Cometbus 57 "New York Comics Scene" Zine

Details: Cometbus 57 by Aaron Cometbus. Shows a minute amount of shelf wear. NM+ condition. 100 pages. B x W with 16 illustrations. 5 ¼” X 8” perfect bound.

Short Description: Interviews with NYC-based comic artists. Features interviews with Gabrielle Bell, Robin Enrico, Jeffrey Lewis, Julia Wertz, Bill Kartalopoulos, Gary Panter, Adrian Tomine, Ben Katchor, Paul Levitz, Drew Friedman, Karen Green, Gabe Fowler, Kim Deitch, and Al Jaffee.

Grade: NM

Full Description: "The comics scene is thriving in New York, and comics play an oversized role in the city’s myth. But why? In this special issue of Cometbus, we go door-to-door, uptown to downtown, asking the questions that other rags are either too informed or too polite to pose. We visit cartoonists like Gary Panter, Julia Wertz, Ben Katchor, Adrian Tomine, and Gabrielle Bell, but also comics scholars, publishers, shopkeepers, and librarians. Featuring beautiful illustrations by March artist Nate Powell and an unusual Al Jaffee interview that ties it all together in the end."

Author: "Born along bold, black-and-white lines in Berkeley, CA in 1968, Aaron Cometbus began publishing Cometbus at age 13, months before Maximum Rocknroll got off the ground in 1981. A few years later, Aaron participated in the Gilman Street Project and started his band Crimpshrine. By 1989, Crimpshrine had broken up and Aaron steadfastly focused on Cometbus, which he honed to focus on "punk anthropology," partly to create a legacy bigger than his broken-up band. He was involved with many more part-time and project bands over the next twenty-five years, such as Pinhead Gunpowder, Thorns of Life, Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, Redmond Shooting Stars, The Blank Fight, and filling in for Green Day and This Bike is a Pipe Bomb. 

Cometbus became a consistent and determined force to be reckoned with predating trends and inspiring legions of imitators. After over thirty years of steadfast involvement in the scene, virtually everyone you meet has an anecdote about meeting Aaron. Cometbus, when at its best, which is most of the time these days, is a perennial reminder that if we just apply hundreds of thousands of hours to one solitary task across 36 years, we too could become a Great American Classic."