At long last, we present to you the first issue in a series of short anthology books, a project we’re calling The Shortpants Observer. We’re knocking on the doors of artists we know and like, artists that we think you should also know and like (if you don’t already), and asking them to draw things for us. This first issue is utterly beautiful, and showcases some extremely talented comics artists, all of whom live in Chicago: Anya Davidson, Corinne Mucha, Becca Taylor and Jeremy Tinder. Assuming this first issue doesn’t completely bankrupt us, there are many future issues to come that will include some more of the Middle-West’s best and most interesting artists.
72 pages, all previously unpublished material. Get yours now!
"Ah, if only all minis with one panel strips were like this... this is how it’s supposed to be done... It’s funny, that lettering is downright hypnotic, and there’s some serious inking going on. A lot of one panel strips rely on characters sitting mostly in a blank environment, but Neil clearly spends a solid chunk of time on each panel. This is well worth your time to seek out, proving once again that Short Pants has a damned near perfect track record in publishing quality comics."
and someday we plan to take a fun vacation to see them in person. Mats Nordström is the graphic novel librarian there, he found our comics on a trip to Chicago. Shortpants Press is very much in favor of graphic novel library collections, and graphic novel librarians too. (And a bit envious of the respect that comics artists get across the pond.)
"There is an elegance in simplicity at work in Shuteye. I couldn't help but feel drawn into the story because of it. There was no massive suspension of disbelief required of me as a reader, the characters were immediately accessible (there are certainly aspects of both I can easily relate to), and the setting starts off direct enough.
As the story unfolded, it became even more of a reflection of relationship experience of my own. This isn't a piece of writing that I would assume was written just for me. Like a good Bob Dylan song, it was open enough that I was able to paste myself between the lines.
This may be a little too quiet and pastoral for some readers, so I can't say I'd recommend it to everyone. That said, it's a really solid creation and it was an absolute joy to read - to connect with this vignette, these characters, and their situation.
Did you know we had a writeup in Chicago Magazine this month?? Neither did we! We still have to find a copy of it. But you should check it out.
Also, Shortpants will be at the MCA's Hip Lit Fair on Saturday May 17th! You should come and check us out, because we're very nice people. And bring your copy of Chicago Magazine in case we still haven't found a copy of our own.
Hey guys. The luddite in Shortpants Press is deeply, deeply disappointed that we've gone and done this, but we have a Twitter account now. Do you twitter? If so, you can look up our Twitter and perhaps we could Twitter together! Twitter twitter twitter.
