June 6th, 2013
Sometimes a new project will just sneak up on you. We're a comic book publisher, and a tiny one at that. We never had any ambition to branch out into the world of fine art prints, but over the years we've learned that the best projects are the ones created just because you wanted to see them exist. And that's what happened with our new venture PANGS.
Over the last few year, writer and artist MK Reed has been putting together her version of the Irish legend Tain Bo Cuailnge, a sprawling epic of an ancient civil war brought on by a fight over a single stolen cow. Full of Game of Thrones style intrigue and backstabbing, it also features Reed's unique sense of humor and love for the absurd in human nature. She's been writing and drawing most of it herself and serializing it online at AboutABull.com. Sometimes to tell some of the side stories and fill in world building gaps, she brings in guest artists like Hilary Florido, Matt Wiegle, and Farel Dalrymple to draw from her exhaustively researched scripts. It was Farel's story that caught our eye when he showed us his amazing watercolored originals. They looked more like something that should be framed on a museum wall than quickly read on someone's smart phone. So we thought, "why not?"
Now PANGS is a set of seven fine art prints (six story pages and an oversized insert) sold in comic book style poly bag. They look NICE! This is definitely one of the more handsome projects we've ever put together. Clear off some space on your living room wall, you're going to want this!
And if you like the sound of MK Reed and Farel Dalrymple collaborating, stay tuned, we're working on an even more ambitious project with them for near future. It's a secret for now, but trust us, it's pretty cool.
Also we'll be working with big NYC publishers First Second Books this fall for the release of a 192 page graphic novel called THE CUTE GIRL NETWORK. It's a book that's close to our hearts, so keep an eye out of it. More on that soon.
March 13th, 2013
This is actually our sixth year year doing a comic for Free Comic Book Day, but this is the first time we've tried to turn it in to an actual series. Really, we just liked the title Runner Runner (a poker term for needing two lucky cards in a row) and we decided to reuse it. That was before we heard about this movie. Dang it! Oh well, maybe it'll flop.
This year's RR features a cover story by MK Reed, GMeans, Joe Flood that is a preview for their new graphic novel THE CUTE GIRL NETWORK, that is a coming out this Fall. It's a charming romantic comedy about being true to yourself and not letting other tell you what to do or who to love. The main character is a female skateboarder named Jane and you'll be hearing more about her in coming months. She's pretty cool.
The rest of the issue is rather good too.
Also thanks to everyone who passed along their congratulations and condolences on the closing of Papercutter. It was really nice to hear that people got a lot of enjoyment out of that series. Hopefully, the new Runner Runner will help ease the loss. Check back here for a list of participating store that will be carrying it for FCBD.
January 1st, 2013
For the last seven years, Papercutter has been our flagship title here at Tugboat Press. It's been a joy to work on and we're proud of every issue. But like all good things, it couldn't last forever and now it's time to move onto new projects. So issue seventeen will be the last issue of Papercutter. Thanks to all the artists who lent their talents to the anthology. We had some amazing people do amazing work for us, and it was honor to publish it. Extra big thanks to Nate Beaty who drew the endpages for every issue, put together this website, and provided much needed advice and friendship. I can't even imagine Papercutter without him.
Thanks also to all the readers who bought issues or borrowed them from a friend or got them from the library. Hearing readers tell us that they discovered a new favorite cartoonist from Papercutter is the best feeling in world.
The back issues that are still in print will remain for sale on the site through our retail partners and at show from us in person. As issues fall out of print, we will remove them our list of titles. This will hopefully keep this site clean and easy to use.
Tugboat Press will soldier on. We have a new issue of Runner Runner in the works for Free Comic Book Day and several books and zine coming soon as well. We hope to be a part of this crazy comic book world for quite a while to come. We look forward to seeing you around. Happy 2013!
September 27th, 2012
The new issue of the Invincible Summer/Clutch split zine is here! This year we went with an orange colored ink that was quickly dubbed "cremesicle" by our friend Drew. We love it! This year's zine was interesting because both Clutch and Nicole discuss working on their upcoming graphic novels. Nicole's book is called CALLING DR LAURA and is due out in January 2013. It looks incredible. Keep up on all the news at Nicole's blog here or go ahead and pre-order the book from Amazon. You won't regret it.
Our book YES, LET'S has gone out of print but luckily it's coming back next year as a hardcover from Tanglewood Books! Congratulations to Galen Longstreth and Maris Wicks for their continued success with this wonderful little project. If you haven't picked it up already, be sure to order the new edition. It's a charmer.
We're working on a new free comic for next year's Free Comic Book Day and have a couple of graphic novels in the works for 2013 and beyond. It's might seem slower here on the Tugboat Press website, but behind the scenes it's as busy as ever.
March 26th, 2012
For the last five years, Tugboat Press has produced a free comic to give out on Free Comic Book Day (unofficially) and at the various conventions we attend throughout the year. This year's FCBD book is called Runner Runner and is crammed full of over two dozen stories in just 32 pages. The idea was to make the densest, most satisfying read possible. Comics are notorious for being quick reads. We hope that you'll have to settle into your comfy chair for this book (some pages have over fifty panels).
Runner Runner also marks the return of legendary Portland cartoonist Kalah Allen providing the cover art and the featured front story. It's been a long time dream to get to work with Kalah. Her minicomic Jar of Pennies is a subtle masterpiece that still holds up a decade after its first publication. Though single motherhood has pushed her into semi-retirement, hopefully this will be the start of a comic book renaissance for the talented Ms. Allen.
For the curious, here is a complete list of the amazing artists in Runner Runner in order of appearance in the book: Kalah Allen, Jesse Reklaw, MK Reed, Rich Tommaso, Drew Weing, Aron Nels Steinke, Rina Ayuyang, Galen Longstreth, Aaron Renier, Julia Gfrorer, Jonathan Hill, Joey Sayers, Matt Wiegle, Corinne Mucha, Andy Hartzell, Jason Martin, Minty Lewis, Damien Jay, Tessa Brunton, Elijah Brubaker, Robin Enrico, Nate Beaty, Lisa Rosalle Eisenberg, Alec Longstreth, Kazimir Strzepek, and Lilli Carre. Wow!
Our flagship title Papercutter is going on hiatus for the year but we have several excited projects in the works. Stay tuned.
