Sparkplug Comics

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Sparkplug Comic Books
graphic novels
Fiction genresAlternative

Sparkplug Comic Books was a publisher and distributor of alternative comics founded by cartoonist Dylan Williams.[1] Based in Portland, Oregon, the company operated from 2002 to 2016. The publisher's backlist is now handled by Alternative Comics.

Cartoonists published by Sparkplug included Austin English, Jason Shiga, Renée French, Julia Gfrörer, Katie Skelly, Juliacks, Yumi Sakugawa, Whit Taylor, Elijah Brubaker, and Jeff LeVine.

Sparkplug eschewed traditional

comic book retailers; instead focusing on festivals, conventions, and direct sales through the company website.[1]

History

One of Sparkplug's first projects,

Eisner Award
winner for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition. (Shiga's Bookhunter, published in 2007, was also nominated for a couple of industry awards.)

From 2008 to 2015 Sparkplug co-published annual mini-comic anthologies in commemoration of Free Comic Book Day; they were always produced in partnership with Tim Goodyear's company Teenage Dinosaur as well as other Portland-area small-press publishers.

Sparkplug founder Dylan Williams died of

IndieGoGo.[2]

After Williams' death, the company was run as a trio by Virginia Paine, Tom Neely, and Williams' widow Emily Nillson. Paine took over as sole publisher of Sparkplug in 2013.[3][4]

Sparkplug shut down in June 2016, with the company's backlist moving to Alternative Comics.[5]

Publications

Ongoing titles

  1. Hungry Summer (2014) – Asher Craw
  2. The Anthropologists (2014) – Whit Taylor
  3. Bird Girl and Fox Girl (2014) – Yumi Sakugawa
  4. Ce/Za – Suzette Smith (2015)
  5. A Wretch Like Me (Oct. 2015) – Ebin Lee
  • Tales to Demolish (3 issues, 2003–2006) – Eric Haven
  • Watching Days Become Years (4 issues, July 2003–2007) – Jeff LeVine
  • Windy Corner Magazine (3 issues, 2007–2009) – Austin English

Graphic novels, anthologies, collections, and one-shots

  • Asiaddict (2006) – Mats!
  • Asthma (2006) – John Hankiewicz
  • Bookhunter (2007) – Jason Shiga
  • Christina and Charles (2006) – Austin English
  • Danny Dutch (2009) – David King
  • Department of Art (2009) – Dunja Jankovic
  • The Disgusting Room (2011) – Austin English
  • Edison Steelhead's Lost Portfolio: Exploratory Studies of Girls and Rabbits (June 2007)
    ISBN 978-0974271576 – Renée French
  • Fleep (2002) – Jason Shiga
  • Flesh and Bone (2010) – Julia Gfrörer
  • Gay Genius (2011) – edited by Annie Murphy
  • The Golem of Gabirol (2012) – Olga Volozova
  • The Heavy Hand (2011) – Chris Cilla
  • The Hot Breath of War (2008) – Trevor Alixopulos
  • Inkweed (2007) – Chris Wright
  • It Lives (2003) – Ted May
  • Lemon Styles (2010) – David King
  • Nurse Nurse (2012) – Katie Skelly
  • Orchid (2002) – anthology of Victorian horror stories adapted into comics form, edited by Dylan Williams and Ben Catmull[1]
  • Passage (2012) – Tessa Brunton
  • Reporter: Little Black (2002) – Dylan Williams
  • Rock That Never Sleeps (2009) – Olga Volazova and Juliacks
  • Whirlwind Wonderland (2010) – Rina Ayuyang (co-published with Tugboat Press)

Free Comic Book Day mini-comic anthologies

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Spurgeon, Tom. "Dylan Williams, 1970-2011," The Comics Reporter (September 18, 2011).
  2. ^ Parkin, J. K. (March 19, 2012). "Sparkplug turns to IndieGoGo to fund three final Dylan Williams projects". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  3. ^ MacDonald, Heidi. Virginia Paine to take over Sparkplug Books; business to continue as usual," The Beat (April 20, 2013).
  4. ^ MacDonald, Heidi. "Sparkplug Books announces the end of REICH for 2014 and a fundraiser," The Beat (Dec. 18, 2013).
  5. ^ MacDonald, Heidi. "Sparkplug Books Shutting Down This Summer," The Beat (Feb. 18, 2016).
  6. ^ Clough, Rob. "Public Service: Dope Flounder," The Comics Journal (July 10, 2010).

Sources consulted

External links

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