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| Find a meet-up near you! Also look to the website and Facebook pages, where more events are added each day. | ||
[Above, James Sturm avoids a perfectly good pun. Below, the Dispatch just beeing itself.]
We need Dylan Williams. Over the past several years, his work has become as vital to our community as that of any cartoonist. His Portland-based Sparkplug Comics has brought a parade of talent across our periphery, debuting books by artists that may well have never gotten their due from the larger independent publishing house — and that’s only one aspect of his role in the greater comics community.
And now, sadly, for reasons outlined by Sarah, Dylan Williams need us. Doing what you love doesn’t also afford one a large safety net, and now, after he’s given us so much, it’s time for us to give a little back. Doing so is as simple as buying some books from his site. You get comics, you help a friend. Sounds like a good deal to us.
In the off-chance that you need a little more convincing, we’ve asked some our favorite artists to recommend one of their favorite Sparkplug books for you to add to your cart. Not surprisingly, many had trouble picking just one — a plight we can certainly appreciate. We will be adding cartoonists’ favorites for as long as they keep coming in.
Luggage tags from David King are on my shopping list. A $2 steal!
One of our favorite publishers of fine indie comics has been diagnosed with cancer. Evidently, for a second time. Can I get a “not fair?”
Dylan Williams is a man with enough on his mind. As one of the planners for the Portland Zine Symposium, he just saw the 11th year of that event wrap up, plus he’s the sole person running Sparkplug Comic Books, and now he has to deal with this major health issue (and bills). It’s unfortunate, unfair, and inspires a sense of melancholy from someone living so far away who isn’t sure how to help.
Actually, there is something you can do for Dylan at home. It would be enormously useful and encouraging if you would go now to the Sparkplug Comic Books website and finally buy the copy of Lemon Styles you’ve been waiting for, or take a chance on another title that’s sure to please you.
Thanks to Rob Clough for getting the ball rolling on this one.
Here is the three-part interview we ran with Dylan back in 2008: 1 | 2 | 3
Here are some links to reviews of books published or distributed by Sparkplug we’ve run here on the Cross Hatch:
- Sarah Morean
In this third part of our interview we discuss animation, an absence of dialog, and The Wolf soundtrack that never was.
We wrap up our interview by discussing the importance of starting small, the pitfalls of the music industry, and promoting Cleveland after the death of Harvey Pekar.
[Above, Tom Spurgeon is a survivor, we hope. Below, the Dispatch isn't going to give up.]
In this second part of our interview with The Wolf author, we discuss the pluses and minus of the panel format, the natural evolution of drawing styles, and the importance of being able to toss away false starts.
[Part One]
In this third part of our interview with the Cleveland cartoonist, we discuss drawing the perfect Harvey Pekar, being embarrassed by your early work, and how best to grow beyond your influences.
[Above, future's so bright kids have got to wear the world's worst haircut. Below, the Dispatch has it made in the shade.]
BROWSE 
