ONE ONE
SOWS EAR TWO
This is our second issue, but it is our first to reach much further than Anchorage. This is thanks to the Girdwood Art Institute and the Alaska State Council on the Arts. Thanks to Minuteman Press for printing our comic. They have been Wonderful. We have also launched our website, which should be getting updated pretty frequently starting after the new year. SOWS EAR is a collection of comics made by Alaskan artists. Some of the artists here would identify themselves as (among other things) cartoonists. Other contributors made their first (and possibly last) comics for this issue. Some of what follows is not a comic at all. Everything in this issue was made by Alaskan artists (whatever that really means). SOWS EAR: The title for this book is taken from an old saying: “like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” Meaning that whatever you are trying to do is impossible. It ends up that making silk from a sow’s ear is not actually impossible: “In 1921 the management of Arthur D. Little, Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., issued a small report describing the methods employed by the firm’s chemists to create “silk” from pork byproducts. The idea behind this surprising and not very practical experiment was to prove that something said to be impossible was, with sufficient effort and ingenuity, attainable. As the report notes, the old adage “you can’t make a silk purse of a sow’s ear” had been used for years to discourage inventiveness and enterprise. “We resolved... to prove that it was false, and we have done so. We have made a silk purse of a sow’s ear.’” -from On the Making of Silk Purses from Sows’ Ears. Read into this whatever you would like.
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Here is a bit of info about each contributor. It is listed alphabetically by artist. Each artists name can be found at the bottom of the first page of each piece. Samuel Bair Conclusion to The Adventures of Sport All American Hero. Written and illustrated in 2011 while serving a 3-month sentence for a misdemeanor. Originally printed in color (the drawings were made using a blue ballpoint pen), Sam donated all proceeds from the book to www.blackandpink.org. Mark Baum Mark is an Alaskan born visionary, nomad, poet and all around living work of art. The quote on the back cover came from his facebook feed. Michael Conti Mike’s drawings were taken from his curatorial notes from last years Process Alaska show. These drawings are simple and to the point.
Peter Dunlap-Shohl Peter worked for more than 25 years as the in house cartoonist for the Anchorage Daily News and is now working on, among many other things, a graphic novel dealing with the subject of Parkinson’s disease. Jonathan Lang “Bearded Jon” says “I eat paste” all the time. He has not actually eaten paste since his childhood. Chad Meyer Chad did the front and back cover, the add on the inside and a 2 page strip on the inside of the issue. Chad has started up a new webcomic at www. somethingclearly.com. It includes an archive of his earlier work from www.jeybork.com. Brian Payne Brian is the creator of what has come to be known as “Zinc Comics.” His contribution to this issue, “Cosmic Hamlet,” was inspired in part by his move to Homer, AK, a city that the late, Brother Asaiah, dubbed ‘’the Cosmic Hamlet by the Sea.’’ The strips are drawn in the classic Sunday comic style and serve as a perfect example of Payne’s “photo-primitive” art. To see more of his work, check out his website at www.zinccomics.com and/or the ZiNC COMICS Facebook page. Scott Pugh Scott is an artist in exile of mind, currently serving a life sentence as a material being in Anchorage, Alaska. He holds a dual LSD in psychology and physics and hopes to one day become an artist if he ever grows up. For additional testing material, he can be reached at photographer@scott-pugh.com or simply mind-beam him. Anna Raupp More Adventures of Shaman Pig! Enough said. Jimmy Riordan Jimmy’s new comic Giovanni debuts in this issue. Duke Russell Duke could be described as Anchorage’s painter laureate, though that would be an understatement. These Myth pages are the b/w under-paintings for a series of pieces he made for the Unalaskana show at the Bunnell Art center in Homer. THANKS. Thanks to all the contributing artists and retailers that have chosen to carry these comics. The third issue of SOWS EAR will hopefully be released in March, keeping up with our quarterly schedule.. Any one interested in submitting work to that, or any future issue should feel free to contact me at rr.sowsear@gmail.com or through our website. That goes for businesses that would like to carry copies of the comic, or individuals interested in purchasing issues. -J
IN A TIME WHEN BLOODTHIRSTY PIRATES SAILED FROM SEA TO SEA IN SEARCH OF BURRIED TREASURE AND PIRATE BOOTY. THERE LIVED...
h the world had ever seen.
Jimmy Riordan
and he was downright awful at being a pirate.
... and you won’t believe what he did.
giovanni was clumsy, shy and kind-hearted.
what
...and he gives the entire haul to one of those salvati army santas!
ok... so the rocinanti just got back from 3 months at sea with all this treasure. gold, rubies and the like...
oh... a hot buttered rum please. do you have whipped cream ?
you go.
so the crew decides enoug
hy go through treasure just to go and bur
can i get you another one?
k e ep the change.
um... no, thank you.
thanks mister. nothing ...sorry.
they say his parrot led the mutiny.
what you looking at
? TO BE CONTINUED...
Brian Payne
Jonathan Lang
THE ADVENTURES OF SHAMAN SHAMAN PIG Chapter Two: The origin of Shaman Pig
It was clear to Shaman Pig that there was only one place to go.
Back to the original Reflection.
Home to Mama. Anna Raupp
A simple home-cooked meal.
And the old bedroom, just as he remembered it.
letters, pictures, yearbooks – so full of young passion and energy. The person who later became Shaman Pig.
When material clues are not enough, sometimes one must go back to the source: Mamma Pig! Keren Lowell
I gave birth “toHoney, you on a tree stump during a lightning storm. And I knew from the start you were special!”
“You never cried, but would just wake every day at sunrise and wait till I woke to come feed you.”
“And the best way to get you to sleep was to sit in fresh hay and tell you stories about your father.”
“He was a brave pig, bless his heart, and had great adventures.”
“Your favorite stories were about your father planting wild cherry trees. He did this in whatever land he roamed.” “There is another story I haven’t told you...”
To be Continued... Continued...
Jonathan Lang
Michael Conti
Peter Dunlap-Shohl
Chad Meyer
Samuel Bair
Pughschach test:
a psychological test in which subjects’ perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then laughed at later. This miniature kit was developed to ensure that this priceless psychological tool is always with you ready to use on family, friends and suspicious strangers.
Instructions:
Handy for weeding out psychopaths you meet on the go! Simply cut out the squares above and safety pin them together in the order they appear on the page. Place them in a handcrafted paper box (instructions at www. rabbitrabbitpress.wordpress.com) and you too are a Pughschach analyst. To perform the test simply ask your subject to tell you what they see in the inkblots. With repeated use your life will be psycho free in no time!
Scott Pugh
she was at once annoyed with him, and entertained by the absurdity of his excitement, the silliness of his exclamations and gestures. part of her didn’t like absurdity, or at least particular types of absurdity, or perhaps she just didn’t want anything to do with that particular kind of absurdity at that particular time. yet, she could not help but both inwardly and outwardly smile, for a sizeable portion of her being’s core celebrated with manic, cackling glee at the stupidity of the whole human spectacle, including her life and that of everyone she knew, and the rest of her acquiesced to this, knowing that celebration, of any kind, for any sort of anything, was a virtue - and therefore celebrated this celebration, even if she could only cringe and grimace painfully towards the object of celebration.
_
Rabbit Rabbit Press, DECEMBER 2013
RR
$2.25 Suggested Price