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Fast Fiction
''Fast Fiction'' was a market stall, magazine, mail order distributor and news sheet that played a key role in the history of British small press comics. It existed in its various forms from 1981 through to 1990 under the stewardship of Paul Gravett, Phil Elliott and Ed Pinsent. The name was taken from a ''Classics Illustrated'' knock-off spotted in the ''Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide''. History Paul Gravett started the ''Fast Fiction'' stall at the bimonthly Westminster Comics Mart in London, England, in 1981, selling imported European comics, or bande dessinée. Having discovered that interesting new comics were being published in short-run photocopy form he contacted the creators and offered to sell their comics on his stall and through mail order. Initially, this was done for free with a small percentage cut being introduced later. The ''Fast Fiction'' stall became the de facto social centre for small press publishers along with the adjoining pub, The Westminster Arms. Ca ...
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British Small Press Comics
British small press comics, once known as stripzines, are comic books self-published by amateur cartoonists and comic book creators, usually in short print runs, in the UK. They're comparable to similar movements internationally, such as American minicomics and Japanese doujinshi. A "small press comic" is essentially a zine composed predominantly of comic strips. The term emerged in the early 1980s to distinguish them from zines ''about'' comics. Notable artists who have had their start in British small press comics include Eddie Campbell, Paul Grist, Rian Hughes, Jamie Hewlett, Alan Martin, Philip Bond and Andi Watson. Small press comics are traditionally sold by mail, using reviews and classified adverts, websites, email lists and word of mouth to reach an audience. There is usually one or more mail order service, commonly known as a "distro", operating in the UK. These will hold a wide range of titles and take a cut of the cover price. The two main active distros are Samu and ...
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Photocopy
A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers use a technology called ''xerography'', a dry process that uses electrostatic charges on a light-sensitive photoreceptor to first attract and then transfer toner particles (a powder) onto paper in the form of an image. The toner is then fused onto the paper using heat, pressure, or a combination of both. Copiers can also use other technologies, such as inkjet, but xerography is standard for office copying. Commercial xerographic office photocopying was introduced by Xerox in 1959, and it gradually replaced copies made by Verifax, Photostat, carbon paper, mimeograph machines, and other duplicating machines. Photocopying is widely used in the business, education, and government sectors. While there have been predictions that photocopiers ...
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British Comics
A British comic is a periodical published in the United Kingdom that contains comic strips. It is generally referred to as a comic or a comic magazine, and historically as a comic paper. British comics are usually Comics anthology, comics anthologies which are typically aimed at children, and are published weekly, although some are also published on a fortnightly or monthly schedule. The two most popular British comic book, comics, ''The Beano'' and ''The Dandy'', were released by DC Thomson in the 1930s. By 1950 the weekly circulation of both reached two million.Armstrong, Stephen"Was Pixar's Inside Out inspired by The Beano?"''The Telegraph''. 27 July 2015 Explaining the enormous popularity of comics in British popular culture during this period, Anita O’Brien, director curator at London's Cartoon Museum, states: "When comics like ''The Beano'' and ''Dandy'' were invented back in the 1930s – and through really to the 1950s and 60s – these comics were almost the only ente ...
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The Comics Journal
''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing reviews of the products of the mainstream comics industry, the magazine promotes the view that comics are a fine art, meriting broader cultural respect, and thus should be evaluated with higher critical standards. History In 1976, Gary Groth and Michael Catron acquired ''The Nostalgia Journal'', a small competitor of the newspaper adzine '' The Buyer's Guide for Comics Fandom''. At the time, Groth and Catron were already publishing ''Sounds Fine'', a similarly formatted adzine for record collectors that they had started after producing Rock 'N Roll Expo '75, held during the July 4 weekend in 1975 in Washington, D.C. The publication was relaunched as ''The New Nostalgia Journal'' with issue No. 27 (July 1976), and with issue No. 32 (Janua ...
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Mike Kidson
Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documentaries Arts * Mike (miniseries), a 2022 Hulu limited series based on the life of American boxer Mike Tyson * Mike (2022 film), a Malayalam film produced by John Abraham * ''Mike'' (album), an album by Mike Mohede * ''Mike'' (1926 film), an American film * MIKE (musician), American rapper, songwriter and record * ''Mike'' (novel), a 1909 novel by P. G. Wodehouse * "Mike" (song), by Elvana Gjata and Ledri Vula featuring John Shahu * Mike (''Twin Peaks''), a character from ''Twin Peaks'' * "Mike", a song by Xiu Xiu from their 2004 album ''Fabulous Muscles'' Businesses * Mike (cellular network), a defunct Canadian cellular network * Mike and Ike, a candies brand Military * MIKE Force, a unit in the Vietnam War * Ivy Mike, the first t ...
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Cassette Culture
The cassette culture (also known as the tape/cassette scene or cassette underground) refers to the practices associated with amateur production and distribution of music and sound art on compact cassette that emerged in the mid-1970s. The cassette was used by fine artists and poets for the independent distribution of new work. This article focuses on the independent music scene associated with the cassette that burgeoned internationally in the second half of the 1970s. Scope of the article It is necessary at the outset to make clear what “cassette culture” refers to in regard to this article. It is not a general article on the cultural history of the compact audio cassette and its technology. The article does not cover the use of the compact audio cassette as a music medium per se, or, in general, the use of the cassette tape as a means for the cheap reproduction and direct distribution of music by artists or other individuals. The subject of this article does not refer to th ...
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Escape Magazine
''Escape'' magazine was a British comic strip magazine founded and edited by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury. Nineteen issues were published between 1983 and 1989. Eddie Campbell, Phil Elliott and Glenn Dakin were amongst the many cartoonists published within its pages. Escape Publishing also released a limited number of graphic novels in the period 1984–1989, some co-published with Titan Books. Origins ''Escape'' has its origins in the explosion of small press or minicomics that occurred in the UK in the early 1980s. Paul Gravett was running a stall at the Westminster Comic Mart in London called Fast Fiction where he would sell other people's self-published comics for a small cut. These would generally be short-run publications, usually photocopied and assembled by hand, by creators who couldn't find a professional outlet for their work with many coming from an art school background with unique approaches to comic art. At the same time awareness was growing of internationa ...
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Pssst!
''Pssst!'' (styled as ''pssst!'') was a short-lived British comics magazine published by Never–Artpool in 1982. ''Pssst!'', which lasted ten monthly issues, was an attempt to publish a British equivalent of the lavish French bande dessinée magazines. Bryan Talbot, Glenn Dakin, Shaky Kane, Paul Johnson, Stephen Baskerville, Ed Pinsent, John Watkiss, John Bolton, John Higgins, and Angus McKieMéalóid, Pádraig Ó"Interview with Bryan Talbot,"BryanTalbot.com (Started 6th May 2009. Finished 21st September 2009). were amongst the many cartoonists published within the pages of ''pssst!''. Early parts of Talbot's ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' were published in the comic. Talbot feels that ''pssst!'' "...was the precursor of ''Escape'' and ''Deadline'' and the rest of the cascade of British adult comic mags that came out in the Eighties and Nineties." Critic Russell Willis, on the other hand, wrote of the publication, "It tended towards '' Heavy Metal'' tits, ass and gi ...
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Bande Dessinée
(singular ; literally 'drawn strips'), abbreviated BDs and also referred to as Franco-Belgian comics (), are comics that are usually originally in French and created for readership in France and Belgium. These countries have a long tradition in comics, separate from that of English-language comics. Belgium is a mostly bilingual country, and comics originally in Dutch (, literally "strip stories", or simply "strips") are culturally a part of the world of ''bandes dessinées''; these are translated to French and concurrently sold to the French-reading audience and vice versa. Among the most popular ''bandes dessinées'' are ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (by Hergé), ''Gaston Lagaffe'' ( Franquin), ''Asterix'' ( Goscinny & Uderzo), ''Lucky Luke'' (Morris & Goscinny), ''The Smurfs'' (Peyo) and ''Spike and Suzy'' (Willy Vandersteen). Some highly-regarded realistically drawn and plotted ''bandes dessinées'' include ''Blueberry'' ( Charlier & Giraud, aka "Moebius"), ''Thorgal'' ...
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Paul Gravett
Paul Gravett is a London-based journalist, curator, writer, and broadcaster who has worked in comics publishing since 1981. He is the founder of ''Escape Magazine'', and for many years wrote a monthly article on comics appearing in the UK magazine '' Comics International'', together with a monthly column for ''ArtReview''. He has written for various periodicals including ''The Guardian'', ''The Comics Journal'', ''Comic Art'', ''Comics International'', ''Time Out'', ''Blueprint'', ''Neo'', ''The Bookseller'', ''The Daily Telegraph,'' and '' Dazed & Confused''. Biography His career began in 1981, as he managed the Fast Fiction table at bi-monthly Comic Marts held in Westminster Hall. Gravett invited artists to send him their homemade comics, which he would sell from the Fast Fiction table with all proceeds going to the creator. His role in the British indie comics scene is depicted in Eddie Campbell's '' Alec'' comics, in which Gravett is called "The Man at the Crossroads." Late ...
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Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. Comprising the westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia, it shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and Asia to the east. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents of Earth#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and E ...
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