Full Velocity Distro

 I always carry 5 copies of RS#8 with me just in case I come across a distribution opportunity. You never know when you might stumble on a comics/book/record shop that carries small press comix. When I am traveling I also research places to check out, with the added bonus of leading me to cool places and people and sometimes, a new home for my stuff. VELOCITY COMICS is one such place and is a fabulous (not just saying that because they now carry RS, I thought that a long time ago) comic book store in Richmond, Virginia that has been on my list of places to check out as I had bought small press stuff there before, particularly BUBBLES Magazine, so I figured I might have a receptive audience. I found that Patrick, the owner, is an enthusiastic supporter of small press/indie/underground comics and was happy to take a minute to look through my comix and quickly agreed to take five copies wholesale. VELOCITY COMICS is my second North American distro point behind Thomas Campbell’s THE COMICS BLOGGER, which is primarily online, but Thomas also has been tabling at various comix/zines shows too. I am pursuing other venues, like the legendary QUIMBY’S in Chicago, which has an open submission policy and ATOMIC COMICS in Baltimore, Maryland, so fingers crossed. I’m always on the look-out for more, so if you have a shop or know of one looking for comix/zines, then drop me a line. hello@weaverwerx.com

After some early, awkward attempts at approaching shops to carry RS, I have developed an approach that has helped me save my and the owners’ time. I literally “case the joint”, walk in as a customer, and survey the wares, particularly checking out the small press offerings, if there are any, before I bring up RS. I do some browsing and observe how the staff interacts, are they friendly and helpful? I had one experience in a comic shop in Edinburgh, Scotland were the shop owner was so hilariously rude, not only did I not bring up my comix, but I put things down that I had intended on buying. I would have been embarrassed to have my work in such an unfriendly place. Thankfully, that is the rare exception and the vast majority of shop owners are well-socialized and a pleasure to work with. Sometimes a shop doesn’t carry any small press stuff, or it’s strictly classic superhero stuff, which I have no problem with, but I understand that my little, weird, black & white comix is not a good fit for their place and move on. Besides comic book shops, don’t forget to check indie book or record stores and art centers/co-ops, as they may be more receptive to your work if it’s not mainstream. Back to the process, my browsing always yields a few items to buy; I am also a fan after all, so after completing the purchase and a bit of chit chat, I’ll bring out my comix and inquiry if they would like to take some. A bit of advice, if it’s a busy day in the shop and you have a line behind you of waiting customers while you’re trying to chat-up the owner, be patient, step aside and let them make those sales. Shop owners are in hand-to-hand combat with Amazon/Barnes & Noble every day and need to make hay when the sun is shining. If the shop owner takes on your publication, congratulations! Take an online bow on the socials and do your best to promote that shop and point potential readers/buyers to the real world location where they can actually hold a copy of your work in their hands.

Here is the official RELUCTANT SADIST Distro List of places around the world (well, Europe and North America) where you can buy a copy of RS#8. If you are ever in Richmond, Helsinki, Athens or Riga; pay those lovely places a visit and support those shops!

OK HW

It's Alive!

 

RELUCTANT SADIST #8 has gone out into the world and is finding it's way onto a podcast and mentions on various blogs and websites. Here's the latest roundup!

Tony Osmond on "The Awesome Comics Podcast" reviewed it on episode #453 (This Podcast is Going Silent!) and was generous with his enthusiasm. Check it out for yourself; the review starts at the (01:38:40) mark. The ACP guys also were kind enough to list RS#8 on the Recommends page of the podcast's website.

Gary Usher over at the fine Comics, Comix and Zine News Blog, "Trigger Warnings" posted a notice about RS#8's release back in February - New Alternative and Small Press Comix Arrivals (February Week 4)

Rick Bradford over at the mighty Poopsheet Foundation, a massive comic zine database archive, added RS#8, so now has a complete RS collection!

And last, but not least, the indefatigable Thomas Campbell of The Comics Blogger, posted about RS#8 on his Instagram account to announce "Now in Stock!". Thomas is my USA distributor, so check out his store (cheaper postage if you're in the US then I can do).

If you are a creative person making a thing, keep sending out review copies or links to anyone and everyone you can, and don't forget to share, comment and like what other folks are doing. That's the best way we can build some community.

Keep smiling,

OK HW

Distributed Here, There and Everywhere

RS has a new distributor! This one is in North Carolina in the good old US of A, The Comics Blogger, a review blog, zine and shop run by Thomas Campbell. Here’s the link,

https://www.comicsblogger.net/product/reluctant-sadist-8

It’s super handy to have a US distro point as the postage will be much less for US folks, then me shipping it all the way from Latvia. Also, Thomas has been tabling at shows, so I’m hoping he sometimes will include RS in the mix.

This distro is in addition to the ones I have here in Riga, Latvia (Bolderaja Art Bar and Down Street Records and Athens, Greece (Jemma Comics – RS#8). I’m always open to new options, so any and all suggestions appreciated!

It’s no point letting those extra copies gather dust in a box! It’s important to get them out there into the world and I appreciate the people and shops that have support my comix by stocking them.

OK HW

In the Stacks

         

I don’t recall when and where I learned that some copies of RELUCTANT SADIST had made their way into a university’s library archive, maybe it was back in the 1990s, but I felt surprised and even a bit of pride. Back in the 1980s, when I was first creating my comix, it was part of an “underground” scene and not generally accepted by mainstream or academic culture. I’m not an academic, don’t have a formal four year degree, so I don’t think about how culture is studied on that level. There has been a sea change in how popular and underground culture is now being appreciated and researched in colleges and universities. It’s easy for big movies, books, comics to be added to a collection, but how does some hand-made, self-published comix or zine get noticed and acquired? And why does it matter?

I’ll attempt to answer the second question first. Having your comix or zine, included in a university library will make it easier for it to be potentially studied and referenced as part of a research paper that is reflecting on our culture as a whole. Researchers see how individual comix/books/movies/music fit in and connect to other works of art in other eras and cultures. They try to understand trends and movements of where our society has been and where it might be going. Archiving materials preserves them in their original form as that provides information as well. So, if your comix is part of one of those collections, it means that a tiny part of your creative history will survive you past when you are gone. Maybe it’s a bit of an ego trip, but that appeals to me. I’m also curious to know how the work I did in the 1980s fits into the big picture.

How does a university library or archive notice and acquire materials? I don’t know the formal process and I’m sure it is different from one institution to another, so I’ll stick to relaying my own case. There were two courses of entry that my comix have taken to an academic archive; donated in as part of a private collection and direct donation. Currently, I know of three American Universities that have copies of RS (from the original 1980s run) in their collections; Iowa State University, Michigan State University, and Washington State University (detailed information and links below). I spent some time surfing the web and checking out many other collections, and found this useful list of “Zine Libraries” on the Barnard College website incase you want to get started looking to see if your own work is collected.

The second way my work has been acquired by these academic libraries has been through direct donation. I have reached out to these three universities and offered to donate a copy of RS #8 and two out of the three accepted. The third is in the process of moving their entire collection in a new building and have halted all donations for a couple of years. I’m open to donating to other academic libraries and archives, so if you know of one, or work for one, please contact me.

Now, if any professional archivist or librarian happens to read this post and would like to add to it or correct any information I’m presenting; please do. I’m just accounting for my experience and don’t want to misrepresent anything.

Here are the universities that have Reluctant Sadist in their collections:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Iowa State University
Special Collections Department
MS 636
Underground Comix Collection, 1947-2007
https://findingaids.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/manuscripts/MS636.html

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Michigan State University Libraries
Special Collections Division
Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection

“Relkin” to “Relvas”
https://comics.lib.msu.edu/rri/rrri/relk.htm

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections
Lynn R. Hansen Underground Comics Collection

http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu/masc/finders/sc003_2.htm

Keep smiling,
OK HW

RS#8 Update – Wild in the World

 
It’s been 35 years since I last put out an issue of RELUCTANT SADIST. The world is a very different place since 1989, I don’t have to tell you. Between the internet and social media alone, it’s a weird new world. I chose to continue with producing a print version of the comix as I was doing before; same size, digest-size, a folded sheet of letter or A4 size paper because I want to hold something, other than a smartphone, in my hands. A physical object, particularly a book creates a space in reality that digital never will. I like the idea that these zines could be around for centuries, traveling around from one person to another or forgotten in a box only to be discovered some decades later. I can’t fall into a story told digitally like I can when it’s printed on a paper. There’s no touch or smell, no familiar smudge or corner torn or folded like a printed copy provides. The physical is just more, well, real, so it was worth the effort and cost to have the comix properly printed.

I had 300 copies printed, which seems like a lot, but I’ve already found good homes for 40 of those, so I don’t think it’ll be long before I’m doing a second print run.

To celebrate the arrival of this new issue of RELUCTANT SADIST, I held an unveiling party, which will be detailed in another post soon. It was a fine and wild moment and there is plenty of photographic and video evidence to share.

You can order copies of RS#8 directly from me through my shop, or if you are in Riga, Latvia you can find it stocked at Bolderaja Art Bar and at Down Street Records. If you happen to find yourself in Athens, Greece, get yourself over to Jemma Comics and Press where you can find RS#8 stocked with the large selection of small press comics or even order through their website. I’m working on getting distribution in the USA and the UK, so stay tuned!

OK HW