Welcome to Shortpants Press!

We like comics. Comics are a great medium. They're accessible, approachable, cheap and disposable. They're not pretentious and they don't scare anyone off. People have a kind of primal familiarity with them. We like making comics, because you get to use the double whammy of imagery and language at the same time. Because you get to make art that people hold in their hands instead of hanging behind a velvet rope and low-glare glass. Because you get to make art that reaches tons of people who'd never set foot inside of a SoHo gallery.

When Jason and I started this thing a few years ago, it was just supposed to be a loose collective of comics artists in the Midwest, a way for us to keep in touch, to share our comics with each other, and maybe do a convention or two together. It kind of got away from us, and before we knew it, Shortpants was doing weird things like buying advertising and doing distro and publishing other people's titles. Oh, and then Tom Spurgeon called us "one of the half-dozen most reliable sources for quality mini-comics going right now." That was really nice.

We're not really sure what it's going to do next, but for right now, it's a boutique press, dedicated to bringing you unique, interesting, and really cool comics, zines and prints from smart and talented people in the Middle West. You can get them from our catalogue, from your local indy comic book store, or from us at conventions. And who knows where we're headed? So watch this space! Browse our humble catalog. Take off your coat, put your feet up, and shorten those pants, mister. Stick around for a while.

-Sarah Becan



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