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10.07.2005

The Small Presser, No. 15: "Creative Covers"

The beauty of small-press comics is that it allows you to be as creative as you wish. From a creator's point of view, it lets you be unique craftman; from a reader's point of view, it's a refreshing treat. Typically, your standard comic is fairly boring in terms of production/packaging: Covers are basically a photo reproduction on slick, shiny paper and almost all are the same size and shape. Blah.

With self-published comics, the possibilities are endless. You can experiment not only in terms of drawing comics with ink but in other mediums as well. For example, one of the most beautiful covers I saw at SPX this year were by the comic creators collaborative Paping. The silkscreen of their books were eye-catching and simply stunning and provide a wonderful tactile texture you won't find with mass-produced comics. Head honcho John Mejias is a master at it!

You don't have to have multiple colors or fancy designs to use silkscreens to make you covers pop up off the page. Mini-comics guru Ben Steckler uses silkscreen mainly for spot color just to make the cover more eye-catching.

If silkscreen ain’t your thing, consider investing in a Gocco machine. You won’t get the size range as with large screens (Gocco only come in two sizes and they are a bit pricey), but they are much easier to use and less messy. And they produce great results. Small comics creator Sean Bieri uses a Gocco all the time. Check out the latest results on his latest Jape comic.

Gocco can use laser print, photocopy or anything with graphite, even allowing for multiple colors with the same impression. At SPACE this year during a panel discussion, Sean exhibited how easy it was to use: He took a laser print, used it to burn a screen, inked it up, and pulled a couple of prints.

If you looking for something a little different, and perhaps more gritty and urban, give stenciling a shot. Grafitti artists use it, so why not comics artists? Nate Higley makes it into a true art form. Again at SPACE, Nate provided some tips of stenciling with spray paint: it works best in a wind-free area (such as an empty garage), album jackets make good stencils, cheap spray paint works really well, and use masking tape (not duct tape) when taping large stencils together.

Other techniques to print images for covers include woodblocks and Speedball foam or hard rollers.

Finally, one of the most original creators I know in terms of production/ packaging is Justin Madson, of Happy Town fame. Every time I see him, he’s got a new way to package his work, whether it’s color plates for a book, binding it or making a slick book sleeves. In terms of color plates, Justin uses stickers that he prints out on his inkjet printer and then slaps onto the cover. They definitely give his books a punchier look. Justin buys full-sheet sticker paper and after printing he carefully cuts out the image and places it on the cover.

I once asked Justin where he got his ideas in terms of packing his books. He told me he takes out books from the public library on, well, making books. I checked out my local library’s collection and it’s amazing the ideas that come to mind when you thumb through them.

(Note: Thanks to Watusi creator Dale Martin from whom I cannibalized sections of his summary of the SPACE panel called “Beyond Photocopies.")

Dembicki at 1:47 PM  |  link to this     

1 Comments

Thanks Matt! This is the kind of thing that's getting me excited about comics again. Too bad we didn't have shops dedicated to selling small press and indy comics around these parts.

--Steve

steve at 10/12/2005 11:13 AM   

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