Mome 22, the last installment of the Mome series

Indie Comics Digest for Sept 7: Indie cartoonists take on superheroes while Mome says goodbye

The Indie Comics Digest is a weekly update of all things related to graphic novels and comics from independent publishers and creators. Disclosure: digest collator Eric Buckler works for Seattle publisher Fantagraphics Books.

-by Eric Buckler

– “The Big Fusion”, an essay by comics journalist and creator Michael Fiffe, makes some insightful observations about mainstream and indie comics. The piece doesn’t stop at a mere comparison – it goes into the strange and avant-garde nature of indie cartoonists and what kind of a great trip it is to see them cross over the wall and take on the capes. This is the perfect read for anyone who has ever wanted a bridge into indie from mainstream, and didn’t know how to get there. The essay is on Fiffe’s blog and Robot 6 at CBR makes a list of some of the best indie superheroes as a supplement.

Gilbert Hernandez does Ironman

–  On Tuesday, Sept 6th, Little Island Comics opened its doors in Toronto. Here is a quote from their website: “Little Island Comics is the first kids comic book store in North America – maybe even the world! Owned and operated by international comics institution The Beguiling – celebrating their 25th Anniversary in 2012 – the store will open in fall 2011 for all of your kids comic book and graphic novel needs. It will also feature a huge slate of great programming and events with kids comic and book authors from across North America and the world!” For more info on location and contact info, click here

– BPRD after the fall of Hellboy. The anthology Dark Horse Presents will contain a glimpse of the aftermath of the events in The Fury – and their effect on the BPRD after the death of their former colleague, Hellboy. Out in January 2012, this will be a landmark for the relaunched series, which is now in its eighth issue. This marks the first storyline to appear from the ashes of the monumental event where the demon looses an eye and is sent to Hell. Hellboy, in some preview art on the site, appears as a ghost behind a grieving Kate Corrigan and Liz Sherman in a graveyard. Visit the Dark Horse website for more info.

– Image and UK comics festival Thought Bubble team up to help kids’ charity Barnardos. Image will release a comic that collects entries from many artists including short story work from Antony Johnston and Suart Gordon along with art from Duncan Fegredo and Charlie Adlard. Barnardos helps children in poverty, victims of sexual exploitation, suffering from a disability, and victims of domestic violence. With a great cover by Becky Cloonan, this seems like another wonderful effort by Image to help a bigger cause. Check out the entry at Portland’s Stumptown Trade Review.

Thought Bubble Anthology, a collection whose proceeds will go to the charity Banardos.

– Mome 22 marks the last installment of the beloved, talent-stuffed, classic anthology that launched the careers of many independent cartoonists and showcased the best that indie comics had to offer. Edited by Fantagraphics Associate Editor Eric Reynolds, the series began six years ago and logged over 2500 pages of comics from a cast that constituted the eclectic pulse of alt/indie comics. This double-size issue will include well-known cartoonists such as Tom Kaczynski, Eleanor Davis, Anders Nilsen, Tim Hensley, Paul Hornschemeier, Tim Lane, Steven Weissman, Dash Shaw, Josh Simmons (plus collaborators The Partridge in the Pear Tree and Wendy Chin), Gabrielle Bell, and Zak Sally. Newcomers Jesse Moynihan, Malachi Ward, James Romberger, Nick Drnaso, Joseph Lambert, Nick Thorburn, and Victor Kerlow also appear.

The book promises a few surprise contributors that will not disappoint. If you have never read a Mome, this would be an awesome time to start a retro-journey into a colorful collection of cutting-edge comics. Mome will be sadly missed by all of us in comics, and by thousands of readers as well. Check out the Fantagraphics site for more info and a preview PDF that will let you see a page or so from most of the contributors.

Mome 22 marks the last installment of the beloved anthology