''The Imp'' is a

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...

about

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

that was written and published by Daniel Raeburn during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Each issue of the zine examined a single

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

or type of comic in depth, often incorporating

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

s done by Raeburn with or about the subject. Raeburn frequently took an idiosyncratic view of his subject matter in ''The Imp''; in the

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

to the first issue he wrote that "the fact that I don't know anything about comics can only help me to take them seriously." He frequently described his personal experiences with his subject matter in irreverent terms and gave detailed accounts of the people and places he encountered while doing his research, in the manner of gonzo journalism. ''The Imp'' is also notable for the unique

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

of each issue. ''The Imp'' #1 was published in 1997 and was devoted to the works of

Daniel Clowes Daniel Gillespie Clowes (; born April 14, 1961) is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in '' Eightball'', a solo anthology comic book series. An ''Eightball'' issue typical ...

. The second issue appeared a year later and examined the religious comics of

Jack T. Chick Jack Thomas Chick (April 13, 1924 – October 23, 2016) was an American cartoonist and publisher, best known for his fundamentalist Christian "Chick tracts". He expressed his perspective on a variety of issues through sequential-art morali ...

; it was designed in a format that mimicked Chick's own

tract Tract may refer to: Geography and real estate * Housing tract, an area of land that is subdivided into smaller individual lots * Land lot or tract, a section of land * Census tract, a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census ...

s and included a

concordance Concordance may refer to: * Agreement (linguistics), a form of cross-reference between different parts of a sentence or phrase * Bible concordance, an alphabetical listing of terms in the Bible * Concordant coastline, in geology, where beds, or la ...

of terms and concepts that appear in his work. The third issue, designed in imitation of a

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

newspaper, contained a series of essays and article about

Chris Ware Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American cartoonist known for his ''Acme Novelty Library'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels ''Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), ''Building Stories'' (2012 ...

. It included a single-page insert of original comic strips about Ware drawn by other cartoonists. The fourth issue of ''The Imp'', released after a long delay, examined extremely lurid

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

''historietas'' and their cultural and commercial context. It featured extensive full-color illustrations and an original painted cover commissioned from a Mexican comic artist. The expense of printing the issue, which raised its cover price to $20, resulted in a significant financial loss for its creator and brought publication of the series to an end. A fifth issue of ''The Imp'' devoted to the work of

Ivan Brunetti Ivan Brunetti (born October 3, 1967) is an Italian and American cartoonist and comics scholar based in Chicago, Illinois. Career Noted for combining blackly humorous taboo-laden subject matter with simplified and exaggerated cartoon drawing styl ...

was advertised in the back of issue #4 but was never released. In 2010 Raeburn made all four issues of ''The Imp'' freely available on his website.

Issues

* #1 - ''The Fallen World of Daniel Clowes'' (1997) * #2 - ''The Imp?'' (1998) * #3 - ''The Smartest Cartoonist on Earth.'' (1999) * #4 - ''¡Historietas Perversas! Mexico's Addictive Comics'' (2002)

External links

Downloadable PDFs of ''The Imp'' on danielraeburn.com

Review of ''The Imp'' #4
in ''

City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...

'' Books about comics Magazines about comics Comics zines {{comics-mag-stub