Reverend

The same user shows two versions of Snore Comix #2: Snore Comix #2 Version A editor unknown. Toronto, Coach House Press, april 197o. 6oo copies. 2-3/16 x 2-11/16, 36 sheets cream zephyr eggshell, all printed black offset, & 4 sheets plain buff mayfair card (2 at each end) perfectbound into white bond wrappers printed brown & lime (? hard to tell) over phlorescent orange coating. cover by Jerry Ofo. 12 contributors ID'd: "Becka", Edd Benton, Marc Chinoy, Maryrose Coleman, Ken Coupland, Ken McRitchie, bpNichol, Jerry Ooo ([ie Ofo], D.M.Price, "Robert", Andrew Robinson, Michael Tims. Nichol contributes: i) SCRAPTURES lost sequence (concrete poetry comic – ink, typewriter & letraset – in 13 pp.[4-16]) Snore Comix #2 Version B editor(s) unknown. Toronto, Coach House Press, april 197o. 6oo copies. not atall common, a 2-1/4 x 2-3/4 minibook casebound in phlorescent orangered covers with Jerry Ofo's cover graphic. identified contributors are Edd Benton, Marc Chinoy, Maryrose Coleman, Ken Coupland, Robert Fones, Kenneth McRitchie, bpNichol, Jerry Ofo, D.M.Price, Andrew Robinson, Michael Tims. mostly, the names're left off the works inside of particular interest in here is Nichol's 13 pp "TOTAL ASSAULT" SCRAPTURES lost sequence, consisting of multi-layered panelscapes with typed, letraset & drawn lettering, the narrative & characters moving between the interreferencing layers. Nichol's admittedly simplistic graphic style probably reaches its greatest sophistication here, especially in that areas of drawing become areas of shaped type. as well, D.M.Price's also-13pp DEADCAT SPONSORS LEGISLATION is beautifully drawn & lettered, a series of related graphics in continuous-line-stylee drawing mode with interspersed shapes (imagine comics drawn by Freddie Hundtertwasser).

Woah, just came across this page. Of particular interest is the following: "(49). IRATA, by Arthur Cravan; 17 may 1994, 5o copies #d in purple rubberstamp rear cover issued as Snore Comix #8; 4-1/4 x 5-1/2, single sheet grey bond folded to 4 pp leaflet, all printed black photocopy with blue rubberstamp addition to front cover. issued as an errata leaf to back lane letters." So that, Irata, published in 1994, was issued as the eighth issue of Snore Comix?! The plot continues to thicken. Edit: Just found this, too: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL23564590M/grOnkbag_L Of note: "IRATA arthur cravan [snore Comix: 50 copies]"

P.S. I don't want to derail our discussion, but speaking of Artpolice . . . https://antiq.benjamins.com/#catalog/0/18799 Yikes! If only I had 20,000 euro to plunk down.

I'm fine with stuff like Hairy Who and (even more so) Artpolice . . . "fine arts-ish" I think Kennedy dubbed some of that material. The Hairy Who publications were intended to be catalogues for the artists' works, done up like comic books. And Artpolice had actual comics (Artpolice Comics) mixed in with the stuff that was more along the lines of anthologies of individual works of art. A lot of the Artpolice stuff is quite . . . lewd (I mean this in a good way!), too, which fell in line with underground comix proper. Animal Mitchell pubs and Morice's Poetry Comics weren't really underground in terms of content, but were certainly inspired by the movement. I'm fine with including those, as well. But still, they're closer in format to traditional comics than something like the Mr. Peanut flip book. But yes, if Mr. Peanut and The Shoe Journal were intended to continue Snore Comix, I would be inclined include them for that reason alone, or at least mention them, sort of like what Kennedy did with SCASM, which was the second issue of something called ICON (I think both were acronyms, though I'd have to go back and look), which he didn't include because it was more along the lines of a fanzine, or had more text than graphics, etc.

That's a very good question and one that I've asked myself many times! I haven't seen the interior of #1, but I think I would allow #2 and #3 in, at least in a peripheral category, such as artist's books. The almighty "Comix" in the title helps immensely, though. On a similar note, I came across this years ago, thinking I had made a monumental discovery being that it was published in England c. 1965, which would have made it the earliest British underground comic, that is, if it wasn't comprised entirely of text, save the front cover. It turned out to be an amateur publication that covered the folk music scene (Leeds, England) of the day. I even tracked down the publisher who confirmed that no comics were ever done. I should have asked him what inspired the title! Needless to say, I was horribly disappointed that this wasn't a comic.

I'm usually very forgiving of what should be included in a comprehensive list of alternative and underground comics. With that said, it's difficult for me to regard the Mr. Peanut flip book as such. The same may be said of The Shoe Journal, though I haven't seen its contents--I'm inclined to believe it's a collection of drawings of shoes. Both items are artist's books. As such, I'm not sure that they should be included in a list of comic books. If they truly were a continuation of Snore Comix, I suppose they could be added for that reason, but with an asterisk, explaining their inclusion. This is similar to Jay Kennedy's inclusion of the minis that were purely poetry (Splat!, Toy Dandruff, etc.), except for their front covers, which were done by underground comix artists. Don't get me wrong--I love this stuff, and I collect it. The problem is where to draw the line. If artist's books by well, or better, known artists who had some manner of tie to the comix world, if only on the periphery, are included, then why shouldn't similar publications, by lesser known artists, also be included? If they are included, it might be best to create a category for them. At the end of the day, it's only a problem because it broadens the scope of research required to document all of it. But, the more people working on it, the easier it will be!

I wonder, is this the Mr. Peanut flip book that's pictured on the aforementioned site? https://vimeo.com/117211678

So, going by what Bronson said, there were three issues of Snore printed (the unnumbered first issue, the perfect bound mini and Bright Things), followed by The Shoe Journal, which, he says, is no longer considered a part of the series. Maybe the additional three issues he speaks about are Mr. Peanut, Slug Book and The Coach House Nose Who's Who. If this is true, that would account for seven issues in all.

Aha! It's a good thing I keep old emails. Here's one I received from AA Bronson over nine years ago, back in 2007 (I've been obsessing on Snore for a long time!):

Going back to the image of Mr. Peanut. There's no title on the front cover, which is a bit alarming. I would hope there would be one in the indicia, that is, if there's even indicia. If there's not, how would a library catalogue that, or a bookseller advertise it? I've run into that problem many times. You get something like: "Untitled artist's book c. 1969" . . . Also, why was Mr. Peanut printed but never released? Did Trasov say that? I'd be curious how many were done up and where they are now.

I understand what you're saying, but after a decade of researching this stuff, having interviewed hundreds of people (artists, printers, collectors, curators, librarians, etc.), I've been given my fair share of erroneous informatio. Many of the artists have even said it's been forty or fifty years, and their memories are vague, which is completely justified. With that said, considering how confusing the history of this particular title is, I'm not going to assume anything until I see physical proof. Perhaps I sound jaded, and I am in some ways. I've been on several wild goose chases for things that turned out not to even exist. Poor Farm Comics & Stories #1 is a prime example. As it turned out, the numbering began at #2 to confuse future collectors and historians. It was done as a joke, albeit a cruel one, to the obsessively compulsive individual, such as myself. I digress. I suppose it would be prudent to email whoever wrote that article that the picture of the Mr. Peanut flip book accompanies, and ask them where they got the publication date of 1969.

If it was, indeed, published in 1969, how could it have been #8?

The Shoe Journal just seems too expensive to pull the trigger on, so I don't own a copy. I'm beginning to wonder if "Snore Comix #5" is mentioned anywhere in the publication, or if it's just considered a spiritual predecessor in the Snore series. If that's the case, perhaps the numbering is erroneous and it's really #4. I've been in touch with AA Bronson over the years, so I suppose I could email him for clarification, but he's seemed a bit vague in his correspondence.

Just searched around a bit and found this: http://www.gallerieswest.ca/blogs-and-buzz/artists-books-word-and-image-blend-in-this-irresistible-craf/ If you search the page for "Mr. Peanut," you'll find: "In 1969, Toronto’s Coach House Books published the Mr. Peanut flip book by artist Vincent Trasov." There's also a pic of the finished product on the page. Of course, Snore Comix (#1) was published in 1969, with #2 and #3 coming in the early '70s, so it confuses me to think of this, the flip book, published in 1969, as an issue of Snore Comix.

A long time ago, I came across this blurb, which I'm sure you've seen: "Snore Comix was published by Coach House Press irregularly and in various formats. The first two issues were edited by Jerry Ofo and the third by AA Bronson of General Idea. The various contributors were all names who would surface in the future, including flip book by Vincent Trasov (Mr. Peanut), No. 5 was the Shoe Book by Jorge Zontal of General Idea (still waiting to be bound and distributed), No. 6 was Gerry Gilbert's Slug Book, and No. 7 was The Coach House Nose Who's Who by Jim Lang." --http://ccca.concordia.ca/resources/searches/event_detail.html?languagePref=en&vk=8249 Going by that alone, I would think that Mr. Peanut was the fourth Snore. It's been a long time since I've dug into my research, but I don't recall mention of an eighth issue, though I could be mistaken.