short! pants! press!

The Shortpants Observer, #1!

2008-07-10T14:26:00.003-05:00

The Shortpants Observer, #1
$8.00

At long last, we present to you the first issue in a series of short anthology books, a project we’re calling The Shortpants Observer. We’re knocking on the doors of artists we know and like, artists that we think you should also know and like (if you don’t already), and asking them to draw things for us. This first issue is utterly beautiful, and showcases some extremely talented comics artists, all of whom live in Chicago: Anya Davidson, Corinne Mucha, Becca Taylor and Jeremy Tinder. Assuming this first issue doesn’t completely bankrupt us, there are many future issues to come that will include some more of the Middle-West’s best and most interesting artists.

72 pages, all previously unpublished material. Get yours now!

Here's a pdf of Jeremy's full comic!

Oops!

2008-06-25T11:26:00.002-05:00

Do you know, I completely forgot to post this Optical Sloth review for Neil's Sock-Monster Book??

"Ah, if only all minis with one panel strips were like this... this is how it’s supposed to be done... It’s funny, that lettering is downright hypnotic, and there’s some serious inking going on. A lot of one panel strips rely on characters sitting mostly in a blank environment, but Neil clearly spends a solid chunk of time on each panel. This is well worth your time to seek out, proving once again that Short Pants has a damned near perfect track record in publishing quality comics."

Oh, blushes. :) You can get the book here.

My card...

2008-06-23T09:47:00.003-05:00

We have some new gocco-printed Shortpants cards! You can get one by finding us at a convention or ordering something from the catalog.

We're big in Sweden

2008-06-12T08:40:00.005-05:00

Did you know that there are some Shortpants Press books in a library in Malmo, Sweden?

This is where Malmo is,

and this is where the library is,

and here is where you can search the catalog to find our books.

and someday we plan to take a fun vacation to see them in person. Mats Nordström is the graphic novel librarian there, he found our comics on a trip to Chicago. Shortpants Press is very much in favor of graphic novel library collections, and graphic novel librarians too. (And a bit envious of the respect that comics artists get across the pond.)

There should definitely be more comics libraries. I only know of a few stateside: the Baltimore Public Library's Zine Collection, and the Chicago Underground Library come to mind.

IndyComicReview reviews Shuteye #3 on Deathbed

2008-06-11T12:03:00.007-05:00

From IndyComicReview.com, which is about to shut down forever:

"There is an elegance in simplicity at work in Shuteye. I couldn't help but feel drawn into the story because of it. There was no massive suspension of disbelief required of me as a reader, the characters were immediately accessible (there are certainly aspects of both I can easily relate to), and the setting starts off direct enough.

As the story unfolded, it became even more of a reflection of relationship experience of my own. This isn't a piece of writing that I would assume was written just for me. Like a good Bob Dylan song, it was open enough that I was able to paste myself between the lines.

This may be a little too quiet and pastoral for some readers, so I can't say I'd recommend it to everyone. That said, it's a really solid creation and it was an absolute joy to read - to connect with this vignette, these characters, and their situation.

If only all the simple ones were this punchy..."

Chicago Magazine thing

2008-05-14T09:07:00.006-05:00

Remember the mention I was talking about in Chicago Magazine? Here it is:

Come see us this Saturday at the MCA!

Some updates...

2008-04-29T13:02:00.004-05:00

Did you know we had a writeup in Chicago Magazine this month?? Neither did we! We still have to find a copy of it. But you should check it out.

Also, Shortpants will be at the MCA's Hip Lit Fair on Saturday May 17th! You should come and check us out, because we're very nice people. And bring your copy of Chicago Magazine in case we still haven't found a copy of our own.

I for one welcome our new Robot Overlords

2008-03-25T10:31:00.004-05:00

Hey guys. The luddite in Shortpants Press is deeply, deeply disappointed that we've gone and done this, but we have a Twitter account now. Do you twitter? If so, you can look up our Twitter and perhaps we could Twitter together! Twitter twitter twitter.

An Incredibly Unimportant Update

2008-03-17T11:17:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note: we're changing the shipping rates on the site to a flat fee, coz they weren't coming out terribly accurately when we were doing it by weight. The end! Good story, good story, good stooooo-REE!

In Anticipation of Hugs, a Sock-Monster collection

2008-02-20T14:54:00.002-06:00

No more hiatus! We're back!

In Anticipation of Hugs, by Neil Brideau
$4.00

At turns cheerily whimsical and creepily serious, Neil Brideau's Sock-Monster comic has been a favorite webcomic of Shortpants' for a while now. Brideau's quirkily hand-lettered panels are dark, charming and obsessively inked. His imaginative and expansive landscapes are populated with characters that run the gamut from the sweet and naive to the opportunistic and vicious. Brideau uses their otherworldly exploits to tackle a number of issues facing our present universe, from politics and the environment to holding down a job and the nature of friendship. This first print collection of Sock-Monster comics contains fifty of Brideau's favorites, punctuated by a handful of new mini illustrations.

4.25" x 7", 55 pages in a hand-serigraphed (and recycled, made from 100% post-consumer waste!) cover. Get yours now!

I don't know if this actually counts as a "hiatus"

2008-01-23T08:36:00.000-06:00

So, the seven or eight people (hi, Mom!) who read this on a semi-regular basis have no doubt realized that Shortpants has been sort of silent lately. I promise you, we're still around. We're just sort of taking January off. And probably most of February as well. We're still very much alive, and we have many wondrous things planned for 2008, which I'll get into in a moment.

But it's a testament to the nature of comics - and, you know, underground hand-assembled independent minicomics, coz just "comics" wasn't a challenging industry enough for us - that minor hiccups IRL mean we have to put something we love as much as Shortpants on the back burner for a little bit. But Shortpants and the Shortpants Boyfriend are in the midst of defeating the level one boss and ascending to level two of adulthood and buying a condo.

(It's probably a bad sign that Shortpants is using video game terminology to describe becoming more grown-up. But anyone who's ever been through buying a place, dealing with realtors, lawyers, loan officers, every one of them with their own agendas and many of them lying right to your face, can probably relate. I felt the same way when I tried to beat Super Paper Mario's Mimi without Princess Peach and her magnificent invincible umbrella shield.)

Anyway. We're mostly through it. And once we're done Shortpants will have a (semi)permanent base of operations. We're thinking of naming it "Shortpants Manor". Or maybe "Nerdinghamwycke". Name suggestions are appreciated.

In the meantime, our plans for 2008 are delightful and nefarious. You're going to love it. There's going to be a charming little art object of a collection of Sock-Monster comics. There'll be another Shuteye, another Bone Closet, and another Army of Lovers. There might even be another Suckerpunch! And this spring, we'll also be launching issue #1 of a probably overlyambitious anthology project. It's gonna knock your socks off, if you happen to be wearing socks at the time that you see it. That's a promise.

Dig it

2007-12-03T09:29:00.001-06:00

Have you guys heard of the magazine Dig This Real? It's a wicked cool magazine out of New York that covers music, literature, television, zines, and lots of other cool stuff. The latest issue (#12!) has an interview with yours truly, about the Ouija Interviews! You should find it and read it, and then read all the other cool articles in it.

They don't have a list up yet on their site of which stores carry them, but you can order a copy online. Get to it!

Shuteye #4 props

2007-11-30T09:28:00.000-06:00

From PlaybackSTL:

"the story is a wholly original and interesting take on comic-book horror. Overall this book is a dark but seemingly innocuous comic that's poised to win fans, especially from the DIY crowd."

Get the book here!

Fierce!

2007-11-26T17:09:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! We made the Comics Reporter's Black Friday Holiday Shopping Guide!

We're #67, but that's out of 200. Kickass! Thanks, Comics Reporter!

(Fiercely devoted is right, I spent my Thanksgiving holiday silkscreening and assembling 150 copies of the new Shuteye.)

Solid!

2007-10-24T08:45:00.001-05:00

Great review for Shuteye #4!

"This is another solid issue in this series, a bit different this time out because the tone has changed to one of constant terror ... I'm looking forward to one day putting these all together and making sense of the whole thing." -Optical Sloth

Shuteye #4: Carrefour

2007-10-18T14:24:00.000-05:00

Shuteye #4: Carrefour by Sarah Becan
$4.00

The fourth story in Sarah's ambitious series about disorientation and the nature of dreams. Carrefour is the story of an isolated man who ﬁnds himself drifting uncontrollably in and out of a chilling recurring nightmare, haunted by a menacing ﬁgure who traverses both his dreams and his waking life. A genuinely spooky horror story, just in time for Halloween! 44 pages in a hand-silkscreened cover.

*NB: each of the (four so far) Shuteye books stands alone; the stories are connected very loosely, and can be read in any order, independent of one another. However, there are a few rewarding details for those who choose to read all of the stories in chronological order.

spxpo!

2007-10-10T11:23:00.001-05:00

The books are shipped, the flights are booked, Shortpants's brother is even talking about picking us up from the airport. Are you coming to SPX? We'll be at booth E7 (on a corner! yay!) with many wondrous books to show you. Including one that's premiering there:

Once again, Robert, holy crud

2007-10-05T17:27:00.000-05:00

"Robert H. Stevenson is a creative force to be reckoned with."

Such Timing

2007-10-05T13:44:00.001-05:00

Sorry it's been quiet on the Shortpants front. Apparently either Shortpants can make comics and neglect the blog, or blog really often and neglect the comics. Lately we've been making comics.

Specifically we've been making a new issue of Shuteye. The work is done, the pages are printed, we'll be hand-silkscreening the covers this weekend in time for the book to premier at next week's SPX!

Coincidentally, yesterday we found this tidy little review of the first three Shuteye issues. It made us all blushy, so we're in a good mood and figured, hey, why not post some teaser images from the new book? (bonus points if you recognize the schmo sweeping the street outside the barbershop)

Wow, Robert.

2007-09-14T09:11:00.000-05:00

Here's an incredibly flattering review for The Bone Closet" from Optical Sloth:

"a possible heir apparent to the legacy of Edward Gorey... it's already clear that he's making his own mark on comics with these first two issues. There are three stories in here, all various degrees of perfection."

This peculiar, fascinating story...

2007-09-07T17:03:00.000-05:00

Review for "An Army of Lovers Will be Beaten" from PlaybackSTL:

"McGovern creates a moment of amazing energy, emotional strength, and vivid color, which he follows up with a series of humorous, yet touching moments on journey to the duffle bag. Ultimately, the ride culminates in an absurd realization that maintains the tone from introduction to conclusion of this peculiar, fascinating story."

SPP desktop wallpapers!

2007-08-28T10:52:00.000-05:00

Bernie sent us a great drawing of the cast of An Army of Lovers Will be Beaten. 'Twas sized to a delightful 1024 x 768, just the right dimensions for desktop wallpaper. Hm, thought Shortpants, what a great idea. Want some desktop wallpapers? We're thinking we'll make a whole "free crap" section pretty soon, full of wallpapers and icons and stuff based on Shortpants Press books. For now, here are two Army themed ones:

Shortpants gets an A

2007-08-24T08:55:00.000-05:00

Optical Sloth, on recent Shortpants publication Herman Belquest:

It's a great comic from somebody entirely new to me, and it keeps the track record of the Short Pants books at an even 100% for sheer entertainment value. Well worth seeking out."

Injuries and Singularities

2007-08-23T10:22:00.000-05:00

Injury Comics by Ted May, Jeff Wilson, M. Jason Robards
$5.00

The latest from Ted May! This issue of Injury (published by Buenaventura Press) has a great Manleau story drawn and inked by Suckerpunch's M. Jason Robards, and an awesome high school melodrama story by Jeff Wilson. 32 pages in a great full cover color. Inside covers drawn by Robards, too.

ALSO RELEASING:

Singularity by Grant Reynolds and Al Burian
$2.00

A great little mini by Grant Reynolds and the Burn Collector's Al Burian, collecting some strips they did together for the Skeleton News. A short run of only 50 copies. 8 pages, and only 2 tiny dollars!

The Bone Closet

2007-08-14T09:28:00.000-05:00

The Bone Closet by Robert Stevenson
$5.00

The Bone Closet, by Robert Stevenson, is a set of three stories, chilling and charming at the same time, that will fill your head with visions of zombies, ghosts, and supernatural rock stars. Told with all the unmistakable sensationalism and logic of a preteen ghost story, The Bone Closet calls to mind the deliciously spooky fun of your fourth grade sleepovers.

ALSO RELEASING:

Herman Belquest by Robert Stevenson
$5.00

Stevenson's Herman Belquest is a darkly comic tale, told with very few words, about the gradual spiral descent of the titular character. Belquest, much like the biblical Job, loses one thing after another to an apathetic world. His life takes some cruel turns, and Belquest's reactions are at once familiar and bewildering. This book manages to retain a sense of innocence and kindness even as events endeavor bring the main character to his very lowest point.