In the late 80s there was this terrible TV show based on an awesome comic, Jon Sable, Freelance. The TV show was called Sable and it was largely forgettable, but it did three things for me:
- Introduced me to an awesome character that I still admire to this very day
- Introduced me to the awesome that is Mike Grell (I didn’t get introduced to Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters until a few years later)
- Introduced me to my first independent comic company “First Comics”
From there it wouldn’t be until the early 90s when there would be an explosion of indie companies like Dark Horse, Image, Valiant and Malibu, just to name a few. The numbers swelled then waned, leaving a few to make it to the 21st century and today. But I’m talking about the ones that are artist-owned small press. The ones that you see at the back of a comic book convention selling their stories to any and all who walk by and look even slightly interested in something new.
A couple of weekends ago I went to such a con that was strictly for this type of book and I loved it. It was so refreshing to see so many new and different concepts out there, just waiting for someone to pick it up and give it a shop. The art style may be a little raw and the production value may not be what you’d get from the wall of your local comic shop, but that doesn’t matter. You’re getting in on the ground floor of a book, a story that only a few are privy to. Heck, this may be the next Batman, you’ll never know.
Think I’m talking BS? Check out some of Brian Michael Bendis’ early stuff, Fire and Torso in particular. It’ll make you view that section of Artist Alley in a completely different light. Honestly, I’ve embraced this so much that I find myself gravitating towards writers who do the same thing. Barry Eisler walked away from a major publishing house and self publishes now. The New Pulp movement is all independent, too. Maybe it speaks to rebel in me, but I am a fan and will continue to be.