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Consider this an errata slip to Comics Comics #2. Unfortunately, two footnotes were left out of the printed copy of my essay on Steve Gerber in the story, so I decided to reprint them here. They will not make sense without the essay, so please feel free to skip this post if you don’t have it.

Footnote 1 — This should have been attached to the third paragraph of Section II: The Duck:

This reviewer is not old enough to have read these comics when they came out, so their funniness at publication is impossible to determine fairly. It may be worth noting, though, that in 2002, Marvel published a new Howard the Duck mini-series written by Steve Gerber, and the topical humor there ranges from the obvious and forced (a boy band literally manufactured in a laboratory by an evil corporation) to the fairly sharp and pointed (there’s a pretty devastating satire of Warren Ellis’s Transmetropolitan and that title’s futuristic Hunter S. Thompson-clone protagonist, whose book collection prominently features copies of The Bluffer’s Guide to Cyberpunk and Egotism Without Charisma). A mixed bag, basically, but one entertaining enough to be worth reading, if you’re so inclined.

Footnote 2 — This should have been attached to the sixth paragraph of Section III: the Unknown:

See, for example, this Gerber quote from Gary Groth’s 1978 interview with the writer: “Glance through a typical Marvel or DC book, you’ll find that, regardless of which character the magazine features, the material will be arranged in roughly the following way: a three-page fight or chase scene to open; about two pages of the character in his secret identity; three more pages of the character back in costume, either engaged in a second fight with the villain or swinging around the city looking for the villain and encountering other little obstacles along the way; a couple more pages of the alter ego; and then the big fight scene at the end. That’s the formula… All of it reads alike.”

That’s it. I hope this is helpful, and apologize for the mistake.

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Well, it’s finally here in all its glory. The second issue of Comics Comics debuted this weekend at SPX, and it’s a pretty terrific bargain.

We’ve switched to a much larger size—the second issue is a broadsheet—and though we’ll probably have it available for downloading fairly soon, this is one you’re going to want to own and hold in your hands, if only for the beautiful, giant Justin Green “Perpetual Calendar” on the back cover.

Incidentally, I was surprised at how many people at SPX (ostensibly big fans of “alternative” comics) didn’t recognize Justin Green‘s name. All I can say to that is that he basically invented the modern conception of autobiographical comics, and he is easily one of the dozen or so most important comic book creators of the last fifty years. If you haven’t read his Binky Brown stories, you should buy them and read them immediately. Seriously. Don’t buy a single other comic until you’ve found the Binky Brown Sampler. It is better than anything else you could possibly be considering.

Of course, Green’s not the only contributor in this issue. Did you ever wonder how Peter “Hate” Bagge really feels about Spider-Man, and about the single issue of that superhero’s adventures he created for Marvel? You can find out in Comics Comics #2!

Do you like the strange and wonderful work of Matthew Thurber, recently named minicomics artist of the year by the Comics Journal? You’ll read more here, in Comics Comics #2!

Also, Frank “Storeyville” Santoro discusses the lost art of color separation with mainstream legend Kevin Nowlan!

Comics and a very rare interview from our cover artist, the enigmatic PShaw!

Dan on Dave Sim, Mark Newgarden on Michael Kupperman, gag cartoons by Lauren R. Weinstein, and the first installment in an epic, New Yorker-style (ha) exploration of the 1970s Marvel stories of Steve Gerber!

Does YOUR favorite store carry Comics Comics?

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Sorry about the extremely light posting over the past few weeks. We just finally sent the second issue of Comics Comics to the printers and, fingers crossed, it should debut at the SPX convention in Bethesda this weekend.

Thanks, by the way, to everyone who came out to the Comics Comics event in Philadelphia on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, at least for us. The conversation between David Heatley and Lauren went extremely well, I thought; if our tape recorder worked properly, look for a transcription either in a future issue or here on the blog. Matthew Thurber blew my mind with his performance—Frank unrolled a giant scroll of pretty elaborate Thurber illustrations while Thurber played a tiny guitar and sang apparently related lyrics. And I don’t think I’ll ever look at PShaw‘s Strings the same way after his thorough, hilarious presentation. What once was dark is now light—and vice versa. Anyway, thanks again to all who came, and to the 215 Festival for inviting us.

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If you’re going to be in the Philadephia area this weekend, please stop by for the first official Comics Comics magazine event.

As part of the city’s annual 215 Festival, Dan, CC editor-at-large Frank Santoro (of Cold Heat and Storeyville fame), and I will be hosting maybe the greatest, most mind-blowing comics-type extravaganza around.

David Heatley and Lauren R. Weinstein in conversation!

A musical performance by minicomics great Matthew Thurber!

A digital presentation of the meaning behind Strings, by PShaw!

And it’s all FREE!

Tell your friends, please.

Comics! Comics! Comics!
4:30-6:30pm, Rocket Cat Cafe, 2001 Frankford Ave., Fishtown, Philadelphia, FREE

The editors of the comics journal, Comics Comics, present a conversation between David Heatley and Lauren Weinstein. Heatley is the author of Deadpan and Weinstein is the author of Inside Vineyland. Plus, a performance by artist Matthew Thurber and a guide to Comics Comics by Dan Nadel, Timothy Hodler and Frank Santoro.