Free S**t

by Charles Burns

Overview

A collection of the Black Hole cartoonist’s secret, self-published sketchbooks and zines.

Since 2000, master cartoonist Charles Burns has been self-publishing a secret, handmade sketchbook zine titled Free S**t, exclusively for friends and VIPs. For the first time, Burns has compiled all twenty-five issues into a single pocket-sized volume for all of his fans to enjoy. Featuring finished drawings, rough sketches, process pieces, and more, the book is a revealing behind-the-scenes look at how characters and motifs in acclaimed works like Black Hole and Last Look have evolved.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683962601
Publisher:	Fantagraphics Books
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	458,485
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Charles Burns is the internationally renowned creator of the graphic novels Black Hole and Last Look. Burns grew up in Seattle, rose to prominence in Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly’s RAW magazine, and is one of the most distinctive and original cartoonists of his generation. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Editorial Reviews

07/22/2019

Burns (Black Hole) pulls together in this idiosyncratic pocket-size gathering of ephemera process pieces and character sketches that originated as “Free Shit,” an occasional oddball mini-comic that he would hand out to friends. The contents range widely and reveal the plethora of origins and ideas swirling behind Burns’s impeccably designed black-and-white art. Grotesque recurring themes include a single fist with an eye at its center, decaying versions of Archie and Wally Wood’s EC Comics work, and a general looming sense of body horror and dread. Many pages of works-in-progress showcase the astonishing consistency of Burns’s black ink line—more surprising is the tenderness and life of his little-seen unfinished pencil sketches. Stripped to bones, this compendium of unsettling images is a disgusting gem bound to be adored by Burns’s followers. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Free S**t shows us the push and pull between alluring and disturbing. Burns’ imagination is full of ugly, hideous creatures but his presentation of them is simply gorgeous and mesmerizing."

Panel Patter