by Brandon Getz
Ross Kennedy owns and operates Armature Tattoo Co. in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood. His first graphic novel, Revenants, written by Wendi Lee, takes place in a post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh full of bloodthirsty creatures. He is currently working on a sci-fi noir photographic novel called Kasper Hardy and is collaborating with Lars Breaxface writer Brandon Getz on the gritty superhero comic Arcane.
Follow his Instagram @rosskennedytattoo
Nic Eaton is a part-time writer and full-time human from Queens. He dabbles in art and has done only two notable things in his life thus far, one of which is illegal in 16 states.
Find his artwork on Instagram: @nice.doodles
Scott Elliott Javier Patrick is a designer and illustrator living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, Scotty takes great pleasure in bringing life and identity to his projects. Scotty is currently single and available.
Follow his adventures on Instagram @scottycurious
Spaz is an artist, cheerleaderologist, and former frontman of all drag-queen punk band Paul Lynde 451. Originally from Greensburg, PA, at age 14 he invented a cartoon character for the school newspaper and named it Spaz, which later became his graffiti tag and alter-ego. Spaz’s activities include go-go dancing for bands and for a club, performance art, conceptual art, and emceeing punk shows. He was once in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about people in Pittsburgh who go by only one name. He’s best known to people under the age of 30 as the subject of the Anti-Flag song “Spaz’s House Destruction Party.”
Michael Jackson is an award-winning filmmaker and visual artist. His films have screened at Cinequest, Santa Barbara, and Sonoma where he won the 2017 Best Drama Short Film Award and the 2017 American Diversity Award at the “Latino Short Film” Film Festival. In 2014, Michael moved to New York City where he created a series of intertwined film shorts called Harlemites.
Michael’s visual art can be found at www.mitaja.com
J.A. Waters has lived all over the U.S. and so home is just wherever he happens to be. Making the internet beep by day, by night he likes to draw the characters that tumble about in his head. Sometimes, J.A. likes to write a bunch of words that describe the weird stuff those characters are going through. With their powers combined, you’d normally get a comic book. In J.A.’s case, you just have a bunch of sketches and a whole lot of fun.
Find him at www.jawaters.com
Matt Phillips is a cartoonist, philosopher, swordsman, and Tormund Giantsbane cosplayer living in Pittsburgh. He’s the creator of the webcomic Jesus Christ Supercar, about his car being possessed by the Lord and Savior. He just bought an axe from Cold Steel.
Find his comics at jesuschristsupercar.thecomicseries.com
Brian Gonnella is a conceptual artist & illustrator from Pittsburgh, PA. He earned a BA in English writing and film studies at the University of Pittsburgh but has been working professionally as an artist for almost a decade, and has exhibited work nationally at gallery and museum level. Inspired by cartoons, punk and graffiti, he has developed an animation/painting technique using spray paint and acrylic paint pens as a primary medium, coupled with a tedious stenciling & layering process that could be described technically as something between stencil graffiti, comic illustration and Japanese ukiyo-e paintings.
More at www.briangonnella.com
Peter Boyer is a freelance artist from Burbank, CA, (now residing in Pittsburgh!) with artist roots stemming from his pops, Ken Boyer. Drawing day in and day out, he also enjoys old comic books/cartoons and David Lynch movies. And perhaps a tad obsessive with Ancient Egyptian lore.
You can look him up on Facebook or directly talk to him through e-mail: [email protected]
Joe Mruk is a freelance illustrator, designer, and educator living in the East End of Pittsburgh. Since graduating from Cal U in 2010, he has become involved with the music community in Pittsburgh, working on designs and illustrations for bands and media kits for festivals. He has conducted drawing classes at Wash Arts, and coordinated and served as an instructor at a summer art camp for Lakota youth for three years on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Find him at www.redbuffalo.org
Index of Artworks
Cover Art – Jonas Goonface Cover
The Pickled Quasar – Brian Price 2
Jay – Melissa Ciccocioppo 8
Sheila – Megan Shalonis 16
Watercolor Jay – Kate J. Reed 23
Lars’ Tattoos – Brandon Getz 28
Arcturus Fishman – Brandon Getz 34
Wolfman Lars – Ryan Yee 41
Fish – Melissa Ciccocioppo 46
Hot Cosmic Jeezus Christ – Brian Price 54
Frank – Melissa Ciccocioppo 60
Jay – Brandon Getz 66
One Sweet Beer – Kim Piper 72
Frank Saves Jay – Ken Town 86
Jay with Knife – Higu Rose 92
Lars in Space – Bill Homan 99
Watercolor Frank – Felicia Cooper 108
Auntie Hand – Maggie Lynn Negrete 114
BOR15 – Nate Taylor 124
Blood Magic – Kim Piper 133
Apocalypse Lars – Ross Kennedy 143
Frank – Nic Eaton 154
Jay with Sword – Ken Town 159
Lars Solo – Brian Price 168
Boris and the Nanobots – Kim Piper 189
Budge – Brandon Getz 192
The Wolf – Scott Elliot Javier Patrick 202
A Clockwork Fish – Spaz 220
War Jay – Brian Price 240
Frank / Auntie Hand – Michael Taylor Jackson 246
Vitruvian Lars – JA Waters 252
Attack on Eyeball City – Matt Phillips 264
KRAKOW – Brian Gonnella 277
The Great Escape – Peter Boyer 290
Werewolf in Space – Kate J. Reed 294
Alternate Cover (red) – Brian Gonnella 297
Alternate Cover (green) – Brian Price 298
Alternate Cover (brown) – Joe Mruk 299
About the Publishing Team
Nate Ragolia was labeled as “weird” early in elementary school, and it stuck. He’s a lifelong lover of science fiction, and a nerd/geek. In 2015 his first book, There You Feel Free, was published by 1888’s Black Hill Press. He’s also the author of The Retroactivist, published by Spaceboy Books. He founded and edits BONED, an online literary magazine, has created webcomics, and writes whenever he’s not playing video games or petting dogs.
Shaunn Grulkowski has been compared to Warren Ellis and Phillip K. Dick and was once described as what a baby conceived by Kurt Vonnegut and Margaret Atwood would turn out to be. He’s at least the fifth best Slavic-Latino-American sci-fi writer in the Baltimore metro area. He’s the author of Retcontinuum, and the editor of A Stalled Ox and The Goldfish, all for 1888/Black Hill Press.