I'm pretty sure I first met Neil Brideau at an SPX show somewhere along the line, with his own distinctive mini-comics. (I reviewed the first issues of The Plot here.) In 2014, he opened his own distro, Radiator Comics, which has since moved into the world of publishing a few comics. One of those comics, Chronicles of Fortune, made my favorites list in 2017.
Neil will be at SPX alongside several other creators who either publish with (or are distributed by) Radiator Comics:
Coco Picard (Chronicles of Fortune)
Iona Fox (Almanac, for Seven Days)
Luke Howard (Dead-End Rob)
Whit Taylor (Panel Patter alum and friend, editor, Comics for Choice)
Yewon Kwon (Pallor Pink series)
Additionally, there will be multiple folks associated with Radiator at their own tables, including Ben Passmore, Rachel Dukes, Isabella Rotman, and Keiler Roberts.
There will be three debuts at SPX from Radiator. Details on the first two are from the publisher:
Abandon Ship 3 by Luke Howard
Abandon Ship 1 was the first book I ever made/ self published. I knew I wanted to make comics, but didn't have the confidence yet. I'd been doing illustration and printmaking for years, and I really wanted to try my hand at printing and assembling a book (of any kind), so I went through my sketchbooks, pulled out a bunch of drawings I liked, and threw them together in a little zine. I was hooked on making books after that. Couple years later, I had some short comics under my belt, and I decided to make issue 2 of Abandon Ship. I'd read more self published stuff at that point (notably: You Don't Get There From Here and King Cat) and decided I wanted to include more journal comics. Abandon Ship 3 continues the tradition of putting a thick screenprinted cover on a pile of drawings/ comics, and calling it a book. It's got an illustrated essay on being black and having hair, it's got some comics I made about quitting smoking, some helpful information on what to do when you're a young artist and someone asks you to join an art collective, and more. It's a lighthearted meandering book and I wouldn't regret reading it.
Your Friends Hate You So Much by Neil Brideau
When your friends move across the country, or when they don’t appreciate all the things you do for them, or when they ridicule you for the way you dress…you start to wonder whether or not they like you at all. Your Friends Hate You So Much collect short humorous comics that Neil Brideau drew and then gave away for free. Now he’s requiring you to pay money for them. What a jerk.
Fizzle #2 by Whit Taylor
This one was just announced on Twitter by Radiator, so I don't have much details. What I do know is that Whit's ability to create a story around ordinary people is really strong, as her Mad Town High series showed. The first issue featured Claire, who wanted more out of life than her current job. Will issue two bring her satisfaction? Find out by picking one up at the table!Radiator's original comics that I've read have been great. Their creators and associated creators are all good people, several of whom I've known for years, either personally or professionally or both. Make sure you stop by to see them at SPX this weekend. You'll be glad you did.
Can't make it to SPX? Radiator Comics can be found on the web here.
