Alvin Buenaventura examining proofs of an upcoming oversized comics project from Pigeon Press
Alvin Buenaventura, a beloved figure in the world of independent/art comics, has passed away. If you want to understand the evolution of the comics medium, you must look to what comics publisher Alvin Buenaventura accomplished in the last decade.
A tradition of excellence.
Look through any respectable comic book shop and you will find stellar work published by his Buenaventura Press and subsequent Pigeon Press with titles like Johnny Ryan’s Comic Book Holocaust and Vanessa Davis’ Spaniel Rage.
Kramers Ergot #7 anthology from 2008
One crowning achievement for Mr. Buenaventura was publishing Sammy Harkham’s Kramers Ergot #7 anthology in 2008. It was one of those heroic works towering at 16″ x 21″ to mirror the size of newspaper comics of the early 20th century. It included cartoonists Daniel Clowes, Matt Groening, Seth, Gabrielle Bell and Jaime Hernandez.
The comics community is generous to a fault. We all realize how much of a labor of love comics is. In fact, in a very real sense, no matter what, that is all it really is. A labor of love. An exemplary example of someone who lived by that credo was Alvin Buenaventura.
A publishing legacy.
Alvin Buenaventura’s life and work will live on. He has made a major and lasting contribution to elevating the comics medium to an art form.
