INFINITY SEQUENCE II
ESSENTIAL ALTERNATIVE PUBLISHERS
by Dave Morris
Welcome back to Infinity Sequence my Supersonic Squadron of Star-field Suburbanites!
As we speak, Tosk is rummaging around in my skull for this week's topic.
Aha! How appropriate, Herr Tosk! Since I kicked around commercial comics last time, it would make sense to highlight some Essential Alternative Publishers this time!
During the first four or five years of my foray into comics I thought that Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image were the only companies that published new material. When I would pick up a new Vertigo series I thought I was on the edge of the creative frontier, pushing the boundaries of the art form alongside those heroic writers and artists. I thought I was supporting an important underground movement which defied convention and dared to be different.
Then, from out of nowhere, I was roundhouse kicked in the face by Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, Picture Box and Buenaventura Press.
These four publishers turned everything I thought I knew upside down. I couldn't believe the material I had been missing out on and was dumb-founded at the fact that it had remained totally invisible to me for years. One big reason is that they are not affiliated with Diamond Distributing, where I thought was found the all-powerful, all-encompassing list of every new comic that was being published. Another reason is that I used to shop at a smaller store which could only afford to stock the most common and commercial books. I ended up 
eventually moving closer to a much bigger store that carried a wide selection of work by these other publishers.
eventually moving closer to a much bigger store that carried a wide selection of work by these other publishers.
Once I had found this higher vantage point where I could see more of what was out there, I looked back and realized how focused I had been on the role of the writer in what I was buying. I had put them in a position of superiority to the artist, which is also implied by the major publishers since they place the writer's name first on the cover and in the credits. I remember actually telling my friends that the art doesn't really matter that much as long as it's a good story with good dialogue. And let's face it, you can't really blame me for feeling that way given how similar most of the art is, especially in superhero books, but also in a lot of the titles from Vertigo, Dark Horse and Image. There are some fantastic exceptions like "MIND MGMT", "Punk Rock Jesus", "Casanova" and "RASL", but when it comes down to it who's kidding who? There's generally a set look and feel to the majority of those books.
When I discovered the four aforementioned publishers, I noticed a drastic emphasis shift back to unique quality artwork and cartooning. Instead of mainly focusing on the likes of Bendis, Brubaker, Ennis and Ellis, I was looking for Clowes, Crumb, Woodring and Ware. I got my mind blown to pieces by volumes six, seven and eight of Sammy Harkham's Art-Comix anthology "Kramer's Ergot". I read fascinating interviews and essential facts about Jack Kirby in a controversial volume of "The Comics Journal Library". I explored the breathtaking landscapes and felt the wonderful tension of The Unifactor and its amazing characters in Jim Woodring's "The Frank Book". I was surprised by the startling beauty in the ordinary and every-day struggles and triumphs of an old man in Jerry Moriarty's "Jack Survives". I marveled at the attention to detail, insane work ethic, innovative style and hard fast beliefs of Steve Ditko in "Strange And Stranger". I went back in time nearly one hundred years and read the profoundly important and influential Sunday newspaper strips George Herriman created with "Krazy & Ignatz" (often reffered to simply as "Krazy Kat"). 
Here's a quick breakdown of each of these publishers:
Fantagraphics - Based out of Seattle, they are the biggest of the four and the one I happen to be most familiar with. They produce a wonderful range of material from classic newspaper reprints of "Peanuts", "Prince Valiant", "Pogo", and "Mickey Mouse" to the raw and unchained gross-out splatter adventures in Johnny Ryan's "Prison Pit" as well as witty satire like Michael Kupperman's "Tales Designed To Thrizzle". They publish tons of big and beautiful biographical volumes full of interviews and artwork featuring the most important and interesting people to have worked in comics. Additionally, they put out the invaluable "Comics Journal", which has been the primary place for intelligent comics criticism for over three decades, as well as the beloved "Love & Rockets" series by the Los Bros Hernandez which is currently enjoying its thirty year anniversary.
Drawn & Quarterly - Based in Montreal, they have played a major role in promoting and distributing the work of new artists for over twenty years. Some of the incredible talents they've worked with include Adrian Tomine, Daniel Clowes, Tom Gauld, Gilbert Hernandez, Sammy Harkham, Kevin Huizenga, Joe Sacco, Seth, Chris Ware, Gary Panter and many more.
Buenaventura Press - It's sad that this company is no longer in business but while they were around they published, most notably for me, "The Complete Jack Survives" as well as Kramers Ergot 6 and what's easily one of the biggest comic books ever printed, Kramers Ergot 7.
Picture Box - The home of hardcore Art-Comix, they are the place for cutting edge experimental works by artists who seek to push the limits of what is possible. They will challenge your preconceptions and open your mind to new vistas of the imagination. Along with publishing work by many of whom I listed above, they also publish the works of Frank Santoro, Paper Rad, Yuichi Yokoyama, Mat Brinkman, C.F., Matthew Thurber and Dan Nadel.
The books and stories published by these companies are packed with substance. They are imbued with care and respect for the 
craft to an extent that isn't often found on the new release wall each Wednesday. They are more challenging, more rewarding and become even richer upon subsequent readings
craft to an extent that isn't often found on the new release wall each Wednesday. They are more challenging, more rewarding and become even richer upon subsequent readings
There are many other alternative comics companies but for my purposes I chose to write about these since I've had first hand experience with them. I'd encourage everyone to peruse these company's websites and take the plunge into a deeper world of sequential storytelling. If your store doesn't carry many of these books they can be ordered directly from the sites themselves, which often offer great discounts from the cover price, or they can be found on Amazon.
Well that will wrap up another installment of Infinity Sequence! Hope you were all into it! Please feel free to drop a comment below if the spirit strikes, and I'll see you next time when Tosk and I fly high over the plains of Africa in a homemade hot air balloon!
Great article Dave. Working in a public library, I'm very familiar with the publishers and some of the comics you've mentioned. Personaly, I've never purchased any alternative comics, having been on a steady diet of mainstream comics since i was a teenager. But then I found Vertigo and discovered a world I didn't even knew existed. It's only in the last couple of years that the library has gotten an abundance of new graphic novels, both mainstrain & alternative. So sooner or later, curiosity got the better of me and I'd read a few here and there and boy I'm glad I did. Titles like Maus, Black Hole, Why I Hate Saturn & Strangers In Paradise took my breath away. It's true I love a good Batman & Spider-Man story, but alternative comics will always have a special place in my super hero heart.