Hand Job: A Labor of Love
By The Adventure School for Ladies
Published by Pressing Concern Books

October Spud Pick

Hand Job: A Labour of Love is an anthology of comics inspired by statistics on the depiction of women and transgendered people in comics and their presence as creators. This anthology was created through the Adventure School for Ladies, an experimental grad program founded by activist and writer Anne Elizabeth Moore that explores gender, cultural production, political engagement, and social divisions. Hand Job: A Labour of Love was written and published in 2012 during a two-week collaborative comics intensive within the Adventure School. The cover of this anthology was printed here at Spudnik as a part of this program!

The short comics presented in this book explore the difficulties of being a woman or transgendered artist in a variety of ways, from personal narratives to accounts of historical events. The stories told are at times funny, sad and informative. For those who feel frustrated by the male domination of the art world, especially in comics, this book will offer a sympathetic voice, as well as some illuminating thoughts on gender, politics and culture!

You can find Hand Job: A Labor of Love in the Small Press Library in the Annex.

Equivalents
by Kyle Schlie
Published by Healthy Mgmt.

April Spud Pick

With spring making its way back into Chicago, lets celebrate with Kyle Schlie’s Equivalents, published by Healthy Mgmt. The only text throughout the book is the numbered labels below each figure.

These figures may remind us of Chicago in the spring: mostly black shapes crowd around a small hint of green. The green space both interrupts and fits within the large black shapes, just as, somehow, grass makes its place among the concrete of the city.

Schlie’s introductory figures are rigid, rectangular, and seem to imitate sidewalks or brick walls. As the story progresses, though, these forms deconstruct into curves or disconnected pieces. In some figures the green shape grows to dominate the overall formation, yet by the end, green and black reach equivalent size. The green never quite retains its dominance, but it also never forfeits its position among the black shapes.

The same can be said of a Chicago spring. It may struggle in its scale and impact on the city overall, but once it takes hold it will stubbornly persist, adding color and variety to winter’s monotony.
You can find Equivalents in the Small Press Library in the Annex.

Three Very Small Comics, Vol. III
by Tom Gauld
Published by Cabanon Press

March Spud Pick

March’s Spud Pick is Tiny Book “Three Very Small Comics Vol. III” by Tom Gauld. Published by Cabanon Press in 2007, this small envelope of tiny comics is a delight. The comics are “The Art of War,” “Gardening,” and “The Gauld Collection, Case W (misc).”

The variety and size of Gauld’s three comics are whimsical, but the stories keep the volume from losing all nuance. Both “Gardening” and “The Art of War” are tongue-in-cheek observations on the follies of human behavior. The characters are oblivious to their own ignorance, but the irony is on full display for the reader. Then, “The Gauld Collection” turns out to be a light-hearted examination of mortality: the author has drawn a strange collection of artifacts beginning with “W.” The objects would be comedic if it wasn’t for the realization that possessions are usually archived after the possessor’s death.

These “Three Very Small Comics” prove that being small doesn’t always mean small-minded. To explore the whole Tiny Books collection, come to the Small Press Library at the Annex!

Love is a Certain Kind of Flower
by Stephanie Brooks
Published by Green Lantern Press

February Spud Pick

This month Spud Picks return with Love is a Certain Kind of Flower by Stephanie Brooks, published by Chicago’s Green Lantern Press. Brooks has put together a series of lists about Love and all its variants. Brooks’ unpunctuated, serial style devoids love of its unique romance, and the small poems become more like compilations. Brooks reveals that Love is variable; as she provocatively asks on the back cover, “When is love like one thing, when is it like something else, and why?” 

For love story cynics, this is a welcome relief to the hyper-affectionate genre. Brooks’ lists conform all of love’s meanings to manufactured expressions. Yet, romantics need not despair. Part of the ingenuity is that the reader can sift through the lists to find their own. The reader searches for its name in “Love is a proper noun” or can relate to the feelings described in “Love is moody.”

Come read Love is a Certain Kind of Flower yourself at the Small Press Library in the Annex!

Moving Blanket
By Kostas Anagnopoulos
Published by Ugly Duckling Presse

August Spud Pick by Veronica Siehl, Spudnik Studio Manager

“Shifting between poetry and prose, Moving Blanket by Kostas Anagnopoulos explores everyday moments. His prose stretches out mundane observations placing them in a realm that is based neither in reality or fantasy. This elegant book is nice to hold and easy to get lost in. The weaving of poetry with prose engages the reader and contributes to the sense that we are catching glimpses of dreams, conscious thought and collective feelings. Ugly Duckling Presse has fulfilled their aim of “calling attention to the labor and history of bookmaking” by publishing not only an engrossing read but a beautiful object.”

Spud Pick books can be found in the Small Press Library in the Annex

Nox
By Ron Silliman
Published by Burning Deck Press

August Spud Pick by Hannah King, Spudnik Volunteer

“Nox by Ron Silliman, letterpress printed and designed by Rosmarie Waldrop of Burning Deck Press, is an incredible example of design and words working together to enhance meaning. Simple lines divide the text on each page encouraging a fluid reading experience – the single words of Silliman can be endlessly rearranged to create new content and interpretations. Rosmarie Waldrop’s skill as a printer and understanding of the ways in which the vessel delivering the text can enhance the reader’s experience are clearly evident in this elegant and interesting book. ”

Spud Pick books can be found in the Small Press Library in the Annex

The Heads
By Justin Sirois
Published by Newlight Press

August Spud Pick by Angee Lennard, Founder and Executive Director of Spudnik

“The Head epitomizes Spudnik’s mentality: The physicality and presentation of the text add meaning and evokes curiosity. The green cover is not colored stock but white paper inked solidly! Close inspection reveals an embossed title on front and secret stanza on back. This attention to form continues through the book with hand-sewn signatures and copious letterpress embellishments.  This quality of production is standard for Aaron Cohick and Newlights Press, a publisher worth following religiously.

For the writing, Sirois’ poetry is slightly surreal. It instigates spin-off narratives but doesn’t assume importance. The Head is a delightful read that makes me curious about his novels.

The Newlights Press Blog boasts many more publications that combine amazing literary talent with incredibly high production quality, usually including letterpress.

Justin Sirois has many other published works that look equally as interesting and perhaps heavier subject matter, like Falcons on the Floor that looks at the battle of Fallujah seen on the ground by Iraqis, and So Say the Waiters, a series of books about a software developer who has created kidnap, a social network that allows people to kidnap each other for fun.”

Spud Pick books can be found in the Small Press Library in the Annex