SO BUTTONS (#13) by Jonathan Baylis Kickstarter

Jonathan Baylis (Kickstarter alert) has been brewing a special blend collection of comics for over 10 years now. These are stories about himself drawn by other cartoonists, in the spirit of what Harvey Pekar famously did with R. Crumb and other leading cartoonists. Anyone could follow this model. It’s just a matter of having the will and determination to pursue it.

So Buttons, the ongoing anthology led by Baylis, has got its mojo going at full steam and is a beloved fixture of the indie comics community. If you are new to it, then this is the perfect time to jump aboard! In the latest issue, Number 13, Baylis focuses on a film theme and employs some of his favorite cartoonists along with some of the old crew of cartoonists who worked for the grand ole man himself, Harvey Pekar. It’s a lot of very geeky fun. Support the Kickstarter campaign (ends Nov 16)  to help to make Issue 13 available for everyone to enjoy.

I encourage you to check out the Kickstarter campaign and let Jonathan provide the final pitch to you! I find Jonathan to be a very bright and enthusiastic person who, no doubt, has lived a full life with many, many years still ahead of insight and adventure. Once you get a peek or two, you are likely to be hooked.

This is from the Kickstarter promo:

This issue is subtitled: Film School with Pekar’s Pals and Mine

If you don’t know, Harvey Pekar was a guy who wrote auto-bio comics and hired different artists to interpret his stories. I follow that model.

So… the inspiration for that subtitle is this.  Last year, I met Joe Zabel, a longtime collaborator of Harvey Pekar’s. I showed him my work and he agreed to do a story with me. And then he introduced me to Gary Dumm, and even longer collabber with Pekar. HE agreed to do a story. And then he introduced me to other co-conspirators Michael T. Gilbert and Brian Bram (not seen since American Splendor #2, 1977)!

So… Wrung art by Brian Bram

So this issue is a split between Harvey’s pals and my pals, and probably because of all the staying inside at home I did during the pandemic, it is a HEAVILY film-referenced issue. Before I wanted to call this series “So…”, I wanted to call it “Film School” and this is the closest this book has been executed to that initial idea.

My Collaborators include:

· Karl Christian Krumpholz on the cover

· Tony Wolf doing some Swampy magic

· Joe Zabel on a Sundance premiere

· Bernie Mireault on 28 Days Later