OFF LIFE 10 by OFF LIFE Comic

Inside indie publishing with koyama press joe list talks design and the uk scene plus comics from today’s most exciting artists

issue #10 • sep / oct 2014 • free

COMICS 2 — 27 KOYAMA PRESS 14 JOE LIST 24 YOU HAVE BEEN READING 28 — EDITOR Daniel Humphry @Daniel_Humphry DESIGN Steve Leard @SteveLeard COPY EDITOR Lucy Rice COVER ART Jean Jullien jeanjullien.com — OFFLIFE.CO.UK @OFFLIFE_COMIC

This is it. Here we are. The big number 10. Or at least that’s what people have been saying to us the last couple months. They ask which issue is out next, we say 10, and they make an oooooh face like their mouth is moonlighting as a bum hole impersonator. We’ve been asked ‘what next after the tenth issue?’ and honestly, we’re not sure. Is ‘10’ even an anniversary that needs to be acknowledged? I bet Ron Jeremy doesn’t ask for special high fives after wrapping his tenth greasy movie of the day. He probably does another just for kicks. There’s never been much of a long term plan here at OFF LIFE. We started with the ambition of showcasing emerging artists and taking the comic medium to a new readership – and that’s pretty much all we plan to carry on doing. Sure that might mean more events, us finally launching the talent matchmaking service and what not – but we’ll still be here, sending comics out into the ether. What that means is that, really, we’ve just gone ahead and planned out this issue of OFF LIFE as if it were any other. That method seems to have worked pretty well though, as this is arguably our most stacked artist line up to date, including Dan Berry, John Cei Douglas and office favourite Kristyna Baczynski. Well, that’s enough from me. Enjoy the comics. We’ll be here next time, looking pretty much the same. Daniel Humphry

Editor

Inside Indie Publishing with

koyama press

Indie comics. Indie publishers. For terms that are used almost ubiquitously in our industry, few people agree on their meaning. What exactly constitutes something as indie? Is it an aesthetic, an attitude, a business model? Hell, we’ve had it on our cover for nine issues and still can’t nail it down. So we decided to ask Annie Koyama, founder of of Koyama Press, a Toronto publisher that has been building an enviable reputation as one of the most exciting companies putting ink on paper.

What led you to start a publishing company? Was there a definite goal you wanted to achieve?

I began publishing by accident, actually. After deciding to find some local emerging artists and to fund a project with them from which they could make some money, I got together with Clayton Hanmer, Aaron Leighton and Steve Wilson who make up Trio Magnus. I loved their group doodles and suggested we make a book. I liked Christopher Hutsul’s prints and loved a comic that he’d done and financed the printing of that comic. After that, I wanted to make more books and introduce new artists to a larger readership. That became my initial goal: to introduce good work from unknown artists to the world.

Could you introduce Koyama Press to our readers?

Koyama Press was founded in 2007 after a health crisis inspired me to pursue my interests in books and art, particularly books and art by emerging artists. As a former producer of documentaries, feature films and commercials, I had no prior experience in publishing. What I did have was a passion for the artists I was encountering in Toronto and beyond, and believed deserved a wider audience and support. I founded Koyama Press with this in mind. The press is known for its alternative edge and diverse range of titles that include a myriad of genres from autobiography to photography, horror to humour, and more.

The idea of what constitutes an independent publisher is pretty blurred. What is it – or is it not – to you?

I think it’s a publisher, often a small press, that is independently owned and operated. Our runs are not huge compared to large presses but we fill niches that large presses do not. We have more freedom in what we publish as the monetary risk is less than within a large corporation.

Is it important for you that Koyama Press remains

Both independents and majors are publishing

an independent?

fairly left field work at the moment. Who has the

I can’t imagine it any other way. I prefer to run my own show.

edge, the little guys or the big guys?

I honestly think that we are all working to get new work out there. Larger firms with more established artists will probably always garner more of the attention because their artists may be more familiar to readers, but there is clearly a thirst for different and, for lack of a better word, edgier work.

It seems that Koyama Press has built a pretty loyal readership. Is that difficult to do without a major publishing company behind you?

Not if you make good choices about who you publish and if you are prepared to do the endless work to promote the books, projects, artists, and the press. You have to devote a lot of time online to spread the word and, when you have limited resources, be judicious about where you pay to advertise.

What’s next for Koyama Press?

A very interesting fall line up starting with Renee French’s new book Baby Bjornstrand, Michael DeForge’s Lose #6, Patrick Kyle’s Distance Mover collection and Walter Scott’s art world skewering comic, Wendy. In addition, we have two kids comics – A Cat Named Tim & Other Stories by John Martz and Cat Dad, King of the Goblins by Britt Wilson.

Do you think the artists you publish define you as a publisher?

I think it’s a symbiotic relationship. Each artist as an individual makes up part of the catalogue which then defines the publisher.

check out more about koyama press at

koyamapress.com

joe list After featuring Joe List in about every other issue of OFF LIFE, it should be no surprise that his blend of bubblegum visuals and dark narrative are an absolute favourite of ours. Whether it’s his collection of disturbing characters in Freak Leap or his penchant for adding them to the Guardian’s Weekender magazine, his unique style is unmistakable. We caught up with the good man to see what makes him tick…

annotating the guardian weekender has become a popular series for you. How did it start?

I was on a train one time, with a pen, Saturday’s Guardian, but no sketchbook. So I drew in the supplement with the best paper for drawing on, which was, and is the Weekend magazine. I kept doing it because it seems like a good way of challenging myself to draw around objects and in situations I hadn’t chosen. It became a little challenge, with a weekly deadline.

Hi Joe, how are you? Have we interrupted you from drawing?

Has it taught you anything about magazine design

No, I’m on a train. I was arm-wrestling the guy opposite. Actually I appreciate the interview as it means I can take a break from the feats of strength.

and have they ever gotten in touch?

I’m a graphic designer, so I do look at the magazine and think about its design, I suppose I do take particular care in looking at the use of white space, which is essential to annotating. If it’s an issue filled with dark imagery and full bleed colour it makes it quite difficult. Early on I got a few emails and tweets from people who worked there, one in particular was Becky Barnicoat, who draws comics too. You should check out her work if you don’t know it.

Freak Leap, your series of short comics, is about as surreal as any comic being created today. Where do your stories come from?

Mostly from my sketchbook, but sometimes I write things down on scraps of paper that I have on my desk, or pockets. Occasionally, I’ll be writing a tweet and then think it’s good enough for a comic, so I’ll copy the text and email it to myself. But I suppose that’s an answer to the question ‘where do you store your stories?’ I have no idea where stories come from. At a guess I’d say ‘Germany’.

UK comics seem to be coming into a golden era, especially indie and small press style work. How is it to be an artist in the industry at this time?

It’s nice, I’ve made a lot of friends. It’s good to have the internet and be able to draw a thing then immediately force it into people’s faces and ask for them to like it by pushing a like button. That’s official then.

Your style reminds us of a late-90s Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. Is that era/medium a conscious inspiration?

Yeah, when I draw my comics I think of them as cartoons, with voices and movement and gross close-ups. As a kid I’d watch as many cartoons as I could. All of them, even really dull ones like Maxie’s World. It’s hard to imagine struggling to watch cartoons these days, but back when there were only four or five channels I’d find myself sitting through anything, no matter how poor quality. So yes, cartoons have always been important to me, but maybe not from a specific point in time. Just the good ones, like Ren & Stimpy, Sam & Max: Freelance Police, Samurai Jack and The Miss-adventures of Flapjack.

Have you noticed a change at UK comic festivals?

From a non-artist perspective they seem to be growing. Thought Bubble is my favourite and I don’t see that changing any time soon. It gets the mix right. Plenty of indie, plenty of Strength Heroes and Mangas. It seems pretty reflective of the current taste in comics. Other shows that I’ve been to tend to specialise or reflect the tastes of the organisers, which is fine, but I think Thought Bubble does a tricky thing well. And I’ll be back there in November, as well as at The Lakes in October, which I’ve not been to before. joelist.co.uk

— you have been reading —

Dave Biskup remnant @DavidBoring90 Page 2

Jean Michel Tixier Untitled jmtixier.com Page 21

Josh Hicks Club @_J_Hicks_ Page 4

joe decie These Cans @joedecie Page 22

Amy Pearson lucky @biskyns Page 9

Disa Wallander Pressing @hmmgrr Page 23

Kristyna Baczynski Scratcher @kbaczynski Page 12

Peter Cline Thinking is Working @ottopressUK Page 25

Dan Berry Pirates & Prospectors @thingsbydan Page 16

John Cei Douglas Tick Tock @shotformeat Page 26

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