by Max Ink
I dedicate this collection to “The War of Art” & “The Absurdity of Writing Poetry”
Originally published in various mini comics and anthologies from 2004-2010 BLINK: So Far... ©2011 Max Ink All Rights Reserved
Published by ONWARDStudio 1645 Elmwood Ave. Apt C Columbus, Ohio 43212
Special S.P.A.C.E. 2011 Edition Printed in USA at Staples
www.MaxInkComix.com mail.max.ink@gmail.com www.facebook.com/max.ink
CONTENTS Foreword ...5 Autumn’s Playground ...7 Time and a Few Words ...13 A Brief, Hopeless Case ...17 Snow Day ... 27 Barefoot In America, Breakfast In The Park ... 33 Beatnik Picnik ...61 Space To Breathe ...69 A Spark's Desire Is An Ember's Deed ...75 Rain In The Evening, Rein In Our Mourning ...83 Creatorial ...91
FOREWORD I wish you peace, Max Ink. I wish you peace. And you too, dear reader. I'm going to brag for a moment and tell that you Mr. Ink is a dear, close friend of mine, and has been for more than seven years. (Seven's a lucky number, I'm sure Max will enjoy the significance in that. I do.) We met when my theatre company of the moment, BlueForms, was producing a play called A Lonely Crowd. It was, go figure, about loneliness, and the struggles of an ordinary person being extraordinarily contemplative in reckoning with her isolation. You'd be hard pressed to find a more strident and depressing night at the theatre. Yet, isolation is something Max knows a little bit about. He's cartoonist after all. It's also something I know a little bit about, hence the 90 minute play exploring the theme. So, if for no other reason (though we did have a deep, abiding, and shared loved for great comics with no superheroes in them) we hit it off. Max understands a little bit about loneliness, and isolation, and the terrible details of modern living and Max knows that you do, too. And Max wants you to know that you're not alone. I actually got to watch Max create a good bit of the comics in this book. We'd sit together at a coffee shop, or better yet... in his tiny, cramped apartment, stuffed to the gills with bristol board and volumes of art, comics and otherwise, listening to Miles Davis (mine) or the true heroes of the 1970's prog rock movement, Jon Anderson and Yes (his). And I would be writing some depressing sentences, or cutting and pasting words from other people's books into something resembling a manifesto, and Max would be sketching Blink, Sam, and Hank. Or sometimes laying out pages or even committing the final inking. Always, though, he'd be drawing out long, clarion lines that he brought into existence for one reason and one reason only: to share the reassuring serenity that Max sees - like no one else - in so many ordinary, unheralded people, places, and moments. Therefore, as you crack open this volume of delightful illustrations paired with hard-won contentedness, I wish you peace, dear reader. I wish you peace. And you too, Max. Matt Slaybaugh Columbus, Ohio Sunday, March 6, 2011 5
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CREATORIAL He said, “Don’t wait” So I reconsidered my procrastinator’s ways. He said, “You gotta work with what you got right now.” So I stopped wishing for a better future and started working for a better present. He said, “You gotta get started right now, even if you don’t know how.” So I put aside my fears (although they’re still here) and began walking upright with a straight spine and a smile, filled with the lightness of being, after years of crawling in the shadows among the countless other cowering wannabes, mulling about beneath the weight of perfection’s darkness. It was with good fortune (or possibly “good luck,” as he would say) that I met with my friend at Luck Brothers on that fateful Wednesday afternoon (oh, glorious Wednesday!*). After we filled each other in on what had gone on in our lives over the past few months since last we sat down together, he asked me this question: “If you knew you were going to die in a month, what art project would you create?” This book is the answer. My friend challenged me to move forward and grow and infused me with the inspiration and courage I needed. If not for him, this book might never have seen the light of day. So I went home and gathered the work I'd done over the past 7 years (the first page in this collection was created in 2004 and the most recent page was completed in 2011). I moved all the pages and pages of sequential art that has appeared in my mini-comics and a few OH, COMICS! anthologies and put them in-between two covers for the first time. I had dreamt about making my inaugural Blink collection a bit longer, thinking that including a few more chapters and sharing more of the characters' lives with the readers was the only way the book should be. But my friend convinced me to “work with what you got right now.” And so, my pie-in-the-sky collection has become a real-life book which you have now just finished reading. (Unless you read this Creatorial before you read the story, which is kinda weird, but that's okay. Weird is totally okay.) This collection is titled, “So Far,” in honor of the Crosby, Still, Nash & Young album of the same name (with the cover painted by Joni Mitchell). The “So Far” album collected CSNY’s “greatest hits,” but they had only released two albums over the previous 5 years; as such, “So Far” consisted of eleven studio tracks culled from a mere twenty-two. But the title of my collection is more than simply an homage. This book is the culmination of how far I’ve come since Blink popped into my sketchbook on April 10, 2003 and was first printed for a general reading public in 2004. However, I know this is just one more step in the life of Blink, and I have many many more steps to go. True, this collection isn’t that “perfect” book I had in mind, but I do not believe that “perfection” I had in mind shall ever be attainable in this reality. The book is here in the flesh, and it is good. For that, I am grateful. ~Max Ink Columbus, Ohio 2011.03.14
*For the sake of any non-comic book geek readers, Wednesday is “New Comics Day”
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Acknowledgements Dave Sim’s guiding light and splashing crashing sound effects, Will Eisner’s inky raindrops, Craig Thompson’s trees, Scott McCloud’s understanding and advocacy, Lynn Johnston’s Patterson clan, Bill Watterson’s snow goons and sled rides, Dan Piraro’s cowboys and pirates, Alex Robinson’s cool trick poison, Terry Moore’s (not-so) strange paradise, Trina Robbin's enriching encouragement, Paul Chadwick’s rockhard integrity, Bryan Lee O’Malley’s slacker pilgrim, Stan Sakai’s samurai bunny, Mark Oakley’s kingly thief, Jessica Abel’s soundtrack, Matt Madden’s 99 ways, Carla Speed McNeil’s path-finding way, John Porcellino’s kingly cats, Martin Wagner’s cats o’ hep, Alison Bechdel’s home o’ fun, Paige Braddock’s twirlin’ girls, Kiyohiko Azuma’s four-leaf wonder, Raina Telgemeier’s bracing smile, Sarah Oleksyk’s troubled leaf, Ian Shire’s barbaric buttons, Nik Dirga’s spectacularly sponginess, Bob Corby’s comfortable space (to breathe), Matt Feazell’s (lack of) cynicism, Sean Beiri’s zombies, Pam Bliss’ dogs & kids, Kevin Freeman’s cultured sub, Matt Dembicki’s invitation, Steve Peters’ friendly spark, Matt Slaybaugh's poetic inspiration, Shawn Schulte's zen laugh, Andrea McEnaney's “Sam-ness,” Canada Keck’s friendly fire & cooking, my fellow Sunday Comixers’ jamming quirks and qualities, my parents' “DIY” attitude, my Aunt Barb's sweetness, my children: Gigi, Ashley & Aaron-- for teaching me right, and to all my friends & readers’ applause.
This edition of -So Far- was printed in limited quantity especially for S.P.A.C.E. 2011
Blink is the story of three 20-something friends. The blond haired cartoonist lends the book her name. She is eternally hopeful and her cheerful manner is always quietly expressed. Sam is her best friend, quick to grumble in disbelief of the world around her, a definite Johnny Raincloud who hides an incredibly sweet heart. And there’s Hank, the would-be musician who claims to have never heard the Blues. The other “character” in the book is the setting where these friends live and breathe–Columbus, Ohio. The locations don’t intrude or overshadow the story but add to the over all texture. The nine stories contained herein offer a brief glimpse into what has happened in these characters’ lives “So Far.”
Blink is… “smart and reflective without being pretentious or intimidating or show-offy. I love the characters, and the mood behind it is so entertaining and yet calming. It’s like a refreshing adult beverage — relaxing, comfortable, and yet eye-opening in noticing the world from a new perspective. “ ~Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading “Max’s characters spend their time doing things like gazing at the stars and pining for the lost innocence of childhood. Not the kind of edgy stuff you might equate with most alt-comix, but a nice counterbalance to that sort of work. They’re like little stories to read when you’re in a foul mood and want a pick-me-up.” ~Martin Wagner, writer/artist “Blink is filled with beautiful art and gentle humor.” ~Trina Robbins, writer and comics historian
“Max Ink’s charming Blink is worth its weight in gold.” ~Rick Allen, The Other Paper
$15.00 (Special S.P.A.C.E. Edition) Published by