MU Press (officially Miscellanea Unlimited Press) was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

publisher based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, which operated 1990 – c. 2006. MU Press was one of the industry's most prolific " furry" comic publishers, while its mid-1990s imprint Aeon Publications specialized in

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

fare. MU Press was founded by writer/editor Edd Vick. Notable creators associated with MU/Aeon included

Donna Barr Donna Barr (born August 13, 1952) is an American comic book author and cartoonist. She is best known for ''The Desert Peach'' and '' Stinz''. She was born in Everett, Washington, the second child in a family of six siblings. Life and educatio ...

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

Matt Howarth Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

Milton Knight Milton Knight Jr. (May 12, 1962) is an American cartoonist, animator, comic book artist, writer, painter, and storyboard/layout artist. He directed animation for a variety of cartoon series, including ''Cool World'', ''Adventures of Sonic the Hedg ...

David Lasky David Lasky (born December 8, 1967 in Washington, D.C.) is an alternative cartoonist based in Seattle, Washington. Biography After spending the bulk of his life in Virginia, and graduating from the College of William & Mary, Lasky moved to Seat ...

Colin Upton Colin Upton (born April 2, 1960) is a Canadian cartoonist and artist who was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. Many of his comics are self-published in the minicomic format, although he has also had his work ...

, and Taral Wayne.

History

MU's early series included

's ''

Desert Peach ''The Desert Peach'' is a comic book created by Donna Barr, chronicling the adventures of the eponymous protagonist, Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel's fictitious homosexual younger brother, Oberst Manfred Pfirsich Marie Rommel (1900–1990), nic ...

'' and Dwight R. Decker & Teri S. Wood's '' Rhudiprrt, Prince of Fur''. Cathy Hill's '' Mad Raccoons'' debuted in 1991, running until 1997. In 1992, MU published the first issue of the

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

furry

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

Wild Kingdom ''Wild Kingdom'', also known as ''Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'', is an American documentary television program that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and it was revived in 2002. The show's second ...

'' (which later changed its title to ''

Wild! ''Wild!'' is the fourth studio album by British band Erasure. Released in 1989, it was the follow-up album to their 1988 breakthrough '' The Innocents''. The album was produced by Erasure, along with Gareth Jones and Mark Saunders and release ...

''). MU published 31 total issues of ''Wild Kingdom/Wild!'' 1992–2005. MU's Aeon Publications imprint operated 1994–1998, publishing a wide variety of

titles. Aeon acquired

's ''

Those Annoying Post Bros. ''Those Annoying Post Bros.'' is an Alternative comics, independent comic mostly by Matt Howarth about two fun-loving bad boys, Ron Post and Russ Post, from the fictional Bugtown. Equally inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, and Ambient mus ...

'' from

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Corporation, Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and Distribution (business), distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and ''Rip Off Comix'', as well as ...

in 1994, publishing that title until 1998. Other notable Aeon series included

's ''Boom Boom'' and

's ''

Lowlife A low-life (or lowlife) is a term for a person who is considered morally unacceptable by their community. Examples of people society often labels low-lives include aggressive panhandlers, bullies, criminals, drug dealers, freeloaders, hobos, ...

''. The monthly all-genre anthology '' ZU'' ran 19 issues 1995–1996;

's limited series '' Buddha on the Road'' ran 1996–1998. In August 1997, publisher Vick announced that both MU Press and Aeon were suspending publishing.Vanderzanden, Vanessa. "Newswatch: Aeon Press Set to Wind Down," ''The Comics Journal'' #198 (Aug. 1997), pp. 29-30. It turned out only Aeon wound down; MU continued publishing sporadically for nearly ten more years. From 2004 to 2006, MU/Aeon published a number of

graphic novels, comics, and limited series, including '' Savage Henry: Powerchords'', ''Savage Henry: Puppet Trap'', the 6-issue series ''Bugtown'', ''Anubis Horn'', and ''Keif Llama: Xeno-Tech'' (a title which originated with

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

in 1988–1989). In September 2005, MU Press announced on a

furry fandom The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term ...

message board that it was canceling ''Wild!'' due to low sales; they continued publishing trade paperback collections of some of their previous titles and completed the runs of some of Howarth's titles.

Titles published (selected)

* ''Buddha on the Road'' (6 issues, 1996–1998) —

* '' Bugtown'' (6 issues, 2004–2005) —

* ''

The Desert Peach ''The Desert Peach'' is a comic book created by Donna Barr, chronicling the adventures of the eponymous protagonist, Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel's fictitious homosexual younger brother, Oberst Manfred Pfirsich Marie Rommel (1900–1990), ni ...

'' (22 issues and numerous

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

s, 1990–1996) —

* ''Keif Llama: Xeno-Tech'' (6 issues, 2005–2006) — Matt Howarth * ''

'' (3 issues, 1994–1995) —

* ''Mad Raccoons'' (7 issues, 1991–1997) — Cathy Hill * ''On Our Butts'' (1994) — all-female anthology edited by Gabrielle Gamboa with Fawn Gehweiler * ''Rhudiprrt, Prince of Fur'' (12 issues, 1990–2004) — Dwight R. Decker and various artists * ''

Those Annoying Post Bros ''Those Annoying Post Bros.'' is an independent comic mostly by Matt Howarth about two fun-loving bad boys, Ron Post and Russ Post, from the fictional Bugtown. Equally inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, and ambient electronic music, th ...

.'' (25 issues, 1994–1998) — Matt Howarth; acquired from

* ''Wild Kingdom'' / ''Wild!'' (31 total issues, 1992–2005) * ''ZU'' (19 issues, 1995–1996)

Notes

References

*
Aeon Press at Grand Comics Database
*

External links

* {{furry fandom Comic book publishing companies of the United States Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Furry fandom