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Alternative Comics

Despite the clunky, over-obvious name, Alternative Comics, does indeed publish what have been often considered as "alternative"comics, but that, more recently, have, thanks in part to the efforts of "alternative comics" publishers such as Alternative Comics, come to represent ever more strongly the common perception of comics. In other words, one day these comics will no longer be seen as being "alternative" but rather simply as "good."


Title Creator Publisher Series Price
Peanutbutter and Jeremy's Best Book Ever! James Kochalka Alternative Comics $13.75
($14.95 list)
Pbjbestbookever
Read more and comment... 		The corrected edition of this hefty 275 page collection of cat and crow is now on the Copacetic shelves.  This volume contains all of the previously published PB&J tales from the PB&J comic books 1 - 4, plus well over 100 pages of new, never before seen PB&J comics!  All for a reasonable price tag.
Fancy Froglin’s Sexy Forest James Kochalka Alternative Comics $9.99
($12.95 list)

Read more and comment... 		  by James Kochalka Only Kochalka could produce a book like this and get away with it; and not only that, but get it printed in a full color, glossy, squarebound edition.  What is it, exactly?  Well, basically, it takes the implicit sexuality of the funny animal genre and makes it explicit.  Sort of.  There's no pornography here, but rather overt, undisguised sexuality.  Yes, it's pretty bizarre, but it is instructive in that it addresses the issue of funny animal sexuality (and its corollary, childhood sexuality) in a manner that seems entirely uninfluenced by Crumb, whose interpretation seems to have been taken as the last word on the subject by too many.  It is an intriguing if somewhat disturbing book.  Needless to say, it is not appropriate for children.
Red Eye, Black Eye K. Thor Jensen Alternative Comics $16.95
($19.95 list)
Redeye
Read more and comment... 		Occupying the opposite end of the empathy scale, K. Thor Jensen has created a bit of a hybrid with his graphic travel memoir, Red Eye, Black Eye.  With it, he takes a page out of the playbook of Aaron Cometbus -- who seems a clear inspiration here -- and splices it together with the comics language of James Kochalka and Jeffrey Brown, and the chops of a host of others to tell his tale of dropping out of his day to day life and turning on to two months bumming around the USA on Greyhound buses in his attempt to tune in to what it's all about, hoping that this will enable him to find how to start the next chapter of his life.  While it is clear that he was successful in dropping out and turning on, the scenarios Jensen has chosen to delineate provide little if any evidence that he managed to tune in.  The reader of this tale is likely to find it a frustrating experience for, as he portrays himself, Jensen seems totally unable to really connect with anyone, and remains trapped in a singularly unattractive personality throughout the entire epic journey, returning home, 300 pages later, apparently no wiser.  Red Eye, Black Eye can be an instructive, if somewhat awkward -- at times painfully so -- experience, as Jensen repeatedly reveals his woeful lack of the social graces.  The dictum "character is destiny" receives a solid endorsement here as Red Eye, Black Eye provides a veritable catalogue of personal-growth inhibiting character traits; and it is crystal clear that lack of empathy is chief among them.  This approach may or may not -- it is not clear -- have been an intentional decision, a self-lacerating attempt at self-correction, but this lack of clarity impedes an appreciation of the work.  Jensen is not without storytelling abilities, however, as he effectively puts his tale across.  He is strongest when he relates the individual stories that he is told by his numerous hosts during his various stays.  Woven within the overall fabric of the tale of his journey, these short -- most are one or two pages -- stories are the best part of this book.  One cannot help coming away from reading this hoping that Jensen has learned something from all this, that he has moved towards a better understanding of and closer feelings for his fellow beings and so will be better able to connect with those around him.  The fact  that he has acted on a desire to communicate his experience and has completed the arduous task of crafting this lengthy work means that, in all likelihood, he has.
Thunderhead Underground Falls Joel Orff Alternative Comics $12.75
($14.95 list)
Thunderhead_underground_falls
Read more and comment... 		The surreality of everyday life fills this off beat graphic novel that takes us off the beaten path. Read Tom Spurgeon's review.
Miriam #1 Alternative Comics $4.44
($4.95 list)
Miria1
Read more and comment... 		Mr. Tommaso's most Clowesian comics work yet is a tale of growing up different, immersed in pop culture.  Follow Miriam and her pals as the narrative jumps back in forth through time to portray crucial (and not so crucial) moments in their development.