Walking Man Comics Presents #45, 46, Music Comics #1

Posted: Tuesday, April 8, 2003
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Walking Man Comics Presents #45, 46, Music Comics #1 Creator(s): Matt Levin
Publishers: Walking Man Comics (Self Published)
From: USA
Price: Any 4 for $3ppd., 12-page sampler for a 37 cent Stamp. (US)

Another envelope of Matt's stamp art comics arrived recently. They're colorful, produced as they are with color paper for the covers, and even one issue with light purple interior paper. For those of you not familiar with the stamp art medium, these are illustrated using rubber stamps. Most are bought from the network of speciality art/craft/stamp shops. With a mix of masking and a little bit of pen and ink Matt pieces the images together to illustrate his dreamy stories.

#45 contains two tales. One follows a person wandering up a snow covered mountain, as they make their way home for the holidays. The second is a musical involving a bunch of dancers, clowns and musicians celebrating the human voice.

#46 Ocean-side takes the form of a poem about birds gliding over the sea, and a woman on the beach thinking about her place in nature and the love she shares with her partner.

Music Comics #1 Another musical, but this line comes with original sheet music in the back so you can play along with the words. It follows Molly Malone as she goes for a swim and ends up rescuing a petty criminal on the run who almost drowns.

There is a real feeling of whimsy to these comics. They are fun, with thoughtful musing on life and in Ocean-side there is a quite charming love poem. The stamp art works very well, it's not at all as static as you might think it would be. If you've grown tied of the post modern cynical tone of the 21st century so far, these books prove that there are still real free spirits producing fun work.

For those of you interested in giving stamp art a try, Matt lists the sources for the stamps in his books. You could also look in the phone book as you'll probably find a store near you. (I know there's one here in my home town). They are also a good place for illustrators to approach about doing some drawings, as they are usually on the look out for new material to turn into stamps.

In a Word: Sweet..



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