Within the world of comicbooks there exist all sorts of designations, but perhaps the most often overlooked is that of mini comics. While admittedly Minicomics only occupy a very small segment of the marketplace, there are quite a number of creators and publishers who not only swear by them but actually prefer them over standard-size comics.
Traditionally, Minicomics have little or no editorial oversight, and the quality and content of the comics themselves tends to vary over a wide range. Most of them tend to be self-published, and the creators who produce them tend to do so out of a love for the medium itself. Further, many Minicomic creators do not expect to make any real money, or even cover their costs, with the sale of their comics. In fact, most of these creators see Minicomics as a way to sharpen their skills, or even as a way to get their work seen by an audience, prior to getting their work in the hands of a Small Press or Indie publisher. Others may simply wish to draw in the under-sized format for aesthetic reasons.
Some folks have observed that the rise in webcomics has heralded the imminent demise of Minicomics, even though this has yet proven to be the case, as there seems to be as many Minicomics produced today as in the past. These days, the term tends to indicate the handmade, informal aspect rather than the actual format. Hence, Minicomics can be either very simple or very elaborately produced.
The Minicomics produced by Jerry Goebert tend to be 4¼″x 5½″and eight to 16 pages in length, and sport titles like Quark Collection, Vampire Nurse, Hanna, Walrus Files, Mishap Collection, and of course Too Blue Comix (issue #3 of which featuring the first published work of superstar-in-waiting, one Roy Cutting). The content of these books range from general audience to adult. Some contain sequential stories, while others are a collection of single page illustrations, while still others combine text and illustrations. To be sure, some of the creators don’t quite seem to have a handle on the ultimate size of their products and tend to letter too small and light for ease of reading, while others understand this potential issue and compensate appropriately.
While all of Goebert’s Minicomics are printed on heavy, colored paper, and stapled together, some still choose to simply fold a piece of paper so it that opens like a book as their Minicomic. Finally, despite the name, size matters not at all. Even though many Minicomics are very small (some even smaller than Goebert’s), others are larger. Some feature covers made of the same paper as the drawings on the inside; others have elaborately produced or silk-screened covers. If you are interested in producing your own Minicomics, almost literally, anything you can do with pieces of paper to make them into a readable book, 10 copies run off your printer and trimmed with a paper cutter or 500 that you run off at the local copy center: they are both (given that they are smaller than “standard” comics” qualify as Minicomics.
Jerry Goebert
156 Howard Street
Pittsburg, PA 15235
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