Unicorn Whores Zine

We Are Friends collaborative zine Unicorn Whores

I recently received my contributor copies of Unicorn Whores, a screen-printed zine produced by a collective of friends in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It follows the zine Dragon Slutz, and the third in this fantasy series will be Robot Boners. Unicorn Whores is basically a series of poems and stories about unicorns and sex, accompanied by black and white illustrations. 

Michelle Chrzanowski and Ben Larson, who are the figureheads of We Are Friends, routinely make high-quality zines, including one entitled Oscillation with gorgeous 3-color interior screen prints and a zine entitled Mind Reader that isn't about Madonna.

Unicorn Whores and Dragon Slutz are currently in stock at Quimby's in Chicago, IL. One could also order a copy by emailing wearefriendsart@gmail.com.

I don't know who else contributed to Unicorn Whores since a listing isn't included, however, I can spot a John Malta drawing when I see one. See his illustration and my poem, 'Exchange Program,' after the jump. 

Chicago Zine Fest 2011

Poster by Edie Fake

The Chicago Zine Fest is making its triumphant return to Columbia College's Conway Center on March 25th and 26th. Several Chicago zinesters (including pals Ramsey Beyer, Neil Brideau, Leslie Perrine, Matt Whispers) organized the inaugural edition of the Chicago Zine Fest (CZF?) last year and it was a bona fide hit. There was a reading at Quimby's, an art show at Johalla Projects and an after show at Ball Hall. But I think they upped the ante this year as exhibitor tables have already sold out. Don't let that frightening flexing of print culture's popularity discourage you from attending, look at this instead:

Noteworthy Facts About the 2011 Chicago Zine Fest:

* Real life zinebrities Al Burian and Aaron Cometbus will speak from 2 - 4 p.m. at the Conway Center on the 25th. Will they mention coffee? Or Jawbreaker or something?

* Mickey Zachilli (who was a part of This is a Comic Book) is tabling, which is exciting.

* Other people I like who are tabling: Jeffrey Brown, Lilli Carre (both Carre and Brown are part of a comics exhibition at the MCA with Anders Nilsen and Paul Hornschemeier), Cindy Crabb (another zinebrity/legend, author of Doris), Chelsea Dirck (with a new book in tow?), Sara Drake (with her new comic Small Advices), Emil Ferris (superb cartoonist/writer), Lyra Hill, Microcosm Publishing, John Porcellino (the best!), Liz Prince, Dave Roche (author of On Subbing), and, most importantly, Monster House Press purveyor Richard Wehrenberg Jr. 

* I'm also tabling. (I'll have Arty Party, Assuming Size, Austerity Pleasures, Buttons, Prints, etc)

* There's a youth reading and an exhibitor's reading at the Chicago branch of Dave Egger's 826 project, 826CHI, on March 25th at 5 p.m.

* Zinester Karaoke at Quimby's on March 25th at 9 p.m. As uncomfortable as it sounds?

* Eric Ayotte will be there, so I think Gadabout Film Festival will too. 

* More lectures and workshops TBA!

The full list of this year's tablers.

A CZF T-Shirt for sale featuring Edie Fake's artwork.

Additional information about the Chicago Zine Fest at its website, its Facebook and its Twitter.

If you come, you can stay in my apartment. Plan ahead!

After the jump are tabling/after show action shots from last year.

Comic of my Future.

As Sara says:

"A collaborative pair depicting a potential future joy ride with beastie sexual undertones. (James and I are destined to have our genitals rub up on a cute tiger in the not so distant future.) Hastily scripted by Jeremy Tinder and Lucy Knisley of Trubble Club as a fortune telling celebration for Free Comic Book day at Quimby's."

Knisley's is on the left and Tinder's is on the right. I look like a 35 year-old Daniel Clowes character in Tinder's.

BTW: Tinder is part of a show called "What's the Big Idea" with Columbus's John Malta in San Francisco at the Double Punch gallery in June. I would go to that if that is available to you geographically. The flyer for it is after "The Jump."

ARTY PARTY

Arty Party is out!

Arty Party is a collection of cartoon ha-has about contemporary artists like Lynda Benglis, Joseph Beuys, Chris Burden, Jenny Holzer and Gordon Matta-Clark. Cornballs like William Wegman and Dale Chihuly are in the mix as well. Arty Party is 8.5 x 5.5 inches with a card stock cover and is completely hand drawn by the talented, farcical, slapstick Sara Drake. It also contains an essay I wrote on the art world, seriousness and class dispositions that ends with the line, "I'd rather a Jacques Tati than a Jacques David."

Arty Party started when Sara was having trouble writing one panel gags for her comics class. The easiest answer to this was, of course, to make fun of artists. I posted the initial three we made together here. We were tonally and visually inspired by The New Yorker cartoons but also by the over-the-top stupidity of Johnny Ryan's Angry Youth Comix and Ivan Brunetti's Haw!. The material came directly from the History of Art 541 course taught by Kris Paulsen that I took last fall. The class was based on David Joselit's book American Art Since 1945.

This is a blogger who wrote about Sara and Arty Party.

This is Bad at Sports which blurbed Arty Party.

Order Arty Party online here.

Arty Party is available at the following stores:

Quimby's (Chicago, IL)
Boxcar Books (Bloomington, IN)
The Curiodrome (Bloomington, IN)
Mahan Gallery (Columbus, OH)
Used Kids Records (Columbus, OH)
Wexner Center for the Arts Store (Columbus, OH)
Wholly Craft (Columbus, OH)

Arty Party is also available in person from Sara and I for $3.00.

Chicago Zine Fest & Comic Symposium of Chicago

My friends in Chicago are throwing two, count 'em, two, big time events celebrating print culture - The Comic Symposium of Chicago and The Chicago Zine Fest. The two events overlap as the symposium is on March 11th and 12th and the zine fest is on March 12th and 13th. The Comic Symposium of Chicago was organized by Sara Drake and Ingrid Olson and is happening at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Speakers include Sarah Becan, Jeffrey Brown, Christa Donner, Surabhi Ghosh, Beth Hetland, Nicole Hollander, Paul Hornschemeier, Joey Jacks, Lucy Knisley, Ian McDuffie, Bernie McGovern, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Anders Nilsen, Laura Park, John Porcellino, and Jeremy Tinder. The symposium is organized into four topic discussions - Professionalization, Identity, Comics & Art, and Independent Distribution and Publishing in Chicago. It happens from 4:30 to 7:00 on both days.

BUTTONS

I made some new ones, including a series of famous dicks.

I have a predicament with these buttons. I want to start selling them at more venues besides the Wexner Center Store and the Columbus Museum of Art. To do that though, I need some sort of name to call them, a "brand." And unlike my really good band names (I Wish I Was Dead) I can't think of anything to call it. I used to call them "Jimi Baby Buttons" as a pun on Jimmy Buttons proper but that would be unseemly and overly confusing if I started selling them in a variety of places. This is especially important since literally anyone can do what I do - all you need is a button maker and some spare time. The difference, I guess, comes from the type of references you highlight - most of mine are a lot like my "artwork," lots of politics, art history references, recontextualization of visual ephemera, etc. But if you put those in a bowl next to some others, it's admittedly hard to tell the difference. My plan is to get little circle stickers with the name of the "company" and attach them to the pin backs. It makes sense too since each of these pins are one of a kind to attach them to a bigger concept. IDEAS? Also, if you want some of these, let me know. You can see more on the Deviant Art page I actually have.

AUSSI:
Amelia gets two show reviews; second 'seems' written by "Hipster Runoff," I feel. : One.  Two.
I've made it into Quimby's!
Stealth advertising campaign for "THE ROAD" on Weedsteeler.
The Lantern stole Vitamin Water's "look."
Sort of content with our Senator?