Nick Gazin's Comic Book Love-In #74

Dear VICE comics fans, I went to the NY Art Book Fair a month ago. I saw my friend Terence there and then he was killed the next day. I’ve been meaning to review the books I got but it was easier to just let them sit in the tote bag I brought them home...

by Nick Gazin

November 2, 2012, 1:25pm

Dear VICE Comics Fans,

I went to the NY Art Book Fair a month ago. I saw my friend Terence there and then he was killed the next day. I’ve been meaning to review the books I got but it was easier to just let them sit in the tote bag I brought them home in for a few weeks. I wrote about the event for the Comics Journal since I got scooped covering it for VICE, and you can see it over here.

Here are a few photos from the Book Fair.

Everyone should come to the Brooklyn Graphix and Comix Fest on November 10. Check out more info at their site.

Sediment
CF
Picturebox

Oh my goodness. This little accordion bound, partially-in-color book is signed and numbered by CF and limited to 1,000 copies. I got number 748. Everything that CF makes is necessary. If you get an opportunity to buy a CF zine or book then you had better take that shot because they are so pretty. I kiss CF's ass all the time. You probably already know CF is the greatest, but if you don't, just Google VICE and CF to see some of that.

Buy it here from Picturebox.

Sad Sex
Heather Benjamin
Desert Island

Desert Island published the first ten issues of Sad Sex as an upsetting little digest. Heather Benjamin draws drawing after drawing of hairy, unhappy people porking while crying long spaghetti strands of tears. All bodily fluids look like long dripping strands. The drawings in the first half of this book aren't great but they are funny. At some point halfway through this volume Heather really develops a beautiful style that's reminiscent of Dame Darcy. Her figures feel more solid, her patterns of hair and dripping liquid are prettier, and the compositions are more exciting. This book is great because you get to see someone learn to do a thing before your very eyes. Also, it's nice to see someone reminding us that it's OK to be ashamed.

Buy it from Desert Island.

Wet Lust and Drowning In My Own Tears
Heather Benjamin

These are two recent, great zines by Heather Benjamin that are each just one page, photocopied on both sides and folded twice. They are totally great.

Look at her Tumblr.

Hula Hoop Girls
Daniela Jordan-Villaveces, Ella Selbie and Eunice Luk
Fantasy Camp

Fantasy Camp is a great new Canadian publisher or collective or something. This is a hardcover accordion bound book with no spine. The drawings are printed in dark green and red ink on lime green paper and they are great. This was one of the coolest things at the NY Art Book Fair and I got the last one that was ready to sell. Eunice from Fantasy Camp was binding new copies at the table in a mad attempt to fill the demand. It was made in an edition of 100.

See more about Hula Hoop Girls here.

Distance Mover #3 - 5
Patrick Kyle

Patrick Kyle is pretty great. I feel like he is imitating or possibly making fun of CF with this book. He draws a lot of shapes that are very similar to CF's. The characters all look like Patrick Kyle's characters, and unlike most of his comics there is too much dialogue and I didn't care about reading it. I liked looking at it though. The art is printed in black and one different spot color in each issue and it looks really cool.

To Serve Man patch

I love this patch.

Kid Mafia 3
Michael Deforge

Michael Deforge, I love your work so much. Kid Mafia is a comic about a literal kid mafia that kills people, although they seem to mostly be interested in standard teenage loser interests. As the comic story moves on the mafia activities fade away and he just acts like a normal person.

BUTT
Ginette LaPalme

Ginette occasionally draws these characters that have eyes on their butts and stuff. This is a zine of nothing but that. She just drew lots of animals with faces on their backs pooping in various different ways. It's pretty great.

Crass Art And Other Pre Post-Modernist Monsters 1961 -1997
Gee Vaucher
Boo Hooray

Gee Vaucher did all the art for Crass, but she is good on her own merits as a drawer, illustrator, painter, and collagist.

Dubble Trouble Volume One
Ted Gudlat
Fantasy Camp Books

This is a big funny newspaper screen-printed on good paper with funny comics about dumb shit.

Check out Tedgudlat.com and buy this at fantasycampbooks.com.

Ginette Lapalme's Pins

Ginette LaPalme made these pins in special packages so that you can put them on even when they are in these bags. I like that. She also made some that were wooden and hand-painted. I like them.