original background of the series (
He-Man He-Man is a superhero and the protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books, and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by his superhuman s ...
as a barbarian,
Skeletor Skeletor () is a fictional supervillain and the main antagonist of the ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise created by Mattel, serving as the archenemy of He-Man and usually depicted as a skull-faced, blue-skinned Magic_(supernatural)#Magicians, ...
from another dimension, etc.). However, after the later sources (
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
and the TV series) started to change that background (He-Man as Prince Adam, for example) the comics began to reflect those changes. See List of He-Man Minicomics. * Atari Force (1982) — a five-issue series included with certain
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...
game cartridges. * Swordquest (1982–1983) — three comics included with the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...
cartridges for the Swordquest series. * Super Powers (1984–1985) —
Kenner Products Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy brand owned by Hasbro. Kenner Products began as a toy company founded in 1946, going on to produce several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures for t ...
created a collection of action figures based on the
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
super-heroes and super-villains called '' Super Powers''. The first two waves of the collection came with minicomics which featured the character with which it came, one of the villains from the collection (who, obviously, was the antagonist of the story inside the comic) and other heroes featured in the collection. See List of Super Powers Minicomics. *
Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...
(2002–2005) — the toys of Transformers: Armada and Transformers: Energon came with minicomics that featured the characters of the toy lines. * Marvel Mega Morphs (2005) — this was a toy line created by Toy Biz in order to compete with
Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...
's Transformers. The Mega Morphs were transforming robots patterned on
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
superheroes. Each figure came with a minicomic featuring the Megamorph with which it came. All six minicomics formed a complete storyline.


See also

* Ashcan copy *
Dōjinshi , also Romanization of Japanese, romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of exi ...
*
List of minicomics creators This is a list of minicomics creators. People on this list should have Wikipedia articles. Alphabetical list __NOTOC__ A * Jessica Abel, ''Artbabe'' *Gary Arlington, publisher ( San Francisco Comic Book Company) B *Ace Backwords * Jeffrey Br ...
* Miniature book * United Fanzine Organization *
Underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Zine newsgroupMini-KomixPurrsia PressFlukeZine-A-PoloozaBlack Light Diner (an online minicomics store)Quimby's Bookstore (an online minicomics store based in Chicago)Poopsheet Foundation (an online minicomics store)Parcell Press (an online comic and zine shop)Le Sketch - Free MiniComic
{{Independent production
Minicomic A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...