Punk Comics

Maximum RocknRoll #332: Punk Comics Issue

I've dreamed of putting together a PUNK COMICS anthology for years and was psyched that Layla and Mariam from Maximum Rock N Roll were into this idea. I would never have had the funds to put together something like this on my own and, futhermore, MRR is cool. It was a lot of work, a lot of miscommunication & confusion, and I can't believe they go through that shit every month.

Included in this issue are interviews with Ed Luce (Wuvable Oaf), Mimi Pond, Jaime Hernandez (Love & Rockets)(conducted by Ariel Awesome & Paul Curran), and Gary Panter (Jimbo, etc)(this was an older interview conducted by Avi Spivak). There is also an essay about obscure bad ass comics hero of yesteryear, Shawn Kerri. Comics by:

Avi Spivak, Liz Suburbia, John Holmstrom, Bobby Madness, Dennis Worden, Cristy Road, Ben Snakepit, Ted May & Jeff Wilson, Janelle Hessig, Craig Bostick, Fly, Caroline Paquita, Jaime Crespo, Kaz, Josh Bayer, Ben Lyon, Alex Ratcharge, and Liz Baillie. Cover art by Eric Hone

Sold OUT, both through MRR and Last Gasp, but I've seen some copies floating around.

Since this issue came out, I've been blogging about comics on the MRR website and helping to curate a monthly comics page in the print magazine. Please get in touch if you want to contribute!

Some brief notes on the unholy union of punk and comics: It's a terminal eye-roller whenever yet another person claims "punk rock saved my life". Alright, enough with the dramatics, Sylvia. Stick your head in an oven already! However, punk rock and comic books did give me a purpose and an outlet outside of my regular schmoe-y ass existence. They share a lot of similar themes: juvenile escapism, societal alienation, general freakiness, art shit. Comics are more solitary - it's just you and the page and the world that exists between the page and your brain. Punks have shows, bands, zines, and you might even get laid. I've never heard of anyone getting laid at comics convention. Maybe steampunks get sex for having the biggest timepiece & tophat combo, I don't know, but not any regular cartoonists that I know about.