#youthindecline

[youthindecline]

ANNOUNCING THE FRONTIER 2019 ARTISTS: 

Frontier #19: Hannah Waldron

Frontier #20: Derek Yu

Frontier #21: Anatola Howard

Frontier #22: Tunde Adebimpe

You can subscribe RIGHT HERE on our site!  One discounted price (shipping including) gets you all 4 issues throughout the year.

[nervespike]

Youth in Decline‏ | collab t-shirt with meyoco

[gimmickbook]

Ako Castuera https://twitter.com/YouthinDecline/status/948332610568183808 my head is a place

[laurenrweinstein]

2 new Ignatz nominated mini-comics with @youthindecline at @spxcomics tomorrow

[wen---uuu]

It’s finally spring

@youthindecline

[donnerpartyofone]

my dear pal @_nicegold got me the most excellent autograph from @spideretc 's new RAV collection from @youthindecline !!! FEATURING ALL MY FAVORITE THINGS !!! #pazdelahuerta3D #leopardgecko #readinglizards

[youthindecline]

New comics from Small Press Expo 2017

It’s been a while since I did one of these, but wanted to get back into the habit of sharing my favorite books and new discoveries at cons. As most of you know, Youth in Decline took a hiatus for a lot of 2017 to welcome our daughter into the world.  SPX is a fitting “first show back” as the setting and vibe feels like a high school reunion, packed full of our favorite cartoonists, old friends, and longtime readers. Here is me doing brief, quick, hot(?) takes on most of the new books I grabbed at the show.

Sex Fantasy by Sophia Foster-Dimino.  Sophia’s one of the best contemporary cartoonists working, and this chunky tome collects her multi-year series of mins into one thoughtful book. You can see Sophia working out cartooning decisions over the course of each book, with dialogue / camera / perspective experiments everywhere. The final two chapters haven’t been seen before. Just an incredible, amazing book from Koyama Press.

New things from my alltime favorite cartoonist (hands down), Michael DeForge. A new mini called Loose in his series of sketchbooks, and a massive, oversized new story from Koyama Press called Placeholders. It’s hard to even talk about Michael’s work, it’s so good.  Michael is an incredible writer, and the drawings (where, let’s be real, he can basically draw any & everything) exist to support the writing.  Special shoutout to the early YD logo sketch that made it into Placeholders as an evil startup / corporation, haha 

Two fantastic minis from my SPX tablemate, the incredible Lauren Weinstein.  Both of these comics, Normel Person and Perfect Maine Vacation, were nominated for Ignatz Awards and show the incredible and personal power of Lauren’s cartooning. Perfect Maine Vacation is gutwrenching (in a sweet way that kills me as a new parent) and Normel Person is a hilarious ongoing journal of life in Trump’s Amerika.  Did you hear that Lauren is doing a new comic for Youth in Decline for Frontier next year?  Dude, I know!!!!! (so beyond excited).

Ethan Rilly released the 5th issue of his fantastic series Pope Hats.  Ethan’s sense of his own characters and the knack for small moments and relatable, too real dialogue between friends really shines here. Pope Hats is such a dense and well-appointed serial drama, I’m a huge fan.

Everywhere Disappeared by Patrick Kyle.  Patrick’s new collection of short stories from Koyama Press.  A lot of my favorites from the last few years made it into the book.  Patrick mixes familiar shapes with hyper-present narration that does this weird trick on your brain and unfolds weird contemporary paranoias and ennui. Patrick’s short comics are almost like little polemics, or allegories... upsetting but also hilarious.

I’m Not Here by GG.  Another debut from Koyama Press -- Annie had an unparalleled and unprecedented SPX lineup, I’ve never really seen anything ever before at a show, the r a w  p o w e r of her team.  GG debuts her first long-form narrative, a quiet, slow burn of a story about identity and navigating the transition from un-responsible young adult to the burden of your own parents’ failings (health, decision-making, etc). Very restrained, withholding, and poetic. 

Language Barrier by Hannah K. Lee.  I LOVE THE SHAPE OF THIS BOOK. Both like, literally its formal size (small!) and the flow and design of the book. Included in one tome are Hannah’s incredible type experiments, her comics, her illustrations, and her personal stories. This feels like a true monograph, showing me the many sides and numerous formats of expression from an incredible artist. I loved this book.

Baby Let’s Cruise and We’re Together Now by Jasjyot Singh Hans. I’ve been a fan of Jasjyot’s stuff for a while and following his work on Instagram -- these two minis really brought together a lot of interssting threads. Baby Let’s Cruise is the size & form of an iPhone 7 Plus, and captures the furtive feeling of messaging with someone you don’t know, and navigating the power dynamic anxiously.  We’re Together Now uses an arch-metaphor to capture the earnest passion & paranoiac worry of a long distance relationship.  I’m really excited about what Jasjyot is doing (and will do next). 

The Look Book by Jeremy Sorese. A colorful, exploding collection of imagined (and observed) fashion and bodies and cute men. Jeremy depicts people with a weighty, playful, totally wild eye.  I stared at each drawing for 5 minutes, digging into all the little details.  Really loving the illustration and play Jeremy is doing between his longer works, so exciting to daydream about these outfits.

Starfighter Vol. 4 by HamletMachine!~  100% NOT s FOR w, the latest volume of my friend HM’s ongoing space sex opera is now out. I absolutely love Hamlet’s depictions of bodies, of tension between people -- she has an incredible skill for composition and the gnarly beautiful dance of bodies interacting.  HM has cultivated an incredible fanbase stayed true to her vision and worldbuilding. <3

Daises by Bjorn Daniel Miner.  A short collection of comics by Bjorn, created, conceived of, and produced on Risograph as part of his residency at SVA’s Risolab. Each spread is full of wild textures and color experimentation, pushing the risograph to ends I didn’t think were really possible. Melts your eyeballs, very nice!

A Modest Upbringing by Amanda Castillo.  A touching short story about families (and their pain + baggage) from an exciting young talent. Printed on Youth in Decline’s risograph this past summer as part of an internship helping us out!  <3

Summer Wasting and Sunset Lover by Sunmi.  Two minis -- one huge, one small -- from our friend and former intern Sunmi.  Summer Wasting includes a number of observational comics, sketches & poems, and a really thoughtful book design with little asides bound directly into the body of the comic.  Really exciting watching her work change and mature over the past few years, and so excited about her new press, Dandelion Wine Collective.  <3

Kissing, Waves, and I Can Love You Better From Up Here by Rebecca Kirby (aka reweki).  I somehow wasn’t familiar with Rebecca’s work before this SPX, but was really taken with her composition and use of color.  Her panel structures and experimentation in Waves reminded me a bit of Jesse Balmer and other controlled psychedelic pieces, while the bodies in Kissing and ICLYBFUH both showed an extremely confident and fluid sense of bodies (and color). Kissing was extremely NSFW and rad, while her short musing about a lost pet made me tear up a little. Great work from a creator I’m now following closely.

Drag Race Lookbook by Sasha Velour. Okay, so I didn’t get this at Small Press Expo but it was waiting for me when I got home. A lovely and thoughtfully designed book from the one & only... Sasha Velour!  Such a great recap and reliving of her incredible looks from RPDR, and the commentary at the back is the sort of thing I live for...  Who doesn’t adore Sasha? I have sweet but embarrassing memories of our second-ever proper meeting hungover at MoCCA a few years back as tablemates...  such a vibrant and incredible creator!!! ah

The Spectacularly Sad Surreptitious Spinster Snake Sister: Survival Spellbook by April Malig and The Untitled Queen.  This was an absolutely incredible gift from April!!!!  Sasha superfans will recognize this mini as featured in Velour Magazine #3.  That issue smartly photographed and captured this feature as an object mini-within-a-magazine... and this is one of the rare actual copies April made just for Velour.  Incredible risograph work and color composition... and it’s a little piece of comics/drag history. <3 

The Veggie Team by Ginger Craghead. 9-year old cartoonist creates wild mini about the pranks and misadventures of a team of wild veggies.  What more can I say?  This was legit hilarious (See the 2nd panel on the right page above, hahaha).

Yes by Tom Herpich. Final book from around SPX, this is a new mini from Tom... not exactly a comic, but a short story about isolation and gratification. It was startling and lowkey, and the storybook illustrations showed Tom’s incredible sense of framing and pacing. I’m such a huge fan of Tom’s work, it’s exciting as a reader to see him working through new work in his post-Adventure Time life. Available via his Tumblr still (I think?)

[nervespike]

YouthinDecline | Frontier #18: Tiffany Ford

[enigma-von-obscurius]

My Frontier zine (14# Rebecca Sugar) from @youthindecline arrived! And I got two very neat postcards extra?! Nice👌

[comicartsbrooklyn]

Frontier 10 by Michael DeForge will debut at Comic Arts Brooklyn!

[seaweedsadface]

Frontier number 5. Sam Alden. 

Get one. worth it! 

[youthindecline]

Very excited to remind folks here... the FRONTIER 2018 SUBSCRIPTION offer is now available!  For one flat price (shipping included) you can get all FOUR issues of Frontier for 2018 delivered to your door :)

For this year, we have an incredible line-up of exciting creators:

Frontier #15: Tatsuro Kiuchi

Frontier #16: Ako Castuera

Frontier #17: Lauren Weinstein

Frontier #18: Tiffany Ford

For more details on each creator and the subscription options, please check out our store.

[rebekkadunlap]

@remoteryan is getting sassy and posted a teaser for the #YouthInDecline book we're working on together 〰〰 ✨🎶✨🎶✨OHOHOHOHO 💅🏻✨

[nervespike]

Witch Rayne‏ | YouthinDecline

[spideretc]

selling original pages from RAV 1st collection...$45 each.... let me know if there is a page u are interested in! some have already sold. all pages available, not just what is pictured. msg me or email michaelacolette at g mail