Shit House Poet (Sometimes referred to as "The Shit House Poet Stories") is the creation of writer and comic book artist Sandy Jimenez. Featured in World War 3 Illustrated consistently throughout the 1990s, these stories chronicle the lives of a nameless narrator and his friends in New York city.
The stories range from the Geo-political (often following the theme of a particular World War 3 Illustrated issue in which they appear), to the intensely personal in scope. The very first episode debuted in issue #14 of World War 3 Illustrated, a special issue of comic book stories devoted to the first Iraq war in 1991. The episodes are marked by a "testimonial" style, and are always narrated in first person as if they were actual recollections of events. [1] In 2010 Shit House Poet will mark its 20th year of publication in World War 3 Illustrated.
The Shit House Poet stories are distinguished by their visual influences: late 1970s graffiti and street art aesthetics, particularly the aerosol murals on New York City's subway trains in the period. Exclusively in black and white since its 1991 debut, the comic strip utilizes graffiti-inspired splash pages for its episode titles and covers as well as “graf-style” lettering. The stories take place across the life of a nameless Hispanic/Latino-American narrator in the South Bronx. The narratives stretch across the lives of the individual characters and throughout different time periods. Some stories take place in their early childhood, (e.g. “Skips,” “Partners Four”) some take place contemporaneously (“Partner’s 5ive,”) and still others move in and out of time (“Robert Is Superman.”)
In 2005, filmmaker Steve Curley adapted the Shit House Poet story “Skips” into a live action motion picture that was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City and screened as part of the Beyond Manhattan exposition at the festival's end.
The Shit House Poet story entitled "The HereAfter" about the events and political climate surrounding the 9/11 attacks, ran in issue # 32 and was also presented in its entirety in the Exit Art show Reactions. [2] Material from "The Shit House Poet" episodes "Skips", "Partners 5ive" and "The HereAfter" were exhibited as part of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Library sponsored Zine Fest from July 18–20, 2008 as part of their selection for the Special Collections archive at UWM's Golda Meir Library. [3]
A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and first popularized within science fiction fandom, and from there the term was adopted by other communities.
A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very small group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation. A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and popularized within science fiction fandom, entering the Oxford English Dictionary in 1949.
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 miles (100 km) north of Chicago. It is the principal city of the US Census Bureau's Racine metropolitan area. The Racine metropolitan area is, in turn, counted as part of the Milwaukee combined statistical area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 77,816, making it the fifth-most populous city in Wisconsin. In January 2017, it was rated "the most affordable place to live in the world" by the Demographia International Housing Affordability survey.
Vaughn Bodē was an American underground cartoonist and illustrator known for his character Cheech Wizard and his artwork depicting voluptuous women. A contemporary of Ralph Bakshi, Bodē has been credited as an influence on Bakshi's animated films Wizards and The Lord of the Rings. Bodē has a huge following among graffiti artists, with his characters remaining a popular subject.
Alfonso Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy.
Oliver Frey was a Swiss artist, who was based in the United Kingdom. He was known for his book and magazine illustrations, especially for British computer magazines of the 1980s. Under the pen name Zack, he became known for his erotic illustrations and erotic comics in British gay male porn magazines of the 1970s and 1980s.
Two-Fisted Tales is an anthology war comic published bi-monthly by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title originated in 1950 when Harvey Kurtzman suggested to William Gaines that they publish an adventure comic. Kurtzman became the editor of Two-Fisted Tales, and with the dawn of the Korean War, he soon narrowed the focus to war stories. The title was a companion comic to Frontline Combat, and stories Kurtzman wrote for both books often displayed an anti-war attitude. It returned to adventure-themed stories in issues #36 through #39, co-edited by John Severin and Colin Dawkins, with a cover-title change to The New Two-Fisted Tales.
World War 3 Illustrated is an American comics anthology magazine with a left-wing political focus, founded in 1979 by New York City comic book artists Peter Kuper and Seth Tobocman, and painter Christof Kohlhofer, and subsequently produced by a collective with a rotating editorship.
Secret Agent X-9 is a comic strip created by writer Dashiell Hammett and artist Alex Raymond. Syndicated by King Features, it ran from January 22, 1934 until February 10, 1996.
Fanorama is a Rhode Island-based zine and zine-distro produced by journalist/activist REB. According to their website it is the "grand-daddy of the queer zine scene".
James Romberger is an American artist known for his depictions of New York City's Lower East Side.
Sarah Dyer is an American comic book writer and artist with roots in the zine movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Sandy Jimenez is an American comic book artist, writer and director, most commonly associated with the New York city independent comic book scene of the 1990s, with work appearing in magazines such as Inner City Press and World War 3 Illustrated.
Marley Davidson is a fictional comic book character created by writer and comic book artist Sandy Jimenez. It made its first appearance on June 15, 1995 in the self-titled independent comic book Marley Davidson, which chronicled the exploits of a Jamaican ex-priest, operating as an exorcist and monster hunter in New York City.
The Shit Creek Review is an online literary and art magazine (e-zine). Its content is mostly related to poetry. It draws on various online poetry forums, such as Eratosphere and The Gazebo.
Marilyn L. Taylor is an American poet with six published collections of poems. Taylor's poems have also appeared in a number of anthologies and journals, including The American Scholar, Able Muse, Measure, Smartish Pace, The Formalist, and Poetry magazine's 90th Anniversary Anthology. Her second full-length collection, Subject to Change, was nominated for the Poets' Prize. She served as the city of Milwaukee's Poet Laureate in 2004 and 2005, and was appointed Poet Laureate of the state of Wisconsin for 2009 and 2010. She also served for five years as a contributing editor for The Writer Magazine. A retired Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, she taught poetry and poetics for the Department of English and later for the Honors College. She currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin, where she presents readings and facilitates workshops throughout Wisconsin and beyond.
Idaho Comics Group (ICG) is an independent comic book publishing company from Boise, Idaho, that was founded in 2014, which publishes the officially licensed Tarzan and the Comics of Idaho anthology and Idaho Comics. The anthologies benefit the Boise Public Library and to bring attention to comic book writers and artists from the state of Idaho.
Street Enterprises was a publishing company that focused on reprints of newspaper comic strips from the United States and the United Kingdom. Operating from 1971–1984, Street Enterprises is most known for the sister publications The Menomonee Falls Gazette and The Menomonee Falls Guardian, as well as for taking over publication of the comics news-zine The Comic Reader.
Sarah Shay Mirk (she/they) is an author, zinester, and journalist based in Portland, Oregon, in the United States.
Avy Jetter is an American writer, artist, and activist who is best known for her self-published comic series Nuthin' Good Ever Happens at 4 a.m. Jetter also works as a Special Programs & International Affiliates Coordinator at University of California, Berkeley.
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