(Part 3) Top products from r/altcomix

I read Daddy's Girl by Debbie Drechsler. I got it because I had seen her work before and love her wood-cut-esque style of moody art. This book was pretty trippy because the cover makes it look like a childrens book and the art also has a naive innocence about it but the stories deal with Drechsler's sexual abuse at the hands of her father. It's pretty dark material but told from the point of view of an innocent girl who doesn't understand what is happening. Like I said, it's pretty trippy but pretty cool.

Powr Mastrs by CF. This is another pretty trippy book. It's kind of a sci-fi story but it's pretty surreal and the story doesn't always make sense. The art work is done in line work. It almost looks like rough layouts though it does have this cool immediacy that I can get into. Also his style varies from outlines to rough child like figures with these buildings and landscapes made with 2 point perspective and ruled lines. The artwork has this playfulness that is kind of fun and funny.

I'm gonna disagree with a lot of people and tell you to not buy Understanding Comics. I mean, you can, I don't disagree with most of what he teaches, but I disagree with his results. Perhaps it's one of those 'good in theory, terrible in practice' things. The Sculptor, his latest (?) book uses his UC technique 100% and while it makes for an easy read, it's visually boring and the story is just one unbelievable trope after another, complete garbage.

I'm also not going to tell you to copy other comic artists, that's a very common mistake in comics. When you copy other comic artists you learn their mistakes, or shortcuts, or cheats. I still find after I've drawn a page I'll go back and see where I unintentionally swiped a pose or technique from John Buscema (How to make Comics the Marvel Way had a big influence on me as a teenager, which is who it was made for).

For figure drawing you want George Bridgeman. His figure drawing techniques are the foundation for pretty much every other great illustrator in the last 100 years.

Another good source is Burne Hogarth (Dynamic Anatomy, Dynamic Figure Drawing) his stuff is more action and hero based, but his lessons are sound. He founded what became the School of Visual Arts. These were my first art books when I was a teenager, and they still hold up.

For storytelling, I go for Will Eisner's Graphic Storytelling and the Visual Narrative, Sequential Art Principles and throw in Expressive Anatomy, because, why not?

David Chelsea's Perspective for Comic Artists is great, because it teaches you exactly how to do correct perspective, then in the last chapter he tells you how to cheat at all of it.

For classes, take a look at the horribly designed website for http://comicsworkbook.com/ it's run by a guy, Frank Santoro, who's actually not one of my favorite artists, but he knows his shit, for sure, and he's a helluva nice guy who loves comics 100%. I think his full online class is $500 and he runs it twice a year, I think. Also look in your area for a college or art store that might have figure drawing classes, they are invaluable.

I had to think of that for a while, but I'll probably go with Deadbone.

Deadbone was the first comic I read by Vaughn Bode, and I started connecting his work to that in the graffiti scene. I've always had a soft spot for graffiti, and it become easy to see how influential Bode had been and still is. It's mostly pencils, sometimes no ink, but the atmosphere in it really makes it shine.

The cover has a cool lady with a motorcycle, too.

Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics –– the newspaper comics in this book are a much bigger influence on alt comics than magazine format comic books from the same era. This is a huge oversize hardcover and is CHEAP! It is probably also at your local library. https://smile.amazon.com/Smithsonian-Collection-Newspaper-Comics/dp/0874741726/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541791295&sr=1-1&keywords=smithsonian+comics

Apex Treasury / Bijou Funnies –– not real cheap anymore, unfortunately, but it is a fantastic anthology of the sixties generation of underground artists. Everyone is here! https://smile.amazon.com/Treasury-Underground-Comics-Bijou-Funnies/dp/0825632285?sa-no-redirect=1

Read Yourself Raw –– the 80s underground revival! oversize! edited by Art Spiegelman (author of Maus) and Francoise Mouly https://smile.amazon.com/Read-Yourself-Raw-Art-Spiegelman/dp/0394755510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541791247&sr=1-1&keywords=read+yourself+raw

RAW was also reborn as a smaller thicker paperback.

Raw vol 2 no 1 https://smile.amazon.com/Raw-Vol-No-Wounds-Cutting/dp/0140122656/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541791410&sr=1-2&keywords=raw+vol+2

Raw vol 2 no 2 https://smile.amazon.com/RAW-COMMIX-Vol-Editor-SPIEGELMAN/dp/B001YUJ826/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541791430&sr=1-2&keywords=raw+vol+2+no+2

Raw vol 2 no 3 is absolutely spectacular!!! https://smile.amazon.com/High-Culture-Lowbrows-Raw-Vol/dp/B002K5BEG2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541791448&sr=1-1&keywords=raw+vol+2+no+3

and one more recommendation =

Amazing Facts and Beyond: Since you live near St. Louis you should get this (cheap!) compendium of fake news from three of the best artists in STL! Show your quasi hometown pride! https://smile.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0984681469/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr=

I'd recommend this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vertigo-Novel-Woodcuts-Dover-History/dp/0486468895 the woodcuts are very good.

that artwork looks awesome! i love french artists

here's a link to buy the trilogy that "the woman trap" is a part of. i was gonna buy the woman trap, but i don't wanna drop $100 right now!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Nikopol-Trilogy-Enki-Bilal/dp/0967240123/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1JDCWDH29F6BA6NC0ZH2

Sounds like this:

http://www.amazon.com/History-Underground-Comics-James-Estren/dp/0914171119

Published in '74 I think. Here's the cover of the earlier edition that I own:

http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1184660714l/1521797.jpg

Recently read the first Copra compendium. The art is really excellent and the writing is fun though its basically just a silly, over the top superhero romp. While usually I like to get away from superheroes in comics, Copra's too well done to pass up, I'll probably grab the other compendium soon.

Also read City of Glass recently, it was very strange. The art is unsurprisingly great, with Mazzuchelli and Karisik illustrating. The writing was pretty bizarre, I had never heard of Paul Auster before so it kind of blindsided me. I don't even know how to describe it really, it was very confusing. Seems like detective fiction at first but its very confusing, melancholy and somewhat meta. I'd recommend looking into it but I wouldn't guarantee enjoyment.

Also about to start La Perdida. Don't really know anything about it though, just spotted it at the library and figured I'd give it a shot.