A couple of years ago, Matt Levin sent me some mini-comics done entirely with rubber stamps. I liked the idea and the end product, and said so in an online column. Since then, almost every month a new mini-comic from Matt arrives. These minis are tiny in size and page count (8 pages), but they always brighten my day. Matt is relentlessly positive and many of his comics are in the form of a song or poem.
His last two (November and December 05) are "Music Comics." November's (You Know Who) is a reworked verison of an earlier comic devoted to his "sweet-heart's birthday."
December's issue, number #56 (In Disguise), has a neat visual trick where Matt uses an absurd figure, a giraffe, as a stand-in for the main character who appears in the end. Also in #56, he uses a mixture of black and white photography with the usual rubber stamps. Each issue ends with a key that shows each stamp used in the issue and where he ordered the stamp from. These stamps come from all over, and I can't even imagine the arsenal of rubber stamps that he has at his disposal.
As it says on the inside of one of his sampler mini-comics, "Rubberstamps make it possible for anyone to create great art. Mini-comics make it possible for everyone to share their works!” I hope Matt never stops making these comics, I find it comforting just knowing he's always out there creating these very individualistic mini-comics.
Matt puts out several of these comics per year, and has been printing them for over a decade. You can email him at walkingmancomics@comcast.net. Each issue is a buck, or you can get any four for $3.
Posts
1 comment:
Oh jeez--at first I thought you had written "Matt Lavin" who was a cellist I knew on the West Coast. I did a double take for a second!
Post a Comment